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Episode 4: The Whorror House Ball –
The first of three new episodes this week features two rounds of competition to see who will become the Superior House and who will vogue it out in the Redemption Battle. This episode’s special guest judge is Issa Rae, who at least seems to have some working knowledge of Ballroom. The first round is ‘Bitch, You Scared?’, which is an all-House performance with a horror movie theme and one House member doing a Hand Performance. One complaint I have about this season is that they’ve omitted the whole costume preparation scenes from previous seasons. It was interesting to see the Houses meet with the costume designer and pitch their ideas. Now they just seem to have costumes but where did they come from? Did they bring them? Are they made for each Ball? Inquiring minds want to know! First up …
House of Revlon
Revlon claims to be going to an American Horror Story: Coven theme, with Gigi providing the Hand Performance. I’m not sure they actually watched Coven because nothing in their costuming gave me that. Their performance was more voodoo than witchcraft, but since the show took place in New Orleans (and did include some voodoo) I guess they can get away with it. The House was nicely in sync, there were some good dips, and the Hands were … okay.
The judges were mostly impressed. Keke Palmer liked the big theatrics, and noticed some slip ups which they covered without missing a beat (Score: 9). Leimoy Maldonado said the performances and outfits were everything, but the Hand Performance could have been bigger (Score: 9). Law Roach really loved the performance and gave them an 8. Jameela Jamil said they scared the shit out of her, their synergy was amazing and even under the ghoulish makeup she could identify each member (Score: 9). Issa Raw complimented the makeup, said they were so in character, and called the performance spectacular (Score: 9).
Total: 44
House of Yohji Yamamoto
This House theme was Carrie’s prom, with Luz providing the Hand Performance. For some reason, though, the Hands were basically the entire performance, overshadowing anything the others were doing as they were mostly on the floor so that put all the attention on Luz. And don’t think the judges didn’t notice.
Leiomy did love the Hand Performance all through the number, because it was original, but it got repetitive and took away from the others (7). Law noted they made the entire performance about the Hands, but if they’re going to do that they should use their stronger performers (8). Jameela said they are a beautiful House and she loves their vibe but she wants more (7). Issa said they are a gorgeous group and they look like they’re having so much fun (8). Keke said they looked amazing and she loved Luz but the performance needed more balance (8).
Total: 38
House of Ada
They chose to portray Anne Rice’s Queen of the Damned, which is an Egyptian vampire theme, with Babi doing the Hand Performance. It took them a long time to finally get the performance moving, wasting too much time with Babi (unrecognizable with a massive chest plate) writhing around on a stone altar. Unfortunately the Hand Performance was quite frantic.
Law said the performance was slow and they got lost in the middle, but he didn’t hate it (8). Jameela said she can see their determination but the Hands were lacking (8). Issa said they showed up to the party, were entertaining but wanted more (8). Keke said that while they were lacking in choreography and movement, it was a solid performance (7). Leimoy loved Babi in character, but she didn’t see much voguing and the Hands were hard to watch, just flapping arms with no choreography (6).
Total: 37
House of Alpha-Omega
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Their theme was based on the Saw movies with Father Renaldo providing the Hand Performance. The only thing that even conjured up Saw was Renaldo in Jigsaw makeup riding around the stage on a tricycle. But the Hands … more flailing. It just took all attention away from the rest of the House and it didn’t feel cohesive.
Jameela commented that Renaldo carried the performance, but the faces of the others lacked any character or emotion, and she wants them to stay in character (7). Issa said Renaldo was phenomenal, but she wasn’t locked in on his Hands (7). Keke said they were giving more zombie than Saw (6). Leimoy loved how Renaldo was in character (and stayed in character during the judging), but the Hand Performance was repetitive (6). Law said he still feels a connection to this House and he doesn’t agree with ‘any of those bitches, so fuck it’ — and he threw down his Gag Flag, giving the House immunity for this Ball. He also score them a 9.
Total: 35
House of Juicy Couture
This House went with Nightmare on Elm Street for their theme, with Father Day Day doing the Hands. And … just wow! This was hands down the best performance of the night and of the competition so far. They really stuck to the theme with four of the House members dressed as Freddy Kruger. They also had the advantage of Freddy’s knife blade glove to help tell the story in the Hand Performance. It was a scary and violent performance and they totally slayed it (no pun intended).
Issa said this is why the fuck she came to this show, the House put on a great show and performance (10). Keke said they were so good, it was a solid performance and the storyline was there (10).Leiomy said the Hand Performance broken down with the Floor Performance was everything, and it was just like her in her own latex Freddy costume — hot, wet and juicy (10). Law commented that at one point when the sleeves stretched out on one of the Freddys he fainted, and then told them they ‘did what needed to be done’ (10). Jameela said all of it was her worst nightmare but she couldn’t look away (10). Juicy Couture is the first House this season to score tens across the board!
Total: 50
House of Makaveli
Makaveli went with Hellraiser as their theme with Mother Jada doing the Hands. Unfortunately, Raja is still injured so they are still working with just four members. This performance was very low-key and the Hands did not tell a story that connected to the theme. At the end, Law whispered to Jameela if that was the performance.
Keke said it was not dynamic, it just wasn’t enough, they need more because she doesn’t see the precision or electricity on that stage (6). Leiomy said there was no power behind the performance and the Hands were not as strong as she wanted (5). Law started singing ‘Amazing Grace’ and sharply commented that he just sang at their funeral because it’s over for them so they’d better get ready for the Redemption Battle. Jada said they were giving their best, and Law quipped that their best just isn’t good enough, and then he spit a 4 at them. Jameela wanted to see more from Jada because she felt there was something defeatist in her performance. She knows it’s been hard with just four in the House but it shows in their faces (5). Issa said they were moving like their spirits were broken but she still enjoyed the performance (7). As Makaveli was leaving the stage, Mara threw a comment at Law, ‘I’ll probably see you outside’, that stunned everyone for a moment before Dashawn Wasley quickly moved things along. Backstage, Jada was furious with the judges constantly rewarding mediocrity. Girl, when you look back on this performance you’ll see what mediocrity is.
Total: 27
House of Labeija
Labeija’s theme was The Ring, with Xenith doing the Hand Performance. It was a good performance that blended many elements of vogue with the Hands and they stayed true to the theme.
Keke said this performance was worth her Gag Flag to save them last time, but the hair was distracting and the crawling on the floor slowed them down a bit … but it was still awesome (8). Leiomy said the over all performance wasn’t super strong, they were missing elements of a performance and the storyline and hair took away from the performance (7). Law said the effects and wardrobe were his favorites, and while it felt slow in parts he still enjoyed it (8). Jameela also commented that the Gag Flag was not wasted, they took criticism well (well that is a bit shady after what just transpired with Makaveli), they look unbelievable and she liked the Hands but they could have pushed it a little more (8). Issa said the story was clear, Xenith scared her and she enjoyed the performance but some parts were not in sync (8).
Total: 39
Round Two: Butch Queen Up In Drag Runway
This round had to feature one male identifying House member dressed as a woman, walking the runway with ‘furiosity’. They must score tens across the board to advance. One chop and they are out. The winners move on to the Runway Showdown, and the winner will get five additional points for their House. Revlon’s advantage from winning the last Ball was to prevent one House member in the competition from performing and they chose Golden Yohji Yamamoto. The House members walking the runway and their scores are:
- Mother Keiona Revlon – 10s
- Linda Yamamoto – Chop
- Papi Ada – Chop
- Treyon Alpha-Omega – Chop
- DYU Juicy Couture – Chop
- Smokiie Makaveli – Chop
- Soho Labeija – 10s
That put just two House members to battle it out, Revlon vs Labeija, and it was clear that Keiona was the winner, earning the five points and increasing the House total to 49 which was still not enough to take Superior House, which went to Juicy Couture with 50 points. The bottom two Houses were Ada (37) vs Makaveli (27) with Papi and Jada taking on the Redemption Battle. Before they even started, Law quipped that Papi was going to eat Jada alive but … Jada had a lot to prove and she tore up the runway, with Keke and Leiomy (who still didn’t think it was a real battle) picking Jada. Law, however, was still feeling a certain way after Mara’s threat to meet him in the parking lot and jumped up and started yelling about taking care of things right now or later. Jameela and Keke looked like they wanted to crawl into a hole, and Issa was just stunned by the outburst. But Law sat down and sweetly selected Jada for the win, which means the House of Ada has fallen. Will there be more fireworks in the next ball?
Episode 5: Anime Ball –
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The guest judge for the Anime Ball is Bob the Drag Queen, and the first round is an all-House performance, as usual, that must feature anime fight scenes inspired by martial arts, highlighting a battle between two Specialists using an assigned Vogue element. The last Ball’s Superior House, Juicy Couture, had the advantage of assigning the elements: Catwalk, Duckwalk, Hair Flips, Spins and Floor Performance.
House of Juicy Couture
Juicy went with a high school students with a demonic teacher theme. They chose Dips for themselves. Their performance was fun and they had some decent elements of Vogue. The fighting Dips were done pretty well.
Keke said she was so excited by this presentation, she loved the performance and DYU, and thought it was awesome overall (9). Leimoy said they brought a battle scene that was very martial arts-ish, very battle cat, and they carried (9). Law said the performance was great, not far from perfect, but they brought it (9). Jameela said the look was incredible and she’s never going to forget this performance, but she did see a little bit of nerves in their faces and advised them to not concentrate, just live in the moment (9). Bob the Drag Queen loved Brooklyn whooping ass with a smile, said DYU was sickening and the variety of the performance was great (9).
Total: 45
House of Revlon
Revlon doesn’t seem to understand the look of anime and decided to go with a sort of high fashion look. Juicy assigned them Spins. The performance had some decent vogue elements but there was nothing anime about it in my eyes, and the Spins were lacking.
Leiomy said they needed a bigger moment with the Spins, and while the performance was beautiful she wanted to be pulled in more (8). Law said the look was haute couture but it wasn’t their best performance (7). Jameela said something was off, maybe it was the costumes, but she told them to never sacrifice the performance (8). Bob didn’t get anime, and they had to explain their performance too much, but it was still a great performance (8). Keke agreed with Bob, noted the fashion was not anime but the hair was, and she liked their choreography (8).
Total: 39
House of Yohji Yamamoto
The decided their anime theme was the Seven Deadly Sins, and they had Floor Performance as their assigned element. This performance started out really well but then it just became a mess, so much so that even during the performance the judges were commenting among themselves how bad it was.
Law said the look was fab, the costumes were great but this is not a fashion show (even though he is the one scoring on fashion). He tells them to give them Ballroom, make the element big and to do their job (7). Jameela said they were great to look at, they had a great visual story but the Floor Performance was not in sync (7). Keke said the performance was not executed well and there were timing issues (7). Leimoy flat out said they were disappointing her time after time by not highlighting the challenge (7). Jameela said it was too chaotic and they didn’t deliver with their Floor Performance so she was giving them a 6 … and the Gag Flag, giving them immunity for this Ball. As in the last Ball with Law and Mara, some major drama erupted between Mother Aoki and Leimoy about Leiomy always judging them harshly. Leiomy reminded her that she is judging the performance, it’s not personal, and she is trying to be constructive. She is trying to help them do their best, and unlike how things played out the last time, they squashed their beef right there and ended it with a hug.
Total: 34
House of Labeija
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Labeija’s theme was an anime rock band, punk but glamour, and they were assigned the Duckwalk. They pulled off a fun performance with the theme, and while it has to be incredibly difficult to Duckwalk and battle, they pulled it off.
Jameela said the look was amazing and she could see they’ve taken the notes they’ve been giving in previous judging, but they are still lacking a certain elegance and they need to be more flamboyant (7). Bob said it wasn’t elegance, it was eleganza. They looked good and Frida was serving ‘Jojo Siwa and her Black friends’ (8). Keke saw their faces coming out a few times like they were thinking too hard about the performance, but they are always killing it (8). Leiomy loves the aesthetic but there is always something missing, the performance isn’t clean enough or doesn’t highlight the element, but she can see that they are having fun (7). Law said they look great but the performance was a little … uhhh, and the Duckwalk felt like Cornish hen, so they get a 6 for the performance and fashion.
Total: 36
House of Makaveli
Makaveli went with the Street Fighter theme, and they were assigned Catwalk. To their advantage, Raja is back. That ultimately did not help because the performance was very low energy, but the Catwalk battle and the ending was handled well.
Bob felt that the energy from Goldie was ‘wow’ but the others didn’t deliver (7). Keke said they had a great storyline, it was cool, fun and creative (8). Leiomy loved their personalities but said the performance from the House was sloppy and they didn’t feel fully connected (8). Law liked the performance a little bit, and liked how when they finished he could see one of them say they felt good about the performance and another said they had fun, so for that spirit he gave them a 9. Jameela said she was deeply concerned that they’ve consistently been in the bottom, they showed no energy in the performance, it was more like rehearsal energy. She wants them to do well but they need to bring the energy or leave (7).
Total: 39
House of Alpha-Omega
Their inspiration was Dragon Ball Z. Juicy was a bit shady in assigning them Hair Flips since this all-male House is either bald or has short hair, so wigs are required … and they’d better stay on. They also have a lot to prove as the Gag Flag was used by Law to save them. Unfortunately, the Hair Flips made up the bulk of the performance — the wigs did stay on — but the rest of it was lackluster.
Keke said it felt too chaotic and she couldn’t follow along, but it was still high quality (7). Leiomy said the Hair Flips were weak (8). Law said he was rooting for them but they wasted their save and he felt disrespected because they gave him nothing so he’s giving them nothing. But he did eventually give them a 4. Jameela loves the outfits, loves the energy but the performance was way beneath them. She did note it was shady for Juicy to assign them Hair Flips (8). Bob told them if they can’t do Hair Flips the best then at least do something they haven’t seen before (6).
Total: 33
Round Two: Beat To Beat
In a head-to-head battle, one member from each House has to perform a Vogue routine to their own shadow, which was actually a pre-recorded projection that they had to match with precision.
- Nunoy Revlon (W) vs Adam Alpha-Omega
- Father Day Day Juicy Couture (W) vs Mother Jada Makaveli
- Xenith Labeija vs Luz Yamamoto (W)
This was a pretty incredible challenge as each House member needed to match the shadow. Sometimes they were in total sync, sometimes they were just slightly behind what the shadow was doing, but Mother Jada was doing completely different choreography at several points of her performance … and that was when I realized they weren’t actually shadows on the screen behind them. Jada’s shadow performance reminded me of how Dracula’s shadow was doing different things than Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The three winners then had to Vogue down with another House member acting as their shadow. They all did well, but it was clear that Father Day Day and DYU were the most in sync, so they won the extra five points for Juicy Couture, bringing their total score to 50, crowning them the Superior House for the second Ball in a row.
The bottom Houses were Labeija and Alpha-Omega, and the two chosen to do battle in the Redemption round were Xenith and Father Renaldo. To my eyes, Father Renaldo was clearly fighting to stay but the judges said the battle as a whole wasn’t good enough. Jameela said they were both better than that battle and there was no innovation, but she gave the win to Alpha-Omega. Keke said she was just judging on technique and Alpha-Omega was the best. Leiomy said the battle was very disappointing, there was no energy, no passion, nothing that gave her ‘I want to stay here’. She wants to see nothing but the best, and that there was nothing for her to judge. She was so disgusted, in fact, that she stunned everyone and left the Ballroom. Dashawn had to gather himself and get the rest of the judges to move on with their pick. Law said he feels like they are wasting this opportunity, and he loves Alpha-Omega so they get his vote for no other reason. So Alpha-Omega has one of the worst ‘wins’ in Legendary history, and the House of Labeija has fallen.
Now everyone must prepare for the next Ball which is …
Episode 6: Mission Impossib-Ball –
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Flamboyant performer Jake Wesley Rogers is the guest judge for this Ball, and opened the show with a medley of songs. For the first round, the Houses must create the ‘Ultimate Heist’ featuring emoting from a soft and ‘cunt’ specialist. Dashawn Wasley noted that the use of the word ‘Cunt’ in Ballroom is a term of endearment, and it means to be feminine, soft and dainty. Alright then.
House of Yohji Yamamoto
After their last performances and critiques, Yamamoto knows they need to slow down the chaos so their theme is a mash-up of Dick Tracy and Who Framed Roger Rabbit with Linda as the featured performer in Jessica Rabbit drag. It was a fun performance, but there were times when Linda was so far removed from the rest of the House that she seemed to be in a completely different show. She did, however, serve cunt. (Sorry.)
Keke didn’t make them wait for a score and held up her 10 paddle. She loved the Roger Rabbit reference and said it was good to put Divo front and center (umm, but Divo wasn’t the Specialist for this performance, Keke). Leiomy said this is the performance she’s been waiting for from them, Linda carried but she should have been a little more saucy than sharp in her movements, but overall she loved it (9). Law said the look was so good, it was beautiful and well thought out and a well performed performance (10). Jameela thanked them for not making her look like an ass for saving them, she never lost interest in what they were doing, but they needed a little bit more of a moment for each of them to get a 10. Law tried to bully her into giving them a 10 but she stuck to her guns and gave them a 9. Jake was still processing how smart it was, saying there were so many layers, and that it was surprising and inevitable (10).
Total: 48
House of Juicy Couture
Juicy decided to go with ‘Pink Pussy Realness’, aka The Pink Panther. Lolita will be the specialist. I thought this was a fantastic and very well thought out performance. Lolita started on stage alone doing her part, and then a large painting rolled across the stage revealing the other four House members. That made me gag, and again they showed they are the House to beat at this point (but they better stay on their toes because the House to beat last season got beat before the finale).
Leiomy said they brought competition to this stage, it was exquisite, going from dramatic emoting to cunt (10). Law said they haven’t seen a storyline or production this clear since Season 2, calling the performance perfect (10). Jameela said this is the best thing she’s ever seen and that Lolita’s was the best performance. She told Law that this is what she was saving her 10 for. Jake told them they didn’t need his secrets, he needed their secrets, and that he can see they clearly love and trust each other (10). Keke said she saw a few mess-ups in the middle but it wasn’t enough to take away a 10.
Total: 50
House of Makaveli
They went with an Austin Powers theme, with Smokiie serving cunt. I just found the entire performance confusing but the judges saw something completely different.
Law, who was also dressed as Austin Powers, said the outfits were spot on and it was a good performance (8). Jameela said this was her favorite of Jada’s performances, but they needed to work on their facial expressions because she can see the stress (7). Jake said everything looked amazing and the story was good, but he could see them thinking (7). Keke said their quality and style keep getting better but their problem is cleanliness. She still believes in them though so she’s giving them a 10 to encourage them. Jameela was a bit flabbergasted by awarding a 10 just to make them feel good, but Law said if Miss Keke wants to give them a 10 then she can give them a 10. Jameela tried to register her surprise again and Keke quickly said, ‘Are we still talking about that?’ which made everyone laugh. Leimoy said she loved the energy, the outfits were everything, but they have to stop being so hard on themselves, do better with the emoting and push themselves (7).
Total: 39
House of Alpha-Omega
They decided to go with a 1970s Shaft vibe with Adam as their specialist (naturally). They really made up for last week. Adam was perfectly cunty, the choreo was tight, and there was a very steamy moment between Adam and Rebel. But their choice of costumes was confusing. I got the brown leather look most of them went for because that screams 1970s (the judges thought it should have been suede or black leather), but the Burberry print for some of the other costumes was completely off.
Jameela thanked them for finally looking as beautiful as she’s said they are, it was a sexy performance and she gave a shout out to Adam for his elegance. She loved the storyline (9). Jake said it was very hot, magnificent, effortless and he was thoroughly impressed (9). Keke said it was an amazing performance but it still needed to be cleaner and impeccable (9). Leiomy loved the beautiful performance saying they took drama to the next level, but they need to put everyone on the same level (8). Law said Adam was amazing, soft, cunty and he enjoyed that performance, but he didn’t love the outfits with the Burberry checks and it wasn’t his overall favorite performance from them (7).
Total: 42
House of Revlon
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They went with Mr. and Mrs. Smith for their theme — or rather ‘Mr. and Mrs. Revlon’ — and they surprisingly chose Father Vinii to be the cunt specialist, which might have been a costly mistake. The main performance was fantastic though, and they were in sync with some great vogue elements. Vinii, however, was just okay, not doing much more than a few soft dips and crawling across the stage. But the main part of the performance seemed to have obscured the failure of the element.
Jake said they didn’t murder that performance, they assassinated it, he loved the outfits and the dancing was spot-on (10). Keke loves them for their cleanliness of performance, but the separation of the House (they moved off the stage to a platform behind the audience but still carried out a performance which was pretty cool) from Vinii to give him the spotlight took some of the air out of it for her (9). Leiomy said they did highlight the challenge but the emoting was off (9). Law said the part of the number at the start when the couple snatched off their wedding dress and tux was sickening, but when they got to Vinii and his ‘cakes’ bouncing around, he wasn’t quite all there (9). Jameela loved the beginning, loved the story and was in awe of their precision (10).
Total: 47
Round Two: Old Way with a Floor Performance
One member from each House must give a performance in OldWay style, creating sharp lines, symmetry and precision in a head-to-head competition. Whoever moves on to the showdown will have to deliver a cutting edge Floor Performance to earn an additional five points. Juicy Couture’s advantage from the last Ball allowed Brooklyn to be fast-tracked to the Floor Performance Showdown.
- Treyon Alpha-Omega vs Nunoy Revlon — Nunoy got five votes for the win
- Mother Aoki Yamamoto vs Raja Makaveli — Aoki got five votes for the win
The Floor Performance Showdown pitted Nunoy, Aoki and Brooklyn against one another. The judges were split on who the winner was with Keke choosing Revlon and Law choosing Yamamoto, but Leiomy, Jameela and Jake saw who the clear winner was — Juicy Couture, giving them the five points and bringing their total to 55, crowning them Superior House for the third Ball in a row. If the other Houses don’t step up soon, they may as well just give Juicy the $100,000 now.
The Redemption Battle pitted Goldie Makaveli against Adam Alpha-Omega, and to me it was clear who was fighting the hardest. Goldie was clearly working hard to stay while Adam was still serving too much cunt, his soft performance not really standing out. But what did the judges see? Well, there was a lot of conversation about one House in particular — Makaveli. Keke was baffled as to how Makaveli keeps ending up in the bottom Ball after Ball, but then they smoke the battle to stay in, so for that reason she had to give the win to them. Leiomy, however, enjoyed the drama from Makveli but loved the soft and feminine from Alpha-Omega, so she gave the win to Adam. Law said he is not always looking for technicality, and Makaveli just gives him a feeling week after week, and they redeem themselves every week so Goldie gets the win. Jameela has had enough, reminding everyone that Makaveli has been her too many times, she sees too much fear in their eyes, so her vote is for Alpha-Omega. That left Jake to be the tiebreaker (something that was foreshadowed at the top of the show, because Dashawn had not ever mentioned that in any other episode — or had not been shown saying it because the editors knew there was no tie to break). Jake said he felt Makaveli’s desperation, the performance was authentic and here he believed it where he didn’t believe their earlier performance. He believed Alpha-Omega’s earlier performance, but he loves an underdog so he gave the win to Makaveli. Jameela said this is ‘fucking insane’ … but she didn’t storm off the stage. So the House of Alpha-Omega has fallen, leaving four Houses left to compete in the next Ball: The Fairy Tale Money Ball.
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