Blowing Up

S03E08

The four of them then gather in front of the judges, and Camila reminds us about the challenge and introduces our regular judges and guest judge Linda Wells. I guess Mark didn't make the cut to do this challenge, too. Jon is up first, and he admits he's so nervous he might puke. His second coloring paid off, as Kim and Linda love the result, but Linda clearly thinks it's not modernized enough, even though Camila thinks like I did that the longer bang helped update the look. Jon admits to having a meltdown on set and Jonathan ominously nods and noted that he saw that. He's like a caricature of an evil movie character with one eyebrow arched and Jon crapping himself in front of him, which I kind of love. Matthew is up , and Jonathan adores it while Kim thinks it doesn't look artificial enough, but Linda thinks the texture is great and realistic, which was hard to pull off when using Dolly as inspiration. I think it's a compliment, but the show's soundtrack does a deflating-balloon kind of noise so maybe it wasn't? That was weird. They then look at Janine's style, and everyone likes it. They all agree that the original hairdo she came out with was almost more old-fashioned than the one in the movie, but once she fixed it, it looked great with all of the little braids pulling the hair back on either side from her face. Jonathan compliments her being able to handle the photographer really giving her a hard time, and Jon realizes this is as much a dig at his falling apart as a compliment to Janine. Finally, we get to Brig, who immediately says that she's not happy with her work, trying to lessen the coming blow. Linda admits that her first hairdo was a mess and Brig totally agrees that she lost control of the hairdo, with a lot of nodding and grimacing. Jonathan does tell her that while she didn't really modernize anything, her photo works, and I grudgingly have to admit that's true -- the photo is awesome. Camila finishes up by saying the water bottle saved her, and on that note dismisses everyone so that the judges can deliberate.

In the salon, Matthew has a wee meltdown and Janine assures him they loved it. The two of them and Jon talk about everything while Brig pointedly sits in a chair and faces the other way like the mature lady she is.

The judges first talk about Janine, and it's the same as before -- they knock the original look and fawn over the end result. Linda seems especially to adore it. They discuss Jon, and Jonathan points out that Jon is a cutter and colorist and not cut out for this work on set, as seen by his falling apart. They do, however, give him credit for a nice style and good color. Brig is their subject, and Linda points out that she had no strategy and was saved by her lucky water bottle idea on set. They all admit that the end result was great, and Jonathan reminds everyone that that's what matters on a photo shoot. Finally they discuss Matthew -- Jonathan loves the hairdo and honestly I think has the hots for the model as well, with the number of different ways he calls it sexy. Kim thinks he did a great job but still wanted it to look more fake, but Linda thinks it was over-the-top and totally worked. Camila tells her fellow judges and us that this is going to be tough and then calls everyone back in. As has happened so often this season, Matthew and Janine are called forward as the top two while Brig and Jon paste pained smiles on their faces. I'm not denying that the two of them can get totally annoying, but they both consistently knock the challenges out of the park, so I'm much more inclined to roll with it. Camila compliments them both, waits the requisite few beats, and then announces that Matthew is the winner, which thrills him to no end, especially as Linda Wells was one of the judges.