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We’re already halfway through the competition and six Houses remain to battle it out for Legendary House and $100,000. The theme of this week’s main competition is Pop Art and most of the Houses actually picked a pop artist to inspire their look and performance. Most. But the challenge, in addition to the look of pop art, was to be an all-House production where vogue meets hip hop. And to assist the judging panel — Law Roach, Jameela Jamil, Megan Thee Stallion, Leiomy Maldonado — was Cookie herself, Taraji P. Henson.
Icon
Icon has been in the bottom two twice in a row now so they have something to prove here. They are determined to step out of their comfort zone and get to the next level with their comic book theme (which they should have called a Roy Lichtenstein inspired look to adhere to the ball’s theme but at least they were in the ballpark). The performance did a great job of showcasing the hip hop elements, everyone looked to be in sync, and the judges all looked thrilled that Icon brought it this week.
Law complimented the wardrobe, calling it ‘phenomenal’, saying they hit it on the head and for that reason only he gave them a 9. Jameela loved the performance and said it was her favorite of theirs so far in the competition so she scored them … a 10! Megan loved the outfits and the performances, she liked that they were smiling the whole time and the mesh between vogue and hip hop felt like a dance battle. Her score was a 9. Leiomy also loved how they combined the two dance styles and above all she can see how they mesh as a family because ballroom is about family. And for that she gave them a 9. Taraji gave them an A-plus for the outfits saying they were spot on, and she also gave them a nine. All the judges agreed they set a high bar for the rest of the night.
Final score: 46
Balenciaga
Balenciaga is down a member again this week as Honey had to take time off to continue to mourn a personal loss, so this puts the pressure on the House to turn it out with just four, and to hit a high for Honey. The House is going to use Kusama as an inspiration for their outfits (Kusama is known for her polka dots, and there is an excellent documentary on Hulu about her life and work), and there was talk of custom fabric. But when they took to the stage, everyone was in what appeared to be baggy black body suits with day-glo spots painted on them. You could tell Law was not impressed. Their performance, however, did a good job of combining the two dance forms.
Law said he did not see pop art in their wardrobe and he didn’t get the reference (he didn’t specify if that was the reference to pop art or to the artist) and for that he gave them an 8. Jameela said it was not her favorite performance of theirs and that they story was not clear, so she also gave them an 8. Megan said of the five she could only remember two of the dancers from the performance, saying it was not their best. She scored a 7. Leiomy was more upbeat, calling it amazing, she loved it, she couldn’t tell a member was missing, but she wants something new from Mother Shannon than just walking out and posing. Shannon said she wanted to spotlight the children. Leiomy gave them a 9. Taraji wanted to see them challenge themselves a little more with the hip hop, show them they have the ‘It Factor’ Taraji said she was looking for at the top of the show. Her score was a 9.
During the comments, Kalik started crying which drew the attention of the judges, causing Taraji to start yelling at him to stop. She jumped out of her chair and told him not to go down that rabbit hole of ‘I fucked up’ and said to hold his head up high right now.
Final score: 41
Tisci
Tisci’s costumes and look are inspired by Mr. Andy Warhol and their theme is ‘A Night at the Museum’, where the artwork comes to life after everyone leaves. The costumes and makeup were inspired, monochrome but colorful, with the guys wearing Warhol wigs. And the only thing to say about the performance was that they SLAYED. The judges were screaming, the Houses watching backstage were loving it, Dashaun got chills, Leiomy stood up at the end and turned her back to them because she just couldn’t take it. Talk about setting a high bar.
Law said he felt like he styled them, he loved the dancing, they were giving what needed to be given and did what needed to be done. No other possible score but a 10. Jameela simply said ‘everyone else in this competition is so fucked’, and gave them a 10. Megan said no one lacked in their performance, noted that Mother is out there performing as well (note to Shannon), she loved everybody from head to toe so she’s giving them a 10 as well. Leimony said, ‘I feel dead because they have executed me with that performance.’ She said it was the best performance on Legendary over all, they performed like they deserved that coin, they showed what Ballroom is about as a House, and that a 10 was not enough. Taraji wanted to know who came up with the color scheme — the House as a group — and said they are that ‘It Factor’ and the artistry is through the roof. 10.
Tens across the board! Leimoy said that the bar has really been set now, and Jameela said no one will be able to beat this.
Final score: 50
Miyake-Mugler
Their theme was a sort of time machine with each member doing a different style of hip hop from the 1980s to the present. Their costumes are inspired by Basquiat … who isn’t really considered a pop artist but the look of bright colors and graffiti certainly goes with the hip hop part of the performance. The different eras of hip hop were good but too brief, but their vogue was nicely in sync. The performance was fine but with Tisci’s performance still fresh in our minds, it was a hard act to follow.
Law said he saw Basquiat in the era and the makeup, he loved it but he’s been waiting for Miss Tati to turn it up and instead her pants were giving him ‘Thank you for flying Delta’ but he gets the reference and they gave the performance as a House, so for that he gives them a 9. Jameela said they were gorgeous as a House, it was all very thoughtful and she loved the look. That was enough for a 10. Megan said they were ‘fucking fire’ (okay, everyone saw a completely different performance than I did), beautiful, amazing, but wished they were more creative with whatever the pop art was and didn’t feel the Basquiat part (because Basquiat is not pop art). But she still gave them a 9. Leiomy said they gave a clean performance and their expressions were definitely on, scoring them a 9. Taraji said they married vogue and hip hop the best so far but they needed to amp it up a bit more in the art references (Jameela commented she was getting Basquiat). She wanted to give them a 9 1/2, but settled on a 9.
Final score: 46
Nina Oricci
True pop artist Peter Max was the House inspiration, and one of the dancers’ father even knew Peter Max, so that was definitely going to be an advantage. And it was because the costumes were spectacular and on point. The colors just popped. They worked in sync as a House, they spotlighted the hip hop individually, and they had the judges screaming.
Law said, ‘It was so much pussy.’ That seemed like a positive comment. He loved the outfits, he loved how they’re put together, loved the hair, the color, the light-up shoes, and he really loved the performance. He really, really wants to give them a 10 but … he’s giving them a 10! Jameela said they brought it, the look is incredible and it was the perfect House performance. 10. Megan loved the entire thing beginning to end, loved the outfits, the personality, the energy, she had zero bad to say about the performance and is gonna give was deserves to be gave – a 10. Leimoy said ‘y’all carried.’ The energy was there, the outfits were fun and she loved the storyline. It’s another 10. Taraji said Oricci was a competitor this week and they gave her a show. 10. Tens across the board again!
Final score: 50
Comme des Garçons
Keith Haring will be the influence for their look this week, and they are taking the judges’ critiques and putting more focus on Tonka’s performance and not just using his body. Good for them, but to me it just looked like Tonka was flailing his arms and running away scared. Although the bit at the end where Stasha did a split and slid between his legs was pretty amazing. The costumes and video projections though were definitely on point with Keith Haring. It was not my favorite dance of the night … but again the judges saw something different.
Law loved every minute from a fashion perspective. He though Tonka was highlighted and didn’t disappoint, saying he was the embodiment of you can do it, whatever size or shape you are. His score was a 10. Jameela thanked them for giving Tonka center stage, she couldn’t see a single moment of fear in his face (that was all I saw!), but she felt like there was chaos at the end of the performance and it wasn’t tidy enough so she gave them a 9. Megan wanted to give a highlight to Stasha for her slide and that seemed to be enough to earn a 10. Leiomy said the outfits were beautiful, the start of the performance was amazing, but some dips were missed so she’s giving them a 9. Taraji said the creativity was there, the energy was there, and it was beautiful. Her score was a 10.
Final score: 48
At the end of the first round, the Houses of Nina Oricci and Tisci are tied for first place with 50 points.
[IMAGE: LEGENDARY-S02E04-02 Caption: HBO Max]
Round Two: Body
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It is all about the body-ody-ody this week, and Leiomy wants to see confidence in whoever is walking from each House, no matter what shape or size. In this round, they must get 10s across the board to continue or else they get the chop. In the second part of the round, the competitors will strut their stuff until only one remains, earning an additional 10 points for their House. With two Houses at 50, this could be a game changer for Superior House if one of the lower scores wins. Last week’s Superior House, Balenciaga, earned an advantage: they could chop a member from one House, preventing that person from competing. Mother Shannon felt that Tonka would be their biggest competition, and she was probably right based on the judges’ critiques. They obviously love him and probably would have given him a win no matter what, so Garçon had to go with Stasha. Each House pulled out their most fit and attractive members, and almost everyone made it through to the second half. Stasha also killed with her reveal, stepping out of a large coat and then stepping back into it. Here’s how everyone stacked up:
- Shannon Balenciaga – 10
- Stasha Garçon – 10
- Dro Tisci – 10
- Kylie Kat Icon – 10
- Remy Oricci – four chops
- Diego Miyake-Mugler – 10
The second part of the round was a battle between Diego and Stasha, with the buff and gorgeous Diego the clear winner. Next it was Dro vs Diego and this time the judges gave it to Dro! Next it was Dro vs Shannon and Mother got the win for almost baring all with no shame. Shannon then battled Kylie, who took on the category because she’d always been bullied for her body as a kid (she’s got nothing to worry about now), but Shannon was still the favorite, winning the 10 extra points for Balenciaga, bumping them from the lowest score of the night, 41, to the highest, 51, just one point ahead of the top two Houses.
That left two Houses with 46 point each in the bottom – Icon and Miyake-Mugler. Since this was their third time in the bottom, Father Jamil Icon decided it was his responsibility to try to save the House from elimination. He was facing off against Malik Miyake-Mugler. In my eyes, there was simply no contest. Malik vogued like his life depended on it. Jamil did fine, but he’s so tall and lanky that he never really looks sharp and precise. All the judges were impressed, and they and the Houses watching all said this was the first real vogue battle of the season.
Everyone gave glowing compliments to Jamil for his performance, for his position as the Father of Icon, but try as they might, they really couldn’t find any fault with Malik’s performance. It seemed to kill them to give him a point, but four of them did, grudgingly so it must not have really felt like a win to him or his House. Leiomy and Megan both said Mugler always feels cold, and they want to see more emotion from them. But this week, the House of Icon has fallen.
Five Houses remain, and Dashaun promises next week will be all fun and games.
New episodes of Legendary stream Thursdays on HBO Max.
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