annewithaneee

I am DEVASTATED, Nerdlove. In both cases, I feel like them landing in the bottom two was the wrong fucking call. Asia and Vixen were both far and away the proper bottom two of Snatch Game, and they let Aquaria fucking skate through this week and I am straight-up enraged. The "I don't see any family resemblance!!" critique didn't make any sense to me -- they looked as related as Monet and Tyler Oakley could have, imo. Outfits cohesive, hair and beat very similar. They could have brought more glamour, but that wasn't what was being harped on. But what pisses me off more? We've seen Monet in big wigs a lot more than we've seen Aquaria in even a chest contour let alone titties. Aquaria is Pearl: The Squeakuel and I am not here for it. The show loves her aesthetic and her Instagram follower count a lot more than they do creating a compelling narrative/reason to root for her. The judges need to push her the way they have basically every other queen remaining. That said, the sadder thing for me was both of those queens, when unjustly put in the bottom, didn't give it to us with remotely all they had. This was Monet's worst LYSFL by a mile, and she should have focused more on her little touches of natural humor than stunt shenanigans. Maybe she was trying to emulate Eureka from last week. The YouTubers thing was...weird to me? Like, make it all big fabulous gay YouTube or make it all straight guys. And they didn't even really sell the catch that two were straight all that much -- I feel like in earlier seasons they would have teased that more obviously as the potential whammy from the jump (like Raven's S2 elderly gentleman with all the beard and safety pin navel piercings). Also, it's sort of depressing that I know enough YouTube shit to know that they were really downplaying things with Chester. He's done Rock of Ages (with Frankie, so they definitely know each other....in fact pretty much all of them there had to, and that would have been interesting to see a bit of?), so while he is a little tamer than the others he's an absolute performer. The whole thing was just odd.

I like that Captain Sandy defended her crew, but...is it just me, or is she still really socially awkward? Like it felt as if there were far smoother ways to handle that whole situation. Of all of those terrible, awful women, I actually felt a little sorry for the blonde woman. She seemed both embarrassed and confused over the food stuff. She wasn't being belligerent about it. I'm not sure what she was going through, but she was going through something, and wasn't in her right mind. It seemed far easier to just sweetly ask her what she'd like made for her than to go round and round questioning her various likes and dislikes and showing her the preference sheet. I mean, yeah, it's nice to get justice on an annoying customer, but it felt like surely there were far easier and smoother ways to go about it. And it was weird that nobody commented on her clear inebriation (or something else....something was going on there) in at least the talking heads, as they have in the past where "vegans" get wasted and suddenly want chicken nachos at midnight.

Yeah I also don't buy that Ashley is in some weird long-term "girlfriend experience" situation. I do think, though, that her and Thomas's scenes have felt shockingly contrived from the jump, even by reality tv standards. I wouldn't be at all surprised if these two dummies put their heads together and plotted out their vision of this season together and had no idea how it would actually come across. I think it's way more likely that she's with him to be a kept woman and most importantly a reality tv character. I don't think it was damage control, really, because I don't think TRav had any idea or fear that his past assaults would come to light (because he is a dumb, drunken monster of a man)...I think he just wanted to "win" a season again, and bait Kathryn into looking like the crazy one yet again. The whole deal with Ashley is just an escalation of the shit he was pulling with Landon...but even dolphin-giggle McGee had a couple moments of clarity where she realized she was just a pawn in antagonizing the baby mama.

Yeah, I thought it was weird that Aquaria got some points for having a reference - and sure, it's nice to see a baby queen pulling from something more interesting and left-field than Kylie freaking Jenner - but to me she really didn't do a good job executing it. Michele reminds me of Iris Apfel, though, and how Mz Cracker really should have gone that route instead of what she did. Monet's deserving a better edit than she's getting. I don't give a fuck that she likes pussycat wigs -- she's got the most charisma/uniqueness/nerve/talent of the queens remaining and I don't like how much she keeps getting the Susan Lucci treatment.

I've seen you mention it before so I've been vaguely aware that Whitney was pitching some tone-deaf "who would ever want to air this, you dumbass mama's boy with no self-awareness" show that was then retooled into Southern Charm, never watched any of it myself, but I just found and watched what appears to be the sizzle reel on vimeo. I got until TRav started bragging about the Ravenal's plantation holdings and now I want to Kool Aid man myself through a wall in pure rage. Literally the only reason I ever check in on this show anymore is to talk about it with all of you lovelies, and because it is so oddly compelling, but I've come to a point in my life where this show feels actually unconscionable. I'll probably watch it tonight anyway.

I really hope Bravo severs ties with him. Honestly, the more time marches on the more it seems like the show shouldn't even be on the air anymore - all white, rich cast in the South, all the not-Craig men are varying degrees of absolute creeps - but at least get Thomas out of there. They could maybe, maybe, do a spin-off of just the ladies like a JV housewives squad, but I don't think that would really work either. I don't know what to say about the Kathryn of it all. I think it's been clear that he's got substance abuse issues too - he is at the very least a former cokehead and current drunk, and it's infuriating how his castmates just shrug it all off - and in a perfect world something like this coming to light would swing custody in her favor, but it's just an absolute mess on both sides. Poor kids.

I like Miz Cracker but she's starting to feel like AS3 Trixie to me...there's a certain always-on pushing for soundbites and attention and catchphrases that just hits me a little funny even though I want to really like her. Trying just a little too hard. With Monique gone (still sad about it!), Monet is now the one I'm rooting for. There's something so clever and sharp about her that I love. Although I wouldn't be too sad if she didn't win and comes back for AS4 (which I really hope will be delayed for a few years to let the talent pool rebuild and the bad taste from AS3 to get washed out) just so we could see her sing opera in drag for the talent show. I groaned when I saw Todrick, but at least he wasn't a guest judge. It could've been a good opportunity to have another veteran queen come in, though -- Courtney could have at least coached vocals. I'm really trying to conquer my knee-jerk dislike of Eureka - it's probably going to get even stronger now that The Vixen and all her bullshit is gone, that made me side with Eureka just a tiny bit - but I can't help being annoyed when every performance challenge rehearsal brings up trauma. I mean, I get it. But that whiny resting voice that she has...ugh, where's Latrice to give her the 5 g's??

Oh, and on Snatch Game -- loved that Bianca came around for the workroom bit. I like that they're incorporating past queens now (would still love to see some legendary friends of Ru's pop by, too), and it was good to see them at least try to head off some of the disasters. It's weird to me that nobody can think of a decent angle for Beyonce. I can imagine at least one way to make both her and Blue funny -- just focus on how they're uber rich and ridiculously well-connected and basically Jesus figures. I'm personally a sucker for a Lucielle Bluth/Jack Donaghey style joke about having absolutely no idea how much a gallon of milk costs. Blue could have talked about how she's busy right now because she's launching her 2020 presidential bid. That baby recently outbid Tyler freaking Perry for some expensive-ass art. Both mother and daughter could make for some at least passably funny fodder about how they're so rich they're fully out of touch, and they're preternaturally good at all of the things.

I'm really sad that Monique went. I guess that's a sign of the show getting better - or at least me being much more invested in it - than I have in a couple seasons, because I haven't had a "noooooooo!" reaction in a while. I also disagreed with the judges a bit. Monique and Asia should have been swapped, and I think I would have given the win to Monet. Aquaria's Melania was funny and good, but Monet recited a comedic poem that she wrote in her character's voice, and didn't slip or hesitate for a moment, while also improvising very well. They executed their bits about equally as successfully, but Monet's had a greater degree of difficulty. I'm very confused about Monique not knowing the words. There's something behind-the-scenes about LSFYLs that I don't understand, or maybe the show has never made transparent. In Untucked, we saw Vixen with her earbuds in going over a stapled, printed out couple of pages that presumably had the song's lyrics. We didn't see the same from Monique. Last season, I believe Alexis defended Valentina in the reunion by saying she saw her looking over hand-written copies of the lyrics. When do they as a group find out about the LSYFL song, and more importantly, how and when can they get the lyrics? Do they potentially get a small window of time to quickly google them and print them off (or write them? it's seriously weird to me that Valentina's were hand written, and Vixen's were clearly printed off), and Monique was in the work room making her look during that time, or what? I'm not calling Rigger Morris here, I just don't understand when and how they're allowed to prepare, and I'd like to understand exactly how Monique fucked that up and broke my heart. And Monique straight-up broke my heart. She's been my favorite since maybe episode one, and has turned a couple of great looks (her queen of hearts, and golden feathered look) that got looked over -- and she just couldn't get out of her own way and let her natural humor and charisma shine through. And also the way she fell apart in that lip synch.....ouch. I hope that was due to her having a bit of a breakdown over being in the bottom, because she really should have been able to finesse that better. I'm sure a lot of drag queens have a bag of tricks to pull out when they spontaneously forget their lyrics when performing in clubs - because it has to happen a lot, right? even if it's a song you know/love and perform often, we all just have those days - and more than that...isn't she a long-time church girl and choir singer? I'm white as hell so our experiences are bound to be different, but I was figuring out how to fake that shit when I forgot the words and/or notes well before I got my first training bra. She wasn't even moving her mouth half the time.

I'm gonna be honest, I'm really rooting for someone to surpass Eureka in challenge wins and quickly. Never going to be my cup of soup. I'm sad about Blair. And I also though Ru's judging assessment - when the tops/bottoms left the stage - was an example of her being too pat with complex and serious issues. It wasn't, like, terrible or anything but I rolled my eyes when she was like "We've all been through trauma and we all get this urge to put unicorns and rainbows on things to make them happy" -- I guess she had to say something to comment on Blair's story, but there was something about applying a very broad brush to one person's specific experience and story that I wasn't fully here for. Monique has emerged as my favorite, but this is still a very strong, funny group. I loved that they used Monique's hilarious laugh in one of the outros to commercial.

@queenjen — I agree with most of what you’re saying here. I think regardless of age, the lesson of staying out of marriages - and people’s serious relationships generally, but those that are very long term and there are children involved especially - is one you learn either from making that mistake yourself, or witnessing the carnage from someone else making that mistake. I have some sympathy for her, if it turns out that this is wake up call and she grows some self-awareness. It’s a really brutal way to realize you made a series of serious fuck-ups, having it broadcasted. If she still thinks she’s in the right given all this hindsight, then I’m much less sympathetic. I also think that her initial dressing-down of JD came from a place of (ill-advised) goodwill. She wanted justice for her friend. She’d been absorbing so much of her friend’s anger and sadness that the urge to hurt that chucklefuck as badly as possible is understandable, and she was reacting directly to the specific injustice of him trying to spin the situation into one where he not only doesn’t come across badly, he’s the victim. Even the shower tantrum, I get it — to me it was one of those uniquely reality show reactions where someone is realizing in real time they’re about to get a bad edit (whether or not it’s actually a bad edit or a fairly accurate record of their bad behavior) and they feel indignant and backed into a corner and can’t really be shown breaking the fourth wall, so they look worse and worse as they spin out. I think the larger lesson that Naomi may not learn because on social media and reunion shows the focus will be on the behavior and not the “why” of it — when a friend is hurting, don’t make assumptions and impose your idea of what the fix or justice is...just ask what they need and how they want you to help (unless your friend is in real danger of violence or self-harm). I kinda think Elizabeth learned or is learning a good lesson too — don’t open up something so sensitive to someone who honestly can’t relate. Maybe picking your friend a decade-plus younger with one or two past long term relationships isn’t the move....maybe especially if that friend is on a reality show on which your husband also appears.

Nah, I fundamentally disagree that Bravo is paying them fairly. The show gets enough advertisers and ratings that it's been trucking along for 5 seasons. I would be absolutely floored if a one-season Housewives wonder like Beverly Hills's Carlton didn't make triple that. The Housewives is a much larger brand, of course, so I don't expect anyone to be making 1.5 million plus like the select few breakout stars across the franchise, or anything like it, but likely the only reason Bravo pays cast members of shows like this one and Vanderpump Rules so much less is because they can get away with it. I wish I could find any figures for a show like Married to Medicine, but all I can scrounge up are their professional salaries and/or overall net worth. My hypothesis is that they, as well as the other more minor shows that feature people much more likely to have basic financial literacy, are getting paid more for very similar output and success. And to clarify, I don't think Kathryn deserves more money because she has more need. Most of the heavily-featured castmates should be looking at their take-home, realize that Nene Lekes is getting literally tenfold more per season, and ask for a 20% increase. Something fairly reasonable to account for not having nearly as much cache as their biggest stars, but it would make a significant monthly impact and a pretty easy thing for Bravo to say yes to. I think that while they're vetting and considering shows and cast members to hire, "easy to get on the cheap" is right there alongside "production's psychiatrist thinks this person is volatile and has some real problems that will make for amazing TV". What I'm saying is that of these people, Kathryn's the only one I feel personally a bit sad for that she basically fell for it. And she, along with probably Cameran, is the one I think could make the best case for deserving it -- in terms of the show likely suffering if they walked away from it. I'm not going to go all Norma Rae about it, because they don't have a real job or anything. While I think Kathryn and some other famously volatile reality TV denizens probably have some substance and mental health issues that may contribute to poor business decisions, everyone is an adult and should be looking out for themselves, nobody is being egregiously exploited. But I think Bravo and other networks like it are pulling some bullshit, offering what they're pretty sure they can get away with because they know they're casting some dum-dums who are already drinking or shopping most of their money away, rather than what's actually representative of their worth. And I really wouldn't be surprised if there's some traditional gender wage gap issues, too, on top of it. Edit: tl;dr -- IMO it's possible for these folks to be making really bad choices that they need to take responsibility for, and for Bravo to be gross for the kind of content they're making and the way they spend their money, at the same time.

Completely agree! He's no gem, but the bar for tolerable men on this show is so low that he clears it pretty easily. If he were in the periphery of my real friend group I'm pretty sure I'd steer clear, but if I was dropped in the middle of the male cast members, he would be the first and only one I'd talk to! I thought it was oddly - and probably fully accidentally and unintentionally - profound that as they were showing Craig having that conversation with Naomi where he was having a fairly reasonable and logical argument with her privately that you could hear the cackling in the next room as the rest of the party had themselves a good long condescending laugh about his present. It was some "aw, he tried, bless his stupid pathetic non-family-money heart" bullshit, over a very sweet and thoughtful baby gift that wasn't perfect because it was handmade by a man who isn't so full of toxic masculinity that he isn't afraid to tell everyone he loves sewing. They're all just so awful, and I hate that they're so compelling to me.

I mean, fair enough. I think that for me, I find it just kind of generally gross that Bravo is probably making money hand over fist making these kinds of shows, where the budgets are way lower than they would be for a scripted show and they're getting plenty of viewers, and their B and C squads gets super underpaid. And hey, it's not like anyone's holding guns to heads and it's an adult's responsibility to have basic financial literacy - a high five or low six figure annual income after taxes, insurance, having a likely vastly increased glam/clothes/personal upkeep budget to be camera ready - but the only one of that crew I can feel remotely sad for making that series of shitty decisions is Kathryn. She's got legal fees, too. If I were her I'd start considering playing hardball with Bravo and getting more $$$$ -- I think she's in the best position of the cast to negotiate for a significant pay bump, because if she walks they lose an important seasons-long throughline. But I can't see her doing it.

I was thinking about this some more, and while I thought these sketches were genuinely pretty funny especially by Drag Race standards - they really need to let the queens improve and/or create their own scenes way more often, it's always way better than a lame script that's been handed to them - I think we missed out on the trash talk show staples of guests who make the crowd gleefully and loudly boo them. Something like: The "cash me outside" girl or the general proud juvenile delinquents who turn up on Maury. Great opportunity for a queen to have fun manipulating Vh1's bleeping into yelling some absurd-ass swears at the audience, and the other queen could either be her scandalized mother or a butch queen bootcamp drill sergeant who's there to whip the little brat into shape. Or a good old fashioned paternity test -- two queens kai kai'ed and now Monet won't pay a dime even though the photoshopped baby doll has Monet's actual out-of-drag, glasses and all, face on it!

Ashley doesn't live with Thomas she has an apartment in Charleston-Thomas mentioned it when speaking to his father. Kathryn earns six figures for appearing on the show. Think about $15,000.00 per episode x 15 episodes. That is why Craig and Austen are rushing out to get full time employment. Several of them Kathryn, Craig, Shep make personal appearances and also make money. The originals are probably bringing in over $300,000.00 a season. Not bad for four months filming. I don't know how Thomas is provoking Kathryn-he is entitled to live his own life without getting prior approval from Kathryn. Kathryn can always say no and NOT sleep with him. At this point Thomas getting Kathryn into bed is like shooting ducks in a barrel. I am curious if it is really true or if Kathryn is just trying to start something between Ashley and Thomas. I find that paycheck details and net worths for these kinds of reality people can be hard to get a good read on, because you're usually poking around some obscure and less-than-reliable sources who would spend time speculating about the earnings of third-tier Bravolebrities. From some sleuthing I couldn't find anything that seemed super reputable, however there were some quotes from Thomas from likely earlier seasons that he made about five grand per episode. That said, there's a lawsuit from Tom Sandoval of Vanderpump Rules that indicates he's now making about 15k per episode, and in the first season didn't make 15k all year (it's Radar Online, so grain of saaaalt, but the court filing looked real). VR is a ratings beast for Bravo and must outperform Southern Charm pretty handily, so I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't making that much ("much"). And this is all theoretically before taxes, too, and it's not like Bravo has a benefits package so there's that not-small expense, too. Compare that to a Real Housewife and it's absolute peanuts. Even with the occasional sponcon and paid appearance, I can buy that Kathryn isn't making enough from the show to afford a three-bedroom apartment or a home that she actually owns. It's all speculation, but I can easily imagine her getting short-changed. It's hard to argue that reality show stars who aren't working actual, y'know, jobs, are being taken advantage of, but there's just something about seeing Kathryn in a decidedly un-aspirational living situation when quite a lot of the show has focused on her downward spiral that makes me sad.

I want to quit this show so bad because I feel actually morally gross watching Thomas, Whitney, and JD being disgusting examples of what mediocrity can achieve when given access to wealth they didn't earn (it's admittedly a little more palatable now that Thomas is no longer living on an actual plantation with a slave cemetery in it), being generally slimy creeps, but I just can't quit it. I want two things for Kathryn: I want her to get and stay well, and I don't think she's a good enough actress to be selling her attempts to better herself so well, it seems like she's making genuine effort....and I hope to god she negotiates a substantial pay raise with Bravo. I don't think the show would still be going on without her and Thomas's fucked up thing as a storyline, and he gets to be an alcoholic moving in women he hardly knows to live with him and his children, while she's left in a (nice, clean, presumably quite expensive) apartment paying him nominal child support. It's fucking gross, and I get the sick feeling that while probably none of them make much money per episode - Bravo wouldn't have a million of these kinda generic non-Housewives shows if they were expensive - Thomas probably makes more than her. And he's transparently provoking her into looking unhinged on TV again! Yeah, I really should quit this. But goddamnit it's entertaining even though it feels on some levels more sinister and gross than a lot of reality shows, and that's saying something.

Completely agreed. I have been consistently impressed with her wit on the runway (in both of her LYSFLs as well as the walkoff mini challenge in the first episode) -- she finds ways to tell jokes and stories without saying an audible word. Every gesture feels like a deliberate choice, and almost all of those choices are fantastic. And something about it feels a lot more effortless than the comedic lip syncs from queens like Dela and Alaska -- like she's not really trying to get a laugh, she just is insanely funny? It's really been so shockingly refreshing to see how many of these queens are just sharp as hell this season. I'm not sure I've ever laughed out loud this much in any other season, so many of them are just so naturally funny and entertaining.

I'm annoyed that Mayhem was in the bottom. Ultimately I think she wasn't ready to turn it out as much as I really wanted her to (she was my pick to win the season, pre-season) and likely wouldn't have survived Snatch Game, but I saw no issue with her maxi challenge performance. At first I wasn't sure she was playing up her role enough, but she built it up to running around the set like the glorious weirdos with strange phobias do on Maury. She executed her brief just fine, and deserved more of a middling or bottom but safe finish. I can't be enraged because I don't think she was cut out to go the distance, but this felt like the wrong time to put her in the bottom. Probably should've been Vixen and Monet. I'm really ready for Aquaria to end up in the bottom and have to LSFYL. She's the other one where I just don't get it, and I want to see her demonstrate some actually charisma.

Back on topic, I rewatched and another thing stuck out to me -- I love that "Vanjie...Vanjie....Miss Vanjie..." has become a thing. I'm not sure if they're doing it intentionally or not - they probably are? - but making that the "purse first" of this season is actually really lovely. I hope it keeps Vanessa from joining the Ms. Irrelevant club of other first eliminated queens.

Lol yeah I meant Anne with an E. Definitely was a bit slow on the uptake this morning. My handle, which has been a screename go-to for a decade and a half now, just stemmed from having to always say "I'm Anne with an E" as in not Ann, and definitely not Annie. I've known "Anne with an E" was also a Anne of Green Gables reference forever, but I've never actually read it. I think that's blasphemy for bookish young women period, let alone Annes, but I'll get to it!

Soooo this is shameful, but one of those not in the know is me. I'm vaguely aware "Anne with an A" and Anne of Green Gables as a thing and occasionally invoke it to get people to stop calling me Annie, but I've never read the books or seen the TV shows (either OG or Netflix). I know, it's terrible of me. I'll fix it soonish. So I was super confused about this because while I'm positive @Ruby Gillis the PTV forum poster is amazing, I do live near a town called Avon and had to read through this like ten times before I understood wtf was going on!!! Haha it's going to be a long day if I'm going to continue being this slow on the uptake.

I am still really in love with this cast. Even the ones grating my nerves - Aquaria, Eureka, The Vixen - are bringing something to the party, and the pack seems unusually strong. And so many of the queens are funny as hell! Monique, Monet, and Cracker especially are exceptionally quick-witted and hilarious. We may actually have a great Snatch Game on our hands this year, let's hope, because those three are like a trio of Bobs, just naturally funny. Monet killed that lip sync. I cackled out loud when she faked us out the first time with the splits, and then she delivered the actual goods at the end. Monique's laugh is fantastic. I love all the genuine camaraderie that seems to be in the room, and that it doesn't feel like they're playing safe to avoid Twitter fallout, the love feels real -- it may be partially because so many are New York girls. I was also happy to see Ru really making the rounds and getting some backstory (and convenient foreshadowing, in the case of Asia) from the queens, that's a fantastic way to spend the extra half hour in the time slot. I kinda wished she'd asked Blair more about her drag background -- I'm in Indy, too, and I'd love to know if her looks are all sewn by her, or if she's somehow getting some of that vintage/vintage-inspired stuff here?? I'm just so curious about it! And as the first Hoosier queen, I want to hear more.

I’m not sure that one really makes sense either lol. It frustrates me a bit when they put together these clunkers of premises — none of those app names and elevator pitch summaries were very good. I get that putting guardrails around these challenges is probably necessary, but it would be nice to have the queens come up with the concept and the script. I feel like the past few seasons they’ve had a new team of writers — in the regular seasons and especially All Stars there’s been an increase in templated challenges, all following similar patterns...and most seem to be the same brand of lame. There’s a consistency to the tone it that makes me think we’ve had the same unfunny writers since Season 7 or so, and if so I think it’s time they find a new employer.

This was sort of my takeaway too. I'm still basically on her side, but this week it seemed like we could really see her legs flailing to keep her above water -- the stereotyping issue, while very legitimate, seemed to be another disjointed thing heaped on top of her argument. The first two episodes she had a simple thesis and supporting argument. This week she tried to throw everything at the wall so she could win, and very little of it made much sense to me. And while I'm thrilled to see unapologetic dramatics vs Rupaul's Best Friends Race of season nine (where many of the queens came across as smug and sanctimonious imo), it's not fun drag queen bitchiness like we saw a lot in early seasons. While I'm mostly into Vixen's confrontational nature, she's just good at arguing, not shade or reading. Bianca she ain't. If this trend continues, it's going to teeter into Ink Master territory where there's obligatory shouting matches per episode. No thanks.