I’ve been sort of following The Swan on Fox TV, and I’m struck by the fact that a huge amount of change takes place between the last “pre-unveiling” scenes and the actual grand entrance.
Most of the contestants seem to have deep-rooted psychological problems, enough so that I tend to wonder how much of their appearance (within their control) is attributable to their mental state. Part of the transformation does involve therapy, and if you subscribe to the Dr. Phil school of thought, three months is plenty if you’re willing to face your issues.
When we last see the contestants prior to the end of the show, they are still struggling with adjusting to their new diets and workout routines as well as sometimes not following the rather simple instructions for optimal surgical recovery. Some of this really reflects on what their lives must be like, subconsciously shooting themselves in the foot with whatever they try, causing themselves to fail.
The point being, that when they appear at the end of The Swan, they seem to have gotten a handle on most of that. They are (apparently) poised and confident.
That’s quite a leap to make between commercial breaks. 
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I suppose it all boils down to how you feel about plastic surgery. Some people (including most of The Swan’s contestants) believe they can only feel better about themselves if they improve their outward appearance through plastic surgery. Others believe it’s what inside that counts, and the outside is a reflection of that. Which is right? It all depends on the individual.
Having said all that, I’m not a big fan of the beauty pageant at the end. That sends the wrong message. When I was in high school, I knew a few girls who were not very attractive at all, but they never had trouble getting attention from guys. Their friendly demeanor, self-confidence and interesting personalities made up for what they lacked on the outside. The message to send is not that plastic surgery makes all your problems disappear, because we all know it doesn’t. For some, a slight alteration in appearance makes enough of a difference to help them feel even better about themselves. For many others, surgery is simply a band-aid to mask the real psychological problems underneath the surface. For those people, tremendous disappointment is inevitable.
Brian
I agree with Brian.
I agree of course, but there’s no denying that how you look affects how people react to you. It can be quite dramatic, especially if you’re going from “ugly duckling” to “swan”. It would be wierd to experience first-hand, I’m sure, and part of the show does involve counseling, but I don’t know the depth of it.
Vic