S12.E09: Choices 2020

[OnceSane]

Quote

It’s time for America’s first drag queen president! The queens argue in a fabulous presidential debate. Actors Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park) and Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) guest judge.

Airs April 24, 2020.

[boochay8888]

Can Jeff Goldblum become a permanent judge?! He was adorable, sweet, and just slightly weird...all the things we love about him.

[Keywestclubkid]

I love me some Heidi 

[Stardancer Supreme]

Well, it was time for Widow to go.  She just went full angry drag queen for the whole episode.  That was not cash money!

Again we have the guest judges outshining the drag queens.  Can we keep Rachel and Jeff? They were awesome!

Where was Michelle? Do they have Dahlia chained in the basement in that Broccoli costume? I feel she should be Miss Congeniality for all the extra work she is doing. Hopefully she is getting paid!

 

[853fisher]

Michelle told fans on Twitter that she had to be in London during filming, and tried to get around it but couldn't.  She'll be back next week.  This season was taped in August or so, wasn't it?  My guess is that London had to do with her time on Strictly Come Dancing, the UK's Dancing with the Stars, which would've had its ramp-up stuff around that time before the live shows started the following month.

 

I thought this was a good one, and I really enjoyed seeing Jaida do well again.  She, Heidi, and Jackie are still probably my favorites this season.  Crystal is also growing on me more and more.  I didn't think anyone really tanked in the debate challenge, and "retattle the retittle of her rebuttal" was funnier than it had any right to be.  I actually didn't think Jackie did as poorly as the judges thought she did, although perhaps I'm biased.  It made sense to me to pick a theme and riff on it, and I did think each of the jokes they showed was funny.  I'd be happy to see either guest judge again.  I don't really know who Rachel is, except in passing, but did anyone think she looks a bit like a younger Constance Zimmer?

 

I'm genuinely surprised, especially after Crystal talked about her father's struggle with Parkinson's the other week, that Sherry seems to have done the same character agin without any specific comment on the difference between a general old lady character and what seems like a knowing riff on a neurological disorder.  I thought it was pretty tasteless when she did it as Hepburn, aside from the fact that it just wasn't a good Hepburn, and she seemed to me to be doing exactly the same things again.  They didn't have a single judge's comment or talking head about that?  Hmmmm.

Edited April 25, 2020 by 853fisher
Forgot about Crystal! Sorry, love.

[Gothish520]

Oooh child, I have been in love with Jeff Goldblum since 1978! What a treat this was. He was a quirky delight as usual. Rachel Bloom was fun as well, and her eye makeup was on point.

Completely agree with Jaida's win, she was very funny and made me laugh out loud. And it was definitely Widow's time to go.

Shout out to Gigi's runway, she looked fantastic.

 

 

[bobbyjoe]

Jackie’s LSFYL was fantastic.  One of the best in a long time.  Coming right after her “statement” look on the runway and her talking about her family, it felt both exhilarating and moving to see her go for it like that. 

I’ve been sad watching Widow the last few weeks; she had such potential in the first episodes and I still really like her, but something just disappeared.  Meanwhile, Crystal is getting better and better; if I didn’t know any better I’d think there was some spell that was zapping Widow’s confidence and energy and giving it to Crystal (joking— I don’t want to underplay Crystal’s genuine talent).

Yay Jaida!  I feel like there’s been more than one under-rated queen this season.

 

[CraftyHazel]

I really felt what Ru and Rachel were telling Widow...I’m guilty of the same thing at times.  
But rather than taking the critiques and understanding that just because they didn’t like a particular performance, didn’t mean that they didn’t like HER, Widow took it personally.  And Widow’s actually a really big deal in Missouri, so it probably hurt her confidence even more.

Crystal got it right in Untucked (what I caught anyway...it was storming here and my satellite was acting up) when she said that she had the same kind of critiques at the beginning.  But while Crystal listened and changed it up just enough to gather some momentum, Widow took offense.  She seemed angry both on the runway and backstage.

And I love Jackie, but it was a touch of karma that she had to LSFYL before Crystal ever did, after saying she didn’t see Crystal (among others) as Top Four material.  But I’m just bitter because I stan Crystal so hard.

 

[Blissfool]

3 hours ago, 853fisher said:

 I actually didn't think Jackie did as poorly as the judges thought she did, although perhaps I'm biased.  It made sense to me to pick a theme and riff on it, and I did think each of the jokes they showed was funny.  

I thought Jackie did well, too. Not the best or the funniest, but good enough to keep her from being in the bottom. The canada thing was her running joke, like Jaida' s "Look over there" and Heidi's gap whistle.

1 hour ago, bobbyjoe said:

Jackie’s LSFYL was fantastic.  One of the best in a long time.  Coming right after her “statement” look on the runway and her talking about her family, it felt both exhilarating and moving to see her go for it like 

I wonder if that's why Jeff Goldblum was teary?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dead at Heidi's description of the shady rattlesnake sound effect!

That debate was not very funny or amusing, but no surprise there.

Crystal did pretty well in the debate, which is actually pretty good considering how terribly boring everyone else was. Her runway look was fun.

Heidi got some good material for the debate from Ru and Raven and then we saw almost none of it. WHY? Her runway look was cute. She reminded me of an old school baton twirler/majorette.

Widow's debate persona was succinctly and accurately summed up by whoever said she was the angry politician. No fun, no laughs. I liked the giant stars on her runway look. That was definitely a statement piece and it was different from the other red, white, and blue looks.

I didn't like Sherry's runway look. Just too messy looking. And high five to whoever pointed out that she keeps doing the same old lady character (Heidi?).

Jackie's Eartha Kitt impression in the kitty mini challenge was by far the best. When she picks the right character, she does so well. Unfortunately, her "I'm Canadian" schtick during the debate didn't fall under that umbrella. I liked her caftan/hijab runway look. That was a great political statement for this runway.

Gigi's costume was polished but this time I got a bit of an off the rack Halloween costume vibe which I think is my natural reaction now whenever I see a costume that involves showing the crotch of a leotard. It's a very Legs Avenue look.

Jaida's superhero jumpsuit was fun. She seemed the most spontaneous/least scripted during the debate.

 

[charliesan]

To me it was clear that both Gigi and Sherry were groomed to be top 4 since the beginning, no way did they do better than Jackie. I didn't understand what was the problem with her running joke, others did it too, maybe it wasn't that funny but it wasn't terrible by any means, and I thought her look was the best.

Jaida surprised me, and I continue to fall in love with Crystal.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, charliesan said:

To me it was clear that both Gigi and Sherry were groomed to be top 4 since the beginning, no way did they do better than Jackie. I didn't understand what was the problem with her running joke, others did it too, maybe it wasn't that funny but it wasn't terrible by any means, and I thought her look was the best.

Jaida surprised me, and I continue to fall in love with Crystal.

Agree.  And annoyed Sherry did the Hepburn with Parkinson’s again while standing beside Crystal.  Again.  Maybe last time she didn’t know about her family, but no excuse this time.  

[Omeletsmom]

16 hours ago, boochay8888 said:

Can Jeff Goldblum become a permanent judge?! He was adorable, sweet, and just slightly weird...all the things we love about him.

Really?? I thought he was incredibly creepy.  I felt like showering after this episode.

[gorgy]

I'm glad Jaida won. She's probably the most polished queen, second only to [name redacted]. Also, she doesn't have the loudest personality, but Jaida has been good to great at every challenge and makes her own costumes, which is refreshing since a lot of queens use the same designers from seasons past and it all starts to look similar. Jaida is like the polar opposite of Silky.

The mini challenge was fun and actually made me laugh out loud. Jackie's Eartha Kit was fantastic. Widow acted like a real cat just following a light and it got old (I'm a dog person)

The maxi challenge was fine. I think there were too many contestants on stage for there to be any strong interaction between queens without it devolving into chaos. The rebuttal/retittle/retattle, while humorous, showed how easy it could fall off the wheels. This one responds, then that one, then she rebukes, and this one responds to that, and so and so and so on... It also felt so staged, especially with the Bloom/Goldblum bits. Jaida was the only one that stood out. Crystal, Jackie, and Gigi were at the same level, so I wouldn't put one over the other two.

Widow is not as funny as she thinks she is. That became apparent when she chose to be Ike Turner during Snatch Game. I'm still confused, daily, by that choice. Usually you pick a beloved gay icon and instead she went with an infamous abuser. Her talking heads always seem harsh. A lot of her looks have been atrocious. What can I say - not a fan

Heidi is so lovely. I hope she doesn't become a walking meme like Monique Heart.

The producer's keep pushing the Broc-Ally thing solely because they want another viral Miss Vanjie. I will tolerate it, but I will not celebrate it.

[funnygirl]

I like Jackie and appreciate his passionate tirade on the current administration, but for someone who's into politics it's disconcerting that he's not registered to vote. The argument loses credibility because you actively chose not to contribute. I may have missed it, but is it because he's kept his Canadian citizenship or? 

I love Heidi's energy. Pure joy. 

I don't get the Sh*rry P*e appeal. Having to be edited out aside, strictly from an aesthetic standpoint I don't like how she does her makeup and she stays with the same haggard look/old lady schtick in her performances.  YMMV

Edited April 25, 2020 by funnygirl

[zengirl1215]

17 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I'm genuinely surprised, especially after Crystal talked about her father's struggle with Parkinson's the other week, that Sherry seems to have done the same character agin without any specific comment on the difference between a general old lady character and what seems like a knowing riff on a neurological disorder.  I thought it was pretty tasteless when she did it as Hepburn, aside from the fact that it just wasn't a good Hepburn, and she seemed to me to be doing exactly the same things again.  They didn't have a single judge's comment or talking head about that?  Hmmmm.

Rupaul kind of mentioned it, but I thought the same thing. Sherry is doing the same schtick over and over. Even in the mini-challenge, her cat had that same persona. At this point, even if we hadn't known about Sherry's off-screen stuff, I don't see how she's made it this far "safe" or in the top...there's nothing special about her. Not in runway looks or in talent to be pushing her through to the Final 4. 

And I get a lot of her things are heavily edited out, but we can see what she's wearing and we can see her whip out the Katherine Hepburn routine or character like it. 

 

[belligerent]

17 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I'm genuinely surprised, especially after Crystal talked about her father's struggle with Parkinson's the other week, that Sherry seems to have done the same character agin without any specific comment on the difference between a general old lady character and what seems like a knowing riff on a neurological disorder.  I thought it was pretty tasteless when she did it as Hepburn, aside from the fact that it just wasn't a good Hepburn, and she seemed to me to be doing exactly the same things again. 

Considering what she's done outside of the competition to people, which she has admitted to doing, I am not surprised at all that she lacks empathy and chooses when she feels it's advantageous to fake that or not. I also would not be surprised if it's a conscious choice made to throw Crystal off her game or control the atmosphere backstage. She is incredibly manipulative, and I would not put it past her to exploit any weaknesses she can in others or create tension.

I am glad they're showing as much of her ugliness as possible.

[Omeletsmom]

39 minutes ago, funnygirl said:

I like Jackie and appreciate his passionate tirade on the current administration, but for someone who's into politics it's disconcerting that he's not registered to vote. The argument loses credibility because you actively chose not to contribute. I may have missed it, but is it because he's kept his Canadian citizenship or? 

I love Heidi's energy. Pure joy. 

I don't get the Sh*rry P*e appeal. Having to be edited out aside, strictly from an aesthetic standpoint I don't like how she does her makeup and she stays with the same haggard look/old lady schtick in her performances.  YMMV

I got the impression he's not registered to vote because he CAN'T register to vote.  He implied he is not an American citizen.

[853fisher]

45 minutes ago, Omeletsmom said:

I got the impression he's not registered to vote because he CAN'T register to vote.  He implied he is not an American citizen.

That was also my understanding of the conversation in the workroom.

 

I forgot to mention that I enjoyed seeing Raven, although she seemed a little shoehorned in.  I guess I might've preferred one of the queens who did the similar debate challenge in 2012, who could've spoken to the format.  Or, when someone asked about bouncing back from the bottom, I thought Raven might've mentioned that she lipsynced in 2 of the first 3 weeks of her season before she hit her stride, but nothing.  If this is what it looks like to see Ru getting her feet wet sharing workroom/judging/etc time with a peer, fine, I'll get over it.  But these cameos just seem a bit generic as they are.  It beats sending Sherry around to ask questions and then having to cut around it in post. 😉

[howiveaddict]

2 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

I got the impression he's not registered to vote because he CAN'T register to vote.  He implied he is not an American citizen.

He said he has a green card.  Hope he doesn't make someone , in government, who he was criticizing , angry and gets his status revoked.  I won't mention names.

[rozen]

The audacity to call the challenge "Choices 2020" and have Raven come to the workroom instead of Tatianna. 

I don't know how I went from "Jackie Cox is a decent queen" to being ready to marry Jackie Cox, but here we are. Jaida and Crystal were so refreshingly ridiculous during the debate, I loved it.

I'm sorry, but Jeff Goldblum is creepy AF. Def wanted more Rachel Bloom enthusiasm and less Jeff staring at people's crotches.

[DEL901]

2 hours ago, Omeletsmom said:

I got the impression he's not registered to vote because he CAN'T register to vote.  He implied he is not an American citizen.

Yes. He said he has a green card, but is still Canadian.  Just his mom got US citizenship.  

[zenithwit]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

I forgot to mention that I enjoyed seeing Raven, although she seemed a little shoehorned in.  I guess I might've preferred one of the queens who did the similar debate challenge in 2012, who could've spoken to the format.  Or, when someone asked about bouncing back from the bottom, I thought Raven might've mentioned that she lipsynced in 2 of the first 3 weeks of her season before she hit her stride, but nothing.  If this is what it looks like to see Ru getting her feet wet sharing workroom/judging/etc time with a peer, fine, I'll get over it.  But these cameos just seem a bit generic as they are.  It beats sending Sherry around to ask questions and then having to cut around it in post. 😉

Raven did feel a bit like a last minute addition.  Also, wasn't Raven an audience member in the Spring/Fall Runways in the first two premiere episodes?  It makes wonder if someone else was suppose to accompany Ru in the work room but cancelled at the last minute.  Considering that Raven is Ru's makeup artist for the series, she can probably fill in with relatively short notice.  But I enjoyed her commentary/advice regardless.

 

23 hours ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Again we have the guest judges outshining the drag queens.  Can we keep Rachel and Jeff? They were awesome!

 I really enjoyed Rachel Bloom as a judge (Jeff was fun in his own quirky way as well).  And she held her own against Ru and Carson with the call outs/puns on the runway.  Also, she gave really good advice to Widow (and good feedback in general to all of the queens).  If Ru is looking for more permanent judges to join the panel, I think Rachel would be a good candidate (along with Leslie Jones).

[30 Helens]

Jeff Goldblum is always quirky/creepy, but I’ll say one thing for him, he is never boring.

I love love Rachel Bloom and she really is a perfect fit for this show. They need to bring her back to mentor a challenge that involves choreography and/or original lyrics.

Jackie’s runway look was fantastic and she earned that lip synch. A positive attitude didn’t hurt, either— while I felt for Widow, that pouty defensive attitude was her real downfall.

Sherry looked like a troll doll.

Heidi’s look was charming. But her comment about renaming herself Heidi Hydrates was a joke, right? Because... no. “N Closet” really does need to go, though. I thought “Heidi Ho” was a decent option. Or, may I suggest: “Heidi Mand”! “Heidi Ablo” if she’s feeling devilish. Or just “Heidi Hiiiieeee”! 

No? Ok, I tried.

 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Not important, but I wonder if Jackie even considers himself to be Muslim, since he's only mentioned that his mother is Persian, and we haven't heard about his father. (I know he said he isn't religious, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a religious tradition.)

Edited April 26, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse

[HunterHunted]

Gigi should have had to lsfyl. She was straight up terrible during the maxi challenge and she botched the runway. The theme was stars and stripes and Gigi dressed like a sexy British soldier. She looked great, but it didn't come across as all that creative and didn't fulfill the runway brief.

[Just Carol]

7 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Heidi’s look was charming. But her comment about renaming herself Heidi Hydrates was a joke, right? Because... no. “N Closet” really does need to go, though. I thought “Heidi Ho” was a decent option. Or, may I suggest: “Heidi Mand”! “Heidi Ablo” if she’s feeling devilish. Or just “Heidi Hiiiieeee”! 

No? Ok, I tried.

 

Heidi Hideeho.

[Red Bridey]

16 hours ago, funnygirl said:

I like Jackie and appreciate his passionate tirade on the current administration, but for someone who's into politics it's disconcerting that he's not registered to vote. The argument loses credibility because you actively chose not to contribute. I may have missed it, but is it because he's kept his Canadian citizenship or? 

I love Heidi's energy. Pure joy. 

I don't get the Sh*rry P*e appeal. Having to be edited out aside, strictly from an aesthetic standpoint I don't like how she does her makeup and she stays with the same haggard look/old lady schtick in her performances.  YMMV

He only has lawful permanent residency status at this time. He can't vote because he's not a US citizen. It can take years to qualify to apply for naturalization, depending on the type of visa he has. I do hope he voted in Canada!

[Red Bridey]

And once again the Widow pissed and moaned about her critiques but this time didn't have a lip sync tailor-made for her. Too bad, so sad.  

[charliesan]

I was rooting for Widow at the beginning, but I got tired of her complaining while at the same time promising how good she was, of course, she was nowhere near Brita territory but it does get old. I don't mind a confident queen, even a little bit of cockiness is alright, but ONLY if you can back it up (Aquaria was confident, and Gigi comes to mind too). 

[marinite]

18 hours ago, 853fisher said:

”I forgot to mention that I enjoyed seeing Raven, although she seemed a little shoehorned in.  “
 

I think Raven was just there to show her amazing tuck. 😉

[gorgy]

2 hours ago, marinite said:

20 hours ago, 853fisher said:

”I forgot to mention that I enjoyed seeing Raven, although she seemed a little shoehorned in.  “
 

I think Raven was just there to show her amazing tuck. 😉

Similar to how AOC might have been used in this week's political debate, Raven probably would have been better suited in next week's makeover competition.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

If you watch Bob the Drag Queen  and Detox on The Pit Stop, they were both shocked that Widow was in the bottom. They thought she was the 2nd best in the debate after Jaida. They did agree that she gave up after receiving criticism from the judges and therefore doomed herself: 

 

[TrixieTrue]

19 hours ago, Red Bridey said:

He only has lawful permanent residency status at this time. He can't vote because he's not a US citizen. It can take years to qualify to apply for naturalization, depending on the type of visa he has. I do hope he voted in Canada!

I don't know if he can. A friend of mine who is Canadian, said that she can't vote there because she doesn't live in Canada anymore. I'm not sure if Canada allows its citizens who live overseas to participate in elections.  

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, TrixieTrue said:

I don't know if he can. A friend of mine who is Canadian, said that she can't vote there because she doesn't live in Canada anymore. I'm not sure if Canada allows its citizens who live overseas to participate in elections.  

There is a process, but it isn’t easy.  We have the parliamentary system and we don’t vote for Prime Minister.  We vote for the candidate in our district or riding and the party that wins the most seats forms the government and the leader of that Party is Prime Minister.  

[Corgi-ears]

On 4/26/2020 at 2:00 PM, 30 Helens said:

Heidi’s look was charming. But her comment about renaming herself Heidi Hydrates was a joke, right? Because... no. “N Closet” really does need to go, though.

I still don't understand why Ru thinks "Heidi N. Closet" is such a bad drag name. Insofar as he has actually articulated a reason, it had to do with how it doesn't roll off the tongue, how it's supposedly awkward to form your mouth into a "N' after you say "Di"? Which...what? If you can say "hiding," then you can form your mouth; you aren't supposed to over-enunciate the "N," much as we're not supposed to say, "Rock M.."

Or is Ru complaining about how politically incorrect it is that a drag queen should allude to being closeted? If so, then what happened to Ru's insistence that drag is not politically correct, and meant to be offensive and upsetting? Is "Heidi M. Closet" more incorrect than, say, Sharon Needles? And does Ru not get that a name like "Heidi N. Closet" doesn't have to mean that the queen endorses the closet, and the joke might even lie in the idea that a man dressed as a woman can claim, with a straight face, to be in the closet?

Edited April 27, 2020 by Corgi-ears

[ClareWalks]

I thought Jackie Cox's whole Canada schtick would have worked better if she'd played up the "birther" aspect of it, perhaps working it out with another queen who could say "I'm starting to think Ms. Cox WASN'T BORN HERE" and a birth certificate thing. As it was, it was just kind of out of place and nobody else was trying to help with it.

[853fisher]

1 hour ago, Corgi-ears said:

I still don't understand why Ru thinks "Heidi N. Closet" is such a bad drag name. Insofar as he has actually articulated a reason, it had to do with how it doesn't roll off the tongue, how it's supposedly awkward to form your mouth into a "N' after you say "Di"? Which...what? If you can say "hiding," then you can form your mouth; you aren't supposed to over-enunciate the "N," much as we're not supposed to say, "Rock M.."

Or is Ru complaining about how politically incorrect it is that a drag queen should allude to being closeted? If so, then what happened to Ru's insistence that drag is not politically incorrect, and meant to be offensive and upsetting? Is "Heidi M. Closet" more incorrect than, say, Sharon Needles? And does Ru not get that a name like "Heidi N. Closet" doesn't have to mean that the queen endorses the closet, and the joke might even lie in the idea that a man dressed as a woman can claim, with a straight face, to be in the closet?

I went to school not too far from where Heidi lives and performs in North Caorlina, and I think there's a definite riff on cultural values baked into her name that may not read to Ru.  That said, I don't really get the sense that it's about that.  I think Ru just got it stuck in her craw that she doesn't like the name, or she thinks it's a sort of amusing bit, or whatever.  It doesn't really roll off the tongue for me, but it's not impossible either.  Of all the names over twelve years to pick on, Heidi's wouldn't've been my choice.

[TresGatos]

On 4/25/2020 at 9:09 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Gigi's costume was polished but this time I got a bit of an off the rack Halloween costume vibe which I think is my natural reaction now whenever I see a costume that involves showing the crotch of a leotard. It's a very Legs Avenue look.

It reminded me of the George magazine debut cover with Cindy Crawford. I really wished Gigi had added a mile to her face.

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

I still don't understand why Ru thinks "Heidi N. Closet" is such a bad drag name. 

I can’t speak for Ru, but the reason I don’t like it is it just sounds clumsy. Regardless of whether or not you like the pun, “Sharon Needles” at least sounds exactly like “sharin’ needles”. Even “Courtney Act”, said with an Australian accent, sounds passingly close to “caught in the act”. But “Heidi N” does not sound like “hiding in”. Combine that with a lack of “the”, and... it’s just too forced.  If you want a pun name, there are better ones.

[jonaswan2]

On 4/25/2020 at 3:03 PM, zengirl1215 said:

Rupaul kind of mentioned it, but I thought the same thing. Sherry is doing the same schtick over and over. Even in the mini-challenge, her cat had that same persona. At this point, even if we hadn't known about Sherry's off-screen stuff, I don't see how she's made it this far "safe" or in the top...there's nothing special about her. Not in runway looks or in talent to be pushing her through to the Final 4. 

And I get a lot of her things are heavily edited out, but we can see what she's wearing and we can see her whip out the Katherine Hepburn routine or character like it. 

 

The edit is powerful. As an example, we would have thought the same thing about Bianca had she been edited out of her season.

 

Bianca's strengths were in the rootedness she had in her character and her wit, but the fact that she brought one dress in 10 different colors would have only been amplified up against every other queen on her season.

Doing one character and point-of-view really well usually gets queens pretty far in this format, at least in the seasons prior to Violet's.

[Tammee]

On 4/25/2020 at 1:41 AM, Marmiarmo said:

I really felt what Ru and Rachel were telling Widow...I’m guilty of the same thing at times.  
But rather than taking the critiques and understanding that just because they didn’t like a particular performance, didn’t mean that they didn’t like HER, Widow took it personally.  And Widow’s actually a really big deal in Missouri, so it probably hurt her confidence even more.

Crystal got it right in Untucked (what I caught anyway...it was storming here and my satellite was acting up) when she said that she had the same kind of critiques at the beginning.  But while Crystal listened and changed it up just enough to gather some momentum, Widow took offense.  She seemed angry both on the runway and backstage.

And I love Jackie, but it was a touch of karma that she had to LSFYL before Crystal ever did, after saying she didn’t see Crystal (among others) as Top Four material.  But I’m just bitter because I stan Crystal so hard.

 

I like Crystal a lot too.  I think in the werkroom she tries to downplay herself but once 'in costume' you totally forget its her.  I do anyway.  She has a different voice, a different angle.  Nothing boring with this Queen!

[Stardancer Supreme]

7 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I can’t speak for Ru, but the reason I don’t like it is it just sounds clumsy. Regardless of whether or not you like the pun, “Sharon Needles” at least sounds exactly like “sharin’ needles”. Even “Courtney Act”, said with an Australian accent, sounds passingly close to “caught in the act”. But “Heidi N” does not sound like “hiding in”. Combine that with a lack of “the”, and... it’s just too forced.  If you want a pun name, there are better ones.

Her full drag name is Heidi Nina Closet. It was probably producer driven, given that there have been a few Ninas who have competed on Drag Race. 

[belligerent]

10 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I thought Jackie Cox's whole Canada schtick would have worked better if she'd played up the "birther" aspect of it, perhaps working it out with another queen who could say "I'm starting to think Ms. Cox WASN'T BORN HERE" and a birth certificate thing. As it was, it was just kind of out of place and nobody else was trying to help with it.

I agree, that would have been a better take on it, but I'm not sure she could have led anyone to ask the questions to get that out, either. 

I would have had less issue with the Canada thing if it was something we had been led to associate with her character before this episode. In all the previous challenges whenever they mention politics or whatever, Jackie's talking about this country and her mom coming here, etc. So when she mentioned being Canadian, I was like "...what?"

Contrast to Brooke Lynne from last season, who was pulling the Canada card immediately. In a challenge like this, she probably could have successfully done what Jackie was trying to do, without even as much planning, because the audience has had enough exposure to her "first ever Canadian!!!" to fill in the backstory. I don't think it really worked for what we knew about Jackie.

I thought her lip sync was beautiful, though, so I'm all right with her having been in the bottom. When I saw what song it was, my immediate question was "how do you make an interesting lip sync to a boring song like this?" and I definitely got my answer.

[doesntworkonwood]

I think that if Jackie went further with the Canadian thing it would have worked better. She could have started off making references to Canada, and then ended by heavily implying that she's part of some Canadian taskforce to take over America one step at a time. 

She wasn't great, but I don't believe she should have been in the bottom. 

[Rai]

I'm basically in love with Jaida at this point. She's so polished and talented. Gigi's got it on the fashion front, and Sherry has it on the performance front, but Jaida's strong at both. Even in recognizing her terrible acting in Gay's Anatomy. I feel like it's Gigi's to lose, but I'd love for Jaida to swoop in and steal it all.

That said, Crystal and Heidi are DELIGHTS, and if there could be a co-Miss Congeniality, they'd be a lock in a heartbeat. I think Crystal is slightly stronger than Heidi, and I'd love to see her in the final four. But I want Heidi around as long as possible in order to keep her interview segments. She's hysterical.

I actually found Widow funnier than she's been getting credit for, and I'm uncomfortable dismissing her performance as merely "angry." Channeling a passionate, strident politician is totally acceptable for the challenge. Not that she was inspiring the same level of gravitas as, say, Maxine Waters, but I think it'd be very reductive and problematic to refer to Maxine Waters as just "angry." That said, while I loved the concept of her dress, it was a little crafty. (As in arts and crafts, not scheming and clever.)

I wasn't particularly overwhelmed with Jackie's lipsync, so maybe I need to watch it again. But much like Brita, once Widow started hitting the bottom more than once, the writing was on the wall. Keep slaying Kansas City, Du!

[Blissfool]

23 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

I still don't understand why Ru thinks "Heidi N. Closet" is such a bad drag name. Insofar as he has actually articulated a reason, it had to do with how it doesn't roll off the tongue, how it's supposedly awkward to form your mouth into a "N' after you say "Di"? Which...what? If you can say "hiding," then you can form your mouth; you aren't supposed to over-enunciate the "N," much as we're not supposed to say, "Rock M.."

Or is Ru complaining about how politically incorrect it is that a drag queen should allude to being closeted? If so, then what happened to Ru's insistence that drag is not politically correct, and meant to be offensive and upsetting? Is "Heidi M. Closet" more incorrect than, say, Sharon Needles? And does Ru not get that a name like "Heidi N. Closet" doesn't have to mean that the queen endorses the closet, and the joke might even lie in the idea that a man dressed as a woman can claim, with a straight face, to be in the closet?

I hate Heidi's name. I agree that it doesn't roll off the tongue.  It's clumsy. I think of it more as a phrase than a name like...Eaton D. Pizza (actually, I like that one better.) And the word Closet just isn't sexy or cute.

20 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I can’t speak for Ru, but the reason I don’t like it is it just sounds clumsy. Regardless of whether or not you like the pun, “Sharon Needles” at least sounds exactly like “sharin’ needles”. Even “Courtney Act”, said with an Australian accent, sounds passingly close to “caught in the act”. But “Heidi N” does not sound like “hiding in”. Combine that with a lack of “the”, and... it’s just too forced.  If you want a pun name, there are better ones.

I agree. I am new to Drag Race and have heard of Sharon Needles, but I hadn't made the connection. I love it.

 

[ClareWalks]

She could have easily chosen Heidi Inna Closet and it at least would have flowed.

[Blakeston]

I just don't get Crystal being in the top. The mullet joke in the beginning was cute (if expected), but after that she...talked about glitter? She didn't make me laugh at all.

I found it to be a weird double-standard that Crystal was praised so highly for. not taking the challenge seriously, but Gigi was criticized for...not being serious enough. Especially after Ru specifically told Gigi to make her schtick about fashion rather than politics, and Raven kept telling everyone to not take the challenge seriously and just have fun with it.

[Kaboom 2.0]

That kitty mini challenge was painful to watch.

Rachel and Jeff were delightful, more please! 

Jaida's glee in calling Jeff a dinosaur doctor was adorable. She is so the stealth competitor, love her and Crystal still. Also love how open Heidi is to taking advice to improve aspects of herself, the episode challenges, etc. If she doesn't get the crown hope she's voted Miss Congeniality. 

There are always some queens that cannot handle being in a competitive game show and Widow fell into that trap. I thought she did better in the debate than Gigi did.