Oh, of course she did. Tyra is nothing if not dependable in terms of dishing out drama, artificially heightened controversy and unnecessary angst. Given the opportunity to axe a critter on the very night that being cut would wound the critter the very most, Tyra almost couldn't help herself.
Of course, I figured Brooke wasn't long for the ANTM world. But I still figured Jaeda and Eugena would go before her. I mean, look at that photo. Eugena is physically on a (strangely drape-y) sofa with Fabio, but mentally, she's standing before a white board, listing her competitors in the order of how much she hates them. Right now, she's thinking, "CariDee? Or Anchal? Or...Melrose!"
Speaking of whom, I have no real gripe with Melissa Rose for this episode. She really is quite good at this whole modeling thing and she didn't pat herself on the back too hard this week. Instead, I'll reserve my "Oh, for God's sake"-ing for Jaeda and Brooke.
Jaeda: It's hair. It'll grow back. You know what won't grow back? Your chance to impress the fashion industry folks you meet during this competition. Get the hell over yourself, do some work in the mirror and turn out a good photo already. Or start packing your bags for next week.
Brooke, bless her heart, is a really young 18. When I think about the stuff I was doing at age 18 (I was a sophomore in college, living 1500 miles away from my parents and doing all kinds of inadvisable shit), and then when I think about the stuff actual models do at age 18 (which is exponentially more wild than anything I could have thought of), I think it's just as well that she's out of the competition. Honestly, if you're feeling all kinds of weird over holding Fabio's fully-clothed tree-trunk leg, you're in no way ready for the coke-fueled orgy aspects of the industry. Mind you, this could be a big act on Brooke's part, pretending to be all Patty Simcox so her parents and the world at large need never know what a freaky Rizzo she truly is. But the fact that she makes a perky zombie makes me think the good-girl persona is real.
And while I feel bad for her about the whole "I got cut on the night of my high school graduation" angst, I'm pretty sure than in the next few years, she'll realize that it's not that big a deal in the larger scheme of things, and go on to much grander stuff. At least I hope so. But I think it would help her to get some miles on her, to dive into life outside the pep rally, to stretch her limits and even fail magnificently at a few things. So I guess her ouster is a double-edged blessing: she wasn't ready for the industry (nor do I think she's a good model) and she might grow some from the experience of trying something and very publicly failing at it.
Now, let's talk about some actual models. The night's real star was, of course...
Fabio! By all accounts, he's a very sweet guy with a good sense of humor about his public image (and an advocate for animal welfare, yeaaa!). And his feedback on the critters was quite kind, even when he voiced concerns about them.
Of course, Fabio recognized the quality right off the bat: "CariDee was brilliant." Yes, yes she was. I was a little irked to hear Tyra say that CariDee might want the Top Model win too much. Dammit, woman, didn't you cut someone just last week for not wanting it enough? Do you think maybe that might be influencing CariDee's enthusiasm a little bit? I should just start fuming Tyra's name in the same tone that Jerry Seinfeld exclaimed "Newman!" every time his nemesis ruined something. Tyra!
Look at that. She even rocks the zombie look. But then, so did Eugena. In fact, this is the best photo I've seen of her. (I really think it comes down to the eyes with her. They're empty whenever the camera flashes, but the contacts hide that really well.)
(I don't want to even think about the trauma of combing out that weave, though.)
And speaking of eyes and contacts, the twins are losing me, and I think it might be because so many of their pictures involve semi-closed eyes. Either a direct look at the camera is pretty rare for one of them, or their best photos are the ones with no eye contact -- but is that a good sign for an aspiring model? Also, their body language is just painful in some shots, especially when they have to pose with anyone other than each other. Look at these shots and tell me you can't feel the awkward from here.
And knowing Tyra, she'll cut one of them pretty soon and then pester the other about how it feels to be continuing in the competition without your twin. She'll probably axe Amanda first, both because she's not that good of a model and because of the irony of Michelle being the tagalong twin who turned out to be better at modeling. I predict a lot of tears over the next couple weeks and several cries of "Tyra!" from my couch. Which is neither strangely drape-y nor adorned with Fabio.
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