8/2 Show Discussion **West Coast Spoilers**

The drama was a little OTT, I agree. But I confess I find Chris' talking heads and facial expressions hilarious. He just makes me :lol

I'll be glad to see the last of Chris and Gunnar, the sooner the better. While I like Kooan, he just doesn't have the skill set for these types of design challenges. I won't miss Elena either. Her personality is definitely Ukrainian, but she doesn't live there anymore. She'll have a stroke or heart attack one of these days if she doesn't calm down. I admired Buffi for keeping her cool and trying to take some of the pressure off Elena..

The ones I like most both for designs and behavior are Ven, Dmitry, Melissa, Sonija, and Fabio.

My feeling on fashion is that everyone should wear what makes them happy if it's reasoably appropriate for the occasion, regardless of age, body type, or what is considered in style at the moment. I know that's a minority point of view, but it's mine and I play to keep it. :)

I'm confused here...I thought it was Elena that quit but some posters said Andrea....
I find it funny that Chris and Gunnar don't like each other....funny, because they are so much alike. If it wasn't for Gunnar's blonde streak, I'd get them mixed up.
I didn't like any of the designs....some more than others but found them mostly very disappointing...Although I suspect the very little time they were given affected that outcome a lot.
I don't think we can criticize the color choices of the designers, altho I'd like to, since they had to do whatever color the Lexus car was....and btw, wasn't that a silly way to get a pitch for Lexus in there??? Using cars, that had nothing to do with anything, to decide what color they would use for the designs??
But that's probably what we get for having DVRs and FF through ads.
Thank you again, pikachu, for always giving us photos of the designs....so very helpful and convenient.:)

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Originally Posted by Dragonlady

I'm confused here...I thought it was Elena that quit but some posters said Andrea....

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Andrea left in the middle of the night. Maybe Elena leaves too, but it didn't happen in this last episode.

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Originally Posted by pikachu

Episode Notes:

For this being a Lexus challenge, they sure didn’t focus much on the cars. They never did say which colored car each design team and only barely showed parts of some cars. It didn’t come up at judging, either. You’d think one of the judges would have bashed Alicia and Raul for hardly incorporating their color (red) or something like that. Maybe they did in the extended judging and it didn’t make it to tv. For what it’s worth, I looked up the Lexus GS and it comes in 9 colors—Starfire Pearl, Liquid Platinum, Satin Cashmere Metallic, Nebula Gray Pearl, Meteor Blue Mica, Riviera Red, Fire Agate Pearl, Deep Sea Mica, and Obsidian. Obviously 2 colors didn’t get used since there were only 7 teams. I tried to figure out which team got which car but there wasn’t enough to go on so I gave up. Not very good product placement for this challenge. The cars shouldn’t have even been brought in at all.

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Yes, I know, that was very confusing. :confused

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My critiques:

Buffi and the Vampire-Slayer Elena: According to Elena, it’s tough in the Ukraine so that’s why she eats nails for breakfast, washed down with battery acid, and snacks on her partner’s liver during the day. Buffi tried to be courteous to Elena but it’s clear that Elena can only work alone. I didn’t appreciate that Elena kept telling the camera that she was stuck with an inferior designer. It wasn’t Buffi huffing off to smoke and bitch instead of working. In fact, Buffi didn’t even eat all day because she was trying to keep things moving. Personally, I think Buffi should have stood up for herself and told Elena she was taking a break instead of asking permission. It wouldn’t break their schedule for Buffi to take a few minutes to eat and relax and Elena couldn’t very well say anything to her since she herself took a break. I thought their outfit was the worst of the week. Laura might have liked it, since some of the clothes she designed were considered dated and matronly, but nobody else would like it. Laura already has a short neck so putting her in a dress with a tall collar made her look even more stumpy.

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Amen. And Buffi even went to look for her, wasting valuable time that she could have spent working on the dress. I'm not sure that I would have wasted that time on her. :mmm I have to admit that I didn't quite like Buffi at first. Her persona was just too OTT for my taste. She really earned my admiration in this episode, though.


And I agree with you, Florimel. Elena had better learn to calm down, because fashion is a very intense and pressure-filled industry. If she can't cope with that then maybe she shouldn't be here, either.

Dragonlady said:

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I find it funny that Chris and Gunnar don't like each other....funny, because they are so much alike. If it wasn't for Gunnar's blonde streak, I'd get them mixed up.

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Same here! :rofl

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Originally Posted by Dragonlady

I'm confused here...I thought it was Elena that quit but some posters said Andrea....

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Maybe this will help: it was made to look like Elena 'quit' in the middle of the challenge while she was working (or trying to work) with Buffi. She did walk out of the workroom. Buffi (followed by a cameraman, of course) went to look for her but could not find her in any of the rooms they checked.

Andrea was the one who was discovered missing in the morning.

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Originally Posted by sweetpea

The drama was a little OTT, I agree. But I confess I find Chris' talking heads and facial expressions hilarious. He just makes me :lol

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I agree, SweetPea! I didn't like Chris so much at the beginning, but this last episode? He was so upset that his solo interviews talking about Andrea were hysterical! I felt so badly for him, but he made me laugh at the same time. :lol

I must admit, and I know I'm in the minority here, but TWO THINGS:

1) Gunnar just doesn't rub me the wrong way like he does everyone else. I have no idea why because I usually can't tolerate certain stuff, but he just kinda makes me chuckle. I guess that's why I didn't care for Chris in the first couple of episodes -- Chris seemed to throw fuel onto Gunnar when (like was said by someone else), they are SO much alike! :nod

and

2) I don't perceive Ven to be as arrogant as most of the rest of you do. I find him to be more confident in a determined, matter-of-fact kind of way, and I believe that is from his culture. Yes, I know he's from the States, but that doesn't mean your culture isn't instilled into you from the git go.

Just my thoughts -- and I'm usually wrong. :teeth

Thanks everyone who helped me clear up my confusion...I have to admit that it takes me awhile to get everyone's name connected to the their face...
As for who we like and who we don't like, I find myself wanting certain contestants to stay even if I don't like them because they have such distinctive personalities...just like Chris and Gunnar....not crazy about either one but love the conflict between them and their dramatic ways.
Although I'm not sorry to see Andrea go...I just wish there would be an older person who could go the whole way and do well. Just doesn't seem to happen.
I probably feel that way because I'm old and want to cheer for another oldster. :)

I don't think Ven is arrogant, either.

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Originally Posted by cubsfan55

2) I don't perceive Ven to be as arrogant as most of the rest of you do. I find him to be more confident in a determined, matter-of-fact kind of way, and I believe that is from his culture. Yes, I know he's from the States, but that doesn't mean your culture isn't instilled into you from the git go.

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I feel the same way - Ven reminds me of a bit of (she who will not be named out of respect for Babbred ;) ) in that he's confident, and tends to come across as arrogant due to his delivery.

That said, unlike her Ven actually can back up his confidence and "arrogance" in his designs - at least so far.