My thoughts on the recap episode below the jump!

I still don’t understand why Franky didn’t make it into the house. Her walk was killer and her fro could be made over easily.

We really don’t get lot of new footage. Well, Christobelle was stung by a bee, but that’s hardly worth mentioning. If she was allergic and gone into some sort of shock, then yes. Getting vinegar on your arm? Really? Are these girls that boring they needed to resort to showing us that?

I think they ran this recap episode to amp up viewers. Those who tuned in late can now get caught up and enjoy the rest of the cycle. I can’t think of any other reason to do a recap episode, especially without any new footage.

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What will happen this week? Check it out below!

See the photo shoot here.

Full recap, including who goes home, below the jump!

Original Air Date: April 17, 2009
Challenge: Trapeze posing
Challenge Winner: Laura
Photo Shoot: Michael Hill watches
Guest Judge: Pieter Stewart
Called First: Laura
Eliminated: Ajoh

We open with the girls being split about Rhiannon’s elimination. I can understand where they are coming from – she has loads of potential, but her age and inexperience were holding her back. We need get a catwalk montage, as the girls have all taken the judges’ praise of Hosanna’s dedication to heart.

The first big adventure is the girls meeting Chris on the beach. He’s there to teach them all about selling products. They all scrambled for various props and took turns delivering five different poses that sold the product. The end result is a pretty funny, but the moral of this scene is that Teryl-Leigh is too high strung and self-aware to let herself go and do well in silly challenges.

This week’s challenge was posing on the trapeze. They took learns with training on a regular trapeze, a hoop trapeze and a rope. The winner of this challenge receives a quite lovely modeling prize from MAX. Ajoh uses the different cultures excuse again, this time saying it’s inappropriate for women in Africa to open their legs for no good reason. I want to appreciate and be open to this, but it is a modeling competition and this commentary only comes up when Ajoh is struggling with something. I’m not sure what to make of it. For the challenge, the girls each selected an apparatus and posed on it. Colin and the girl from MAX would select the winner. Some girls did well, some struggled. The true sourpusses were Ajoh and Teryl-Leigh, who both fell flat and had loads of excuses for why. The stand-outs were Laura, Christobelle and Victoria. In the end, Laura’s editorial shapes and fluid movement put her on top.

This week’s photo shoot put the girls’ training to work, as they model Michael Hill watches. It’a very commercial shoot and the photographer wants a big smile and excellent product placement from them. Victoria and Teryl-Leigh did well; Ajoh, Laura, Lucy, Ruby fall somewhere in the middle; and Hosanna, Christobelle and Rebecca Rose struggled.

At panel, nearly everyone got positive feedback. Ajoh was reprimanded for quitting the challenge, which is interesting because they went far easier on Sarah a few weeks back when she quit the hip hop lesson. Christobelle’s photo was terrible, but it’s the first bad shot she’s had all competition. In the end, Laura gets top billing and Ajoh is sent home. I’m sorry, this is whack! Lucy is third and Ajoh is sent home? Wow.

Next week: the girls are in a music video and jealousy heats up!

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Full recap is below the jump!

Original Air Date: April 10, 2009
Challenge: Five-minute make-up
Challenge Winner: Ruby
Photo Shoot: Couture on the beach
Guest Judge: Karen Interbitzen-Waller
Called First: Ajoh
Eliminated: Rhiannon

We open with the girls recalling the elimination. Lucy’s struck by the fact she’s truly in this competition alone now and Teryl-Leigh realizes she can’t keep coasting and needs to step it up if she wants to stay in the game.

Sara stops by the house for a visit and a game of “most potential/least potential”. I’m surprised this is happening so early, in ANTM it’s usually not until the top five or so. But, it games a lot of sense, as it stresses that this is a competition and these girls are here to win. Christobelle and Ajoh turn out to be early favorites, as lots of girls pick them to be in the top two. Teryl-Leigh turns out to be everyone’s favorite to go, which really surprises her. I can’t help but wonder if that’s a bit of a bandwagon thing – pick the girl that was in the bottom two this week and who everyone else picked, so I look in sync with everyone else and don’t rile any unnecessary feathers.

The challenge this week was the requisite five-minute make-up challenge, which is always good for a bit of fun. It’s always amazes me how little these girls know about their own skin tones. But then, I’d be terrible at this challenge too! The judges get a kick out of some girls make-up, and declare Ruby the winner, despite her being so tired and not really into the challenge on the way over. Her prize is pretty sweet too – make-up that’s not in stores and a one-on-one session with a professional make-up artist.

The shoot is the girls’ first high fashion shoot. It’s on a beach in West New Zealand and they have to battle the wind and sand as well as bring it in a difficult garment.

On the shoot, Ruby is okay; Ajoh impresses, but gets the one-look criticism again; Victoria tried too hard; Rhiannon was stiff; the photographer really struggled with Lucy; Christobelle was the photographer’s favorite; Teryl-Leigh didn’t bring enough in her eyes; Laura was effortlessly graceful; Hosanna surprised and Rebecca Rose did well. Overall, the photographer was surprised and pleased with everyone.

The girls chat about who they think is going home and Teryl-Leigh’s name pops up again and again. She drives me crazy, so I wouldn’t mind seeing her eliminated either.

At panel, the judges are impressed with Christobelle, Hosanna, and Ajoh; are mixed about Ruby, Teryl-Leigh, Victoria, and Rebecca Rose; and are disappointed with Lucy, Rhiannon, and Laura. In the end, Ajoh’s improvement put her on top and Victoria and Rhiannon are on the bottom. The judges send Rhiannon home, as she just isn’t ready to be a top model yet.

Next week: the girls go to trapeze class and there’s tears, tears and more tears!

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Who will go this time around? Tune in to find out!

You can see the photo shoot here.

Full recap is below the jump!

Original Air Date: April 3, 2009
Challenge: Conveyor catwalk
Challenge Winner: Christobelle
Photo Shoot: Fish faces
Guest Judge: Kirrily Johnston
Called First: Rebecca Rose
Eliminated: Olivia

We open with the girls talking about Sarah’s elimination. No one is really sad because she wanted to go home and she was fierce competition for the other girls. some of the girls, Ruby included, are concerned about Ruby’s weight. So they banded together to work out Olivia Newton-John style. Teryl-Leigh and Hosanna stayed out of it ’cause they’re just too cool.

It’s makeover time! I’m really excited, but I find that the makeovers in international NTMs are always less dramatic. Sure’s there’s screaming and tears, but I’ve hardly seen a pure WTF? makeover from Britain, Canada or New Zealand. Sara even takes it a step further and tells the girls what they’re getting before they chop it!

Laura: Agyness Denn inspired blonde crop
Rebecca Rose: shoulder length hair, redder color
Lucy: chocolate brown locks
Christobelle: Gisele Bundchen inspired locks
Olivia: touching up her blonde
Hosanna: highlights and layers
Victoria: Katie Holmes bob
Rhiannon: shoulder length cut, chocolate brown color
Ajoh: super short cropped cut
Teryl-Leigh: red color
Ruby: blonder

Ajoh really struggles with her cut, because in Sudan, you only shave your head when someone passes away. It’s a sign of respect and mourning. I do think she just missed her long hair a lot and was milking her tears, but it’s one of the more fair reasons someone has broken down over a haircut. She gets over it once the makeover is complete and decides to use it as an opportunity to stand out.

Teryl-Leigh keeps whining “it’s orange, it’s orange!” and refuses to acknowledge that it’s an improvement. Remember when Alice Burdeu went red? It’s pretty much the reason her career skyrocketed. Get over it, Teryl-Leigh.

Christobelle was originally really excited by her makeover, but was upset over the final color. Hosanna’s makeover turns out great and she’s really happy with it. So are Victoria, Olivia and Rhiannon. Rebecca Rose and Ruby shocked by the change, but just need to get used to it. Rebecca Rose looks stunning, the red color really opens her face.

Lucy continues to whine, because it wouldn’t be an NZNTM episode without her whining about something. I do think Lucy came into this show with the strongest sense of personal style, but that style didn’t scream model. Her makeover turns out great, but she doesn’t care. She misses her old hair.

Laura breaks down during her makeover and is terrified she’s going to look like a boy. To her credit, she says once the cut it over, she’s going to suck it up and get past how she feels about her hair. Once the transformation is complete, she understands it and why they chose it for her. I love it, it’s amazing.

The challenge is a Kirrily Johnson fashion show. They are walking on a conveyor belt under an aquarium filled with sharks. It’s pretty amazing.

Teryl-Leigh, Olivia, Lucy and Victoria all bomb. Rebecca Rose, Ruby and Laura fall somewhere in the middle and it’s Hosanna, Rhiannon, Ajoh and Christobelle who impress. Christobelle walks home with the prize, despite never having done catwalk before.

This week’s photo shoot is an avant garde close-up. All the girls get different edgy facepaint that compliments their new looks. They’re each supposed to be a fish!

At the shoot, Victoria, Lucy, Laura, Hosanna and Rebecca Rose impress Chris and the photographer; Christobelle struggles; Teryl-Leigh bores; Ruby and Rhiannon didn’t give enough; and Ajoh was too angry, but pulled it out in the last few shots.

However, having a great performance doesn’t always mean great photos. Victoria, Hosanna, Laura, Lucy, Rebecca Rose, and Ruby, get high praise; Christobelle, Ajoh, and Rhiannon split the judges; and Olivia and Teryl-Leigh fall flat. I think the bottom two is pretty obvious, but we have to wait and see who gets eliminated. In the end, it’s between Teryl-Leigh and Olivia. Teryl-Leigh’s strong performance up to now and Olivia’s weak one made the judges’ decision easy. Olivia is gone.

Next week: the girls have a makeup challenge, Sara visits the house and the drama is amped up!

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