So right from the jump, Cynthia is Queen #14! I'm happy to see her back and healthy.
I have to say, I thought Lisa Kudrow was going to be a guest judge this episode, not just literally saying "hello hello hello!" and "well, I got it". Oh well.
Let's skip to the challenge. We see Valentina getting picked last but still keeping her head held high, which I admire. The best revenge is to do well and show them why you shouldn't be picked last, which we saw Cynthia admit to. I understand it might have been taken out of context, but I thought it was horrible how Cynthia said Nina was just doing "community service" when she picked Jaymes for her team. As I keep saying, I don't particularly like Jaymes, but I do feel bad for her. I put Jaymes last in my ranking last week, but I didn't think she'd actually be the first to go.
So the cheerleading challenge. Like I said last week, I was expecting it to be pompoms and cheering, this completely blew me away. I gasped when they tossed Shea into the air. I don't really have much to talk about in regards to the challenge because I think everyone did reasonably well. Jaymes was struggling in the rehearsal but I didn't notice her slip up in the actual challenge. Side note: Alexis is the best looking out of drag, but I have to say, that bald spot (which I don't think was visible before this episode) took him down a few points.
Runway. The theme was White Party. I had to Google what a white party actually is, but I'm guessing the theme was more 'white' than 'white party'. I'm scrapping the 'garb' and 'garbage' because it's dumb. I'm just going to break the looks down into 'good', 'passable' and 'bad'. Original, right?
Good
Nina
Alexis
Shea
Charlie
Aja
Passable
Cynthia
Farrah
Eureka
Bad
Kimora
Sasha
Alright so that sums up the runway looks. Overall, this was a more enjoyable episode than the premiere. It's good to see the show back on its feet and return to the normal format. Stay tuned until episode 3.
Ranking
By default, the eliminated queen is last on the ranking. To begin, the ranking will be based largely on episodic performance, but in a couple of weeks it will be based upon consideration of a holistic view of previous performance and the way they are presented in the storyline and editing. Also, I usually write these starting with the very bottom queens and the very top queens and then work my way down, opposite to the way you would be reading it. I apologise if it doesn't fully make sense.
This is difficult for me because it was very hard to pay attention to everyone, the challenge was happening so quickly and I think everyone did a pretty good job. A lot of this particular ranking will be based on runway and how noticeable they were during the challenge and episode. I should probably have rewatched the episode and taken notes to do a better ranking, but I'm sorry I just don't have the time.
14. Jaymes Mansfield - I thought her runway look was much stronger this episode. Even though I didn't like her, it's a shame to see her go so soon. I teared up when she said in Untucked "I guess some dreams aren't meant for everyone", and I admired her graceful exit. "Underneath all this glamorous drag I'm a human being so be kind". Bye Jaymes.
13. Kimora Blac - GIRL. I love her but she needs to STEP IT UP. Her runway look was yet another bodysuit (which we've basically already seen on Trinity for her entrance), and I didn't really notice her during the challenge. I was expecting her to turn out the lip sync, but she didn't; I really wouldn't have been surprised if it was a double elimination.
12. Cynthia Lee Fontaine - This was hard for me because she wasn't there last episode and so it's more difficult to compare her to the other queens. I'm putting her here because so far she hasn't impressed me. If Ru brings you back, unfortunately your job is harder because you need to prove why you deserve to have been brought back.
11. Farrah Moan - I'm finding Farrah is fading into the background, which leads me to think she makes it into a few episodes, but not far enough to really need to establish a storyline for her. Her runway look was fine and I can't recall even seeing her in the challenge. I give her a few more episodes.
10. Charlie Hides - I feel bad because of course Charlie wasn't going to do great in this challenge. I think that, for her age, she did well. I really liked her snow queen runway look. However, I have to give her a lower placement because of her performance.
9. Aja - I vaguely recall Aja doing quite well in the challenge, and I really enjoyed her runway look (I always love a face cage thing. Well except for Adore's). But, I have to give her a low placement because it seems like once they cut the fat, Aja will be first to go. She's not really standing out for me at this point, which is a shame because I really like her.
8. Sasha Velour - I love Sasha, she's been my pick to win from the start, but I didn't like the runway look at all, and this episode she didn't really stand out.
7. Nina Bo'Nina Brown - Yet another queen that I don't remember from the challenge. Her runway look was great, but based on the fact that she wasn't memorable in the cheerleading, I'm going to have to give her a lower placement.
6. Alexis Michelle - I have to say, Alexis hasn't been killing it like I thought she would be, but she also hasn't been terrible. She's still middle-of-the-road for me at the moment. She held her own during the challenge, and her runway look was good but not great.
5. Eureka - I wasn't expecting Eureka to be as strong as she has been. Even though she's kind of being painted as the season's villain thus far, she still seems like a sweetheart who occasionally throws shade. I was very impressed by her not making a fuss out of her apparent injury during the challenge, and I was happy to be able to see her do her splits and kicks like she said she can do in her meet the queens video. She may slip down the rankings later, but for the moment she is doing very well.
4. Peppermint - Based on her previous experience as a cheerleader, I was expecting her to be more prevalent in the challenge, but she still did reasonably well. Her runway look was good as well, I can see her as someone who the other girls should be threatened by. Her story about being gay bashed was very touching and genuine, and I'm glad to hear about all the love she got.
3. Trinity Taylor - I'm beginning to think I, and the entire fanbase, underestimated Trinity. I'm finding myself warming up to her, and while she's not my favourite, I can definitely see that she is a strong contender. Her face as she was being held up was hilarious and her runway look was good, as was her performance. I'll be interested to see if she continues to be good.
2. Shea Coulee - Shea is definitely shaping up to be a strong contender for top 3. I loved her runway look and performance. When she was tossed in the air I was so shocked, it was awesome.
1. Valentina - I didn't understand the hype with Valentina to begin with, but I think I do now. I love how she's quietly confident, it reminds me of Violet Chachki. Her wedding dress was incredible and she slayed the challenge by commitment to character. I didn't like the other queens' ridicule of her candle (I don't know who the figure is on it but I'm assuming it's part of a particular religion).
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