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After nine episodes dropped over three weeks, Legendary drops the Season 3 grand finale and while I believed with every fiber of my being that the House of Juicy Couture would be in the Top Two — because they slayed every performance in every Ball, earning the title of Superior House a record FIVE times — but I would not have believed you if you said the House of Yohji Yamamoto was going to be fighting alongside them. Yamamoto has had a tough hill to climb this season, only getting from Ball to Ball by the skin of their teeth.
Looking back at the competition, both Houses performed in the second episode, The Grand March Part 2, and both scored 32 points, the two highest scores of the night. The third episode found Juicy Couture ending the night with 47 points and Yamamoto with 45 … both were topped by the House of Revlon with 48. From that point on, the battles for Superior House volleyed between Revlon and Juicy. In Episodes 4-6, Juicy scored the first tens across the board, 50 points, at the Whorror House Ball while Yamamoto scraped by with 38, just barely missing the bottom two. In the Anime Ball, Juicy scored 45 (and an extra 5 points in the second round) and Yamamoto earned 34 points which would have put them in the bottom but Jameela saved them with the Gag Flag. In the Mission Impossi-Ball, Yamamoto scored 48 in the first round, and Juicy got their second 50. In the second round, Juicy had the advantage to skip to the showdown against Revlon and Yamamoto, and Juicy earned the extra five points which made them Superior House yet again. For the final three Balls, Juicy came through again. There were no eliminations in the Fairy Tail Money Ball, but Juicy earned $10,000 in the Three Fab Mice round, but in a shocker it was revealed the House of Revlon earned 49 points to Juicy’s 47 (despite what sounded like higher scoring comments from the judges), while Yamamoto ended the night in third place (out of four) with 43 points. Next was the Hot in the Shade Ball and Juicy got another 50 for the first round to Yamamoto’s 46. In the Sex Siren round Luz Yamamoto battled against Lolita Juicy Couture, and guest judge Kelly Rowland had to break the tie, giving five extra points to Juicy. Juicy also won the Octo-Puss-Puss round which gave them 60 points for the night and the Superior House title again. Yamamoto finished the night in second place. Then it came down to three in the Slayground Playground Ball where Yamamoto really stumbled in the first round with 38 points, while Revlon earned 43 and Juicy scored yet another 50. The Duck Walk Goose round found Yamamoto edging out Juicy for an extra five points, bring their total to 43 but with Juicy’s 50 they were locked in for the finale because even if Yamamoto won the third round — and they did — they wouldn’t be able to match Juicy with their 48 points so they still had to face Revlon in the Redemption Battle against Revlon. The main judges were split so the tie breaker came down to Dominique Jackson who said she saw the passion and the drive in the hard fought battle in Divo Yamamoto, so that knocked almost sure thing Revlon out and put Yamamoto in the finals against Juicy.
And that brings us to the Hip Hopera Ball. Host DJ Dashaun Wesley noted the judges were wearing fashions from Dolce & Gabbana. After introducing the two final Houses he laid it all out there for them — the winner will receive the Legendary Superior House trophy and $100,000. But wait, there’s more! Each member of the winning House will get a look of their choice from D&G, the House will be featured in an online D&G campaign and each member will also get an additional $10,000 from D&G. Now THAT is a prize worth fighting for. If the pressure wasn’t on before, it surely is now. So let’s get on with the competition.
Round One: Category is … Runway Challenge
This is an all-House challenge with one Specialists, a Diva or Divo, who will smash a dance segment. Each House must hit three poses as a unit before the performance ends. Scores will not be revealed until the end of the night after the following two rounds. If there is a tie after three rounds, the scores from the entire competition will be added to the finale score (which, if you’ve been paying attention basically means House of Juicy Couture will win, so Yamamoto really has to fight for the top score in the first round). Juicy had the advantage from the previous Ball to choose the order in which the Houses would compete in the first round and they let Yamamoto go first, which is the best strategy.
House of Yohji Yamamoto
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This had to be their best performance of the entire season. The vogue elements were there and they were nicely in sync. I have no idea if they actually hit the poses (the judges didn’t seem to care for either performance). Divo’s dance solo was solid and the entire performance was executed very well, But … it didn’t have that wow factor you want in a finale. All the elements were there but it just felt a little too safe.
Keke said it was a brilliant performance and they really took the judges’ critiques that less is more (which is why it felt so safe, in my opinion; in a finale more is more). She loved Mother Aoki’s runway moment and Divo’s performance was beautiful, an excellent job all around. Leiomy said it was everything. She’s been waiting for Divo to have his true moment and he carried this House. The performance was beautiful, crisp and clean, she felt the passion and the performance was spectacular. Law said he saw their Hunger Games reference which was very clear (it was?), and he told Divo that when he gets his moment it’s always a ‘muthafuckin’ moment’. His artistry is unmatched, his technicality is unmatched, always giving it his all, and he’s proud that the House is not just laying down and letting the other girls walk all over them. Jameela noted that she has been hard on them all competition, and after they survived the last battle she thought this finale was going to be a massacre, but they brought everything to the floor and they see that the House believes they belong here, and they do. Mother Aoki let them know that she appreciated all the feedback, and as a Black trans woman she didn’t even want to come on the show because of her own insecurities and being portrayed in a way she could not control but in the end she said, ‘I am enough’ and that brought the judges to their feet. But was the performance enough?
House of Juicy Couture
The five-time Superior House could have just phoned this performance in after riding to the finale on their past success but … WOW! This was an electrifying performance, obviously inspired by Sister Act, with four members dressed as nuns singing as a choir, ‘Juicy! Juicy!’ It gave me chills. Then as they went into the performance, Father Day Day told them to be who they truly are and those habits came off and my heart pounded even quicker. It was a brilliant concept and a brilliant performance, and you could see the judges were filled with the spirit of Juicy Couture.
Leiomy said Father Day Day’s solo was ‘fucking disgusting’ (that’s a Ballroom compliment) and the whole hip hop vogue session was so nasty she was groovin’ in her chair and want to get up out of her seat. She said they should be proud to be the first Kiki House to make it to the finale. Law addressed the audience, ‘Let the church say amen!’ He saw right when they came out they were serving Sister Mary Clarence (Whoopi Goldberg’s character from Sister Act) and then they gave that nasty peel into the street wardrobe, calling it a ‘fucking perfect performance.’ Jameela said it was fun to see Day Day shine and it was a stunning performance. Keke said the House was so unique, fearless and inspiring to her, they are talented, fashionable, beautiful and they’re saying something to the world.
Round Two: All-House Final Conflict
In this round, each House member will go head to head in one element of vogue to earn an extra five points. If there is a tie for each element, both Houses will score five points. The points earned will be added to the scores from the first round to determine the Legendary Superior House of Season 3.
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The first element was Catwalk and Dashaun said this was a Mother vs Father battle, pitting Aoki Yamamoto against Day Day Juicy Couture. They both walked hard but it was clear who won this round and with three judges votes, Juicy earned the first five points. Hand Performance was next with Luz Yamamoto facing off against Kimiyah Juicy Couture. This was another close battle as hands were flying but Kimiyah’s defiant bird flip when Dashaun told them to hold that pose gave Juicy three votes and five more points. The Duckwalk pitted Divo Yamamoto against Brooklyn Juicy Couture, and while it was a fierce battle Brooklyn went just a bit too hard by throwing in moves that took her outside of classic Duckwalk so in a unanimous decision Yamamoto won the round and the five points. Floor Performance was next with Lolita Juicy Couture against Golden Yamamoto. From what I could see, Lolita was giving true floor performance, while Golden was doing something else. Even Leiomy called out that while what Golden was doing was good, it was more Sex Siren than Floor Performance but in the end she and Law picked Juicy while Keke and Jameela went with Yamamoto, so both Houses earned five points. Then it came down to Spins & Dips, and Linda was serving, really giving us classic Leiomy Maldonado spins (I just saw a video of Leiomy from 1988 spinning like a tornado into a dip and Linda was matching that to perfection). But Keke and Leiomy gave the win to Yamamoto while Law and Jameela went with Juicy, so it was another tie with five points each. Juicy finished the round with 20 points to Yamamoto’s 15, so it was going to come down to who scored best in the first round. The action was so hot that Leiomy exclaimed her edible panties were melting.
Without any hesitation, Dashaun revealed that the House of Yohji Yamamoto scored 35 points in the first round, and with their additional 15 points they finish the competition with 50 points. The House of Juicy Couture finished Round Two with 20 points, and in the first round they scored …
Tens across the board, 40 points, giving them a total of 60 points for the night and the title of Season 3’s Legendary Superior House! It was perhaps inevitable, but it was not the massacre Jameela feared it would be. Yamamoto put up a valiant fight, but Juicy simply functioned better as a unit, their concepts were always well-thought out, and their performances were always on point. It truly would have been a shock if they’d either coasted through the finale or let the pressure get to them but they really let the judges, and the audience in the Ballroom and at home, Have. It. So another season of Legendary is in the books, and what an exciting season it was … even if at the start it seemed the inexperience of some of the Houses were going to derail the competition. Now let’s hope the new Powers That Be at Warner Bros. Discovery, who are giving shows the chop left and right, will see the value in keeping this show among their assets.
All episodes of Legendary are streaming on HBO Max.
What did you think of the finale? Tell us in the comments section below!
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