by David McAlpine

Last week on the Biggest Loser, everyone was celebrating the departure of our favorite villain to hate on, Melissa. Suze Orman spent some time at the ranch explaining how weight loss and managing your finances went hand in hand, as did last season's winner, Danny Cahill. It came down to Andrea and Sam (who lost no weight) in the elimination room, where Andrea was picked to be the next one sent home from the ranch.

Last night, Ali didn't give us much breather time, because she was already up on us and the contestants with this week's temptation challenge. For a whole day, the kitchen would be closed and, instead, everyone would have to eat their meals from a room full of food, both healthy and unhealthy. Flash to the room, which is chock full of this stuff--fruits and vegetables everywhere…along with huge chocolate cakes, cookies, and bacon.

Now, the twist: the person who eats the most calories this week would be allowed to cast the only vote at elimination. Of course, if that person fell below the yellow line, their power would be gone and everyone above the yellow line would vote. Immediately, Koli was up for winning because Sam came so close to getting eliminated last week, but no one else seemed as interested. In fact, no one else was interested, as they all munched on the healthy food while Koli ate a whopping 4,164 calories.

However, Koli felt guilty right after he won and hit the gym hard with his brother. I think he realized that he ate almost three times as much as everyone else, as well as all the fat and sodium and extra stuff…yeah, the gym was necessary. But he gets his anger out as well as sweats it out thanks to his brother screaming all of the fatty foods he ate in his face.

Cut to the next workout session, when Bob and Jillian find out how much Koli ate. Jillian is pissed because she thinks Sam has plateaued at his weight and doesn't need nearly as much help as some other people here. She even points out that Koli needs more help than Sam, so she questions why he's protecting him.

During the same workout session, we get a dose of O'Neal inspiration. I know a lot of people love the O'Neal moments, but it's gotten so repetitive week after week that I'm kind of over them, especially since it was over him doing push-ups right. You knew you came here to learn how to get fit, so I don't really see how this is a surprise to anyone.

Dr. Huizenga gets a cameo this episode, too, when he meets with a couple of the contestants to check up on their progress. Michael has brought his body's age down 12 years to 42 and Ashley doesn't have diabetes anymore, which I consider more inspirational than anything else. Someone can do push-ups? Great, good for them. Someone cures themselves of a deadly illness? That's the great part of the show.

It's time for the challenge, which is basically a giant game of Jenga. Each person had to build a ladder out of the blocks they were given in order to reach a ladder suspended in the air. Once they got on that ladder, they could climb it and get a flag. The first person to retrieve the flag gains a one-pound advantage this week, while last-place would get a one-pound disadvantage.

Everyone started building, though I'm not sure some of them understood that this was a race, not a block building contest. Things don't get hairy until Daris tries to transition from his ladder to the other ladder and almost falls, but his risk pays off and he wins the challenge, earning himself the advantage. O'Neal suffers a knee injury after falling, causing him to take last place and the disadvantage.

O'Neal returns from the hospital shortly thereafter with a knee brace on only to get the news that his brother passed away. Jillian helps him work through the pain in the last workout session, but at one point he just couldn't take it anymore and completely broke down. After some grieving, it was time for the weigh-in:

Koli: -10 (-3.70%)
Daris: -7 (-3.54%) [with one-pound advantage]
O'Neal: -8 (-2.52%) [with one-pound disadvantage]
Sam: -6 (-2.38%)
Ashley: -4 (-1.55%)
Michael: -5 (-1.38%)
Sunshine: -1 (-0.52%)
Victoria: -1 (-0.37%)

There wasn't much discussion since Koli had the only vote (which was proven to be for a moot point because Sam wasn't anywhere near the bottom), which he casts for Victoria. On top of that, he's kind of mean about her during her exit, which doesn't make any sense because we barely even saw her this episode!

Victoria seems to get the last laugh, though, because she's home once again and looking great. She's already down to 240 pounds and charging towards the finale.

Tune in to the Biggest Loser next Tuesday to see which contestant is the next one sent home from the ranch--only at 8/7c on NBC!

(Photo courtesy of NBC)

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