(S09E09) This was a very emotional week for the contestants. Remember when O'Neal thought Sunshine had been eliminated, and the producers made him wait until the last possible moment to see that she was still there? They were at it again this week with Daris, only the news wasn't so good. Why they can't just let the first person in say, "Sorry, bud," and put him out of his misery, I don't know.

Actually, I do. It's good for ratings. Also good for ratings is a sexy chef, which is why they brought Curtis Stone back for a food-themed week. Even the blatant product placement in-show commercials were food-based, covering avocados, milk and a silent shout-out to Subway.

There were two challenges this week, and I'm going to go ahead and spoil right here that the black team finally won a challenge, though I won't tell you which one -- or if it was both. It was a much needed boost of confidence for the team, coming off of that brutal weigh-in loss last week on top of all those challenge losses.

(S09E08) Poor O'Neal. Apparently, nobody clued him in to who the vulnerable members of the blue team were going into last week's elimination. That meant he could sit there at the house a completely and total emotional wreck for the cameras to zoom in on, fretting that his daughter Sunshine had gone home. How much do you want to bet a producer outside asked the blue team to go into the house with Sunshine last to up the emotional drama.

Gotta wring out those tears however they can!

This week it was all about wringing out sweat in double-time, as Alison dubbed it "Work Week." Contestants had to add an eight-hour-a-day job to their regular exercise routine for one week to give them a taste for what it will be like for them when they get back out into the real world. But first ... why don't you pull that semi?

(S09E03) The theme this week at the Biggest Loser Ranch was apparently anger. The first part of the episode focused on the Green team. Migdalia, the daughter, does a great job of bottling her emotions, thinking of tears as weakness. But those defensive walls almost prove her undoing. I thought her anger issues would be all we might get, but by the end of the episode, there was anger, bitterness and resentment flying all around.

Alison lets the contestants know that this week will be Student-Teacher week. One teammate will be the teacher, and will be the only one training with Bob and Jillian. The other teammate will be the Student. The only training they'll receive will be at the hands of the Teacher, and only the Student's weight will determine which team falls below the yellow line.

After that, she threw an Immunity Challenge at them that had more twists and turns in the way it played out than it did in what the contestants were actually doing.