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This week sees the girls go from homelessness to blue-collar work, as they spend some time in a fire house and a meat-packing plant. First, at the fire station, they get a lesson in runway walking from Miss J. While Lauren clods, Fatima stomps, and Amis skips, Dominique flirts a little too hard and forces Miss J. to bend over in front of a poor firefighter by way of demonstration. Those men have seen a lot of things, but nothing quite like that. At home, Aimee, our former Mormon, is a bit conservative and so doesn't want to get buck nekkid in front of everyone. There's some drama when she calls the shower without giving consideration to the fact that others have to pee. Whitney defends Aimee, and for some reason becomes the villain in the mind of Fatima, who thinks she was stirring up shit. There were no fisticuffs and no playing with Barbies, however.
In this week's challenge, the girls walk in a fashion show for Tuleh. They have to dress themselves in the correct outfits as part of their task, and are judged by Seventeen editor-in-chief Ann Shoket and Cycle 8 winner Jaslene. There are a few wardrobe malfunctions. Fatima gets the buttons wrong on her sweater, but this is nothing compared to Whitney catwalking with an exposed boob. Lauren again walks like crap, causing Jaslene to ask if she even wants to be there during their critique. Lauren is upset and insulted, and quite rightly notes that she wouldn't put herself through all this shit if she didn't. Katarzyna wins, and she, Amis and Marvita get to shoot a Lot 29 editorial with Jaslene.
The photo shoot is one of the most salmonella-filled yet, as the girls are forced to wear beef carcass panties as they pose in a meat freezer. It's just as glamorous as it sounds. Lauren once again shows her editorial promise, and Whitney and Anya rock their beef drawers. Fatima and Amis aren't so lucky, as they land in the bottom two. Amis' case isn't helped by the weird, dorky headband and hoodie that she wears to panel, and she's given the boot. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Previously on ANTM: Barbiegate! Also known as, "Your-ass-is-bigger-than-mine-gate." The girls had surprise makeovers, and looked either marginally better or substantially worse as they posed for Elle MacPherson's lingerie line. Allison was stiff when she posed, and kind of entitled when she appeared before the judges, so she got the boot. Eleven bitches remain!
We begin in the limo taking the girls home from elimination. Dominique tells all the girls that don't like her and wanted her to go that they can cry, because she's there for another week. Whitney, in her bright pink coat, just says, "Oh, she talks. Oh man." Dominique confessionalizes something nonsensical, about how she was in the bottom two but was also put up on a pedestal. She says it was the best frickin' top two that ANTM has ever had. No, Dominique. It's only the best bottom two America's Top Model has ever had if Tyra flips her wig because she's never in her life screamed at a girl like this. Trust.
Back in the house, Fatima and Amis tell Lauren that the judges love her already, and just want to see her push it a little. Lauren reminds us that she got called first at panel. However, she has to work on her confidence. She says that she's a punk girl, but she's also a woman and, she hopes, beautiful. Aw. You can try to hide your beauty all you want in those knit caps and dirty Converse, Lauren, but we'll still see it. Amis puts on an Elmer Fudd hat and starts being silly, and Fatima says under her breath, "Stupid." She thinks that Amis is a joke, and wonders if being a model is what she really wants. Amis draws an anchor tattoo on herself, and Marvita says it looks like a butt crack. Fatima is again forced to say, "Stupid" under her breath. Can we please have a Top Model All-Stars with Fatima and Lisa? Pretty please?
Tyra Mail! "Turn up the heat, or you'll get hosed." Claire wonders if they're going to do a shoot on a fire truck. When I think of fire trucks, I always think of popcorn balls. Anyone? The girls do indeed head to the fire station, and they see some firemen sliding down a pole and getting into their fire gear. Sirens wail, and then we see the best pole slider of all -- Miss J. Turns out this is a firehouse runway teach. Firemen can do quick changes, just like models at a fashion show! Well NOW it all makes sense. The girls get 90 seconds to change into some outfits that are laid out for them. Aimee tells us that she definitely has conservative morals and beliefs, so isn't all that happy about stripping down in front of everyone. Respecting her level of comfort, the editors treat us to a big ole' shot of Aimee in her bra. With time up, J. inspects the girls and calls out Fatima for not wearing the shoes given to her. She tells Miss J. that she likes her own snakeskin shoes. He's a little pissed and tells her to put on the damn shoes before he slaps her. Some of that is actually subtext.
The girls are then introduced to their audience, a whole bunch of cute firefighters. They do a runway walk. Katarzyna tells us that she was nervous, but she loves runway and so will do her little turn on the catwalk any chance she gets. Miss J. compliments Claire's strut. Anya looks like she's walking on hot coals, while Miss J. wants Miss Whitney to eat 'em alive. I guess they don't want to run the risk of another borderline plus-sizer getting all skinny again this year. Dominique thinks she has the best walk, but Whitney says she knows drag queens who walk better than Dominique. Isn't that kind of an unspoken norm given who's teaching this course in working the fire pole? And speaking of, Dominique flirts a little too hard when she gets down to the firemen in the audience, which J. says she shouldn't have done. He tells her she's one step away from bending right the heck over in front of them and massaging her own ass. He demonstrates this, of course, to the delight of New York's finest. Fatima has a weird, slow clomping walk like a Clydesdale, but not even one that will bring you a bottle of Budweiser. What use does anyone have for that? Miss J. interviews that he has lost all faith in "this girl." He could be talking about Dakota Fanning for all we know. I can't imagine his interviews are without tangents.
And then there's Lauren. Before she even starts, Miss J. says, "God bless you." He reminds us how awful she was in the Times Square Badgley Mischka show, and adds that she has no confidence in her body. As she walks, Miss J. asks if her legs bend. She tells him she used to be bow legged as a kid. J. interviews that Lauren has all the elements of being a great top model, but she just doesn't know it yet. He gives her some instruction, telling her to "just walk." It's actually good advice, as half of her problem is that she's really stiff. Then, of course, there's Amis. She skips down the runway like a fool. J. wants to know what's up with that, and Amis says it makes her feel good. You know what won't make her feel so good? A punch in the throat. Miss J. has great restraint not to deliver one.
When the girls get back home, Aimee says that she's going to take a shower. Claire tells her that people have to pee, and she can't just get in the shower and lock the door. Aimee tells them to pee, and then she'll use the shower. And really, I don't understand what the issue is here. That sounds totally reasonable to me, and from my experience, you do not get between a girl and her shower. However, things escalate. Claire and Dominique argue that there are 11 girls and only three bathrooms. Aimee takes this point to her advantage, saying that she doesn't know why it's such a big deal when there are two other bathrooms available for peeing. Aimee interviews that a few of the girls know that she doesn't feel comfortable being butt naked in front of everybody. For some reason people are upset about this. It's so weird. Personally, I think this happened later chronologically, after the upcoming photo shoot, and the girls are all suffering from mad cow disease. There's really no other explanation.
We see Marvita, with a bunch of other girls around, telling Aimee that they need to have a talk. Whitney tells Marvita to leave Aimee alone. Aimee has had a bad night, and she's already expressed that she doesn't want to get all nude in front of prying eyes the likes of Marvita's. Marvita argues that she didn't know that Aimee had a problem, but an upset Aimee replies that she told everyone during her first few days in the house. Marvita kind of gets in Aimee's face and yells that she's not being mean to her, and doesn't have a problem with her. It's true that when Marvita is just screaming at you without making punching motions in the air or saying the words "take flight," she's just chatting. Whitney asks why the others are feeding like parasites off of the negative energy. I must note that Claire has some weird streaky shit smeared all over her body. It's all very confusing.
To make matters worse, Fatima has to get in the middle of everything. She interviews that she got upset when Whitney defended Aimee, because Whitney starts a lot of things. I think I would defend Aimee, too. The girl just wants to take a shower! Fatima then tells Marvita that Aimee did not deserve her wrath, Whitney deserved it, because she's always starting up shit. Also, her ass is bigger than Fatima's. Whitney tells us that she believes in standing up for what she thinks is right. She doesn't give a damn what the others say about her, but they need to leave Aimee alone. Whitney's kind of a bad ass. Dominique interviews that she keeps her distance from Whitney, then tells a couple of the other girls that when she looks at Whitney she thinks of southern, not-cultured white trash. Yeah, she's a regular Britney Spears of plus-sized model wannabes. Stupidest altercation ever. Commercials.
When we return, there is Tyra Mail. "Better keep your story straight or you will be out of order." Oh my God, are they going to have to debate the whole shower situation in front of Judge Judy? If so, Marvita may finally meet her match. The girls head off and meet up with Miss J., who introduces them to designer Bryan Bradley of Tuleh. They learn that today they'll be walking in a Tuleh fashion show. Everyone gets their hair and makeup done, and Lauren stresses. Miss J. then introduces the girl to runway show producer Andrew Weir. As if these special guests aren't enough, Miss J. brings out Seventeen editor-in-chief Ann "Gisele with a schnozz" Shoket and Cycle 8 winner Jaslene! Amis thinks that Jaslene looks like a big ole' yummy doe-eyed Latino sandwich. If you like your sandwiches made with bone and gold lame, yes. Ann tells the girls that the winner of this challenge will appear in a Lot 29 advertorial with Jaslene, which will appear in Seventeen. The girls will also be forced to put their quick-change skills to use, having to get wardrobed in three minutes or face disqualification. Fatima, scarred by the famous firehouse shoe incident, is nervous, and adds that she doesn't work well under pressure.
The girls change backstage. Poor Amis has a big ole' hole in her bra. I mean, you'd suspect, but I still feel for her. Miss J., wearing a fancy suit, kicks off the show, which is actually in a cool cathedral-looking space and is attended by what appears to be an actual audience. None of whom are on stilts! This is progress. Stacy-Ann opens the show in a gorgeous dress, and fully works it. Whitney is in a bathing suit, and notes that she was sabotaged by the quick change. Halfway down the runway she realizes that a boob is out. Her strategy is not to look down, so that maybe the rest of the audience won't notice. Rule number one of life is that people always notice a boob. Lauren is , and Jaslene actually gasps at how terrible she is. She walks really fast and forgets to pose at the end of the runway. Miss J. asks aloud where she's going. His tutelage was in vain.
Katarzyna wears a dress that I covet and works it. Fatima is up , and has buttoned up her little sweater all wrong. Otherwise, she thinks everything is perfect, but in reality she's walking too fast and J. wants to chop her head off. Dominique wears a sequined trench coat, Marvita works a caftan that is the envy of Bea Arthurs everywhere, Anya looks extra alienesque, and Amis tells us that walking on the runway is an "outer body experience." Miss J. laughs at her, and he can't even hear her narration!
Backstage, Ann and Jaslene give the girls their critiques. Fatima had the sweater button mishap. Ann says that she could tell that Aimee is very sweet. I hope Ann never has to pee when it's Aimee's turn in the shower. Jaslene tells Katarzyna that she was great. She has to follow this compliment up with a dagger, though, and asks Lauren if she wants to be there and if she wants to be a model. Lauren answers affirmatively to both questions, but Jaslene tells her that it appeared that she didn't even want to be on the runway. Additionally, she sucked. A crying Lauren interviews that she was insulted that Jaslene thought she didn't want to be there. She quite rightly points out that any sane person wouldn't put up with all the trifling shit that she's had to put up with otherwise.
Ann announces that the winner of the challenge is Katarzyna. Yay! Eastern Europe, represent! Katarzyna gets to pick two friends to share in her prize, and chooses Amis and Marvita. Marvita, as one might guess, is juiced. We travel with Katarzyna, Amis and Marvita to their photo shoot for Lot 29. Those are some hella-ugly clothes. Unless, of course, you are a fan of silver lame leggings.
Back at the house, Amis talks about her day on the shoot. Jaslene asked her something along the lines of what she wants to be or what she wants. It was so profound that Amis doesn't really remember. All this prompts Lauren to ruminate how she doesn't fit in with the other girls, and how Jaslene verbally punched her in the throat when she asked if she wanted to be there. Lauren says that she could go home on the G right now if she wanted to. Instead, she sits on her bed and flips through a magazine and...a coloring book? She wants to win this, immeasurably. Commercials.
And hey! It's Saleisha! And she gets to go to Baltimore, the makeup capital of the world! And a person can't flounce around Baltimore with just any lashes, mind you. Super Lash Blast!
When we return, there is Tyra Mail. "Prove that you've got the chops for this competition, or you'll be sent packing." Marvita and Amis do the "don't wanna be sent packing" two-step in celebration of the photo shoot to come. The girls head to the meat-packing district. They enter a meat-packing plant, which is filled with, well, a whole lotta meat. Jay Manuel emerges from the freezer wearing a white turtleneck and pants, and a white shearling coat. It's kind of like the time that Greg and Bobby Brady got locked in Sam the butcher's meat freezer, but a whole lot gayer. Jay tells the girls that today they'll be posing with some hunks...of meat. Literally. They're going to have to try extra hard to make this photo work, especially considering that their wardrobe for today...is meat. Whitney interviews that she eats steak, so wearing dead animal carcasses really all that bad. Go, carnivore fat girl! The shoot is about creating a provocative mood, because that's what sells in the fashion business. It is also about generally being gross and trying to freak out any sensitive vegetarians among the bunch.
The girls get their hair and makeup done, and then it's time for them to get their meat on. Claire puts on her meat necklace and is feeling pretty gross about the whole thing. And hoo boy, she has some beef panties. And not the same kind of beef panties that Dominique sports on a regular basis. I don't know how I'd feel about raw meat to my bits. Hey, shut up, you. You know what I mean. Jay introduces Claire and Fatima to photographer Trevor O'Shana, who also worked on last season's flaming car in the desert shoot. He gets all the winners. Claire is up first, and Trevor tells her to show off the meat. Jay gives Claire a few tips for making her legs look longer. Overall, she looks right at home amongst huge, dangling hunks of beef. This is not so for Fatima, who tries to work a meat hook to no avail. She snarls, and just general looks kind of hungry and not pretty.
Anya is up , wearing a meat vest. Anya's got sauce. Steak sauce, that is. She works it pretty well for someone whose girlish bosoms are covered in brisket. Katarzyna gets kudos from Trevor. Stacy-Ann pretends to scream. Trevor tells her that she should scream for real rather than fake it. She looks like she might just go crazy and start chomping on the pork loin at any minute. Whitney is , wearing beef boy shorts and a meat neck wrap. Jay tells her not to rely so much on her booty. She listens to his advice, and he gives her praise for looking less pose-y. up is Marvita, who holds a huge leg of beast like she's freaking Barney Rubble. And really, "meat freezer" is Marvita's genre. You knew she'd rock it.
Lauren is , and Trevor comments on how tall she is. She's as tall as a hanging carcass of meat! She shows the beef panties off to her best advantage by thinking of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and pretending she's Leatherface. We all need to pull inspiration from somewhere. Lauren gets perilously close to a saw. The most surprising part of this is that Jay seems to know what type of saw it is. I'd never suspect that he aced metal shop in high school. Dominique is up , determined to have fun with the shoot. We get a big ole' close-up of her pork crotch, which is entirely too much to handle. She sits on a big bucket of meat. Aaaaand, this is where E. coli comes from. I smell a recall! Jay gives Dominique a lot of praise for taking in the judges' criticism of the last several weeks and for sitting on the meat bucket.
Aimee is . She is really squicked out, and she doesn't even have to wear the beef panties! Jay tells her that she looks like she's smelling dookie. Maybe this somehow reminds her of that mysterious secret Mormon temple ceremony? I doubt that the special Mormon underpants are made of ribeye. In any case, Aimee is disconnected and the whole thing isn't working. Amis is , and has no clue. Jay has her slide a big meat carcass back and forth, just to get some motion in the picture and avoid her standing there looking awkward. I think she might actually be wearing filet mignon earrings. Those earrings are $21.99 a pound.
Back at home, there is Tyra Mail. Someone is getting a boot sturdy enough to withstand a sloshy, meat packing plant floor. Aimee is nervous to face the judges, because she doesn't want to disappoint them. Stacy-Ann tells Lauren that she looked awesome at her shoot. Lauren kicks her legs around gawkily. I think she forgot to take the beef panties off. Lauren hopes she's not on the chopping block because of her multiple runway disasters.
The girls get ready to go to elimination. Quite mysteriously, Amis is sleeping. Anya tells her that she has 20 minutes. Hey! We haven't heard from Anya all episode! I think the editors needed a break. Marvita tries to rouse Amis, while Fatima confessionalizes her disgust. Amis doesn't understand why everyone is so up in arms, and says that getting dressed takes two seconds. Well, for her. And that's why she looks like she does. She slaps on a weird headband and a hoodie, accessorizing herself with orange juice and grapes. Stacy-Ann interviews that Amis was most likely trying to show off her personality, but everyone with a brain knows that Tyra will tell her that that particular ensemble isn't right for the judging room. "Everyone with a brain" clearly doesn't include Amis. She's in trouble.
Stop! Panel time! We are welcomed into panel by a photo of a dazed-looking Tyra eating, like, a 20 ounce raw steak. I think that might be a candid. There are prizes, there are judges. Tyra sings the judges' names. Because she is crazy. Seriously, bitch has lost her mind, if not her voice. Bryan Bradley of Tuleh is the guest judge.
Stacy-Ann is up first. Nigel is disappointed that Stacy-Ann seems so removed from the props, and wants to see some angst and passion. Miss J. criticizes her for her standard, Modeling 101 pose. Tyra tells Whitney how fabulous she looks, and compliments her for showing some meat -- plus-sized meat, that is -- in her photo. Tyra points out that Whitney is wearing meat drawers. Bryan likes that her photo is comedic yet sexy. Paulina says that she doesn't know who came up with the photo shoot, but it's a metaphor for being a model. If you want to be in this industry, Tyra adds, you have to be prepared to be treated like a side of beef. Overall, Whitney did a good job.
Not so good is Aimee, who looks like a beefy mannequin. Bryan says that she looks nervous in her photo, and like she just faded away. Tyra asks what was up with her, and Paulina says that Aimee looks like she smelled something bad and/or like she was too good to be there. She had her special Mormon meat underpants all in a twist. Then we have Katarzyna, who says it felt amazing to win the challenge. Nigel thinks that her picture is interesting, her body looks good, and there's a story. Tyra likes the way that Katarzyna is holding her meat skirt, but she thinks that there's something missing. Katarzyna isn't understanding her body and her face isn't enough to make her photos truly magical. Fatima's photo is not spectacular. Her legs look short, and her film was full of the bottom-teeth snarl. Paulina asks if Jay and the photographer asked her to stop and do something different with her face. Fatima says they might have, but she didn't hear them. Well, there's a great excuse. Paulina tells Fatima that she has to listen.
Anya's shot is great. Nigel says it's the first fashion photo he's seen of the bunch. Bryan agrees that it's fabulous, and says that she seems like a natural. Paulina notes that Anya looks comfortable, whereas the other girls got squirrelly about how attractive they could be in beef drawers. Claire's photo is 1990's heroin chic, according to Paulina, which kind of works with the dead meat theme, but is a little passé. Miss J. isn't crazy about it either, but Tyra loves the picture and the angles of Claire's body. As Dominique approaches the panel, Tyra lies that she looks beautiful and makes a point of how this week Dominique got the hair color that Tyra wanted for her all along. Yeah, that hair color really fixes everything. Miss J.'s only compliant with Dominique is that her legs look smooshed. Tyra thinks that Dominique's eyes really connect with the camera. Nigel thinks that her photograph looks like something that you'd see on a calendar in the meat packing district. Is that supposed to be a compliment? She's got one leg up, and is holding the meat. Well, then. Paulina calls Dominique America's Sexiest Butcher. Now there's a show I'd like to see.
Lauren is . Miss J. makes a point of telling everyone how terribly she did at the Tuleh runway show. He tells Lauren that she should just walk like normal, because when she tries to walk like a model, she's a mess. What is not a mess is Lauren's photo. One of her arms is almost dislocated from its socket, which really impresses Tyra. Nigel likes that she worked a meat hook in an interesting way. It's raves all around, though Miss J. reminds us that she has far to go on the runway. And then there's Amis. As she approaches, she says she looks like Axl Rose. Miss J. asks her what she was thinking. Amis rambles that she got her jacket for free. Okay, then. She offers to take off her jacket, then takes off her headband instead, mildly complaining that she thinks she looks cool. Her photo is in profile, which doesn't impress the judges. Miss J. wishes she would have cheated toward the camera a bit. Tyra likes Amis' energy in the picture, but she's not so crazy about Amis in person. Amis says that when she gets nervous, she tries to cover it by being campy or goofy. Wow! Amis psychoanalyzed herself before Tyra even got the chance! She's going home for sure. Tyra tells Amis that this is Cycle 10 of America's Top Model, so she should know better than to come to panel in her raggedy-ass headband and jacket. Point taken.
Finally, we have Marvita. Paulina thinks that she looks beautiful but unremarkable, and Bryan tells her that if she isn't given a story at a photo shoot, she should make one up. Tyra notes that Marvita's mean face is her go-to, and she needs to find something else on occasion.
In case you were wondering, Claire has been the Cover Girl of the Week three weeks in a row!
The judges deliberate. Stacy-Ann has potential, but isn't there yet. Whitney is the most exciting contestant there, according to Nigel, and Miss J. says that she has stage presence. Paulina wonders what happened to Aimee, who is so pretty. Tyra hates pretty girls, per usual. Katarzyna has model potential, but she's trying a little too hard. Tyra thinks that she needs a bun or something so she looks less like a pole dancer. Fatima needs to try a little harder, and to look less like a Pekingese. Anya comes to life in her pictures, but looks like chopped liver in person. Claire's photo is good, and she's rehearsed in basic modeling. There's something there, according to Miss J. Dominique is Miss February Meat Packer. Woo? Her new hair color makes all the difference for Miss J. Tyra totally made him say that, because he is her bitch. Lauren stands out in pictures, but is almost vapid in person, according to Nigel. Paulina thinks she's been there long enough to know to pull up her neck. Amis is pretty, but tries too hard. Paulina says she's like a little child -- she wants to stand out, but doesn't know how other than to put on a really dorky headband. And that's Porizkova for the win. Marvita has doe eyes in her picture, according to Tyra. Paulina thinks she's gorgeous, but needs a bigger facial repertoire. Paulina imitates Marvita, and methinks she has had some serious Botox in the center of her forehead only.
The girls return. Anya is called first, followed by Whitney, Katarzyna, Claire, Dominique, Stacy-Ann, Lauren, Marvita, and Aimee. This leaves Fatima and Amis in the bottom two. Amis doesn't seem to have a whole lot of focus, and is also a hot tranny mess. The judges wonder if she really wants to be a model, or if she's there for a fun ride. Then there's Fatima. Last week the judges were wowed, but modeling is about more than a pretty face. This week she modeled from the waist down, and her crazy tiger growls weren't fierce enough to maul any passersby. So who stays? Fatima, that's who. As if you had any doubt! She cries with relief, and Tyra eats it up. Amis tells Tyra that she's grateful for the opportunity and gives big hugs to all the other contestants, running out of the room before she gets sad. She tells us that she feels no bitterness about leaving, only huge amounts of gratitude. This is the best thing that ever happened to her, she says. Aside from that time she got the free hoodie. That was really awesome.