‘The Biggest Loser’ recap: What’s your call for the final four?

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We’re hitting the ‘winnowing of the herd’ weeks on ‘The Biggest Loser,’ when we start to lose the players who can’t quite go the distance, either because they’ve already lost enough weight or just had a bad week on the scales. That’s what happened to Sarah, at left, who was sent home by the rest of the competitors on the black team, who have closer-knit relationships.

So what else did we learn this week?

-- Justin is da man. I was surprised when Justin was announced as the red team leader. I just assumed they would go with Rulon for the symbolism of it. But we learned there’s nothing symbolic about Justin’s leadership: Everyone promptly fell in line behind him.

-- Hannah has thin skin. Maybe I completely misread this moment. But didn’t Marci say she wanted Sarah to work out with Hannah precisely because Hannah has made so many breakthroughs, and Marci hoped that grit would rub off on Sarah? Am I wrong? Somehow that got twisted by Hannah into her teammates not believing in her. Nonetheless, we got a good Jillian smackdown out of it.

-- Jillian has had it. I wish the trainers had cartoon bubbles over their heads so that you could read their internal thoughts. I suspect Jillian was thinking ‘And this is why I am leaving!’ when she and Bob learned they would only get to train two of the red team members this week. (It’s worth remembering that these weigh-ins are also a reflection on B&J as well as Cara and Brett.)

-- Bob continues to be a crack-up. Bob, unlike Jillian, can be a little more discreet with his emotions. You can’t always tell what he is thinking, which is, again, why I want that cartoon bubble. I think Bob has ‘short-term-itis.’ Which is not exactly like lame-duck-itis, because Bob’s not going anywhere. But there seems to be a certain levity with Bob that might stem from the fact that the show will dramatically change after this season with Jillian’s departure. In the meantime, let’s hope that Bob continues to imitate Jillian for laughs. And quote of the week goes to Bob. From now on, I’m not just going to the gym. I am, and I paraphrase, ‘going to get my sweat on.’

-- Let’s ponder the ‘specimen’ that is Marci: Why do you think Marci asked Courtney to sit out the challenge? And were you surprised that she voted for Olivia in the elimination?

-- I can’t exactly say I was sorry to see Sarah go. She looked so happy to be back at home with her adoring hubby, and with her continued weight loss. So I’d like to think her elimination this week was meant to be. Now, I would like Sarah to hurry up and lose however many more pounds she needs to ... so she can start making babies. Better yet, I hope she shows up preggers to the finale. All the best to you, Sarah!

-- Let’s project into the future for just a bit. I suspect that the black team will continue to lose players one by one, don’t you? I don’t see how these women -- who are nearing their goal weights -- will continue to post numbers that can compete with the red team. Same goes for Kaylee on the red team. I think we could end up with an all-male finale -- Rulon, Moses, Austin and Ken. (It seems like Justin is just too close to his goal weight to make it to the finale.)

The wild card, of course, is Courtney. Was this week’s five-pound weight loss an off week?

Either way: Courtney herself has remarked that she still has a long journey ahead of her. Let’s hope ‘The Biggest Loser’ finds a way to keep close tabs on her. (OK, I will come out and say it. She deserves a Subway challenge.)

Her story is an amazing one that I think has been overshadowed a bit by the season’s attention on Arthur. Courtney is nearing the 200-pound weight-loss mark -- and most of that she lost on her own before stepping foot on The Biggest Loser Ranch. If there was a prize for sheer determination and relentlessness (and a sunny disposition) we could just hand it over to her now.

-- Who do you think will be the final four?

-- Rene Lynch
twitter.com / renelynch