By Kylene Hamulak

 

As the first model to win access to the Tyra Suite for the second time in America's Next Top Model: College Edition, Laura decides to stay solo in the suite this time, as it IS a competition, and she's not here to make friends.

 

Allyssa doesn't care though. She wants to earn her way into the Tyra Suite and realizes she has to find a way to stand out because coming in second "just means you're the first loser. Congratulations." I think she's absolutely right because most weeks I forget her name, which can't be good this far into the competition.

 

Lest you think models don't eat, it's dinnertime in the house! Kiara has taken on the role of "mom" for the girls and is cooking them up a nice chili dinner. She wants them all to respect her and not think she's some ruthless bitch. Which is confusing because I'm pretty sure she's the one who referred to HERSELF as a bitch a few episodes ago, but whatever.

 

Anyway, perhaps because she's such a good mom, Kiara has noticed Victoria's weird eating habits. Victoria explains to us that she really misses her mom and doesn't have much of an appetite or a desire to eat, and Kiara is concerned. When it comes to Victoria, however, we need to remember - eating isn't the ONLY weird habit she has. Kristin remembers - she knows Victoria exercises and doesn't eat and has lost weight, and Kristin doesn't think she's stable enough for the competition.

 

The next day, Bryanboy shows up at the house looking like a super tacky tourist to announce that the next challenge will put the girls on a road trip to Palm Springs. Laura tells us that "when you're in college, that's the one thing you get to do without your parents." Which is weird because when I was in college? Pretty much everything was the thing I got to do without my parents.

 

The theme for the challenge is "Random Acts of Modeling," at three pit stops, which is sort of Tyra's thing - modeling while doing every day things. The sample photos we see of Tyra all look pretty much the same and feature Tyra on (I think?) a phone, but we're assured this could be things like taking out the trash or pumping gas. The girls will take photos and shoot video for Nylon TV throughout their trip.

 

The girls are put into teams of three: Allyssa, Brittany and Kristin (Team 1) on one team, Victoria, Nastasia and Kiara (Team 2) on the other. As president of the house, Laura chooses to join Team 1.

 

As they make their pit stops, Team 2 seems to have forgotten the "everyday things" part of the Random Acts of Modeling definition, and after they film their video segment, Victoria starts freaking out about wanting to reshoot. Kiara is in charge though, and isn't hearing any of it.

 

Team 1's first stop is an amusement park, where Allyssa (who all of a sudden is referring to herself as "curvy") and Laura take their photos "fiercely" buying a ticket and eating cotton candy, respectively. Brittany thinks that Laura was a little too much in her video shoot, while she is happy to say that SHE was genuine in hers. Except that I saw virtually no difference between the two.

 

Back with Team 2, Kiara is bossing Victoria around. This is interesting because Victoria's exact words are, "I feel like she likes to take it upon herself to be a mother figure and she's really not maternal." And if anyone knows about moms, it's Victoria.

 

The teams meet at the second pit stop and could not be more oppositely dressed. As Laura notes, the judges are going to either love or hate one of their approaches, as Team 2 went for a high fashion style versus the more casual and colorful look of Team 1. The bigger issue, however, is that Victoria was in charge of recording Kiara's video, and on the way to Palm Springs, a very perturbed Kiara discovers that her video isn't saved. Yikes.

 

Meanwhile, Team 1 stops at a windmill farm for their final pit stop. Where it is hot. And windy. It's a terrible idea, but soon they're on their way to Palm Springs, where they meet Bryanboy and the Editor-in-Chief of Nylon Magazine. From Team 1, Kristin and Laura both get positive reviews, while Allyssa and Brittany's photos didn't quite fit the challenge and looked too posed. For Team 2, Nastasia and Victoria are both told that they didn't really meet the challenge of Random Acts of Modeling, while Kiara's photos fit the bill.

 

Team 1 wins the challenge as the best team, and Laura wins the challenge overall....again. I think we have a front runner, ladies and gentlemen! Laura's 9 was the highest score, followed by Nastasia and Kristin with 8s, Allyssa and Kiara with 7s, and Victoria and Brittany with 6s. Victoria can't believe that she got a 6.

 

The girls are all exhausted from their trip and looking forward to taking showers to wash off the grunge of the day. Johnny, however, has other plans. He arrives to tell them they're all headed to hair and makeup for their shoot, which will be putting the girls in situations they're uncomfortable with after a long night out.

 

Brittany is the first to show up, entering a hotel room littered with food and garbage, and her shoot seems to go well. Though it takes a little time and direction, Laura is some sort of prom queen with her head in a toilet, and Johnny seems ultimately happy with her shots too.

 

And then there's Victoria. And Victoria's backstory. Where she shows up and starts talking about losing her virginity and needing to take a pregnancy test. Johnny encourages her to use that character for the shoot, but also thinks she gets a little over the top. Ya think?! I guess she got the shots, though.

 

Kristin's having her way with a carton of milk and, for once, isn't getting yelled at for being pretty. I'm just thankful (for her sake) that she's not lactose intolerant. Then they send Kiara to the dumpster, and we get another backstory. Except this one isn't one Victoria made up. It does seem familiar though, and then I realize that's because Tyra already made Destiny talk about dumpster diving. So that makes Kiara's homeless story a little less impactful.

 

Nastasia is thrown into a shower, and as the photographer tells her to scrunch down and let the water flow over her, she's concerned about looking short after so much criticism from the judges about that very thing. Allyssa is committed to getting good photos this time around, even if it means licking the ground. Literally. Licking SODA off the floor. Blech. Double blech when they find the roach nearby.

 

The girls head back to the house the next day, and there's a lot of yelling when a message is delivered telling them that they'll go to panel and there'll only be six of them left in the running. I'm not sure why they're so surprised...isn't that how it usually works?

 

So it seems that all the girls have a concern about Victoria and have noticed that she's stopped eating and is losing weight. When she talks to her mom she, of course, totally breaks down on the call - but hasn't she been doing that since day one? Her housemates think she's got a little bit of crazy going on. And that's being polite.

 

Nastasia is the one who finally confronts her, bluntly asking "do you need to go home?" Victoria claims that her exercise is just a stress relief and that she actually DOES eat (LIAR!), and Top Model is one commercial break away from becoming an afterschool special I watched in 8th grade health class. Allyssa tells Victoria that there comes a time in your life when you need to let go of your mom...but since she's saying it while cradling a teddy bear, I'm not really sure her point gets across.

 

At judges panel, we hear the following:

 

Brittany: The judges all love her character and think she really captured the look head to toe.
Judges Scores: 8 (Kelly) + 10 (Tyra) + 9 (Rob)

 

Kiara: Kelly thinks the shot gets your attention, but neither Tyra nor Rob are getting the right feel from the shot. Bryanboy offers some trashy (literally) feedback from social media that is not really all that helpful.
Judges Scores: 8 (Kelly) + 7 (Tyra) + 9 (Rob)

 

Laura: Rob thinks her shot is a little weak, and the other judges agree. They don't think this is quite "model" enough.
Judges Scores: 6 (Kelly) + 7 (Tyra) + 6 (Rob)

 

Kristin: Kelly loves her shot and thinks she's starting to communicate versatility, while Tyra and Rob think she did a great job. Bryanboy reports that her social media scores continue to rise, and one fan thinks it was the best fashion shot of the bunch.
Judges Scores: 8 (Kelly) + 8 (Tyra) + 8 (Rob)

 

Nastasia: To her surprise, Rob notes that she does NOT look small in this shot, and that it looks very natural. Kelly and Tyra think the shot is great as well - everyone loves it.
Judges Scores: 9 (Kelly) + 10 (Tyra) +10 (Rob)

 

Allyssa: Allyssa's photo doesn't get great reviews this week, as Kelly says everything else in the shot is perfect...except the modeling. Rob thinks she was too aware of the camera, and Bryanboy reports that her social media scores have fallen. Tyra gives her points for having the nastiest shot of the bunch
Judges Scores: 4 (Kelly) + 8 (Tyra) + 5 (Rob)

 

Victoria: The judges love her shot - Tyra calls it "amazing" and "absolutely stellar." Bryanboy tells her to be confident about herself.
Judges Scores: 8 (Kelly) + 8 (Tyra) + 9 (Rob)

 

And then the drama. As the judges tell Victoria how awesome she is, the other girls are shaking their heads behind her. When prompted by Tyra, they, as a group, voice their concerns for Victoria's health. In response, Tyra warns Victoria that if she stays in the competition and there is any issue with her eating, she will have to go home.

 

The highest total score for Best Photo goes to Nastasia. Brittany is the runner up, and Kristin and Victoria are still in the running as well. Tyra reminds her that she, personally, will be making sure everything is ok, and Victoria assures her there are no problems whatsoever. Ummmm....ok.

 

Kiara's name is called next, which means Allyssa and, surprisingly, Laura are in the bottom two this week. When the scores are revealed, Laura has beat Allyssa by nearly three full points, 32.9 to 29.0. Laura's crying and Tyra's all pissed at her for not doing better.

Tyra's also disappointed in Allyssa because she knows what it's like to be a "black girl with a big butt." She tells her, "We have to try harder." Allyssa is proud that she made it so far with no modeling experience and hopes her fans will give her another chance in the competition.

 

America's Next Top Model: College Edition airs Fridays at 8/7c on the CW.

 

(Image Courtesy of the CW)