America's Next Top Model

Originally aired on Wednesday, 10/11/2006 Episode Rating: ** (2 out of 5 stars) Episode Overview: With Monique Calhoun gone the drama in the Top Model house turns to Melrose Bickerstaff and Anchal Joseph. Melrose questions the validity of Anchal's body issues while Anchal thinks Melrose is a know-it-all. The girls then compete in a contortionist challenge in which they must stand on pedestals and model in awkward poses. Eugena Washington wins and takes home a ton of jewelry. During the photo shoot, the girls are asked to recreate early 1900's freak show characters. CariDee English, A.J. Stewart, and Eugena all give freakishly good photos, but Megg Morales and Jaeda Young can't seem to get their freak flag flying.
Episode Highlights:

• Sparks fly between Melrose and Anchal
• The girls pose as circus freaks for their latest photo shoot
• Megg breaks down during panel and is eliminated

Recap: The girls grieve over Monique's sudden departure...nah, just kidding, they're all thrilled because they (along with the rest of the known world) couldn't stand Monique. Of course with Monique out of the picture the question remains, who will take her place as house b***h. The spot is filled, ironically enough, by Monique's ex-nemesis Melrose, who seems to have taken a page out of Lisa D'Amato's playbook from Cycle 5; she means well, but doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. Meanwhile, Jaeda and Anchal both confess their insecurities. Jaeda's still not sure how to work her new short haircut while Anchal reveals that a lifetime of being the short, stocky girl with braces has left her hyper-sensitive about her looks. Tyra-Mail tells the girls they'd better be ready to "bend over backwards for fashion.�? This sounds painful already. They head to an art gallery where they meet Stacey McKenzie, professional model and judge for Canada's Next Top Model, which I guess makes her the maple syrup version of J. Alexander. She introduces contortionist Jonathan Nosan, who teaches the girls the, ahem, twists and turns, of extreme modeling which involves bending your body into awkward and physically challenging positions (as opposed to X-Treme modeling which involves bending your body into awkward and physically challenging positions while bungee jumping off the side of a cliff and chugging an action sports drink from a neon green can). He has the girls switch into their best Eighties aerobic gear and work on some poses. Anchal in particular surprises the group with her flexibility much to the chagrin of Melrose, who doesn't know how to respond when the spotlight isn't on her. Later that night, Melrose questions whether Anchal's sincere about her body issues or if she's just using that as a front to gain sympathy. Anchal (on a smoke break, no less) overhears Melrose talking trash and runs into the bathroom crying, bringing the tally of girls crying in the bathroom to three for those of you keeping track at home. The girls enjoy a special dinner with America's Next Top Model judge and fashion icon Twiggy. She talks to them about the importance of finding their own unique look and that there's no one right way to take a great photo. Her words ring true for everyone especially Melrose, who loves Twiggy for changing the standard of modeling because her mom and dad lived in England in the Sixties and she loves Twiggy so much, loves her, loves her, loves her--Oh shut up brown noser! The girls meet with designer Bao Tranchi who says their next challenge will be to model her new line while standing on pedestals using the extreme couture poses they recently learned. The girls hit the runway, err, platforms, and start striking their best twister poses. Eugena manages to look both compelling and graceful and is awarded thirty-two thousand dollars worth of jewelry for winning the challenge. Back at the Top Model house the girls sit down with Tyra Banks for an Oprah, oops, I mean Tyra Bank's Show moment. She asks the girls to each describe a fear they have about being in the competition. Melrose talks about possibly being too old to model, while Anchal finally lets out her frustrations with the other girls in the house. She says she never had friends growing up and as such never really believed she was beautiful. Tyra-Mail tells the girls that models aren't always perfect; sometimes they're freaks of nature. I foresee a ton of black eyeliner in someone's future. They travel to an abandoned carnival where Jay Manuel explains that today's photo shoot is inspired by the freak show circuses popular in the early 1900's. Brooke Miller is the rubber girl, CariDee is elephant woman, while Michelle and Amanda Babin portray sisters of the Siamese variety (cause they're twins, geddit?). During the shoot, A.J., Eugena, and Melrose all shine as the cannibal, the bird lady, and the old woman with a young body, while Anchal, Jaeda, and Megg struggle as the giant lady, the strong woman, and the bearded lady. Afterwards, Megg comments that once she starts thinking about her photo, she's like a plane crashing. Come to think of it, Megg's been speaking awfully out of character (read: coherently) this week. I'm suddenly very worried for her. The girls arrive at panel who praise A.J. for her savage cannibal and the Sisters Babin for being convincing, um, twins (they have had a lifetime of practice, you know). After seeing her lackluster shot, Megg breaks down saying she has so much to give but hasn't been able to translate it to a photo yet. Following deliberation, the girls are called back and Tyra starts handing out photos. First is Caridee, then Eugena, A.J., Melrose, Michelle, Anchal, Amanda, and Brooke, leaving Megg and Jaeda in the bottom two. Tyra says that both of them have a lot of potential but each week they fail to deliver. Tyra hands the last photo to Jaeda saying she's getting one last chance. Megg thanks the judges for the experience and tells the remaining girls to rock on without her. --Scott K.