TVSquad

(S09E10) It's a brand new leg of the competition and the girls have a whole new set of challenges to face if they want to prove themselves worthy of the crown of America's Next Top Model.

Want to know what hasn't changed? Bianca and Saleisha's continued mistreatment of "the corpse bride."

I guess it was a little naive of me to think that a journey halfway around the globe would alter the way Bianca and Saleisha treat Heather, but a part of me thought that the change in scenery could potentialy temper their disdain for the girl.

Boy was I wrong. What is it that Bianca and Saleisha find so appealing about tormenting Heather?


I kind of get that Bianca is insecure and finds Heather to be a giant threat, but I don't understand why Saleisha feels the need to participate in the festivities. Saleisha seems like such a nice person most of the time. Maybe just Bianca brings out the worst in her.

Bianca's venom is just tiresome at this point. I REALLY hope she goes home tonight. Miss her, kiss her, love her - that girl is poison. Never trust a bald head and a smile - that girl is poison.

After getting settled in their penthouse suite, the girls met up with professional martial artist, Louis Lui.



He taught the girls a variety of martial arts poses that they would use in tonight's challenge as illustrated in the screencap above. I found it rather amusing that Heather looks like she's trying to do a Karate Kid like crane kick, while everyone else is imitating the instructor.

The models then learned that they'd be utilizing these poses in true Hollywood fashion while attached to a trick wire, only instead of looking like the majestic figures in movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon...



...Jenah and Chantal ended up looking like a couple of marionettes on crack.

Lisa and Saleisha did slightly better. Then we came to Bianca who is terrified of heights.

She said, "I'm scared of heights. The wire is like thinner than a jump rope and there are like four guys holding it. I have to put my trust in some strange people I don't know?! I don't trust some family members." Best line of the night.

Outside of watching Bianca assume the role of "the girl who lost her cool", the most enjoyable part of this sequence was watching Heather do her best to help Bianca conquer her fear of heights.

The fact that Heather tried to help her biggest tormentor says quite a bit about her character. I'm not that big of a person. If I were Heather, I'd have spent the whole time trying to psych Bianca out. "Did you know that death by trick wire is the number one cause of death in China?" Heather is a much better person than I am.


Bianca ultimately chickened out which put all eyes on Heather. For the first time all season, she showed that she could be really graceful while moving. She looked like a pro on the wire and truly gave the challenge her all.

Heather ended up winning the challenge which netted her 4,000 rmb ($532.18) and the opportunity to go shopping in Shanghai with Chantal.

Next we came to the CoverGirl commercial shoot which is always one of my favorite points in any Top Model cycle.



Saleisha absolutely murdered her commercial and I mean that in the best possible connotation of the word. I don't think I've ever seen a girl make it through her script so effortlessly. She is going to be a tough to beat in the coming weeks.

Bianca wasn't as good as Saleisha, but she did a decent enough job. Bianca's reason for being a queen was that "she has flaws but she makes them beautiful." It was a decent enough line but wholly inaccurate. Bianca's flaws emanate from her marrow to her surface. There is no beauty to them. She's really one of my least favorite models ever from a villain perspective.

I've been fearful of Heather's commercial ever since last week's debacle on the runway, and after watching her I learned my fears were completely warranted. She looked gorgeous but the shoot was a disaster. I thought she would improve when Jay started feeding her the lines, but it almost seemed like she got worse. Not good.

Jenah looked good during her shoot, but didn't really bring any charm to her character. Chantal was very perky and seemed to do nearly as well as Saleisha. Lisa summoned her inner Jaslene and did the worst of the bunch.

It was kind of an anticlimactic series of CoverGirl commercials if you ask me. I enjoyed the versions that came out of the last few seasons much better.

The order of the photos:

Chantal
Saleisha
Bianca
Jenah
Heather



The first girl sent home from abroad was Lisa which means she'll probably be spending more time on an airplane than she spent in China. I don't get why Chantal looks so shocked in the above screencap when Tyra announced Lisa was going home. Lisa has been pretty weak the last few weeks and her commercial barely edged out Heather's for the worst of the night. Ultimately, the panel made the right decision.

The gallery has been updated with latest photos.

I hope everyone has a safe and relaxing holiday weekend. See you in a week.