Biggest Loser, Season 9 - Episode 18

The show opened up with fantastic highlights of the final four.  It's hard not to become invested in them, we have seen them at their worst, saw them get beaten by Bob and Jillian, and now we are seeing them emerge as completely new people.  The world is their oyster.

The final four goes home for 30 days and then will come back to see how well each of them did under the pressures that daily life brings.  We'll find out which two makes it above the yellow line, and which two will fall below (and beg America for compassion and their votes to put them in the final three).

We watched as each of the four contestants went home to their family and friends.  They all weighed in to show their peers how much they've lost on campus and received standing ovations.  At Koli's welcome home party, Sam wore a funny white shirt that said "I (heart) Koli Bear."  Sam definitely looks different back at home - kind of a gangsta.  While on the scale, Koli mentioned that at the first weigh-in (at home), he promised that he would make it to the final four.  He did.  Now he is making another promise - that he will win the entire thing.  Careful, Koli... don't get too far ahead of yourself.

Ali announced that they would each be doing a marathon, just like they did when they first got to campus.  However, the first marathon they did was on bike.  This time, they would be going on foot.  How fun!

At Mike's home, the family was gearing up for their usual Sunday dinner.  Mike suggested "how about some good old spaghetti and meatballs?"  J almost jumped at the screen and said "no no no!"  How could Mike lose 204 pounds on campus just to go back home to his usual spaghetti and meatballs?  Big mistake!  But alas, Mike was playing it smart.  He lectured his mom on how ground turkey is leaner and has more protein.  Instead of carb-heavy noodles, he suggested wheat noodles.  Seriously, like his mom didn't already know that!

A little while later, Ashley called Mike to talk about the upcoming marathon.  Again - are they dating (or at least crushing)?

Bob and Jillian visited the remaining four contestants at their hometowns.  Bob didn't go to California where Koli lives - he had to fly over to Las Vegas because Koli was hiding out and working out 24/7.  He admitted to Bob that he wanted to 100% focus on the show and that he wasn't ready to be thrown back into life just yet.  Wasn't that the purpose?  To give a 30-day trial to see just how well they could handle all the daily stresses at home and still continue to make healthy choices and lose weight.  It's better to learn to handle it now than later.  Home is taking a heavy toll on each and every one of them.  There's lots of pressure to eat with everybody else, drink and to stay out late.

The marathon started off cold and rainy but turned out to be a nice day.  Daris commented "it turned into a nice day so hey, might as well go for a run!"  My favorite part of the marathon each year is to see the previous contestants come back, run alongside the current participants and to give encouraging words.  I wondered who would come on this year.  I was hoping for Mike, who was a brown team member from two seasons ago.  But then "J" says nah, he showed up last season, doubt he'd show up again.

Well, what a shocker - Mike showed up and ran alongside Mike (how funny!).  Matt from one of the early seasons came on and ran with Daris.  Ali (a 2 or 3-time returning marathon supporter) ran with Ashley, and both are members of the Pink team!  Sione ran with Koli, which was fitting because they are both members of the gray team and both are Tongan.  Mike, Matt and Sione looked like they gained weight.  It was a little disappointing to see - especially Mike because he's so handsome and young and as for Sione, he became a personal trainer so it's disheartening to see him let go a little bit.

Daris beat Tara's record time of 4:55 by completing the marathon at 4:02.  The way he's going, he could become a professional marathon runner in no time.

The weigh in was short compared to all the other weigh-ins in the past.  Instead of weighing in 10+ people, we only had to weigh in 4.  The two people who makes it above the yellow line automatically makes it to the finale.  The two people that falls below will have to plead with America to vote them into the finale.

Mike lost 23 pounds in the 30 days he was at home.  Not too bad, considering he probably didn't work out as much as he did at the gym, had to make all his meals himself, probably ate out a few times, etc.  Mike is now 299 and finally out of the 300.  This marked the first time ever in his life that he was under 300 (that is, once he got over).

Koli lost 13, which was disappointing to the trainers.  He could have lost that much in a week.  Even though he was in hiding in Las Vegas, he still didn't lose as much.  Smart decisions have to start somewhere and real decisions start at home.

Ashley lost 18 and is automatically in the final 3.    With Ashley in the final 3, Koli is pushed down below with Mike right underneath him.  Now it was down to whether Daris would lose enough to put him Mike and above the yellow line or fall down below with Koli.  If you thought that Koli's weight loss was disappointing, you'd be devastated by Daris' weight loss and the fact that he not only lost zero pounds but gained 2.  He got a serious beating from the trainers.

Daris and Koli begged and pleaded with America to vote for them.  Daris promised that he learned his lesson and that he'd do so much better from this point on and he will not disappoint us.  Koli basically said the same thing over and over throughout his mini-speech.  Just let him be in the finale so he can win.  Yawn.

Who did you vote for?  If you voted for Koli, I'll hunt you down and smack you.

Vote Orange!