Bianca set off the episode on a very catty tone.  If she wasn’t giving Kimberly misleading critiques on her runway walk (why would she give her helpful advice?), she was labeling Heather (who was getting dolled up by the other girls) a ‘pity’ case or wishing Saleisha (her biggest threat) a quick exit home.  In other words—the show started off exactly like I had hoped.

Later the girls traveled to a ‘Fashion Madhouse’ where Miss J (appropriately dressed as a ‘mad’ nurse) welcomed them.  His goal of the day was to ‘cure them’ of their fashion ailments.  The girls were told they’d be practicing their runway walk (again!).  But instead of wearing lifejackets, this time they’d be wearing straitjackets.  Parading down runways in high-fashion couture can often feel quite constricting—hence their confining tops.  Their performances, as expected, were mostly blah: Sarah needed a longer strut; Jenah had problems with her chin; and Bianca couldn’t let go of her strong face.  But Miss J did compliment Janet for her sexy strut and Saleisha for her nice gait.

Back at home, Saleisha brought her roommates’ jealousies to the surface.  The girl who once attended Tyra’s Tzone camp kept spouting off about her previous modeling experiences.  Of course, other ladies then questioned whether she should be in the competition at all.  Saleisha immediately got on the defensive and said that no one would stop her from getting what she wanted.  This immediately set off a personal argument between Saleisha and Bianca.  Bianca told Saleisha that she was ‘borderline plus-size’ (seriously?) and that she should ‘check her thighs in the mirror’.  Saleisha then accused the green-eyed monster of being young and intimidated.

The next day the ladies met up with fashion show producer, Roy Campbell.  He told the them they’d be doing a couture fashion show that day.  The girls would be judged on their walk, their movement in the constrictive dresses and their ability to evoke the spirit of the garment.  The winner of the challenge would get a future spot in designer Colleen Quen’s Paris debut.  The ladies turned out uneven performances in their tight gowns.  Bianca had a strong walk and an equally hard face; Kimberly looked ‘soulless’ in her awkward dress; Jenah kept running into her gown’s trains; Victoria looked scared and stiff; meanwhile, Sarah and Ebony managed to bump each other (deliberately?) on their passes.  In the end, Saleisha was the big winner (her 2nd challenge in a row).  Roy and Colleen thought she moved well.

Tyra wanted the girls to ‘learn the ropes of high fashion’, so they later met Jay Manuel at a climbing wall for their next photo shoot.  With high-fashion gowns and edgy makeup on, the ladies had to maneuver the wall while still looking fab.  Jenah, who was quite experienced with climbing, found the task to be a breeze.  She didn’t overanalyze the situation and embraced the creativity.  Surprisingly Lisa, who was not a fan of heights, managed to deliver beautiful shots too.  Unfortunately, other wannabes didn’t fare as well as those two.  Kimberly kept holding back and played it a bit ‘safe’; Bianca worried too much about her angles and ultimately produced ‘forced’ photos; Chantal couldn’t get control of her random leg movements; and Ebony struggled to find her focus.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the ladies later accuse Jenah of having an unfair ‘climbing advantage’...because she ended up with the best photo of the week.  The judges loved her elegant body language, neck elongation and the line of her dress.  Last week’s top girls (Heather and Lisa) moved down one notch each this time.  Placing in the Bottom Two were Bianca and Kimberly (Ebony narrowly missed a two-time showing).

The judges felt Kimberly gave off a high-fashion presence in person but delivered just a ‘pretty girl’ persona on film.  As for Bianca, all the judges (except Tyra) were still struggling with her ‘angry’ photo.  Thankfully for Bianca, Tyra apparently has a lot of pull.  LOSER: Kimberly

(You can review last week’s episode here.)
(You can read next week’s episode here.)