by David McAlpine

It was lots of tricks and very few treats on this week's Halloween-themed episode of The Biggest Loser, after the contestants were given the chance to save everyone from elimination. The objective was simple: the ten remaining contestants would have to lose 100 pounds collectively, or 10 pounds each on average.

The stakes seemed monumental as everyone did the math in their head: very few people on the dance regularly pull double digits, and not nearly enough to get that average about 10 pounds per person. However, Sunny was able to pull a huge number last week, so there's a cautious confidence floating around.

Of course, this is just begging for a temptation, right? And what better temptation than Halloween candy? Allison shows the contestants to a giant cauldron hanging in the kitchen with 10 pounds of candy sitting in it. The deal: every one pound of candy the contestants eat, they get a one-pound advantage on the scale at the end of the week.

Even better, since it's all-for-one week, the trainers get to work everyone out collectively. Dolvett, Anna and Bob are all excited to get their hands on everyone, while there someone who's not such a fan of this idea. Jennifer looks particularly sullen and forlorn that she doesn't get all of Bob's attention this week, especially since he was in Texas last week working with Sunny.

Now to what I'll call the most unexpected moment of this season: a budding romance! I understand that everyone on this ranch gets close, but Ramon and Jessica are more than close, they're dating! At least there's some storyline going on in this house besides weight loss.

For this week's challenge, it's yet another trick-and-treat. Basically, there's a maze, lots of spooky things and lots and lots of apples. Everyone has 10 minutes to go in and get as many apples as they can out of the maze. 150 pounds of apples scores them a five-pound advantage and 200 pounds gets them a ten-pound advantage, but if anyone is left in the maze when time is called, all advantages disappear and the team gets a five-pound disadvantage.

With two minutes to go, the team passes the 150-pound mark and they make the call to go for 200 pounds. Antone is freaked out by the graveyard, where there happens to be a bunch of apples, and John is concerned that he's going to get lost. Meanwhile, Bonnie is just screaming at the entrance (I'm guessing it was a team decision since she'd probably be the one to get lost), hoping everyone gets back. And guess what? They do! Now they only have to lose 90 pounds this week.

Fresh off their win, Bonnie has a brilliant idea: hide all the candy and make Bob think the 10-pound advantage they have is because of the food, not winning the challenge. They're all laughing until Bob comes in and nearly has an aneurysm from the sheer amount of calories he thought they ate. The punishment is brutal in the form of major gym time.

Bob, Anna and Dolvett have the ten contestants in a triangular circuit workout of death because they want everyone to stay on the ranch this week, too. Bob hammers them in the gym, Anna runs them all over the place on the court, and Dolvett does all sorts of outside exercises to finish off the day.

Cue Anna to push her nose into someone else's business: Jessica. She basically tells her that her number one priority needs to be the ranch and losing weight, not Ramon. Jessica is fairly offended at this and shrugs Anna off, but I think the woman has a point: you have to put yourself first when it comes to losing weight.

At the weigh-in, John shatters the record of 100 pounds lost in six weeks (previously held by Moses) by making it 101 pounds in six weeks. Go John! The rest of the weigh-in was as follows:

John: -10 (-2.82%)
Joe: -8 (-2.72%)
Antone: -8 (-2.12%)
Jessica: -4 (-1.88%)
Jennifer: -4 (-1.46%)
Vinny: -5 (-1.34%)
Ramon: -2 (-0.66%)
Becky: -1 (-0.49%)
Bonnie: -1 (-0.44%)
Sunny: +5 (+2.20%)

TOTAL: -38

The team falls well short of the 90 pounds they need to lose to stay safe, meaning someone is headed home (except John, who has immunity). As if things weren't bad enough, Anna reminds Jessica and Ramon that they need to stay focused, which causes Jessica to lose it.

Bonnie and Sunny feel at risk in the deliberation room, so they start crying. Then Jennifer starts talking about Bob and how much she needs him, but Vinny goes after her, saying that they all need to learn to adapt. it gets so heated that Vinny has to leave the room.

Jennifer and John both vote for Ramon, but everyone else sticks with Jennifer, sending the first Black Team member home. But does she look good at home! Jennifer looks like a completely new person--and one who is ready to run the marathon.

The Biggest Loser airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

(Photo courtesy of NBC)

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