S05.E03: Get a Room!

[OnceSane]

Quote

The All Stars dive into the world of celebrity branding as they design their own boutique hotel suite experiences.

Airs June 19, 2020.

[Gothish520]

Blair was robbed. She and Mayhem were the only ones that made me laugh and the 24K room idea was fun and looked great. The other rooms looked good too but the performances fell flat. Jujubee was the best of that bunch though.

LOVED the runway, especially Blair and Ms. Cracker. ALways great to see Monet.

The Untucked conversation between Mayhem, Jujubee and Blair was very touching. I can see how substance use and abuse could be a big issue in the drag world. It's important to talk about it and seek advice and help if needed. I hope they all stay on the path that is right for them.

 

 

[Ananayel]

Please tell me there will be a returning queen episode so Mariah can come back. I just love her, and am absolutely baffled as to how she went over India. Unless each of them decided to keep a weaker competitor.

Loved Cracker's look. Realized (remembered) why I don't care for Alexis. No one was even talking to you! And then you heard what you wanted to hear so you could get mad! Oy.

[theatremouse]

I literally said outloud after the room challenge "where were all the jokes?" frankly about all three. It was weird. Juju for sure had some good one-liners, but the rest was like two and a half weak puns. And I like puns, but they weren't good, didn't land and there were not enough other actual jokes.

[bobbyjoe]

What a weird badly designed (pun intended) challenge.  It felt like somebody ran out of ideas and was flipping through channels and came across HGTV and said “sure, whatever, let’s do that.”

Is it me or is it possible Juju threw the LSFYL?   As the clips on Untucked made clear she’s a lot better at this than she was tonight.  I suspect she might have calculated that she has a better shot than a lot of the others at winning the whole season and thought eliminating somebody tonight could bite her later either way so why do it?  Monet was fine, but a more energetic queen could have easily beat what we saw here from her, so it’s curious that Jujubee didn’t seem to bother. 

Not the best episode IMO.

Edited June 20, 2020 by bobbyjoe

[swanpride]

Mayham again got on my nerves this week...she should REALLY take a look at the mirror. All the talk about Cracker supposedly not "owning" what she did, when Cracker has by my count now apologized three times (and that is not counting the confessional) while ALSO basically blaming Cracker for only being save the week before an the supposedly tense teamplay, when SHE was the one who brought her hurt feeling about going out after a challenge with her into the group. She really needs to stop blaming others for her own performances. She constantly did this her own season, too, and I see that little has changed. She is lucky that her room was the best, btw, because her three in one look was easily the laziest of them all.

But Alexis Matteo managed to be even more annoying. "You apologize now that Ongina is gone" - well, yes, but she also apologized to Ongina last episode. If I remember this after one week, Miss Alexis should still remember after one day. And honestly, what was this whole "you don't respect me" nonsense about? Talk about butting into a conversation NOT about you and making it about you by completely misinterpreting what was said.
 

Note to all queens: If someone makes a mistake and immediately apologizes, you damned well accept the apology the first time around. Only if someone continues to make an a... of herself after it you get to call said person fake. Anything else is just ungracious and mean-spirited. Apologizing isn't easy at the best of times, reacting that way to one equals kicking a person after said person did an act of emotional trust.

Okay...the rooms...honestly, I think none of them were great. But if I had to pick a winner, for me it would have actually the Golden Girls one. Because at least that one had at least a good concept behind it. "Everything is lux" is sooooo boring in itself and the Glamazon one was just confusion, because if this was supposed to be amazon themed, then there was too much stuff in it which didn't fit, but if they want the "glam" aspect in it, too, then at least have a proper bed. Also, the green was just nasty. And lazy. Nothing as easy (and boring) as doing the whole wall in one colour.

Too bad regarding Mariah...I think it should have been India. Granted, both come off as elimination fodder, but in Mariah's case, I at least considered the possibility that she might develop more during the show. I think we have a pretty good idea what India can or can not do at this point.

The runway was disappointing. Reveals can be fun if done well, but half of the queens didn't even consider telling a story with their looks. Thus said, Cracker's runway was everything!!!! I am just wondering why she just stood there in her second look and then changed directly to the third one...maybe that one didn't walk well?

 

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by swanpride

[Glade]

This was 96% less interesting then the nightclub challenge last season.  Alexis and Blair's runways were the best.  I'm so over Cracker.  I can't believe Mariah went home, she is so killer, she better come back and be the queen that is allowed to re-enter the competition!  India deserved to go home so much more, and Shea would have been a much more fun/shocking choice; Mariah doesn't make sense.  I was also gagged for a second that the lip sync assassin might be Tattiana!  It's really a shame that each challenge couldn't be more personal.  I do hope they bring Tattiana in as a lip sync assassin though, especially since I don't particularly remember Monet as being that great at lipsyncs, and I wasn't really that impressed by her or Juju, who I'm glad finally won a challenge. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Glade

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In the Alexis vs Miz Cracker conflict, my main reaction was I HAAAAAAATE when you are clearly disagreeing/fighting/not having a friendly conversation and someone uses a diminutive like "sweetie" or "honey." It's fucking condescending and insulting so for a brief moment, I was on Team Alexis when she called Cracker out for doing it.

The Golden Girls room should have been a slam dunk but it wasn't funny at all. The funniest part was when Mariah was talking about the girthy meats and cheeses in the gift basket. I expected more from Shea and Cracker. I agreed with Michelle when she said there weren't any jokes.  All they did was point out features of the room without being funny. They might as well have just said, "This is a chair. This is a table." Their characters were supposed to be homages to the Golden Girls but nothing they said or did actually paid homage to any of the characters.

The jungle room was okay. It was obvious that Jujubee, Alexis, and India had memorized their lines. I appreciate that they clearly prepared but it came off a little stilted.

Blair and Mayhem's gold room stood out, partly because it was the only one that didn't have a tropical/jungle/green theme. I liked that they made use of all the stuff in the room, like saying that the sofa was a selfie chaise. The magic mirror cracked me up too. They were the only ones that seemed to have very specific characters that fit into their room. Their "rich...expensive" catchphrase was so much better than Jujubee's "my grandmother made all this furniture" theme.

Blair's pink overcoat was cute. I liked the mod yellow Twiggy dress underneath. I feel that I should mention only the skinny queens can get away with wearing a shapeless dress like that on the runway though. If one of the bigger girls wore something that shapeless, the judges would tell them they need to pad their hips and cinch their waist. The brown 70s jumpsuit was very Studio 54.

I know this sounds like splitting hairs but I didn't like that you could see Mayhem's second outfit (the pink and black dress) under the pink coat. Since the pink fabric was the same on both, it kind of ruined the illusion that she was giving us separate looks. Whipping off the black skirt to reveal the pink leotard didn't seem like much of a reveal. Am I too demanding because I want three separate looks? The white highlight on her face was too much on the runway with those lights.

Alexis Mateo's red, white, and black circus tent was very striking. I loved that the lime green dress underneath was totally different. I also liked that the pink, blue, and yellow leotard underneath was completely hidden by the green dress so we didn't know what we would see.

India's first houndstooth outfit was good but I didn't like that the second one was just the skirt removed. The final leotard was not great.

Jujubee's witch cracked me up because she looked so cranky. I liked that the Santa outfit underneath was very different. And she had three different hair looks!

Mariah's big feathery coat looked very runway. The black dress underneath was just okay, but I liked the third look with the silver.

Cracker's giant egg, ball gown, and leotard had wow reveals. You could definitely tell that this was not some hacky outfit that she put together herself in ten minutes.

Shea's yellow insect look was creepy but awesome. I liked that she had a story with her transformations from chrysalis to butterfly.

I agreed with Blair and Mayhem being the winning group. I don't know that I agree with Jujubee being the winner of the week but I was happy that she finally won a challenge after all these years. It was really sweet to see Jujubee getting emotional after she won. I loved when Mayhem told her that she ugly cried after her first win and then told Jujubee to let it all out.

It was really touching to hear Jujubee, Blair, and Mayhem being honest about their addiction issues and being sober. I'm sure that wasn't a moment or a conversation that the three of them expected to have, especially at that time. What Blair said put a big flashing light over why it can be so easy for them to start having problems with drinking and drugs - when your job is to be in bars and clubs surrounded by alcohol and drugs, it can be easy to develop a problem because that's the environment that you're in.

I can only imagine how hard it is for someone like Jujubee to be sober when she has to be in that kind of environment for the majority of her gigs. But like Blair said, you have to recognize it and be responsible because you can't miss flights or other important things the next day.

I also liked hearing Jujubee, Blair, and Mayhem talk about performers being introverts. That's more common than people probably think. A lot of people assume that performers are extroverts because they are so lively onstage, but many performers are shy, quiet, and introverted when they aren't onstage. I know several performers (not drag queens but performers) who are totally sassy and outgoing onstage but quiet in real life. Something about performing creates this bolder persona for some shy people.

India's tears backstage seemed so fake. I laughed when Jujubee's reaction was "these girls are so emotional."

Monet definitely won that lip sync. She made it look so effortless and fun.

The girls had a chance to rid us of India and instead they decided to eliminate Mariah.

Edited June 20, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Just Carol]

Picking up on an earlier thread about the timeline after an elimination.  One theory was that the queen dedragged at the hotel, then returned to the werkroom the following evening to pack up.

Mariah's elimination pokes holes in that theory because she got into the van with full makeup on.  And she appeared to have two exit TH interviews.  The first, where her eyes were watery and red (I always look for that), and the second, truncated one where she had facial hair which I guess the producers asked her to shave, but she was all, "I'm leaving, give me my fanny pack."

Bitter, much?

[apollonia666]

1 hour ago, Just Carol said:

Mariah's elimination pokes holes in that theory because she got into the van with full makeup on.  And she appeared to have two exit TH interviews.  The first, where her eyes were watery and red (I always look for that), and the second, truncated one where she had facial hair which I guess the producers asked her to shave, but she was all, "I'm leaving, give me my fanny pack."

Bitter, much?

Mariah was poking fun at herself and how uptight and humorless she was on season 5 (Correction: Season 3! Sorry.). The fanny pack thing was playing on the moment during her season when she stormed off over Manila's pineapple dress. 

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by apollonia666

[harrisonjames]

9 minutes ago, apollonia666 said:

Mariah was poking fun at herself and how uptight and humorless she was on season 5. The fanny pack thing was playing on the moment during her season when she stormed off over Manila's pineapple dress. 

 

I really enjoyed the call back. I hope too many people won't take it the wrong way.

[peachmangosteen]

This seems to be an UO but I am so over Cracker. Loved her runway though.

Blair's runway was a million times better than anyone else's plus she was on the winning team so I don't understand why she didn't win. I like Jujubee more than her though so I wasn't too upset lol.

The lip sync was terrible. They both half-assed it. They didn't even appear to know all the lyrics. To Juice! So bad.

I was shocked Mariah went. I guess I kinda get it; they wanted to keep India because she's weaker and they probably felt getting rid of Shea would look bad since she's a good competitor. It still surprised me. I wanted to see more of Mariah.

[rlc]

Why no, Alexis, I don’t respect you. Never had, never will.

Why is it always the shadiest queens who complain about other being shady? I’m looking at you Alexis and Mayhem. Jujubee owns her shadiness unapologetically.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, rlc said:

Why is it always the shadiest queens who complain about other being shady?

Because they're projecting their behavior onto others!

People tend to think that other people are like them, so shady people assume that other people are shady.

1 hour ago, rlc said:

Jujubee owns her shadiness unapologetically.

True but I think she has also grown a lot since her first time on RPDR. I really liked that last week (or maybe the week before), she started giving one of those weak ass "sorry if I offended you" apologies, realized it, interrupted herself, stated that she knew she was giving a shitty non-apology, and then just straight up apologized with a sincere "I'm really sorry."

[ClareWalks]

I don't feel shocked that Mariah was eliminated. She is a fabulous queen but she had the worst track record of the three. India and Shea had both WON. I do think they'll bring them all back, though, because there's only ten queens total this season and they've got episodes to fill.

[Ananayel]

I totally get why people aren't about Cracker. But I relate so much - the anxiety, the overthinking, the parsing in your head of what you're going to say to the point that when you say it, it sounds fake. Wanting to say it to the person, and not sit on it or talk behind someone's back, especially in this environment. Also, didn't Blair also say to Ongina, before Cracker did, that flaking out like that isn't an All-Star thing to do? I give her a pass on "sweetie" since Alexis earned that by sticking her nose into a conversation where it didn't belong, and doubling down when told her nose didn't belong there. She's lucky she only got "sweetie."

[Not4Me]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

Blair's runway was a million times better than anyone else's plus she was on the winning team so I don't understand why she didn't win. I like Jujubee more than her though so I wasn't too upset lol.

The lip sync was terrible. They both half-assed it. They didn't even appear to know all the lyrics. To Juice! So bad.

I was shocked Mariah went. I guess I kinda get it; they wanted to keep India because she's weaker and they probably felt getting rid of Shea would look bad since she's a good competitor. It still surprised me. I wanted to see more of Mariah.

Agree about Blair, she was one of my favorites tonight. Now if she lays off the Botox trout pout look in her confessionals she will continue to blossom.

Also agree about Juju, that was a lazy lipsync. I’m convinced she was asked to “throw it”. Monet is not a lipsync assassin per se, but always brings the laughs while doing one, which is why I think they asked her back. 

I’m pissed about Mariah’s exit, she’s a far more entertaining queen and performer, and of course has that Mug 4 Dayz. But I’m sure she’ll be back, much like the other eliminated queens. Was not expecting, but loved seeing Bianca Del Rio sending her love and respect to her good friend in Untucked.

Alexis’s goal was to gaslight Cracker and it worked. She slipped up a little during the Golden Gals.

[Tammee]

20 minutes ago, Not4Me said:

Agree about Blair, she was one of my favorites tonight. Now if she lays off the Botox trout pout look in her confessionals she will continue to blossom.

Also agree about Juju, that was a lazy lipsync. I’m convinced she was asked to “throw it”. Monet is not a lipsync assassin per se, but always brings the laughs while doing one, which is why I think they asked her back. 

I’m pissed about Mariah’s exit, she’s a far more entertaining queen and performer, and of course has that Mug 4 Dayz. But I’m sure she’ll be back, much like the other eliminated queens. Was not expecting, but loved seeing Bianca Del Rio sending her love and respect to her good friend in Untucked.

Alexis’s goal was to gaslight Cracker and it worked. She slipped up a little during the Golden Gals.

Yea agreed w. You and Peach.  I do have to say i love JuJube this season. Not only is she stunning, but fuckn funny as well.  Never fails to crack me up.  The one that did me in this week was 'DaOtterOne' hah!  Nice moment w. Michelle at the end.  I was totally blindsided by Mariah 😐  thought for sure was Shea.  Didnt agree  with Shea's critique either.  That looked like major work mechanically alone!  Loved the colors too.  Was hoping for an India exit of the three.

[Blakeston]

I actually thought Blair and Mayhem should have been the bottom two. Their room looked like something out of Trump Tower. And to have no concept beyond "gold! expensive!" is just abysmal. I didn't think their banter was entertaining at all, either. Where the hell did "can you name the Jacksons" come from?

The Golden Girls room itself was the most fun room by far, I thought. Their presentation was awful, though. The judges left out the most egregious mistakes - 1) Frank Sinatra never appeared on the show, 2) Cracker and Shea sounded like they were doing Linda Richmond's "coffee talk" schtick instead of their actual characters, and 3) Cracker referring to cheesecake as "cream cheese pie!" What the hell?

[853fisher]

I love what Cracker does in drag, but offstage she has qualities that I find both calculated and naive, and they combine in a way that is really not appealing.  During the confrontation in the work room, she said: "The people that I respect are X, Y, and Z. Those are the people that I really look up to and those are the people I'm working well with.  Everything else, I will learn and work on."  There's a difference between "I'm enjoying working with X, Y, and Z because I respect them" and "they are the people that I respect."

While of course Alexis didn't have to stick her nose in, I thought it was silly to pretend that the implication of that statement isn't that she doesn't yet respect the other girls.  Also, naturally, they all know that conversations held at normal volume can be overheard in that space.  I'm conscious of the effect of the edit, so I tend not to reach absolute conclusions about any of these people, but I think Cracker is a bit of an instigator.  She didn't need to bring the whole thing up again while speaking to the judges either.

This definitely seems to be an unpopular opinion, and I know some of my friends really admire what they perceive as her openness.  For me, she just acts so much younger than 35.  Didn't she say a few weeks ago that she has few friends and doesn't understand why people seem not to like her?  No judgement on people who are putting in the work to self-improve, I don't think it takes Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery.  Something about this narrative just seems contrived and manipulative to me.

Edited June 20, 2020 by 853fisher

[RemoteControlFreak]

13 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

The Untucked conversation between Mayhem, Jujubee and Blair was very touching. I can see how substance use and abuse could be a big issue in the drag world. It's important to talk about it and seek advice and help if needed. I hope they all stay on the path that is right for them.

I don’t know. There’s something about Blair. She comes across as trying too hard to be one of the cool kids. I’m guessing I’m the only one who thought her confession about alcohol use screamed, “I’m a serious Queen too! I also have an alcohol problem!l” 

[Gothish520]

3 minutes ago, RemoteControlFreak said:

I don’t know. There’s something about Blair. She comes across as trying too hard to be one of the cool kids. I’m guessing I’m the only one who thought her confession about alcohol use screamed, “I’m a serious Queen too! I also have an alcohol problem!l” 

If I recall, Blair had a DUI in her past, from before her Season 10 appearance.

I think she's gorgeous, and I found her charming in her first appearance on the show. Her persona now is more confident, bordering on cocky, but I still like her. 

[gorgy]

The main challenge was a boot. I watched all three skits and they all lingered without purpose. I guess it's meant to be sort of an improv challenge, but not really. It felt low energy all around. I thought Juju's team should have won, The Golden Girls team should have been the bottom, with the middling gold room in the middle. 

The runway theme was also a boot. For me, a three-in-one should basically be one outfit that transforms, but retains the character of the main garment, so only India, Shea, and Mariah (somewhat) fit that description. The rest were just reveals that had some thematic thread but remained individual looks. The egg thing Cracker came out with is the height of overdoing reveals for the sake of reveals. 

Overall not a great episode. I love Mariah's old school drag, but that will remain a hindrance on a competition show. Her and India weren't meant for this sort of thing where it's now all about personal branding and catch phrases and blah blah blah. I'm almost disappointed this group didn't send Shea packing. All this talk about wanting to win, and they didn't take out the odds on favorite? When you come at the queen, you best not miss. (also, they could easily bring her back and win the whole thing, because you know at some point, some queen is gonna come back in week 5 or 6 or whatever)

 

[theatremouse]

2 hours ago, Blakeston said:

Cracker referring to cheesecake as "cream cheese pie!" What the hell?

My take on that was it was a joke that didn't even remotely land. Cracker was Rose - who is often stupid. So I think it was intended that the joke was she was saying something dumb. Except in practice it just looked like she flubbed the line, rather than it being an intentionally dumb statement for character reasons.

[Blakeston]

8 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

My take on that was it was a joke that didn't even remotely land. Cracker was Rose - who is often stupid. So I think it was intended that the joke was she was saying something dumb. Except in practice it just looked like she flubbed the line, rather than it being an intentionally dumb statement for character reasons.

God, I hope so!

I'm genuinely worried about Blair. A rape survivor who's also a recovering addict, now appears to be on the verge of being dangerously underweight? That's...rarely a good sign.

[853fisher]

I agree with those who thought all three of the presentations fell a little flat, although I thought jungle was by far the worst and gold was by far the best. Thinking outside the box, last week some of the girls did well by picking men who wouldn’t generally be considered sex symbols and riffing on that. I realize they can’t go back to the same well every week, but I would love to have seen a team do, say, a take on Grey Gardens: they’re trying as hard as they can to keep this hotel up, but it’s falling apart and so are they. Maybe a bit high concept given the brief and the materials provided, but the three presented were so generic that a bit of subverting expectations could’ve been a big hit!

[Not4Me]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

I realize they can’t go back to the same well every week, but I would love to have seen a team do, say, a take on Grey Gardens: they’re trying as hard as they can to keep this hotel up, but it’s falling apart and so are they. Maybe a bit high concept given the brief and the materials provided, but the three presented were so generic that a bit of subverting expectations could’ve been a big hit!

I like that concept, though it would take a grouping of smart queens like Jinx Monsoon, Detox, Katya, Ben DelaCreame, Alaska, Monet, Sasha Velour, etc. to make it creative & funny without coming off too esoteric. Or maybe a twisted Norman Bates motel filled with horror.

I think Shea was on the right track with the Golden Gals and her idea had the most potential, but unfortunately they all pulled back because I think they were caught up in trying to make the hotel “marketable”.

Meta moment of the night: Cracker talking about the potential of Shea getting “Manila’d”.

Whoever that male guest judge was, ugh I found him tacky! About a Madison Beer-level of random!

Edited June 20, 2020 by Not4Me

[JakeyJokes]

1 hour ago, Blakeston said:

God, I hope so!

I'm genuinely worried about Blair. A rape survivor who's also a recovering addict, now appears to be on the verge of being dangerously underweight? That's...rarely a good sign.

She’s an ectomorph in her early twenties. I am of a similar body type and I wouldn’t consider her to be underweight, just really small for a dude. 
 

Agree with earlier posters that the nightclub challenge from AS4 was way better. I think that one integrated the hospitality aspect more, while this one was coming off like a weird comedy/improv challenge. That may have been why Blair and Mayhem won: they were the most interactive with the guests and focused on the comforts of the room.

FWIW, my brother who I think has seen one or two live drag shows in his life, was in the room and was convinced that Juju threw it. But I don’t get why she would if she wasn’t voting for Shea.

 

Edited June 20, 2020 by JakeyJokes

[Blissfool]

9 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 

Alexis Mateo's red, white, and black circus tent was very striking. I loved that the lime green dress underneath was totally different. I also liked that the pink, blue, and yellow leotard underneath was completely hidden by the green dress so we didn't know what we would see.

When Ross mentioned the circus theme, i was like, "ohhhhhhhh....i get it now...." Although, I was still a little confused with the ballerina look. I haven't seen many ballerinas in a circus.

9 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I agreed with Blair and Mayhem being the winning group. I don't know that I agree with Jujubee being the winner of the week but I was happy that she finally won a challenge after all these years. 

So what does she win?  A chance to lipsynch against the lipsynch assassisn? Whoop-di-doo! I want the $10000, thankyouverymuch.

Jujubee is my favorite. She is hilarious.

 

3 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I love what Cracker does in drag, but offstage she has qualities that I find both calculated and naive, and they combine in a way that is really not appealing.  During the confrontation in the work room, she said: "The people that I respect are X, Y, and Z. Those are the people that I really look up to and those are the people I'm working well with.  Everything else, I will learn and work on."  There's a difference between "I'm enjoying working with X, Y, and Z because I respect them" and "they are the people that I respect."

While of course Alexis didn't have to stick her nose in, I thought it was silly to pretend that the implication of that statement isn't that she doesn't yet respect the other girls.  Also, naturally, they all know that conversations held at normal volume can be overheard in that space.  I'm conscious of the effect of the edit, so I tend not to reach absolute conclusions about any of these people, but I think Cracker is a bit of an instigator.  She didn't need to bring the whole thing up again while speaking to the judges either.

I like Miz Cracker and think she is so cute in drag.

That being said, I think that she knew what she was doing in that interaction. I think she was feeling brave with Shea and Mariah and took that opportunity to say (within Alexis' hearing-range) that she was so glad that she was teamed up with people she respected. She knew Alexis would hear her, but she didn't expect that she would respond to her.

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, Ananayel said:

I totally get why people aren't about Cracker. But I relate so much - the anxiety, the overthinking, the parsing in your head of what you're going to say to the point that when you say it, it sounds fake. Wanting to say it to the person, and not sit on it or talk behind someone's back, especially in this environment. 

When you put it out like that, I realize I probably find Cracker irritating because she's a mirror I don't wanna look into lol.

4 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I love what Cracker does in drag, but offstage she has qualities that I find both calculated and naive, and they combine in a way that is really not appealing.  During the confrontation in the work room, she said: "The people that I respect are X, Y, and Z. Those are the people that I really look up to and those are the people I'm working well with.  Everything else, I will learn and work on."  There's a difference between "I'm enjoying working with X, Y, and Z because I respect them" and "they are the people that I respect."

While of course Alexis didn't have to stick her nose in, I thought it was silly to pretend that the implication of that statement isn't that she doesn't yet respect the other girls.  Also, naturally, they all know that conversations held at normal volume can be overheard in that space.  I'm conscious of the effect of the edit, so I tend not to reach absolute conclusions about any of these people, but I think Cracker is a bit of an instigator.  She didn't need to bring the whole thing up again while speaking to the judges either.

This!

3 hours ago, RemoteControlFreak said:

I don’t know. There’s something about Blair. She comes across as trying too hard to be one of the cool kids. I’m guessing I’m the only one who thought her confession about alcohol use screamed, “I’m a serious Queen too! I also have an alcohol problem!l” 

I think Blair talked about her drinking problem in season 10 as well. I believe she was quite young when she started drinking. I may be making this all up though lol I don't know.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Oh Juju totally threw that lipsync.  She may have caught wind of only 2 or 3 of the other queens voting for Shea and decided that she didn't want that heat.  We will see if she voted for Shea to amp up the drama factor next week.

[AntManBee]

I was highly offended by the Golden Gals inspired room.  If Shea is such a fan of the GG, then she absolutely should have known about The Golden Palace, the spin off after Bea Arthur left the show, which took place in a Miami Hotel.   The colors and mood of the room already existed for an entire hotel run by Sophia, Blanche, and Rose (with the help Don Cheadle and Cheech) nearly 30 years ago.  Calling the room the Golden Gals Palace was especially redundant.  

[Blissfool]

It's not that the Golden Gals had no jokes. It's just that the jokes were not over-the-top-drag-race-level funny.

- picture it

- used wicker

- no wifi, but we have a landline w/free local calls

- girthy meats and cheeses

- some famous people have had their final rest here. Lady Bunny and Bianca Del Rio will be here soon.

- cream cheese pie

- emergency alert button

- don't forget to tip the boys, but just the tip

Most of these were said by Cracker. 

I couldn't believe that when India was asked what she brought to her skit, all she she said was that she contributed the golden showerhead part. That's it?! Btw, The GOLDEN shower head would have been better fitted for Blair's and Mayhem's room The 24 Karat Experience.

In the Amazon room, loved when Jujubee said "You will get a basket full of the most exotic fruits we could find...apples, bananas and grapes. 

I didn't think Jujubee should have won. Her part in the skit wasn't really memorable and I thought her runway outfits looked very cheap. The Easter one should have been pastel. That being said, I don't know who should have won...maybe Shea because she came up with the Golden Gals room theme which i thought was smart, the room was very well done, and her runway looks were intricate.

 

 

 

[Fake Jan Brady]

1 hour ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

Oh Juju totally threw that lipsync.  She may have caught wind of only 2 or 3 of the other queens voting for Shea and decided that she didn't want that heat.  We will see if she voted for Shea to amp up the drama factor next week.

Untucked revealed she picked Mariah.

[swanpride]

Quote

The runway theme was also a boot. For me, a three-in-one should basically be one outfit that transforms, but retains the character of the main garment, so only India, Shea, and Mariah (somewhat) fit that description. The rest were just reveals that had some thematic thread but remained individual looks. The egg thing Cracker came out with is the height of overdoing reveals for the sake of reveals. 

I disagree...completely. For me a three in one look should fulfil three rules: It should change as effortless as possible and it should tell a story. And it is especially good if every look offers up a completely different silhouette. That's why I liked Crackers so much, it ticked off all the boxes. And looked stunning on top of it. Such an improvement from the fruffy thing she wore last week.

 

Regarding the "those are the three people I respect line": For one, I don't think that Cracker even thought about getting overheard. I am not even sure if Alexis was in her line of sight, but also, she didn't even talks particularly loud, she had her usual half-whisper tone. Frankly, as far away as Alexis was, the only way for her to hear Cracker would have been to eardrop.

And two, it's badly worded, but saying that one respects certain people doesn't automatically mean that you disrespect everyone else. It just means that you connect to certain people more than others. It's an awkward word choice, but there was no need to react all p... about it. In addition, why should Cracker respect Alexis in particular? Do they even know each other?

Three, it is kind of funny that some think that Cracker, miss "needs to plan every word and even then might stumble over something basic as naming the right food" and "starts talking to herself whenever something doesn't work the way she planned" would even be able to be that precise with dropping shady remarks in the workroom without stuttering once. Yeah, pretty unlikely. The issue with Cracker is that she always tries to moderate the perception of her, but not that she is particularly good in doing so. She can't "act naturally".

[swanpride]

I, btw, something which angered me too was Alexis "I struggle so hard with the language" line. Okay, in her first season, fine (though I have to point out that in the very same season was someone with way worse language skill who turned this disadvantage to an advantage). But one would think that a queen with the goal to be successful in the US would have englisch reasonably down nearly ten years later.

[AntManBee]

3 minutes ago, swanpride said:

But one would think that a queen with the goal to be successful in the US would have englisch reasonably down nearly ten years later.

I don't think Alexis is saying she struggles with the language, she is saying her thought process is primarily in Spanish.  Hence, she has to translate it as she thinks.  English is also my first language, so perhaps I am mistaken. 

I found it riotous that Juju and India laughed about the struggle with English.  They also have, presumably, known Alexis for years and seem friendly... so they know when a Queen is being Grand. 

The fight, also, was clearly self-produced.  Much like the Trinity vs Gia 'battle' over playing Caitlyn Jenner.  imo

[Jrae9233]

8 hours ago, 853fisher said:

I love what Cracker does in drag, but offstage she has qualities that I find both calculated and naive, and they combine in a way that is really not appealing.  During the confrontation in the work room, she said: "The people that I respect are X, Y, and Z. Those are the people that I really look up to and those are the people I'm working well with.  Everything else, I will learn and work on."  There's a difference between "I'm enjoying working with X, Y, and Z because I respect them" and "they are the people that I respect."

While of course Alexis didn't have to stick her nose in, I thought it was silly to pretend that the implication of that statement isn't that she doesn't yet respect the other girls.  Also, naturally, they all know that conversations held at normal volume can be overheard in that space.  I'm conscious of the effect of the edit, so I tend not to reach absolute conclusions about any of these people, but I think Cracker is a bit of an instigator.  She didn't need to bring the whole thing up again while speaking to the judges either.

This definitely seems to be an unpopular opinion, and I know some of my friends really admire what they perceive as her openness.  For me, she just acts so much younger than 35.  Didn't she say a few weeks ago that she has few friends and doesn't understand why people seem not to like her?  No judgement on people who are putting in the work to self-improve, I don't think it takes Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery.  Something about this narrative just seems contrived and manipulative to me.

Cracker has always bothered me. She is rude but covers it with the "weak woman" act. People are coming for Alexis but she has always spoke out when people are dragging others. Her and Yara were the only two in their season that completely ignored the "Mean Girls" comments. Craker was rude and disrespectful where the others could hear her. Why shouldn't she be called out?

[Gothish520]

6 hours ago, Not4Me said:

Meta moment of the night: Cracker talking about the potential of Shea getting “Manila’d”.

Ha! I'm still salty about Manila's AS4 elimination! 

[Blakeston]

6 hours ago, JakeyJokes said:

She’s an ectomorph in her early twenties. I am of a similar body type and I wouldn’t consider her to be underweight, just really small for a dude. 

She didn't have this extreme body type in season 10, though. This extreme skinniness is something new, at a point in her life when she's extraordinarily vulnerable.

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think Blair talked about her drinking problem in season 10 as well. I believe she was quite young when she started drinking. I may be making this all up though lol I don't know.

Yes, she declared herself sober at the reunion show. That declaration may have been for the benefit of her probation officer as much as the audience - she actually violated her probation by doing the show (she wasn't supposed to leave Indiana). But I have no trouble believing that she had a substance abuse problem.

[EmZeeGee]

I hated the challenge. It was ill-conceived when they did the clubs last year, and it remains half-baked. The goal is to always make RuPaul laugh, I understand that, but it doesn't appear there's hardly any weight on the aesthetics of the rooms when it comes to the judging. If the goal is to just be funny and come up with goofy concepts, they can do this challenge in front of a green screen, why actually have them decorate?

And it wasn't lost on me that the winning team basically reconceived Club 96 in style (luxurious vapidity) and the way they performed (the whispering). Also, Ross made a Club 96 joke during the judging introductions. Just as I thought last year, Club 96 was the most memorable and funny, but then the judges were impressed with the aesthetics of whatever the bee themed room was. I had to roll my eyes. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

8 hours ago, Blissfool said:

So what does she win?  A chance to lipsynch against the lipsynch assassisn? Whoop-di-doo! I want the $10000, thankyouverymuch

She did win a trip.

[swanpride]

Somehow I ALWAYS disagree with the judges in those kind of challenges. Last time, I felt that the alien club was by far the worst - the Bee-one was the best designed, the Club 96 one was the most memorable. This time I felt that they all were pretty bad (for different reasons), but the Golden Girls one came the closet to fulfilling the challenge. Though I guess even though the golden one was largely a knock off, the Glamazonien one was the most incoherent. Still don't get how the golden shower fits together with the idea that all furniture was handcrafter or whatever.  

[RemoteControlFreak]

On 6/20/2020 at 2:45 PM, Gothish520 said:

If I recall, Blair had a DUI in her past, from before her Season 10 appearance.

I think she's gorgeous, and I found her charming in her first appearance on the show. Her persona now is more confident, bordering on cocky, but I still like her. 

A DUI does not imply a drinking problem. 

[belligerent]

21 hours ago, swanpride said:

I, btw, something which angered me too was Alexis "I struggle so hard with the language" line. Okay, in her first season, fine (though I have to point out that in the very same season was someone with way worse language skill who turned this disadvantage to an advantage). But one would think that a queen with the goal to be successful in the US would have englisch reasonably down nearly ten years later.

I couldn't figure out if she was trying to be shady by saying that, like in a "I'm glad that you can read my mind instead of listening to what I'm saying" kind of way. I've listened to it a few times and go back and forth. Cracker took her at face value and it seemed like Alexis let her do that, but I'm not sure that was totally the correct way to have read it.

[Glade]

53 minutes ago, RemoteControlFreak said:

A DUI does not imply a drinking problem. 

Blair has said she had a drinking problem, primarily after being raped at a college party, but she's sober now.

[violet and green]

1 hour ago, RemoteControlFreak said:

A DUI does not imply a drinking problem. 

Mmmm. It does to a sober person. All in the angle you look at it, I guess.

[30 Helens]

“Shenanigans, foolery, tricks and shows” (TM Mayhem) is how I feel about this season’s lip sync and elimination process. The lip sync results feel suspiciously predetermined, and the fact that some queens voted to eliminate Shea (and even more considered it) as a competitive strategy is disappointing, although not surprising. This is not Big Brother, it’s not Survivor, and I want to see people stay or leave based on merit, even if that merit is determined by the whims of Ru.

In the gown challenge, I thought the least interesting looks were the ones done in layers, where gowns were stripped away to reveal progressively skimpier looks underneath. I preferred the transformer approach, where one look actually turned into another. Mariah actually had one of my favorites in this category (although her first quick change, which simply involved removing a jacket, was admittedly lame). I thought Cracker’s first transformation was super creative and should have earned her the win. 

 

 

[Dani331]

(In my Alyssa affectation) RIGGA-MORRIS! India should've gone home, not Mariah!

[WhineandCheez]

Quote

Agree about Blair, she was one of my favorites tonight. Now if she lays off the Botox trout pout look

Juvaderm--in the lips.  Waaay too much in my estimation.