S07.E06: Total Ru-quest Live

[Keywestclubkid]

The queens live out their Y2K girl group fantasies on a dragtastic tribute to TRL! And on the runway, category is: Night of 1,000 Dolly Partons. Pop star Tove Lo joins the judges' panel. 

[CraftyHazel]

Viv looked so much like Dolly Parton, it wasn’t even funny!  She really deserved her win, but I’m gonna need her to back TF off my beloved Jinkxy.  Saying “some cow” had blocked her, when she initiated their little rivalry?  Not cute to me.

[7-Zark-7]

The Vivienne killed this episode. This is The Vivienne I had expected from the very beginning and I was surprised to see her getting lost early on in the competition. She was great in the girl group and made a stunning Dolly Parton.  Her lipsync had all the Dolly mannerisms, too.  Now, if only she’d back off Jinkx. Has there ever been an All Stars contestant who voted out a fellow challenge team member? Plunging Jinkx was a bad call. She should have left all the two badge queens alone and blocked someone from getting that second badge ahead of her. I would have blocked Trinity.  She’s due for another win.

The first girl group’s song seemed to go on forever. I wonder why that appealed to anyone over the much more upbeat second song. Obviously the livelier song will play better on stage.

Trinity got Dolly’s dress down to the last stone. Jinkx gets full props for that bouncy runway walk. Yvie turned Dolly’s walk into an 1849 prospector hunting for gold. 

I think I would have chosen Shea for the win over Yvie, but since she wasn’t in the better singing group, that might have hurt her. I also thought Jinkx did well again, and she looked very Dolly, but I didn't think she'd get another win this time.

I guess Tove Lo's stylist is high all the time, too.

Edited June 19, 2022 by 7-Zark-7

[Madding crowd]

I have no idea who Tove Lo is but she seemed enthusiastic. The Vivienne deserved the win but Jinkx is my all time fav and I hope she won’t be targeted to miss the final four. I also thought the first song went on way longer than the second.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Madding crowd

[davidcalgary29]

Did Raja not even lipsync the group verses of "2Gether4Ever"? I hate to say it, but it looked like it wasn't just her choreo that was off tonight. 

[davidcalgary29]

I love Monet, but I kept having flashbacks to Maddy Morphosis' Hoedown Nightmare as she strutted down the runway in that garish trenchcoat. It must have been one of those garments that looked better on the stage than on the screen, because I thought it was borderline hideous.

[Adeejay]

Last week, Jinx didn’t regifted Jaida the plunge that she gave her the week before. This week she gave her the extra pendant. I believe I am missing something. Why reward someone who is clearly trying to sabotage you?  I don’t blame the Viv for getting Jinx back. 

[gorgy]

This episode taught me that it would be fun to be Dolly Parton for a day

[CraftyHazel]

2 hours ago, Adeejay said:

Last week, Jinx didn’t regifted Jaida the plunge that she gave her the week before. This week she gave her the extra pendant. I believe I am missing something. Why reward someone who is clearly trying to sabotage you?  I don’t blame the Viv for getting Jinx back. 

The Vivienne flat out said she’d have blocked Jinkx is she had been eligible to be blocked, so why shouldn’t Jinkx strike back?

[zenithwit]

I did a double take at Ross' Carson Daly impersonation.  He was pretty spot on!

2 hours ago, Adeejay said:

Last week, Jinx didn’t regifted Jaida the plunge that she gave her the week before. This week she gave her the extra pendant. I believe I am missing something. Why reward someone who is clearly trying to sabotage you?  I don’t blame the Viv for getting Jinx back. 

I'm guessing she thought that the probability of Jaida winning another star was low, or at least lower than the other queens.  Jaida seems to mostly excel in the design challenges (again relative to her competitors).  So Jinkx probably assumed there wouldn't be many design challenges left.  Though of course we know there will be one next week but Jinkx didn't know that at the time.

3 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said:

Did Raja not even lipsync the group verses of "2Gether4Ever"? I hate to say it, but it looked like it wasn't just her choreo that was off tonight. 

They should have done a Posh Spice thing with Raja.  She doesn't really sing or dance but she looks great and does a killer runway walk.  Back in the day, I went to a Spice Girls concert during their reunion tour and there was one section where each girl had a solo.  Victoria Beckham's "solo" was literally a runway walk.  And the crowd ate. it. up.  That would have been perfect for Raja.

7 hours ago, 7-Zark-7 said:

I guess Tove Lo's stylist is high all the time, too.

Heh. I see what you did there.

[Rai]

I read "2gether4ever" and I got too excited hoping that somehow it was a shout-out to the finest boy band of all time. Alas. Gone but not 4gotten.

[Corgi-ears]

This was a weird challenge, and certainly one with wasted potential. The set-up -- form two girl groups, and go on TRL to be interviewed and to perform -- should have distinguished this from the usual girl group challenge, or rather crossbred it with one of the show's improv challenges. Natch, it would not only have differentiated it from the typical girl group challenges, but upped the difficulty, which would have been appropriate for All-Stars.

It almost seemed like that's what they had in mind, judging by how the queens (but especially The Other Girls) created all these characters for themselves and for their groups. But instead of there being a kind of extended improv interview, Carson Gayly -- Ross, showing that he really shouldn't be giving the queens "lessons" on acting and improv -- mostly asked softball questions in a round-ribbon way ("How about you, Jaida?!") that revealed nothing of the created characters. Ultimately, nothing in the groups' backstories came into play, and had we not been privy to it via the talking heads, made some of the performance choices kind of mystifying, including to the judges. Raja had to explain that she was "meant" (which: debatable) to be that member in every girl group who is always a bit uncoordinated, Jinkx had to point out she was the old member of every manufactured group, Yvie had to point that she was being a robot...none of which came through in the TRL interviews.

It was like the producers watched Girls5Eva but didn't really think through how to execute the challenge.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Corgi-ears

[pertho]

Who told Tove Lo that thing on her head was ok? The idea was good, the execution was terrible. Who goes to RuPaul's Drag Race with a helmet on? That was one of the wordst things I have ever seen on the show lmao

[davidcalgary29]

3 hours ago, pertho said:

Who told Tove Lo that thing on her head was ok? The idea was good, the execution was terrible. Who goes to RuPaul's Drag Race with a helmet on? That was one of the wordst things I have ever seen on the show lmao

Well, yes, but it had a certain crunch to it that I found nostalgically endearing. Of course, I'm probably going to like it a lot less if I find out that it was given a deliberately homemade look by a professional drag milliner in order to attain that nostalgically endearing look.

[Christine]

9 hours ago, pertho said:

Who told Tove Lo that thing on her head was ok? The idea was good, the execution was terrible. Who goes to RuPaul's Drag Race with a helmet on? That was one of the wordst things I have ever seen on the show lmao

Gigi Goode - several times,

[Ms.Lulu]

I'm in the camp of the Vivienne (or anyone) shouldn't bother to block Jinkx as she seems to be a shoe in for the final.  I'd probably target the people who really stand between you in the final--Shea, Trinity, Jada and Monet.   

From what we've seen, Yvie and Raja seem unlikely.  So the Vivienne really should be plunging the queens that she thinks are going to finish 3rd or 4th in stars.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Ms.Lulu

[violet and green]

It's hard to tell what strategy will pay off. Jinkx gave Jaida a star because she assumes Jaida won't be getting that many, and thus reduced the chances of someone else getting three stars; this may be an incorrect assumption. The Viv blocked Jinkx because she wanted to reduce the likelihood of Jinx getting more stars than her; it's a bit short-sighted. I would be upset if both The Viv and Jinkx weren't in the final.

I can't believe how much I am longing for just one bit of criticism, just one minor line per episode even, to leaven the endless praise!

[theatremouse]

I was not impressed by the The Vivienne's girl group performance. To me she wasn't so much taking the piss out of stereotypical things Americans think about British people as she was simply listing them. I didn't find it funny. And weren't they supposed to be pretending it was 2002 or something? She mentioned Brexit in her Carson Gayly interview. I thought she should've been dinged for that. That said, I wasn't super wowed by any of the group stuff. It was all kind of meh.

I did very much appreciate the Vivienne completely nailing Dolly's mannerisms, not in an exagerrated charicature way either. Those movements and facial expressions were precise.

I like Raja in general but it's been less than 24 hours since I watched and I can't remember a damn thing about her in this episode besides the other competitors expecting her dancing to be shit.

[The Mighty Peanut]

ITA it's silly to keep blocking Jinkx. She's going to be in the finale. If she didn't have the stars I have no doubt Ru would pull out a chocolate bar with Jinkx' name on it that had a ticket to the final 4. Even without taking into account that she deserves it, production wants her there. I honestly think they don't want another Pangina situation where an obvious frontrunner is kept out of the top because (sorry) a less talented queen doesn't want the competition. 

Speaking of. I fully confess I'm being a giant bitch here but I feel like the narrative of Jinkx and Viv being neck and neck is kind of a joke. Viv is excellent, but Jinkx is magic. 

My advice as a total outsider who doesn't know shit would be to accept they'll be going against Jinkx if they make top 4 and concentrate on blocking the best dancers. This is ultimately going to be decided by a lipsync, after all. That's the great equalizer. 

Edited June 19, 2022 by The Mighty Peanut

[The Mighty Peanut]

1 hour ago, violet and green said:

It's hard to tell what strategy will pay off. Jinkx gave Jaida a star because she assumes Jaida won't be getting that many, and thus reduced the chances of someone else getting three stars; this may be an incorrect assumption. The Viv blocked Jinkx because she wanted to reduce the likelihood of Jinx getting more stars than her; it's a bit short-sighted. I would be upset if both The Viv and Jinkx weren't in the final.

I can't believe how much I am longing for just one bit of criticism, just one minor line per episode even, to leaven the endless praise!

I agree completely. Jaida kills design challenges. If they have to sew next week Jaida might be the first queen with three stars. 

Was also hoping for more criticism, even if it's just Michelle acknowledging at this level the little things have to count (like when Trinity didn't know the words to her own verse and Ru had said she didn't care because the performance was so good). 

Also, I effed up the quote function but HARD AGREE that The Vivienne just listed stuff about England in a totally non-cohesive way. Foreskin tea double decker royal family bangers and mash. It would be like me as an American coming in like cowboy guns stars stripes trucks and shitty healthcare. I thought Monet was robbed, personally. The coat of many colors was a slay and she was excellent in Titanic. Wouldn't have been mad to see Shea up there either but the Dolly look was a miss.

Edited June 19, 2022 by The Mighty Peanut

[DisneyBoy]

5 hours ago, theatremouse said:

I was not impressed by the The Vivienne's girl group performance. To me she wasn't so much taking the piss out of stereotypical things Americans think about British people as she was simply listing them. I didn't find it funny. And weren't they supposed to be pretending it was 2002 or something? She mentioned Brexit in her Carson Gayly interview. I thought she should've been dinged for that. That said, I wasn't super wowed by any of the group stuff. It was all kind of meh.

Yeah I found the verses super confusing. Cohesion often dies in these challenges, as each girl struggles to set herself apart rather than make a song that feels like one complete story...

Yvie's robot schtick made zero sense on stage. I felt the editors at work on this one. We didn't even see the judges praise Jinx during deliberation, did we? And I really liked her verses and her Dolly.

Whatever to blocking Jinx. She deserves to be in the finale. I'd have blocked Monet - for trying to scheme - or maybe Trinity just cause she's solid.

I hope Raja kills next week and Jinx manages somehow to land in the top so she can't get blocked.

Wonder if Trixie's pissed she missed this challenge.

[SemiCharmedLife]

I thought Viv nailed the Dolly challenge.  Her makeup and lip synch were spot on!  All her nuances were the most like Dolly, and not a caricature.   I'm disappointed she blocked Jinkx and I am beginning to fear that Jinkx may be blocked again and again because she is a threat, and she may miss out on being in the final four.  I do think a good strategy would be to start blocking some of the amazing lip synch queens because the winner will be determined by a lip synch challenge.

I wonder what would have happened if Jinkx had given her extra star to the Viv- in response for blocking her last week and causing her to miss out on her star.  That may have been the best move and then maybe Viv would have chosen someone else to block, like Jaida who now has 2 stars and no blocks (and an upcoming design challenge).

Yvie went from 0 stars to 2 in one episode!  I'm all about that because I felt she has been overlooked a few time so far.

On the Pit Stop, Bob was talking about Monet's coat of many colors gown and how it was constructed.  He said Monet's best Judy, Patty, and his mom, constructed it.  Each of those patchworks were stitched in - it's not a fabric. 

[Kaboom 2.0]

On 6/18/2022 at 4:01 AM, Rai said:

I read "2gether4ever" and I got too excited hoping that somehow it was a shout-out to the finest boy band of all time. Alas. Gone but not 4gotten.

OMG thank you! I don't have Peacock so haven't seen 5gether (I think that's what its called?) so I immediately thought of 2Gether from was away back. LOL Best thing I've ever seen on MTV. 

Add me to the camp that does not like Viv blocking Jinkx again. There's no way Ru will allow Jinkx to not be in the finale. I agree that with the poster that said she should be targeting Monet, Trinity, anyone else who she thinks may bump her out of the finale. 

I do love that Yvie went from no stars to two in one episode. That's my girl! 

Also I died at the "drink your juice, Shelby" comment during runway. I'm laughing right now as I type this. 

[Rai]

I think it's Girls 5evah, but I'm delighted to see I'm not the only who remembers their calculus!

Also, I'm glad Yvie got her star. My dream top four are probably Jaida, Raja, Jinkx, and Yvie, but I'm guessing the Viv will bump out one of these queens. Shea, Monet, and Trinity have had enough second chances and have won, sooooo.

[RoxiP]

I'm an Yvie fan but I thought she was a dreadful Dolly Parton.  

[Pj3422]

On 6/18/2022 at 3:01 AM, Rai said:

I read "2gether4ever" and I got too excited hoping that somehow it was a shout-out to the finest boy band of all time. Alas. Gone but not 4gotten.

Funny… I thought they were going to do a take-off on Peacock TV’s terrific “Girls5Eva”, which is itself a takeoff on ‘90s girl and boy bands. (I mean… even down to the Carson Daly jokes…)

[cathaireverywhere]

On 6/18/2022 at 4:01 AM, Rai said:

I read "2gether4ever" and I got too excited hoping that somehow it was a shout-out to the finest boy band of all time. Alas. Gone but not 4gotten.

You were definitely not the only one who had this hope!  I was way too old when 2Gether came out, but I loved them.  I am sure it's because Jerry was my high school theater star and as a backstage geek, I had a big old crush on him.

[Rai]

Man, it's so true though. The hardest part of breaking up really is getting back your stuff.