By Mike Bandy

 

We've reached the end of the journey!! Who's gonna be named the All-Star?! All of the girls started the episode by talking about how nervous they were and how much they really wanted this, which is pretty typical speech for anyone in this competition. It was really no big surprise that Angelea felt she deserved it more than anybody, that Lisa felt Angelea was too fragile, and that Allison just really wanted to win.

The girls got a Tyra Mail which read "Easy, Breezy, Beautiful!", only in Greek, and the next day they headed out to meet Jay at a local resort. They would be doing an ad for Intense Shadow Blast which would involve a photo shoot and a line read. They did have lines to memorize, but they would be able to use a teleprompter as well.

Lisa's photo shoot was really good - the CoverGirl rep really liked it, and Jay thought that her eyes looked breathtaking in the close up shot. However, her actual line delivering was a problem when she had to say the words "oh yeah", because she sounded like a car salesman, but she ended up nailing it. Allison was next, and though the CoverGirl rep loved her big, beautiful eyes, Allison had trouble with them when it came to her close up shot. Her photo shoot and line read went really well, though, and I thought she was the most believable one of them all.

Then it was time for Angelea to have her turn, and in a surprising twist, she did REALLY well! Her photo blew Jay away, and if anything, she had too much personality in her commercial. It seemed like she was the overall favorite of the day.

When the girls arrived home, they received another Tyra Mail which read, "Ciao bella! Get ready for a beach day!" Everyone was super confused as to why it was in Italian, but this reviewer knew right away - it was time for the Vogue Italia shoot! The girls showed up at a gorgeous, secluded beach for their shoot, and in hair and makeup, Allison got her eyebrows bleached. Angelea complimented her on her look, and in her confessional shot, said that she'd underestimated Allison, who was in fact her biggest competition. Hmm...

When it came time for the shoot, Allison looked ethereal and gorgeous, Lisa was strong and powerful, as expected, and Angelea was Angelea. Overall, it was hard to pick a winner from it, because the shoot felt really rushed through to me (did it seem that way to you guys too?).

Anyhow, the next Tyra Mail announced that "A true goddess can rise above the competition." Everyone knew that this meant it was time for the final runway challenge. The girls arrived the next day to meet up with Jay, as well as Shannon, Dominique, and Laura, who would be walking in the show with them. The final three finally got to see the dresses that they designed with Michael Cinco, and I was surprised at how very different yet gorgeous they all were!

Lisa's dress was by far my favorite - it had a long train and a bust covered with laser cut mirrors. It was the most high fashion to me, and I hope she got to keep it (stay tuned for the answer to that question in my interview with her tomorrow!). Angelea's dress had gold wings on top of it, and she looked kinda like a gladiator, but a really fierce, fashionable one. Allison's dress was perhaps the most different - it was close-fitting and looked like a floral wedding gown. I thought it was more understated than the others, but definitely beautiful.

Then it was time for the final runway show, and this one was a doozy. The girls had to swim through a pool, come out the other side, be put up in a harness to fly like a goddess, then land and stomp the runway to the song that they wrote. Reading that description, it sounds like a show that a lot could go wrong with, but in fact, it went off without a hitch for just about everyone...except Lisa.

 

She was up first, and while underwater, she decided that she wanted to do a mermaid flip...this ended up with her wig being in her face, and she emerged from the pool on the side instead of in the middle. A bit embarrassing, but she regained her composure and ended up being the crowd favorite when she walked! The wind made for a more dramatic show, especially with Lisa's train, because she looked flawless on that runway!

Angelea can't swim, but she powered through it anyhow and ended up doing really well. The audience also loved her performance on the harness as well as her walk on the runway. Allison's runway walk isn't her strong point, but I thought she held her own pretty well...until the wind blew so hard that her dress hiked up and she decided to fix it! I probably would have done the same thing in her situation, but I think she should have just let it go and modeled through. Still, Allison's performance was my favorite.

After the show ended, Allison said that she didn't want to be consistently a runner up - she'd given a lot more this time around and really wanted to win. Lisa said that she had a lot of fun with the show. Angelea wasn't really feeling well afterwards, and was very quiet. Nobody was really sure what was going on when the show cut to commercial.

In fact, when the show came back from commercial, we were even LESS sure what was going on. All of a sudden, we were back in Los Angeles, and Nigel announced that the network had found out information about Angelea that disqualified her from the competition, and we'd be moving forward and judging Allison and Lisa to determine the winner. That was all they said! Even at the time of this writing, there's no concrete info as to what happened to Angelea (though if you Google some Top Model forums, there are some interesting theories), but whatever it was, I hope she's alright. Though she was never my favorite girl, I wish her all the best, as did the judges.

Now, on to the judging! First we saw the final runway show, where Lisa was deemed to be a mess in the water, but glorious on the runway. Allison was the opposite - not so great on the runway, but great in the water, according to the judges. In the CoverGirl commercial, Allison did a beautiful job, and even with her eyes closed, the judges could still feel her "talking" through them. Lisa's commercial was flirtatious and fun for Andre and Nigel, but Jay and Tyra thought she didn't give enough and it was too safe.

 

When it came to the print ads for CoverGirl, Allison's looked vacant to Nigel and some of the other judges, while Lisa's said a lot with just one eye showing. The judges generally loved Lisa's photo more than Allison's.

During deliberation, the judges agreed that both girls have something special. Lisa is gusty and daring, just like her brand, but Allison truly captures people's hearts, and people want to be around her. Lisa can own a red carpet, and she's a chameleon - she's a singer, a personality, and a performer. Tyra's main point about Lisa was that she's a survivor - she's been through recovery, and a win for her would show girls that even if you come from a dark place, you can do anything. However, Allison has a lot of power in her eyes, and that's what a great model needs. Who would it be?!

When Allison and Lisa came back, Tyra showed part two of the Modelland motion editorial, which would reveal the winner. More acid-trippy goodness followed, and when the mask came down...Lisa was declared the All-Star!

Allison was very happy for Lisa, and said that she had a great experience. She's definitely taking art direction and painting very seriously, and has a lot that she wants to achieve (find out more about how Allison feels in my interview with her, posted soon!).
Lisa is an original and a star, and she said that her confidence comes from a vulnerable place of feeling that she has to lift herself every day. She said she felt like the universe finally came around for her, and its "pretty damn cool".

What did YOU think of the finale?! What's your theory on what happened to Angelea? Did the judges get it right?! I can't wait to read all of your comments!