THE BIGGEST LOSER Season 12 Episode 11 Review

The Biggest Loser Season 12, Episode 11 – It’s makeover week on The Biggest Loser ranch! My hope for this week is that Antone and his holier than thou castmates will get a personality makeover and realize that other contestants (read: John) should not be crucified for playing the game! Wishful thinking I’m sure.

The episode kicks off with a familiar challenge in which the players are forced to carry the weight they’ve lost on campus during a race. The first player to shed all of their weight and reach the finish line gets a one pound advantage. Sunny really wants it and admittedly, I don’t want her to get it because she’s still holding a grudge from last week. I know, I know, pot meet kettle – I’m still holding a grudge from last week. The players should get some joy from the fact that as the person who has lost the most weight on campus so far, John will have a difficult road ahead of him today.

The challenge looks hot and uncomfortable but John manages to emerge the victor and I am elated! Take notes Antone – spite will only get you so far. Following the challenge, Allison announces that the long-awaited makeover week has arrived and manages to get in a well placed plug for Progresso soup or as Sunny aptly noted “soup and money!” As someone always up for a good pun, I did get amusement from the idea that Progresso would make the contestants look “soup-er.”

Jeannie Mai steps in and gets John to say boo hoo to black and blue. I respectfully disagree with Jeannie’s decision to put Sunny in that brown sack skirt and clunky black heels. Hopefully that was just an unfortunate red herring. We get a few peeks at the contestants in their new figures and new styles before they head over to Ken Paves for a new hairdo. I’m glad that Ken immediately pinpointed John’s mullet and I hope that he also talks him out of the combover he’s been wearing since episode 1.

I have to admit, I never grow tired of the big reveal. I love to see the newly transformed contestants.
John stepped out of the limo sans mullet, sans combover in a sleek suit that made him look like an extra in an episode of The Sopranos. I loved it. Antone looked great in his suit – the hairless look suits him. Although he did not quite pull off a Bradley Cooper, I thought Vinny looked amazing. For the record, I think Vinny can be funny and charming at any size – I hope he realizes that too. The ladies looked great as well with Becky getting a terrific new haircut and Sunny now sporting some va-va-voom bedroom hair. Like past seasons, the revamped contestants were surprised by their loved ones after revealing their new looks on the red carpet.

As the saying goes, what goes up must come down. After the high of the makeover, the contestants were met with the reality of the last chance workout, weigh-in and elimination. The great part about the makeover episode is that there is reflection among all of the contestants, which makes it difficult to determine who – if anyone – is getting the dreaded “elimination edit.” This week marks the final weigh-in before the contestants go home, with only 4 remaining in the running for the grand prize.

As Bob noted, makeover week numbers are typically low given the amount of time the contestants spend on their new looks and with family members. Sunny seems to be a sign that the makeover week curse is in full force with her one pound loss. There are way too many huge men remaining in this competition for this week to be plagued by dismal numbers. I’m sure Sunny was devastated by her weight loss but one pound is still way better than a gain.

I was really happy to see Becky make it into the final four as the sole remaining player from the 50 and over group and because of the strength she displayed in making it through this season after losing her father in the initial episode. It seemed fitting that Antone would be pitted against Sunny and I had no sense of who the players would choose to keep. I hope that John voted to keep Antone because he really wanted the competition and not because he felt like he had anything to prove after last week. I hope that John’s decision to take on his biggest competition in the final four will serve to shut Antone up once and for all.

What did you think about The Biggest Loser’s makeover episode? It is great to see all three age groups represented in the final four. Which at-home player do you think has the best chance of winning The Biggest Loser marathon and a spot in the finals?