Stepping Up

The Biggest Loser had the nerve to have a cliffhanger episode but Tuesday's show was worth the wait.

Tara won the pop challenge which had the contestants squatting with a six pound weight on their legs. In the end, Tara was about to give up but her eyes never betrayed her. She had that Jordanesque stare. You know the game (Bulls vs. Blazers, 1992 Finals, Game 1) when Michael Jordan was in the zone. He was hitting so many baskets that even he shrugged his shoulders.

The main BL challenge was at 24 Hour Fitness. It was a relay in which team members had to swim the length of the pool and collect twenty four 6 lb weights, carry the weights up the steps, crawl under an obstacle course, run back and forth down a basketball court and do 24 squats at one end of the court. The stronger Black Team barely won.

The prize? Twenty four hours of luxury. And luxury was almost The Black Team's tragic downfall. They smoked, drank tequila and ate calorically heavy food, including chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and fries. Their trainer, Jillian, was furious when she finally got out of them what they had done. During the Black Team's evening of luxury, they consumed 15,563 calories vs. 1,612 consumed by the Blue Team who remained at the ranch.

During the weigh in, Tara i.e. Wonder Woman lost no weight and broke down. She couldn't believe that she had folded to temptation so easily. The Black Team barely won the weigh-in.

Then, it was time to decide who was going to be voted off the tribe. The three original Blue Team members were going to stick together and send Mandi home but Aubrey saw how devastated her sister was and volunteered to go. Laura, from the Black Team, had an extra vote. The plan was for Aubrey, Mandi and Laura to vote for Cathy which would make for a tie since Ron, Cathy and Kristen planned to vote for Mandi but Mandi had something else in mind. She voted for Ron; so, there was no three-way tie. Mandi threw herself under the bus to give her sister more time on the ranch.

It's time for me step up and be the big sister, Mandi said. It was a very touching moment and it made me remember something that Venus Williams said after defeating her sister Serena in the 2008 Wimbledon Championship. A broadcaster noted that Venus' tone was subdued and she said that, yes, it was great to win but she also took her responsibility as a big sister seriously.

During her time on The Biggest Loser Ranch, Mandi shed 66 pounds. In her exit interview, she said I want everybody to know -- you have it inside of you.

Here's a video of the new Mandi.