America’s Next Top Model 9, Episode 10: Go-Sees and No-Sees

Previously, the girls arrived in China and took it by storm. They hung around with martial arts experts for their challenge, where Bianca was disqualified because of her fear of heights. Heather fumbled during their Cover Girl commercial shoot, but it was Lisa’s dwindling confidence that hit rock bottom and had her sent home. We’re down to five, so let’s see who is getting the boot tonight, shall we?

It’s nighttime, and the girls are at the hotel. Bianca asks Heather what she was thinking when she was in the bottom two, and Heather comments to the camera that she knows it was because of her bad commercial. Bianca says they didn’t bring up her being fed the lines so much, so it wasn’t a big deal, while Chantal comments to the camera that Lisa shouldn’t have gone home because if it was her who was fed the lines, she’d be in hot water. So true, but I like Heather, so I’m not going to come back at her.

Heather says that commercials aren’t her strong point because of her disability, but she did try. Meanwhile, Jenah tells the other girls that it’s not a modeling competition anymore, but a personality contest. She says she was in the bottom three last time because the judges didn’t see personality, but that’s not her – she’s sarcastic and funny, not off the wall like Saleisha, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have a personality. Bianca just tells the other girls to pack their bags, since she isn’t going anywhere. That’s when the Tyra mail arrives and tells the girls they are going on go-sees, and all the girls are psyched.

The next day, the girls arrive at PT Models and meet Susan Yang and a successful Chinese model. They are told to go out and meet clients. Saleisha is happy and says that this is what being on the show is about. They are told to show their walk and personality, as Heather comments that she’s not great with first impressions. There are five designers to see, and the model who impresses the most will win the challenge. They get their portfolios and are told to be back no later than 6:00 p.m. The Chinese model tells them to be confident, and they are on their way. I can’t wait to see who is late and disqualified!

So the girls head out to their cars, and they each get a translator as well. There are now six hours, and we see Saleisha arrive at a designer’s studio right away. He’s not crazy about her and thinks she is pretty, but dull. Saleisha wasn’t “on,” in my opinion. Heather says that she likes her translator and he’s good, but when she is let out in the area she can’t find the studio. Jenah is frustrated, too, as Chantal finds a designer. She looks good in the sheer dress, but she is not wearing the right kind of underwear and you can see it right through the dress. She thinks the designer was harsh on her. Bianca is at a designer who is watching her do a runway walk. The designer thinks she was friendly and had a lot of character.

Chantal gets to another and does her walk. The designer says that she would book Chantal for a print ad, but not a catwalk. Heather is still lost and Jenah finally gets to a go-see. The designer doesn’t think she cares about her personality, and Jenah makes that quite clear. All the girls are running around and Heather is still lost. She knows that Tyra is going to be pissed. Helen Lee, one designer, says that she would book Saleisha. Finally, we see Heather find a designer, who tells her about eye contact. Heather has none, and really doesn’t impress. The designer says she felt Heather was beautiful, but her walk was really bad. I agree.

Jenah is with another designer and is told that her walk is terrible – it’s too forced. Jenah just brushes it off. Saleisha finds the next designer and Bianca is there. Saleisha doesn’t tell Bianca that another designer is right up the steps since only one girl will win. Bianca gets back to her car and finds out Saleisha didn’t tell her. Chantal has now arrived at the same designer and finds Saleisha kissing butt to the designers, which Chantal ends up doing as well when Saleisha leaves. I love it!

The girls all now realize that time is running out, so Jenah decides to head back. Heather is still lost and only saw one designer, but decides to head back so she’s not disqualified. Saleisha gets back with 15 minutes to spare. Jenah is driving and passes Heather, who now can’t even find her cab. Bianca makes it back with about six minutes left, and she and Saleisha are the only two to make it. They are told that they will wait for the others even though they are disqualified, and we see Jenah arrive 15 minutes late. Chantal is 20 minutes late and Heather is 40 minutes late – yikes!

Out comes Susan to give them critique. She says that Jenah, Chantal, and Heather have all been disqualified, and Bianca and Saleisha will find out who will be the winner later, after she speaks with the designers. Heather whines about being late on the way home and Saleisha tells her not to be so hard on herself. In the van, the girls do a group scream, but Heather looks confused. I sort of love it.

That night, the girls get to go out on the town for dinner. They arrive at a restaurant and look out on the harbor, which looks absolutely beautiful. Susan Yang appears and is there to tell the girls who the winner is. She says Bianca lit up the room and had great photos, but came off a bit nervous. Saleisha had a great personality with the designers, but they felt her pictures were all the same. The girls look out into the harbor to see a boat with a billboard for the 2008 Olympics, and it has Bianca on it – she won! All the girls scream and Bianca says she is ready to be called first at panel – that’s her goal.

The girls get home and read their Tyra mail, which says they will have a photo shoot tomorrow. Heather knows that she needs to nail it to stay. We see the girls arrive at their shoot and Jay is there to meet them, along with (surprise, surprise) Nigel Barker, who will be their photographer. Jay says that they learned about standing out in a crowd on their go-sees, so that’s what they’ll be doing for their photo shoot this week. In the shoot they will be accompanied by dragons and lions, and will need to stand out from all that is going on around them. Now, it’s time for hair and makeup!

During hair and makeup, Chantal comments that it’s important now, more than ever, to stand out. Jenah is being sarcastic with Nigel while she’s getting ready and you can tell he’s not happy about it. Bianca and Chantal trash her in their trailer and say it’s unprofessional. I think I have to agree – you don’t want to get smart with one of the judges! [Associate Editor’s note: See: CariDee in Cycle 7. Write your apology letter now, Jenah!]

Jenah says that she’s not intimidated by Nigel, but when she gets to the set she knows she has to impress him. Thing is, Nigel tries to tell her how to pose and move and Jenah doesn’t even seem to care, thinking that he’s messing up her flow. Jay doesn’t think that Jenah delivered today, since he didn’t see a spark. Jenah is concerned because she didn’t get much critique. Uh oh!

Saleisha is shooting next and I have to say she looks amazing! She works with her angles and Jay thinks that she is really turning it around and becoming more confident. I think so, too – she did a fantastic job and I loved her poses. Bianca heads in and I think she looks terribly ghetto – I’m still not crazy about the hair. Jay feels that she is looking too mean in her photos and I’d have to agree, as much as it pains me to agree with Jay. He seems mildly pleased with her shot, but I’m not hearing rave reviews.

Next is Chantal and Jay thinks she’s posing like Diana Ross. Jay feels she is forcing it, but when she turns it around and gets a compliment, she laughs and breaks her pose. Finally, we have Heather. Her dress is amazing and she says she’s going to wing it. We see her get out there and Nigel tells her he wants a multitude of posing. Jenah is on the side talking about how she could work that dress but Nigel yells over that there’s too much noise coming form the peanut gallery. Jay isn’t crazy about Heather this week and doesn’t like that she’s second-guessing herself. He doesn’t think it was her best, but really wants her to learn and change.

Once home, the girls get their Tyra mail that says someone is going home tomorrow. Bianca isn’t nervous at all and is ready for panel. Jenah says that she’ll sweat bullets if she’s in the bottom two since she knows there’s a good chance that she might be going home this week. I tend to agree!

Tyra greets the girls at panel, reminds them of the prizes, and tells the girls that the final four will take a flight to the capital of China – Beijing! That’s actually pretty cool! She introduces the judges, including guest judge, PT Modeling president Susan Yang. Chantal is up first. They go over her being disqualified from the challenge and then look at her photo. Twiggy really likes it, but Ms. J. isn’t sure about the one hand. Nigel says that she gave too much emotion when she was given a comment. Tyra loves the photo, though, so I think it’s safe to say that Chantal won’t be going home this week.

Bianca is next and they announce her as the challenge winner. They look at her photo and Tyra loves the body language, but thinks she was dead in the face. Nigel says that she tried different things but wasn’t fluid at all – he’d like for her to relax a bit more.

Jenah steps forward and they discuss her disqualification from the challenge as well. The designers liked her portfolio but felt she was messy in person and not very personable. They scan her photo and Twiggy says that the shot is great. Nigel says it’s a great photo but her sense of humor is too sarcastic and comes off as arrogant. I think this is so funny because all of a sudden this is coming out. We’re in what? Week ten? I love when the judges seek out a reason to destroy someone they don’t want to win. Tyra tells Jenah that she’s on a fine line and that they see her as being bored.

Saleisha steps up and they say she was second on the go-sees. The designers thought she was beautiful and had a great personality. Nigel loved her photo this week and says she was the most fun to shoot. She was charming and tried different things. Tyra thinks that it’s one of her best and all the judges agree.

Finally, there’s Heather. They talk about her disqualification as well, as everyone gasps when they find out she was 40 minutes late. They note that the designer that she did see felt her walk was awkward, and she does a little talk to impress the judges. Ms. J. thinks that she needs a “Top Model ass-whooping.” They look at her photo and Twiggy didn’t even know it was her. They think she looks mysterious, but Nigel says that she didn’t give him a lot to work with since she was so stiff. Now it’s time to deliberate, and here’s what the judges have to say:

All the judges like Bianca and her photo, except for Nigel. He says it was his least favorite of the bunch this week and didn’t like that he had to work with her so much.

Heather’s look is loved by all, and the judges think America would love her. However, they don’t feel she can communicate and Nigel felt she was disconnected from the camera.

Saleisha was confident and slightly edgy for Ms. J. Tyra loved her photo this week and really feels like Saleisha is turning into an edgy model.

Chantal is missing something for Ms. J. and they all feel that she needs more confidence since she has no clue what she is doing. Tyra is just happy that she passed her little test while posing and not being distracted.

Jenah wasn’t so great this week and Nigel was turned off to her. Twiggy says that Jenah thinks she is being funny, and Nigel says that her personality is getting away. Tyra thinks that she is coming off as cocky and acting like she doesn’t need the help. I’d have a agree, to be honest, but Jenah has actually grown on me.

The girls come back in. There are five girls there, but only four will get photos. The first girl called is Saleisha, who Tyra tells she has come a long way and looks great. She pulled it off and made her proud. Saleisha is followed by Bianca, who Tyra snores at when she takes her photo. She wants more life in the face from her. Chantal is called next and is told to hold it together, and when she is given a comment, to celebrate on the inside and not mess up her stride.

Jenah and Heather step up. Tyra has only one photo, and the girl who doesn’t get one is going home. Is that how this show works? Tyra says that both have the strongest photos of all the girls in the room. However, both are struggling with their communication. Heather can’t make it to a go-see, so Tyra wonders how she is going to book a job, and the judges have no clue where she stands in the industry. Jenah has amazing photos, but her attitude turns the judges off. The final photo goes to… Jenah! I’m shocked! Tyra says that during casting there was girl that was so vibrant, and to bring that girl back – they are looking for fun and sweet! Jenah says that she will be that girl, and I still have to pick my jaw off the floor!

Tyra tells Heather that she is so proud of her and she came so far. She tells Heather that hopefully America will see more in her than what the designers in China did. I think they have – she’s always the Cover Girl of the week! Heather hugs Tyra and the other girls and heads out.

As she packs her bags she says she wanted to win and knows she could have done this. She went in thinking that her disability would be a huge problem, and that she wouldn’t be able to get along with the other girls, but that wasn’t the case. She has learned so much more and is more confident now. She knows that she’s not judged differently because she was born a different way. Finally, Heather says that the experience of what she learned is better than the prize. Oh, my goodness – I love her!

Next week, Tyra shoots the girls as we see them scaling the great wall of China. The challenge brings out some shady behaviors, as we see Bianca lying to Jenah about where to go. Wasn’t she just pissed at Saleisha for doing the same thing to her? C’est la vie! Here’s how I’m ranking the girls for next week. Please note, though, I’m still shocked over Heather going home – I thought she was final three for sure!

Saleisha

Bianca

Jenah

Chantal

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