Supernatural S4E10: Heaven and Hell

“Why don’t you try J Date?”

We pick up right where the left off, with Castiel and Uriel claiming that Anna is far from an innocent. Suddenly, they are yanked away in a flash of light. The boys find Anna drawing symbols on the wall in her own blood – she sent them away with a spell that just “popped into her head.”

The boys get Pamela (the psychic who went blind trying to see who saved Dean), to find out what the deal with Anna is. Pamela hypnotizes her, and she goes freaking nuts. But, upside, she remembers who she is. And it turns out she’s a fallen angel. A really powerful fallen angel who disobeyed God and ripped out her grace to become human. Ruby looks shocked – this is way more than she had bargained for. Anna is determined to find her grace.

They are painting quite an interesting picture of Christianity in this season of Supernatural. First, Castiel admitted that he doubts God’s will sometimes. Now, Anna says that angels take the existence of God on faith. Only four have actually seen him. If they don’t have faith, they are killed. Dean relates to the idea of an absentee father whose commands you are meant to follow blindly. They find where Anna’s grace landed on Earth (really easily), but someone has taken it.
The angels threaten that if Dean doesn’t give up Anna, they’ll send him back to hell.

Later, Anna tells Dean that she has heard the angels talking about what he did in hell. He can’t talk about it. She says he should forgive himself. Meanwhile. Ruby burns the hex bag that has been hiding them, and brings Alastair. She’ll give him Anna in exchange for the rest of them. Instead, Alastair tortures Ruby. It’s super bloody and there’s a lot of screaming.

Dean sleeps with Anna, then Uriel comes to him in a dream. Uriel has her grace, and Dean tries to scarfice himself but Uriel makes a persuasive offer. Once everyone is awake, Castiel and Uriel appear. Dean gave up Anna, because they threatened to kill Sam. She understands.

Alastair then appears, and they battle. He says that Dean had such promise. Anna steals her grace back from Uriel, and explodes in a ball of light, killing Alastair. Turns out Ruby didn’t rat them out – instead, it was all Sam’s idea.

At the end, they have a bro talk on the hood of the Impala. Dean reveals that even though on earth he was in hell for four months, below it was more like 40 years. They carved him up until there was nothing left, and then he would magically become whole again and they’d start all over. After 30 years, he couldn’t take it anymore, and agreed to torture others. He wishes now that he couldn’t feel anything. They both cry. It’s really quite sad.

Supernatural returns January 15.

ANTM Cycle 11: Winner Edition

The girls shoot another commercial, this time with a line in Dutch. They also don’t get a teleprompter. Afterward, they shoot a Cover Girl ad.

Annaleigh completely blanks. She tears up, and says she can see her dreams slipping away. She lost all her personality, so Jay breaks it down line by line for her. She does better after that. In her shot, the photographer comments that she really uses her body.

McKey can’t remember her lines and is super nervous. She starts out stiff, but improves as she goes. Still, though she delivers her lines well she is jittery. Her photo is unique.

Samantha remembers her lines, but has no energy. In her photo, she struggled. Her poses were not clever.

DURING PANEL
Annaleigh’s commercial was painful, but she looked gorgeous. Her photo looks like an actress’ headshot, and she does the same face over and over.

McKey talked too fast but looked great. Unlike the other girls, her photo “looks like a model.” But sometimes in her film, she looked crazy.

Samantha’s commercial was distracted, choppy, unconvincing. She was insecure. Her photo was adorable but looked forced.

Annaleigh is eliminated. I find that bullshit.

McKey and Samantha do their 17 cover shoots, and they both “astound” the editor. Their runway is insane, involving ramps and stairs. They both look utterly terrified. Nobody falls down, but their walks are kind of lackluster. Once she gets out there, McKey transforms. She struts her stuff and looks proud. Samantha just looks scared.

And (in one of the least surprising ANTM finales to date) the winner is … McKey.

Fringe S1E8: The Equation

“What’s up, Chachi?”

A woman who uses flashing lights to hypnotize her victims kidnaps a musical child prodigy. Several other geniuses have been abducted and then returned, only to go insane. One of them, Dashiell Kim, is a patient in the asylum from which Walter was recently sprung. So, Walt goes back in to glean information from Kim. The warden (who I think is the sheriff from Roswell) is mean and threatens to force Walter’s permanent return to the institution. Peter makes vague threats. Olivia doesn’t end up catching the bad guy, who does something weird with an apple.



* There is much discussion online about the apple. The prevailing thought seems to be that the equation rearranged the molecules of the safe so our mystery man could reach through its wall to retrieve the apple. Hmmmm.

* What was going on with Walter’s hallucinations of himself, quite sharply dressed, when he went back into the institution?

* Peter is now so protective of his dad, I love it! One of the best moments of the night was Walter expressing frustration at his failure to get info from Kim, and asking Peter “is that what it’s like to talk to me?” Peter’s sweet smile could have melted an iceberg.

* Ben was supposed to have woken up from a coma and suddenly have the ability to play the piano. All of the people who were kidnapped, including Ben, were trying to solve the same equation (each musical note corresponds to a number, etc). So…did someone do something to Ben while he was in the coma? Also, the focus on Peter’s piano playing thus far has been a little weird. Is this why they’ve been doing that?

* The fact that they kept switching between calling the kid “Ben” and “Bean” was really distracting.

* Peter tells Olivia to keep an eye out for a red castle and she looks up and sees a red castle? Seriously?

* I’m getting kind of irritated with the number of plot points introduced and then abandoned. I know they’ll come back eventually, but still. Where is Nina? What happened to Massive Dynamic’s supposed involvement with the Pattern? What’s with the mole couple from the last episode? Who is this Joanne Ostler woman, why was she presumed dead, and who in hell is the apple man? Is the next episode going to move along as though none of this has happened?

* Why do I not care as much as everyone else about trying to spot the Observer in each episode?

* Olivia fought dirty when she was kicking the crap out of Joanne, which somehow makes me like her more.

Next week: something crazy happens.

90210 S1E11: That Which We Destroy

Well. If I had realized that 90210 would not be on again until January 6, I certainly would not have skipped it last night. Oops. Here is the TWOP recap instead.

HIMYM S4E8: Woooo!

Another day, another not-so-great episode of HIMYM. This one revolved around “Woo!” girls. You know, girls at the bar who go out in groups and throw their arms in the air and go “Woooo!” whenever anything happens. It had the potential to be really funny, but the jokes fell flat. And the rhyming…dear god, the rhyming.

But the worst part of the night had to be Robin claiming that all single people are secretly depressed and yearning for coupledom. Was she just trying to reassure Lily because she couldn’t woo sufficiently? Normally I would think so, but this incident paired with Robin stealing a baby sock last week had me wondering. Robin’s character has become kind of pathetic.

Meanwhile, Barney tries to steal the title of Ted’s Best Friend by hooking him up to design his firm’s new headquarters. But then he is wooed by the Swedish collective SVEN’s idea – a building shaped like a T-Rex that shoots fire from its mouth. Marshall yells at him, Barney changes his mind, and Ted’s firm gets the project. Blah.

P.S., I'm a genius.

To find out why, click here. But be warned, spoilers for a recently-canceled show that I used to blog about lie ahead.

Thanks to Lainey for the info!

Supernatural S4E9: I Know What You Did Last Summer

Well, now we know for sure that Sam and Ruby have been having sex. Ugh. But this episode was interesting. It set up an intriguing story, and then basically abandoned it to tell us what Sam did while Dean was in hell.

First, the story: a young woman named Anna can hear angels talking, and everyone thinks she’s insane when she tries to tell them about Lilith and Lucifer and the end of the world. She reveals that there are 600 possible seals in the world – it’s just that only 66 have to be broken in order to set Lucifer free. This means it is nearly impossible to stop Lilith, because no one can know which 66 she’s gunning for.

Anna first “overheard” the chatter the same day Dean was pulled from hell – and the first thing she heard? “Clear as a bell. Dean Winchester is saved.” But then a powerful demon shows up and Ruby (yeah, she’s there) demands that Sam use his abilities. Stuck with no other choice, he does. However, this demon is a little too powerful for that.



While Ruby sneaks Anna out the back, he tosses Sam down a flight of stairs and then attacks Dean – who recognizes him from the pit, as Alastair. Before we can learn anything more, Sam stabs Alastair with Ruby’s knife. This also doesn’t work, and only has the effect of losing the knife. With nowhere else to go, the Winchester boys leap through a stained glass window.

Back at the hotel, Sam sews up a nasty gash on his arm before popping Dean’s dislocated shoulder back into place. I like this. Now that I think about it, we rarely see the aftermath of the battles on this show. Anyway, this is where we get the brunt of Sam’s past. After Dean’s death, a drunken Sam tries to make a deal with the Crossroads Demon. Seriously? This again? Fortunately, the demon says the same thing – and this time, it won’t work. They’ve got Dean right where they want him, and Sam’s paltry little soul isn’t worth the exchange. Sam weaves his way home, where a blond secretary version of Ruby shows up ostensibly to kill him, but ends up killing her demon partner instead.

Sam is not happy to see Ruby again, and asks whose body she’s in this time. “You never asked me that before,” she says. Which is kind of interesting, really. But Sam is all high and mighty now. So, Ruby possesses the body of coma patient who has just that second been taken off life support, after making sure the woman’s spirit had moved on. Ruby sure does jump through a lot of hoops for young Winchester. What is her endgame?



After demanding that he sober up, Ruby tries to teach Sam to use his abilities in order to (someday) kill Lilith, but Sam’s not so good at it. As a consolation, Ruby seduces him, saying her new body is “warm and soft inside.” This line, combined with the awful faces Jared Padalecki makes when he’s simulating sex, cause a very uncomfortable couple of minutes. And like me, Dean is also disgusted.

Anyway, a very determined Past Sam goes on a suicide mission to avenge his big brother’s murder. Ruby tries to stop him, but he takes off after Lilith. Naturally it’s a trap, and when Ruby is attacked Sam finally harnesses his powers to save her. So that’s it. Ruby saved Sam’s life, and taught him how to continue to fight without his brother’s backup. That’s a lotta exposition!

In the end, Ruby temporarily commandeers a maid’s body in order to get a message to the boys. They meet up with Anna and Ruby at a shack somewhere, and Dean comes as close as he ever will to thanking Ruby. Suddenly, Anna cries, “They’re coming!” and everyone gets into fight mode. But, I’m thinking, doesn’t she hear angels? Doesn’t that mean angels, not demons, are coming? Sure enough, Castiel and Uriel blast through the door. But are they here to help? Oh, no. They are here to kill Anna.



Next week: Dean and Anna do it in the Impala. Quite frankly, I don’t feel too good about this. For all their swagger, the boys have never been particularly loose – and whenever they have had sex, dire consequences always follow (Jess-burns to death, Madison-werewolf, Doublemint Twins-Dean goes to hell). Haven’t they learned anything yet? Although, maybe with what she’s overheard Anna is the only one who can understand what Dean has been through. That, I could see. The one thing I really, really hope is that they don’t try to tell us about (or more specifically, show us) Dean’s time in hell. I mean, come on. It’s hell! A TV show, especially on a network like the CW, could never show how bad it truly was. My imagination is way worse than anything they could show me, so it would just be a disappointment.

ANTM Cycle 11: Drunken Edition

The CW webmaster should be fired. For the third week in a row, something is messed up with the ANTM photos. This time, Sam’s photo is in Annaleigh’s portfolio, and Annaleigh’s photo is nowhere to be found. I will update with the photo when its fixed.

THE RUNDOWN
McKey is the only one who hasn’t been in the bottom two yet. Marjorie doesn’t like being thought of as weak. She resolves to project a different image, though her nerves give her an edge that she doesn’t want to lose. Later, she invites over the guys who drove their boats during the go-sees, asking them to bring wine. None of the girls drink except Marjorie, who gets wasted. Everyone has fun at first, but then it turns “messy,” as Annaleigh puts it. Marjorie gets into the tub with one guy and Annaleigh is understandably concerned about her drunken friend. The other guys are all, “Hey baby, no big deal, let’s leave these two alone” while trying to shuttle her out of the room. Annaleigh isn’t buying it, and soon the sober girls are yelling at the guys that it’s time to leave. McKey threatens to drag the one dude out of the tub herself. The next day, Marjorie talks about how the whole thing was wonderful because since she was the only girl drinking, she knew everyone else would take care of her. Lame!

THE CHALLENGE
Paulina teaches the girls that they have to be able to sell anything without speaking. They work with dead fish, toilet paper, a cell phone, and a letter. They all do quite well. Their challenge is a 30-second audition for a sports shoe commercial – girl is jogging down street, sees cute guy in a cab, guy gets out of cab, girl kisses him and runs off. Supermodel Mark Vanderloo is the guy. The girls are all, “Woah, did it just get hot in here?”

The winner gets a $10,000 shopping spree at G-Star denim. But the audition isn’t quite what they expect. They “jog” on a treadmill while Mark Vanderloo stands next to them pretending to be in a cab. Then they jump off the treadmill, kiss him, and run off. They all do well, but Marjorie is the winner because her interpretation is “unique.” She chooses Annaleigh to share the spree with, and lets her have half the money. That’s pretty nice.

THE SHOOT
The girls pose in the Dutch countryside in extreme hair and makeup. Jay says they have to “come through” the makeup and props.

Marjorie is ungraceful, looks crazy, seems drunk, and lacks presence.

Samantha complains that her shoes hurt. Her shoot is very weak. She’s gone from 10 to 0 in just a few days. She rallies for her last few shots, but returns to hair & makeup in tears. She knows she fucked up.

Annaleigh is beautiful and dynamic, and tries lots of different things. She comes up with the idea of jumping in the air, which both Jay and the photog love.

McKey is gorgeous and creative, and works her props. Jay says she’s “genius.”

DURING PANEL



Marjorie’s photo is very editorial. She looks lost, “like a spaceship just dropped her off.” However, her film was not strong and her personality is faltering. She is fighting her nerves too hard, and now she is just flat.



Samantha is wearing another bad outfit. Her photo is fabulous and her expression is great, but her film was disappointing. Jay had to force a performance out of her. She took 53 bad frames, and 7 good ones.


Annaleigh’s photo is the best of the bunch. The judges love it. The guest judge, the editor of Seventeen, loves that Annaleigh is all sweetness and light in person, yet can be so dark in her photos.



McKey is wearing a very fashion-forward outfit. Her photo is unusual, her face is phenomenal, and her legs “just go on and on and on.” She mixes strong and feminine, and Tyra thinks this will become her signature look.

IN PRIVATE DELIBERATION
Marjorie has managed to lose her nerves, but in doing so she lost her charm. The Seventeen editor finds her condescending.

Samantha takes consistently good photos, but this week it took way too long to get the shot. Her presence just doesn’t say model.

Annaleigh is taking flight. She has become a girl to be reckoned with … though Miss J is still not sure about her.

McKey is fantastic. The judges love her. Her eyes are magnificent.

The first photo is Annaleigh.
The bottom two are Samantha and Marjorie.

Samantha just doesn’t get it. The judges don’t understand how she can STILL not understand what it takes to be a model. Her film was incredibly weak.

Marjorie takes exquisite photos, but was flat this week. She doesn’t understand balance.

Marjorie is eliminated.

Well. At this point I guess it will come down to McKey and Annaleigh, with Annaleigh winning. But I only say this because McKey has done everything right lately, and that usually doesn’t bode well for whatever reason (Nik vs. Nicole, Melrose vs. CarriDee). However, if Sam can step up her game in the final episode, it’s all up in the air. I am rooting for Annaleigh, if only because she’s so sweet. She reminds me of Nicole from Cycle 5. I would be happy with McKey, too. Sam would be just ok.

Side note: I caught the end of The Big Bang Theory on Monday, while waiting for HIMYM to come on, and Annaleigh and Sam were guest stars. Which, contrary to what I said above, kind of makes me wonder if they’re the final two. Hmmmm.

Fringe S1E7: In Which We Meet Mr. Jones

“Hello Peter, this is me, your father. Walter Bishop.”

An agent named Mitchell collapses from what appears to be a heart attack, but when the doctors open him up there is a horrifying gray-slimy-thing-with-tentacles-that-look-like-teeth nestled around his heart. Good god. Walter has never seen it before, but research leads him to one David Robert Jones and a “scientific terrorist” cell called ZFT, apparently one of several. Jones specializes in genetic weapons.

Olivia plans to confront Mr. Jones so he will tell her how to save Mitchell. But he’s in a German prison. Off to Germany! Where she reconnects with tall-dark-and-sexy Lucas and is instantly awkward and all smiles. Meanwhile, back in the states, Charlie calls Broyles and informs him that there is a mole in the agency. Broyles is in Walter’s lab at the time, and when he says the name “Joseph Smith” Peter looks surprised, then guilty. Hmmmmm.

Mr. Jones will not help Olivia unless he can ask Smith a question, but unknowing agents shoot Smith in the head first. Of course this is no problem, don’t worry at all, because Walter can hook up his son to the dead man so they can chat. He mentions that Peter has a low tolerance to electrical stimulation, and Peter suddenly remembers Walter experimenting on him as a child. He is not happy.

Back in Germany, Lucas asks Olivia to stay the night. She protests weakly. At his flat, they talk about why their relationship didn’t work out. Then they make out and tear at each other’s clothes for a spell before she gets a phone call and excuses herself, leaving Lucas addled and sexually frustrated.

In the Harvard lab, Peter eventually gets the answer to Mr. Jones’ question, and Jones tells Olivia how to save Mitchell. And I become absolutely certain that Broyles is the mole, underlining his name several times on my little notepad, only to learn that Mitchell and his wife are in on the whole thing. Oh, and the answer to Mr. Jones’ question -- and apparently the reason the Mitchells orchestrated this whole crazy situation -- is “Little Hill.”

Some notes:

* The Observer was at the airport when Olivia arrived in Germany. That doesn’t seem like such an interesting thing to observe.

* I never cease to be amused by Walter calling Astrid everything but her name – Astro, Asteroid, etc. Hilarious!

* Although I emitted an audible squeak when Peter called Walter “daddy,” I am nevertheless irritated that Fringe provided my most-anticipated moment via a drug-induced hallucination. But I did enjoy Peter buying his dad gum (adorable), and Walter’s absolute delight at working with his son, as well as the line “You may have found your true calling…working with me.”

* Olivia is definitely getting better week by week. They’re writing a much more sarcastic tone for her, and when she sassed Broyles it was awesome.

* Peter only gave Olivia the Pacey look once this ep, so no romance for now.

* Broyles’ face when Walter started talking about fruit cocktail was priceless. I imagine the gag reel from this show must be pretty great.

* The Alias reference (page 47) was a nice touch, especially since I can’t stop comparing this show to that one.

90210 S1E10: Games People Play

“Payback’s a real bitch, isn’t it?”

FINALLY, the claws come out! Naomi, who spotted Annie and Ethan’s illicit make out session at the end of the previous episode, flies Annie’s ex-boyfriend Jason to Cali for a 16th birthday surprise. Then, when Jason can’t break up A&E, Naomi makes out with him during Annie’s birthday party and rigs it so A&E will catch them. Annie cries, forces Naomi to “take it outside,” and then whines about how hurt she is, but Naomi is unabashedly unapologetic. That is, until Harry & Tracy’s son appears on the doorstep, stunning them both into silence.

I was on the phone during the first 15 minutes or so, but I’m pretty sure Naomi’s new hottie didn’t make an appearance. Her newly straightened hair looks way better though.

Meanwhile, Ryan has been forced to take a paid leave after a student catches him kissing Kimberly. After a mass text message about it is sent to all BHH students, they decide he’s a sleaze. He is understandably upset. Kelly returns and kind of maybe tries to suggest that they pick up where they left off, but Kimberly interrupts them. Oh, and Kim nails her drug dealer, who was apparently a teacher (or administrator) at the school. It all seems very... simple.

In other news, Adriana meets Navid’s parents. His mom is the French girl from Summer School, FYI. Navid is embarrassed by his large, loud family, and by the fact that he’s a virgin. Adriana is sweet about both things.

Next week, Brenda tells Kelly that she slept with Ryan. For someone who is neither cute nor interesting, that guy sure gets around!

90210 S1E9: Secrets and Lies

I'm so behind the times it's ridiculous, but I was too busy being elated about Obama to watch 90210 last week. I did managed to flip over to the CW for probably 3 minutes total, and got a comprehensive understanding of the episode arc in that time. Which is pretty sad when you think about it. Anyway, read all about it here.

HIMYM S4E7: Not a Father's Day

“God, it’s me, Barney. What up?”

I’m disappointed, and losing interest in this show. For me, it might be one of those that is just better on DVD. In “Not a Father’s Day,” Barney gets the news that he might become a father. Of course he dodges that bullet, so he starts a new holiday to celebrate. Meanwhile, Marshall, his terrible hair, and Lily are wooed by their next-door-neighbor’s baby and start to talk about having one of their own. Lily turns to Ted and Robin for help, and they each try to sway her (Robin’s afraid of babies, Ted loves them). In the end, Marshall and Lily decide to wait. But I bet they don’t wait long, since Alyson Hannigan is pregnant. I actually expected, after the big “let’s wait” discussion, for Lily to realize she’d missed her period, or something like that. I’m sure it will happen soon enough.

In other news, this episode finally explained how Robin moved in with Ted (first tantalizingly dangled during “The Goat” episode). Refreshingly, it was less exciting than one might have hoped. Robin, back from Japan and jobless, needs a place to live. The end. And in the blogosphere, people seem to be making a lot of the fact that Robin stole Jeremy’s sock. But the way I see it, Robin is totally lost right now. No job, no place to live (until the end), eating ice cream & beer (together) while moaning about her dismal life. So, she’s easily distracted by a tiny, adorable sock. It won’t last.

Supernatural S4E8: Wishful Thinking

“Are we gonna kill this teddy bear?”

The above photo has nothing to do with this episode, I just think it’s funny.

Not a whole lot of substance here, but since it’s apparently impossible for Supernatural to produce a bad episode, there was still plenty to love. The bros travel to Washington and discover a wishing well that really does grant wishes. A young girl brings her teddy bear to full-sized life, a nerdy guy dates the girl of his dreams, and a bullied child gains the strength to overturn SUVs with one hand.

The Winchesters’ first tip that something is really, really wrong occurs when they run across a small girl who says her teddy bear is sick. They enter the house to find a six-foot teddy bear drinking heavily and bemoaning the futility of life. Eventually, the bear tries to kill itself in what is, hands down, one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen. We open on a suicide note, pan over to the bear holding a rifle, and then pan slowly to the wall behind the bear. Were this a human, we would hear the shot and see a splatter of red hit the wall. Instead, we hear the shot and see a puff of stuffing float through the air. Then we pan back to the bear, still very much alive, who screams, “Nooooooo!” It was brilliant.

Anyway, the boys find a Babylonian coin in the well, but can’t remove it. Only the person who made the original wish can, and thus reverse all of the damage. They figure out it’s the nerdy guy, and take him to the well, but Super-Strength Child gets in the way and kicks Dean’s ass while Crazy-In-Love Girlfriend of Nerdy Guy kills Sam with a lightning bolt. Horrified, Nerdy Guy removes the coin and all returns to normal.

During the episode, Sam confronts Dean about what Uriel has told him. “I’m with you all the time,” Sam says, so he can’t help but notice Dean’s heavy drinking and constant nightmares. He asks, again, if Dean remembers hell. Dean blows him off. But at the end, he finally admits that he does remember. He remembers everything. Sam encourages him to talk about it, but he refuses. Sam could never understand, and Dean could never make him understand. He has to suffer through this burden alone.

ANTM Cycle 11: No-Makeup Edition

THE RUNDOWN
Elina irritates everyone. Marjorie’s insecurity rears its ugly head. Shocking, right?

THE CHALLENGE
The girls do go-sees…but they have to travel on the canals, in the slowest boats in the world. Anyone who returns after 5:00 pm will be disqualified. Here is what we do see:

McKey makes it to 4 go-sees. The designers say “That’s it! That’s what I want” and “Stunning.”

Samantha makes it to 4 go-sees. She is too commercial.

Marjorie makes it to 2 go-sees. She gets hopelessly lost, and is extremely uncomfortable with the designers. When one designer says he’s “seen enough,” she gets totally discouraged and gives up. She goes to the end location and sits around twiddling her thumbs.

Elina makes it to 4 go-sees. One designer says she is “ok, but she’s not a model, she’s just playing at being a model.” Another wouldn’t hire her because of her tattoos.

Annaleigh makes it to 3 go-sees. She presents herself well, has style, and is willing to learn. One designer loves her “fresh look.”

McKey is a few minutes minutes late, and is disqualified. But the designers LOVED her. She would have won, if not for being tardy. The designers were very disappointed with Marjorie. Annaleigh wins something like $18,000 worth of the goods from the designers.

THE SHOOT
When the TyraMail leans heavily on the word “exposed,” the girls become terrified it’s a nude shoot. Get used to it, girls. Turns out Tyra is their photographer, and they will do one “natural” shot and one “glam” shot to see how they do at both.

McKey is gorgeous and listens. Tyra says, “She can MODEL!”
Samantha looks hot, came alive, her theatrical shots are great.
Marjorie is nervous and intimidated. Her glam shot is a little better.
Elina poses too much and is too stiff. Jay is truly frustrated because she doesn’t listen.
Annaleigh’s natural shot is just ok, but her glam shot is lovely.

DURING PANEL
McKey booked 4 of 4 jobs. In her natural shot, she really used the teach Tyra gave about a signature pose. Her glam shot is amazing – even in an uncomfortable position, she doesn’t look strained.

Samantha booked 2 of 4 jobs. Her natural shot is great; Nigel says it could be an advertisement. It is the judges’ favorite shot of her to date. They love her glam shot; she was totally “on.” She shows off the clothes wonderfully.

Marjorie booked 0 of 2 jobs. In her natural shot she is posing too much and looks like a broken doll. Her film is a disaster. Her glam shot is beautiful and sharp. The judges wonder what it takes to get Marjorie’s glam side to exert itself in person.

Elina booked 2 of 4 jobs. Her natural shot is too controlled. Every time Tyra tells her to “hold it,” she turns it into a posey-pose instead. Her glam shot is ok. They told her to go crazy, and she didn’t. Tyra mentions that she’s 18 (!!!) and the other judges are shocked. They tell her she looks and acts 30. Ouch!

Annaleigh booked 3 of 3 jobs. Her natural shot isn’t great; the judges say it looks like a casting photo. Her glam shot, however, is amazing. Her legs are fantastic, and she looks perfect.

IN PRIVATE DELIBERATION
McKey is true high fashion.
Samantha blew them away.
Marjorie is too frail. Nigel wouldn’t book her for a job either.
Elina is too controlled, and is not inspirational.
Annaleigh is a dream but Paulina thinks her face doesn’t photograph well. Nigel disagrees.

The first photo is Samantha.
The bottom two are Marjorie and Elina.

Elina has a unique face, but is too controlled.
Marjorie is exquisite, but is too nervous.

Elina is eliminated.

News & Stuff

I have been ridiculously uninterested in blogging the past couple of days, all because of the election. Monday I fretted all night, unable to sleep, and yesterday I spent the day feeling nauseous. Until 8 p.m. PST, that is, when the announcement was made. Obama! Hallelujah! Regular posting will resume tomorrow.