S03.E06: Handmaids to Kitty Girls

[cpcathy]

Ugh, Morgan. Hopefully, she'll be easy to eliminate later. She's not special, not gorgeous, not fashion, she doesn't appear to be talented.

I'll miss Ben, her makeup alone is so beautiful I can't take my eyes off her when she's onscreen.

I am now an Aja fan, that rap was fantastic. Her talking heads slay.

[CheetaraThunder]

1 hour ago, cpcathy said:

Ugh, Morgan. Hopefully, she'll be easy to eliminate later. She's not special, not gorgeous, not fashion, she doesn't appear to be talented.

I'll miss Ben, her makeup alone is so beautiful I can't take my eyes off her when she's onscreen.

I am now an Aja fan, that rap was fantastic. Her talking heads slay.

I agree...Ben out of drag is so adorable and tiny. But, when he turns to Dela..Holy fish batman...she is so fucking beautiful and his goth makeup was flawless.

[JakeyJokes]

4 hours ago, veronicamers said:

Yep. I hate confrontation soooooo much. Like to the point that my husband and I went to therapy to learn how to disagree in a healthy way because we are both so conflict averse. There was no way I was going to spin myself into an anxiety attack watching that mess.

 

I'm the same way, so my heart REALLY hurt for Ben this episode. In the moment, I tend to just shut down. The minute my partner leaves the room, THEN I think of all the things I could have said! I saw a lot of that in Ben, and also when he was struggling in the recording studio. He's a very sensitive and emotional person and couldn't get out of his own head.

You could tell Kennedy was upset, but she expressed herself very well. Milk reminds me of a girl in my high school who was ultimately confronted by nearly her entire class on a field trip about how mean and awful she was. She literally had NO idea how she was perceived. And then Milk started to cry! I had to remind myself that he's a Cancer.

[gigiann]

NOOOOOOOOO  I was so enjoying Ben's performances and costumes this season...and always looked forward to seeing her.  I will have to look and see if she will be performing locally soon and get to her show.  She is adorable, funny and extremely talented.  I will miss her on this show.  I think she totally had the prize locked up.

[veronicamers]

42 minutes ago, JakeyJokes said:

I'm the same way, so my heart REALLY hurt for Ben this episode. In the moment, I tend to just shut down. The minute my partner leaves the room, THEN I think of all the things I could have said! I saw a lot of that in Ben, and also when he was struggling in the recording studio. He's a very sensitive and emotional person and couldn't get out of his own head.

You could tell Kennedy was upset, but she expressed herself very well. Milk reminds me of a girl in my high school who was ultimately confronted by nearly her entire class on a field trip about how mean and awful she was. She literally had NO idea how she was perceived. And then Milk started to cry! I had to remind myself that he's a Cancer.

Ha. I'm a Cancer too and super sensitive and emotional, but hopefully more of a Ben than a Milk. 

[lyric]

Dude.  Trixie's singing voice sounds so much like Anthony Rapp / Rent, it's spooky.  Cool voice though!

[JakeyJokes]

58 minutes ago, veronicamers said:

Ha. I'm a Cancer too and super sensitive and emotional, but hopefully more of a Ben than a Milk. 

Ha! Same here. I don't know Milk's entire chart, but having a hard exterior and being very sensitive underneath it all is a very Cancerian trait. (In Willam's book, he mentions how many Drag Race girls and reality TV people are Cancers -- including himself and Bianca del Rio).

[zulualpha]

10 hours ago, TheLukeP said:

To the person who referenced Willam talking about the season. I never saw what you referenced. But this was something. 

I don’t know what Willam meant by “pulls the fuckin pag on them so hard” but it sounds like Willam is still bitter from his Drag Race experience where he left the show early and from what I can see has been blackballed to some extent. I guess Ben doesn’t care if the same thing happens to him. I do think he burned a bridge with Ru and he hurt the show and by association the other queens. It’ll be interesting to see if the ratings tank from here on out. IMO Ben should have seen it thru for the sake of everyone involved. You don’t make yourself the star then say bye! y’all can fuck right off! Ben will be fine in Seattle. I live here and have seen numerous Ben shows in bars and theaters and they are invariably sold out (and rightfully so, he never disappoints) but I do think he’s hurt himself from a professional standpoint with Ru, Drag Race and perhaps nationally in clubs. 

[ClareWalks]

I noticed ChiChi's facecrack in the background during Dela's elimination speech and I was LOLing because that was ALL OF US:

[Watermelon]

1 hour ago, zulualpha said:

I don’t know what Willam meant by “pulls the fuckin pag on them so hard” but it sounds like Willam is still bitter from his Drag Race experience where he left the show early and from what I can see has been blackballed to some extent. I guess Ben doesn’t care if the same thing happens to him. I do think he burned a bridge with Ru and he hurt the show and by association the other queens. It’ll be interesting to see if the ratings tank from here on out. IMO Ben should have seen it thru for the sake of everyone involved. You don’t make yourself the star then say bye! y’all can fuck right off! Ben will be fine in Seattle. I live here and have seen numerous Ben shows in bars and theaters and they are invariably sold out (and rightfully so, he never disappoints) but I do think he’s hurt himself from a professional standpoint with Ru, Drag Race and perhaps nationally in clubs. 

Pulls the pag is short for “pull the pageant” which, I THINK, is when there’s a shenanigan in a pageant that steals the win. I’m thinking in this instance it’s a reference to a move that messes the game up in a way ru and them never anticipated.

[April Bloodgate]

12 hours ago, Eliza422 said:

I have never seen season 1 of Drag Race, but someone needs to explain to me what the hell I'm missing in BeBe. I do not see what any one else is seeing in her - she's the most boring queen out there. Maybe I'm spoiled by never having seen her, but I just don't get it. I would have sent her home weeks ago. Even last night, the judges were fawning all over her, and I can't figure out why!

Same here. Season 1 is the only one I haven't seen, and I just don't get Bebe at all. I haven't been remotely entertained by anything she's done.

[CaioF]

5 minutes ago, April Bloodgate said:

Same here. Season 1 is the only one I haven't seen, and I just don't get Bebe at all. I haven't been remotely entertained by anything she's done.

Season one was pretty much all about face, dresses, pretty much with judges/producers going more for a regular pageant drag show so Bebe was pretty much spot on by serving what they wanted at that time. Since them, the show changed alot, specially in season 4.

Edited March 3, 2018 by CaioF

[heckkitty]

Quote

Where'd the white-out come from? 

She stole it from Tricie’s makeup bag. 

I’m so team Shangie & Trixie now. Would have loved to see DeLa win. 

 

I only wish she’d picked Aja to stay

Edited March 3, 2018 by heckkitty

[dolphincorn]

There's an astrology discussion going on and I'm not a part of it?

The first thing I thought of when Ben quit was "Oh my God! The only two All-Stars who have walked out are both Libras!"

[Cosmic Muffin]

6 minutes ago, dolphincorn said:

There's an astrology discussion going on and I'm not a part of it?

The first thing I thought of when Ben quit was "Oh my God! The only two All-Stars who have walked out are both Libras!"

What if they kept the queens eliminating queens format for a season, but had an all Libra cast?

RPDR seems heavy on Cancers and Libras, don't know about drag queens in general, but Cancer is the most feminine and Libra is Venus rules (along with Taurus, though). There don't seem to be many Scorpios, I wonder if Ru selects them out?

[stormy weather]

Okay, they need to stop trying to make BeBe happen. I get it that she's this sophisticated African queen, but can she do anything else? I don't think I've ever seen her acting silly, being funny, dancing or even moving, really, or wearing any color that's not black or leopard print. That's her character and she does it well, but having a character and sticking to the safety of it is not what this competition is about, or at least that's what I thought.

Plus, at the group therapy meeting where everybody was so clueless as to why they were sent home (I'll give you a hint, it's a show based on gradual elimination: you can't all stay forever) and she was confronted with the "who sewed it better" situation by Aja, I thought it was truly awful when BeBe told her it didn't matter who made that dress because they complimented her and her style and all she needed to say was "thank you". Excuse me?!

As for Ben, I was shocked and heartbroken like everyone else and I don't think I have any reason left to keep watching the show except hoping for a Shangela win and waiting for Morgan and BeBe to be eliminated, but I get why she did it. It was unfair competition and it was ruining her. I don't think anyone is trying real hard to win the LSFYL this season. Nobody desperately needs the 10K and the stress associated with a victory is not worth it. 

That said, I was crossing my fingers DeLa would choose Aja to come back, and when instead she chose Morgan my first reaction was "oh wow, she feels so guilty for eliminating her that she brought her back". But then I thought actually she might've picked Morgan because she knows Morgan's gonna be eliminated pretty soon, so this could be a way to show her she wouldn't have lasted long in the competition anyway, regardless of DeLa sending her home? Maybe. In any case, everyone knows DeLa is the real winner of AS3.

[Fake Jan Brady]

2 hours ago, stormy weather said:

 That said, I was crossing my fingers DeLa would choose Aja to come back, and when instead she chose Morgan my first reaction was "oh wow, she feels so guilty for eliminating her that she brought her back". But then I thought actually she might've picked Morgan because she knows Morgan's gonna be eliminated pretty soon, so this could be a way to show her she wouldn't have lasted long in the competition anyway, regardless of DeLa sending her home? Maybe. In any case, everyone knows DeLa is the real winner of AS3.

According to her interview in Vulture dot com DeLa said she chose Morgan so she'd have a chance to showcase her talents as she'd only had one episode to do that, while Aja had had four. Sweet, savvy and generous.

[noveltylibrary]

Aja deserved to come back and actually should have been in the top 2.  Her performance was one of the best, and I actually think Kennedy should have been the other top 2.  I found Ben boring in that character.  Sucks that they couldn't pick from the losing team.

Edited March 3, 2018 by noveltylibrary
had additional thoughts

[Cosmic Muffin]

The queen who was brought back - at least it wasn't Thorgy or Milk? I would rather have seen more of Aja, but production doesn't want her there. I kind of think anyone brought back has a good chance of going home the next week anyway.

[SFoster21]

Loved Ben from the start.  Her season, with Bianca, was so totally above this current incarnation.

I have no problem with nice; many people think it’s “phony” to be nice and care for something besides yourself.  I don’t agree with that.

you go, Ben.  Live your truth.

Edited March 3, 2018 by SFoster21
Typo

[Ruby Gillis]

23 hours ago, 2727 said:

Did it? I still kind of feel that Ru is determined to hand it to BeBe.

I've felt from the beginning that Ru would give it to Shangela.  She's always loved her, letting her be on the show in the first place with so little experience and then bringing her back for season 3.  Ru seems to enjoy Ben's performances but never connected with her.  

[Jrae9233]

34 minutes ago, Ruby Gillis said:

I've felt from the beginning that Ru would give it to Shangela.  She's always loved her, letting her be on the show in the first place with so little experience and then bringing her back for season 3.  Ru seems to enjoy Ben's performances but never connected with her.  

I feel the same way about Ben. I know she is a great queen, but she does absolutely nothing for me. Of course I am the lone BeBe fan. I love her confidence, that she always tries to represent her country and culture, and that she stays low key and in control. 

[Stowaway]

I never shook the belief they would give the win to Trixie, to promote their rising star. What Ben did just paves the way for that, in my mind.

I actually think this is a very strong top 5, if you go by things the queens have accomplished outside the season. Based entirely on what they've done in the past few weeks, it's a top 5 that isn't worthy of a regular season, let alone All Stars. Except for Morgan, I'm not counting her, she can take her weird Maleficent face back to the Unseelie Court.

[noveltylibrary]

27 minutes ago, Jrae9233 said:

I feel the same way about Ben. I know she is a great queen, but she does absolutely nothing for me. 

I agree, and was kind of glad to see Raven feeling the same in the Ruviews, always pointing out her non-stop Oh! look.  But the whole 'I'm not here for the drama' bugs me because that's what the show thrives on.   I watched Watcha Packing? and she originally didn't want to be on AS so why did she do it?   I can't stand Thorgy but the cynic in me loved the queen wave she gave as Ben being omnipotent.  

[CheetaraThunder]

15 minutes ago, noveltylibrary said:

I agree, and was kind of glad to see Raven feeling the same in the Ruviews, always pointing out her non-stop Oh! look.  But the whole 'I'm not here for the drama' bugs me because that's what the show thrives on.   I watched Watcha Packing? and she originally didn't want to be on AS so why did she do it?   I can't stand Thorgy but the cynic in me loved the queen wave she gave as Ben being omnipotent.  

She wanted to try it out and well, in the end, it took a toll on her. Good on her for sticking to your guns and going out on top.

Ben comments about those remarks about AS2:

 

”You’ve been openly critical of Drag Race and reality TV as a whole in the past, even telling The Stranger, "Those TV producers are willing to ruin friendships, professional relationships, feelings of self-worth — all for some cheap entertainment.” But you also called yourself aDrag Race success story in your self-elimination speech. Do you think it’s possible to be critical of something, and still love it?

BDLC: When I gave that initial interview, it was in a very passionate moment, when All Starsseason two, episode two had just come out, and Adore [Delano] had just been eliminated. I was feeling very upset for my friend. So yes, I would like to see entertainment less based on conflict, genuine conflict between real humans. But at the same time, that is not the only thing about Drag Race. Drag Race is also an incredible cultural force that is doing a lot of good to change the world — in a current America that needs a lot of change in that direction. 

It’s important to be able to love something, and respect something, and also critique it. When we get so devout that we’re not able to say, ‘I love and respect this thing, but there’s an aspect of it I don’t feel great about,’ that’s a dangerous mindset. We all have to be willing to look at ourselves and the things that we care about in that way.”

Edited March 3, 2018 by CheetaraThunder

[dolphincorn]

11 hours ago, Cosmic Muffin said:

RPDR seems heavy on Cancers and Libras

Cancers and Virgos mostly. There are more Virgos than I can count.

[For Cereals]

On 3/2/2018 at 3:27 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Gawd, Milk. Everyone LET you walk around like a douchebag? It is not everyone else's responsibility to monitor your behavior, alert you when your behavior sucks, continue to counsel you, and keep on top of you until you become a better person. It is YOUR responsibility to be self aware enough not to be a douchebag.

So much this!

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, CheetaraThunder said:

It's important to be able to love something, and respect something, and also critique it. When we get so devout that we’re not able to say, ‘I love and respect this thing, but there’s an aspect of it I don’t feel great about,’ that’s a dangerous mindset. We all have to be willing to look at ourselves and the things that we care about in that way.

I completely agree with this sentiment. How critical were the fans about all of the physical challenges last season. Queens should not have been put in the position of sustaining possibly career ending injuries. Broken ribs and blown out knees are unacceptable. We all know how much being on the show improves one's career. A queen might otherwise push back, but the prospect to radically improve your career is too much for a queen. That's why it's incumbent on fans and other queens to speak out when they see something messed up.

[noveltylibrary]

1 hour ago, CheetaraThunder said:

She wanted to try it out and well, in the end, it took a toll on her. Good on her for sticking to your guns and going out on top.

Ben comments about those remarks about AS2:”

I was talking about AS3 that she didn't want to be on and Michelle seemed really surprised at that.

[butterbody]

Dang it! I was thaaa-RILLED when Morgan went home on ep 1. She looks like adult Bobby Brady.

[rollacoaster]

On 3/2/2018 at 5:11 PM, JakeyJokes said:

I don't know Milk's entire chart, but having a hard exterior and being very sensitive underneath it all is a very Cancerian trait. (In Willam's book, he mentions how many Drag Race girls and reality TV people are Cancers -- including himself and Bianca del Rio).

I didn't know they were Cancers, or that Willam had a book out! Bob is a Cancer, too. 

I can imagine they choose a lot of Cancers for the potential emotionality. I love that Willam, Bob, and Bianca never let their emotions get the best of them.

[Eater of Worlds]

On 3/2/2018 at 2:51 PM, cpcathy said:

Ugh, Morgan. Hopefully, she'll be easy to eliminate later. She's not special, not gorgeous, not fashion, she doesn't appear to be talented.

I'll miss Ben, her makeup alone is so beautiful I can't take my eyes off her when she's onscreen.

I am now an Aja fan, that rap was fantastic. Her talking heads slay.

The only time I liked Morgan is when she was on Tabatha's  Takeover and she dressed as Tabatha in drag and did that bit of Alanis Morissette's cover of Bitch.  

  

I think this shows most of it, I can't hear so I don't know if it has the fun parts where she's got the

"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way"  

part and not a single entry on YouTube has it captioned.

[violet and green]

Color me stunned. I feel as if the floor has been whipped out from under me. But maybe that was a good move, personally speaking, for DeLa. I mean, what price self-respect and mental health?

The format for AllStars sucks, always has sucked, and needs to be rebooted. I hate watching the top two queens lipsync to these godawful tracks and then pick the bootee. Ru should judge and it should be LSFYL. The end.

I really enjoyed ChiChi this ep and liked her calm self-knowledge about where she was at in her work, and saying don't bring me back because I'm not ready - contrasted with the delusion and carping of both Thorgy and Milk (or those two are getting one hell of an awful edit this season).

I'm deeply over Trixie. The only thing I've liked so far is her talent show, Dolly Partonesque, sweet little song with a stringed instrument number. Bebe is boring as batshit. Kennedy has served her time. To me that leaves Shangela to win - now Ben is gone. Sob.

I am glad Morgan gets another shot to show her stuff - that was a sweet move from DeLa. But have sort of lost the will to live after watching that self-elimination go down.

[annewithaneee]

On 3/2/2018 at 6:11 PM, JakeyJokes said:

On 3/2/2018 at 5:11 PM, veronicamers said:

Ha. I'm a Cancer too and super sensitive and emotional, but hopefully more of a Ben than a Milk. 

Ha! Same here. I don't know Milk's entire chart, but having a hard exterior and being very sensitive underneath it all is a very Cancerian trait. (In Willam's book, he mentions how many Drag Race girls and reality TV people are Cancers -- including himself and Bianca del Rio).

Ugh, it makes me cringe hearing all this Cancer talk that is so dead-on. For the longest time I thought I was a Bianca - a witty asshole who means no actual harm - and was definitely instead an irritating try-hard with little self-awareness. Gaining that self-awareness? No fun at all. I guess I have to have some sympathy for Milk, but she makes it real hard.

[Primetimer]

An extra-long trip to a 'shocking reveal' makes for the franchise's all-time worst episode. Mark Blankenship explains why in his EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP!

View the full article

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Eater of Worlds said:

The only time I liked Morgan is when she was on Tabatha's  Takeover and she dressed as Tabatha in drag and did that bit of Alanis Morissette's cover of Bitch.  

 

  

I think this shows most of it, I can't hear so I don't know if it has the fun parts where she's got the

"I'm a bitch, I'm a lover
I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint
I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream
I'm nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way"  

part and not a single entry on YouTube has it captioned.

As a 90s kid, I have to point out that “Bitch” was by Meredith Brooks, not Alanis Morissette!

[Couver]

17 hours ago, Jrae9233 said:

I feel the same way about Ben. I know she is a great queen, but she does absolutely nothing for me. Of course I am the lone BeBe fan. I love her confidence, that she always tries to represent her country and culture, and that she stays low key and in control. 

You're not alone! I love BeBe. Her persona is just fantastic. And for me she has actually done well in challenges the other queens thought she would struggle in (Snatch Game, the Soup Cans, and as Jungle Kitty). I think she's done what she/Ru hoped she would. Prove that she could cut it in the current format of the show (at least IMO) and have her style seen by a larger and newer audience than during her season.

My only issue with BeBe being cast in AS3 was the potential weirdness of having a former winner and seeing how they would be critiqued. It just felt strange to me to imagine Michelle dragging a winner. But I've noticed they have been kinder to her in their critiques and I do wonder if that is why. I also don't think BeBe really needed this. If any former winner needed a chance to rework their image it is Tyra. Plus she and Morgan together this season would have been high drama.

[HunterHunted]

7 hours ago, Couver said:

I also don't think BeBe really needed this.

I think it's just that so few people have seen season 1. 

7 hours ago, Couver said:

If any former winner needed a chance to rework their image it is Tyra. Plus she and Morgan together this season would have been high drama.

You aren't lying about Tyra needing to rework her image and Tyra and Morgan being high drama, but I suspect Ru doesn't ever want open up the criticism of Tyra's win.

[belligerent]

On the one hand, I think this was a ballsy rockstar two-fingered salute to the bullshittery of the all stars format and can get behind it based on that. On the other hand, Ben was my favorite of these queens and now we have to watch less delightful queens for the rest of the show. Don't get me wrong, I also like Shangela and Trixie, but everyone who said this was Ben's competition to lose, yep. It was. And she literally demonstrated that. I don't feel like it was as staged as the recap makes it out to be. It does seem in line with Ben's personality...but damn girl, we were all rooting for you!!!! (to probably misquote the non other Tyra)

This is why Katya will always edge out Ben as my favorite. Bullshit elimination format or not, Katya would never deprive us of more Katya.

[vixenbynight]

2 hours ago, belligerent said:

On the one hand, I think this was a ballsy rockstar two-fingered salute to the bullshittery of the all stars format and can get behind it based on that. On the other hand, Ben was my favorite of these queens and now we have to watch less delightful queens for the rest of the show. Don't get me wrong, I also like Shangela and Trixie, but everyone who said this was Ben's competition to lose, yep. It was. And she literally demonstrated that. I don't feel like it was as staged as the recap makes it out to be. It does seem in line with Ben's personality...but damn girl, we were all rooting for you!!!! (to probably misquote the non other Tyra)

This is why Katya will always edge out Ben as my favorite. Bullshit elimination format or not, Katya would never deprive us of more Katya.

I think that Katya would "deprive us" of staying in the competition, if it was causing issues with her mental health. 

I am glad that Dela chose to do what was best for her in the end. Not for the show. Or for the audience.

[WedgeOfSpite]

3 hours ago, vixenbynight said:

6 hours ago, belligerent said:

On the one hand, I think this was a ballsy rockstar two-fingered salute to the bullshittery of the all stars format and can get behind it based on that. On the other hand, Ben was my favorite of these queens and now we have to watch less delightful queens for the rest of the show. Don't get me wrong, I also like Shangela and Trixie, but everyone who said this was Ben's competition to lose, yep. It was. And she literally demonstrated that. I don't feel like it was as staged as the recap makes it out to be. It does seem in line with Ben's personality...but damn girl, we were all rooting for you!!!! (to probably misquote the non other Tyra)

This is why Katya will always edge out Ben as my favorite. Bullshit elimination format or not, Katya would never deprive us of more Katya.

I think that Katya would "deprive us" of staying in the competition, if it was causing issues with her mental health. 

I am glad that Dela chose to do what was best for her in the end. Not for the show. Or for the audience.

Indeed. Considering that Katya recently cancelled all of her 2018 appearances/shows to take care of herself mentally, and to deal with her addiction issues ( http://outnewsglobal.com/rupaul-star-katya-cancels-gigs-2018/ ) I would venture to guess she would get Ben's thinking.  

Ben originally didn't want to come on All Stars for the reasons that ultimately led to her leaving. But she came on despite that because she thought she could get beyond them, because she loves Drag so much, because she respects the show so much, and what she think it is accomplishing. But she found out she couldn't get beyond it when actually confronted with it. I don't hold it against someone to try, but not be able to be as successful in conquering their issues as they thought they could be.

Edited March 4, 2018 by WedgeOfSpite
clarity

[laprin]

On 3/2/2018 at 7:39 PM, zulualpha said:

I don’t know what Willam meant by “pulls the fuckin pag on them so hard” but it sounds like Willam is still bitter from his Drag Race experience where he left the show early and from what I can see has been blackballed to some extent. I guess Ben doesn’t care if the same thing happens to him. I do think he burned a bridge with Ru and he hurt the show and by association the other queens. It’ll be interesting to see if the ratings tank from here on out. IMO Ben should have seen it thru for the sake of everyone involved. You don’t make yourself the star then say bye! y’all can fuck right off! Ben will be fine in Seattle. I live here and have seen numerous Ben shows in bars and theaters and they are invariably sold out (and rightfully so, he never disappoints) but I do think he’s hurt himself from a professional standpoint with Ru, Drag Race and perhaps nationally in clubs. 

 I actually think Ben has made his name more memorable, and this will enhance his brand.  I’m a new viewer to the show and, frankly, Ben’s dominance was starting to bore me. It was almost conclusive that he would get the crown. The best reality competition shows have “surprise exits” as a staple. It keeps things interesting. Now that the competition has been reset, I’m eager to see who emerges as the new front runner. 

[Nerdlove]

So, what I do to "read" the forums is that I copy paste the whole thing into a TTS reader  (https://ttsreader.com/) and  listen to it while I wash dishes or fold laundry, etc. Just sharing, because I think it's funny how it pronounces certain names and things. CaioF -- it just spells your name letter by letter. How do you pronounce your name? "Ciao F" like the Italian word ciao?  CheetaraThunder, it pronounces your name "Chee-ta-RA-thun-der" kind of all in a row, and I didn't realize your name was a Thundercats ref until I saw the spelling. Ha! :)

Some thoughts:

- Hunterhunted points out that the winner's win will be "tainted." TOTALLY. Whoever really wins, Ben is the true winner on a lot of levels. I feel Shangela would be happy to take the win under any circumstance, but Trixie would probably feel guilty and weird about it.

- I watched this episode on TiVo, and like several other commentators, I fast-forwarded through the endless bickering. I don't consider myself confrontation avoidant, but if nothing else it's boring and cringey and it wastes time. I ended up seeing some of the bickering when I watched reaction videos on Youtube* and yes, I was smart to ffwd.

*To anyone who also likes reaction videos online, I will strongly encourage you to stay away from "Jakeyonce"'s channel. He casually spoilered this outcome while discussing episode like, 3? Without warning. It's unfathomable.

- Some people are just really put off by Ben and I can't figure out why. I loved him in Season 6 and still do. I even have a little tiny straight-girl crush on him. (Tiny bit!) And that's super rare as my brain normally categorizes obviously gay men as off-the-table and I don't see them as viable candidates for crushes. It's kind of like seeing wax fruit, they don't make you hungry... you know? But Ben is just so lovable. Sure, his vocal fry is a bit much but he's hyper talented but he's adorable as a boy and gorgeous as a woman and I think he's a lot more sincere than people give him credit. I think Ru is one of the people who just can't get into Ben. CiaoF, I love how you pointed out that Ben pretty much eliminated himself in the same week that he was eliminated for no damned reason in his own season. Sure, Ben wasn't likely to beat Bianca, NO ONE was going to beat Bianca, but to have Darienne and Courtney go further in the competition than Ben was just a shame. (And I don't hate either of those two queens.)

- About why Ben did what he did: I genuinely believe that Ben just didn't want to do it any more. I don't think it was out of fear of fandom reaction. Ben is extremely smart and he must have known that putting Morgan back in and not Aja would probably not be the most super popular move. I think he just was heartbroken and emotionally exhausted and felt like it was a moral/ethical situation he didn't want to be in.

- About BeBe. I watched Season 1 back in the day and have it downloaded on my computer (thank you, Pirate Bay!) so I get the appeal. But in Season 1, there weren't a lot of comedy or acting challenges. It was mostly about runway and lipsyncing and presence, and those are things that Bebe had in spades. I USED to love Bebe so much and was super happy with her win at the time. But I think her appearance on AS3 was bad for her. I think she should have come back as a judge or a coach or something, you know? Maybe Ru likes to the be the only queen in drag on the panel...? But I feel like it'd be appropriate to have Bebe on the judging panel. It would have raised her profile and booking fees, and gotten her some coin. Sigh. Now she's just going to be disliked. :( Her limitations are becoming more clear every day. It's very "the man behind the curtain" in Wizard of Oz.

- If you can't watch Season 1, I'd strongly recommend watching the Movie Bitches Season 1 reviews.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVvNN_Zwxk

Each review is about 25-25 minutes long, so you can watch the whole playlist in about 3 hours, and I'd say you can totally watch them even if you haven't actually seen the season. They even put in the occasional clip from the proto-untucked show from season 1, "under the hood." It's a lot of fun and you'll start to understand Season 1. They love Bebe -- this was filmed before AS3 -- and they were super excited to see her in AS3 at the start of the season. Let's see how they feel about Bebe at the end of AS3.

- I have a good friend who loves Thorgy so I've tried to like her, but omg, I just can't with her. Bringing up Bob in the first ep? Being the world's biggest bitter bitch? UGH. I don't like the way she does her makeup. I hate when white people have dreds. I don't like her looks. There's always something desperate and weird about how she presents herself. I try to be patient with people who come off desperate because I don't know how I myself would come off in a sitch like this, but UGH I just can't with Thorgy. I am having trouble thinking of any other RPDR girls I like less. Even Tyra Sanchez, at the least, nearly always looked fucking FLAWLESS on the runway. FLAW. LESS. I don't think I have ever liked a single Thorgy look. So I'd have to give her and Thorgy a tie for last place in my heart. Well, a 3-way tie with Milk for obvious reasons.

- My theory on THE NOTE OF DOOM. My theory is that Trixie is the one that Willam said had a mini-breakdown. She has certain mental issues (like most of the queens) and was filming her other show at the same time AS3 was shooting so she must have been mega stressed. So, I could imagine her clutching on to a note like Thorgy's because it gave her love and it referenced getting cocktails when it was all over. I could kind of imagine myself holding on tight to the idea of it all being over -- like a light at the end of the tunnel. "Cocktails with Thorgy when this is over. Yes. We will be at a bar being ourselves and no one judging us and we'll drink cocktails and be friends. Yes." You know?

- I watched the viewing party at Roscoe's (it's on Youtube) and one of the guests was Kennedy. She made a point that I thought was super interesting. She said that as an African-American, she herself did not have the option to quit the show the way that Ben did. She made it to final 4 in her season, but is still less popular than certain white queens eliminated far before her. As a result,  she doesn't have the financial resources to poo-poo at $100,000 and she doesn't have the fan support to make a big move like that without facing potential backlash. I think she's right, and it's so disgusting the way that racism plays into the RPDR world. It's thought provoking for sure.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Nerdlove

[Qoass]

When BeBe was trying to describe her girl group character with claws and a strange accent and trilling Rs I was yelling at my TV, "You're Eartha Kitty!".

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, Nerdlove said:

I watched the viewing party at Roscoe's (it's on Youtube) and one of the guests was Kennedy. She made a point that I thought was super interesting. She said that as an African-American, she herself did not have the option to quit the show the way that Ben did. She made it to final 4 in her season, but is still less popular than certain white queens eliminated far before her. As a result,  she doesn't have the financial resources to poo-poo at $100,000 and she doesn't have the fan support to make a big move like that without facing potential backlash. I think she's right, and it's so disgusting the way that racism plays into the RPDR world. It's thought provoking for sure.

You should read this piece on Drag Race's race issue.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/02/rupauls-drag-race-queens-see-racism-in-show-treatment-and-fan-love.html

And I think Kennedy is correct. I don't think she'd have the luxury of quitting. She'd be painted as unstable like Nina Bo'nina Brown or unbelievably arrogant. 

[DisneyBoy]

On 02/03/2018 at 6:31 PM, Mayberry said:

While Ben was terrific on the show I do think he has a bit of a sanctimonious attitude because of this image he wants to portray of being so noble and sickly sweet. I'd rather Ben be like: you're good, you know you're good, get out there and be unapologetic about it. Instead of all this guilt about sending someone home (and always trying to make it sound it is for the noblest of intentions) or not trying to act competitive or have an ego when you are and you do.  Now it's all going to be about Ben the Martyr or Ben the Saint and having to explain himself when it should be about seeing the game/the show through to the end for the viewers instead of leaving them hanging and dissatisfied. 

I kind of agree. You knew what you were getting into. It's a competition. Don't run almost to the finish line, get all sad about the fact that you outran the others, and then walk out of the stadium. It isn't very sporting and frankly damages the fun of it all. No one would have faulted Ben for winning.

...it's interesting. I noticed how the show seemed willing to call Ben out, using clips of the Queens side-eyeing him along the way for presenting a too-polished version of himself. I couldn't quite figure that out - why edit the strongest player to look like a "fake" type who pisses off the other Queens? It's the kind of edit you would expect for a person who will be revealed to be a huge asshole later on in the season. Instead, I now think they edited it that way purely to get back at Ben for leaving. It was the producer's revenge. They could have/should have shown more of Ben struggling with his conscience, if that was going on. Instead, the whole thing was presented as a low-key version of  "see how shady Ben is, acting like it's hard to win?" If the format and BTS manipulations were messing with him, he was justified in bowing out. But the show can't admit to being unpleasant, can it, so instead we have Thorgy rolling his eyes. I wonder if any Queens sympathized and taped comments that were just not shown.

It reminds me of how Willam was portrayed as this shady type for using the show and breaking the rules. Only I don't think Ben was doing that.

(BTW, what was the official story on Willam - did he use the show just for publicity and try to get ousted as a stunt? Did he have gigs booked diring the shooting and needed to get booted because of that? Did his husband surprise him at the hotel and that violated contract rules about sequestering the players? I never knew which story was true...)

All this to say, I do think Ben was curating himself to appear a certain way, but then so was the show. Maybe he was going through stuff and all they allowed us to see was the stuff that made him look calculating and fake.

 

In any case....I think he broke the show. Kinda hard to care who wins when winning isn't something the better players even want. But the format was stupid and Ru should have seen that. What's the point of judges who don't judge and eliminate? Why pit Queens against each other? I so hate the jokes about how the judges fill their time while the Top Two deliberate.

I would have been bored with Ben winning, but at least it would have made sense.

Edited March 5, 2018 by DisneyBoy

[TheLukeP]

Disneyboy, I think the T on Willam's departure was all of the above.... 

4 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

(BTW, what was the official story on Willam - did he use the show just for publicity and try to get ousted as a stunt? Did he have gigs booked diring the shooting and needed to get booted because of that? Did his husband surprise him at the hotel and that violated contract rules about sequestering the players? I never knew which story was true...)

[SFoster21]

Wow, Nerdlove, great post.  Kennedy may be correct in general that black queens are not as popular, but while Kennedy is fine, she is no Ben.  Bob the Drag Queen is Black and he has a terrific career.  (He is doing Angels in America at Berkeley this spring.) He is more talented than Kennedy, who has never successfully memorized a part on this show.  She was hopeless at leading her theater troupe during her season.  Sometimes she is funny.  Her make up is often lovely, but her taste is off and her attempts at breaking out of ”pageant pretty” don’t fare well.  She has no depth, imo.

I think, as you say about Thorgy, there’s a “try hard” quality to Kennedy.  But YMMV.

[Fiero425]

On ‎3‎/‎3‎/‎2018 at 5:33 AM, cousin oliver said:

According to her interview in Vulture dot com DeLa said she chose Morgan so she'd have a chance to showcase her talents as she'd only had one episode to do that, while Aja had had four. Sweet, savvy and generous.

I thought it was generous as well! Morgan, like Shangela in season 2 was eliminated all too soon in the 1st episode which made sense to bring her back later in season 3, now All-Stars! DJ has really come a long way since applying powder between layers of makeup! Seen her on "Bones" & "Dance Moms" episodes in drag! ;-)

[BloggerAloud]

I think episode highlighted how this has sort of gone the same trajectory of America's Next Top Model, its clear inspiration, in terms of how they have drifted away with challenges that deal with things that actually happen in the real world of drag/modeling and are now primarily concerned with casting good reality show fodder.