S09.E07: 9021-HO

[OnceSane]

Quote

The queens act in a classic 90s high school drama, directed by original Beverly Hills 90210 stars Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth.

[Watermelon]

It's interesting when the splits turn a corner into desperation 

[DasFlavorPup]

Interesting lip-sync.  It started off looking like Aja was going to walk away with it, but it seemed at some point near the middle Nina really started to get into the song, and Aja seemed to realize it (and Nina's makeup looked AMAZING in profile which didn't help).  Aja's cartwheel was just awkward and she was clearly not keeping up the lip syncing by the end.  Other queens should have gone before her, but not sorry to see her go.  That bit where she was pitching a hissy about her role, and Peppermint calling her on her shit and just steamrolling her when she tried to walk it back was the high point of the episode.

Edited May 6, 2017 by DasFlavorPup

[Primetimer]

Some of the Queens are Shannen Doherty, but there are several Zierings in there, too.

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[CaioF]

Well, quite obvious bottom 2 (flat interpretation + whinning)... Was totally expecting Farrah to go before this week and while still doing a meh job, these other two asked for the bottom. And while I was thinking that I couldnt predict who would do better on the lyp sinc, from the moment Ru said ´´good luck and dont fuc%$ up`` and the camera turned into Nina doing a fierce face while Aja was at the point of cry, I knew who would win and it was deserved. Nina still needs to check out her self protect mechanism otherwise she wont go further than 2 weeks... Aja in other hand, had her check out moment during the show, learning that she wasnt that big/se has stuff to work on. At least she went home on her best look/make up with says she learned from the experience.

Victory could have gone to either of the top 3 queens TBH, I think they gave it to Trinity to make it a closer competition (since Shea and Valentina has being on the top more times/are considered front runners). Plus, I think her character had the most potential to fall plane and she really stepped it up to make the funniest as possible.

Not much to say on the runway, some predictable looks, some interesting takes on the theme, but nothing really bad.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Shame Aja couldn't make her personal bitch translate to the bitchy character she was supposed to portray. She needed to sashay away tonight.

Nina! She is fierce, but she needs to get a hold of her emotions.

Shea Coulee FTW. 

[annewithaneee]

I get that if someone's performing poorly in the challenge, and it does have to do with delivering dialogue, you can't (or at least shouldn't) edit it into another story line entirely. But I'm getting really sick and tired of black queens getting called out for not enunciating. I think it was the Jennie and Tori repeating a billion times that they were scared of an angry Nina that really pushed it over the line. They absolutely could have at the very least kept that as a one-off comment and left the reiterations on the cutting room floor.

I'm so impressed with Trinity! Based on the intro videos I thought she'd be an early out; I certainly didn't see her being so naturally funny, both in challenges and in talking heads. I really want her and Shea to make it to the finale.

[JakeyJokes]

Trinity Bonet's enunciation was called out until she stopped using her flipper, a point that Ru defended. Nina wasn't just missing the enunciation but also the punchlines and the way her jokes were supposed to land, and she again was defensive and stonewalled when given any negative feedback. I do agree that it seemed overkill;  as a viewer, the line readings were a bigger problem than the enunciation.

[annewithaneee]

@JakeyJokes -- Good point. Racking my brain, while I'm sure it has come up for other queens other than Trinity K Bonet, it was her critiques that came up in multiple challenges that made me think it was something they kept doing it to multiple queens. And Nina's delivery did suck all the way around, and she is defensive in an off-putting way. However, that "we were scared!!!" reaction really pissed me off. Like, show, maybe be a little more self-aware of the picture you're painting here.

[JakeyJokes]

You make a good point too, annewithaneee. Fair or not, there is a connotation when two white women discuss a black man being "scary", and those of us that have seen more of Nina know that her anger has never been of the abrasive kind; when she gets angry, she shuts down and reverts into herself. Frustrating and obtuse? Yes. Scary? I would say no.

On lighter fare, I watched this with my good friend and roommate, who, like Farrah, was born in '93. He did not get *any* of the 90210 references, so my hat is off to the (non-union!) writers who came up with that script, and whomever fed Farrah the "I choose me" line at the mirror. I was also queening out with Alexis when the theme was announced, even though 90210 was never really my jam because by the time I was of TV-viewing age, the WB put "Dawson's Creek" on against "90210" on Wednesdays as counterprogramming and Dawson's Creek had a parental advisory at the beginning of it, so of COURSE I chose that show. Nevertheless, when I was in college, I had a LiveJournal and my friends and I pretended we were on a sexy primetime soap opera called "The UW" and once I was able to do a fake intro on MySpace with pictures of all of us set to the 90210 theme. I would have DIED if they would have given us an intro complete with names and the cheesy look-at-the-camera-and-smile pose.

Were those Tiffani Amber-Thiessen jokes implying a rivalry I never knew about? It was good to see Tori Spelling again; she's stealth hilarious. For those who dispute this, see the 1999 film "Trick" or, if possible, the vastly underrated sitcom "So NoTORIous" in which Loni Anderson was her mother and a pre-Heroes Zachary Quinto was her gay sidekick.

[rozen]

I knew who was coming home the second the song started. It's a song you have to build into, Aja was doing the most before the song hit it's peak. These gymnastics queens really need to take a page from Katya & Kennedy and figure out when it is and is not appropriate to actually do a flying split to a song. Aja has an edgier fashion sense than Farrah, but other than that I don't think either one had much to offer so I'm not sad she got booted first. She can't act, can't paint, and isn't an engaging personality (on camera). 

I heart how Shea was ready to be a team player, but pounced like a might tigress to snatch that meaty part when Aja cried it was too big for her. Peppermint being over her was awesome. I think the fact Peppermint shushed her so firmly and immediately it really clicked for Aja that she had screwed up big time.

Dannnnng, Trinity is out here representing for these pageant queens! She Toe It Up, I was waiting eagerly for her to pop back on screen. I wish she and Shea had had a scene where they interacted, bet it would have brought the house down.

[Aerobicidal]

9021-HO was written by: Alan Smithee

Directed by: Alan Smithee 

Produced by: Alan Smithee

Best boy: Alan Smithee

Key grip: Alan Smithee

Sound designer: Alan Smithee x Lucian Piane's Mentos container of pills'n'weeds

Farrah Moan was clearly confused by the distinction between quirks and quarks because all those quirky Michael Cera movies blend into all those quarky James Joyce novels.

[Xazeal]

I always despise the scripted acting challenges, but I must've been in an excellent mood today, because I quite enjoyed this episode. Still hated the challenge, but the episode itself was good. The next few challenges sound promising from the press releases, so I'm hoping we'll finish strong.  

Trinity is invaluable to this season and I'm so glad it seems like she'll stick around. Her Meet The Queens was so uninspiring that I honestly thought she would be one of the first boots, but now she's one of my favorites. She's a hyper-competitive unapologetic bitch and in the days of RuPaul's Best Friend Race, that is sorely needed. I don't really think she's winning this season (Shea is) but if All-Stars 3 happens, Trinity is second on my list right now after Trixie. 

One thing I've noticed about RPDR is how much it seems to care about track records. In shows like Project Runway or Top Chef you'll occasionally have someone make it to the end despite never having won a challenge or even performed well. This happened in the early days of RPDR with Jujubee, but since then the show has made sure the Top 3 have at least somewhat comparable records - even Pearl won two challenges in season 7. And I do think the producers know who the endgame players are pretty much right away. Point being: I really thought Valentina would win this episode. She asserted herself as a frontrunner early on but since then she's been a background player, so this would be a perfect time to bring her back up and cement her as a finalist. Instead, it went to Trinity, and I think that's telling.

So with that, I think Valentina is going to be our shock boot this season (I'm guessing Top 6) and Shea/Trinity are going to duke it out for the win with either Sasha or Alexis as our lategame dark horse. Although if we want some actual suspense for the finale, we really need to see Shea stumble soon - and with next week being a live comedy challenge, I think it might happen.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was cracking up that the 9021-ho set looked straight out of Saved the Bell. Loved that Grandrea Zuckerwoman had one book labeled "twerking." Normally I'm not a huge fan of the skit challenges, but I enjoyed the finished product because they did such a fun parody of various 90210 storylines with lots of silly 90s references. I also enjoyed Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling as guest judges, which I didn't expect. Loved all the Tiffany-Amber Thiessen shade! Having the Brenda character leave to be a witch and then return for graduation with a witch hat made me laugh.

Bravo to Shea for volunteering to take a role she didn't originally want just to shut Aja up. She's a much nicer person than I am because my attitude would have been, "SHUT IT, BITCH!" Not to sound totally harsh, but not everyone is going to get the role they want.

I loved hearing everyone's prom stories. I love that Alexis went to hers in drag! I wanted to give Trinity a hug when she said she didn't go to her prom because she was taking care of her grandmother (I also wanted to tell her that she didn't miss out on much because prom is just another school dance). Poor Shea - when she said her dad was not the kind of person who expressed his love through words or actions, I wanted to give her a hug too.

I liked that Sasha went in a totally different direction with the big hair theme for the runway show but I wasn't wowed by any of the actual outfits on the runway.

Shea, Valentina, and Trinity were definitely the best in the skit. Aja and Nina were by far the worst due to their wooden and insincere line readings, but Farrah got a huge amount of demerits from me due to her inability to say faux Donna's name correctly. Farrah has a beautiful face in drag so kudos to her for her makeup skills, but she just didn't seem very bright in any of her interviews or her interactions with the others.

Shea was hilarious as Grandrea. Another thing I liked was that she made her Grandrea makeup totally different from her runway makeup (as well as her posture/demeanor).

I agree with Michelle that Aja finally blended her runway makeup this week and that this week was the best she's looked on the runway so far.

The first half of the Aja/Nina LSFYL was pretty lackluster and then Nina turned it on and finished strong. Aja started out more energetic (but not necessarily better) and then petered out.

Edited May 6, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo

[AntManBee]

Finally.  What an apt choice for a LSFYL, as it was this episode that finally is putting this season in motion (for me).   A fun challenge, with relevant judges, and a good lip sync!  It's like Drag Race of Yore.   (Except for how Ru looks).

Seeing Nina Bo'Nina Lee Curtis Brown on the bottom two really cemented how much I would miss her if she were eliminated.  She is a bit on the emotional edge, like most good artists.  And she is a fierce queen.  She also is the only queen who I feel is doing something rather new.  She has a strong cosplay, theatrical, costuming juxtaposed with a sort of banji, round the way girl camp.  It is so fresh and unique, at least on this show.   I am pulling for her to win, and I hope this Ru-rific self-saboteur storyline means she makes it to the top three.

I also am digging Trinity more than I expected to.  I liked her as Aquapussy a few episodes ago, but she sort of faded into the woodwork.   But when she's on, she's ON.  I can see how she does well in pageants, and I appreciate that she is a competitive, calculated queen.

Valentina would be my final, ideal top 3 this year.  But this week I was not gagging over her hair look.  I wanted fewer flowers and more buoyant hair.  She said she was wearing four wigs, but she could have stopped at three (and teased them better).  I did not love seeing her stoned gloves again.   While she was in the top again this week, her personality is beginning to get a little cloying (for me).  I want more early season Valentina.  Pure sunshine, less sass.

Sasha really doesn't do much for me.  I get that she's smart, and sensitive, and is a bald queen, yadda yadda.  But the flat boy chest, week after week, is ruining the illusion.  I blame Season 7, and the painted on breasts of Pearl and Violet, along with Season 8's Naomi Smalls and her embodiment of flat chested runway models.

Shea's makeup was noticeably better on the runway this week, along with Aja's.  Did they edit out a makeup tutorial mini challenge?

Did any else thing of Chris March's hair dresses when they saw Alexis Michelle? 

Farrah is a cute boy, an attractive drag queen, with pretty good runway outfits and wigs for her age.  But I don't see her lasting much longer.

Edited May 6, 2017 by AntManBee

[Cosmic Muffin]

A large number of queens lost their mothers early, it seems to me. And not just this season. It was good to hear about Trinity and Farrah's backgrounds. I'm glad Farrah felt the skit was a bit of fun high school.

[RealReality]

Wow, that was the right result.  I felt like Aja's LSFYL may have been a hair better than Nina's, but Aja was marked WAYYY down for her attitude during the challenge.

And, I get it -- you have a role in mind, and you really want it and suddenly you're handed another role.  And fine, you throw a little tantrum and get over it. But to throw such a fit over it was ridiculous.  It was 10x worse because Shea did such a great job with the role.

Nina really needs to get a better attitude when it comes to constructive criticism.  Or at least learn to fake it.

Trinity deserved the win, although I would have been happy to see Shea win it too.

19 hours ago, annewithaneee said:

@JakeyJokes -- Good point. Racking my brain, while I'm sure it has come up for other queens other than Trinity K Bonet, it was her critiques that came up in multiple challenges that made me think it was something they kept doing it to multiple queens. And Nina's delivery did suck all the way around, and she is defensive in an off-putting way. However, that "we were scared!!!" reaction really pissed me off. Like, show, maybe be a little more self-aware of the picture you're painting here.

 

yeah, I was thinking this and then thinking maybe I was too sensitive because other than that I really thought Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling were good guest judges.  

[Kaboom 2.0]

Trinity stealing the show again with a comedic role (and her unabashed in-it-to-win-it attitude at the beginning of the episode) is making me want to see her in Top 3. Also especially enjoyed Valentina and Shea's performances in 9021-HO. 

I like Aja but the tantrum was too too much. Loved Peppermint giving her what she wanted and then just shutting her down. Seems like Nina just cannot take constructive criticism without becoming so defensive. I heart her and really want to see her in Top 3 but as of last night, Peppermint pulled ahead of her for my Top 3 wish list. 

Jennie and Tori surprised me with how well they did as co-directors and judges (and I thought Tori did well back in Season 1 as a judge too) in this episode. Re: their Tiffani Amber Thiessen shade...I want more, spill, ladies! LOL 

[JohnnyGilda]

12 hours ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

Re: their Tiffani Amber Thiessen shade...I want more, spill, ladies! LOL

"That which we do not mention." The Kelly and Donna shade was real and it was a highlight of the episode...for those of us who weren't just ova when 90210 first aired.

Aja's been doing nothing for me, so I was glad to see Nina pick herself up and take that lip sync. Finally!

Edited May 7, 2017 by JohnnyGilda

[MaryWebGirl]

I'm not sorry to see Aja go, although I do think this was her strongest runway look. Farrah was right to be happy she was safe--she's next on the chopping block unless other people underperform somehow.

And I agree that this was probably the best episode of this season so far. The guest judges were fun, the challenge was good and everybody did at least OK if not great with it.

[KenyaJ]

14 hours ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

Re: their Tiffani Amber Thiessen shade...I want more, spill, ladies! LOL 

Seriously. Ironically, I lost interest in 90210 they year I (and the characters) started college, so I missed the TA-T years and have no idea what all that shade was about. I'm getting ready to scour the internet to find out more about it!

The skit challenges aren't my favorites, but this one was really well-written. I literally LOLed multiple times. I loved Shea and Valentina, but Trinity really did steal the show. She's competitive and so shady in her THs, but for some reason, I respond to that much better with her than I do with Alexis. 

[OnceSane]

The TAT shade was terrific…and made me like both Tori & Jennie more for it.  I lived for 90210 in high school.  I liked the skit, but boy did Aja fuck up by not wanting the Grandrea role.  Then she couldn't even pull off the "bitch" role she did get.  Disappointing.  At least I could look at her face without cringing this week.  Whoever gave Aja makeup tips deserves all the awards.

The best part, though, was Farrah Moan telling everyone she was born in '93 & Ru saying "I will fucking fuck you up."  I laughed so hard I coughed for a minute straight (I'm sick with the flu).  And I loved Farrah's mom during Untucked.  She was adorable!

[Jesse]

I'm a little mad at Alexis (?) for telling them to pronounce Grandrea like "grand" when wasn't she AUN-drea?

4 hours ago, OnceSane said:

The best part, though, was Farrah Moan telling everyone she was born in '93 & Ru saying "I will fucking fuck you up."

Seriously, though!

[MaryWebGirl]

14 minutes ago, Jesse said:

I'm a little mad at Alexis (?) for telling them to pronounce Grandrea like "grand" when wasn't she AUN-drea?

I thought so too! I can still hear Jason Priestly saying it that way and it still makes me cringe.

[Watermelon]

11 hours ago, JohnnyGilda said:

"That which we do not mention." The Kelly and Donna shade was real and it was a highlight of the episode...for those of us who weren't just ova when 90210 first aired.

Aja's been doing nothing for me, so I was glad to see Nina pick herself up and take that lip sync. Finally!

It's doubly shady, because jenni starts off with, "I don't know how to say it." Referencing that Tiffani dropped the "amber" part of her name, then Donna took it all the way home. 

[Egg]

I see Aja took acting lessons from the 6th Grade Play School of Shrug Acting. Will not miss.

[Blakeston]

It's amazing to me that so few of the queens wanted to play Grandrea or the pill-popping mother. The point is to be funny, and those were obviously the funniest roles.

"Mean girl" roles sound like they'd be juicy, but I think they're actually really difficult to pull off in this context. You can sound like a valley girl, and do vocal fry, and flip your hair - but it's hard to actually wring humor out of it the same way you can with other roles. I don't think it's an accident that the two queens who played the bitchy popular girls wound up in the bottom two.

[Adeejay]

23 hours ago, Blakeston said:

"Mean girl" roles sound like they'd be juicy, but I think they're actually really difficult to pull off in this context. 

Ms. Spelling and Ms. Garth didn't seem to have any difficulty.  Their dissing of Tiffani Thiessen seemed like a lot of jealousy.  They ought to be a shame of themselves.  I am glad they are being called out.  Mean girls, indeed!