Cycle 5, Episode 11: "The Girl Who Takes A Pill"
Bre and Nicole are still at it.
Nicole starts crying about Kim being eliminated. Bre is still crying over her granola bars.
The models get a Tyra Mail telling them to dress a certain way.
Bre as preppy
Jayla as punk
Nik as mod
Nicole as Bollywood
They meet up with Simon Doonan.
This is his second time on Top Model. The first was on Cycle 2 and he told Catie she dressed like a hooker.
Simon leads the models around Carnaby Street in London, giving them a tutorial on the city’s different fashion trends. These are the four styles they’ve been assigned.
For Bollywood, he tells Nicole, who had no idea what Bollywood was, to put on a sari. But he doesn’t tell her how to wear it. Cue awkward montage of Nicole.
We’d all do the same thing.
This is what Simon expected of Bre as preppy.
This model is giving big Kahlua from Bridesmaids energy.
Simon calls Jayla “a complete disaster” as punk.
And Bre and Nik look interchangeable as preppy and mod.
This lesson turns into go-sees. The models have to rush around to four designers, each designer with an assigned fashion style. The models get 150 pounds to shop at a flea market and then change between go-sees in their taxis.
The designers don’t seem too impressed with any of the models. Bre has bad photos. Jayla’s the worst walker. Most of designers don’t think the models styles fit their themes.
But they unanimously agree that Nik is the winner and she gets more frames for the upcoming photoshoot.
The models have to pair up for a sightseeing afternoon in London. Nik and Jayla know that Bre and Nicole will only be dramatic, so they decide to pair up with each other.
This forces Bre and Nicole to tough it out together.
They end up sharing a bottle of wine (despite being 20 years old). I feel like ANTM eventually made contestants follow American drinking laws, even when they were abroad. Will confirm in the future.
Bre apologizes to Nicole and promises to replace the Red Bulls.
Bre starts feeling sick with a fever, migraine and cramps. Jayla gives her a pill (thus the episode title), which makes Bre drowsy. Turns out Bre took both Benadryl and Tylenol PM.
Their photoshoot this week is Bollywood-inspired and Nigel is the photographer. His mom is Sri Lankan, so it’s personal for him.
When I was younger, I had no clue Nigel wasn’t white until this episode.
At night, the models go to dinner with Nigel and his mother.
Is Tyra’s photo and this entire photoshoot respectful or appropriation?
Unsure, but I do believe this episode of ANTM was my first exposure to Bollywood. So you can’t say the show wasn’t multicultural.
There’s a lot going on in these faux Bollywood film photos, and I don’t really love them.
But Nik’s is clearly the best this week AGAIN.
Nicole’s is also well received by the judges. I think it’s fine.
Tyra tells Bre she has no neck in her photo. But she powered through the Benadryl-Tylenol PM haze.
Jayla doesn’t stand out in her photo. She’s also weirdly styled like Cleopatra and you can’t read her name in this script.
Bre and Jayla end up in the bottom. Tyra rails against Bre for being short, but she survives her fourth time in the bottom two.
And Jayla goes home.
Jayla modeled a little bit after the show. Obviously one of her shoots involved a gun.
She was in the video for “Let Me Borrow That Top”.
But she mostly appears to now be just a witchy, goth lady.
LinkedIn says she’s a “Care Consultant”. I love that this is her LI profile pic.
Rock on, Jayla.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see you back here for the Cycle Finale! If you’re not already, be sure to subscribe to get added to my newsletter.
Fierce and love,
P