Rachel Frederickson

This week, the contestants are surprised to find that the gym is empty - and the only equipment they’ll be able to use is equipment they've successfully bid on with "Biggest Loser" bucks in the show’s first ever auction, run by host Alison Sweeney. Trainers Bob, Jillian and Dolvett and the players have to get creative to make the most of their limited equipment. Later, one player opens up to her trainer about her difficult childhood, and all of the contestants re-charge their spirits with a very special treat - getting to skype with their loved ones back home in emotional, heartwarming family visits. Then it's time to head to the gym for a very emotional weigh-in. Also this week, the show catches up with season 12 fan favorite Vinny Hickerson.

"The Biggest Loser" returns with 15 inspiring contestants - including the show's first celebrity player, Ruben Studdard, an uplifting "Second Chances" theme and powerful new roles for trainers Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels and Dolvett Quince. For the first time ever in the show's history, trainers sat in on casting sessions and helped select the new contestants, and also received a "trainer save," allowing each one to save one eliminated contestant from going home. Contestants eager for a second chance to reclaim their health and re-write their futures include "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard, this season's heaviest contestant at 462 pounds, David Brown, who lost his first wife to an almost decade-long battle with cancer and is now fighting for his life so he can be there for his daughters, and Tanya Winfield, a single mom addicted to food who grew up with a teenage mom addicted to drugs, who is eager to break the cycle of addiction in her family. Also competing this season will be Olympic weight lifter Holley Mangold, hoping to get in the best shape possible for a second chance at gold in the 2016 Olympics, and Matt Hooper, who postponed his wedding to be on the show so he could give his fiancé the best physical version of himself.

The dreaded "week 2 curse" is on all the players' minds, especially when they learn that only one person's weight on each of the three teams will count at this week's weigh-in. And they won’t know who it is beforehand, only when a roll of the die at the scale determines who will represent the red, white and blue teams. One lucky group will get a weigh-in advantage if they win the first challenge of the season; a water-bucket race that ties each team’s fate together in more ways than one. Also this week, one player gets sobering health news from Dr. H, another contestant connects with a very special family member and the show catches up with one of last season's popular child ambassadors to see how they are doing now.

This week, the contestants take a pop quiz about obesity in the workplace after meeting host Alison Sweeney in a diner. The location proves significant since that's where the losing team will be working all week while still trying to eat healthy and exercise with much busier schedules. While the losing team stays busy waitressing, cleaning up, doing dishes and squeezing in workouts, they still find time to bring "treats" from their day job back to the ranch to tempt other players. Meanwhile, one trainer works closely with his contestant to determine what has been holding him back from bigger weight loss numbers, and another tries to help one player's family member get started on the path to a healthier lifestyle. Then it's time for another contestant to head home after a weigh-in that yields surprising results.

In this must-see, exciting live finale, the 15 contestants from this season return for a special reunion and a chance to weigh in one last time - and show America how much weight they've all lost since beginning their weight-loss journeys. Those who have been eliminated will compete for the $100,000 "at home" prize. Then it's the moment viewers have been waiting for, when one of the three finalists will be named this season's "Biggest Loser" and win the coveted grand prize of $250,000.

Host Alison Sweeney kicks off this week's episode with a shocker – one of the contestants is going home and taking their trainer with them, and their weight will be the only weight that counts for their team when they return in time for the weigh-in. A simple spin of the wheel determine who will be chosen among the players, who would love to reunite with loved ones but are understandably anxious about the intense pressure they’ll face trying to lose enough weight to keep their whole team safe another week. Meanwhile, one trainer brings their contestant back to a sport they once loved, and two players celebrate milestones at the weigh-in before another contestant is sent home.