Biggest Loser: It's about second chances. And third chances. And...

Our Biggest Loser correspondent, The N&O's Michelle Aldrich, gives us her recap of last night's show.

Last night's episode opens with the black team stunned by the most recent elimination: the blue team allowed Tracey to stay? Uh, yeah ... Raleigh native Tracey is again weeping that she hates being in that position. Shay excuses herself and says to the camera, "I'm tired of everything being about her." Us too, Shay!

Next everyone's in the gym -- including Tracey, who has FINALLY received medical clearance to work  out. Bob reminds his blue team that they MUST win the weigh-in and failing that, the week's challenge.

The contestants are led to a torchlit beach (is this SURVIVOR?) where Alison instructs them to dig in a pile of sand for a box containing a key, but they won't know the prize until they're done. Blue wins tickets home OR they can give the tickets to the black team. Family men Rudy and Allen are so tempted to have a week at home with their wives and kids but agree that it's too risky. So we next see members of black team reuniting with their families around the country. Mr. TiVO observes that it's two extremes: the contestant is either greeted by banners, balloons, and seemingly every relative/neighbor/coworker for miles around (i.e. Abby, Amanda, Daniel) OR they're met by their spouse and child sans hoopla (Danny, Dina, Shay).

So the blue team is in the gym with Bob, who couldn't be more delighted that his team stayed on the ranch. They have total control over their food, the kitchen all to themselves, and no drama from the black team.

The black team is shown struggling to balance gym time with family time, eating in restaurants, cooking at home, and fielding the occasional phone call from Jillian. Dina takes her son to the gym with her and is horrified by the food she used to eat at a favorite Mexican restaurant. Shay's bummed when her husband and stepsons order out like they always have, with no regard for the knowledge she's shared with them. Danny tears up at the sight of old photos his wife brings out. He feels like he's starting to uncover the old Danny, the guy she married. Awwww. The family dynamics are so interesting to watch. You can glimpse who's most likely to get the long-term support and which families are going to make some lasting changes.

Back at the ranch, Bob plugs the nutritional benefits of milk and later takes his team to the LA Food Bank where they volunteer for a few hours. And the black team at last returns -- just in time for the last chance workout!

Jillian finally gets her long-awaited, tearful "breakthrough" with Daniel from Willow Spring. His baggage? When he was growing up and his Mom expressed concern about his weight (attempted to guide his food choices, etc.), he reacted defensively, shut down and binged. (I'm not good enough, she doesn't love me as I am, yada, yada, yada.). He sees now that his Mom loved him all along. Let the healing begin!

The weigh-in started with the blue team, who remained on campus all week. Did it pay?

Allen = 8
Rebecca = 5
Tracey = 4
Liz = 4
Rudy = 14 ("Rudy is a viking!" I told Mr. TiVO)

The black team needed to lose an average of 7 pounds per person. But they were away from Jillian and their controlled environment. As Tracey said, "Did ya eat some cake? I hope ya did!"

Amanda = 6 (A great number for her - esp at home!)
Shay = 5
Abby = 4
Dina = 5
Danny = 15 (Yeah Danny!)
Daniel = +1 (Uh-oh.)

Since his overall weight loss isn't all that great (comparatively) and he doesn't distinguish himself in challenges, I was thinking they'd send Daniel home. But that guy is providing mega-emotional support to his teammates, and they saved him in the elimination room.

So Dina (who rightly pointed out that Daniel has had MULTIPLE chances over the course of TWO seasons) was eliminated. I'll miss watching her. The subsequent video of Dina at home showed her working out but with her son and getting a makeover. Nice! Her weight loss is progressing, so hopefully she'll be a contender for the at-home prize.