The Girl Who Blames the Taxi Driver

America's Next Top Model - Season 8, Episode 10

Previously on America's Next Top Model: The girls were shipped off to Sydney, but mean American ladies who diss your fashion choices aren't so easy to escape. Are they, Brittany? Speaking of Brittany, her Memory Issue conveniently surfaced just in time to give her a ready excuse for sucking at her CoverGirl commercial. Even more of a security blanket was Jael, who is many things, but capable spokesmodel is not among them. Jael got eliminated, and now there's nobody left to spread joy to the universe. Five girls remain. Who will be eliminated tonight?

Opening credits. The one good thing about this show being preceded by Everybody Except Limecrete Loves Raymond is that the "Where's Lunch" production company gives me a different plate of food plonked down on the table each week. Yay, fried cheese sticks!

Sydney, Australia. Opera House -- #11. On the way back to the Aussie pad after last week's elimination, the girls express amazement that they're in the final five. We're completely through the looking glass, as Renee says that it's going to be weird in the house without Jael, because she was the one that was so much fun all the time. Renee goes on to interview that Brittany used her Memory Issue as a crutch at panel (sepia-toned flashback), so it was unfair that Jael got cut. Brittany interviews (Opera House -- #12) that Jael knew she was going home, because Brittany tended to do better at photo shoots. Well, let's not forget that half the panel kind of hated Jael anyway. That probably figured into it. Back at the pad, Jael Mail awaits. And not just one, but a Jael Mail for each girl. Aw. Natasha's reads "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen". Awwwww. Renee's reads "When you win, will you loan me $1000 to pay my rent?". Hah! See, this is why Jael shouldn't have been eliminated. Or at least she should pop up on-screen periodically, like those people who used to interpret sign language for deaf audiences. Brittany's mail says something about Jael being willing to sacrifice herself so that Brittany could continue. We don't hear Dionne's or Jaslene's, which is probably for the better. Jaslene's was probably along the lines of, "So. You're...Jaslene, right? I think I remember sharing a house with you." Dionne interviews that Brittany should have gotten cut, because her Memory Issue sure didn't seem to be bothering her in the acting challenge. Thank you! Dionne is sure that Brittany is a big, fat liar. Well, a liar, anyway.

Morning. Since this is Australia, kangaroos and koalas just sort of hang out on the streets. You know, in the same way that bald eagles hang around New York City. Fittingly, the morning Tyra Mail tells the girls that there is more to "go see" than kangaroos and koalas. Ah, the go-see episode. Always an adventure. I only regret that the signs aren't in Japanese, like in Season 3. Naturally, the girls immediately know what they're in for. They're dropped at a place called Priscilla's Model Management, where they're introduced to the eponymous Priscilla and a model named Jodhi Meares, who is going to host the upcoming season of Australia's Next Top Model. Ooh, I wish I could watch that. Priscilla describes the go-see challenge, which is the same as always. The girls will split up and go meet with several different clothing designers. The designers have varying styles, so Jodhi says it will be important to be a chameleon, as far as what they're able to model. Each designer will be judging the girls on personality, their photo portfolio, and their runway walk. The only other rule is to be back by 4:30, which Priscilla emphasizes. Anyone not making it back by 4:30 will be disqualified. And since I'm sure these girls have watched previous seasons of this show, they know that there is always at least one girl who futzes around and doesn't make it. Always. So I'm sure they'll be extra careful to be punctual. Snerk.

And...go! The girls hop into taxis. Dionne interviews that the girls were given maps and the names of the designers, with their addresses. Jaslene is the first to arrive at a designer. She interviews that her strategy is to be "calm, cool, and collective [sic]." She's going to be a governmentally-controlled aggregation of farms? Well, whatever wins the challenge for you, Jaslene. She puts on a bathing suit and walks up the room and back. Possibly Lesbian Blonde Designer likes her, saying Jaslene has a good body and walk. Natasha arrives at another designer. She interviews (Opera House -- #13) that she's sexy and that she's using everything she learned. Take a look at this shot of her clomping across the room in an ugly red dress and blown-out hair. Why do the judges like her so much? What am I missing? She's not pretty! Renee arrives at Uneven Tan Designer, who would book her for a runway show, but interviews that she photographs a little too harshly. Brittany is ringing the bell at the wrong building. The camera man gets a great shot of the building's address on the front window (#15-19), then gives us a sepia-toned flashback to Brittany in the taxi, saying she's heading for #13. Nice work, editors. She wanders around aimlessly.

Dionne walks in a bikini for Possibly Lesbian Blonde Designer. PLBD loves her personality, saying she seems strong and confident. Dionne tests the waters by saying she's off to change, but that she'd really love to keep the bikini she wore. The designers give it to her. Hah! Dionne is pleased with herself. Split-screen of the girls running around. Brittany finally finds #13. Her runway walk sucks rocks, which is enough for Ill-Advised Bangs Designer to interview that she wouldn't hire her. On her way out to the cab, we hear a Brittany interview that she doesn't really feel a lot of pressure, because one designer not liking you isn't the end of the world. I'd love to know when that interview actually took place in relation to the events of this episode. Big Glasses Designer likes Renee's modeling, but also mentions that her photographs are a little hard-edged. Uneven Tan Designer tries to ask Natasha about her height as she's walking, and she doesn't seem to hear or understand. "Hello?" he asks. Dionne walks for Plucked Eyebrows Designer. She voices-over that go-sees are fun. And we know why she thinks that, don't we? She asks if she can keep her outfit, and Plucked Eyebrows Designer tells her she can keep the (hideously ugly) top. Jolly music plays as Brittany presses a bunch of buttons in an effort to get her elevator to go to level 3. Elevator: "This IS level 3! Stop pushing my buttons!" Brittany finally figures it out.

Before she enters to meet with Sunny Blonde Designer, Renee interviews that she heard Sunny Blonde just had a baby, so she sneaks a couple of pictures of Troy into the portfolio. She uses it as a conversation starter with Sunny Blonde, who beams. Renee is a genius. Brittany goes in to meet Possibly Lesbian Blonde Designer. She interviews that she's not bad at small talk, but doesn't want to indulge in too much of it, because this is supposed to be a professional setting. Makes sense, though I doubt awkward silence is what she was aiming for. Too bad, because that's what she gets (as the editors pipe in soothing lounge music -- they are on fire this episode). Jaslene impresses someone. Uneven Tan Designer hates Brittany's walk, which is, indeed, abominable. Strange. She didn't have any problem with it several weeks ago. I know, maybe she got hit by a snowblower when she was 15, and it crippled her ability to walk. Sometimes. Dionne meets with Sunny Blonde Designer, who has a cute dog in her studio. Sunny Blonde doesn't care for Dionne's posture. We don't hear how this affects yet another mooch attempt on Dionne's part. Jaslene peeks in on Renee impressing a designer with her walk. Uneven Tan Designer loves Dionne's confidence. As she returns a dress, he kids that he thought he'd see it hanging out of the back of her pocket on the way out. Hehe. Did the other designers call and warn him?

Plucked Eyebrows Designer thinks Jaslene is young and fresh. The hat Jaslene is wearing is incredibly ugly. That and Dionne's top is enough for me to suggest to any Aussies that they studiously avoid Plucked Eyebrows' shop. Plucked Eyebrows says that Natasha was too sexual and flirtatious. Natasha gives her a hug we know is unwelcome, thanks to the scratching record sound effect. Dionne says she has an hour left, so she'll hit one more designer before heading back to Priscilla's. I'm not sure which one it is (possibly Ill-Advised Bangs), but she shuts down Dionne's mooch attempt. Zing! Possibly Lesbian Blonde Designer thinks Renee has a great body for swimwear. After that, Renee heads back to Priscilla's, not wanting to risk being late. Brittany asks her cab driver how long it'll take to get back to Priscilla's, and he guesses fifteen minutes. Brittany: "OK. I'm going to go over to Cooper [Street]." Once there, she wanders around, looking for the designer. She can't find it, and tells herself she should have stuck with the cab. Jaslene makes a mad dash for an elevator, and heads for Priscilla's. Renee and Dionne make it back. Jaslene gets into the cab with about nineteen minutes left. I know the editing isn't giving us a complete picture of what's happening when, but if the cab driver says it takes fifteen minutes to get to Priscilla's, and Brittany finally finds the designer with nineteen minutes left, I don't know why she just doesn't head back now. She rushes through the go-see (with another atrocious walk), then walks back out to the street, and looks around for her cab driver. She says that he's "obviously" not there to meet her, like she "asked him to". She's freaked. Natasha and Jaslene ride in their cabs. Nine minutes left.

Commercials. Surely, I can't be the only one completely charmed by the Orbit gum woman.

We're back. Sydney's train system looks really cool. Brittany makes it back to her cab. She interviews that she asked her driver to meet her on Cooper Street, and he "obviously didn't listen". She gives him some shit when she climbs in, and the driver points out that she never asked him to go meet her. The sepia-toned flashback backs him up. Yes, she mentioned she was going to Cooper Street, but she never arranged for him to pick her up there. The only thing that's missing here is a nice "wah-wah-waaaaaaah" sound. Or possibly a foghorn. Natasha interviews (Opera House -- #14) that she wanted to meet with as many designers as possible, but that it's really important to be back on time. Jaslene frets in her cab, thinking that she maybe should have skipped the last designer. A cab pulls up to Priscilla's at about 4:28. It's Jaslene, who hauls ass across the street to make it, leaving her camera crew in the dust. Sweet. The three girls who made it back gleefully count down the final seconds, and then time is officially up. Renee high-fives Jaslene. Priscilla and Jodhi come in to greet the girls. Natasha runs up to the door, being 90 seconds late at most. Renee tells her she didn't make it, and Natasha smarms that she did. Priscilla tells her that being even a minute late can cost a model a job, which is complete bullshit of course, but in terms of a reality show challenge, it's only fair for her to be disqualified, which she is. Ouch. Priscilla asks her to wait outside, and Natasha takes her loss with good grace, meekly agreeing. She interviews (Opera House -- #15) that she would have won, had she not been disqualified. I'm not sure I'm with her on that one, though she's far cheerier about being disqualified on what was essentially a technicality than I expect anyone to be, so kudos for that.

Brittany arrives, murder on her face. Priscilla is congratulating the three girls who made it back. Brittany runs up to the building, and Natasha shakes her head in frustration, like "Give up the ghost now." Brittany starts pitching a fit to Natasha, yelling that she asked her driver to meet her on Cooper Street, and he didn't "fucking show up". BZZT! Liar! She flings her portfolio to the ground. Keep in mind that she and Natasha are just standing on the other side of a door from everyone else, so Priscilla and Jodhi can hear this entire tantrum. Brittany continues yelling about how this sucks because it's not her fault; it's her driver's, because she asked him to meet her over there. BZZT! Liar! Awesome. I wish I could watch Brittany watching this episode now. Priscilla tries to talk to the other girls, but all she can come up with is "Umm...", because the entire group is raptly listening to Brittany go into hysterics. Outside, Natasha says "I just want to tell you that sometimes, people have war in their countries..." Hahahahaha! Poor Brittany can't ever just cry when she wants to. Priscilla still can't address the girls, as Brittany's freak-out gets louder and louder. Brittany again bemoans her dumb driver not doing as she asked. BZZT. Liar! Natasha tries to tell her to calm down, and Brittany screams in her face not to tell her not to be upset, and she can be upset if she wants to be. Renee is heartily enjoying this. Priscilla: "I assume Brittany knows she's disqualified, as she hasn't come into the room." Hahahaha! I have to give this episode some sort of A, just for this scene, no matter what comes after it.

After Brittany subsides into a sulky silence, Priscilla can finally give the girls the comments from the designers. Renee had great personality, but photographs too hard at times. Renee nods, all "Yep. Heard it before." Dionne also had great personality, but needs to work on her posture. Jaslene had a great body and walk, and had the best overall feedback, so she wins her first challenge. Her mouth splits into a huge grin, and she "Oh my God!"s all over the place. Jodhi tells her the prize is a photo shoot on top of Sydney Harbor Bridge. I'm fairly sure I've seen teams bungee-jump off that bridge on The Amazing Race, but can't remember what season. Jaslene gets to pick a friend to share in the prize, and she chooses Dionne. Dionne gives her a hug. Priscilla tells the three girls that all of them did a terrific job. Jaslene thanks her and Jodhi. Priscilla sends them off, no doubt glad as hell to get out of there. As the girls leave, Natasha asks if she can hug the winner. Aw. She congratulates Jaslene. Brittany explains what "happened" to Renee. BZZT. Liar! Jaslene interviews that Brittany's just full of excuses. I wondered for a bit where this annoying, responsibility-deflecting Brittany came from, but then I realized that she was pretty much top of the pack until last week, so she didn't have anything to make excuses for. I guess she's one of those people who falls apart the second they're not in first place, or gets the slightest bit of criticism. In any event... BZZT. Liar! The other girls opt for feeling way sorrier for literally-one-minute-late Natasha.

Clouds gather over Sydney Harbor Bridge. Jaslene and Dionne climb to the top. They're a little nervous, but enjoy the panoramic view of Sydney. Too bad the weather's not a bit nicer. When they reach the top, they see that Nigel is the photographer. He congratulates them, and tells them they'll have some fun. Opera House -- #16. The shoot itself is rather boring, though the pictures come out well. Opera House -- #17. Back at the pad, Tyra Mail awaits. "Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Can you rock each planet? Half of your picture-perfect future is in my hands." Hmm. The girls begin to try and puzzle it out. At first I thought the girls would be dressed as aliens. Come on, you know it'll pop up at some point. Dionne jumps to the same conclusion. She interviews that girls sat around for half an hour, trying to figure out what their photo shoot would be. Each of the girls repeats "can you rock each planet" over and over like a mantra, trying to penetrate its meaning. Brittany thinks maybe Tyra will be dressed up as a man (huh?) or that Tyra herself will be the photographer (ah!). Jaslene jumps on that immediately. "Yes! 'In my hands!' She has the camera!". Well done, girls. Now about the planets... Renee is nervous, interviewing that she wants to impress Tyra with everything she's learned. Plus, "she's also a judge. She's also THE judge." Yep, Renee knows which way the wind blows on panel. Twiggy, Miss J, and Nigel may just as well sit up there and say "blah blah blah blah blah" for how much their input matters.

Commercials. I'm all for scented candles, but once you design your entire living room around them, you're officially over-invested.

Crack of dawn. Ick. The girls wander out onto the beach to meet OJ. ICK. He explains that for today's photo shoot, the girls will be taking one shot as if to appear in a women's magazine, and then another shot that would be suitable for a men's magazine. He tries to surprise them by hinting at Tyra being the photographer, and the "yeah, we've beaten you to the punch" faces the girls give him bring me such great joy. Tyra jogs out, and seems a bit disappointed when the girls don't freak. She asked them how they figured out she'd be the photographer. The Girls in my Mind: "Because we're not as idiotic as CariDee." The Actual Girls: "Your Tyra Mail." Renee interviews that she's excited to have Tyra on set. Renee knows where to butter her bread. Tyra will only be shooting the women's magazine shot, so the girls have to look "soft and beautiful". Then they can be big whores for the men's magazine shot. Oh, and speaking of men, the girls won't be posing alone. Male models! Maybe not in drag this time! "Are you all ready to be shot?" Tyra asks. The girls assent, so Tyra whips out a gun. OK, not really, but that'd be a change of pace.

Hair and makeup. Brittany asks for help putting an earring in. Huh? Granted, I don't know jack about jewelry, but do women ever need help putting earrings in? Weird. Hair extensions are put in, which Brittany doesn't mind, as long as they're not permanently attached. She doesn't need another Weave That Destroyed Tokyo trying to implant a brain slug into her head. She's up first. Her male model is kind of bland. Tyra gives her several posing directions. After the shoot, Tyra interviews that Brittany seemed nervous, like she was holding back. Dionne's up next. Her male model is better looking than Brittany's, and has the very porny name of Brad "River" Rope. Dionne interviews that she feels more comfortable posing for Tyra than for other photographers. Tyra gives her a lot of direction as well, including one to not look so mean with her eyebrow expression, given that Dionne's face is strong already. Tyra interviews that Dionne needed too much direction. I don't quite understand that criticism, because it's up to the photographer to pose the shot. Jaslene's turn. Her male model is skinny and pale. Not my type at all. He has a handsome face, though. Tyra interviews that she couldn't pick up a connection or "vibe" with Jaslene. Jaslene interviews that it took her a while to relax, but once she does, Tyra seems happier with the shots. Renee gets into the water, which is extremely cold. Her male model is cute, though I don't care for his particular tattoo. She does a great job, and Tyra loves her. I don't think I've ever seen such an evolution in this show from Bitch to Contender. All the other Bitches were just...bitchy. Natasha bores me, as usual. Tyra thinks she'll have some nice shots, aside from the ones where she stubbornly purses her lips. Natasha interviews (Opera House -- #18) that getting compliments from Tyra makes her feel like a top model.

Time to flip sides, from the magazines that tell women they're far too fat and can never satisfy a man to the ones that tell men they're nothing without a slutty sycophant (who would be female, of course) and lots of expensive toys. Tyra says the most famous models are the ones loved by both sexes. The girls will have their makeup retouched, then be photographed by a man named Michael Omm, who's wearing a kicky hat to appear fashionable, but which hilariously sticks out like a sore thumb at the beach. Makeup montage, then back to work. Jaslene is first. Now that Tyra has left, OJ feels free to speak. Good doggie! He thinks Jaslene does a great job, and Jaslene loves herself some compliments. Dionne. Having picked up some language from his Mistress, OJ tells her she's starting to look mean instead of sexy. How fortunate that his opinion and Tyra's coincide! She does seem to give softer shots towards the end. Renee is looking forward to her shots, saying sexy is "one thing [she] knows [she's] good at". OJ says that she looks stunning. She looks good with longer hair. Brittany starts off kind of clinical and cold, but relaxes into her later shots. Natasha doesn't have any such false starts. Who would have thought that the mail-order bride could do so well at faking sexual arousal? Wait, don't answer that. Natasha thinks (Opera House -- #19) that this has been her best shoot to date. OJ tells her she did well.

Back to the pad with you skanks! Tyra Mail announces the upcoming elimination. Jaslene interviews that she'd like to see Renee go home, because Renee is hungry for the money, and looks old. Ouch. And "hungry for the money"? Is Jaslene is in the modeling competition to help leukemia-stricken children? Dionne is wearing her "I VOTED FOR DIONNE" T-shirt. Hehe. She has absolutely no idea how the judging will go. Brittany picks up a giant sandwich, which gives me great hopes, then dashes them to pieces when she abandons the sandwich without partaking. Hey, girls at home! Whatever you do, don't absorb food! Whitney would have eaten it. Brittany interviews that doing well at the photo shoot may put her back into the judges' good graces, so she doesn't think she'll be in the bottom two again. Fate can't take such blatant tempting, and starts preparing her bow and arrow.

Commercials. I am ravenously curious to know how that Bella & Birch stuff works.

We enter the Chamber of Doom on a picture of Tyra in her "women's magazine" pose (sitting cross-legged on the beach with her arms splayed awkwardly in front of her) and her "men's magazine" pose (taking the "on your mark" position with her butt sticking out). The girls enter. Prizes. Judges. The guest judge is Priscilla. She probably thinks Brittany's two seconds away from leaping over the table and attacking her. To the evaluations! Brittany is up first. She's asked what went wrong at her go-sees, and to her credit, she opens with the fact that she didn't leave herself enough time, but has to ruin it by talking about her "extenuating circumstances". BZZT. Liar! Sepia-toned flashback to her screaming fit. Priscilla tells her she should probably learn to control herself, because people can be turned off by tantrums. Brittany, and I'm sure this will comes as quite a shock, so prepare yourself...starts crying and whining, about how she was frustrated because she did so poorly last week. Tyra tells her that none of the designers would book Brittany for a show. Not a single one. Oof, that's got to hurt. Tyra is surprised, because Brittany tends to take such strong pictures. Twiggy ascertains that Brittany wasn't a sniveling mess on her go-sees, and can't understand why nobody wanted to book her. Tyra guesses that something about Brittany just didn't click with the designers. Way to reach a conclusion, Tyra.

Now, to the photos. Brittany's "man" shot gets praise, especially for her strong eyes. She does have strong eyes in that shot, but I'm not liking whatever she's doing with her mouth. She looks like she just got done sucking a lemon. Tyra is particularly impressed, because Brittany's got such an innocent, "ethereal" beauty, which usually wouldn't translate into a dirty hooker shot. The judges like her "woman" shot as well. Yeah, this one looks better. She's giving a very serene face, and I like the way her leg is extended. OJ thought that her male model outshined her, which is patently untrue, but it's OJ. Can't expect competence from him. Tyra says that Brittany can't let that happen, because male models are supposed to be accessories in this type of shot. She apologizes to Nigel, who used to be a male model. The fact that they don't flash some of his old shots up on screen is criminal.

Natasha. Her "lateness" is brought up as well, but Priscilla says that she handled it very well. Natasha grins. Shot of Brittany looking sour. Natasha's "man" shot is typical Natasha. That is, the judges love it, and I don't understand why. Her lips are pursed unnaturally, and her hair doesn't look good. As if she heard me, Tyra says that this is the one time it's OK to purse your lips like that (presumably, the "Hey, male reader! I so want to give you a blowjob right now!" look). And blast it all to the depths of hell, the judges like her unimpressive "woman" shot as well. Her nose looks huge in that picture! Karl freaking Malden would be, like, "Damn, what a schnozz". Tyra says that the one problem is that Natasha does "the turtle" a lot, which is when she hunches her shoulders. Jaslene. Her challenge win is mentioned. Her "man" shot is all right, but she's got a large swath of hair blowing in front of her face, which means that my eye wants to be drawn to the male model, rather than her. Tyra and Nigel feel that her eye contact overcomes the hair. I disagree, but were that hair out of the way, it would be a really strong shot. Her "woman" shot certainly emphasizes how skinny she is. The judges love it. It is good, but I have to say that my favorite thing about it is the cloud cover in the background. I don't know, Jaslene certainly photographs well, but she kind of bores me.

Dionne. Tyra again brings up her tendency to look mean. The "man" shot is showing, and I have to say, she doesn't look any meaner than any of the other girls. Isn't smoldering at the camera a plus in the "man" picture? Miss J asks for three poses right there at panel, and Tyra declares all three of them mean. Which they pretty much were. Dionne giggles, and says she didn't realize she was doing that naturally until the judges told her. Her "woman" shot is taken to task for the strength in her face, since her male model looks far more serene than she. Tyra also criticizes her for her tendency to need too much direction. Then she tells Dionne that she needs to listen to her photographer. Um. So... "Dionne, don't rely on other people to tell you what to do. And while we're at it, make sure to listen to your photographer!" So articulate, that Tyra. Renee. Her "man" shot looks great. She has terrific eye contact with the camera, while still interacting with her male model. She's also really making the most of her non-existent butt, which Tyra appreciates. Her "woman" shot is equally good. Her arms are gracefully clasped above her head, and I don't know how she arches her back like that without a great deal of physical pain. Priscilla loves it. Tyra loves how Renee accentuated different parts of her body depending on which shot she was modeling for. The girls are dismissed.

Commercials. I sincerely hope my skin's pores aren't composed of sighing women draped with towels.

Deliberations. Opera House -- #20. Natasha has "got the whole package", apparently. Still not seeing it, folks. Brittany is photogenic, but nobody likes her. Miss J points out that it's the first time ever on this show that a girl failed to impress a single designer. The judges seem puzzled over her lack of personality, and Tyra points out that no matter how good your pictures are, if you can't get hired, you may as well not exist. Twiggy thinks Jaslene is the opposite of Brittany -- warm and lovely. Well, I wouldn't go that far. Tyra admires Jaslene's versatility. Dionne's photographs are the weakest this week, and she's starting to revert to looking like a mallrat at panel. Priscilla thought Renee was too "commercial" at first. Tyra agrees that Renee has the ability to make money, but fears that she'll always be a "catalog" girl. I really hate that criticism -- models are either commercially accessible or they're runway-friendly. They're rarely both. I can't envision Kate Moss shilling laundry detergent anytime soon. Plus, it's enormously unfair to consider a commercial look as a detriment, when a big part of this competition is the ability to work well with tweeny magazines and a cosmetics company. The winner won't exactly be strutting the runways of Milan, so knock it off with the "Oh, she'd look good in a catalog, but that's it" bullshit. Anyhow, Priscilla does say that Renee really changed her mind with her wonderful photographs, so "good on her" for that. I love that phrase. The judges reach a decision.

Elimination. Five girls, four sets of photos. Jaslene is called first this week. She smiles that huge Joker grin of hers, and good God, I could put a basketball through her hoop earrings. Natasha is safe. Renee. Will Dionne and Brittany please step forward? Brittany has taken consistently beautiful photographs, but has the personality of a sponge. Dionne's pictures have been "nice", but not as strong as Brittany's, and she needs far too much coaching. I'm convinced Brittany's photographs are strong enough to save her, but I'm wrong, thank goodness, and Dionne gets her photographs. Tyra cautions her against being "too strong", and tells her to soften it up a bit. Brittany gets a hug, and Tyra tells her to work on learning how to get jobs booked. Well, I guess that's nicer than "try not to have such a sucky personality". Oddly, the girl who cried every time someone looked at her cross-eyed is remarkably stoic as she hugs the girls goodbye and leaves. In her final interview (Opera House -- #21), she says she has a lot to work on. She's shocked by how emotional she got, because she's usually not like that, and didn't know how to handle it when it happened. I can buy that. As she says she's happy for the experience that a lot of other girls would be happy to have, we see her portfolio. It's good. She closes by saying that this was a great opportunity, and a lot of fun, except for the Weave That Destroyed Tokyo. She may have left that last part out. Back to the Future fadeout.

Next week on America's Next Top Model: Aboriginal history. Fine, as long as it's not as depressing as South African history. Body paint. Natasha gets sick, and misses out on a night out with the girls, during which Renee hopes Natasha gets eliminated. You and me both, sister.

Overall Grade: A-