Watching Reality TV

If you need to catch up on last week’s goings-on, check out this post.

They’ve promised us some Neil-centered drama for the night so strap yourselves in guys.  We’re in for a bumpy ride.  Everyone is gathered in the elimination room talking to Allison.  They’re mixing up the teams YET AGAIN.  I’m getting a little tired of that.  Luckily, no more shuffling because it’s every man for themselves now and no more teams so that’s a good thing.  Drama or no, this is good news and a great way to start off the night.

Bob is sad to see Ryan has left.  But he expected it.  Still, he doesn’t understand why the other blues voted him out.  He pretty much beats Neil down for playing too many games (gee, I wonder why).  So I can say I didn’t enjoy that.  Jillian is THRILLED to see Isabeau is still there.  She is in high spirits and it’s infectious in the black team (or what used to be the black team).  Amy is still feeling like a red and is feeling out of place because of it.  So she goes to talk to Kim and gives her back the red shirt.  She also thanks her for everything she did.  Kim is sad to see the ties severed and wants to give her the red shirt back.  Kim says she and the red time (who, Bryan?) is very disappointed in her.  She feels insulted.  Aaaaand the drama continues!  Regardless, Amy returns to Jillian sporting a black shirt and she’s thrilled to see it.  Man, what happened to Jillian to get her in such a good mood?

Everyone can smell something really GOOD and turns out?  Donuts.  Lots and lots of donuts.  So many donuts that I’m a little nauseated, to be honest.  But I’m sure it smells good.  The temptation this week involves turning the donuts into dollars.  Inside one donut is a token that is worth $5,000.  Of course, they have to eat the donut to participate in the hunt.  Each round, another donut.  GAH.  No thanks.  And it sounds like they’ll keep going the rounds until they find it.   Only Kae backs out of the temptation and GOOD FOR HER.  Everyone else rips into the donuts.  This makes it look SO NOT appetizing.  No one finds the token in the first round.  One more donut for the next round so Nicole sits out and everyone else joins in again.  It’s gross, ya’ll.  And, in round two, no one finds the token.  Bleh.  No time limit in the third round, however.  Everyone who was going to stop, starts to rethink their decision.  Only Julie backs out.  Good girl.  That’s 300 calories a round.  GAH.  Bill finds it, at long last, making his 900 calories worth it to him.  Man, I’d go and puke if I were them.  That’s just nasty.

We arrive at the challenge and it’s a butt-load of spin bikes at 24-Hour Fitness.   It’s going to be a 24 kilometer indoor triathlon.  That’s just shy of 15 miles.  So we’ve got biking, running and swimming.  The first person to finish, will win.  What is the reward?  A 24 hour trip home.  That’s pretty nice.  Plus?  They’ll have immunity at the next elimination.  WOW.  Okay, that rivals the car for the best reward yet.  Kae, Bill, Hollie, Bryan and Neil move onto the treadmills and everyone else is out.  Kae, Bill and Hollie move on to the pool and everyone else is out.  It’s down to 1 km in the pool.  And as I predicted, Kae tired herself out previously and she’s not a strong swimmer.  Hollie, however, is a swim coach and she’s got it made in the shade.  So it’s no surprise that Hollie wins the triathlon.  The good news is she can pick someone else to have immunity at the weigh in and go home to visit THEIR family.  I wasn’t too surprised to see her select Julie, her fellow black team member.  Allison warns them that they will not have immunity if they have gained weight at the weigh in so they need to be on their best behavior.

So we are treated to some beautiful footage of the two women going home to visit family.  I can’t help but think that Hollie has already been home this season but this is under FAR different circumstances.  The stuff with Julie is the most touching.  Her kid literally cannot believe his eyes.  Very sweet.

Meanwhile, back at campus, it’s time for the last chance workout.  Amy is still just devastated that she wasn’t chosen.  I’m surprised that she thinks that she might have been chosen.  Jillian is concerned with how much Amy wants to go home because she’s afraid that could equal elimination.   Still, she is worried about the weigh in.  Jillian pounds her team while Kim focuses herself on Bryan.  Bob promises a brutal workout for his team and he delivers.  The weigh in arrives and Hollie and Julie are back on campus.  They weigh in first and didn’t lost a single pound.  The important thing is they didn’t gain any so they still have immunity.  Good thing!  They’re embarassed, and I can’t blame them.

Bill is up first and wants to hit the 100 pound mark.   This week he lost 8 pounds so he makes it!  And he’s so happy.  That’s a percentage of 3.31% lost. Nicole goes next and is concerned about being on her own.  She lost 7 pounds though, so nothing to worry about for her.  That’s 3.06% lost.  Neil hits the scales next and lost 10 pounds this week and that’s 3.12% lost.  Amy goes next and this week she lost 3 pounds which is not very much at all.  It is 1.22% lost and she’s definitely in danger.  Isabeau goes up and she lost 5 pounds this week for a total of 2.03% lost.  Bryan hits the scales next and only lost 2 pounds which devastates him.  That’s .72% lost this week.  Kae goes up last and this week she lost 4 pounds which she’s happy with.  She should be, as it’s enough to put her above the yellow line with 2.45% lost.  Amy and Bryan, however, are very much not safe and one of them will be eliminated.

Jillian talks up the blacks and she doesn’t see any reason why Amy will go home.  Isabeau seems like she may be a swing vote.  She isn’t sure whether to get rid of the threat (Bryan) or Amy (who wants to go home).  Bill says he’s undecided, though he seems to be leaning towards Bryan.  And he seems certain that Isabeau is voting out Amy.  Kim is very upset to hear Bryan is vulnerable.  The thing is… I almost have to agree with Isabeau.  There’s team loyalty and then there’s who deserves to stay.  Bryan works a lot harder than Amy does, with a fraction of the drama.  Neil campaigns for Bryan to stay and talks up Julie and the other black members.  He’s probably more of a threat than Amy, that’s true.  But I’d rather see him win the competition than Amy.

Elimination night has arrived and everyone gathers in the room with Allison.  The long and the short of it is: it comes down to a tie.  Half of everyone votes for Amy, while half vote for Bryan (black team members, of course).  Isabeau is the tie-breaker and she does what I expected her to do.  She voted Amy out.  I can’t say I’m too sad to see her go.  She wasn’t an original black team member and she was too immersed in drama.  So it’s a shame to see her go (as it is anyone) but necessary.

Allison surprises everyone by presenting to them a grand surprise.  But we don’t know what it is yet.

So how has Amy done since leaving the campus?  She has lost 100 pounds since the start of the show and with shorter hair?  Looks amazing.  That’s a great accomplishment.  It was great seeing her reunited with her family.