Before I begin tonight’s Biggest Loser recap, I want to take a moment and mention that I live in a suburb of Dallas; I was working in the heart of Arlington, Texas this afternoon; and I have family members who were teaching in Lancaster blocks away from where thousand-pound semi-trucks were tossed through the air. It has been an absolutely harrowing day in the area and I sincerely wish everyone in the DFW area a safe and speedy recovery. Now then, let’s get to it because we’ve only got an hour-long episode tonight.
Play Ball!
In honor of baseball’s Opening Day (nevermind that technically that was last Wednesday in Japan and opening night is tomorrow — why is my nose bleeding?), the final six contestants are asked to use baseball slingshots to break panes of glass emblazoned with their before images. The winner will receive a pound advantage at weigh-in, and for the first time in the game to this point, the loser will suffer a one pound disadvantage. This stipulation might be available for the first time since Buddy can actually participate. Not only does Buddy compete, but he wins. Jeremy overcomes a bizarre inability to break the glass despite hitting it repeatedly, but his sister is finally out of luck. Conda will have to overcome a pound disadvantage this week at weigh-in. Makeover week in Washington.
Buddy sums it up perfectly: “This is crazy!” Makeover week has everyone excited, but it all gets ratcheted up a notch when a video message is shown from First Lady Michelle Obama. She invites them to show off their updated looks at the White House, presumably as part of her fitness initiative. All the contestants are first reacquainted with their old wardrobe to see how much their bodies have transformed. The first thing we see is that Mark shaved his goatee, which is a welcome sight to viewers. However, it’s not nearly as much of a welcome sight as his wife and two youngest children’s faces are to Mark inside the White House. I’ve bagged on this show a lot and Mark in particular, but there’s no debating what a sweet moment this is. It starts a trend of remarkable transformations and reunions for each of the contestants.
The Touching Moments Continue
Buddy, Chris and Conda all proceed to have emotional moments inside our nation’s capital and it’s shocking at how much each one looks better than the last. Kim is the final person to strut her stuff and I start to realize that the clock isn’t on their side tonight. A “to be continued” seems to be quickly approaching.
Sure enough, just as everyone is gathered to meet Mrs. Obama, the episode ends. It’s easy to be annoyed by this obvious tactic to elongate the remaining episodes of the season, but the saving grace is that the episode has only been an hour and was such a genuinely uplifting viewing experience. In a season that’s had a substantial dearth of those, I think we should take them when we can get them.
Casey Casteel
Contributing Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
