Originally aired on Wednesday, 11/15/2006
Episode Rating: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)
Episode Overview: The girls participate in an acting class with Tasha Smith, in which
Caridee English makes a shocking revelation. They then participate in an acting challenge where each girl stars in their own silent film. Caridee wins but before she can celebrate, Tyra Banks tells the girls to pack their bags for Barcelona, Spain. In Spain, the girls mingle with some male models, one of whom directs some racist remarks toward
Jaeda Young. The girls then shoot a commercial, in Spanish, for Secret deodorant.
Melrose Bickerstaff and
Eugena Washington both come across lovely and fluent while Caridee and Jaeda struggle with the situation.
Episode Highlights:
- The girls hone their acting skills and Caridee shines in her own silent film.
- The girls pack their bags for Spain where they shoot a Spanish language commercial.
- Jaeda struggles to work with her male counterpart on the set and she's sent home.
Recap:
Following elimination Jaeda airs her frustrations about living with the girls and dealing with the pressures of the competition. She also mentioned missing her boyfriend, which is reality show code for, "I'm totally getting cut next."
Tyra-Mail tells the girls to get ready to meet 'Tyra's girl.' They arrive at the Los Angeles Repertory Company where they meet Tasha Smith, the acting coach who takes credit for teaching Tyra 'the crazy.' Does that make her Tyra's version of Gail? She explains that photographers are always shouting out the emotions they want their models to convey emotions that need to be produced at the drop of a hat. She brings all the girls onstage to perform some 'silly' acting techniques. Everyone flails around and appears to be having a good time until Tasha decides to get serious and asks the girls to participate in an exercise called Dump, in which each girl stands in front of the others and lets out exactly what she's feeling. The tears start to flow as Eugena confesses to feeling like the weakest model in the group,
Michelle Babin says she's tired of everyone questioning her commitment, and Jaeda once again complains about how her short hair makes her feel like less of a woman, bringing the running number of times Jaeda's complained about her hair to about three thousand, give or take. The scene stealer, however, is Caridee who breaks down explaining the hard times she's been through and how she's tried to commit suicide in the past.
Tasha then tells the girls that their final acting test will involve shooting their own silent movie, with the winner getting a guest spot on the CW drama One Tree Hill. The plot for this little piece of cinema verite finds each girl crying on the telephone, taking a big bite out of a lemon and chugging a mug full of prune juice. Should take top honors at Sundance next year. Tasha then tells the girls that they'll find out who the winner is soon enough.
The next day a DVD arrives at the
Top Model house containing the footage of the winning girl's film. The credits start to roll and the winner is...Caridee! The film concludes with Caridee consulting with Tyra about her boyfriend who's left her for a horse (don't ask). Suddenly Tyra, in full flamingo dance attire, bursts through the door and tells the girls they're all going to Spain. A matador then appears out of nowhere and does the tango with Tyra. It was awesome.
The girls arrive in Barcelona and a Tyra-Mail informs them they'll be picking up some passengers on their way to the villa, passengers being sexy Spanish models who treat the girls to an authentic Spanish dinner. A Tyra-Mail arrives in the middle of the meal and tells everyone that tomorrow they'll be shooting a commercial, in Spanish, for Secret deodorant, a commercial involving a steamy kiss with one of the male models. The mood soon turns sour however when Nacho (Wait--Nacho?), tells Jaeda that he doesn't like black girls and certainly doesn't want to kiss one. Note to self: guys named after products sold next to the salsa and bean dip at the supermarket are probably jerks.
The next morning Melrose wakes up early to study the lines for the commercial. She seems to be doing well with the inflections, unlike most of the others who are clearly struggling with the foreign words. Michelle also points out that today will be the first time she's kissed a boy since she was ten. They arrive on set where Jay Manuel, neckline plunging, reminds them that they'll have to speak all their dialogue in Spanish. First up is Michelle, who handles her kiss with ease but can't seem to bring any life to her words. Eugena and Melrose both deliver strong, natural ads, while
Amanda Babin and Jaeda both struggle with the dialogue. And what about Caridee, future star of One Tree Hill? Well she fumbles through her shoot, barely able to get one word out correctly, but makes up for it by nearly inhaling her male model come kiss time. So yeah, Sophia Bush's job is safe for another week.
At panel, Eugena and Melrose both get high marks for their ease in front of the camera while Caridee's acting challenge win does little to curb the scorn of the judges, Nigel Barker even going so far as to say he thought she looked drunk during the takes. The panel does show sympathy for Jaeda, however, once she reveals the trouble she had working with her model Nacho.
The girls return to the judging room and Tyra starts handing out pictures. First is Melrose, then Eugena, Amanda, and Michelle, leaving Caridee and Jaeda in the bottom two. Tyra tells Caridee that in order to be a Covergirl she'll need to perform in front of the camera and the judges wonder if she can do that, while also wondering if Jaeda maybe needs more time to develop as a model. Tyra hands the last picture to Caridee, eliminating Jaeda, proving once again that nothing kills your chances of winning a reality show faster than mentioning your boyfriend.
--Scott K.