I'd forgotten how random the episodes leading up to the makeover feel.  There always seems to be two real "semi-finalist" rounds in America's Next Top Model: the first episode and the makeover episode.  So, between the first episode and the makeover, we have all these little caterpillars fighting to see who can survive until Tyra turns them into a short-haired butterfly.

Surprisingly, the drama for this episode had less to do with the usual pre-makeover anxiety and more to do with real life issues.  When Hannah, the small town Alaskan girl, pushed Isis in the hot tub, the resulting reaction was totally worthy of a fandom_wank writeup.

If fandom_wank had done a write up the first comment would have said, "Race wank is not funny," and it wasn't funny here either, in reaction or response.  After pushing Isis, Hannah explained that she was just a "'stereotypical' white girl."  Which didn't go over well with Sheena and Brittany who saw her statement as patronizing and stereotyping - especially after she explained that this involved not liking loud music or loud introductions.

They responded by talking with other women of color and then approaching Hannah as a group only to have her be "sorry that you think I'm racist and prejudiced."  Which both avoided the issue and put the blame on the girls bringing up their concerns. Hannah wasn't sorry that she came off as racist!  She's sorry that you think she is!

I have to admit, the approach was kind of overwhelming and confrontational, and no one came at it from a really appropriate angle.  Not only was the issue confused by Hannah's use of race to explain what looked like dislike of Isis as a transsexual, but the girls who were concerned about Hannah's prejudice used the big no-no word in racewank: "racist."

No one wants to be called a racist, even someone who clearly is prejudiced.

Any sympathy I had for Hannah was promptly erased when she referred to the group of women of color approaching her as "like gang violence."  There's so many levels of wrong in that statement (starting with the very real prejudice) that I threw up my hands and said, "Oh, little lost lamb, you are on my epic-fail list.  I hope Tyra cuts off all your hair and gives you funny eyebrows."

The rest of the episode was fairly forgettable, although there was another dangerous photo shoot involving a hot air balloon and, for perhaps the first time in Top Model history, they put the safety of the girls over the integrity of the shot.  Many girls failed, and Jay kept calling Sheena a "hootchie."  McKey managed to take a photo without going into a boxing stance, although there were complaints about her ability to hold a pose.

Tyra's advice was to suck it up, which seems to be her advice for everything from how to deal with a hangnail to how to deal with getting the bubonic plague while on a photo shoot in a third world nation.  You think you need to go to the hospital? Suck it up and get that shot!

The "hootchie" comments came back to haunt Sheena in front of the judging panel when she was asked point blank if her breasts were real.  Which she lied about the first time.  But!  Luckily for her, she's watched Top Model before and knows that if there's one thing Tyra hates it's a contestant being prettier than her.  And if there's something else she hates, it's a contestant lying to her.

So, Sheena came clean about the fake boobs, and despite Paulina's objections, her honesty let her back into the competition.

Nikeysha was eliminated, possibly because Tyra doesn't like anyone talking over her, possibly because her photo was awful.  J. Alexander commented that Nikeysha was too thin and said that she needed to "eat a cheeseburger" which led me to question exactly how many runway models he'd actually advised, since Nikeysha was pretty standard for runway.

Essentially the only positive to come out of the episode was Isis asking Analeigh to distract her while she gave herself a hormone injection and Analeigh being awesome about it.  Also, the Clark/Elina OTPness continues with a kiss in the hot tub.

Next week our caterpillars turn into butterflies!  Can't wait!