Fantasia For Real Recap – Episode 7 – Faces of Tasia

The confusion and frustration that arises in this episode can mean only one thing…

…more GED woes! (But when it comes to drama, that isn’t even the half of Fantasia’s worries.)

We start with a tentative face:

It is announced that Teeny is making good on his promise and, indeed, looking for his own place. As Tasia talks about this, you can see the happiness shining through, but it’s not beaming out because you know how she is about her family (in a word: attached). Plus, you know how Teeny is about, oh, everything (in a word: unreliable).

But he does seem committed in this case! He looks at a house and proclaims, “Aw man, I could do something real sexy and seductive in this living room.” This is what he means:

Are you feeling seduced yet? Teeny is! He loves the place so much that its landlord seems weirded out. Teeny needs $2,000 to move in, so he devises a plan to raise it:

The best thing about the Bosscarade is, obviously, its name. The second best thing about it is…

…that’s right: VIP meatballs. Make a note that all you need to do to make anything classy is put the letters “VIP” in front of it. The third best thing about it is its attendees:

We don’t see many of them (because there aren’t that many, period), but the ones we do see are all gems in their own ways. The Bosscarade is densely populated with amazing. Anyway, from the abrupt way that this subject ends and the fact that there’s mention of it in this episode’s scenes-from-next-week package, we can be sure that this is not the last we’re seeing of the Bosscarade. Just another little something to live for!

But this episode isn’t all fun and snap judgments. It’s fraught with a series of blows. First comes from the fact that Tasia’s new teacher informs her (after a follow-up placement test) that she’s working at a 7th grade level.

But that’s resolve I see in her face. Mark her words, she will get that GED, doggone it!

Another setback: Fantasia’s younger brother, Xavier, whom we’ve heard nothing about until this point probably because he was too busy being punished, just got suspended from school again.

This is the third time this year. He tells Tasia that it was for spraying cologne in the hallway. Fantasia’s face suggests…

…that she will not have the wool pulled over her eyes or the fragrance sprayed in them. She suggests sending Xavier to military school for discipline, but Tasia’s mother Diane says that she’ll have to speak to her estranged father before any decisions can be made about Xavier’s future. Cue Tasia’s face of ear-lobe testing tension:

She’s not having an easy time with the prospect of speaking with her father.

Here’s a single screen shot of an explanation:

Anyway, Fantasia’s art seems emotionally reflective over this pre-reunion turmoil:

When Tasia does finally talk to him, her father proves that he’s set the bar for infuration in this family. If you thought Teeny was frustrating, you haven’t seen anything!

(Those are all his words.)

(Also: shout out to Diva and her eventual hair bows.)

Anyway, Tasia stands her ground, which is good because sometimes I wish that she would do so more. When he says that he didn’t do anything to her, she screams, “You sued me!”

That’s her defendant face. If there’s any humor to be derived from watching this family-dividing confrontation play out, it’s that she and her father both refer to American Idol as “The Idol.” I’m not sure if that’s just a reflection of their reverence to it for making Fantasia’s career or if they just never paid attention during the title sequence or whenever Seacrest talked, but I kind of love it. I almost love this:

I feel like this guy is too much of a handful for me, and I’m merely watching him. Props to Fantasia for not pulling her hair out. In the end, she says that God gave her a dad who’s confrontational and selfish, but she loves him anyway. She ends the conversation with, “Goodbye Daddy, I love you.”

That is the face of maturity.

And this is the face of stir-craziness:

Tasia reports that she needs to get out of the house, so she eats with her friend and Teeny’s girlfriend Santezja. Why am I only now realizing that “Fantasia” and “Santezja” rhyme? That right there is harmony. Of course they’re friends. How could they not be with impossibly rhyming names?

Anyway, this outing proves to be the stress relief that Tasia needs…

…but joy quickly gives way to solemnness when Tasia watches Santezja speak at the shelter she grew up in.

Tezja tells the young kids that they can make it, regardless of where they’re coming from.

It also brings back the fact that Santezja is estranged from her family. She points out that Fantasia complains about her family, while Santezja doesn’t even have a family to complain about. There may be a little grass-is-always-greener sentiment that goes into this, but it’s an interesting perspective to view Fantasia’s familial drama from. To Fantasia’s credit, it’s not like she’s shut out anyone who hasn’t sued her, but at the same time it is a nice reminder to be thankful for what you have. Thank you for your experience and rhyming name, Santezja. You have been most helpful.

After Tezja gives her presentation, Fantasia tells her how moving it was in the parking lot. “I don’t need you to cry,” says Tezja. “You can’t help that. You can’t stop that,” answers Tasia.

Ineed, Tezja. Take it from one who wears her heart on her sleeve, even when sleeveless.

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