America’s Next Top Model 7, Episode 3: Runway Follies

Last week, the girls went through their makeovers, but that was just the beginning of the drama, as Jay Manuel told some of the girls that they were being disrespectful because they were complaining so much. Back at the house, there was a major confrontation between Monique and Melrose, which put all the girls on edge. At the photo shoot, the girls needed to shine through some big hair, but it was Megan that faded into the back, and was sent home. We’re down to 11, who is leaving tonight? Let’s find out!

Night. The girls blow up an air mattress and slide down the steps. CariDee says that it’s good to have some fun every now and then since it makes the nervous energy go away. Jaeda is in another room bitching about her hair, saying that she was in the bottom two and really felt the pressure. She knows that she has an opportunity of a lifetime and can’t screw it up because of her hair. A.J. is in her room crying, saying that other girls should have gone home over Megan, specifically Monique and Eugena. Melrose adds that Monique has lashed out at everyone in the house, and that Eugena is the only girl not against her (Monique). I don’t know why – she stole Eugena’s bed! Tyra Mail arrives and tells the girls that their butt is on the line. Melrose knows that nothing in this competition is pointless, and there is a meaning to this.

The girls arrive later in the evening at an undisclosed location, but Ms. J. Alexander is there waiting for them. Brooke says that Ms. J. is a royal mess, and she knows he has something for them to do. Indeed, Ms. J. is on a tightrope, showing the girls how to work their balance and posture. He says they will learn to walk the cable tonight. CariDee is already nervous, since she can’t even walk a straight line when sober. She does terribly on the wire. The other girls give it a try, and Eugena talks about how she was told to show emotion. Monique says that Melrose acts perfect all the time when she’s not, and Melrose tells the camera that she’s just trying to avoid Monique. I can feel it brewing!

When back at the house, Tyra Mail tells the girls that tomorrow they will each walk their own line. Melrose heads to the phone to call her mom, and the door swings open and in comes Monique, who says she called the phone. Melrose won’t comply and slams the door on her. Is it wrong that I really don’t care for either of them? Brooke, who I’m really taking a shining to, says that the drama is overwhelming. When Melrose is finished with the phone, Monique walks by and bumps her, then calls her mom saying that she’s about to hurt someone. Eugena says that all this stress might be a bit too much for Monique.

Later, in her room, Monique continues to say to Eugena that she is going to torment Melrose. To prove her point, Monique takes her sweaty, nasty bikini bottom and rubs it on Melrose’s bed while she’s sleeping. Jaeda and Melrose wake up to see Monique slithering away, and Jaeda admits that all the girls are scared of Monique and that she’s going to harm them in their sleep. Melrose just can’t believe it.

In the morning, the girls get ready. Anchal tells the camera that Melrose and Monique both need to be more mature. Melrose says that it’s hard to deal with Monique since she’s in such need of attention, but she’s there to win. Brooke is just excited about the Tyra mail, as we see the girls arriving at their challenge site, where Ms. J. is waiting for them in another kooky outfit. He tells the girls that they will be put to the test, and since he needs some help for this challenge with the judging, he brought back Bre from Cycle 5! She does her walk and then Ms. J. tells the girls that they, like Bre just demonstrated, will have to walk a straight line on slanted concrete in heels. Oh, and they have to wear a mask too. So the girls run to the back and get ready!

Amanda goes first and has a few trips. A.J. says she naturally walks in a straight line, and she does good job. Ms. J. feels that Jaeda is moving too slow and Melrose stumbles and can’t recover. Of course, Monique makes fun of her. Eugena is being too safe and Ms. J. tells CariDee that she is the sex kitten of the house. The girls finish up and Ms. J. says the winner will fly to Austin, Texas, to be in a runway show held by Dennis Quaid. Brooke is already excited since that’s her hometown.

The winner is… A.J.! She’s allowed to pick two friends to join her in the show, and she chooses annoying Megg, who of course screams “Rock and Roll!” and even though she’d like to take Brooke, she chooses CariDee. Brooke is a little upset, but says she needs to stay focused.

Back at the house, Monique gets sick and Melrose says that the negative energy she was giving off is breeding inside her. A.J., Megg, and CariDee head to Austin, where they meet the other models in the runway show – former ANTM alums Rebecca, April, Coryn, Shannon, MY Mercedes, Brittany, and annoying Camille! We even get to see all the girls in the show, and they all look amazing, even Camille… but I’ll admit that Coryn looks pretty spooky on the runway.

A.J. says that she really loves this and Megg, after saying “Rock and Roll,” says that she fed off the crowd. CariDee says that for the first time in her life, she had a real clear moment.

Over at the house, Tyra Mail says that the girls will be walking the plank tomorrow. Monique is still sick though, while Brooke tries to help her. Eugena feels that Monique is getting worse by the hour, and that she needs to go to the hospital. We find out that she is dehydrated and needs rest and fluids. Oh please, someone gets dehydrated every season. Drink water!

In the morning, the girls wake up and get ready to head out. Monique, not sure about what she should do, says that she is going to tough it out and goes to the photo shoot. Anchal doesn’t care either way, and I don’t blame her! A.J., Megg, and CariDee arrive first, with little sleep, and meet up with Jay Manuel. The rest of the girls arrive and Jay tells them that they will be in a runway show this evening, and their photos will be taken at the end of the runway. The catch? The runway is on water, and not very stable! He also tells the girls that the pieces they will be wearing are delicate and they will all need to be careful.

Eugena is proud of Monique for showing up, but then we see Monique telling Jay how sick she is. He wants Monique to make the right decision and Monique says that her head wants her to be there, but her body won’t let her, and she heads home. Michelle says that Danielle from last season was in the hospital, and still rocked it out at her photo shoot. Sing it, sister! The other girls get ready and get their first look at the runway. Jay says that it’s not unrealistic, even though in all honesty, it is.

The crowd arrives and the show begins. Brooke is very composed and although Jaeda almost falls, she works it out. Anchal struggles and CariDee actually has a boob come out! Jay says that Ms. J. would be in horror. Megg and A.J. have some energy, but Jay says that A.J. was breathtaking. Michelle owns the end of the runway while Amanda is one of the best when it comes to pace. Eugena knows she needs to give emotion, but Jay still doesn’t see it from her. Then, on her way back, she almost falls, getting about knee deep in the water.

Jay say that Melrose really worked it out and looked confident, and when the show ends, as a last bit of torture, Jay makes the girls do a finale walk. All the girls struggle, but nobody goes in the pool. Eugena says that Monique would never have been able to do this, and when she gets back to Monique at the house, she tells her how hard it was. Monique knows that she would not have been able to do it.

Tyra Mail arrives and says that tomorrow only 10 girls will continue on. CariDee says that it sucks knowing that your dreams are in someone else’s hands. Jaeda says that if it was based on runway, Eugena should go home. All the girls talk in the bedroom, saying they would have stayed if they got sick. Monique contemplates what she is going to tell the judges.

The 11 girls walk into the judging room. Tyra says that it’s time for someone to go home, but first, they are reminded of the prizes and get to meet the judges again, including Charlie Altuna, who was the designer and photographer for their last shoot. Tyra tells the girls that they learned balance and runway, so for their challenge, they will need to show their signature walk, all while balancing a bowl of fruit on their head and walking down the runway. This should be good.

Right away, everyone has issues. The judges get a good laugh though, but A.J. and Jaeda really do a great job and make it the whole way. Eugena tries really hard, while Monique actually gets a few cheers from the judges. Brooke drops the bowl right away and continues on, while telling the judges: “You make it work!” Okay, I love Brooke!

The girls are all brought back in for their individual evaluations. Jaeda is first, and is told that she did well with her walk. Her pose in her photo this week isn’t there and she needs to work on selling it. Amanda was messy with her walk, but had a great photo, while Michelle looked like her walk was saying “I don’t care.” Her photo is loved though, although Twiggy says that Michelle is too “gangly” in person. Megg is told that she has personality, and that’s when Ms. J. breaks out with a “Rock and Roll!” Ha! Megg tried too hard with her lips in the photo. Caridee had fun with her walk, and they like her photo too, saying it was well balanced.

Monique was vacant in her walk, and she comes back saying she is sick and weak. Tyra says that in this industry, people don’t care. However, even though she didn’t do the photo shoot this week, they have other photos to evaluate from her, along with her potential. Monique tells the judges that she wants to be there and has potential.

Melrose is applauded for her runway walk and told she looked great. In her photo she is looks amazing as well. Brooke is told that she has a “fruit and nut” personality by Nigel, but he likes it. She’s committed, and Tyra loves her poses because she captures the “wind in hair” look.

A.J. is congratulated on being the challenge winner. They loved her walk and feel she really worked it in her photo. Anchal didn’t really try and the judges noticed. Her shot this week was simply “okay” but weak in the face. Eugena still isn’t showing emotion and isn’t very poised. The judges also believe her photos are disappointing, and she is called the worst of the day. That can’t be good! Now it’s time for the judges to deliberate.

The judges feel that Michelle can deliver in photos, but needs to work on her appearance. Hmm, reminds me of Shandi from Cycle 2! Jaeda went into this judging as the lowest, but showed the most improvement. Amanda is interesting and Anchal is unique, but they can tell she is very nervous. A.J. is believable as a model and Megg is crazy, but Tyra likes her. Brooke makes the judges laugh, and they think her hair is great.

Melrose looks like a model and the judges can tell that Eugena is crumbling on the inside. They don’t even think she can give “dead fish.” CariDee is giving personality, but Ms. J. thinks she’s a bit off. I still think she is Ms. J.’s favorite. I adore CariDee! Monique is getting judged overall, and they all feel she is beautiful, but she’s putting all her faults into being sick. Ms. J., for what reason I have no clue, begins singing and dancing, and then all the judges get involved. I’m both amused and uncomfortable at the same time!

Everyone comes back in. Tyra says that she has 11 girls in front of her, but only 10 photos. The first name called is… A.J.! She is followed by Jaeda, Brooke, Anchal, and then Michelle who is told to walk with more poise. Melrose is next, then Megg and Amanda, who Tyra doesn’t understand why she walks with two left feet. CariDee is called up next, and she lets out a HUGE sigh of relief, rushing up to get her photo and telling Tyra, “Thank you for believing in me.” Tyra replies with “Okay, Jade!” and then we get to see clips of Jade last season, thanking Tyra for believing in her. I needed that Jade fix!

Monique and Eugena step forward. Tyra says that the photo she has might be of a girl on a rocky runway, or it might be a photo from last week. The judges see potential in both of them, but they are frustrated that neither of them knows how to work their beauty. With Monique, the judges wonder how badly she wants this, since she opted not to do the photo shoot. They feel that Eugena was cocky in the beginning and really thought she was the girl to beat, however, she can’t hold a candle to Cycle 6 girls.

The final photo goes to… Eugena! She gets her photo, and we quickly see Monique exit the runway, without a hug or wave to anyone. She returns to her room and says that the only thing that’s pissing her off is that Melrose will be happy she is gone. She ends by saying that her time on the show was a waste. Wow, so grateful, that Monique! Thank goodness they got rid of her sooner rather than later! I figured that with all the crap she was causing, she’d be around for a good while.

Next week, we see the girls piling in the shower with one another, and Melrose struggling to keep things in order. Also, Anchal gets upset when she hears her roommates talking about how insecure she is. This should get good! Last week, I pegged Brooke and Monique in the bottom two. Well, I was right once again with Monique! This is how I see things shaping up next week, so I hope I’m right… not with the bottom two, but with the girl that goes home!

1. Michelle
2. Amanda
3. Melrose
4. A.J.
5. Anchal
6. CariDee
7. Jaeda
8. Eugena
9. Brooke
10. Megg

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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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