‘American Idol’ Recap: Girls Overboard
If you thought the cozy drama of last week’s elimination round would have no consequences, you were livin’ in a reality TV show dream, kid. As with every silver lining, there was a hulking grey cloud at the center of Casey’s magic save, a gut-punch called double elimination. Two baby Idols lost their parents last night, just like that. It happened very quickly. If you blinked – which you probably didn’t, because this is IDOL, and you DO NOT BLINK DURING IDOL – you might have thought Naima of the Islands was still among us, or even that little Thia Megia girl who sang well but was cursed with being boring. In which case, thank goodness you’re reading this recap! Those two are long-gone.
Why, you ask? You, who unfortunately blinked. Because. There’s this whole voting procedure see, in which little girls around the nation pick up their smart phones and dial and press numbers and always, always, press them for the little boys. So far not one fella has been offed, while meanwhile, the girls’ ranks are swiftly dwindling. Only three of the original seven songstresses are left, all of them built in a classical mold: pretty, talented and inoffensive. Naima showed the only potential to upturn all that, but now she is back to her cute babies and all those friends who showed up every week looking like a Rusted Root fan club. Sigh. Lesson learned. Weirdos eventually go home.
But the biggest loss of the night might have been the magic save itself. What a tension-builder that little guy was! With it in play there was always the slim chance of a reversal, a possibility of dark swinging into light. Now the verdict sounds and there’s nothing more to it. No singing for their lives, no fake agonizing at the judges’ table over what to do. No hope, no change. From here on out, Ryan says the word, the loser watches her montage, cue wrap-up music, judges on stage, hugs, tears, camera pan and we’re out. This is not maximum drama, Idol! The magic save deserves a worthy successor. Until then, farewell crucial five minutes of Thursday night’s elimination episodes, farewell little Thia and most of all, farewell Naima. Things won’t be the same without you.
Last Episode: Stuck in the Middle