America’s Next Top Model 8, Episode 8 – Off To The Land Of Oz

Renee is up first (TOLD YOU!) and her accent actually sounds pretty good. A bit rough, but I like it, although, she looks a tad old to me. Jay is happy with her lines though, and she gets it fairly quickly.

Dionne is up next and I don’t think she knows any of her lines. She has no clue what’s going on, but she looks amazing. Then she has this Jamaican accent again and Jay really has no clue what to do with her.

Jael comes on set and during her lines, I have to say she looks very stiff and extremely over the top. This girl is crazy. Jay loves her energy, but feels she is struggling with the lines, and actually tells her that she is coming off as crazy. When she’s done, she climbs up a tree. This makes no damn sense.

Jay compares Jaslene to Janice again. She looks great, but has some problems with the accent. Jaslene admits that she was nervous and Jay tells her to just keep going. On the sixth take though, Jaslene nails it, and doesn’t even need the cue cards!

Brittany is up next and has issues with her lines from the beginning. She gets the cue cards but that really doesn’t help her. She’s frustrated and admits that it’s hard to look happy when your aggravated. Jay tells her that she has to overcome her baggage. Shut up, Jay!

Natasha is up last and tries to use her hands in the commercial which really doesn’t work for her. I’m not crazy about her accent either, but I’m giving her an A for effort. She does nail it though, and doesn’t need the cue cards. Jay praises Natasha, while Brittany watches from the side and looks pretty nervous.

On the way home, Jael tells the other girls that it was really hard for her and she doesn’t want to go home yet because she’s not done spreading joy to the universe. Pardon me, I just vomited. Brittany is also tearing up, and tells the girls that she did her best, and she’s not mad about that. She’s upset because five years later, she’s still affected by her accident. I genuinely feel bad for her, and I think I’ll be pissed if she’s set home.

Tyra welcomes the girls into panel, and I’m thanking God that she’s not wearing fake eye lashes this week. She reminds the girls of the prizes and introduces the judges, including guest judge Erika Heynatz. Ms. J. and those ruffles need to get a grip. I can’t even see his neck anymore! It’s time for individual evaluations, and Natasha is up first! Oh my goodness, it’s not Renee!

First, we see the commercial as a whole. The girls all look and sound great and the judges love it. Natasha gets to see her best take and Tyra loves the way she delivered it. Her poses were a bit sexy, but she did great.

Dionne steps forward and when the judges see her commercial, they feel she is struggling a little too much. Ms. J. calls her out on the West Indian accent, which it doesn’t seem like Dionne can explain. I actually love the accent though, even though it was the wrong one.

Jaslene is up next and after the judges view her best take, they think she committed to the whole thing, but was a bit over the top. Tyra tells her that she has to learn how to express her self better and remember that she’s selling a product.

Renee goes next and is a bit over the top, but I actually enjoy it. Tyra says that she sounded a bit too much like a man, and she didn’t like that she lost eye contact with the camera for a little bit. Really? I actually thought Renee had the best take of all the girls!

Jael is next and the whole thing is a mess. She admits that she had conflict trying to be so upbeat and cheery when she’s about anarchy. Nigel doesn’t seem happy at all and Tyra says that the whole thing looks fake – she has to be herself in order for the whole thing to work.

Brittany is last this week and we all know that her commercial wasn’t so great. Tyra says that Brittany is close to tears, and then Brittany breaks down, telling the judges about her accident. Ms. J. speaks up right away saying that the industry has no sympathy. What an ass. Tyra says that they know her, but people in the industry won’t be so forgiving. Twiggy tells her that the silent part was very beautiful, and I agree – Brittany looked great! Time for deliberations! Here’s what the judges had to say about each of the final six:

The judges were unimpressed by Dionne and Twiggy thinks that she forgot the whole thing. Tyra thinks that Dionne is the type of girl that after she does something a few times, she’ll be good at it.

Renee was a favorite of Twiggy and all the judges agree that she did a good job with the commercial.

The judges think Jael is crazy and would never get through the door in many modeling agencies. Erika says that she had spunk getting off the plane though and came off as the most endearing. She does nothing for Nigel.

Brittany was upset and her nerves got the best of her, but Erika says she needs a strategy to get through it. Tyra wants a little sympathy for her, but Nigel thinks she can’t take criticism. Where did THAT come from?

Natasha is breaking out of her shell, and although she’s not the best at speaking English, she rocked the commercial.

Jaslene was a bit overwhelming to Erika, but Tyra thinks that she can be pulled back and really make it work in the end. Everyone has faith in her it seems, including me!

The girls come back in the room and Tyra says there are six girls in front of her, but she only has five photos. Natasha is called first and Tyra says the other girls should be scared of her. Also, it turns out that she’s the winner of the challenge and will get to be a correspondent on Tyra’s show!

Renee is called second and Tyra tells her not to perform so much. She’s followed by Jaslene, who Tyra says did well with the commercial, but really just needs to learn how to relax. Dionne is then called, and told that she looked great, but needs to be the “real her.”

Jael and Brittany step forward. Tyra tells Brittany that she takes strong photos, but she can’t do a commercial and that scares the judges. They try to be compassionate, but can’t favor her because of the short term memory thing. Jael is told that she has had nice pictures, but presents herself on film terribly.

The final photo goes to – Brittany (Thank GOD!). Tyra says that what happened to her is awful, but she needs to figure out how to work it out. Jael gives Tyra a hug and tells her that this competition has changed her life.

Jael gives all the girls a group hug and heads out. At the apartment, she puts on her blue wig and tutu and writes the girls a goodbye note. She is proud that she got so far and will really miss the girls. Then, this is the weird part – Jael adds that she has created bonds with every girl in the house this season, and she’s the only one that can say that. What the hell are you talking about, Jael? Ugh, I’m over her. Thank goodness she got the boot. Since we didn’t get previews of next week for the second week in a row, here’s how I’m ranking the girls:

1. Jaslene
2. Dionne
3. Natasha
4. Brittany
5. Renee

Phil Kural is an office manager at a law firm, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. You can send feedback to him at pkural@gmail.com.

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