'America's Next Top Model' recap: Inspired by Nene Leakes

By Zap2it Partner

October 27, 2011 6:59 AM ET

Okay, is it just me, or was this the weirdest Top Model episode on record? Four words: "Inspired by Nene Leakes." But I'm getting ahead of myself. With Bre's elimination, Bianca is clique-less amidst a bunch of cliquey hyenas. But don't fret! This doesn't make her any nicer, and in fact she gets into it with Alexandria before the credits even roll. Something about the shower, I don't know. For this week's challenge, the girls get to work with Ben Bennett, founder and creative director of Hatch Beauty, to make their own signature fragrance. Then maybe they can make millions of dollars just like Liz Taylor does, even from the dead! Each model chooses three fragrances that will be blended into a perfume that they get to name themselves, and which represents them. Shannon's "Smitten" smells like an unsullied hymen. Angelea names her fragrance "Angelea," which does not get nearly enough attention. It smells like a romantic evening spent in a Greyhound station. Just when you'd think that Allison takes the prize with her fragrance named "Honey Blood," Alexandria comes along and makes a very exacting blend called -- wait for it! -- "Diamondatrix." In the words of my beloved Bianca, "That girl can work a nerve."

The second part of the challenge has the girls launching their fragrance at an event with fans. Each has a station that includes a bathtub and a lot of scented products. Nigel wants the girls to be in the bathtubs selling their product. Most of them are game for this, but Bianca finds the whole idea to be crazy and undignified. She wants to conduct herself as a lady, and to be taken seriously as a model rather than as a gimmick. Well, she sure picked the wrong show. But good for her for having a grasp of the concept of self-respect. As the other girls splash around in lingerie or cocktail dresses, Bianca stands stoic, even when approached by Nigel and special guest Eva Marcille. That's Eva Marcille NEE PIGFORD. Never forget, people. Never forget. Lisa splashes her way to victory in this challenge, with a fragrance that I can only imagine smells like prune juice. She wins immunity this week, and Nigel also announces that the winner of this season will be the face of some sort of ANTM-related fragrance that will combine the spicy aroma of a booty tooch with subtle notes of beer-infused weave.

And then this happens: For the photo shoot of the week, the girls ride around Hollywood on the back of a motorcycle while portraying either Snooki or NeNe Leakes. I KNOW. The words "Inspired by NeNe Leakes" appear as a caption like five times. I was so shocked by this development that I honestly couldn't really pay attention for a full 20 minutes. Bianca makes some bad choices regarding pickles, and Lisa, in character as Nene, actually says to Jay Manuel: "Black girls don't go on motorcycles." Alexandria waves her finger. I don't know. And then Kathy Griffin is the guest judge. She does a bit with Tyra, and also calls Allison out for looking like a Brady Bunch kid. Imagine her singing "Sunshine Day," and you'll agree that it's a good call. As she predicted, the judges ask Bianca why she didn't splash around in a bathtub with her perfume as instructed, and her argument that Beyoncé wouldn't do it goes unappreciated by all. The judges are very excited to put her in her place, and she lands in the bottom three along with Shannon and Kayla. It's a double elimination, and even though she's lost her sizzle, Shannon is spared. Kayla and Bianca are sent home to the sounds of me sobbing.

» Read the full recap at Television Without Pity

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