by Michelle Spigner

"Smile and Pose"

On tonight's episode of America's Next Top Model, the girls must work all things fake, gaudy and tacky in order to come out on top.

With only nine girls left, the models are really getting in the heart of the competition and for some being away from their loved ones is really taking a toll. The girls receive mail and packages from all their friends and families and Anslee starts to break down because she misses her daughter so much. She feels that she has to succeed in the competition because then being away from her child would have been worth something.

The girls receive a Tyra mail that reads, "You don't need to be a scientist to be good at chemistry." The next morning the girls arrive at Roosevelt Island and meet up with Miss J., who explains what they will be learning that afternoon. Miss J. explains just how important it is to establish chemistry right away with a complete stranger, especially when this complete stranger is the male model they will be posing with. Each of the girls will take a tram ride with a famous male model and must work to get the chemistry going. But what makes it so awkward is this male model is also their judge and photographer,  Nigel Barker.

Some of the girls try to flirt and a few become so aggressive that they scare Nigel away. Others fail to make a connection at all. After the session the girls must put the techniques they've learned to the test in a photo shoot. Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen Magazine will be judging their shoot with a steamy male model, and Nigel will be shooting it. But instead of a sexy model the girls will be posing with comedian, Ross Matthews who is anything but sexy. Unless you consider a short, stocky funnyman sexy.

So not only is creating chemistry going to be a problem, but the girls are challenged to get a great shot with only 5 frames and absolutely no direction. The girls will pose with Ross in a window on the second floor of an apartment building while Nigel shoots from below at the street level. To make it even more challenging the girls have to ignore all of Ross's hilarious antics as they try to pose erotically.

Surprisingly, all the girls are able to keep a straight face while posing. The judges chose Jessica as the winner. Even though she almost assaulted Nigel with her aggressive flirtation during the teaching session, she got the chemistry just right for the camera. As a prize she receives a set of earrings valued at $5,00. And Alasia, as last week's best photo of the week, gets to join on the prize and receives her own beautiful piece.

The next day the girls arrive at their photo shoot. The only clue they received as to what the shoot is about was their Tyra mail that read," Tomorrow you're going to find out who's fake, and who keeps it real." The girls find out exactly what that means when they are dropped off on Canal Street, the NYC hot spot for buying knockoff designer goods. Miss J. and Jay Emanuel are there to explain the concept. The shoot is to bring awareness to serious crime of buying knockoff fashions.

For this photo shoot it is the girls who will be fake. Everything on them will be fake from their nails, eyelashes, eye color and tans. They are styled in tacky clothes with boas and neon tights, faux fur coats- the whole nine yards. And they are challenged to make all the tackiness look editorial, not to mention bring themselves through the several pounds of make-up.

The girls varied in their success this week.

Tatianna, didn't get a lot of good feedback and was reverting to earlier poses to get a good shot.

Reina, had a great editorial look but didn't really embody the concept.

Jessica, was inspired by her challenge win and really let lose and started doing all kinds of crazy awesome poses.

Krista, nailed it as well.

Brenda, didn't live up to her potential. She looked pretty, but she got lost.

Anslee, was still pretty down about being away from her daughter but was determined to move past all of that. She looked pretty, but her poses weren't anything extraordinary. By the end she got a good shot, but it was a struggle.

Angelea, really did well and took the concept to a whole new level while bringing her own personality through.

Alexandra, was working to push herself out of the bottom and did her best to sell it. She did well but didn't live up to her potential.

The next day the girls meet with the judges.

The judges loved Anslee's shot and thought she nailed it. They also love Angelea and think her picture could go straight into any magazine. They flipped over Jessica's shot- the only girl to defy gravity in her picture. They like Brenda but think she is clueless about how to pose.  They believe Alexandra has the potential but she just doesn't know what to do with her body. Tatianna has one of the best pictures of the bunch, but out of her film she only has one good picture and the rest are bad.

The best photo of the week goes to Jessica for her creative pose. Runner up for best photo goes to Angelea. Tyra then calls Krista, Alasia, Anslee, Brenda and Raina. Tatianna and Alexandra are in the bottom two.

The judges think Alexandra has a great body, but don't think she knows what to do with it. They feel that she can do much better, than she has shown them. The judges do like Tatianna's photo, but they think she lucked into it and doesn't really have the skill to model. Alexandra is called and Tatianna goes home.

Until next week. Pose.... Strike It!

America's Next Top Model airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on the CW.

(Image courtesy of the CW)

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