The past couple of weeks on The Biggest Loser has been a little bit about the game, of people getting bitten because of overplaying it, and people who do the same thing despite the warnings. But that gets banished tonight, sort of: it's makeover week! Perfect time to look at the six remaining contestants in a different way, from people who are constantly sweaty after their workouts, to those who exude confidence... but still have to be sweaty after their workouts.

This season's makeovers are courtesy of Tim Gunn, who we all know from Project Runway, and Tabatha Coffey, who we all know from, well, Tabatha's Salon Takeover.  The makeovers are necessary: they have to do some motivational speeches at an event, so why go out there and talk about stuff looking your worst, right? It's actually funny seeing that Rudy was really, really, reeeally excited for makeover week. (I expected the reaction from Rebecca, but hey, I'll take what I can get.) The appearance was a quick one, however, because the next thing we know, the makeovers are done. Must be the advantages of a 90-minute episode.

The first to be revealed is Rebecca, and yes, her hair looks really nice. It's a surprise, me realizing how they could look, after seeing them in tracksuits the past few weeks. Tim Gunn had another surprise for her: her sister was dropping by, and everybody else get their tearful reunions and oh-wow-you-look-great! moments. Danny ditched the gray hair and looks a lot younger. Allen looked very at ease after his makeover. Amanda eerily reminded me of Alison Sweeney. (No really.) Liz also looked much younger with her new hair. But the most surprising is Rudy, who ditched the beard and looked a whole lot better. Photos below, kids:



And then the speeches: a mix of inspirational bits and some funny moments, especially from Liz, whose story about her thinking her dryer is shrinking her clothes was oddly hilarious.

Makeovers aside, though, there's still a lot of work to do. Besides, we still have six contestants and a lot of weight to lose. Their challenge this week is to pull themselves across a canyon, which is still scary however you put it. Everyone made it through, yes, but Rudy was the fastest, just breezing through the canyon unlike Liz, who was dead scared of the prospect of going across that far a distance from that high a height. The prize was a two-week stay at the Biggest Loser resort at Fitness Ridge in Utah.

The last chance workout saw Jillian confront Rudy. Apparently he has a sister who died of cancer at age 14, and she's wondering why she didn't know about it. Something hidden, perhaps? The connection is quickly made: partly the reason why he ballooned to 400 pounds? He eventually relented, saying that he just sucks at dealing with problems. It's still nice getting that off his chest... but that doesn't really do much for what happens next.

It's weigh-in time, and Rudy breezed through the whole thing, losing a total of 16 pounds. 16 freaking pounds! Danny also posted double-digit losses, while Amanda made a personal best for her weekly weight losses. It was Liz and Rebecca who dropped below the yellow line, something that disappointed both of them, and as they pleaded their case, the whole thing fell on Rudy's hands again. The next thing we know, he's eliminated Rebecca.

Maybe Rudy the player is just an editing trick. Still, it gives us a new antagonist of sorts. But hey, he looks good, so that's better.

Next week, financial guru Suze Orman drops by to draw the connection between health and wealth, plus a football-ish challenge from Hall of Famer Rod Woodson, and Curtis Stone, yet again. To the scoreboards:

Allen: 238 pounds (-5)
Amanda: 193 pounds (-9)
Danny: 304 pounds (-12)
Liz: 203 pounds (-3)
Rebecca: 206 pounds (-3) (eliminated)
Rudy: 308 pounds (-16)





- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Images courtesy of NBC)