S12.E02: You Don’t Know Me

[OnceSane]

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Thandie Newton (Westworld) and Swedish singer Robyn guest judge. And as the race for the crown continues, the queens must write and perform a Fosse-inspired jazz number.

Airs March 6, 2020.

[rlc]

Sherry Vine= Mimi Imfurst 2.0

Jan= Cheryl Hole 2.0

 

[Keywestclubkid]

Yikes Did they edit this to make these girls seem so much more sloppy and unpolished then the first set on purpose? 

[Keywestclubkid]

Its gonna be super awkward if the show spends the entire season fawning and loving sherry only for her to be disqualified... it will just dig them in a huge hole 

[Sew Sumi]

WoW works quick. The Sherry Pie notice aired before the episode tonight. She must have made it far if they're talking about not filming in the finale.

[Glade]

I love Rockem's fashion and was touched by her story.  I'm sure that resembling Asa Butterfield won't keep Zayne from going home first. because her clothes don't match up.  Some of the girls are great (except Aja 2.0) but I don't know that I can stand to watch this disgusting predator on my screen every week and have to think about what she did and fast forward or mute constantly.  Dealing with silty last year was bad enough.  I wish they could have re-edited the episodes to at least remove her talking heads and keep her in the background as much as possible.  Maybe I'll just ff to the runway every week and skip the character moments.

Spoiler about how long Sherry will be around:

Spoiler

She makes it to the final four so she will be in every fucking episode, and probably highlighted because they thought she could win it. 

 

[Aerobicidal]

My main takeaway from this episode is that Gigi Goode needs to win this season.

I do like Jaida, though. 

[Fake Jan Brady]

Jaida should've been on last week's episode 'cause, gurl, she is that bitch. Tired of her already and annoyed she was rewarded for a death dropping lipsynch over a campy one.

And Rock M, pace yourself. That was a lot of back story and emotion for your first episode.

Dahlia's drag face is spec.tac.u.lar. but her answers to Michelle's questions reminded me of Miss Fame  never getting the 'how's your head' joke.

Anyone know why Jan had to lose her surname?

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'm really glad that the second group of queens had the same challenges as the first group from last week.

Jan asked a lot of good questions when people were coming into the workroom, but in a non-accusatory/non-confrontational way so I have my eye on her just for that. I remember Fergie's terrible NBA performance but I didn't remember the "let's play some basketball" at the end.

Rock M. seems like a lot, but I always feel for the first queen who enters the workroom because they have no one to interact with or talk to until the producers decide to let someone else enter. I loved that she figured out that there were already other queens there as soon as she saw the message on the mirror. I also liked that she welcomed Zhane by saying she could sit next to her because she loves crazy.

Dahlia seems like she's going to be a shit stirrer. She has a very sour demeanor.  And she thinks Fosse is the main female character in Chicago?

Sherry seems like she's always on which I get since they're all performers but that can get old.

Jaida is beautiful. I loved everyone oohing and aahing over her shoulders. I cracked up at her singing after Jan. Loved Rock M.'s idea to have Jaida lip sync while Jan sang.

Zhane is definitely the weird one just based on her look, but she seems very inexperienced and insecure. I get that if you don't live near a big city with a drag scene, it's a lot harder to book gigs but she seems very green (and it was so obvious within the first minute that the other queens immediately picked up on it) and she seems VERY defensive which is not the best attitude to have on this show. When she said that she's an actress and she loves to emote and give expressions, I was like uhhhh, there's more to acting than that.

Rock M's spring look was really colorful and eye catching but the dress itself didn't seem to fit well. The cape was very dramatic and the pink poofy cotton candy hair was definitely within her anime/manga aesthetic. I laughed when she said she was feeling very fishy in her fall look and then I saw the actual fish on her dress. All I could think about when I saw her tulle runway look was how that dress must have taken up an entire suitcase.

Dahlia's neon green spring dress reminded me of a tennis ball. I didn't like her fuzzy black fall look. She looked too lumpy. Her red tulle runway look was messy. It looked like something that a queen who can't sew would make for a challenge where they had to make their own outfit.

Sherry said she wants to be known as the camp queen who can also do fashion but her blue strapless gown for the spring runway was boring AF. Her cherry pie dress in the workroom was much more interesting. Her black fall look was fine but not interesting. And it seemed like the hat and scarf combo was just a way to avoid wearing a wig. Her rain cloud runway look was interesting in theory, but in reality it just looked like a big foof with some raindrops and a big yellow lightning bolt glued on top.

Jan's Dolce & Gabbana/Sound of Music/Marie Antoinette look was okay but apparently it's a huge upgrade from her usual leotard looks (her description, not mine). The thing I liked the best was her hair. I didn't really like her guacamole look but at least I remembered it. I liked that her tulle runway look was about as opposite as you can get from a foofy gown. She has a beautiful face.

Jaida's floral look was fine but nothing to write home about. Her lavender fall look was great though. Her yellow tulle runway look wasn't my favorite but that shade of yellow looked gorgeous on her.

Aiden's spring look was too simple for me. You can't just wear a plain yellow dress, slap two giant raindrops on the front, and put a sunflower on your head. I hated her fall look. A black leotard + a floral poncho? I knew Michelle was going to HATE it. She really needs to work on her runway walk. Her lime green runway look was the best one of the entire episode.

This group is lucky that Rock M. and Sherry knew a lot about Fosse's style for this challenge. I could not believe that Jaida was trying to talk them into doing non-Fosse choreography FOR A FOSSE CHALLENGE. If she knew anything about Fosse, she would realize that all the posing would probably hide her inability to learn choreography. Same goes for Aiden's "I'm not a dancer!" It's fine if you aren't a dancer. Just pay attention and follow instructions. Jaida complaining about how they were wasting time made me roll my eyes. If you would quit arguing with the choreographers about everything then you would have more time to learn the choreography.

I agreed with Michelle that Dahlia's lyrics didn't teach me anything about her. And like Michelle, I also thought that Dahlia was from Las Vegas because she said she was from the city of sin. Brooklyn has been called a lot of things but not the city of sin. Heh, I loved that Michelle asked about all the titles that Dahlia bragged about it in her lyrics.

Jan was my favorite overall performance in the performance (lyrics + performance + look). Jaida seemed the most natural/effortless in her performance. And she got points from me for comforting Rock M. and very clearly telling her that she was not responsible for her mother's drug addiction no matter what her mom says. It never ceases to amaze me how parents fuck up their kids.

[musiclovernyc]

4 hours ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

Anyone know why Jan had to lose her surname?

Pretty sure it’s because it’s a brand name (Jansport - like the makers of backpacks). Kind of the same way they can’t (or won’t) use Brita’s full drag name (Brita Filter). 

[ClareWalks]

There wasn't time to edit this episode but I hope they try to remove Sherry from more scenes in future episodes. It's a total downer to see her front and center acting charming and giving life advice when we know what she did. No matter how far she gets, she should be relegated to a background role.

[bobbyjoe]

I feel bad for the show because Sherry has put them in a no-win situation.  From tonight’s episode it’s clear that Sherry is obviously talented so it’s easy to see why the show chose her without knowing she was gonna turn out to be a drag version of Harvey Weinstein.  What’s going to be truly unfortunate is if we have to see her win LSFYLs and knock other deserving queens out of the competition.  Like others I suspect that once the producers have a chance to edit later episodes we’ll see less and less of Sherry— particularly talking head commentary— provided she stays in for more than a few episodes.   She’s made a huge mess of things and made it unfair to the other queens, to Ru, and to the producers, let alone the men this creep victimized.

[853fisher]

I'm not sure how much editing to expect re Sherry.  I think the process is more time consuming than we might guess.  Apart from that, I'm not sure I trust the producers to do subtle.  Ham-handed cuts around her could in their own way draw even more attention.  Whatever they do, I'm glad VH1 and WoW got out in front of it.

 

Re Sherry's placement/disqualification:

Spoiler

I'm not sure if I'm being obtuse, but I didn't read the show's statement as a confirmation that she made top four, as many others did.  They said she would not appear in the live finale, but I seem to recall that all the season's queens make a cameo there.  I think she could well be eliminated before then, but whatever she does, she's disqualified.  Whoever goes out next week will be in 12th rather than 13th place, and so on.  I take it also to be a bit of a damnatio memoriae, a notice that she won't be back for the reunion, conventions, etc.  But unless the spoilers are coming from other sources, which I know exist, I'm not sure when in the season she'll go out.

 

[Kroliosis]

I’m pretty repulsed watching Sherry hug queens as they walk in the workroom. I believe Top Chef had to edit out 2 Chef judges. It’s probably difficult but not Impossible to remove her as much as they can. 

[Kaboom 2.0]

I usually know, appreciate and love the references that Ru and the other judges make during the show but my God, "Andre Leon Talley" was not the only person that cracked UP at the Shields & Yarnell crack. I'm cackling right now as I type this. 

Btw I feel I know that it was Kim Chi as Anna Sui but who were Andre and Karl?? 

I honestly have not much to add other than I think the first group of queens last week seem a bit more polished. I may have a crush on Rock, just all the positivity and being upbeat, the artistry and talent, the offbeat sense of humor, love her!

Re Sherry, I totally understand the decision the show made to keep her in the remaining eps of the season, to re-edit everything now would I'm assuming cost alot. I really feel for the victims in this truly terrible, demeaning crime against them and hope they find justice and any help they may need. 

[theatremouse]

20 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

WoW works quick. The Sherry Pie notice aired before the episode tonight. She must have made it far if they're talking about not filming in the finale.

I don't think it implies that. They usually have all the season's participants appear in one way or another in the finale, don't they? Plus the post-finale chatty episode. I took the notice to just mean SP's out of anything not filmed yet and also -sort of - ignore her in the meantime. That's how I read it.

[Sew Sumi]

@theatremouse

Spoiler

Would they have made such an issue of Sherry not appearing in the finale if she went out sooner rather than later? That's why I think she goes far, and a spoiler says top 4, so we apparently have to ignore Sherry all season. 

 

[Corgi-ears]

1 hour ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

Btw I feel I know that it was Kim Chi as Anna Sui but who were Andre and Karl?? 

The credits suggest that it was Mayhem Miller and Sonique, respectively.

[ClareWalks]

Mayhem was also Kanye West last episode, damn who'da thought Mayhem would be the greatest drag king in human history?! (Although Sonique was also an amazing king as Karl)

[Glade]

6 hours ago, 853fisher said:

Re Sherry's placement/disqualification:

  Hide contents

I'm not sure if I'm being obtuse, but I didn't read the show's statement as a confirmation that she made top four, as many others did.  They said she would not appear in the live finale, but I seem to recall that all the season's queens make a cameo there.  I think she could well be eliminated before then, but whatever she does, she's disqualified.  Whoever goes out next week will be in 12th rather than 13th place, and so on.  I take it also to be a bit of a damnatio memoriae, a notice that she won't be back for the reunion, conventions, etc.  But unless the spoilers are coming from other sources, which I know exist, I'm not sure when in the season she'll go out.

 

Spoiler

We aren't just assuming that she made it to the finale based on what WOW! said.  The elimination order and other details are reliably leaked by people in the know every single year before the season airs, the spoiler community knew how far she would go long before the scandal broke.

 

[OnceSane]

Just a reminder: spoilers and spoiler discussion in episode threads must be spoiler-tagged.  Thanks!

[CherryMalotte]

19 hours ago, bobbyjoe said:

I feel bad for the show because Sherry has put them in a no-win situation.

Exactly.  I'm sure the show is going to be vetting the queens very differently now.  

[belligerent]

On 3/7/2020 at 7:13 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Dahlia seems like she's going to be a shit stirrer. She has a very sour demeanor.  And she thinks Fosse is the main female character in Chicago?

The name on everybody's lips is gonna be "Fosse" now I guess but I wonder how that makes Roxie feel.

I don't know if it's because I read the FB post about what Sherry did before watching but I had a lot of trouble watching this episode. It doesn't help that she's in it a lot. I would almost prefer they pull the season and redo it without her and Brita, or at least re-edit the show to minimize their screentime, because if either of them get very far, that's a lot of odious people I'm going to have to fast forward through. If I'd known that prior to buying the season, I might not have bothered.

[Blakeston]

I didn't know what Sherry had done until after watching the episode, so I wasn't biased against her while watching it. And I still didn't think she belonged anywhere near the top two. A big girl whose lyrics are about how much she eats? Yawn.

I didn't think her lip sync was that funny, I didn't think her outfits were anything special, and I hate her makeup. I'm sick of contestants getting free passes on fugly makeup because they're comedy queens.

I thought Jan and Rock M. were much more impressive overall.

[DisneyBoy]

I also noticed Jan.

 

....but yeah, it was kind of impossible to watch the episode and not feel kind of grossed out if you went in knowing what Sherry had done.

The first episode got me so excited about the diversity of the cast, but now I just feel like there's this horrible shadow hanging over the whole season. It's really gross seeing someone who obviously has talent and knowing that they used it to hurt other people.

 

The spooky queen with the weird facial makeup is kind of cool though. I noticed that they sort of warned her that now she will have to come up with other characters if she's claiming she has multiple personalities. I hope she can pull it off.

[slaterain]

So I totally missed whatever vh1 put up about Cherry to start the episode... based on what people are posting - sounds like it was a Weinstein level issue which is so disappointing. I tend to love the campy queens so enjoyed her in the ep. Now I need to do a little digging to learn more. 

[WhineandCheez]

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Dahlia is very banjee. I hope there is more to her but so far she seems like Lineysha Sparx or Kimora Blac level.

They are so correct about her not painting enough.  She has club makeup not drag makeup.

Quote

Anyone know why Jan had to lose her surname?

I'm thinking something having to do with the Brady Bunch that infringes copyright?

Kim Chi as Anna Sui slayed me.  Looked just like her!

[hatchetgirl]

I agree that it was hard watching know what sherry had done.  It just made it ugly and uncomfortable. I do hope they try to edit her out a bit.  

Above someone mentions Brita. Did she do something awful as well? Oh no! 

I loved Aiden Zhane. What a cool look queen. I didn't read spooky, I read cool artist queen with a touch of Judy/Liza!

Ru did not look good. Her skin looked really sallow and her eyes were sunken. I hope she's ok.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, slaterain said:

So I totally missed whatever vh1 put up about Cherry to start the episode... based on what people are posting - sounds like it was a Weinstein level issue which is so disappointing. I tend to love the campy queens so enjoyed her in the ep. Now I need to do a little digging to learn more. 

It was all posted in the media thread last week. 

[TheLukeP]

1 hour ago, WhineandCheez said:

They are so correct about her not painting enough.  She has club makeup not drag makeup.

I'm thinking something having to do with the Brady Bunch that infringes copyright?

Kim Chi as Anna Sui slayed me.  Looked just like her!

Jan's full name is JanSport ... she had to lose the last bit because of trademark infrigement.  Same For Brita Filter.  

While we're at it, they also shortened Detox iCunt ... and Trinity Kardashian Bonet became Trinitiy K Bonet

[howiveaddict]

I too thought Ru didn't look too well.  Maybe he was getting over the flu when the season began filming.

 

[853fisher]

On 3/7/2020 at 8:27 PM, Glade said:

  Reveal spoiler

We aren't just assuming that she made it to the finale based on what WOW! said.  The elimination order and other details are reliably leaked by people in the know every single year before the season airs, the spoiler community knew how far she would go long before the scandal broke.

 

Spoiler

I appreciate it.  I knew many details were spoiled, but didn't want to spoil myself on other placements, and couldn't confirm.  My impression from some of the discussion in my social media sphere was that it was mostly assumed.  Thanks for correcting me!

 

[Kaboom 2.0]

On 3/7/2020 at 9:07 PM, Corgi-ears said:

The credits suggest that it was Mayhem Miller and Sonique, respectively.

Thank you! Here's hoping Mayhem pops up in every ep this season, like a few seasons ago when Stacy Layne Mathews kept popping up. I knew "Karl"'s profile looked familiar, should've known it was Sonique.

[violet and green]

Ugh. I try to stay clear of spoilers, but happened upon news of Sherry Pie's background behavior after watching the ep, and now feel vindicated in disliking her intensely on first sight. Stunned she was in the top two. Am not looking at spoilers re her placement, but the thought of having her in for however long, winning lip syncs, and in my face, knowing she'll be banned from the finale, so may go far, ugh, talk about a way to spoil a promising season.

But there are some fun queens, and some great looks, and I'm all in for the makeup, regardless, so will have to just brave on.

I feel really sorry for all the other contestants, having the taint of this overshadowing their moment.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 3/7/2020 at 3:08 AM, Mayberry said:

Dahlia is very banjee. I hope there is more to her but so far she seems like Lineysha Sparx or Kimora Blac level.

I am aware that there are women who are heavily tattooed. But, most of them aren't going for a glamour queen look.  Therefore, I don't get why Dahlia, who is relying heavily on her uber-femininity (and she is certainly pretty), would want all those distracting tattoos.  But then, she also has ear plugs, so I guess she enjoys body modification.

I really like Jan. 

Edited March 10, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse

[zenithwit]

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I am aware that there are women who are heavily tattooed. But, most of them aren't going for a glamour queen look.  Therefore, I don't get why Dahlia, who is relying heavily on her uber-femininity (and she is certainly pretty), would want all those distracting tattoos.  But then, she also has ear plugs, so I guess she enjoys body modification.

Visible tattoos hasn't stop Kameron Michaels from going for that more glam/feminine look.  Actually, Dahlia is so naturally pretty that I bet she would look great with a more hyper realistic female makeup look (a la Blair St. Clair).

Count me in the camp that likes Aiden Zhane.  She's definitely rough around the edges but I find her really intriguing and could have a lot of potential with the right coaching/feedback.  I think a little Sharon Needles or Sasha Velour influence would be very interesting.

8 hours ago, howiveaddict said:

I too thought Ru didn't look too well.  Maybe he was getting over the flu when the season began filming.

Agreed that Ru didn't look so great during the runaway mini-challenge but I thought she looked great on the mainstage.  In particular, I thought her eye makeup was beautifully done (kudos to Raven).

[ItCouldBeWorse]

6 minutes ago, zenithwit said:

Visible tattoos hasn't stop Kameron Michaels from going for that more glam/feminine look. 

It didn't stop her from going for it, but I also felt that that big chest tattoo detracted from it.  Most tattooed women don't have chest tattoos!  When you are trying to convincingly portray a woman, it just seems like an odd choice, although I think Kameron started drag later in life, so perhaps the tattoo was already there.

[TheLukeP]

8 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

It didn't stop her from going for it, but I also felt that that big chest tattoo detracted from it.  Most tattooed women don't have chest tattoos!  When you are trying to convincingly portray a woman, it just seems like an odd choice, although I think Kameron started drag later in life, so perhaps the tattoo was already there.

SO... I mean... Most untattooed women don't have chest tattoos.  But literally every single heavily tattooed woman I know has their chest tattooed and it's usually a massive piece.  I realize that i maybe have different access as I hang around with tattoo artists.... but yeah.  Biological Females, Feminine women who have tattoos also have large chest tattoos.

[RoxiP]

2 hours ago, TheLukeP said:

SO... I mean... Most untattooed women don't have chest tattoos.  But literally every single heavily tattooed woman I know has their chest tattooed and it's usually a massive piece.  I realize that i maybe have different access as I hang around with tattoo artists.... but yeah.  Biological Females, Feminine women who have tattoos also have large chest tattoos.

Both the daughters on Pitt Bulls and Parolees have tattooed chests and necks - not my thing but to each their own!

[Stardancer Supreme]

Tattoos aren't that big a deal to me (Vanjie covered her chest tattoo on occassion); to me, Dahlia's look could use some polish.  I'm sure she will improve like her mama Aja did on her season.

[TheLukeP]

last tattoo comment... because this isn't RuPaul's Best Tattoo Race .... with the right makeup, you can cover up even the darkest, blackest tattoos with amazing results.

[RoxiP]

53 minutes ago, TheLukeP said:

last tattoo comment... because this isn't RuPaul's Best Tattoo Race .... with the right makeup, you can cover up even the darkest, blackest tattoos with amazing results.

I know Kat Von D has a line of tattoo coverup makeup.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Act 1

The Pit Stop: Peppermint & Bob Recap the Second Premiere

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Make up tutorials

Jaida Essence Hall’s Entrance Look

Rock M. Sakura’s Pastel Tulle Look

Aiden Zhane’s Entrance Look

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[truthaboutluv]

On 3/9/2020 at 9:59 PM, violet and green said:

Ugh. I try to stay clear of spoilers, but happened upon news of Sherry Pie's background behavior after watching the ep, and now feel vindicated in disliking her intensely on first sight.

I'm catching up on the season right now and this was my reaction as well. Without even knowing the context of the situation with Sherry Pie but just seeing the note at the start of the episode, as soon as I saw his first talking head, I thought "this guy looks like a pervert". Everything about him screamed creepy to me. So after the episode and I read up about the situation, I wasn't surprised in the least about the allegations against him.