America's Next Top Model 4, Episode 8: Six Feet Under
by Phil Kural -- 04/21/2005
Our seven remaining model-wannabes take on a “grave” photo shoot this week, which includes each girl portraying one of the seven deadly sins. Brittany (right) just oozes lust, but has to portray sloth. How will she adapt to this total opposite? At least she still gets to lie on her back!
Previously, the nine remaining girls struggled with a risqué photo shoot that pushed Rebecca out of her comfort zone. All the girls failed during their challenge in front of the judges, reading a teleprompter, and Tiffany started giving up on herself. Overall, the panel was unimpressed, so they made a drastic decision to cut both Rebecca and Tiffany. When Tiffany was not upset that she was eliminated, or at least didn’t show it, Tyra flipped out. I’m sure you remember that. The yelling began! Now, only seven girls are left. Who is going home tonight?
It’s the same night that Rebecca and Tiffany went home, and the other girls are sitting around and just can’t believe it. Keenyah says that she wasn’t expecting everything that happened tonight – from the two girls going home, to Tyra flipping out. Everyone agrees that Tiffany could have won, and Naima adds that everyone was rooting for her except for herself.
Tyra comes in and talks to the girls. She tells them that she understands they all have moments and want to give up; she has been though it too. Tiffany couldn’t see how special she was, and it pushed her off, which upset Tyra. Brittany says they all saw it in Tiffany, so it was upsetting. Keenyah says Tiffany’s head just wasn’t in it. Tyra ends her conversation with the girls by telling them to try, while Kahlen says that this opportunity will only happen once, and she has to do well. Michelle thinks that she is always so hard on herself, but is not that way so much anymore, and wants the Judges to see that.
In the house, Keenyah, Christina, and Brittany move into a room with Tatiana, since she has no more roommates left. Tatiana feels like the other three are already a group, and she’s a little bummed about it all. Tyra mail tells all the girls that they will be visited by an extraterrestrial. Be ready at 1 p.m.
The girls arrive at a hotel, and meet Jann Carl from Entertainment Tonight. She tells them her job is to get all the stories from them, and from her, they will learn how to speak to the media. Each girl will get to interview, and be interviewed. Kahlen says she loves to interview people, and Tatiana has no idea what questions to ask. Keenyah interviews Naima. They do their switch, and have some fun, while Kahlen is a little nervous and Jann doesn’t think she is being herself. Brittany gets funny, while Jann loves how Michelle is being herself. Christina wants to show she is warm, and interviews Tatiana, all while using the word “actually” about eight times between the two of them. Jann tells them to knock it off. Me-ow! You know what? I really do like Christina. The girls finish up their exercise and head home.
Back at the loft, the girls decide to go out that night. They head to a club, and Michelle says she has never been to a club, and doesn’t know what to expect. She gets comfortable pretty quickly though, as we see her all over the dance floor. Kahlen says that sometimes Michelle is very confident, and that she had some fun that night herself. Michelle thinks that blondes definitely do have a little more fun. The girls head home, and Kahlen checks her messages, only to find that a friend of hers from high school has passed away. She sits and ponders this, while breaking down. She says it’s hard to have a friend ripped away like that, and she’s trying to put it in the back of her head so that it doesn’t show in her photos. Oh Kahlen, that’s the worst thing you could do. Let it out girl, everyone deserves to grieve. I feel bad, since I’m a Kahlen fan.
Tyra mail tells the girls to be ready at the crack of down, and nobody knows what that means. Are you kidding me? I love these girls. They are like my little sisters! The girls arrive at their destination in the morning, and some woman, Bernadette Odoms, greets them and says that they will now have an interview challenge, which will involve Jann. Brittany is the first to go. Brittany walks in the room, and standing there is rap superstar, Eve! Philly pride, give it up! She must interview Eve on her new fashion collection. Brittany has issues functioning, and is a bit star struck. Jann says Brittany has some great energy, but there is too much “that great” going on after each question.
Naima is the next to go, and is also a bit star struck. Keenyah is all over the place, and loses her train of thought. Her questions make no sense. Are they even questions? I now love Keenyah six times more. Michelle asks some good questions, while Kahlen is the only girl to go for the personal questions. Tatiana doesn’t do too badly, and Eve says that Tatiana was throwing out questions all over the place. Christina says that she has to pull it together, and she also does a good job, with Jann commenting that she did a good job. Then she gathers the girls and says the winner will have their interview with Eve on ET. Overall, she says they were good, but the winner of the challenge is Christina. She’s glad that she won the challenge, and knows she had to step it up. Tatiana is disappointed and though she was going to win, but good for Christiana. Yay, Christina!
At home, Christina says that things are getting tense, and with only seven girls left, everyone is on edge. Keenyah tells Tatiana to start cleaning, and Tatiana doesn’t know what she’s talking about, then calls her boyfriend and cries that she has nothing in common with the other girls, and doesn’t get along with all of them. Oh God, suck it up! Tyra mail tells the girls that they will get to rest in peace tomorrow, and be ready in the morning. Kahlen says she doesn’t need to deal with this right now, since her friend just died and the clue is talking about death. Yeah, that’s a bit freaky.
The girls pile in the van in the morning. It’s very gloomy out, and they pull into a graveyard. Kahlen starts crying, and she says it’s messed up and doesn’t want to be there. Jay welcomes the girls and tells them that for today’s shoot, they will be the seven deadly sins. Each girl will have to portray one of them, while looking gorgeous, of course. He hopes that they don’t mind being in tight places, since they will be at the bottom of an eight foot grave. Kahlen looks like she’s in shock, and says that she has suppressed the pain for long enough, but now she has to deal with this. They meet the photographer, and Jay asks Kahlen if she is okay, and she says yes. Brittany tells Jay about her friend, and Jay has a talk with Kahlen. She tells him she’ll be okay, and he gives a few minutes before hair and makeup to get herself together.
Brittany is the first to go, and she is sloth. Are you kidding me? She should be lust, it would be another day in her life! Jay tells her to think model and not freak show. She says it’s creepy, and Jay actually gives her some advice. She quickly does her shoot, and Michelle is in the back talking about how confident she is. Michelle is pride and is glad that she gets to be what she now is. She would have done badly with that before, but now it’s easier. Jay says that she was great on the last shoot, but this time she doesn’t know what to do. Then he says she looks like a beauty queen on acid – which isn’t a compliment. Kahlen is now in the backroom crying, with Christina right there to help her again. She says that this is just another test for her.
Tatiana is getting ready for her shoot and she is greed. She’s finding it hard to conform to greed, since she’s not greedy. Jay tells her not to look like a clown, which I’m sure is always a good thing. Christina is lust and says that she thinks she is beautiful, but not in this great ultra sexy way. Aww, yes you are Christina. Naima is envy and her wardrobe is just this sheer green thing. She looks amazing though, and Jay loves her shots. In comes Keenyah, who is gluttony. She basically has to lay on bacon fat and raw salad. Jay says that she is looking a bit too campy, and that he’s seen better drag queens. Kahlen is the last girl to go, and says she isn’t thinking about it. She is wrath, and Jay tells her to be angry. Kahlen says she always tries to control her emotions, so it was hard for her to be mad, but she is glad she stuck it out though, since she wants to stay in the competition.
Back at the loft, Kahlen is exhausted, and says that Christina has been helping her, and is probably the sweetest girl there. Tyra mail says that the judges will see them tomorrow, and someone is going home. Michelle says that she did her best, while Tatiana is hoping that her past shoots carry her, but she’s not super confident. Kahlen says it will probably be her.
The girls walk into the judging room. Of course, Tyra tells them of the prizes and introduces the judges, including this week’s guest judge, Johann Wolf, their photographer from the last shoot. Tyra says that sometimes being in the spotlight is good, and other times it’s bad. For their challenge this week, they will be at a mock press conference for ANTM’s new clothing line, and the panel will be the judges, asking them things that are true and not true. They want to know the gossip. Michelle is first, and they get her to tell them she is bisexual. Naima talks about being a vegetarian, while Kahlen smiles about her weave. Keenyah reenacts a nose picking incident, while Tatiana laughs and talks about her relationship with an older man. Brittany is all over the place, as usual, while Christina promises to donate money to IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). Janice wants to know about the ANTM diaper, and poor Christina is just so confused.
The girls come walking back in for individual evaluations. Christina is first, and they tell her when she talks she is too “business.” They look at her shot, and Tyra tells her to be sexier, then makes her work a pole in the room. I’ve officially seen it all. Naima was too rehearsed, but they think her shot is to die for. Keenyah had the judges get the best of her, and Nole’ says her shot is “piggy chic.” That’s bad. Brittany was better for just being a drunk, but her picture wasn’t very bad. Tatiana was boring, and some like her shot while others don’t. I actually like it. Kahlen was the sweetest, and they love her shot. She quickly tells Tyra about her friend, and she says they’ll talk about it later. They liked Michelle’s openness, but nobody likes her shot this week, and Michelle says she is still trying to figure out who she is. Time for advice from Janice. She says that she went though years of that, and she’s there now to snap the girls into reality.
Time for the judges to deliberate. Everyone feels that Brittany is a wild child, and wasn’t so great this week. Tatiana fell apart, and Janice says that she’ll make a good trophy wife some day. Everyone loves Naima, while Keenyah looks like a dead drag queen, says Nole’. Kahlen had a hard time, but brought it home. Michelle probably wants this the most of all the girls, but they aren’t sure if she could be booked as a model. Christina couldn’t convey lust, so Janice shows the other judges what lust is, by modeling it on Nigel. He looks oddly disgusted.
The girls walk back into the room. Tyra says that she has six photos for five girls. The first girl called, is Kahlen. Tyra tells her that she represents facing adversity, and that she admires her for that. Christina is called next, who is told it’s not about just being pretty, but she has to take it to the next level. Naima is called next, followed by Keenyah, who Tyra says represents the beautiful girl next door, but needs the extra “oomph.” Brittany is called next, and is told that she has all the personality, but when she gets nervous, she gets sloppy, and she needs to work on that.
Michelle and Tatiana step forward. Tyra says she only has one photo, and the girl not called must return to the loft and go home. She tells the girls that both of them are beautiful, and that they both take nice photos, but it’s not just about the look – it’s about how you speak and how you articulate yourself. It is? Then how did Adrianne win the first season? I adore the girl, but she doesn’t exactly speak so eloquently.
Tyra adds that you have to have the self esteem even when you want to crumble. However, one girl has more potential than the other – and that girl is Michelle, who is the last one called. She is crying, and goes to get her picture. She promises Tyra she’ll do better, while Tatiana is in the back, crying as well. She goes and hugs the other girls, saying that this competition has meant a lot to her, and she wishes she went further. She knows her pictures were good, but she can’t handle herself when she is nervous. She’s disappointed in herself, but will do better now with the thing she has learned on the show. Aww, good for her!
Next week, Michelle grows distant from the other girls, and they notice. Keenyah gets careless, with Brittany telling us Keenyah has gained 10 pounds since she’s been there, and the remaining girls pack their bags and head to an exotic location. I wonder if it’s Philly? It’s probably not. Anyway, here’s how I rank the girls right now:
Naima
Kahlen
Christina
Keenyah
Brittany
Michelle
Phil Kural is a recent graduate from Temple University, with a degree in journalism. You can reach him at
pkural@gmail.com with any feedback that you may have.
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