America’s Next Top Model 10, Episode 2: There’s No Place Like Home

Whee! Here we are again with America’s Next Top Guilty Pleasure… err… um… Model. Remember that the rules of the game are for us to enjoy the show, but never reveal who else is in this secret society. The others just don’t get it, do they? Wink. We know.

First off, I have to send out a huge thank you to Jenn for filling in for me last week for the initial show. That one is difficult to recap with all the faces of people who may or may not end up on the show. Thank goodness we had a true pro in charge of ensuring you all were able to get the scoop on who made it to the show and who crashed hard. Jenn, you are this week’s Top Model superstar.

Now this show has never been credited with much in the way of editing genius, at least not in same league as Survivor, but the editors do usually have one or two things that stick out regularly. One thing I’ve noticed through the past few seasons is that almost always, the girl who is given the first confessional of the episode is normally the one who goes home. It doesn’t work all of the time, but it’s a decent rule of thumb.

This week’s opener is Marvita from San Francisco. You can remember her as the one who just missed making the cut for Cycle 9. She tells us that she’s back and excited to be there.

Token blonde Kim is up next telling us that she’s not the typical dumb blonde, but that she’s really down to earth. To prove the point that she’s not dumb, she uses the word “expecially” in a sentence.

We move on to a quick, uneventful sound bite from skinny Fatima before we move to show all of the girls gathered around a table somewhere, sounding like a hen party. They’re asking deep, probing questions about each other like, “Why are you named Amis?” I roll my eyes, yet I lean in for more.

A cute messenger boy shows up with a tube which contains a note from Tyra. In it are directions to the new house. More squealing as they check out their new pad. They find out that there are only two rooms with beds, one with a bunch of bunk beds and another with one huge bed that could hold the entire Osmond clan. That should be interesting for our male watchers, don’t you think? Well, then on second thought, probably not.

The house is peppered with pictures of past winners posing with Tyra (minus the black sheep, Adrienne from Cycle 1). Each of the winners stepped up to a cause which they supported. Remember how Jaslene became a spokesperson for abuse? So you get it.

Oh, we get another comment out of Marvita talking about how she once was homeless. This doesn’t bode well for her staying around past this first episode. We’ll see.

Fatima, the one who everyone notes is strikingly similar to one of the original supermodels, Iman, tells us that her platform is to be against genital mutilation. I can’t crack about this issue as it’s a common problem over in Africa. It’s brutal and is forced upon women in that part of the world. I can’t even imagine what it would be like. Good for Fatima for opening up her experience to the viewers.

Back to lightness, sticky sweet Atalya snitches to the cameras (highlighted with a little Tinkerbell magic wand sound) about how there is a No Smoking symbol on the doors of the apartment. She then watches as Kim, Fatima, and Aimee go outside to smoke. Something tells me that Tyra won’t allow this again this cycle.

The claws come out early as Fatima faces off with Amis (formerly Amy) about absolutely nothing. Amis is apparently rambling on about the modeling industry when Fatima haughtily tells her that some people might see her as a clown. Well, now we’ve figured out who one of the season’s villain edits will go to, right?

Just in time to break up the hissing felines are Ms. J and Jay! They tell the girls that they’re off to take them around New York City for fun. But you just know that there is probably a challenge involved here somewhere, don’t you?

Sure enough, they make a final stop in Times Square. For anyone who hasn’t been there, it’s pretty amazing. The girls are even more excited to find out that they’re there for an impromptu runway show featuring the designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who design simply stunning gowns.

Marvita leads the lineup in a beautiful red, white, and black gown. The foreshadowing fairies let us know just before she heads out that she’s worried about stepping on her gown. Sure enough, she stumbles slightly and her head is down the entire time. She’s just awful!

The next few girls do well for their first show. The gowns are just stunning on most of them. Kim comes out in a shorts and jacket outfit, but is clomping down the runway as if she’s a kid stepping in puddles to make them splash. She doesn’t even do the sort of cross-legged walk that we see most models doing. She then tells us that she doesn’t believe in spending $500 for shorts or $700 for a purse. Honestly, Kim, I’m right there with you, girl. It blows me away that people will pay that much money for stuff like that.