And then Ann's commercial shoot starts. She quite unconvincingly says that looking great on the outside starts with feeling good on the inside. In fact, looking terrified on the outside starts with putting your feet in roller skates. That first line is said sitting down, and so it's really the best it gets. Ann stands up and starts to roll forward while saying her next line, and then falls spectacularly. I think she actually hits her head on the ground. While there's a big collective cry of, "Ooh!" it doesn't appear that anyone actually laughs. Okay, except for maybe me at home for the rest of this sequence. And Jay, who is totally stifling a laugh but has a telltale smile. Nigel offers Ann the use of kneepads, which she wisely takes. She could seriously snap about 13 of her bones on one fall, so I think they'd be better off going with full-body padding. Ann very sadly interviews that everyone is expecting a lot of her, so she starts to psych herself out. And then she gets mad at herself because she's psyching herself out, and that makes it even worse. Like a circle in a circle, like a wheel within a wheel.
Eventually, the extras in the commercial have to basically push Ann from one to another. They soon learn not to let go even for a second until she is safely delivered. Her escorts also devise a special way of skating with Ann, in which her knees are bent and her back is at a 45-degree angle to the ground as they hold her. It is, quite honestly, pretty hilarious. Jay tells us that Ann's biggest problem is her fear of failure and making herself look like a fool in front of other people. As a result, Ann completely psyched herself out. As this girl has been through enough torture, Nigel mercifully yells "Cut!" before she has to kiss the dude. At the end of the shoot Nigel simply says, "You're alive," which is as high praise as it comes in this circumstance. Ann tearfully interviews that not doing well in the commercial makes her scared, because even a few screw-ups can get you sent home. As a dreadful chord of doom plays and Ann ruminates on the cyclical nature of being freaked out, we head to commercials.












