FB asked me to cover the summary last minute, and of course I’m excited about it!

We have lost several channels because of ice on our satellite, I just hope NBC hangs in there!

I’m also not that great with names, so I’ll probably go back and forth between names and colors while referencing contestants. They’re interchangeable, right?

We’ve gotten all the teasers about the two younger guys being up for elimination. I guess that means Joelle will stick around. I’ll try not to hate as much this week. My job is to be impartial.

And here we go. Last week’s vote was U.G.L.Y. Bob’s team is pissed at Jillian’s team. (Honestly, I am too.) I mean, Jillian’s team purposely misled them. I really thought that this season wasn’t going to go there. Pink lady talks about stepping up, getting serious, taking back the game. Bob’s team is fired up. And they’re gonna get down to business.

Again we see the at-home players. The ranch players feel responsibility to keep their at-home partners in the game. We see how hard it is for at-home players to focus. The green girl at home is doing some partying. That’s not what we expect. The blue dude at home really puts things into perspective. If he had 4 hours to watch tv before, then he has 4 hours to be at the gym now. Orange guy? At home? Eating fried foods, smoking, not looking like he’s really following a program.

Bob walks into the gym – floored to see Joelle. And, big surprise, Joelle is talking. Talking. Talking. Bob encourages them to kick ass. Reminds them that their partners come back next week. Bob tries to rebuild his “team” knowing that Joelle is such a distraction. Bob reminds them that their real team member is the person that is at home working and wanting to get back on the ranch. Joelle runs straight through the end of a countdown! Without talking? Really!?! That almost impresses me.

Curtis Stone and some football player is going to be here for NFL week. I apologize in advance – I know nothing about football. Names will probably be butchered. Time for first commercial break!

AWWW! Blaine gets to go home to be with his wife for the birth of his child! That is the sweetest thing ever!

So it’s Super Bowl time and that means eating, right? Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone shows up to show them how to make a Super Bowl spread that is good for us. (I LOVE his accent!) Alison is testing their knowledge of super bowl snacks. For the winner of the challenge, Curtis will visit the teammate at home and will give their at-home partner a 2 pound pass for when they return. Such a great prize!

Okay, so we’re guessing calories.

Chicken wings and ranch dressing. (I love Alison’s bump by the way!) 991 calories – Dan (cute Orange guy!) is the closest. He moves to the next round.

Bread bowl with chili and sour cream: 1,165 and Kristin (purple) gets it closest.

7-Layer dip (which I find gross): 1,755 and Helen (pink) moves on.

That leaves those three to cook with Curtis! He changes the wings to chicken skewered on rosemary with a mustard glaze. Oh yeah. I’d eat that.

Now they have to guess calories for that dish: but time for commercial first.

Curtis shows us how to pound a chicken breast on the way to the commercial break.

230 calories in the new chicken recipe. Dan wins, guessing 220. He wins the prize for his teammate!

So Curtis heads to North Carolina to see Dan’s teammate, David. David calls him “a tall guy with pointy hair.” I laughed. David tells Curtis that he doesn’t know how to cook and that he’s having trouble sticking with the plan – he’s falling back into his old habits because it is cheap and it tastes good. And he doesn’t know how to cook and shop. So the two of them are off to Wal-Mart. I love the way they are really bringing it into our homes this season – showing us how to follow in their footsteps at home. They cook a chicken breast with spices that David likes and everyone is happy.

So Bob brings in the big boxes and everyone jumps up on them. It was so cute! Purple Kristin didn’t think she could do it, but she did! I love the team that Bob has built.

Blaine is home for the baby. The situation reminds him how much he needs to be on the ranch – how he needs to get healthy for himself but also for his family. And he has a new baby boy! He’s got a big ol’ family. And he wants to be stronger for them. Such a cute little family. Welcome Brekken! Your daddy loves you! And then there’s the teary goodbye as he leaves his wife and all the kids in the hospital room. And we’re off to commercial again.

More football stuff. Tara (green) is pumped for a challenge. She’s won the last 2, and she’s ready to kick more butt! And here comes Curt Warner. (I guess that means something to y’all.) He talks about his struggles – how people didn’t believe in him as he worked his way up the ladder – and that he showed that anything is possible with hard work, determination, and faith.

This challenge is for…IMMUNITY! Win this challenge, and your partner automatically comes back.

The challenge? Running, getting a football, put it in someone else’s bin. 5 footballs in your bin = elimination. Last person standing wins.

Tara has an early lead – puts in Felipe. Mandi does the same. Footballs are too much to keep up with. Felipe was eliminated first, then Tara. Kristin was a little too excited to get Tara out, but oh well. Dane is out next. Kristin is out, Mandi is out. Dan is out. Green Tara is running up and down the sidelines with Mike! So cute! But Mike is out – leaving Joelle and Pink Helen. Come on, don’t let Joelle win. (I said I’d try to be impartial – I didn’t say I’d succeed.) But if the strategy was to take out the stronger players first, it makes sense that she’s still in the challenge.

Alison reminds us about the Pound-to-Pound Challenge, and it’s off to commercial.

We’ve got Joelle and Helen competing for immunity and Helen wins the challenge! She is so proud of herself. She gets teary. She gets to call her daughter and tell her that she won and that her daughter will definitely be coming back to the ranch!

At this point, my electricity flickers. I. Will. Not. Lose. Power.

Bob talks to the contestants about breakfast in the kitchen. Their usual is oatmeal. Bob talks about Fiber One cereal. (Hello, product placement.)

Blaine is back – tells his team all about his new boy. He has a picture of the baby in a Biggest Loser shirt! How cute! He’s excited to get back in the gym. And it’s to commercial again.

We get the update from the first hour. And we’re back to the Last Chance Workout. (Nathan screams from the steps “Shut the eff up!” I didn’t know I was married to Bob…) Jillian reminds us that the family members coming back depends on this weigh-in. And Bob is reminding his team that that is the way it is.

We see the ranch and the at-home contestants working split-screen. The at-home peeps are working very hard. Pink knows her daughter is coming back, but she’s busting ass anyway. Jillian is concerned that Dan (orange) doesn’t follow through and doesn’t push himself. She’s not giving him any slack. She’s not Bob on Joelle or anything, but she’s yelling a little. He’s bringing up excuses, and she’s shutting his excuses down. He falls off the treadmill, but Jillian doesn’t take it. She’s not letting him doubt himself. She tells him to get back on the treadmill, and he does. She encourages, she tells him he is strong. He yells, she praises. The whole gym is cheering him on. And he does it. And I am fighting tears. Seriously. It was beautiful.

Remember! This is a serious weigh-in. Whoever stays this week gets their partner back on the ranch. Alison asks Joelle what changed. She and Bob agree that she worked hard this week – and she has some support from the team. We are reminded that Helen has immunity and she is beaming.

What Alison? Are the partners here? We’ll have to wait until after the commercial to find out.

Back from commercial and back are the partners! Hugs all around! We all have to hold hands and step back and look at each other! So cute!

It would really stink to be the partner that gets back before the weigh-in just have to turn around and go back home after the vote. But it’s gotta be someone, right?

Helen (Pink) goes to the scale. 231 to 225. 6 pound loss. And she has immunity! Welcome Shannon back to the ranch!

Next is Brown – Mike and Ron. Ron 377 to 370 Mike 348 to 339. 16 pounds total, 7 for Ron, 9 for Mike. Mike is disappointed. I think they rock.

Black team is up. Blaine starts at 323 to 312. Dane starts at 360 to 345. Dane lost 15. Blaine lost 11. That’s even with going home for 3 days. They are machines. They have lost 120 lbs in 4 weeks. That’s insane.

Here comes Blue. Felipe was at 324, now he’s at – commercial break. But first, Jillian advises us to make small, manageable steps to meet our resolutions by – guess what? – chewing gum when we need a snack.

Felipe is on the scale: 324 to 311. 13 pound loss. And he’s having a fit. Partner runs up to hug him, Purple girl is crying. This is why I love this show.

Tara (in Green) is next. 264 last week (needs to lose 10), 252 this week. 12 pound loss. (To quote Nathan: “Holy crap, she did it!”) I like her. She works hard. And she smiles.

Purple Kristen has to lose 12 pounds to be safe. Starting at 324, new weight 312. 12 pound loss. She may be up for elimination.

Yellow is next. Here comes Mandi. 237 pounds last week (needs 8 pounds)…and we go to commercial.

And we get Bill Mech, Meterologist, telling us about the ice storm! We are being asked to stay off the roads. Just hoping that our power stays on.

Mandi goes from 237 to 227! 10 pound loss. She is safe. Celebration ensues.

2 teams left. Here comes Dan on the Orange team. He needs to lose 15 pounds to stay safe. He talks about how Jillian tried to kill him. (She did, I saw it.) 406 then…394 now. That’s a 12 pound loss. Not enough to keep him safe. I don’t like where this is going. I mean, I saw it on the teasers, but I don’t have to like it. He’s lost 60 pounds in 4 weeks.

That means that either Silver or Brown will be under the yellow line with Orange. (So many colors in one sentence!)

Okay, Joelle is hopeful. Last week, 288. This week: commercial.

We’re back. She needs an 8 pound loss to be safe. 288 then, 278 now. She did it. 10 pounds. And, personally, I think it’s okay to keep Joelle in order to get Carla back. She cracked me up the second week, jumping around exercising in front of the video camera like a diva. Joelle thanks everyone for letting her stay last week.

That puts Orange and Brown under the line. I don’t like this one bit. Bob and Jillian say goodbye. One pair from each trainer is up for elimination.

Brown discusses why they are in the bottom. Both Browns are crying. Orange Dan reminds them that Brown was instrumental in keeping him there when he was in the bottom 2. Neither team is giving up, but neither team is really making their case either. Orange David is okay with going home, but he doesn’t want Dan to go home. I didn’t see David doing a lot at home. He makes me nervous for Dan. And commercial break.

It’s time to see the votes.

Pink team votes for Dan and David (Orange).

Yellow votes for Ron and Mike (Brown).

Purple votes for Orange (because her mom is her partner and she doesn’t want to send home another parent-child team.)

Black team votes for Brown because Dan pushes him. Good reasoning there, too.

Green is “pissed off” at Dave. Why does he not want to be here? Dan has pushed and worked and how dare he not take this chance seriously? So she votes for Brown to keep David in the game. Appropriate outburst. David (at-home-Orange) doesn’t like feeling trapped on the ranch.

Silver votes for Orange. No reason. Not surprised, Joelle.

Blue has the deciding vote. Felipe explains that he misses his family, and that he feels trapped too. He has so much more to miss, but he’s here so he can live longer with his family. And he votes for the Orange team.

Dan and David are going home.

Dan talks about his pride – the mountains he’s climbed, how fast he can run. David knows he can do it at home. Dan wants to do it for himself.

Dan started at 454. He is running on the track for 19:50 now. He’s checking in with his doctor. She is incredibly pleased. He doesn’t have to take his diabetes medication anymore. Yay Dan!  He’s lost a total of 101 pounds!

David started at 393. He’s just “trying to stick to it.” He’s quit smoking. That’s good. David has lost 46 pounds. He’s talking lots of smack for the finale.

Next week: the at-home peeps weigh in the beginning. Brown Son fights to stay.

We missed you FB! See y’all next week!