TVSquad

(S08E10) This week, as usual, The Biggest Loser knew how to manipulate the audience's emotions. They even did it with a live audience, as Tim Gunn and Tabatha Coffey gave the contestants makeovers and then pushed them onto a stage to give a speech about their journey, both before the Ranch and since.

As always, the makeovers are a lot of fun, and a great reminder of all the amazing work these contestants have done in reshaping their lives and physical appearance. The prize for the most dramatic transformation goes to Rudy, though I thought Danny spit-polished up quite nicely. All of the ladies were lovely, but I didn't really think Rebecca's new hairstyle worked, and in fact I thought it framed and hid more of her face than her old 'do.

Sometimes you don't realize who the dominating personalities are in a game until they're gone. The one-two punch of Shay and Daniel leaving last week really left us with an odd final six. The real surprise for me is that Amanda has managed to hang in there and make it as far as she has, despite week after week of moderate weight loss. At this point, I'm thinking she's a candidate for being dragged to the finals because they figure she's not much of a threat.

With the episode shortened by 30 minutes, you finally get to see that despite being two hours, these episodes of The Biggest Loser are pretty fleshed out. We got the makeover, a challenge, and a fast last-minute workout. Rudy dominated the challenge, but got a surprising second place showing by Amanda. The girl is, after ten weeks, finally starting to come into her own.

She did it again on the scales this week, dropping a stunning nine pounds and coming in second, behind Rudy of course. Am I going to have to start rooting for Amanda? I've already made up my mind to root for Danny. He's such a genuine and decent soul, and he's really getting his life back in an impressive way.

Plus, even though I know it's a game, I still find myself a little bothered by the more aggressive players. Rudy is a game player, as I mentioned last week, but he lost even more credit this week when he gave the goofiest rationale for getting rid of Rebecca over Liz. When they were in colored teams five weeks ago, she would talk to the other team ... so he couldn't trust her. He also couldn't bring this up to anyone before this moment?

Did Rudy just make that up because he didn't really have a good reason, or is he perhaps a grudge-holder? More than likely, it was just strategic gameplay. In DC, Rebecca proved to be his toughest competitor, and even though she had an off-week, she was way more likely to give him a challenge in the future than Liz. Plus, by having an off week, she might even stand a better chance of kick-starting a great weigh-in the following week.

But speaking of great weigh-ins, how amazing did Rebecca look in her "Where Are They Now?" segment? Of all the contestants we've seen, and I realize we're closer now to the finale so we're going to see closer to their final results, she's the only one who actually looks like she's never even been heavy. She has truly taken a monumental step in reclaiming her life, and she looks absolutely stunning now. And ready to conquer anything, if that half marathon is any indication.

[Watch clips and episodes of The Biggest Loser on SlashControl.]