The Top Model makeover episode is still, more often than not, one of the highlights of each cycle. It may not have the same initial trainwreck-y type of fascination to it than it did during the show’s heyday, but you can usually count on the episode to produce at least one major breakdown and at least one impressive transformation. Depending on what goes on during the makeover episode, a cycle can be made, undone, and flipped completely upside down, confidence issues and perceived favoritism tending to be the leading culprit. The girls that come out of the makeover the strongest are the ones that take the change of direction in stride and use the different look in order to flex their modeling skills and grow before out very eyes.
Smart Girls Never Quit…or Do They?
Harvard girl Maria decided to do the complete opposite of that. Cycle 19 of Top Model added in a little wrinkle to the cryfest that is the makeover episode, in that each girl had a choice in whether or not they would go through with what Tyra assigned for them. The catch being that they had to decide before they saw what was inside the big pink envelope, with Maria and Victoria the only two that decided to keep their original look. Victoria, upon reflection, decided that she made a mistake and spent the rest of the episode trying to get back into the good graces of the Top Model gods, including wearing her hair curly each time she was around the judges, but Maria could not have cared less. Even after receiving a major league dressing down from Kelly over her inflexibility and lack of any real reasoning for not wanting to get a makeover, Maria seemed like she would rather be anywhere than Top Model, something that deeply angered her housemates.
It took the nudity-filled photoshoot for Maria to admit that her heart wasn’t in modeling and that she wanted to leave the competition. On one hand, I totally respect her for following her heart and deciding that she didn’t want to go through with this anymore – a lot of Top Model alumni have gone through an entire cycle, some even winning the entire thing, before figuring out that they didn’t particularly care for the modeling world and deciding to pursue other avenues. But on the other, Maria mentioned multiple times that she had modeled for years, that she had an agent in Boston, and that modeling had been a source of self-confidence building for a shy bookworm, so I don’t know if her “It’s not my thing” excuse holds much water. After all that time and effort, it took being on Top Model for you to come to the decision that you don’t like modeling?
Plus, she took a spot from a girl that might not have been as initially striking as herself but one that might have fought harder and took to being in the competition enough to improve greatly. The more cynical, reality-hardened part of my TV loving heart thinks that Maria was cast for her lack of passion, that the show was wanting someone to quit the competition and cause enough of a scene to get people talking once again. Well, it worked, so two snaps and a circle for you, Miss Tyra.
Oh Make Me Over
The rest of the makeovers from the acclaimed Cristophe were your typical mix of Top Model joy. There was a little bit of everything that you come to expect from an “event” episode of this magnitude – you had the return of the ice blonde makeover (Laura, who looks pretty but still doesn’t 100% pop), you had a girl that worried that cutting her hair would make her look like a lesbian (Destiny, who I root less for each week thanks to her sour-puss attitude), you had a girl with curly hair adding volume and lightening the color (Nastasia, who has the exact right attitude and modeling skill set to work her lion’s mane), you had a girl with something completely ridiculous (Kiara, who got part of her eyebrows chopped off), and you had a girl that looked basically the same (Yvonne, who could have used the confidence boost of a new look).
In terms of the other girls, Leila got highlights that drew more attention to her face, Kristin went shorter with bangs (and put me in mind of soap actress Kirsten Storms), Allyssa had her look updated in terms of sex appeal, and Brittany got a sort of retro hipster-y flip that shouldn’t work but makes her much more edgy and dynamic.
Nudity with Rob Evans
Top Model broke out the nudity photo shoot pretty early on in cycle 19, as the girls got to pose with (a non-naked) Rob in a set-up that reminded me of the top 5 shoot in cycle 2. All perched in this beautiful garden with Italian architecture and a sea of maze-y topiary, it was a sea of boobs, arched backs, and fierce eyes for the first duo shoot of the cycle, a black-and-white, high fashion-y tint to it that again put me in mind of the top 4 shoot of cycle 2.
Having a bit of trouble were Darian, Kiara, and Yvonne; Darian couldn’t quite bring the ease to her posing that the shoot demanded, while Kiara’s entire set-up (her and Rob playing ring-around-the-rosey with a gigantic plant) was not at all conducive to a good photo and Yvonne didn’t take advantage of the gorgeous curves that she has. Meanwhile, Brittany’s nerves quickly turned into an odd sort of comfort, Allyssa brought a certain amount of exotic, feminine intensity, and Nastasia got to participate in arguably the most dynamic set-up with a more action-oriented shot. The only thing that I wasn’t a big fan of, aside from my continued apathy toward Johnny, was the fact that Rob got to perform wearing clothing – I don’t need to see naughty bits flailing about or anything, but a week after the show made the girls pose as trophies, it made them show off their bodies and get uncomfortable while the male model didn’t have to do the same thing.
Panel
Bryanboy has officially joined in the panel in the fourth chair. Due to there not being a challenge this week, the elimination (or lack thereof) will be determined by the judge’s scores and the social media scores. Arguably, they could have produced a score for the makeover, i.e. how much of a transformation took place, but this is Top Model and logic is so last season.
Can we talk about how gorgeous Leila’s photo was? You didn’t get that much of her during the photo shoot montage earlier in the episode, as she didn’t produce much drama of note and got lost amid the quitting and the inept posing. But this girl is 2012 Helena Christensen – the eyes, the body language, the confidence. Her photo wasn’t quite the refined, Grecian realness that you’d think given the background and color gradient. Rather, Leila gave primal, animalistic sensuality but never let it go from sexy to trashy, keeping a sense of grace about her. Victoria surprised the hell out of me with her photo – you’d think that an awkward home schooled girl that didn’t know how to connect with anybody would turn into a shrinking violet in a nudity shoot, but she managed to exude an elegance that I didn’t know she had in her. Other photo highlights from panel included Brittany, whose hair reads as 40s pin-up in a photo and literally made me jaw drop on her reveal, and Nastasia, whose photo was a bit more physical and dynamic than much of the other girls.
Allyssa received a lot of praise, but her pose veered too close to being men’s magazine for me, while Kristin is already incredibly boring with her reliance on “pretty” and Destiny let her haircut get into her head and take away any fierceness that she had inside.
Upon the callout order, we found out another little wrinkle in the Top Model formula. Darian and Yvonne ended up being tied after their scores were calculated, which resulted in another number being looked at – the social media score. Yvonne had edged the Louisiana girl by .03 points, sending her to the elimination station currently occupied by Jessie. As was mentioned last week, the first six girls eliminated will be eligible to come back into the competition and will be competing in each photo shoot along with everybody else, but Tyra let the entire group in on the secret at the end of panel. But was it to take advantage of Darian’s tears and produce a “moment”?
America’s Next Top Model Leaderboard: Week Two
1. Victoria 34.2
2. Brittany 33.9
3. Alllyssa 32.9
4. Leila 32.2
5. Laura 32.0
6. Nastasia 28.1
7. Kristin 27.9
8. Destiny 25.1
9. Kiara 24.1
10. Yvonne 20.8
11. Darian 20.8
Thoughts, Quotes, & Observations:
-We’re all in agreement that Victoria is insane, right? I have to admit, I got a big laugh out of her “That’s not an argument. What is that going to accomplish?” rant about the inane house drama between Darian and Kiara, but all the crying fits and the harping on her Native American heritage might be a little too much.
-I was simultaneously tickled and appalled by Kelly’s “I’ll give you $10,000 for every national campaign you’ve booked” line to Maria.
-Laura’s make-up at panel was the pits. Her face looked orange-y and the raccoon eye shadow did her no favors. I liked that she tried to bring a little color because it’ll be very easy to look washed out as an ice blonde, but it didn’t work for me tonight.
-Initially, I kind of liked the introduction of social media and making the competition more quantitative, but after this episode, I think it might be becoming a crutch to get Tyra out of having to make tough decisions.
-Next week on Top Model: Tyler Perry directs the girls as they model on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica and they participate in a zombie-themed photo shoot.
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