Episode Discussion: Queens of Talk

[keeper-of-stars.livejournal.com]

Queens of Talk

Welcome back, squirrel friends! It’s time for the next lap of the race! Bust out your wigs and padding because this is going to be a crazy ride.

Wigs and heels don’t go on for a few hours yet, but let’s get the T flowing now!

Just a few things to keep in mind…
~ Try to stay on topic. This is an episode discussion after all.
~ Don’t be throwin’ no shade towards your fellow LJ-ers. (Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.)
~ Since this is an episode discussion, there will be spoilers in the comments. Enter at your own risk.
~ Please do not post spoilers for upcoming episodes.
~ And of course, don’t forget to werk.

Also, don’t forget that @rupaulsdragrace is once again holding their contest to win a prize pack! Just re-tweet the specified message and you’re entered.

Comments

[quasievil-bunny.livejournal.com]

Looking forward to tonight's episode!

[anaraqueen.livejournal.com]

It was a good episode. Most of the queens were bad (except Courtney, Ben and maybe Bianca) but it was funny to watch. I laughed so much when trinity said Chad and when Joslyn asked about abortion hahah.

Fantastic runway, loved almost all the looks (how was Adore a panthera?) and Courtney won fairly (although I preferred Ben - btw I'm glad she stepped up COME ON TOP 3).
I think it was unfair Joslyn being safe, at least Adore x Trinity was the best lsfyl of the season, all the lip syncs with a Paula's song are fantastic ok not the all star one but that season is so bad that I pretend it doesn't exist so it doesn't count bye and SO sad with Trinity eliminated. :(

Ranking:
Bianca
Adore
Ben
Trinity
Joslyn
Courtney/Darienne (I love a shady elephant so sorry)

[ian-exclamation.livejournal.com]

I think that 80% of the queens did pretty poorly in this challenge. I was really surprised by how put together Courtney was. Glad to see that Dela did well but I expected Bianca to do better (I guess I can't expect her to win EVERY challenge haha).

I cringed so bad at Joslyn's interview. She is my favorite (behind Bianca) and I've always said she's the dark horse but...idk anymore =\ Her drag really doesn't seem to be on the same caliber as the remaining queens (except maybe Adore) and at this point, it's so close that this shit counts. Also, she completely missed the mark for the runway look.

I was so shocked she wasn't in the bottom two. I think, though, that Ru gives a lot of second chances (Trinity, Dela) so I was glad to see Joslyn was safe.

Trinity v. Adore was pretty badass. It seemed that Trinity was ready to go home, though. I am so impressed with how she's turned her attitude around during the course of the show and I feel like she really learned a lot. I definitely grew to like her so much more as the season went on.

Also, I'm thinking that Darienne will be the new shit-stirrer next episode. I think they're kind of foreshadowing it on Untucked. I did love her elephant look, though!

[thethicket.livejournal.com]

Man I don't understand some of the editing choices in this show - they were leading us down the "Joslyn's getting eliminated" path, and then - Trinity? That wasn't suspenseful or shocking, it was more confusing than anything. Devote some time to Trinity if you're gonna send her home, dammit.

This episode was really uncomfortable to watch. I was surprised with how personable Courtney was, was very glad Bendela didn't choke and had a good comeback - everybody else was pretty painful. Especially Bianca, surprisingly. I guess like one of the judges pointed out, she's used to playing a crowd more than she is just two people (and making jokes at the expense of that crowd, in addition).

Courtney's runway was obviously stunning, but Bendela's was wicked. I was pulling for her to win more than for Courtney, though Courtney certainly earned it. That was a big risk on Bendela's part, though. I was sure Santino was gonna say something dumb about it.

I'm starting to think that Darienne isn't really as shady as she's coming off, she just doesn't know how to deliver a joke. I think Bianca could've pulled off the white crayon joke and had everybody laughing, but there's something about Darienne's delivery and timing where it just comes off as nasty. Hopefully she'll just learn to keep her mouth shut, because I think she really is talented. That elephant look was fab.

Also Paula Abdul seems a little less 'luded up than she did on the latter days of Idol. That's good to see.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

Man I don't understand some of the editing choices in this show - they were leading us down the "Joslyn's getting eliminated" path, and then - Trinity? That wasn't suspenseful or shocking, it was more confusing than anything. Devote some time to Trinity if you're gonna send her home, dammit.

So agreed! While I kind of loved the lip sync between Adore and Trinity, it wasn't particularly suspenseful because anyone watching Untucked can surmise Adore wasn't going to be eliminated. Personally, I thought Joslyn and Trinity were the weakest and should have been the bottom two, but I guess Ru felt Adore needed a wake up call.

Also agreed about Darienne - I love her to pieces, so I'm probably a little biased, but I've noticed quite often that she's said things Bianca could get away with based on her persona, but that seem nasty when Darienne says them, and it's a shame. Her elephant look was killer.

[thethicket.livejournal.com]

I am glad the girls called Darienne out, and I'm glad she took it so well. Maybe that'll be a learning experience for her.

[fever-play.livejournal.com]

Courtney did well in the talk show element, but I don't see how she beat Ben on the runway. She's probably been on the talk show circuit for years in Australia which gave her the edge she needed to pull ahead, but she's still relying on her body for the runway. She wore the same outfit she always does with wings attached. That's not improvement or evolvement; it's stagnation.

Joslyn gets called out every week for her body-bearing wardrobe, not because it's showing so much skin but because it looks cheap and poorly styled. If Joslyn were able to do drag on Courtnney's dime, would the judges focus so much on her runway? Next week they will have the same critique, so I don't understand why they chose to keep her around. I like her a lot, but her weaknesses are showing at this point and she hasn't applied the judges critiques. I think she'll go home next.

This episode felt like it had the most involvement from the producers. I find it hard to believe that Bianca did so poorly. It seems like the producers wanted to show the audience that she can't be good at everything. I can buy the rest of the girls being shit at interviewing a guest, but Bianca? Something is fishy and it ain't Joslyn's meaty tuck.

Ben should've won the challenge because she used the talk show and the runway to apply the judges' critiques and yet still stayed true to her character. Her runway didn't get enough credit from the judges (editing magic, perhaps?) for how different and edgy that look was for her character. I loved seeing her in a different silhouette for once.

Darienne is such a bore. I don't get why the judges call other girls out for being too in character or not being vulnerable enough, yet they don't call her out for having no personality. Other than a few quips and her totally one-sided rivalry with Ben (hey, editors), has she done anything memorable?

Let's all take a moment to remember back in season one when my fav queen ever, Nina Flowers, interviewed Tori Spelling. She said that Tori has HIV, yet somehow managed to spin that around and make that little slip up adorable and hilarious. ICONIC.

[ian-exclamation.livejournal.com]

You pretty much nailed my thoughts on Joslyn. If she were to style herself better I think she could really wow the judges. I'm predicting a dramatic LSFYL next week between Joslyn and Courtney. The producers will no doubt pit them against each other after inciting all this drama between them.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

I completely agree about Joslyn and Courtney - they both show body, but Joslyn gets called out a lot more because hers tends toward tacky. And while I love our little black horse, she hasn't really shown a lot of growth based on the critiques - I appreciate that she seems to be trying, but she doesn't really seem to be understanding what the judges are asking for.

Also, completely agreed on Bianca. Again, I might be biased because I love her, but it seemed like they wanted us to see her falter at least a little, which she really hasn't done yet. Even queens like Raja who were at the top of the pack every week had a down week, so hopefully that's all this is, and she goes back to being on top next week. :)

And yet again, I agree with you about Ben - the only thing I didn't like was her talk show look, but her interview skills were right on, and her runway was crazy good.

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

This episode and this show speaks volumes for itself a lot of times. #nuffsaid

Oh Adore. You can't "Party (dull surprise)" your way through everything. I think I can see bits and pieces here and there of the potential that Ru sees in her, but Adore should also be glad she can lip sync on par with Trinity. And that runway look was supposed to be a panther? The zoo isn't that far away from Azusa; bitch needs a biology lesson. And what in the world did she mean about Paula Abdul seeing her as "a full-fledged beautiful woman of the ocean"? As opposed to what, a full-fledged beautiful woman of the sky or the land? Does Adore live on a boat or something?

Did Darienne not know how awkward she was coming across? Because we see confident, on point Darienne on the runway all the time, and this was not that. Also, I think her elephant outfit was only cute from the shoulders up; from shoulders down and in a wide shot, it was just kind of uncomfortable, like a fat joke that didn't fly quite right.

I don't really suspect as much producer shenanigans in Bianca's interview. Time management problems are not unheard of, particularly when people aren't used to segment shooting. Plus Georgia Holt just isn't as well known, so obviously it's easier to interview Chaz Bono and ask him more questions - there's just more material that is more easily accessible with him. And her leopard look on the runway was divine.

Meh, I liked what Courtney did and I thought she also turned it out on the runway, but I just like what BDLC did more. Courtney's heart-hitting interview questions just didn't ring with enough honesty for me. She was obviously going for feels, and because it was so obvious I felt like she wasn't genuine enough. And the duck breast part of her runway costume wasn't a good enough boob plate to hide her boy chest. I guess that's the quasi-curse of being Australian - you have an awesome surfer-esque body, but it makes it really hard to do proper nearly-naked female realness.

I think Bendela was great on the couch. She addressed her main critique and touched on exactly the issue she talked about in the workroom with RuGunn, but made it completely natural in the interview, bouncing off of Georgia Holt's line about the Depression. (Though I admit, that easily could have been producer shenanigans). But BDLC just has a genuine warmth when she was speaking to CB and GH that I just didn't get from Courtney, and the banter about Chaz's musical and Georgia needing to see it was perfect. And while a fly may not be the sexiest animal, she killed that runway presentation. I think she should have won.

Joslyn clearly has taste issues. But at least she has the presence of mind to recognize where she went wrong and apologize when necessary. But her runway seemed lazy, and the crotch show seemed stolen from Carmen Carrerra. Though if nothing else, I learned about "meaty tuck," which is a phrase I did not know. Thanks, RuPaul's Drag Race!

Yikes, Trinity. No one could be bothered to tell her that it wasn't "Chad" Bono? I've kind of seen this happen on other reality shows too, people just calling other people the wrong name forever and not being corrected; were all the fact-checkers made redundant in the last round of TV budget cuts as well? At least her lip sync and her outfit were still incredible, though her interview look was a little busted Rita Ora for me, and her runway read a little too wild turkey. And Trinity's exit was fantastically classy.

They couldn't have done "Forever Your Girl" for LSFYL? Because "Vibeology" is the most damning evidence in history that Paula Abdul should not sing.

Where can I buy my own Scruff Pit Crew so I can play HungMan with my friends?

[ian-exclamation.livejournal.com]

May I just say that I always love reading what you have to say after every episode! <3

[thethicket.livejournal.com]

And Trinity's exit was fantastically classy.

That alone made me love Trinity so much. Especially in comparison to Laganja's atrocious exit last week. Girl made me well up a little bit.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

And what in the world did she mean about Paula Abdul seeing her as "a full-fledged beautiful woman of the ocean"?

Apparently Adore styles herself as a punk rock mermaid (she mentions it on her website (http://www.adoredelano.com/#!page2/cjg9)) so I'm guessing it's related to that... not that it's ever really come up on RPDR, though.

I completely agree with you about Courtney and Dela - especially about Courtney's boy body. She's obvi in amazing shape, but the lack of padding really takes away from the illusion sometimes, and the breastplate in this outfit was not enough to counteract that. And Dela really upped her game this week, which I was glad to see because I really like her. Plus her fly costume was so amazeballs.

So agreed about Trinity as well - her exit was super classy, and I really was sad to see her go, but so pleased she recognized how much she's grown from this experience.

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

Apparently Adore styles herself as a punk rock mermaid (she mentions it on her website) so I'm guessing it's related to that.

Okay, first of all, that's really odd considering that Adore doesn't wear skirts or dresses that go below her shins. And second, I think Adore has as much concept of what a mermaid is as she does what a panther is.

I completely agree with you about Courtney and Dela - especially about Courtney's boy body. She's obvi in amazing shape, but the lack of padding really takes away from the illusion sometimes, and the breastplate in this outfit was not enough to counteract that.

Wow, you're totally right about that; Courtney sure could use some pads in places. She's the antithesis of Alexis Mateo!

[bodacioussylph.livejournal.com]

Courtney: She managed to not fail utterly, thereby winning at least partly by default and editor-preference for spreading the wins around. Anyone else disturbed by the molded nipply boobs she wore on the runway?

Dela: Toned down her persona from terminally delightful to delightful, thereby making Visage happy and defanging the ridiculous “whatcha hiding” critique. The bug runway was fantastic.

Bianca: She seemed oddly uncomfortable on the couch. Strange that she biffed the time management—surely it would be similar to managing segments when hosting? But her leopard outfit was gorgeous and it was probably good story-wise for her to have a slightly down week.

Darienne: Uncomfortable! Awkward! Her elephant was okay I guess, but maybe a bit lazy when compared to the others.

Joslyn: Oh girl. That filter-free lizardbrain-to-mouth that is so fantastic in talking heads is not so fantastic when interviewing people. And definitely missed the mark on the runway.

Adore: Interviewers have to listen to their guests! You can't go “party!” when someone talks about living through the Depression! She came across as quite ignorant, to be honest. Hated the face cage thing, it was unnecessary and frankly ugly.

Trinity: On a real chat show, someone from production would have gotten themselves where she could see them with a sign that said CHAZ NOT CHAD. But I guess it's funnier to let her fail. I liked her bird—she is so creative.

Lipsync: TEN OUT OF TEN. Both brought their A-game. And T's exit was so classy and dignified—she will do well in the future.

Untucked: When Trinity said she wanted to be the first drag queen to do interviews on the red carpet, all I could think was “Damiana Garcia beat you to it.” Though Damiana doesn't exactly “look fabulous,” so maybe that's the distinction. I loved Bianca's disquisition about “this is not a beauty contest”; she is so insightful. So surprised that the blurred videos weren't of direct shade moments (like Darienne's Dela/big head commentary, or Bianca saying “not Trinity again,” or Joslyn saying she's over Courtney). They did call out Darienne for her shadiness anyway, so maybe they didn't need that trigger.

[thethicket.livejournal.com]

You can't go “party!” when someone talks about living through the Depression!

Yeah, that was extremely tacky. The vapid valley girl thing can be done right, but Adore ain't doing it right, and it's really starting to wear on my nerves.

[blacktonguedevi.livejournal.com]

It was so nice to have an Untucked episode without Laganja throwing a hissy fit and walking about with a face like a dropped pie.

So last week Michelle moaned at Ben for being too costumey - which I really don`t get as this is supposed to be a fucking drag show ? - and this week Ben`s fantastic fly outfit is the most costumey he has been and she liked it ??? One week everyone should just ignore the runway theme and come out painted green just to annoy her.

Adore really was picked before she was ripe, does she really think that the great depression was a party ? I did like the loud gulp she did while she was being judged though :)

Courtney`s runway look reminded me of the blind angel in Barbarella but with a really ugly breast plate. My friend thought she looked like John Inman :D

[thethicket.livejournal.com]

walking about with a face like a dropped pie.

[myswtghst.livejournal.com]

Adore really was picked before she was ripe

So much this. She has so much potential and she really does have charm, but she needs so much more time / work to develop into the queen I think she's capable of being. Because right now, she just fluctuates so wildly from awesome to hot mess that's it's giving me whiplash.

[blacktonguedevi.livejournal.com]

True. She`s not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but what she possibly does have going for her is that she tries and makes improvements. Ru seems to like the queens that develop on the show as appose to just taking it all in their stride, which is why I think she`s still in it.

[kapvik.livejournal.com]

Courtney`s runway look reminded me of the blind angel in Barbarella but with a really ugly breast plate. My friend thought she looked like John Inman.

I want to take thethicket's Latrice gif and use it for this. LOL!

[nearlynina.livejournal.com]

Totally late to the party, but what did everyone think of Courtney's "confession of weakness" when she talked about her tormented time in the Untucked?
I felt it seemed reeeeealy fake... I mean everyone was screaming her name... and then she went and sat in the gutter...and there was a rainbow halo... and she asked "why am I broken?!" and then she remembered oh yeah silly me, I'm awesome.... I mean really? It was like she just did the humble brag that people do when they get asked what their worst quality is as a response to the you're a robot criticism she's been getting. It didn't feel at all genuine to mean.