The girls are still in Hawaii, and it's Laura's birthday! She's served up an eggs n' Spam breakfast special for the occasion. Erin, on the other hand, gets served a hot plate of contempt from the other girls, who can't stand her. But more on that in a bit. Marisa Miller, 5'8" Victoria's Secret supermodel gives the girls a lesson in bikini posing. This includes the arts of the booty tooch and Barbie toes. Additionally, the girls have to get wet and roll in sand. To poor, sunburned Laura this feels like sandpaper on a wound. Happy birthday! Nicole is new to being sexy, but manages to make it work in a makeshift shower as the girls practice the art of getting clean on camera.
Marisa leads girls up to a cliff's edge, where they meet Nigel. It turns out the girls will have to pose as they jump off of said cliff for this week's photo shoot challenge. The girl who strikes the most sexy and graceful pose while jumping wins. Everyone gets just one shot. Laura gets points for being the first to volunteer for anything. Sundai is the only one who really has trouble, as she gets a wave right in the ear. The winner of the challenge will receive a pearl necklace worth $5,000 as well as extra frames in the week's photo shoot. She will then get to choose a friend who will get additional frames, and then that friend will choose a friend to get additional frames, and so on until one poor girl is left out with only the standard amount of frames at the photo shoot. Nicole, being perfect, wins. She picks Sundai for extra frames. Sundai in turn chooses Laura, who chooses Jennifer. Erin is out cold. Nicole explains that no one chose her because she is universally reviled. Erin is bratty and pissed about the whole thing.
The week's photo shoot is actually underwater, with bathing suits and colorful scarves. Laura has a serious fear of death by suffocation, and starts hyperventilating at the bottom of the ocean. However, she pulls it together and does a pretty good job overall. Nicole rocks it in the face, but her final photo has weird frog legs and flat feet. It just keeps her from being the best of the week. That distinction goes to Jennifer, who was kind of a surprise but benefited from her extra frames and the direction she got from Jay between her first and second rounds of shots. Sundai has asthma and an earache and generally makes a lot of excuses that no one buys. She ends up in the bottom two with Erin, who doesn't go deep enough and so loses her face. In the end, however, Erin gets yet another chance, and Sundai gets sent right back to the foster care system.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see why vloggers Val & Beth think that Tyra should start accepting older models, as well, in TV is the Answer.
Previously: The top six were banned from the disgusting Top Model house and swept away to the inter national destination of Hawaii. But it was no vacation for five of the girls who still had to deal with Erin the whole time. And despite being pretty great all season, Brittany was sent home after, the show does not remind us, posing in effing blackface. In any case, five bitches remain!
It is night, and the girls are heading home after panel. Jennifer can't believe that she's part of the final five. Me either! She says it's unreal and scary. Meanwhile, this is the second week in a row that Erin felt certain she was going home. Me too! She says that panel wants her to succeed, and so she doesn't want to let them down. I don't know that they actually give a rat, but okay. Erin says that it's a lot of pressure. She's 18 and this is the biggest thing she's ever done with her life. Sundai tells us that she doesn't even know why Erin's still here. All of the others think that she's hanging by a thread, but manages to hang on every time. The others want to flick her out of the competition like a poodle-haired bug. It would be pretty great if annoying people could be flicked out of existence. Alas, that technology has not yet been invented.
Once the girls get back to their house, Nicole says that she can't even enjoy having the best photo of the week since Brittany went home. She notes that Brittany did really well throughout the competition and had several number one photos. I love that in season 13 these girls are still trying to find the logic in the decisions of the panel. Save the brainpower, sweeties -- there is none. Jennifer takes Brittany's ouster as a reminder that any one picture can make or break you. Unless you're Erin, in which your elf troll powers hypnotize Tyra into handing you a photo. Jennifer interviews that Nicole is a huge competitor and has yet to fall below the halfway line, then animatedly stabs her own hand and yells that she hates the bitch. I love how Jennifer's awesome personality has made me forget about her lazy eye.
Tyra Mail! "You never know what can come to shore. I hope you look appropriate. Love, Tyra." Someone screams that they're going to be sea turtles. Jennifer seconds the animal idea, then cracks up like a maniac. Nicole, true to form, thinks that they might be corpses washed up on the shore. Actually, that sounds totally plausible. The girls hang out in their bedroom, and Nicole tells Sundai that she likes her because she's been through a lot, and yet it hasn't hardened her. Sundai notes that the others don't actually even know her story. Laura remembers that Sundai was adopted, and Sundai quietly says that that was part of it. In an interview, Sundai says that she had a rough childhood and ended up in a foster home. And then, unfortunately, she says, "It actually made me a better person than I am today." And I know what she means, but still. She says that it's better coming from a rough background, because you appreciate things more. Take that, bratface Erin. Sundai says that if she makes it to the final four the others will get the full story. Thank goodness Sundai spilled her background to Tyra and the Jays in the premiere episode, otherwise the other models might never have known. Sundai tells us that if this were to end tomorrow, she'd feel like her life has ended. She says that modeling is her only hope to be successful, and there's nothing else for her. Well, that's pretty devastating. And untrue! I'm sure there's a community theater production of Annie out there that has just been waiting for an 18 year old who looks 12! The Sundai will come out tomorrow!
The morning, the girls celebrate Laura's birthday! She confessionalizes in crazy-voice, "It's my birthday! Everybody loves me on my birthdaaaaay!" The other girls serve her some breakfast, and Laura tells us that she came into this competition with absolutely no experience. It's been quite a transition from castrating bulls to modeling. Laura is 20, and celebrates by eating her eggs and spam. Just like home! She's pleased to be on the track to fulfilling her dreams. If eating spam is her dream, she's already won. But anyway, happy birthday Laura, most likeable Top Model contestant ever!
The girls head to the beach, and Erin brats that it smells like fish. It's the beach, you nit. She further brats, "Are we camping out? Cause I don't wanna." Yeah, camping out on the beach in sunny Hawaii totally sucks. Dumb Hawaii. A boat approaches with several men paddling Cleopatra Barbie to shore. The girls are stunned to see that it is in fact Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller. Laura tells us that she's loved Victoria's Secret catalogues since she was a youngster, and actually studied them. Perhaps Grandma Wanda Sue even made her some trampy bloomers! Marisa introduces herself as "Marisa Miller, American supermodel." She explains that she started her career doing spreads in Italian and American Vogue, is a Victoria's Secret angel and has been in numerous fashion campaigns. AND she's only 5'8". The girls are thrilled at this last bit of news. Marisa Miller's voice makes me glad that she's a print model.
Marisa is there to teach the girls how to be hot and not over the top. She starts by instructing the girls to strip down to their bikinis, and does the same herself. Her rack is pretty otherworldly. In a good way. Posture is her first lesson. She tells the girls to show their curves, and tooch their booty rather than tuck it under. And then she gets on all fours in the sand, which is of course the pinnacle of taste. Marisa imparts a lesson that she learned from Tyra: women like to see a model's curves from the side, while men like to see all the lady bits straight on. The girls should be aware of their audience. Marisa also suggests that the girls pretend to wear high heels even when they're barefooted -- a technique called the "Barbie toe" -- to give a nice pop to their hips. Jennifer notes that this is especially important for shorty petite models.
Marisa sends the girls into the ocean and yells at them to not be "little pussycats" and get wet. Sundai doesn't want to get her hair wet, since it will lead to a big Afro. Marisa gives her the okay to just wet her face. When they're back on shore, the wet girls have to writhe around in the sand until they're covered in it. Laura gets a blurred boob for her enthusiastic efforts. She reminds us that she has a terrible sunburn, so the sand feels awesome on her raw, red skin. She smiles the whole time, though, because she's a pro. Marisa tells the girls that they have to be prepared for everything. When she's shooting for Sports Illustrated she'll often be covered in sand, and the photographers will like it. Like she is here. Sadly, she does not show the girls how to pose with their pants halfway around their asses. Rather, she instructs the girls to wash off under a makeshift shower on the beach, and pose all the while. Laura goes first, and Marisa has to tell her not to rub her own boobs. Laura has to be conscious of her body positions as well. Marisa tells Jennifer to close her mouth and yells, "What are ya tryin' to catch in there?" So gross! She does, however, compliment Jennifer on her Barbie toe. Sundai is cute, but Marisa says sometimes she's too cute and looks five. Erin gets on her knees in the sand, which is a popular choice. She says it wasn't hard to be in the shower since she's pretty aware of what her body does. Then it's Nicole's turn. She says she's never tried to be sexy for anyone, so it was weird for her. She tries to remember everything Marisa told her, and her final verdict is that her posing was cute if not impossibly sexy.
And there's more! The girls follow Marisa up onto a cliff side and stand on a precarious ledge. They are greeted by Nigel. He has them look behind him at a girl who jumps off of the cliff and into the water. Laura's reaction, "Wha? It's a suicide!" But no! It's a photo challenge. Jennifer is nervous, and fears that she will fall into the coral, break her head open, and die in front of Nigel and Marisa Miller. It's not how she wants to go. And truly, that's a fate that's best saved for Erin. As Sundai covers her face in her hands, we cut to commercials.
When we return, Sundai is quite nervous and asks how you're supposed to look sexy when you're fearing for your life. But it must be done. Nigel says that the girl who manages to strike a pose that's both sexy and graceful in this extreme situation will win. The catch is that each girl will only have one chance at the photo. I'm sure most of the girls are fine with only having to put their lives in danger once. Jono Knight is the photographer for this shoot, and he's on a boat below the cliff. Laura volunteers to go first, because she's awesome like that. She hopes she doesn't look like she's going to have a heart attack. She jumps, and is ultimately just thankful to be alive. Nigel and Marisa think that she did pretty well. Erin is . She brats, "I like jumping off cliffs. I'll jump off anything. Just give me something to jump off of and I'll do it." I have a couple of bridges in mind. Erin is still freaking out about having been in the bottom two again, and says she has to work twice as hard to impress the judges. Actually, it seems like she only has to work half as hard. She looks like a maniac when she jumps, and Nigel notes that grace wasn't a big part of her look.
Nicole volunteers to go , and tells us that she remembered Marisa's advice to pose to the side and show the curves of your body. Nicole gets points for actually paying attention, though given the contradictory nature of advice on this show at some point that might be a detriment. She jumps in profile, and Nigel and Marisa think she turned the wrong way. Then there's Jennifer, who pees her pants as she jumps. Metaphorically. I think. She says the experience was exhilarating. Finally, there's Sundai. She's scared of being dashed on the rocks, as you do. However, she's here to win the competition so convinces herself that she can do it. Sundai jumps, and her landing is the only really dodgy one. She apparently hits the water with the side of her face, which, ouch. She says that water jetted into her ear, and it really hurt. But she lives. I was hoping someone would at least get impaled a little and the blood would attract sharks. Ah well, a girl can dream.
Marisa and Nigel have looked at the film, and are ready to give the girls their critiques. Marisa announces that the challenge winner will get a chocolate pearl necklace worth $5,000, and Nigel adds that the winner will also get more frames on her photo shoot. And then said winner will pick a friend who will also get more frames on her photo shoot. And then that friend will pick her friend, who will win more frames on her photo shoot. And so on and so forth until there's one girl left... out. Tragedy! Laura's photo was pretty good, but she lost her face. Indeed, she looks crazy and paunchy. But Marisa commends her for going for great form and putting some thought into it. Erin tried too hard and as a result looks gangly and nuts. There's a hand up in the air and legs askew. Marisa says it wasn't graceful as much as energetic. Nicole's photo is freaking awesome, even though her one leg looks totally bloody. What's up with that? Maybe the bloody eyeball is leaking onto her limbs one by one. Nigel tells her that she could have pushed it more but he likes how she underestimated and didn't do too much. Marisa says she initially worried when Nicole jumped in profile, but it worked. Jennifer looked fantastic when she jumped off of the rock, but then fear came through in her face. Poor Sundai is clutching her ear, and Nigel tells her that she looked very graceful. Marisa agrees, saying that her face looked good until she hit the water with it.
Of course there can only be one winner, and that winner is Nicole. The other girls are clearly sick of it. Nigel asks Nicole to pick a friend to get more frames, and she chooses Sundai. Sundai in turn chooses Laura, who chooses Jennifer. That means that Erin gets bubkiss. She is totally pissed, and brats that if she does a great job with the amount of frames she gets, it'll be cool. Well, yeah, but she hasn't been so astute at that in the past few weeks, has she? Nicole breaks it down for us: "Nobody chose Erin because she can be a little brat and she gets on people's nerves." No doubt. Nicole goes to Island Pearls to claim her necklace, and is quite proud of herself. She's come a long way.
Nicole gets home just in time for Laura's birthday party. Everyone seems to have a job, and Erin yells at the others to come and look at her cupcakes and tell her how great they are. This further cements her reputation as an annoying troll. Sundai knows that Erin feels down about not getting extra frames. She certainly doesn't feel bad about Erin's predicament, though. The girls have prepared quite a spread for Laura's birthday, and Laura tells us that it was the best birthday any girl could ask for. She feels loved and cared for, and doesn't have to read a thing. Nicole tells us that it's important to have fun, but at the same time she doesn't want to head into a photo shoot tired and so is going to bed. With that, she turns off the light and we head to commercials.
When we return there is Tyra Mail: "Tomorrow you'll be getting friendly with some local natives. Love, Tyra." The girls once again think that animals might be involved. They head out to meet Jay at a dock. He tells them that today's photo shoot will take them out to sea, and they'll be working with photographer Russell James. Russell emerges with some scuba gear, and tells the girls that it's a pretty hot day so they'll be shooting underwater. Sundai again looks particularly un-thrilled, and worries about her ear. Russell shot this photo of Tyra, and has also shot underwater Rolex and Victoria's Secret ads. Laura doesn't have time to be impressed, because she is too caught up in her greatest ever fear of drowning or suffocating. Good times. The girls board the boat, and Jennifer notes how exciting it is to be shooting underwater in the ocean rather than some lame-ass tank. Russell explains to the girls how to breathe air from a regulator when they're way down at the bottom of the ocean. I have to say that I would probably freak out about this one, too. Each girl will get one round with Russell underwater, then they'll come up and get feedback and direction from Jay and go back down for another round of photos. Except for Erin! Sorry, Erin, but nobody likes you. Erin confessionalizes that she should get props for not having as many frames as the other girls, and the other girls should be judged more harshly if they do poorly. The "poor me" routine isn't so effective when you've annoyed the crap out of everyone all season.
The girls get hair and makeup done, and Sundai starts to feel nauseous. In addition to the ear problem and the nausea, Sundai has asthma. This makes her really nervous, which I can understand, but the list of ailments is a bit tedious. Laura is up first, and Jay tells her to look long and tall, like an underwater fashion ballerina. Laura interviews, "Honestly, there's not, like, a lot of oceans in Kentucky. I'm not very good at swimming. My biggest fear in the world is to DIE! From lack of OXYGEN!" Laura goes underwater and as soon as her regulator is off she starts to hyperventilate. She notes that you do not want to start hyperventilating at the bottom of the ocean. Frankly, I don't think they're actually that deep, but let's just go with it. Laura's freaking out, but she tells us that she never gave up. Russell tells us that Laura is a bit of a panicker, but overall she made some progress on calming herself down and improving her performance as she went. Jay sees the photos from above, and is impressed with how well she followed the direction that he gave her. When Laura surfaces, Jay tells her that her film was really good. She handles round two with aplomb, and is proud that she got beautiful shots while facing her worst fear. It's fun to conquer your fears! When Laura comes up she's shaking. This makes Sundai nervous, and Laura tells her not to panic. Sundai stares at Laura from under her wig with eyes of terror.
Nicole is up . She was nervous going into the shoot, but then gave herself a pep talk in which she told herself not to be a baby. That's really what you have to do in many of life's uncomfortable situations. She got over it. Back on the surface, the girls talk about how Nicole is inevitable going to rock this shoot like she rocks everything. Erin pipes in with, "I hope she freaks out." We could have predicted that. Nicole surfaces for Jay's feedback, and he tells her that they already have a shot. He wants her to go back down and have more fun with it, because that's when she comes alive. Jay gives kudos to Nicole, saying that she was playing around and had dynamic movement with a serene expression. That's what he asked her to do, and she did it. Jennifer tells us that Nicole is very big competition, however that pushes her to try harder.
And so Jennifer is , trying harder. As she moves, Jay says that what she's doing is beautiful, but not in line with the goals of the shoot. She's hovering around the surface, and the photos are supposed to be underwater. When she gets back on the boat, Jay tells her that he didn't see any of her balletic, acrobatic moves. And even though the surface shots are stunning, they need to get her underwater. Jennifer is thankful for her second chance, and starts to get comfortable. She poses, swims, and makes shapes in the water. She's going with the flow, and it just happens to be an awesome flow.
And then there's Sundai. She tells us that she didn't go all the way underwater because she has an asthma problem and has to stay close to the surface. She can't hold her breath very long, and keeps swallowing water when she goes underwater. Things are not going well for her. Russell tells us that Sundai kept coming up with excuses along the lines of, "My ears hurt! The water's going up my nose! I have asthma!" And what she really needed to do was suck it up and get the job done. He's clearly unimpressed. Sundai surfaces, and Jay asks if she was using the regulator. Sundai says she wasn't because she was too scared since if she goes too deep she won't be able to breathe at all. Jay calls bullshit, saying that people with asthma dive so she should be able to do it. He thinks she's psyching herself out, and would hate to see her go home since her trouble here is really mental. On her second chance, Sundai vows to focus. Her performance is "ish." The poor thing trips on her way back up the boat stairs. It's not her week.
Finally there's Erin. She reiterates that she thinks the panel wants to see her succeed. She doesn't want to let them down and, more importantly, would like to be their "little golden child." Or the tiny creature who makes their shoes at night. Erin gets in the water, and Russell tells us that she wouldn't go deep. As a result all of her photos were on the surface, and he could have shot the in a swimming pool. He feels that she blew her opportunity. When Erin gets back on the boat, Jay notes that she looks bummed that she doesn't get to go back in the water. He tells her that the modeling world is like that -- sometimes people get more opportunities than others. And, I mean, that's life, kiddo. It's what you do with the opportunities you get that matters. Erin cries and interviews that if she's interviewed as harshly as the other girls who got more photos, that sucks. And yet would be sweet justice.
The girls head home to find more Tyra Mail. Someone will be eliminated. The real story here, though, is Laura's ridiculous yet awesome outfit which features some sort of odd makeshift coconut bra thing (not made of coconuts, and way too small) over a t-shirt with a grass skirt on the bottom. She looks positively deranged. Erin tells us that she wants this very badly. She's proud to have made it this far, but it would still suck not to win. Nicole wishes that they could have panel immediately, because the whole thing is so stressful. Sundai can't imagine going home, because home is a van down by the river. Or something similarly horrible. Think about it as we go to commercials.
When we return, it's panel time. There are prizes, there are judges. Marisa Miller and her fantastic boobs are the guest judge. Sundai is up first, and Tyra asks how it was to shoot with one of her favorite photographers, Russell James. Sundai says in her car salesman/newscaster voice that it was a little stressful but very fun. Tyra mocks Sundai's voice again, and her impression is pretty dead-on. She says that Sundai is the opposite of a lot of Top Model girls, who have to be taught to enunciate. Sundai needs a little Novocain in the tongue to help her relax. And then there's Sundai's photo. Marisa and Tyra both agree that she looks very tall, and that this angle is working for her body. The body language is good, but Sundai totally lost her face. It's near the surface and her hair is covering it, so she basically looks like Darth Vader. However, Nigel says that it doesn't look like she's struggling. Tyra tells Sundai that the photo would be better if she were deeper in the water. She knows that Sundai has asthma problems and her ear thing, and those made her photo limiting. Because she's at the surface, it takes away the "oh my God-ness" of the photo. Look for "oh my God-ness" in an OED near you. Marisa tells Sundai that she has a beautiful face, but she lost the light and thus lost her face. Still, she did a good job with her body.
Laura is , and the judges immediately know that grandma Wanda Sue made her bolero jacket. Indeed, Laura saw it in Harper's Bazaar and told her grandma she had to have it, and grandma sent it to Laura for her birthday. Once again, I think Laura is drunk. Or maybe it's possible to have drunk-voice all the time when you're made of happiness and light? Marisa says the jacket would look cute with a pair of jeans rather than the dress Laura is wearing, and Tyra confiscates it. Tyra asks Laura about the shoot, and Laura says it was very scary since her biggest fear in the whole wide world is to suffocate or drown. It was very emotional for her. Tyra tells her that her body language is absolutely beautiful, and she had no idea that Laura had such a big fear of drowning. It didn't show that Laura struggled, which means she can push past her fear. Miss J. tells Laura that sometimes it's unwise to volunteer too much information, because it might negatively color the judges' perception of the photo. Because they have no objectivity, clearly. Marisa notes that Laura's back is in the light and her face is in the shadow. She needs to find the light, which is a model's best friend.
Jennifer is , and her shot is unusual because her body is straight up and down with her head turned back. Nigel thinks it's stunning. It has an element of model, an element of dream, and an element of fantasy. It's not obvious, which is why he likes it. And that in itself is obvious. Tyra notes that, standing before panel, Jennifer looks like she's holding her breath. Jennifer explains that she always does that, and in fact is usually a little lightheaded when she leaves panel. Tyra leads everyone in a breathing exercise. She then tells Jennifer that she loves the photo, and that her legs look exceptionally long. Marisa says that Jennifer did a great job, but she thinks that her body is too straight. It's important to take a deep breath from the oxygen tank and then relax a bit. Miss J. agrees that her legs could be broken up a bit to look softer, but other than that it's a beautiful picture.
Nicole is , and Nigel says that her photo is different and it almost looks like she's dancing. Her face and arms are gorgeous, but man does she have some weird skinny chicken legs. They're like ghostly toothpicks. Nigel says that he never would have expected the energy in her face, which is very cool and sort of 80's hip. Marisa agrees, and says that the light is hitting her face beautifully. Her position is unexpected, but it looks like she's dancing. Tyra also appreciates that Laura is going toward the light. Miss J. loves it from the waist up, but isn't crazy about her crazy legs. Tyra reminds Nicole to always point her toe, which leads to a story about Tyra and her toes. It's hard for Tyra to point her toes because she's super flat-footed. So she points points points points points and then flexes. And I mean, wow. She really has been through challenges in her life. First Paris at fifteen and then this. Marisa reminds Nicole of the power of Barbie toe, which Miss J. says is also a good technique to use when your shoe falls off on the catwalk. Good to know.
Finally there's Erin. Tyra asks if she needed the extra frames. Erin says they would have helped, but she thinks she did a good job of working with what she got. Well, good for her for not being a whiny brat in front of the judges. The photo is not good. Nigel tells her that it's like a test shot and doesn't look strong. He doesn't understand it, and tells her that she has to think of every photo shoot in the same way -- where's the light, where's the photographer, and what's my set. Tyra thinks that Erin looks beautiful in the photo. Come on, she looks like a ghostly puffy fetus! Tyra thinks that Erin looks beautiful in the photo, but what she doesn't like is that she can't tell it's Erin. In the modeling industry your fee is based on how successful you are. So if a client pays for a specific model and then she's unrecognizable, it's a waste of money. Marisa tells Erin to remember to lengthen, and notes that she was close to the surface which blew out her face. Tyra notes that Erin was trying so hard in this photo and on the photo shoot challenge. She needs to do less. Miss J. adds that if you keep doing what you're doing, you keep getting what you got.
Meanwhile, "Top Models in Action" features Fatima, who's apparently burning up the European fashion industry! She really is gorgeous.
Finally, it's time for the judges to deliberate. Miss J. loves Sundai's body but her face doesn't work. Tyra thinks that from far away her photo looks like a beautiful butterfly or fairy. Nigel thinks that she looks like one of Lady Cottington's pressed fairies, which is actually pretty spot on. It's not a bad pose, but it's a bit obvious. Laura's pose was also very obvious, but Tyra likes that she was committing to it, and turning it out even though she felt like she was drowning. Nigel thinks that Jennifer's photo is the best of the bunch, and is different and serene. Tyra loves her extension, but Marisa says that it's a little too erect for her. And you didn't think Miss J. was going to let that one slide, did you? He says there's no such thing. Nigel says that Erin's shot may not work, but in person today she was beaming and smiling. And yet, she can't handle critique. And most of the girls who can't handle critique end up being extremely rebellious. Marisa says that if you have that attitude, you have to be able to back it up. Nicole's photo is Marisa's favorite. There's no fear in her face, the light's beautiful on her, and she looks ridiculous in a good way. Nigel thinks that the top half is great, but her chicken legs and feet bother him so much that he'd have to crop the picture. Marisa asks if he has a foot fetish. In fact, he does. Tyra props her size 11s on his lap, and Marisa and Miss J. do the same. And Miss J. is wearing some whack-ass loafers. I'd never have expected that from him. Anyway, the judges have reached a decision.
Five beautiful young ladies stand in front of Tyra, but she only has four photos in her hands. And the first of those photos goes to the girl with the best photo. It's Jennifer! She looks shocked. Nicole looks disappointed. But she shouldn't be, because they have to mix things up and she's called with a reminder to keep up with the Barbie toe. Laura is called , which means that Sundai and Erin are in the bottom two. Two beautiful ladies stand before Tyra, but she only has one photo in her hands. And that photo represents the girl who is still in the running towards becoming America's Top Model. The girl who is not called must get the heck out of Hawaii. Sundai had twice as many photos as Erin did, and ten times the amount of excuses. She said that she has asthma, which many divers, athletes and models have. Tyra says that we don't want our photos to be the product of our excuses. And then there's Erin, who was at the top of the pack when the competition started, but who is getting weaker from week to week. She had half the amount of photos as the others, and it showed. And yet, she still manages to stay in the competition. And, I mean, I can't stand her either but she really is a lot better than Sundai. Tyra tells Erin that she's been in the bottom too many times, and too many times in a row, and it can't happen again.
Tyra hugs Sundai and looks positively gargantuan to her. Poor Sundai is bawling. Tyra tells her that she's come a long way, and is such an inspiration to young girls and boys who have been through the foster care system. Even though it hurts, Sundai has to remember that she's a leader and a role model for their inevitable gang of street urchins. Sundai hugs the other girls, who look genuinely sad to see her go. Sundai heads home, and thanks Tyra for giving her a chance. She says it was an honor to be there. She underestimated herself coming into the competition, and one thing she's gained is confidence. Sundai says that she's met a lot of cool people, has done a lot of extremely things, and got a lot out of the experience overall. She's glad she got the chance to be there. Life does go on and will have to go on, much like the heart, and Sundai says that she's not just going to give up here. Bet your bottom dollar.
week: Hula hip hop! And it's do or die at the photo shoot, because two girls are going to go home at judging!