Episode 10: The Girl Rushed To The Emergency Room (5/3)
This week's focus is on body movement, and the girls perform in a classical Thai dance competition that proves to be Furonda's undoing. Danielle is hospitalized after being diagnosed with dehydration, but that doesn't stop her from completing with the rest of the girls in the jungle photo shoot atop an elephant. All the photos are beautifully executed, making the judges' decision more difficult than ever. In the end, Furonda is chosen to go home over Jade because despite her fabulous personality, she just "doesn't get it" when it comes to modeling. THE FEUD BEGINS Following Nnenna's elimination, Furonda's feeling vulnerable; she doesn't like the fact that landing in the bottom two has put her in the judges' sights. Sara's also nervous about learning to "fake confidence" so she can stay in the game. Meanwhile, a feud is brewing between Jade and Joanie. Joanie feels Jade's arrogance and lack of kindness aren't right for someone aiming to become America's Next Top Model, while Jade thinks if Joanie went "to castings in New York…they would laugh at her." Tyra Mail arrives, reading, "You will find yourself in a strange position tomorrow." They end up at the Patravadi Theatre, where they are greeted by artistic director and founder Patravadi Mejudhon. She will teach the girls a form of Thai classical dance, but first they must observe a demonstration. "Watching the Thai dancers is breathtaking," Joanie says. "They're very precise." Patravadi breaks down some hand movements and explains the story behind them, but Danielle has a migraine and finds it hard to push through. Furonda also struggles with balance and remembering the moves; her nerves are starting to cause her trouble. THE FEUD ESCALATES After practice, the girls try to have lunch while the tension between Joanie and Jade is revealed. Joanie tells Jade she is defensive, while Jade accuses Joanie of jealousy and tries to talk over her words. "Even when I sit next to her, all I smell is 'bitch,'" Joanie comments later. Eventually Jade notices Danielle has disappeared, but none of the girls seem to realize how serious things have gotten. Sometime during the lunch, Danielle collapses and is carted off to the emergency room in terrible pain. She's in tears, her body numb and shaking. "Right now I'm not too worried about the competition; I'm worried about my health." She's afraid and alone in the hospital. The girls are told Danielle has gone to the doctor, and Furonda tries to stay positive about the situation. "We're just praying she's okay." Despite Danielle's departure, the girls get started with the next challenge: to dance for Patravadi and three other judges in front of an audience of Thai people. It's a tough one, but the girls suit up and do their own dramatic makeup. JOANIE TRIUMPHS The dance begins with the pounding of drums, and the girls enter the stage in a group. They perform one at a time in front of the huge audience, and Jade is first. She looked "quite worried," in Patravadi's eyes, while Joanie is "poised and elegant; I like the smile on face." Patravadi immediately zones in on Sara's lack of confidence, though she appreciates her beauty. "I don't think I have a career in traditional Thai dance," Sara later jokes. Furonda goes a little wild on stage: "It was hula, it was club, it was everywhere," Joanie says. Patravadi observes that Furonda is "good at entertaining, but she needs to be more disciplined." The competition ends with thunderous applause. The judges announce that the winner is... for the first time, Joanie! She is pleased and proud to have won a challenge judged by Thai people who know the dance and culture inside and out. Joanie chooses Sara to join in her prize since she's never won anything (though Sara's not happy, believing Joanie picked her out of pity). They'll share a meal with Elle Thailand publishing director Siri Udomritthruj. At dinner, Siri rewards Joanie with a beautiful warrior head as a prize. "I am going to put my warrior head on the coffee table so Jade will know there is a warrior looking at her all the time... and that is me." The trio enjoys the meal, and Siri offers advice and encouragement to both Sara and Joanie for the future. Meanwhile, Danielle is diagnosed with dehydration and is urged to stay in the hospital for a while. She'll have none of it, checks herself out and heads back to the competition. WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Tyra Mail arrives announcing the next photo shoot, which will involve "trunks." The girls prepare, but Furonda finds it difficult to get Danielle out of bed in the morning. She's feeling terrible, knowing it's because she left the hospital against doctor's orders. "I'm battling with myself because I do want to throw my hands up and go home," she says. But she pulls it together and gets up, knowing she'll be eliminated if she doesn't. The girls arrive at a destination that proves to be only the start of their journey. Jay Manuel rides up on an elephant to give the details: the shoot will be for Venus Vibrance razors and they'll have to ride elephants through the jungle to get to the location. Most of the girls are jazzed, but Danielle's not too happy to have to deal with the highs and lows of animal travel. The ride isn't smooth, but they all arrive in one piece to meet the photographer for the day, Pongsak Tangtiwaja. Danielle gets going first with her nervous elephant. She tries her best to stay focused: "Jay said I did a good job, but I was not feeling it at all." When Jade overthinks the shoot, Jay gets frustrated; he hates that she can't take direction without thinking it's criticism. Furonda looks great, but her poses are off this week. She's not able to achieve a great soft expression until the very end. Joanie's feeling the pressure, so she comes up with some ingenious poses with her elephant. She connects well with the animal and turns out some amazing shots. Jade isn't happy and neither is Sara, who has to go last. To stand out, she copies exactly what Joanie did with her elephant. However, Jay says, "Sara didn't execute it nearly in the same graceful fashion that Joanie did." Though Joanie isn't impressed when she sees the exact copies of her poses, she laughs it off. FASHION HAS NO MERCY The time arrives for the next elimination and the girls file in to meet the judges, including guest judge, Siri Udomritthruj. The panel challenge has the girls expressing three emotions using only body language (they must wear a mask to hide their expressions). Much to the judges' dismay, the first emotion, "sensuality," doesn't quite come off right for any of the girls. "Despair" is next, followed by "compassion." Furonda is up first for evaluation, and her emotional poses got her nowhere with Tyra, though Nigel appreciates her spirit and humor. While her elephant photo is beautiful, Miss J. thinks she could have been a little more elegant. Sara is next, and she conveyed her emotions well. However, Tyra noticed that she wasn't exactly modeling when she was posing. Nigel adds, "Just a memo: this is a modeling competition." Her photo is graceful and lovely, but her theft of Joanie's poses does not go unnoticed. Tyra advises her to "steal from the best and make it your own." Jade's emotions were too much like Thai dancing; they didn't really express anything. The pose in her photo is stiff, and Tyra lets her know that relaxing is key. Joanie's emotions were similar to Jade's in that she tried to incorporate Thai dance, but she does receive applause for winning the dancing challenge. Her photo also gets applause all around; it's stunning. Nigel explains that Joanie must harness the kind of energy she has during shoots and bring it to the panel. In person, she's not turning it on. Danielle's emotions were expressed in shifts and poses, and Tyra likes that she was able to capture the feelings through her movement. Danielle equated the challenge as an opportunity to dance for the judges since she missed the earlier competition. Her photo is beautiful and Tyra says she didn't suspect Danielle felt sick in the least. "Woozy suits your face because you look gorgeous," Twiggy says. SHE'S EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE Deliberations are tough this week because "everyone has a beautiful picture." Jade's photo is stiff, as was her dancing, notes Siri. She turns out pictures, but "it's Jade's way or the highway." Danielle did a great job, and Twiggy says that the panel can't fault her for missing a challenge due to illness. Siri loved Joanie's energy as she danced, but Nigel continues to express his disappointment over Joanie's presence in person. Furonda's "all over the place," according to Tyra, though her photo is lovely. Nigel loves to have her around despite the fact that she lacks grace and elegance. The judges are surprised by Sara's fantastic photo; they didn't know she had it in her. The decision is made, and Joanie's name is called first. Next are Sara and Danielle, leaving Jade and Furonda to step forward as the final two. The panel loves Furonda's vibrant personality, but they lament the fact that "she doesn't quite get it." The judges also know how Jade likes to march to her own drum, but if she was doing it right, she'd already be a supermodel. She's got to learn to take direction, and she'll get yet another chance to continue to do so since Furonda is sent home. Joanie and Sara look stunned and disappointed, while Tyra tells Jade, "We know you have potential. Don't be your own worst enemy." Furonda struts and swings her way out of the panel room, putting smiles on the faces of everyone present. "The judges say that I march to the beat of my own drum. It's not really a negative for me because it's something I've always done and probably something I'm always going to do." She's happy to have gotten as far as she did. "I feel really good about making it in the final five because I was on the chopping block the first week out. I've been kicking it in, consistently getting stronger, so I'm happy with that." Source: http://www.upn.com/shows/top_model6/show/ep10/