Last week I wasn't really feeling the premiere of "Top Model"'s 12th cycle. It wasn't that it was bad, or boring, I just didn't feel connected to any of the girls. That wasn't the case this week, as I was actually yelling at the TV when it came down to the Bottom 2. I was certain that adorable blaxican Fo was getting the boot, since they'd spent so much time focusing on her this episode and Tyra had it in for her hardcore after Fo cried about her makeover in the middle of the photo shoot. (Oh, Fo, no! This is Cycle 12! How have you not learned about the no-crying-about-the-makeovers rule?) Thankfully, she escaped to pose another day, and I have found the love for this latest crop of model-bes.

Makeovers came early this cycle, as only one poor sap got bounced before they all got expensive new haircuts. All in all I think the new looks turned out great for most of the girls, especially when you compare them to the makeovers last night on Bravo's "Make Me a Supermodel," in which every model - every single model - looked worse than they did before. A couple "Top Model" cuts I initially rejected, like London's bright blond, close-cropped ‘do, but the girl turned it out in her second stunning photo in a row (pre-show I dismissed her as chaff, but she may actually have something there). I thought slapping a long blonde weave on Allison would look ridiculous, but she was adorable at panel and the long locks mitigated her gigantic doll peepers in the photo shoot. I like the red on Kortnie (still can't take a good face shot), think the chin-length hair should help Celia (and man is she stylish; probably the most fashion-savvy contestant the show has ever seen), and seriously, Fo's butchy brush cut looks amazing on her. She better get over this Jaeda-lite "Short hair is for boys thing," because it has completely transformed her for the better.

The only makeovers that didn't work were Aminat's, who had her afro hair piece taken out and was saddled with long wavy extensions. It's not a bad look, but she's far less striking and entirely indistinguishable now. She also looks shorter. And then there's poor bitch Sandra, who had her head shaved nearly bald, and then the remaining fuzz dyed bright piss yellow. So we can all agree that Tyra hates Sandra, and is intentionally trying to break her, right? Why else would you saddle someone that gorgeous with hair most commonly seen on tranny hookers? To her credit, Sandra handled it like a pro, even though she still cannot take a good photo. What a waste of natural beauty.

Natalie seemed poised for a makeover meltdown, but then the twist came that they weren't going to touch her hair at all. The Jays said that when she walked into casting she already looked like a model head to toe. I...kind of find that unbelievable. I recognize that I don't get Natalie's beauty - she's pretty, but not exactly a knockout - but regardless, her hair is too long and stringy. It goes halfway down her back at least. How does she at least not need a trim or some shaping?

I loved this week's photo shoot, a highly stylized punk-glam group shot in an abandoned warehouse, in which each girl was given two light sticks with which to light herself while Nigel took the pictures. The results were all over the place - a bunch of the girls still have not learned basic "Top Model" stuff, like smiling with their eyes or elongating their necks - and poor, dim Jessica demonstrated how important good lighting is to a model by holding the sticks in such a way that her end photo looked like a completely different person. An ugly person.

So Jessica got cut. Good riddance. Despite her constant self-congratulating over how pretty she is, she never really stood a chance. I'm just glad Fo stuck around. I know she's kind of a mess, but she's a really pretty girl. I'm rooting for her to at least make F6.

Also: can someone please explain to me how Tahlia is still in this bitch?