It's the final four! The girls are still in Rome, and while Whitney is glad she's survived another week and Anya and Fatima are feeling confident, Dominique is annoying all the other girls by eating all the time and being generally kind of tiresome. Whitney, Anya and Fatima speak for us all when they express their surprise that she's still in the competition. The girls head to a park, where they meet Paulina and a photographer who gives them some tips about the perspective from behind the lens. They have to take their new learning and shoot a real, live model -- Paulina herself! The girls each get five minutes to photograph her, and are judged both on how well they work with their model and how their photos turn out. Fatima and Whitney are both decent photographers and manage to direct Paulina in a pleasant and professional way, while Dominique lacks vision and Anya, like, makes Paulina throw a bunch of leaves in the air and generally needs to narrow her focus and stop being such a bubblehead. Fatima is the winner, and she gets an additional 50 frames for the week's photo shoot.
And speaking of the photo shoot, this week the girls are being photographed at night while dressed as sexy 50's movie stars, photographed with their hunky male companion by the paparazzo. And Nigel is the photographer! It's a tough shoot for everybody. Anya struggles until Jay distracts her and she slips. She lucks into a good shot, which is better than any of the other girls do. Whitney struggles with her usual problem of being too posey. Fatima stinks it up even with her extra fifty poses. She seems lost, and also isn't responsive to Nigel's on-set critique or what the judges say at panel. She begins to talk about how weird it was to pose with a guy since she's never had a boyfriend, which leads to the greatest Tyra quote of the episode, and perhaps the season: "I've never been an aborigine, or a circus ringmaster, or even a geisha -- and it never stopped me." She's a true heroine for the ages, with all that she's overcome. Dominique gets an extra large side of tranny in her photo, and still has no idea how to dress. She lands in the bottom two with Fatima. In the end, Dominique goes home and is actually a really good sport about the whole thing.
Previously on ANTM: The top six made their way to Rome, where Fatima caught the plague. This didn't stop her from walking for large and in-charge designer Gai Mattiolo. However, it was Anya who won the challenge by looking the most generally jailbait-ish. Fatima rallied for the Cover Girl commercial, which was in Italian, but Lauren couldn't break out of her punk-rock style and so got sent back to the cave that she came from. And I say that with love. The girls had to display their posing prowess as old-school gladiators, and pose for world-renowned photographer (within her own mind) Tyra Banks. Katarzyna somehow got the idea that they were in Egypt, and so got booted back to whatever boring office job she came from. This, too, I say that with love. Four bitches remain!
Rome! The girls return to their hotel, and Whitney discusses her perilous plight of being in the bottom two for the second time in two weeks. It's really bad, she says, and so far every girl who has been in the same situation has gone home the second time. But not Whitney! The judges have faith in her. Whitney was shocked, and admits that it was nerve-wracking to almost have been cut. She doesn't want to be in that situation again, and has to prove to the judges that she does want to be there. Whitney has been nervous for the past several weeks, and now really has to make an effort to be natural and not pose-y. Still, she is the embodiment of a long and arduous struggle: That of the plus-sized girl on a reality show about modeling. America and America's Top Model are ready for a plus-sized model to win the competition, she says. I just busted out into a full-figured version of "We Shall Overcome." This is the first great movement of the 2000's.
The girls are feeling kind of crazy about the fact that there are only four of them left. You really have to be the best at everything -- photo shoots, challenges, dumb sound bytes -- to avoid being in the bottom two. Anya says she isn't worried about the other girls -- she just has to focus on herself and do the best job that she can do and bring it on set. What she really needs to do is apply some hot wax to her upper lip, because all that she's bringing right now is five o'clock shadow.
The girls return home, where they see lots and lots of posters of Saleisha in their apartment. Dominique tells us that she knew Saleisha would win from the moment she saw her. She then says, "I guess I'm the Saleisha of this competition." Relentlessly annoying, borderline plus-sized, horrible haircut. Yep, I think that's an accurate assessment. Dominique says that she has a headache and heads to her bedroom for a nap. As soon as she's out of earshot, the shit-talking starts. Something tells me this is a bit of a pattern in Dominique's life. Fatima says to Whitney that she is surprised that Dominique made it this far, mostly because she doesn't look like a model. Whitney agrees entirely, and notes that Dominique's most obvious flaw is her face. Even Anya gets in the action, saying that Dominique is overboard. Fatima doesn't know if she can handle Dominique anymore.
Then the girls launch into how terribly Dominque eats -- she's even worse than Whitney, apparently, and chows on candy all the time. AND she takes other peoples' food. Whitney wants Dominique to eat her own damn food. I am so glad I don't have roommates anymore. Whitney interviews that she sometimes wakes up in the night and hears Dominique stuffing her face at 2:00 a.m. But she eats, like, M&Ms. She hasn't figured out Toccara's genius strategy of keeping a rotisserie chicken by her bed. We cut to Dominique in bed, feeling gleeful about eating candy corn but admitting that she really would like a Snickers. Do I smell an endorsement? Dominique doesn't give a rat's ass if anyone likes her. Good thing, huh? She also considers herself the most improved. Some flashbacks to panel confirm her claim.
Fatima, meanwhile, tells us that she came to the competition with a mission, and that mission is to win. She's not going to give up until she wins. Anya notes that they have two more challenges left, and Fatima says that she has to win. Hmm, I'm sensing a theme having to do with "winning." Meanwhile, Anya is feeling really confident and pleased with herself for winning so many challenges. She can do this, she says, adding that you really need to have confidence that you can be America's Top Handlebar-Mustachioed Model.
The morning, there is Tyra Mail. "Take a picture. You might last longer. Love, Tyra." The girls are befuddled, as per usual. Dominique says she has a headache, and Fatima glares at her. Soon enough, the girls arrive at a lovely park populated with slow-motion birds. Italy has everything! They head to a terrace, where they see a photographer taking pictures of Paulina. Anya talks up how natural and magnetic Paulina is. She also always looks like she walked right out of 1986. Paulina introduces the girls to photographer Francesco Licata. Francesco says something kind of hard to understand -- so hard to understand, in fact, that the captioning department doesn't even try. But the gist is that he's going to teach the girls some photography basics. Paulina says that to know what things look like behind the camera is very useful when you're in front of the camera. And as we all know, there's nothing more heroic than a model taking a turn behind the lens and then treating herself to a full plate of baby back ribs at Chili's.
Francesco has the girls practice with each other, which both Anya and Whitney agree is fun. Whitney says it was very helpful to find out what the other girls' strengths and weaknesses are, and adds that it's nice to know it's hard to find a good picture of her competition. Dominique takes this opportunity to further annoy her competitors, telling Fatima that she looks fake when she poses. Fatima interviews that Dominique is only doing this to bring her down, and that's not how you talk to your model. There's a fine line between being competitive and being disrespectful, she says. Karma agrees, and Dominque falls backwards on her ass into a big pile of leaves.
Francesco leads the girls back to Paulina, who has to bring out Ann freaking Shoket again. Doesn't that bitch ever take a day off? Shoket is, of course, the editor-in-chief of Seventeen. She stands there listlessly as Paulina tells the girls that now they're going to get to shoot with a real model -- Paulina herself! Each girl will get five minutes with Paulina. It's a variation on the old classic "seven minutes in heaven," except that there are no closets in sight so the girls will have to drag Paulina under a bush. Shoket says that they'll be evaluating the girls on two things: 1) How well they work with their model and 2) How well their photos turn out. The winner will get 50 extra frames in the photo shoot. That is a valuable prize for sure. Whitney sees this as a perfect opportunity to show the judges that she's not going to give up without a fight. She's going to make a woman out of Paulina if it kills her. Commercials.
When we return, Fatima has redoubled her efforts to win the challenge. She wants the 50 extra frames, because she really wants to rock the photo shoot. Paulina whips off her coat and the challenge begins! Fatima is up first. She shoots Paulina, and gives her some direction. Anya thinks that Fatima did a great job -- she was able to direct Paulina in a way that was professional and respectful. Paulina tells us that Fatima was very strong as a photographer. She was leading Paulina firmly by the hand, and Paulina wanted to take the trip with her. I guess she knows who's going to drive her home tonight.
we have Dominique. She first tells Paulina to put a leg up on a rock, and there is a bit of an exchange where Paulina asks which leg Dominique wants her to lift. You can tell Paulina thinks that Dominique is one crazy mofo. Dominique tells Paulina to relax and have fun and do what she wants to do. Paulina could use some more specific direction. Dominique then gets as specific as she can get with that addled brain of hers and tells Paulina that she should be walking, but not walking all the way, and, like, looking back. Got it? Anya interviews that Dominique was the worst of all. She didn't have a vision for her shoot, and wasn't sure of herself or in control of the situation. With one minute remaining, Dominique has Paulina run and turn around. Paulina looks so pretty. She tells us that Dominique was uncertain. She wanted to accomplish something brilliant and great, but didn't know how.
up is Whitney, who properly pronounces the word "foliage." One point for Whitters! She wants Paulina to be strong. Whitney tells us that Paulina is a judge as well as a supermodel, so it's incredibly intimidating to take photos of her. She gives Paulina lots of positive feedback, and says that she thinks she communicated well. She tried to be as verbal as possible without overdoing it. Dominique interviews that Whitney comes across as really professional and like she knows what she's doing. She's like the anti-Dominique in that way, isn't she? With one minute left, Whitney takes some close-ups. Paulina tells us that Whitney was a lot of fun to shoot with as a photographer. She didn't hesitate. As Whitney goes to shake her hand when the shoot is done, Paulina almost falls backwards down a set of stairs. I wonder if Whitney would have been automatically eliminated if she had put Paulina in a neck brace.
Finally, there's Anya. She tells us that if Paulina looks bad it's her fault as a photographer. Anya tells Paulina that she has a vision, then picks up a bunch of leaves from the ground. She wants Paulina to take the leaves and throw them up in the air. Paulina should have a lot of energy and smile and jump, she says. The other girls just stand on the sidelines and laugh. Then Anya tells Paulina she wants her to look at leaves curiously, like, "What is this?" Um, it's a leaf. I mean, yeah. "Tug on it. Yeah," she directs. Sounds as if Anya has a future directing porn. Whitney points out that Anya is all over the place and doesn't really know how to channel her energy. She's a ball of radiation, says Whitney. Like the Chernobyl of Cycle 10. Paulina agrees that Anya needs to narrow her focus a bit. She's very excited and has great energy, but she'd get a better result if she narrowed her vision a bit more. By the way, in all of these little Paulina interviews, Shoket is just standing there in her hideous purple top looking like Grimace threw up all over her. For the last few frames, Anya yells for Paulina to give her energy like a fierce tiger. Tug on it!
Shoket finally tries to earn her ticket to Italy by giving the girls their critiques. Whitney's beauty shots of Paulina were great. Paulina also liked taking pictures with Whitney because she had a firm hand and didn't hesitate. She felt like Whitney knew what she was talking about. Anya's crazy leaf-throwing idea didn't really turn out all that well. Paulina says that Anya was probably the most fun to shoot with. When her stuff worked, it worked really well, or it didn't work at all (e.g., tug on it). Shoket thinks it was great that Fatima tried a bunch of different things. If she was editing the film, she'd be thankful that Fatima gave her so many different options. Paulina says she was most relaxed with Fatima. She knew what she wanted Paulina to do, but directed her in a very gentle manner. It was nice. And then there's Dominique. Her composition wasn't quite there, and Shoket saw a bunch of cactus hats. Paulina thought that Dominique had a vision, and Paulina was inspired to go where Dominique led her. And then Dominique led her to a cactus. She probably thought it was a giant Pez dispenser. In any case, the winner of the challenge is Fatima. She is thrilled.
Back at home, Fatima practices her runway walk. Whitney tells her she looks good. You know who doesn't think Fatima has a clue what she's doing, though? Yep, Miss Dominique. Dominique says she, Dominique, can bring it, and knows how to hold it at the end of the runway. But Fatima isn't fazed. She says it's comical to her that Dominique thinks she doesn't know what she's doing. It's Dominique who doesn't know what she's doing, and is annoying to boot, says Fatima. Dominique then bores the other girls with the tale of how she always knew she was going to make it all the way. Anya is so bored she tries to chew off her own finger to facilitate a medical emergency. Dominique says that even though other people had better photos during certain shoots, she's still survived. She believes in herself more than any of the other girls do, she says, and that's what's going to get her to the final runway despite what the other chicks think. In her post-ANTM career, Dominique is totally going to host a series of inspirational podcasts with Oprah entitled A New Dearth. Anya is sad that her finger-chewing plan hasn't worked very. She interviews that Dominique drains all her energy. She puts her hands to her head and says, "I'm melting!" before adding that she can't take it anymore. Dominique continues to talk about how great it is to believe in yourself. Fatima interviews that yeah, Dominique wants it, but so do the other three bitches. With that, we head to commercials.
Oh, and then it's Saliesha's My Life. She's at Fashion Week! Wearing a purple frock! Walking on the runway, she says, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. You know, come to think of it, Dominique's My Life As a Cover Girl would be total genius, albeit seventeen minutes long.
When we return, there is more Tyra Mail: "They're out for blood, but they will give you a taste of fame. Love, Tyra." Oooh, maybe the girls will have to pose with leeches! But first, Dominique has to leech the energy out of the room as she drones on, this time about how you have to go into each photo shoot thinking that you're going to come out number one. Whitney notes that she's been in the bottom two the past two weeks, so if anyone is under pressure to do well, it's her. She says she's worked so hard to become part of the final four and she isn't finished yet. Dominique interviews that she doesn't know if Whitney's going to go home or not. But either way, this is a competition and she'd rather see Whitney go than see herself go. Dominique is the only one in the room, or probably on the whole entire set, who feels this way.
The girls head off to meet Jay Manuel, this week in a quilted fuchsia leather jacket. It clashes so fiercely with his orange face and white hair that I had to adjust the color on my TV set. Jay tells the girls that this week they're going to do a night shoot, and that they will be styled like move stars from the 1950's. They'll also be posing with a sexy male model, and have to make like they're being stalked by a paparazzo. Jay points out that in Italian "paparazzo" actually means "mosquito." They will not, however, be releasing thousands of mosquitoes in the air to add extra drama to the shoot. Boo. This week's photographer is someone who knows what it's like to be in the public eye, says Jay. It's Nigel! I love it, because Nigel can be a real bitch on these shoots. Jay reminds everyone that Fatima gets an extra 50 frames for winning the challenge, then sends the girls to hair and makeup.
In the makeup room, Dominique bores Sutan in the same way she bores everyone else. He is angry that his hands are full of eyeliner, so he can't even try to chew off his finger. Jay enters and tells the girls that the shoot should feel a little cinematic. They shouldn't just stand there and pose -- they are taking things to the level. We get a look at the male models, and Fatima interviews that she's never had a boyfriend, and so doesn't know how to be sexy around guys. Girl, you need to do your research! If you watched Cycles 1 - 9, you'd know that Tyra Banks does not truck in virgin excuse-making.
Anya is up first, looking oddly like Kate Winslet. She tells us that she's shot with Nigel before, so she feels comfortable. She's ready to take direction, give good energy, and inspire her photographer. Basically, the setup is as such: Anya and her sexy Italian man are coming down a set of stairs as a paparazzo lies in wait to photograph them. And Nigel, of course, photographs this whole scene -- paparazzo and all. After several frames, Nigel tells Anya that it seems like she's modeling, and that she needs to make it more effortless. Jay employs the strategy of distracting Anya, while telling Nigel to keep shooting. Literally, he goes, "Hey Anya, you know what?" And she just stares and they get some good pictures. When her shoot is done she asks Jay and Nigel if they have any critique for her. Jay says that the distraction got Anya out of her own head. If I were in Anya's head, I would have a look of abject terror on my face. Nigel doesn't think that Anya is a great model doing what she was doing, but she does have potential to get there. Jay tells us that Anya looked the part, but her training wheels are still on. What is Anya going to do when she's left alone, he asks? Probably play a game of tic-tac-toe with herself. It always ends in a draw.
Fatima is up . She says she has a great advantage over the other girls with her 50 extra frames. Nigel shows her what he wants her to do and she smiles blankly. She does look gorgeous, though. Nigel starts shooting, and Fatima turns toward her male companion. Nigel reminds her that the shot won't be very memorable if they can't see her face. Jay mumbles that they really might need the 50 extra frames. He tries to bait Fatima into doing better, but it's blandsville. Fatima gets a great advantage in that she gets to see her film before taking her extra 50 frames. She acknowledges that her pictures are kind of bad. She really wants to get things right with her second chance. Sadly, she still can't seem to figure out how to do it. Nigel thinks she's about as exciting as an Abrams and Bettes marathon. Jay tries to get Fatima to act angry, which at least gets her to do something. When the shoot is through, Nigel tells Fatima that she's a really beautiful girl, but that the shoot was not inspiring. He interviews that she has no star power, and seemed lost rather than taking control of the situation.
Whitney is , and is excited to be shooting with Nigel. Her main goal is to show Nigel that she can work and take direction. Whitney looks particularly gorgeous, but her poses are all very pose-y. Jay tells her to play with her poses more to make them real. He compliments her booty. After her shoot, Nigel tells Whitney that she looks great -- but this isn't about whether she looks pretty or not. It's about how well she works within the photo's concept. Whitney interviews that the shoot was really difficult. She tried a range of emotions and angles, but it just wasn't her best shoot. However, she thinks she looked really pretty.
Finally, there is Dominique. Nigel tells her that she may be the bitchy diva, or the giggling diva, or the sexy diva. Or the bitchy diva again. The main thing is that she has to believe it herself to make everyone else believe it. Dominique loves Nigel and feels like she can turn it up more than the other girls. She begins her shoot, and Jay tells her that she looks like she's staged something for the camera as opposed to being surprised by the camera. He tells her to let go of the poses a bit and pretend that this is a film. Dominique looks like a big fat drag queen. She's La Dolce Man-Meata. Jay basically says that everyone sucked, and that Dominique took a few steps back in his opinion.
Back at home, the girls talk about how badly they did. Anya wants to be in the final three so badly and, I quote, "To come this far, it's almost, like, like, feeling, grabbing, just wanna hold it." I think I'm finally becoming fluent in Anya-ese, because that makes total sense to me. Whitney tells us that she's always nervous about panel, and that this week she really needs to have the best picture. She wonders if maybe she can manage to be the best of the worst this week. As all of the girls look anxious, we head to commercials.
We enter panel with a photograph of Tyra as an alien grasshopper paparazzo. It's the role she was born to play. The girls enter the room. There are prizes, there are judges. Shoket is the guest judge of the week, ready to knock our fishnet stockings off with her insightful wisdom yet again.
Anya is up first for evaluation. Tyra thinks that her photo is stunning, and Paulina exclaims that she loves it. It really does look like a candid shot. Tyra thinks that Nigel's photo of Anya is the best of her in the competition -- even better than Tyra's photo of Anya last week. Well, at least she says this is what she thinks. Oh, wait, but we're not done with this yet. Nigel's photo is more a shot of who Anya is, and her true beauty, whereas Tyra's was more of an interpretive shot. I bet this was edited down from about 37 minutes of Tyra talking about the photograph that she took of Anya. Nigel notes that Anya benefited from the fact that he shot her once before for a challenge win. Thus, this time he already had her angles worked out. He says that what was interesting for him, and frustrating for Jay, was that although Anya is very photogenic and they got a great shot, it was her general surprise on set that made the shot work. She wasn't in control of her surprise. She fell into it, but didn't encapsulate "star." Paulina notes that, from her experience in this week's challenge, Anya doesn't have the greatest focus but she brings an energy and freshness that's enjoyable. Shoket thinks that it says a great thing about Anya as a model that she can be so real and yet so fake, all at once. It's something we should all aspire to.
up is Whitney. Tyra thinks Whitney's face looks stunning, but she doesn't look stunned. It's like she's just looking at the photographer going, "Yeah, I know I'm fine." Paulina thinks it's the first time a photograph has done Whitney justice and shown how beautiful she actually is, but she seemed a bit stiff. Shoket compliments Whitney on her shoulders. Nigel thinks that it was hard for Whitney to get into character. Her male model companion was great, though. Maybe he could be in the running in Cycle 11? Whitney was modeling rather than acting, and sometimes you have to model and act at the same time.
And then we have Dominique. The judges gave her a lot of crap last week for having such a shit-tastic wardrobe, and they're not cutting her a whole lot of slack today, either. Dominique needs to learn that leggings are not for everyone. Or, really, for anyone. I still hold fast to this belief, even if girls on college campuses everywhere try to prove me wrong on a daily basis. The panel wants Dominique to pull up her tunic-length shirt, and she kind of doesn't know what's going on. At one point Tyra even has to ask what's wrong with her. Oh, Tyra, there isn't time in a VH1 marathon, let alone one measly panel session. When they finally get to Dominique's photo, Nigel notes that it was the softest one they had of her. Miss J. just groans and Paulina says, "This is a transvestite, I'm sorry." She does add that Dominique makes a beautiful tranny. I think that's what's called cold comfort. Tyra acknowledges that sometimes she can look like a tranny, too. But when she has a lot of makeup and looks like Tyrone, she knows she has to soften her face. She makes Dominique do her fierce drag face, then soften it up. Her "soft" face looks like she's about to sneeze. I guess that's progress, though.
Finally, there's Fatima. Paulina loves her shot, saying it's romantic and that Fatima's face looks beautiful. Fatima starts talking about not having a boyfriend and not knowing how to convey love, and Tyra cuts her off. She asks if Fatima has ever been a courtier in a castle. Fatima has not. But she posed convincingly last week when Tyra took her photo. Models are hired to do things that they've never done before, and to sell it. Nigel says that Fatima did get an extra fifty frames, and notes that her shot looks like it would be great for Cover Girl. However, it might not have been the right shot for this particular idea. She didn't take it to the level, and Miss J. says it was just a pretty picture.
The judges deliberate. Anya's photo was the best out of the bunch, but she really lucked into the shot. Shoket loves her, and Tyra thinks that she looks like a kitty cat. This is really just an invitation for Tyra to meow gratuitously. Fatima's photo is beautiful, says Paulina, and she looks like a movie star. But the idea of the picture has escaped her. Miss J. says he's tired of girls complaining that they don't have romantic experience, which is an invitation for Tyra to say, "I've never been an aborigine! Or a circus ringmaster! Or even a geisha! And it never stopped me." I love that this implies that being a geisha is actually something that might have been possible for her, she just never got around to it. "I was all ready to go to Geisha College, but then Gilles Bensimon discovered me on an airplane and whisked me to Paris! Some day I hope to return to school and complete my degree." Nigel says that on set, Fatima came off as quite snooty. She basically ignored Jay's advice to her. Tyra says that Fatima does that at panel all the time. She's not a good listener. Miss J. is tired of her. Whitney's photo is beautiful, and her face is stunning, but she could have given a bit more. Shoket thinks that she should use some of her va-va-va-voom qualities to her advantage and own her sexiness. This is kind of exactly the opposite of what Tyra told her last week, isn't it? And then there's Dominique. She's not the softest girl. Miss J. resorts to his drag voice again. Nigel wonders if Dominique is right for a makeup campaign. Miss J. says, still in drag voice, that that's why it's called Cover Girl -- it covers up the man in you.
The girls return. Four beautiful ladies, three photos. You know the drill. Tyra calls Anya first, followed by Whitney. This of course leaves Dominique and Fatima. Fatima had 50 extra frames, and thus should have had an amazing shot. Also, she doesn't listen to what the judges have to say. Dominique's pictures in the beginning were pretty wretched, but then she got a whole lot better. But this week she sucked again. And clearly, it's Dominique who goes home. She looks sad, but doesn't have a breakdown or anything. Tyra tells Dominique to master her face. Dominique hugs the other girls, who are relieved that they will finally get some peace and quiet. She thanks the judges for this amazing opportunity, and exits. Her farewell interview is pretty measured. She's proud of herself, and has learned some amazing things. It's going to be a surprise what's for Dominique, she says. She feels like she's on top of the world even though she didn't win. I'm glad to see that her superior level of delusion didn't fail her in this moment.