#antmcycle4

Cycle 4 was a defining turning point for the show. If Cycle 3 highlighted the reality show aspect, then this cycle upped the ante to unforeseen heights. This is a rather polarising instalment, and truthfully, one I tend to skip during marathons.

This was the cycle of flesh-easting bacteria, fainting and calling the police about it, unnecessary ethnicity-swapping, and the meltdown to end all meltdowns because WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU, HOW DARE YOU? In all seriousness, we got some pretty iconic moments and gorgeous shots out of this cycle, but also at the cost of a more distant panel and ludicrous gimmicks.

Although for the most part it continued its direct predecessors’ steps in amazing creative concepts (from jaw-dropping editorials to pleasant commercial), we were also introduced to one of ANTM’s most controversial and pointless shoots which unfortunately set the tone for the following eras in having an increasing number of inane photoshoot ideas. While the drama in the model house was trivial in comparison to the likes of previous cycles (except for that episode with Michelle’s impetigo) , the real drama occurred at judgings, where we were treated to both shocking outbursts and nonsensical challenges. Truly a problematic cycle, and that’s without mentioning the fat-shaming and sexual harassment dismissals...

I call this the end of the original era because this sincerely felt like the last time ANTM tried to cling to its roots. Cycle 4 was a mismatched blend of the old-school Top Model with snippets of the clusterfuck that would arise soon thereafter. It’s iconic in its own way for those individual moments that nobody in the fandom will forget anytime soon. Plus, we would be saying goodbye to Janice who had been a staple so far in the franchise. I acknowledge the amount of good pictures and contestants we received, but I honestly have a hard time watching through it because there’s a sad undertone to the whole competition this time for me.

Ranking this cycle was interesting because we lacked any true consistency in performances, and everyone felt to be constantly all over the place rankings-wise. My end result and averages will be a surprise to you all as much as it will be to me- I know what my favourites and least favourites are, but everything in between is a jumbled, blurry enigma (*insert the Patrick Star meme*).

This will probably be the only time where I had no idea about how the averages would turn out since I’m not as familiar with this cycle. And as for the results, this was certainly unexpected! Unlike other cycles, there isn’t a wide gap between averages. Each spot decreases steadily, although I am shocked at the order of most of these, partly because it’s the first time I’ve seen them assembled together.

First of all, Christina. Upon rewatch, I fancied her as the dark horse of the competition, but I had no clue she would end up with the best average from the whole cast! Kahlen being a close runner-up is pretty accurate, and not surprising since apart from a few duds, she was consistently at the top of the pack. However, I am flabbergasted by how high Michelle made it- she could have easily placed 4th or 5th, but 3rd was something that came out of nowhere! The fact that she beat out Brittany is shocking, but obviously her first three weeks dragged her down even though by the mid-point she was rarely out of my Top 2.

Tiffany ending up with the fifth best average just goes to show that she had legitimate credentials for the grand prize had she kept going (even if she was a pet project, she was pretty solid overall and grabbed two of my FCOs) but obviously she felt happier walking away after being so sadly disillusioned. Naima certainly is low despite being the winner- she is the first of the ANTM champs to fall out of the Top 2 in terms of my call-out averages. But then again, as I remarked during the Wonderbra shoot, Naima was (in hindsight) not as consistent as most of her overseas contestants despite producing several gems.

Tatiana’s average is seriously low despite having made it to Top 7, and I half-expected to see Rebecca overcome Keenyah since she tragically spiralled out of control from Week 5 onwards. In a way, it proves my point that both Tiffany and Rebecca could have replaced her overseas, the former due to her track record, and the latter due to obvious potential.

Everything else feels rather fair honestly. I would have preferred Noelle and Lluvy to be switched, but obviously tampering with the averages is out of the question.