It was the penultimate episode of this season of The Biggest Loser, and, as usual, it seemed to go on forever. I swear, this episode seemed to last longer than the rest of the season put together. And you know what? Next week's finale is THREE HOURS LONG. Jebus, give me strength.

But this episode featured each of the remaining four finalists going home for 30 days to lose weight on their own, and I have to say, I've really been hating how the show's producers have been exploiting Max, Ron's other son and Mike's brother. Obviously, their entire family is very large, but Max is 16, meaning he's too young to compete on The Biggest Loser. There have been a few times in the past weeks when Ron and Mike have been able to go home or see their family, and Max has been understandably upset at realizing that he's essentially being left behind, as far as weight loss goes. And The Biggest Loser is milking this for every last drop, constantly focusing on him being upset and these "The More You Know"-style conversations between Mike and Max, where Mike promises to help him when he gets home. This would be uncomfortable to watch anyway, but it's even more awful when you realize that Max is in high school, and that the people in his school must have been brutal and relentless after these episodes aired. I cannot imagine Max has had the best time in the last few months because of The Biggest Loser. (I know it's too much to ask that The Biggest Losers producers be a little mroe sensitive to issues of embarrassment, but come on! The kid is 16!)

Last night's episode was no different, with Bob coming to visit Mike in Michigan - he brought Max to the gym with them and literally worked the poor boy out until he vomited. And Jillian, who I usually love, had the most cruel moment of the night, when she was looking at Mike (who has lost 164 pounds in the last five months) and Max (who has not) walk side-by-side on the treadmills.

"It's like a before and after picture!" she exclaimed.

That just seems really heartless and wilfully ignorant of the humilitation they're putting Max through. Sure, he may have competed on The Biggest Loser had he been old enough, but he's not. So he's being exposed to the "BEING FAT IS DANGEROUS AND EMBARRASSING" edit that the show gives everyone, but he's not getting the benefit of losing weight like the actual contestants do. He didn't sign up for the show; his father and brother did. Sure, he probably signed a release to allow NBC to air footage of him, but what was he going to do, refuse to spend time with his family when they come home after a long time away? The whole situation just makes me incredibly uncomfortable and I hope the kid either gets on The Biggest Loser when he turns 18 or gets a lot of help from Jilliand and Bob.

After a really stupid idea for a challenge (after the 30 days at home, the contestants had to finish a marathon, like, HELLO INJURIES), it was time for the weigh-in, and I was surprised to see Mike fall below the yellow line with Ron. (I knew Ron would fall below the yellow line, both because of his physical limitations and because he probably backed off the exercise to give Mike a better chance of getting into the finals.) So now it's up to viewers to vote for which of them makes it into the final three, and I'm fairly sure it will be Mike, simply because he's so darned likeable. Ron wants his son in the finale, too, but because Ron has been such a manipulative jerk for the whole season, part of me wants to vote Ron in just so I can be like, "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" but, like I said, Mike is just too sweet for me to feel OK with crushing his dreams.

Still, I'm predicting that Tara will take home the big prize  - and, as annoying as I find her drama queen behaviour, I have to admit she kind of deserves it. She is a force to be reckoned with, that girl. She's won almost every challenge and has never fallen below the yellow line at the weigh-in. She may be a little self-centred, only speak in sound bites and have a constant "PAY ATTENTION TO ME BECAUSE I'M GOING THROUGH SUCH A HARD TIME" attitude, but you can't argue with the fact that the girl has literally worked her butt off in this competition, more so than anyone else. But if the finale is, as I predict, between Tara, Mike and Helen, I think I'll be fairly satisfied with any of them winning. Which hasn't happened in a while.

What did you think of last night's episode? Who are you voting into the finale, Ron or Mike? Who do you think should win the grand prize? Post your comments below.