TVSquad

Now that the show is over, I'll finally admit it: I've been a closet fan of this season of The Biggest Loser, at least since the early stages. I seem to take pleasure in the irony of watching it with my fiancee while we eat ice cream (low fat ice cream, but ice cream nevertheless). Anyway, the show is at once exploitative and inspiring, showing people losing cartloads of weight in order to give them back the fulfilling lives they lost as they packed on the fat. It also gives viewers a chance to decide which of the trainers -- Jillian or Bob -- is most manly.

(By the way, my money's on Jillian there. She's attractive, but she scares the living crap outta me.)

But what seems to happen between the last challenge and the live finale is that the finalists tend to go from healthily thin to scarily emaciated, all in the name of winning the grand prize. And, after taking a look at this year's winner, I have to ask: Is this healthy? And will it cause problems down the road?

Next week is the season finale of this run of The Biggest Loser. But before we can get there, they had to perform the hardest task of their entire lives; a full 26.2 mile marathon. All this while spending 30 days at home. But this isn't the going home before the finale trip. This 30 days culminated in another weigh in before the finale. And the revelation that only three of the final four would be competing for the quarter of a million dollars.

I've really found myself enjoying the gameplay this season, especially the Ronfather's maneuvering to keep his son Mike in the game. The fact that he somehow managed to keep himself in the game to this point is equally astonishing. In fact, considering his extensive injuries and the sheer number of times he's fallen below the yellow line, I think we need to give him credit for being one of the shrewdest players in the game. But let's look at all four of our finalists.

For five weeks now we've watched Joelle (left) at The Biggest Loser ranch. She makes odd expressions, stands in silence a lot when asked a direct question, and when she does respond it seems like she's just trying to use ten-dollar words and catchphrases. But she just strings them together haphazardly, creating nonsense. She never really answers anything. I've seen a lot of different kinds of people in real life and on reality shows on television, and I just can't wrap my brain around this woman.

Clearly she has motivation problems, as evidenced by her continuing lack of effort (except for one week) on the show. Poor teammate Carla was reduced to screaming at her during what was supposed to be a beneficial reward for the both of them. Even Bob completely lost his cool and yelled at her; the first time he's ever lost it with a contestant. I suspect that Joelle's defense mechanism when she's attacked is to shut down, not unlike what a deer does when yon headlights shine into its eyes. It makes her come across very oddly on my television screen.