America's Next Top Model (Cycle 8) - 8x03 "The Girl Who Cries All The Time"

Here I was, worried about how Renee was being villainized because she suffered from low self-esteem, and then she has to go ahead and act like the über-bitch who took it upon herself to talk down to a whimpering Brittany, and to continue to be a professional model — in not getting it! ("Brittany doesn't stand out to me... she's boring, and I don't understand why she keeps winning these challenges. If she wants to win all the little battles and I'll win the big war, that'll be fine.") Nice to see that she thinks she's the all-that judge of FIERCE when we all know that the real arbiter of talent in this competition is Sarah. Ah, someone to hate with no moral qualms! Renee, I salute you.



And just to make that I've said this someplace, a good villain is only one half of the equation for a classic season — the second half being a girl to root for. At the moment, we've not anybody who fits the bill. Early frontrunner Brittany is a whiner for sure, but she has so far complained her way to success. Also, her makeover is ugly. Jael is the only other non-evil girl who stands out in a memorable way, but at points during this episode, she sounded exactly like Tyra's favorite winner Adrianne; once Tyra realizes the aural resemblance, Jael'll be dropped like she's proverbially hot.

And this episode being the vaunted makeover episode, I was disappointed by both the staggeringly safe and boring new styles the girls all got (except for Brittany's "what were they thinking" do), and as a corrollary, the lack of unjustified freakouts. (Freakouts of course being one of the most surefire ways to identify villains.) Where are the Cassandras? The Jaedas? Jael was extremely teary, but her crying was completely warranted by getting a weave installed and then ripped out in an 8-hour span.

Jael, if you haven't noticed, has been getting a lot of camera-time so far in a way that kind of reminds me of CariDee, but more out of control, if you can imagine that.

Indie rating: Paula Frazer - "Halfway to Madness"