Episode Report Card Potes: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Bald Fuggle
By Potes | Season 6 | Episode 1 | Aired on 03.07.2006
Another "reporter" asks who is the biggest fake, and Janice raises her hand, mugging that it's all about her. The same reporter asks how the contestants deal with the bitches. Brooke says that if you don't like her, you shouldn't bother with her, because she's not there to make friends, she's there to win. Janice snorts, "Good God, Brooke." It's awesome. I miss Janice ever so. Another reporter notes that Kari hasn't spoken at all and has her baseball cap pulled over her face. She takes it off and everyone says how gorgeous she is. Janice asks her to take her shirt off and then, ever the feminist, grabs her own boobs in an act of solidarity. A reporter asks the girls what their biggest fear is, and Kathy says that her middle name is "fearless." And that could literally be true. Another reporter tells her to get rid of her accent. Sara says that she tries to live her life with no regrets, and Janice yells, "Yawn." Sara apologizes. A reporter then asks who has sacrificed the most to get there today. Nnenna says that she believes she left the most behind, and that she always wanted to be a model, but had to support her family in Nigeria. She is dignified and elegant and Janice calls for a round of applause. Nnenna interviews that her strategy is to stay true to herself and not get so competitive that she loses sight of who she is. Nnenna is awesome.
Finally, Janice asks Gina how being an Asian woman factors into her determination to win the competition. Gina mumbles that she doesn't know how to answer that question. Janice throws up her hands. Jay points out that the first thing out of Gina's mouth in casting was that there aren't enough Asian models in the fashion industry. He asks why she wouldn't put that in the forefront in this situation. Gina says that she's twenty-one and doesn't know who she is and is having an identity crisis right in front of their eyes. Well, now's a fine time. Janice hates Gina. Nnenna interviews that Gina folds under pressure, and Gina herself admits that the press conference didn't go so well.
The girls are excused as the judges deliberate. In the waiting area, Jade notes that Gina has some insecurity about her race. Gina says that she's a Korean person and an American person and doesn't know which she is more of. I can get that, but the fact that Gina appears to be so dumb isn't helping this situation. As many people have pointed out, Gina is the anti-stereotype. Jade interviews that Gina isn't in touch with herself. And then because everything comes back to Jade, she says that she's "biracial, for God's sake" -- her father is black, white, and Indian, and her mother is "this really exotic white woman"-- and that she learned to live with it. Joanie quite astutely notes that Jade likes that Gina is afraid of her, and that overpowering someone else makes Jade feel strong. If Jade were a Garbage Pail Kid, her name would be Jerky Jade.