Episode Report Card Al Lowe: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Waxing Romantic
By Al Lowe | Season 1 | Episode 2 | Aired on 01.16.2008
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.America has voted. And in a dramatic scene, Sarah is sent home, leaving Katy and Dominic to go another round. While the boys in the house are outwardly supportive, it is universally felt that Dominic is...kind of a bitch. Apparently, his attitude has been difficult to handle -- almost as difficult to handle as that two-ton necklace he wore last week? -- and they don't like him. Katy is determined to make the most of her second chance and resolves to work hard. This week, the contestants undergo hair makeovers. What a concept. They are all, of course, terrified. There are some dramatic changes, including the changing of Holly's super-cute pageboy into a super-cute pixie. Katy is transformed into a redhead. FRANKIE gets layered (need I tell you how scared I was they would cut off his hair?), and Casey just looks sort of lank and greasy. Next up is a waxing session for the dudes. They all scream in agony. Their photo shoot this week is in a beautiful courthouse, where they will be hanging from the ceiling. The whole thing this week is about having the right "attitude." Ronnie goes first and kills it. Ben is nervous, and it shows. The photographer loves Jacki, of course, and didn't really like Ben, Jay, or Katy. Next up, they go back to Debbie and the unitards and get their weekly measurements done. While Holly is congratulated for losing a half-inch here and there, Aryn gets the "Is that healthy?" speech for losing weight. Which is it, people? Ben and Ronnie both blush like fools when it is revealed they've been working out together. See, what did I tell you last week? I warned you, Ben. You start this jokey-flirty stuff with a smoking hot gay man? THAT IS HOW THEY GET YOU. Later, they all sit down for a meal and go through an excruciating Real World-style bullshit scene where they answer mean questions about each other. It's a really unbearable attempt to inject drama, and some of them at least seem embarrassed. They are lucky enough to work with and wear the clothes of Heatherette in their catwalk show, and they all get made up to look crazy and hit the runway. Dominic, once again, whines, and the whole gang gets in on the act making fun of Ben and Ronnie's manlove. Laugh it up, guys, all the way to Ben's divorce trial. The panel makes Katy choose three models for the bottom three, which is evil, and she suggests Dom, Casey, and Aryn. In fact, however, she goes up for the vote herself (well...), along with Dominic (yes!) and Ben (no!). Want more? The full recap starts right below!
We're reminded that last week, Jacki cried about the thong, Perry walked through the pain, and Dominic whined and made excuses. This resulted in Dominic going into the hole along with Katy and Sarah, she of Earth's longest torso. Left in the hands of America, the bottom three sullenly pack their bags, not knowing which of them will be voted off. Katy and Sarah both say privately that they're pretty sure they want Dominic to go -- "he's kind of a prima donna," Sarah says. And in a painful affirmation of this opinion, we see Dominic droning on to Perry about how if he does get voted off, "at least I get to go home to like, my chick, and my records and my turntables and stuff." Duuuude. Can you hear yourself? Katy says, in an interview, that if Dom's so ready to go home, she hopes he's the one to go. "I want Dom and Katy to come back," FRANKIE says in the kitchen, and I think for a moment that he's going to say something nice, but no. He turns his Manson lamps on full beam, and says that he wants them to come back because he sees Sarah as more of a threat, and with her gone, he'll have a better chance. FRANKIE, you're so much hotter when you are silent.
On their way to the elimination, Sarah says she doesn't think she's the one who should go, at all. "I have no gut feeling," Katy adds, saying that in any case she's not ready to go home, either. Sometimes when they show a close-up of Katy's face, I can really see how she got in to this contest -- she is really attractive. The three of them face the judges and hear again how they ended up in the bottom three: "you were less than memorable," Niki says, and once again runs through all their faults. Katy's body isn't fit enough; Dominic is low-energy, has no versatility and complains; Sarah's fading into the background. Ouch. "You have a beautiful girl-next-door look," Cory tells Sarah, "but we're trying to find a supermodel." It's so dramatic, I can't even tell you -- when Niki announces that Katy is safe, I am afraid Sarah is going to faint, she rolls her eyes so hard. They stretch it out as long as possible, until finally Tyson lays down the boom. "Sarah," he says. "We can't make you a supermodel. I'm sorry." She cries and Katy and Dominic hug her like she's their long-lost sister while the judges look coldly on. "You're such an awesome person, inside and out" Dominic whispers to her as they all cling together. "You're so beautiful." It's super creepy, and what's truly awful is that after saying it in this tone, like a frat boy who just drunkenly took her virginity, he doesn't even let her get all the way out of the room before he busts out a big "YEAH!" of self-congratulations. Backstage, Sarah says she was sure Dominic would be the one to go, simply because of his attitude, and that Katy does well, but needs to improve. She could probably rip them both a new one, but takes the high road, saying she can only wish them luck.