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Legendary is back, baby, and with the three episode Season 3 premiere there is a lot of drama right out of the gate. Ten new Houses are featured this season, with the historic House of Labeija finally making an appearance. If you’re not in the know, Crystal Labeija basically created the Ballroom scene back in the late 1960s (and for some history on her, check out the amazing documentary The Queen), and if anyone is going to perfectly represent Crystal today, it’s House Mother Aja Labeija whom you may remember from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 9. But aside from the history of the House of Labeija, this season is perhaps notable for the majority of newly formed Houses … which may end up being a detriment to them and to the competition because none of them have the same history as Labeija — and even Labeija’s House Father has only been with them for a year — and some even feel as if they were assembled just for the competition with no real concept of what a Ballroom competition is. We’ll see if the Houses grow and improve over the course of the season, but there is a lot of shade coming from the judges in the first batch of episodes.
In addition to Labeija, the other nine Houses are Yohji Yamamoto, Alpha-Omega, Makaveli, Revlon, Lyght, Du-Mure-Versailles, Ada, Alain Mikli and Juicy Couture. In the first round of competition, spread over two episodes, the Houses are competing in The Grand March which is a traditional way for the Houses to introduce themselves to the Ballroom community. The performances are to include the five elements of Vogue: Hand Performance, Floor Performance, Duckwalk, Catwalk, and Spins & Dips. Five Houses compete in Episode 1 with the other five in Episode 2, but at the end of each episode one House will leave the competition. A new advantage is introduced this season, the Gag Flag, which a judge can use to save a House they feel has been wronged in the scoring, giving that House immunity for the episode. Each regular judge has one flag (guest judges are not eligible) that can be used during the season, but only one flag can be used in one episode, so they have to be used wisely. Scoring is again on a scale of 1 -10, and the lowest two scoring Houses must face off in the Redemption Battle to determine who slays and who sashays away. In addition to the established judges — Leiomy Maldonado, Law Roach and Jameela Jamil — Keke Palmer joins the panel this season, replacing Megan Thee Stallion. The Icon Dashaun Wesley returns to MC. So let’s recap the first three episodes of Legendary Season 3.
Episode 1: The The Grand March Part 1 –
House of Labeija
Members consist of Father Soho Labeija, Aja, Venus (the newest member), Frida (from Sweden), and Jelani. Their first performance was solid if unspectacular, but they did all the elements and the Duckwalk in unison looked good. Aja quickly showed themselves to be the star with a very good dip, but the judges seemed unimpressed with the overall performance. Someone from another House watching from back stage said Labeija is from the past (but the judges later said they needed to teach the rest of the children what ballroom is). Leiomy commended them for finally making it on to the show and complimented Aja for serving up Crystal, but she expects them to step it up. Law didn’t hate the performance, but said it wasn’t great, and Jameela saw what they were going for but felt it was a bit sloppy. Keke knew they were telling a story from the moment they stepped on stage.
Score: 30
House of Alpha-Omega
Members consist of Father Renaldo Maurice Alpha-Omega, Treyon (self-described virgin to the Ballroom scene), Adam, Rebel, Tahj. Their interpretation of The Grand March is ‘Come As You Are’ and they are coming to the runway as warriors … and they were fire right out of the gate, giving a powerful and energetic performance with each House member having one of the vogue elements to tackle. Law was impressed and remarked that Father Renaldo’s opening solo was stunning. He also noted that Rebel is a pretty boy (yes, he is) and that the entire performance was beautiful. Jameela said they were really excellent and powerful, everything was well thought out and well executed, they were confident and cocky, but just the right amount, and she would never have known that this was Treyon’s first ball. She gave them the first 10 of the season. Keke says she wants to see this House again for more reasons than one (wink, wink), and felt the performance was clean, precise and beautiful. It was a slow burn at the start but they gave her what she wanted by the end. Leiomy said it was everything, loving Adam’s expression, flaring and emotions, appreciating that soft and feminine side of the performance. She could see they had a family bond but they didn’t give her all she wanted in the elements. They need to work harder for a 10 from her (but she still gave a 9).
Score: 37
House of Revlon
Members consist of Father Vinii Revlon, Mother Keiona Revlon, Kobe, Gigi and Nunoy. They hail from Paris, France, the first international House to compete on the show. Their costumes evoked Jean-Paul Gaultier with white tops and blue horizontal stripes, and red and blue pants which all combined represented the French flag. The performance started off with two couples doing a bit of a waltz which made Leiomy shriek in excitement. Vinii popped out of what I assume was meant to be a large piece of luggage as their theme was travel related but I saw no Duckwalk in the performance … and not one of the judges addressed that. Instead they raved. Jameela loved the unique opening and she felt the soul of Ballroom, but she also saw a bit of sloppiness (which seems to be the theme of the season so far). Keke liked when Vinii popped out of the box, but she needed more from the performance and hopes they will surprise her next time. Leiomy said they carried and she loves the aesthetic of the House overall, loves the bonding and can tell they care for each other. She warns them to keep it clean, keep it crisp, but she can’t wait to see them again. Law enjoyed the Gaultier-inspired costumes, and while he’s often called a nasty, cold bitch, they made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Score: 35
House of Makaveli
Members consist of Mother Jada Makaveli, Goldie, Raja, Smokey, Mara. They were inspired to enter the competition to honor their founding father Boogie, who died on April 8, 2021. Unfortunately, the competition started out badly for them as the four boys contracted COVID and rehearsals had to be done remotely over Facetime. That was reflected in the performance, which was all sorts of messy. The flashing strobe lights perhaps were used to obscure some of the mistakes, but there were Duckwalks. The judges, however, looked pissed. Keke commented on Mother Jada’s beauty, and her sexy and sensual energy but the performance was sloppy and could have been better. Leiomy said it was very very very very sloppy. She wants cleanliness, and most of the members weren’t even on the same choreography. And falling out of a dip is something the judges cannot see. Law also commented that Jada is sickening and beautiful and could not keep his eyes off of her, and when he did look at the others, their shabby velour outfits gave him ‘what I ordered vs what I got’. He gave Jada a 6 and told her she could share it with the rest of the House. Before Jameela could give her critique she noticed one of the boys seemed to be in distress show she let him talk. Through tears he said it took a lot of nerve for him to be here and he messed up and he was so sorry. Mother Jada told him it was not his fault and he did not fail the House. He stayed in it and did his best. Leiomy told him to never let one moment in life break him, and Jameela said it wasn’t just him, it was a whole House issue. She believes they can do better and hopes to see them again. It was heartbreaking to see the raw emotion backstage.
Score: 23
House of Lyght
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Members consist of Father Ryku Lyght, Danny, Cmonni, Maxima, Rigo. Ryku founded the House a point in his life when he was choosing life or death (possibly connected to drug addiction) and God told him to be in service to something greater than himself. Again this is a newer House, just founded in 2020 and the children are all professional dancers. But can they carry off Ballroom? In contrast to the other Houses, Lyght’s performance had a very masculine energy but they didn’t seem to be hitting the elements very hard. There was a nice Duckwalk in unison, and the addition of Ryku’s baton twirling. It did not go over well. Leiomy said they were ‘no-guing’ because it seemed like they just learned the choreography and don’t understand was voguing is. The performance for her came off as a mockery. She didn’t like it. At all. Her score was a 3, which stunned everyone and even Dashaun gagged, interjecting that it was the lowest score in the history of the show. Law was conflicted. Some elements he enjoyed and some he really hated, so he didn’t know how to feel. Leiomy asked him to comment on the fashion and he still didn’t know how to feel so he questioned his own score of a 6. Jameela said she knows they have dance skills, which was evident, but this is Ballroom and they need to immerse themselves in that culture, bring that to the stage … especially in front of Leiomy! If they return, they need to put more heart into the performance so it doesn’t feel like Ballroom By Numbers. Keke loves what the House stands for and that came together for her at the end, especially with the use of the baton with the lights at either end, but they could have done better with the costumes and elevated the framework of the performance.
Score: 19
Comments from backstage noted they carried off choreography but weren’t able to give the elements of vogue. Jameela said it was the worst thing she’s seen in the history of the show, and Leiomy said she was gaging but not in a good way. Keke at least said the heart was there. In the end, House of Alpha-Omega was the top House of the night, with Makaveli and Lyght the bottom two. The Houses selected Mara Makaveli and Father Ryku Lyght to vogue in the Redemption Battle. Ryku said he’s been in Ballroom since 2005 and Jameela said they’d better see that on the stage. Leiomy told them to vogue down, keep it clean, and make her feel their passion. And … Mara wiped the floor with Ryku, but he basically gave up midway through and tossed in some ridiculous move (Keke called it ‘shooting’) and then landed his final pose off the stage right in front of Leiomy, and she was NOT having it.
For the final decision, Keke saw some elements of Ryku’s performance that were going in the right direction but when he just started dancing he lost the Ballroom elements. She saw Mara voguing and living in that so Mara got her vote. Leiomy said the battle was pretty okay, but commended Mara for keeping it clean, soft and feminine, so Mara got her vote. She didn’t even address Ryku. Law also commended Mara for holding his attention with a soft and feminine performance, calling it ‘fish’, ‘sushi’ and ‘yellowtail’, so confident. Mara got his vote, again without even acknowledging Ryku. So that makes the House of Makaveli the winner of the battle, turning out the Lyght for this season.
Episode 2: The The Grand March Part 2 –
House of Juicy Couture
Members consist of Father Day Day Juicy Couture, Brooklyn, Dyu, Kimiyah and Lolita, who appeared in Season 1 as the cape-snatching Lolita Leopard (from House of 007) Super Villain Challenger in Episode 7: Capes & Tights Ball. Juicy Couture is the first Kiki House in the competition, which means they prep younger people for the main Ballroom scene. While their performance was energetic, did they hit all of the elements? Leiomy actually thought they needed more energy but they slayed the elements. Okay. Law said they were all fine, the look was together and he was impressed. Jameela called them a ‘House of Face’ and noted Brooklyn’s phenomenal flip. She also felt an immediate sense of family, and noted everyone had a chance to shine but they need more energy (okay, we saw two different performances) and innovation. Keke thought they had high energy (thank you!), excellent looks and individuality and she gagged — in a good way — when they came out.
Score: 32
House of Alain Mikli
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Members consist of Father Papi Alain Mikli, Alex, Summer, Sparkle and Nu Nu. This performance again had good energy, but the presentation of the elements of vogue was sloppy. Law said the look was good, liked the Beyoncé reference, but saw a lot of nerves and missteps, telling them they need to pull it together for the millions of people watching them on television. He feel in like with them but not in love. Jameela loved it, thought they looked great and had the right amount of energy. Keke said the look was fabulous but they needed to smile more (um, that’s not really what you do in Ballroom, girl). Leiomy loved the introduction to their performance but called out a lack of Hand element. She loved the Floor performance, but said the energy wasn’t all the way there, telling them to stop watching each other.
Score: 28
House of Ada
Members consist of Father Daniel Ada, Babi, Sophora, Vanity and Virgo. This is the first House consisting of all non-binary members, and they are credited with bringing Ballroom to the Pacific Northwest, specifically Portland, Oregon. Unfortunately, Vanity was unable to perform this week due to testing positive for COVID, but the show must go on. Ada gave some good energy, and I saw all of the elements in a cohesive performance that worked even with a member short. Jameela said they did an amazing job and didn’t even realize there was a member missing. She also wasn’t mad about the outfits but she hopes there will be something chic-er to come, giving them a high score of a 9. Keke said she didn’t know Portland could get down like that, loved that they were all totally in the performance and also didn’t notice Vanity was missing. Leiomy loeved the aesthetic and the beautiful transitions between elements, but felt it was more choreography than Ballroom elements, there was a disconnect. Law said he didn’t feel anything, giving them a low score of 5.
Score: 28
House of Du’Mure-Versailles
Members consist of Mother Aaliyah Kiara Du’Mure-Versailles, Christian, Cotton, Ken, and Lash. This House had a lot of sass, but the performance felt way too choreographed, confusing and very low energy. Keke loved the theatrics and the story but said it was sloppy and the costumes were distracting. Leiomy said some of it was cute, but there was too much sloppiness (see, I told you that was the theme of the season so far), they need to work on the cleanliness of the performance, don’t make everything so big because smaller and precise would read bigger. Law was too busy ordering from Postmates to give a critique because the performance bored him. He gave them the second lowest score of the premiere episodes, a 4. Jameela loved the energy, the sense of family and the love they emanate, which she felt in the performance.
Score: 20 — with an exit that was noted to be better than the performance itself.
House of Yohji Yamamoto
Members consist of Mother Aoki Lee Yamamoto, Divo, Golden, Linda and Luz. This is another young House, just formed in 2021. But … the performance was sultry, sexy, and hot with great elements and a Duckwalk that concluded with a back slam onto the floor which was amazing and made Jameela scream ‘YES!’ Leiomy loved the performance but thought the energy could have been bigger, they need to be more intriguing with the elements and take it to the next level. She called it very basic but the cleanest performance of the competition, and she thought the House dynamic was good. Law said they gave him a taste but he wanted more. Jameela called them sexy with amazing energy and even though she wanted a more dynamic performance they still outdid every House so far. Keke loved the theatrics and the costumes, calling the performance amazing.
Score: 32
At the end of the night, there was a two-way tie for first between Juicy Couture and Yohji Yamamoto so they are both safe. Du-Mure-Versailles had the lowest score of the ball, and Mikli and Ada tied which forced the judges to decide who would face Du-Mure-Versailles. They chose Ada, and Ada put Virgo against Cotton Du’Mure. They had an energetic battle but when Virgo seized on a moment to crawl between Cotton’s spread legs I felt the deal was sealed. Leiomy gave the battle to Virgo for his energy. Law wasn’t excited by either one and wanted more, but still gave the win to Virgo because he was more dynamic. Jameela said she saw better battles in Season 1 and thought Cotton looked stressed while Virgo was confident, so that gave the win to Virgo, keeping House of Ada in the competition to vogue another day.
Episode 3: The Animal Queendom Ball –
The third episode of the premiere gives us the first episode of real competition between the eight remaining Houses, and with extra special guest judge Anitta … who demonstrates that guest judges who know nothing about Ballroom can totally screw up the competition. For the Animal Queendom Ball each House will choose an animal to embody, taking on the look, traits and fashion influences of that animal. One member must perform a flawless 360 Dip (the Triple Axel of the Ballroom world), with Leiomy, the inventor of the 360, telling them they need to flip like a pancake. And all four Gag Flags are in play this week. Sorry Anitta, you don’t get one (but she does all she can to make up for it).
House of Alpha-Omega
Animal: Snake. 360 Dip: Tahj.
The House turned in a very energetic performance but Tahj really was not able to pull off the 360. Keke loved it and felt the story was clear, with the accurate, slithering moves of a snake. She would have given them a 10 but she wasn’t sure where the 360 was (9). Leiomy said the 360 was a failure because tahj landed on his foot and butt which took away from the landing. But the performance was good and the snake element was there (8). Law loves this House and feels having an all-male House is really special. He saw the flaw in the 360 but he believes in them (8). Jameela said they came out strong and in sync, and she feels their sense of family and the trust they have in each other (8). Anitta loved the choreo but told them to really put all of their energy into the performance, go for it (8).
Score: 41
House of Labeija
Animal: Caterpillar/Butterfly. 360 Dip: Father Soho.
The House chose the caterpillar to butterfly theme to showcase Aja, the trans woman of the House. Labeija turned out a lot of energy and a lot of dips, almost to the point of obscuring the 360 which made Leiomy’s eyes pop (not in a good way). For her the 360 was a fail all the way, and said the performance was more like moths with zero drama and the emoting came off as electrocution (4). Law loved the start of the performance and credited Aja with keeping them going (6). Jameela also said Aja saved the performance and loved that they were telling her story (6). Anitta said she felt so much energy from them (8). Keke agreed with Anitta but said the performance got a little wonky. She scored them a 6 but … she doesn’t want to see them go home so she pulled out her Gag Flag and gave them immunity this week.
Score: 30
House of Alain Mikli
Animal: Birds. 360 Dip: Sparkle.
The choice of birds was to represent different birds that have lost their flock and come together to form a new flock, or a chosen family. During the rehearsal, choreographer Tanisha Scott felt they were giving two separate performances and she didn’t know where to look, so they need to think about this and bring it to another level. In the performance, they certainly had the most elements of vogue so far but the 360? Law said the look was fab but there were problems with the voguing, which got messy and all over the place (7). Jameela said there was a lot of chaos in the performance and they need to tone it down so they can see the elements of vogue (6). Anitta said she was obviously not a technical judge and she loved everything (9). Keke said they did a beautiful job and she liked the individuality of the costumes but it was hard to focus on the story. She just got lost (6). Leiomy loved the beginning but also commented on the chaos, and said the 360 was a failure because it started way too high (6).
Score: 34
House of Yohji Yamamoto
Animal: Jaguar. 360 Dip: Divo (who called himself a 360 specialist).
Their costumes and makeup made me think of Cats, but they had good vogue elements and the 360 at the end of the performance was pretty flawless (and why the other Houses didn’t end the performance with the 360 is puzzling … or maybe it was just because they knew they weren’t going to pull it off). Jameela loved that they were committed to the characters and said they feel like a team, they were in sync but needed to be more dynamic (8). Anitta just simply gave them a 10. Keke said they looked beautiful, they all pulled together but they need more fluidity in the transitions (9). Leiomy loved it, they stayed in character, but she could see that each transition was coming so that needs to be more fluid. The 360 was beautiful and she loved the performance overall (8). Law said they looked great and were committed to being cats. And the he laid on them his patented ‘You did what needed to be done’ catch phrase, scoring them a 10, calling it the best performance of the night (even though there are more to come).
Score: 45
House of Ada
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Animal: Poisonous frog. 360 Dip: Sophora.
Vanity rejoins the House this week but the performance was messy and the 360 was so non-existent that Law had to ask Leiomy who did it. She just said it failed. Anitta said it was her favorite performance and was glad they took such a risk, scoring them another 10. Keke said it was really fun and exciting, she loved the costumes, loved Vanity, but realized the 360 did not go through (9). Leiomy loved the performance noting they really stayed in character but Sophora didn’t land the 360 because she slipped (7). Law loved the interpretation of the frog and said they had a lot to prove after the first ball and they proved it (8). Jameela said they came back ten times stronger from their first performance (8).
Score: 42
House of Makaveli
Animal: Scorpion. 360 Dip: Mara.
Raja was unable to perform this week due to a sprained ankle, but having one less member perhaps made it less chaotic because it was just dip after dip after dip. The 360 was weak but they did do some good scorpion poses. Keke said they looked fabulous but they needed more energy and they were too spread out (perhaps to cover the missing member?) (7). Leiomy didn’t get any drama and said they dipped hella times and some missed it hella times, but she can still feel they are a House (6). Law said the hair and makeup was fab, and that he loved Mara in the Redemption Battle. But he asked Mara how he though the House did. Mara said they did the best they could and felt like they gave it their all. Law said if that was the best then they can pack up and go home now. Give him a performance or don’t waste his fucking time (7). Jameela saw improvement from the first ball but they need to come back to win. She needs to see so much more (6). Anitta loved the makeup, but she was expecting choreography that made her feel afraid of scorpions (7).
Score: 33
House of Revlon
Animal: Bees. 360 Dip: Father Vinii.
It was a good performance but again, where was the 360? Leiomy said they hit it with the performance and thanked them for giving vogue femme dramatics all the way through, for giving ode to femme queens. And even though Vinii missed the dip she still gave them a 9. Law said the energy was high from start to finish (9). Jameela said it was unbelievable and thanked them for showing Anitta what actual Ballroom is like. This is the performance they’ve been waiting for and even though they didn’t land the 360 it was still worth a 10. Anitta loved it (10). Keke said the drama was everything and they were on point. She wanted to jump out of her chair but her outfit would not let her. She said Mother was everything (10).
Score: 48
House of Juicy Couture
Animal: Zebra. 360 Dip: Dyu.
The performance started out very sharp but it got a little frantic. Dyu did manage a nice 360 though. Law said Kimiyah at the performance and it made him feel good (9). Jameela said she would have been disappointed if they didn’t do well after liking them the last time but they were even better, with a cohesive, funny story (9). Anitta said it was perfect (10). Keke said it was an incredible, creative performance (10). Leiomy said they were on popint with the vogue femme dramatics, emoting and doing double kicks, but she called out Dyu for doing a tilt and not a 360 which cost them a point (9).
Score: 47
At the end of the night, House of Revlon was the Superior House and took possession of the Legendary Trophy. Had Keke not used her Gag Flag, Labeija would have been the lowest scoring House of the night, but thanks to their immunity that put Mikli (34) and Makaveli (33) in the Redemption Battle, Summer vs Goldie. I don’t think there was any question that Goldie killed it. Law felt Mikli gave a better performance, but Keke, Leiomy and Jameela gave it to Makaveli, who lives to slay another day.
With one more House down, the remaining seven Houses will next compete in the Horror House Ball.
New episodes of Legendary stream Thursdays on HBO Max.
What did you think of the season premiere? Tell us in the comments section below!
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