After the runway show, Tahlia is really upset about being covered from head-to-toe. She is sobbing and says she feels shame about her body and scars, which is one of the saddest things we've heard on
ANTM. She came into panel all proud of her scars, and one challenge in and she has lost all confidence. After the show the girls return home to the
Top Model house and begin to get to know each other. Everyone is having a gay old time talking, until Sandra butts in. Despite the fact it is only 10:30, not to mention the first night in the house, Sandra tells everyone who is chatting to shut up with their stupid conversations or take it to the living room. Everyone leaves the room to escape the evilness that is Sandra.
Early the next morning the girls receive the first Tyra Mail. The mail is in rhyme and tells the girls to go to Central Park for their first official photo shoot. While the girls are strolling in Central Park, Mr J bikes up to them in a full on spandex body suit, which is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. Ever. Celia aptly describes J's look as Robo Cop. The first photo shoot is going to be girls portraying beloved childhood games. Tyra wants to use this photo shoot to make another Top Model political statement -- that young girls are growing up too fast. Each of the model hopefuls will portray a childhood game and I'm going to give you a brief run down about each of the girls shoots as they happen.
- First up is Fo, who's game is ring around the rosie, Fo kills it. She may be short but she is a force!
- London's game is Tug of War, unfortunately London really struggles posing with the rope.
- Next up is Tahlia, who is assigned to portray a game of tag. Tahlia is super awkward and not taking direction well, this leads Mr. J to question why she wants to be a model.
- Sandra is portraying hide and seek, which is the easiest game thus far, we are positive she will hit this one out of the park. Instead, she massively fails.
- Kortnie is assigned to portray the monkey bars and she proves to be quite skilled at them.
- Aminat portrays London Bridge, and Jay says she's too ferocious.
- Allison is assigned to do double dutch, which is just mean for the most awkward girl. But she actually does really well and Mr. J adores her.
- Teyona is hopscotch, but looks like an alien playing hopscotch. We foresee this being a common thought about Teyona.
- Celia is hula hooping and is killing it-- J is impressed with how fashionable she is.
- Isabella is doing dodgeball -- unfortunately she can't pose and her arms keep blocking her face. Mr Jay says, "this photo was the biggest disaster of the day."
- Last up is Jessica who is playing jacks. Jessica is definitely relying on the pretty and doesn't do much more than stand there.
With the photo shoot over, it is time for the first elimination of the season. I am 100% certain it's Isabella who will be sent packing, but let's wait and see.
Sandra is called first and immediately criticized for her 1/3 of a runway walk. Her hide and seek photo is colorful, but boring and the judges, especially Nigel, are not impressed. We love Nigel, he is looking hotter than ever. Up next is our personal favorite, Celia. Tyra says she loves Celia's outfit, which is an ANTM first. Celia's hula-hoop shot is amazing, filled with action, and one of the best first photos of all time on ANTM. Freckled cutie Fo is the next girl to be judged, her photo is adorable but the pose makes her look too short. Aminat, goddess of tall girls, is up next and while her photo isn't as strong as I wish it was, her runway walk was the strongest of all the girls--so there is no way she is going home.
London is the first finalist to face the fashion wrath of Tyra. She says she hates London's outfit, and for once we agree with Tyra. Luckily, London's photo is perfection. It's fun and youthful and she totally found the light and the camera. Unanimous praise from the judges. The sassy Puerto Rican is up next and while Tyra loves Jessica's angles she says the photo has nothing to do with the assignment. Teyona's hopscotch shot looks super awkward to me, but Nigel is in love with it. He heaps the most praise on Teyona of any model. As we expected, Isabella's photo is bad, bad, bad. Tyra tells Isabella that there weren't many choices because her arm was continuously blocking her face in most of the shots. Prom Queen Nijah took a cute photo, but that's about it. This girl is the queen of cute, but it won't make her America's Next Top Model.
Kortnie's monkey bar photo is good, but Tyra (for once) doesn't like that Kortnie pointed her toes. What happened to modeling from the top of your head to the tip of your toes Tyra? Allison's double dutch shot is perfect, and just as I predicted, the judges are in love with her look. Tahlia is up next and her shot is worse than Isabella's. Rather than talking about the weak photo, Tyra takes this time to talk to Tahlia about how upset she was after the fashion show. Cue the sad weepy music and Tyra lecture about the "harsh reality of the industry." Last is Natalie, Tyra loves the photo but Paulina says it doesn't show her any of Natalie's potential.
It's time for the first deliberation and after seeing Isabella's photo, we are even more confident she will be the first girl sent home, though this makes us sad. We think it will likely be her and just pretty Jessica in the bottom two. The judges aren't sure about Sandra's shot and they're still pissed about her runway performance. On the other hand, Aminat was great on the runway but not great on the photo shoot, and this makes the judges wonder if Aminat is one note. Nigel isn't sure about London's proportions, apparently because she has hips.
Ha! The judges are criticizing Jessica for depending on pretty, which is what I said the first time I saw Jessica. Nigel has coined a new phrase about Teyona's alien look, "wind in the face." No one is crazy about Isabella or Kortnie's photos, but they aren't ripped to shreds either, so maybe I'm wrong. Paulina is not impressed by Tahlia's photo and wonders what is says about her chances as model. Tyra's retort is very Paula Abdul: "she's a burn survivor." True Tyra, but what does that have to do with her photograph? Paulina still doesn't get Natalie, but Nigel says he sees her potential through a poor photo.
The judges have made their decision and call the girls back. The judges were unanimous about the best photo of the night: Allison's double dutch shot. I told you, she is going to be the girl that does no wrong this year. The runner up is Fo, which is actually surprising because the judges didn't seem crazy about her or her photo, but yay Freckles! Tyra calls another ten girls and just as we suspected, Isabella is in the bottom two. Much more surprising to us is that African Evil Queen Sandra is also in the bottom two. Tyra says Isabella is cute, but was lost on set. When it comes to Sandra, Tyra tells her sternly that she was the biggest disappointment on the runway and in the photos. While this critique is harsher than Isabella's, there is no way they are sending Sandra home now. And I was right, the sad music is cued and Isabella is sent home.
During the Top Model walk of shame, Isabella keeps her head high and doesn't cry. In her first and last confessional, Isabella says "I'm a model, you get some jobs and you don't get some jobs. I didn't get this job." This is the healthiest thing I've ever head an eliminated model ever say on Top Model. So, hooray for Isabella!
And that concludes the premiere of Cycle 12 of America's Next Top Model.
Read my Exit Interview with Isabella here
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--Abbey Simmons, BuddyTV Staff Writer