Episode Report Card Potes: B- | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT All Hail the Queen
By Potes | Season 18 | Episode 12 | Aired on 05.30.2012
Soon, there is Tyra Mail: "Buongiorno bellisima! Fierce and love, Tyra." Laura wonders if they're going to Italy, and looks quite stressed about the possibility. Of course they are actually just going on their photo shoot for Vogue Italia! Stylist Valentina Serra is on hand along with the ubiquitous Jez Smith, and they tell the girls that the shoot will be a hyper-stylized spa inspired theme. The winner of the competition will have her photos published in the magazine. Laura is on a mission to show her modeling mettle, particularly after the panic attack incident. Sophie is first to shoot, and Valentina says that she has an elegant and sophisticated shape to her, though on set Jez tells her that she's being a bit too modelly. He notes that she struggled a bit, and this style of shoot -- involving underwear, I guess? -- was not particularly suited to her. Laura is next, and of course she's great at being half-naked. Valentina notes that she's perfect, like a dancer. She definitely prefers Laura to Sophie. Jez says that until today he would have chosen Sophie over Laura, but Laura has managed to tie things up with her strong performance in this shoot.
Back at the penthouse, Laura gets another chance to film her commercial lines. Because there's so much other footage that will be in the commercial, everything will likely fit together fine even with the change in setting. Laura is quite nervous, and even though she looks a bit wooden she finishes it all with no hints of a looming panic attack. Jay had started to wonder if she could handle the pressure of the competition and the fashion industry more generally, but now he believes she can push through anything.
And then there is yet more Tyra Mail! "Time to show the world the REAL you! Fierce and love, Tyra." Ha, and there's the ugly Tyra photo again! How did we get so lucky to see it twice in one episode? In any case, the girls know that they'll next be heading to their Forever 21 runway show. They chest bump in anticipation as we head to commercials.
When we return, Tyra has shown up at the penthouse for a little pre-catwalk chat with each of the finalists. She asks Laura for details about the panic attack, and Laura confirms that it was the scariest thing she's ever gone through. Tyra asks if she thinks it had anything to do with the pressure of being in the final two, and Laura is like, "Duh." But she definitely doesn't want Tyra to think that she's lost her fight or given up. One of Tyra's life lessons is that often when someone is crazy on the outside, they're covering up some serious internal pain. Laura confirms that the mysterious pirate within herself is in fact covering up pain from her familial situation. Tyra probes for more details, and Laura again talks about how when she was young she would come home from school and everything just smelled like booze. At home, Tyra says, Laura had to be the caretaker because everything else was so chaotic. Laura tears up and nods, and Tyra tells her that some of the strongest people in the world have gone through hell. Like poor, bedraggled Sophie, having to WAIT TABLES for a living! The horror, the horror! Though Laura's trauma doesn't compare to removing dirty dishes from café tables, Tyra thinks that she's pretty strong for what she went through, too. Laura tries to make us believe that Tyra can relate to humans as a fellow human, which, dubious.