Thursday, March 24, 2011

It’s a Jungle Out There

Last time on Top Model: Alexandria was a bitch. The models hit a fiery runway, but sadly no one was even singed let alone burned. Dayla won the challenge but Kasia, Sara and Hannah were the worst of the worst. So they had to walk home. Next, the girls had to film a commercial for Fierce Roast Coffee in a Mad Men-inspired spot. Kasia, Hannah and Jaclyn were considered the best while Sara and Alexandria fell into the bottom two. Despite being pushy on the set, Alexandria was kept over Sara, who just didn’t believe enough. Nine girls remain, who gets the designer boot tonight? Find out!


Wanna be on top?

LA! The girls return home to see Kasia’s screen grab. She celebrates in confessional. Dayla admires the picture but thinks she can be a strong competitor herself. Dayla has experienced LA fashion week and doesn’t think the other girls understand how big this is. Meanwhile, Brittani lets off steam about her poor panel comments and Alexandria can’t believe that the director thought she was doing his job. We cut back to Tyra’s comments as she gave Alexandria her picture and Alexandria says she’s just this laid back, positive girl from California.

Really?

TYRA MAIL! “Every good lesson starts with a good foundation.” The girls ponder while Molly deals with her new weave. She has a rash on the back of her head and is just uncomfortable. As she complains, Alexandria screams that someone took her towel. She said she left it on the edge of the tub and wants to know who took it. No one says anything and Alexandria decides to go passive-aggressive. She says she’s hardly said two words to anyone since coming home and Hannah points out that Alexandria has given a monologue. As Alexandria compliments (?) her on her vocabulary, Mikaela and Monique talk in hushed tones in the bathroom. Mikaela comments that Alexandria isn’t doing what the judges said in panel and Monique bets that everyone is going to get into the confessional and complain about Alexandria.

Okay, girls, let ‘er rip!

Brittani: Obnoxious and annoying.
Hannah: Maybe she’s bipolar?
Kasia: “Severe psychological issues”
Jaclyn: Is scared of her.
Monique: “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera”
Dayla: Attitude will defeat her. (This not done in confessional but at the kitchen table)

The girls meet with Mr. Jay as COVER GIRL is emblazoned in the background. She reminds them that one of their prizes is a contract with Cover Girl. Today, they will do a “get the look” video on the Cover Girl website. Vincent Oquendo, makeup artist, details their challenge. They will split into teams of three and assigned a look. Today, they are shilling for Nature Luxe by Cover Girl. After they film their presentations, Mr. Jay will pick the winner. And those winners will be on the website.

Team 1: Kasia (Writer), Brittani (Director) and Mikaela (Talent): Red Carpet/Evening
Team 2: Jaclyn (Writer), Hannah (Director), and Dayla (Talent): Bold Eyes
Team 3: Molly (Writer), Monique (Director) and Alexandria (Talent): Daytime/Casual

Molly and Monique realize that Alexandria starts to take over and roll their eyes. She wanted to mention surfing but not be bossy. Molly gives up as Alexandria essentially starts to write the commercial. The others work better than team 3. Monique tries to direct Alexandria, but she shoves her off. The other two confront her and Alexandria says that they should do their jobs. But Alexandria wasn’t letting Monique do her job! Alexandria starts to act like a diva. Surprised? Didn’t think so.

Commercials.

We come back to the tensions between Team 3. Monique tries to cheer Alexandria up like a good director does.

Team 1 goes before the camera. Mikaela starts and keeps messing up. Mr. Jay likes her look and smile but not her cursing. Brittani keeps up the energy. At the very end, she gets a shot. Team 2 starts with Dayla talking to the makeup artist. Hannah has a little headset and looks adorable. Jaclyn comes in to remind her to say the entire name. She gets it but Dayla can’t seem to be engaging. Time ends and Team 3 goes up and can Monique can’t say the word “awesome” enough. Brittani notes that Alexandria is taking over again. Mr. Jay praises how Monique remains calm and collected, which is the energy she needs. Especially with temperamental talent. They get their take.

Mr. Jay loves Team 1’s relatable feel and how Mikaela was talking to someone at home. He didn’t think Team 2 was super-informative. Mr. Jay points out that Alexandria was doing Monique’s job but when she could do it, Monique rocked it. Team 1 won the challenge! Yay! All three of my favorite contestants won! Brittani hopes that Mr. Jay tells Tyra about how Alexandria behaved on set so she can go home.

TYRA MAIL. “Tomorrow get ready to take a walk on the wild side.” The girls are hoping for animals.

Dayla knows that she blew the challenge but says she’s not going to panic yet. She’s going to focus on getting through the competition. Meanwhile, Alexandria calls her boyfriend. She reveals that her parents divorced over abuse and that Alexandria feels the need to protect her siblings, who are adorable. She says she had to grow up fast. As Alexandria talks, the girls wonder what she thinks about them. Monique suggests looking at Alexandria’s diary. No, no, no! I’ve kept a diary since I was a young girl, though only really faithful since I was 15. And I would never like someone to read my diary. And I’d like to thank my track team and my old coworkers for never reading my diary though you had the opportunity to do so. You never read someone else’s diary. Never.

Monique yells that it’s bad as we go to commercials.

When we come back, Monique says that Alexandria writes that she’s misunderstood. In confessional, Monique wonders if she should tell Alexandria and Molly tells her no.

They arrive at the LA Zoo the next day and Mr. Jay jumps out to welcome them. They will be transformed into fashion versions of animals. And their photographer is Baldomero Fernandez. He tells them to let their wild side come out. And they will be wearing pieces from Rachel Zoe’s faux fur line and she’s going to be their next guest judge. And she’s having a baby! The girls hit makeup and hair. As Molly wonders how they will handle her hair, Mr. Jay introduces the girls to a baby jaguar. He will be posing with them. Monique isn’t thrilled; Alexandria is one step below Elmira from Animaniacs.

Hannah is first, acting like a mama jaguar. Mr. Jay loves it. Brittani is next and Mr. Jay loves her. Mr. Jay tells Mikaela to model through as it’s not coming across. Kasia never had a pet and has trouble with the baby jaguar. And with the shoot. Uh oh. Jaclyn is next and Mr. Jay loves how she’s almost a lioness. Dayla follows and Mr. Jay isn’t thrilled with her poses. He calls it “Model 101”. Oh no, Dayla. Run for the hills! She cries that she knows how to models as Monique gets her turn with the jaguar. She doesn’t show she doesn’t like cats. She impressed the photographer. Molly has trouble keeping the jaguar still and Mr. Jay asked for the animalistic passion. Alexandria is last and Mr. Jay tells her not to treat the jaguar with a baby. He tells her not to get to “hoochie.” The jaguar growls at her so she barks in reply.

That’s a wrap!

Dayla talks about how poor her shoot was. Jaclyn asks if Alexandria got any comments by Mr. Jay but she refuses to say anything. Molly tries to deal with her new hair. She says she hopes that Alexandria goes home as we go to commercials.

Backstage, Tyra greets Rachel Zoe. Rachel says she dressed up for Tyra while Andre loves how Tyra smells. The girls enter and there are prizes. There are judges: Nigel and Andre. And the guest judge is Rachel Zoe. Tyra says that designers used to have the power in the fashion world, but now the stylists have that power. First up is Jaclyn. Nigel calls it stunning while Rachel is surprised to hear her voice. Tyra calls her hand positioning “freaky.” The panel loves Mikaela’s shoes. Nigel likes how he goes straight to Mikaela but the rest is wah-wah. Tyra tells her to add tension to her body. Molly is next and Tyra decides to give up on the weave. She promises to take it out if Molly survives. Nigel and Rachel aren’t thrilled and Tyra calls her asleep. Monique is next. Andre thinks Monique got upstaged by the baby jaguar.

They applaud Kasia for being part of the challenge win. Nigel calls it “80s” and Rachel says the fur adds to that. Tyra reads Mr. Jay’s comments and says this was a luck shot. Tyra praises Dayla’s look and Nigel thinks that Dayla looks like she is ready to cry. Dayla says she wanted to give them a good picture and Tyra says she has to give herself a good picture. Brittani is amazing. Andre calls her a wealthy, in control woman and Tyra wants the coat. Nigel praises Brittani for selling the garment. They think that Alexandria’s picture is made by the jaguar and Rachel tells her to watch her hand. I’m not sure if she’s getting a positive review or a negative one. Andre loves how relaxed the jaguar looks in Hannah’s arms and Rachel is blown away by her picture.

Commercials!

The judges deliberate. They love Jaclyn. Rachel doesn’t like Alexandria’s picture and Tyra says it’s just an ugly-pretty face. Nigel loves Mikaela’s eyes. Tyra attacks Nigel as her Mikaela stand in. Nigel rattles off a list of Molly’s problems. Andre compares Monique to a vampire. Rachel calls Hannah an “iconic” photograph. Rachel admits that she thought Kasia was cheap, but she could do editorial in the shot. They love Brittani’s shot.

ELIMINATION! The first person called is Hannah. She is joined by: Brittani, Jaclyn, Monique, Alexandria, Kasia, and Mikaela. That leaves Molly and Dayla in the bottom two. The girls approach Tyra and get the whole spiel. Molly: Hair trouble, but can’t blame it all on the hair. She’s delivered with a bad weave. Dayla: Stunning bone structure with experience. But she might be too desperate and stands in her own way. So, who stays? Molly. I’m glad, just because I want to see how they fix the weave this time. She tells her to bring the beauty inside of her.

Tyra then hugs Dayla. She tells her that she has experience but she needs to find the strength inside. Because the real world is more crazy than Top Model.

She says it’s a horrible feeling that she won’t get to show what she has to give and she got in her way. She’s embarrassed, she says, but proud. She was in the top 9, after all.

America’s Next Top Model:

Alexandria
Angelia
Brittani
Dalya
Dominique
Hannah
Jaclyn
Kasia
Mikaela
Molly
Monique
Nicole
Ondrei*
Sara

*Contestant walked away

And so Dayla leaves. I think she was the last contestant of color in the program! Shocking, usually at least one makes it overseas. I’m waiting for the house to explode. I hope it does—should be fun! Otherwise, did I miss the skull and crossbones? Did they just skip it? ‘Cause I had a good one of it. Oh well…

Next week: Tyra teaches the girls how to handle their public. And then lets them loose on said public!

Quote of the Episode:

“Grab onto the handlebars of fierceness and not let go.”—Tyra’s advice to Mikaela.

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