Asia’s premiere modelling competition is back for Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Episode 3. Makeover episode means a lot more drama. Read on for my Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Episode 3 review and how the girls fared in their photo shoot this week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk0BFtUtTHM

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Makeovers

Before I start picking on the girls’ makeovers, I really liked the “twist” of having last week’s FCO getting to choose, although limited, the other girls’ makeovers. Though I still don’t understand this show’s obsession with giving the girls bangs. All of the girls who had bangs as their makeovers looked worse post-MO. 🙄

I love how the makeover session continues Clara’s narrative (or rather what the show gave her; more on that later) of being the bratty, spoiled princess. The script, almost verbatim, is the same as Mai Ngo’s from last cycle: girl doesn’t want to cut her hair short or her boyfriend won’t love her anymore. This time, Clara’s makeover isn’t even as short as Mai Ngo’s. It doesn’t look that much different to me, really. The show even dedicated the title to her: “The Girl Who Is A Crybaby.”

Oh and let’s not forget those dye jobs. Tu had the best color. And how the heck is Nametha’s makeover ash-blonde?! That color is so far away from ash-blonde; it’s like artificial corn yellow food coloring. The makeover team did her so wrong. She should’ve gotten the same hair as Alicia’s, because as with past cycles, the girls with the short hair makeovers got the best results. Both Alicia and Shikin look much better post-MO. Their edgy, almost rockstar, attitude fit their new style so much.

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Photoshoot

This week’s shoot the girls were not just outdoors, they have even left the city. Finally! We’ve gotten away from the Singapore harbor! 😂 Yu Tsai and guest judge Ling Tan were on the set to guide the girls. Shavonne Wong (Zhiffy Photography) is the photographer. This week’s theme is denim, but the girls had the choice of what attitude to portray in their photos, with some input from Yu Tsai, of course.

These are my TOP 3 favorites and BOTTOM 3 for the week: (Check out the video at the bottom for the photos.)

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Top 3

Nametha

YAAAASSSS!!! SLAY MAMAAAA!!! This is what we’ve been waiting for from Nametha. I don’t even care if this was a lucky shot. It’s just so good. I’ve already mentioned how her photo would not be out of place in a Guess ad. The yellow hair actually, weirdly, kinda fits this photo? So much better than last week’s disaster! 💗

Alicia

I’m starting to look biased for having Alicia in my Top 3 picks for 3 weeks now, but I don’t even care. She’s competition. This photo is effortlessly fierce. That slight booty tooch, without being too boochy, will make Ty-ty proud. Love how the light shines on her face and her short hair.

Cindy

Even though she was sabotaged with her makeover, she turned out a pretty good photo. What sold me with this is her pose. It’s pretty cliche (reminds me a bit of ANTM 20) but the execution is excellent. It really highlighted the length of her legs. The only glaring flaw is the facial expression. It’s not as committed as the rest of her body.

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Bottom 3

Veronika

I appreciate the effort, but this is just too cheesy for my taste. And that pair of knee-less mom jeans isn’t helping her case. Ling Tan even mentioned in panel how they had a hard time picking her photo because her eyes were half-open in all of her other shots. In my opinion, this photo would’ve been stronger had her eyes been open. I do think she’s been performing better than her twin sister so far, but for this instance, I’m not liking it much.

Layla

The good: her face is stunning in this photo. A much better angle than last week. The bad: everything else, frankly. I do not understand the shape she’s making with her clothes. A strong standing stance would’ve better showcased the almost-rigidness of the denim. I’m seriously worried about her chances of staying in the competition if she doesn’t do better next episode.

Maureen

Oh no. Where do I begin? The judges were right to point out that this photo is awkward. I do not understand the pose or the facial expression. If this were not chosen as her final photo, I would think that this was a behind-the-scenes candid shot. The bored look mixed with that crab claw hand isn’t a good look for Maureen. Fortunately, the theme for the next photo shoot seems to be more up her alley.

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Full Ranking

Check out my full ranking for the Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Episode 3 photo shoot, in video form, here:

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Reality Show Talk

As I mentioned in my previous episode review, we always have to remember that Asia’s Next Top Model is still a TV show, a reality TV show. Shows like this love to magnify the drama by how it frames, edits, or cherry-picks footage to present to the audience. Reality TV shows like to weave a narrative to evoke certain emotions from its viewers.

If you’ve observed the show carefully, you can see that by Episode 3 each girl is getting their own narrative, their own storyline, by how the show is edited and scripted. “Scripted?” you might ask. Yes, but probably not in the way that the results are manipulated. It’s more like the events in the show are “guided” into making the most exciting outcome possible. (Seriously, I can’t recommend “UnREAL” enough times.)

The Girl Who…

In Episode 3, we see how the show reiterates how the girls have been presented on this show so far starting from the first episode. I’ve already mentioned Clara’s being portrayed as a spoiled crybaby on the show. Tu’s medical condition is also in focus. (AsNTM isn’t complete without at least one trip to the clinic or hospital.) They showed her fainting twice already now. Tu is being portrayed as “the girl who never gives up” even through sickness. Contrast that with Layla’s narrative as “the girl who has low self-esteem (and almost always gives up).”

As with all (good) reality shows, the cast of characters on the show seem to take on a template, some of which we’ve seen in cycles past. I already mentioned how Mai Ngo and Clara had similar scenes during the makeover. In the next episode, Cindy can be seen screaming at Cindy (the judge, or herself, who knows) on panel. Remember someone else who did that? Amanda from Cycle 3. I’m sure we’ll be experiencing more deja vu in the coming episodes.

Also, on the issue of health, it’s interesting how Tu gets all the spotlight for her health condition, but in the video up top Cindy mentions Alicia’s health as well. I don’t remember seeing that particular footage of Alicia down on the deliberation room floor. Either that means her health improves quickly by next episode, or she’s the next one eliminated. 🤔 (I hope it’s the former.) OR she’s just the victim of lack of airtime. 😂

Good Girls v Bad Girls Room

The girls being physically divided into two rooms (Good Girls and Bad Girls) conveniently establishes the show’s heroes and villains. It sets up the viewer into rooting for the good girls who are being berated by those bad, bad girls. What’s most especially clever is how the production focused on two specific girls on each side, and with a very specific agenda in mind.

Filipina v Filipina

Maureen and Jennica. They’re both from the same country, who arguably have the most fervent fans of this show. Episode 2 really drove home the point of how Jennica supposedly hated how Maureen coasts on by her looks alone sans modelling skills. Jennica even mentions Maureen by name several times during confessional. And it worked: the fans hated Jennica’s supposed tactlessness. (I know hate is a strong word, but seriously, look at the comments on her Instagram photos.)

Now that the Filipinos have lost their love for one of their representatives, the show can go on and pit these two together for elimination. So in Episode 3 we see Jennica and Maureen in the bottom two. Instead of most Filipino fans crying “unfair!” for having 2 Filipinas at the bottom, they’re now rooting for one of them to be eliminated. For being “insecure,” for showing the Philippines in a bad light, among other reasons. And as if to drive home the point even further, AsNTM even produced a video about Maureen being the last Filipina standing. Good job production team! 👏 😂

The New Big Bad

Now that Jennica is gone, the show will be establishing its new villain. During her exit confessional, it seems that Jennica is passing the “villain baton” to her closest friend, Dorothy. And for sure, next week, we’ll be reminded of how the Bad Girls Room is continually losing members, and how the Good Girls won the fight last week, but they’re still scared because most of them were in the bottom. Expect the unexpected predictable.

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Random Observations

• Can we please stop with everybody, anybody, pointing out that Valerie and Veronika are twins? It’s been three episodes already. We can clearly see they are twins even with slightly different hairstyle.
• The sooner we can stop with “Models models models” the better. PLEASE.
• Maureen had the least amount of clothes on that photo shoot, and then Yu Tsai (or the team) decides that “sexy” is not hers to portray? *insert white guy blinking meme*
• This week, the deliberation room is rocking blue lights to match the girls’ denim looks. Styling is on point! Probably better than what some of them wore during the photo shoot.
• This is in no way verified, and this is just based on my personal observations, but I think we’ve already established Yu Tsai’s favorites: Cindy and Veronika. And the girls he dislikes: Maureen and Dorothy. Let’s see how this continues in the next episodes. 😏

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What do you think of Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Episode 3? What are your thoughts on the episode? How would you rank the girls’ photos? Sound off in the comments below.

Also, don’t forget to vote for your favorite girl in the poll in the recap post. Poll closes right before Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Episode 4 on Wednesday, 9 p.m. on Star World.

The Girl Who Is A Crybaby: Asia’s Next Top Model Cycle 5 Episode 3 Recap