RuPaul's Drag Race season 9

[bjh2114]

^All of this.  Valentina is probably the most boring lipsync artist I've ever seen in person.  She's GORGEOUS, and she's been doing well playing the same character over and over again, but she's definitely one of my least favorite queens this season.  Heck, I'd prefer to watch Kimora talk about things she doesn't know.  As much as the fandom seems to hate Alexis, I sympathize with her a little.  The editors are going pretty rough on her, but I have to say that the majority of stuff that comes out of her mouth is TRUE (just no necessarily put the best way).  That being said, Sasha, Shea, and Trinity are my girls, 100%.

[Jordan Catalano]

^And I think that will be the final 3 with Shea having a better chance each week of snatching the crown. 

[JerseyGirl2]

I am finding this season more boring than most. I was rooting for Alexis, but that ship sailed. Now I think I am pulling for Trinity and I didn't think I would like her at all. I followed her on Twitter and she's hilarious.

[Brave Sir Robin2]

I have a LOT of feelings about what happened on tonight's episodes.

 

**SPOILERS**

 

While I'm heartbroken that Valentina went home, she did not know the lyrics, and did not attempt to save herself with tricks and moves like she easily could have. If anything, it broke my heart to see her shut down and be so vulnerable, especially since she could tell that this was probably the end of the journey. Her confessionals broke my heart! I think she's super talented and has a huge future ahead of her, and she could have won the whole thing - or at least made Top Three. It's a shame, but the reasoning is justified. Plus, she's been very classy and honest about it. 

Also, does anyone else think the lip syncs have been either incredibly uncomfortable (Valentina, Charlie) or wildly manic (Trinity, Alexis)? The only strong one so far has been Nina v. Aja, and Peppermint. Kind of a bummer.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Far and anyway the best episode of this season. The challenge wasn't too cringeworthy (and Sasha and Shea were genuinely fun) and that runway was fabulous. Definitely one of the best runways the show has ever had. And mercifully, no Very Special Moments in the workroom.

As for the elimination, personally my enjoyment of Valentina had been fading for a few weeks. She's clearly gorgeous, but beyond that I didn't get much from her. For me, trying to keep that mask on felt almost like cheating, and I can't believe she was so brazen as to not immediately take it off when Ru asked. Nina is a damn mess, but she knew the words. 

I hope the rest of the season continues in this trajectory. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Alexis. Michelle. Has. Got. To. GO.

She is one of my least favorite queens ever to appear on this show. Nasty, egotistical, overreactive, hypocritical, boring. The worst kind of queen after those who come on and can't sew or create original looks.

[BobbyBubbi]

^ Alexis had the worst look by far last night. How could she be so pedestrian on the CLUB KID runway!? She should have been in the bottom two because of it, her nasty, self righteous, demeanor not withstanding. 

 

I was rooting for Valentina. Ru nailed it right on the head, I thought she could have gone all the way but she got too cocky and/or gave up. That lip sync was truely mortifying. 

 

Nina's runway make up was ON POINT  but her maudlin attitude, and weak delevery in the challenges has landed her in the bottom for the last two weeks, If she's there again a third time (my hunch is bottom two next week will be Alexis and Nina, with a possible double elimination) she will definitely be out. 

 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Agreed on every paragraph here. I didn't expect to still have so much cannon fodder hanging around the work room this late in the competition. Double elimination of Nina and Alexis would be music to my ears. (Sorry you two queens, the sand in your respective hourglasses ran out an episode or two ago.)

Shea, Peppermint and Sasha for top three! 

[wonderfulwizard11]

The problem with Alexis is that, despite her sour attitude, she is a talented queen. I don't love that she is sticking around, but based on the challenge it would have been absurd to put her in the bottom two. 

[Brave Sir Robin2]

I'm shocked they didn't do a singing challenge to throw Alexis a bone. Of the nine episodes, she's only done well in two: Snatch Game and the Kardashian Musical. Peppermint and Shea also sing, and Valentina has a decent voice!

 

"And mercifully, no Very Special Moments in the workroom."

Yep. This season needs more drama and mini challenges, less serious moments. Is it due to the VH1 move?

[Valentina3]

I loved the episode. And no, I don't think Alexis should have been in the bottom 2 considering how badly Nina and Valentina did. I really want more drama

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

I don't get the Alexis love. I was baffled people on here thought her Liza was deserving of a Snatch Game win. There was such little specificity to it and she went for all the easy jokes. So far off from the genius of Little Edie, Maggie Smith, Crazy Eyes/Carol Channing, and the Mae West-Bjork combo that we were treated to in All Stars 2. She's not untalented, but she shouldn't still be there.

I was heartbroken for Valentina. She was genuinely funny, talented, and has an incredible star presence that's missing from some of the queens still in the competition. She choked, I can't imagine the pressure the contestants are under. So much of it is just being able to navigate the pressure of being in the actual show. But she's so talented that she'll still be a winner at the end of the day. And she brought some much-needed drama to what will go down as the show's most underwhelming season.

[newintown]

From last week's Untucked, it looked like Valentina had no idea that she might have to lip synch (which was silly of her), and didn't bother to learn the song or practice. It seems a small mistake (although she had never been near the bottom two before), but proved to be a bad one.

However, I've no doubt that the Valentina brand will be enormously aided by her performance on the show, and we can probably look forward to her on the next All Stars (if there is a next).

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Maybe I'm being too forgiving, but what I got from UNTUCKED was that Valentina was experiencing a toxic level of denial at the same time as she had already given up.

[BobbyBubbi]

newintown said: "From last week's Untucked, it looked like Valentina had no idea that she might have to lip synch (which was silly of her), and didn't bother to learn the song or practice. It seems a small mistake (although she had never been near the bottom two before), but proved to be a bad one.

However, I've no doubt that the Valentina brand will be enormously aided by her performance on the show, and we can probably look forward to her on the next All Stars (if there is a next).

 

"

This.

I got the same thing from watching untucked. Love her, but home gurl got cocky and thought her club kid lewk (while stunning) was enough to keep her safe from elimination, so she sat there and didn't bother to learn the song. Whoops. shudda lernt that song huntie. 

I agree with the "star power" comment. Yes, Valentina  isn't the best lip syncer I've ever seen (although I've been genuinely impressed by the youtube vids I've seen of her performing in clubs) and bitter Aja can come for her all she wants, but Valentina just has "it." You can't teach it, you can't learn it, you can't bottle it up and sell it, she just has it. 

Its really too bad. I wanted to see more from Valentina, and I think she could have taken the crown this season. 

Hope we do see her in all stars!!!  

[wonderfulwizard11]

Since the queens are all given the songs in advance, I don't understand why Valentina didn't just know the song. Bianca de Rio (who is one of the few queens to never lipsync) said that she arrived knowingly every song because you can't ever tell when you'll need to know it. It also seems to me that Valentina thought she could get away with posing through the song because she'd been so loved and Nina so clearly otherwise would have gone home. 

I think she's talented for sure, but not immediately listening to Ru took a huge amount of nerve, and I think it showed that Valentina wasn't fully ready for the demands of the show.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Wait, you mean the queens are given an entire season's lip-sync songs before they ever get to the workroom? Can that possibly be true??

Just once I'd really love to know just how much prior info the girls are given before each season's competition begins. We know they're given a list of the runway challenges since they all seem to come prepared for every outlandish lewk well in advance. And sure, every queen has got her Snatch Game impression locked down if she's smart long before getting on the show. Gee, have they already penned their Library Reads, just waiting to drop in the appropriate subject's name? For that matter, just how much time passes from the day they get the call that they're cast to the day they appear in the workroom? Does anyone out there know first hand?

[Valentina3]

FIRST hand? Haha. I'm sure Jinx and Alexis are on the BWW chatboard, let's hope they answer this one.

[wonderfulwizard11]

I am 99% certain that's true. At the very least, they certainly get all the songs once they arrive for filming- I remember someone last year pointed out a queen listening to And I Am Telling You several episodes before it was used. 

[wickedfan]

A lot of times you'll see the queens in the work room with ear buds and that's usually them listening to the lip sync song. Rules may have changed, but I read that they're given the full playlist at the start of filming and then told a day or two before the runway what song is being chosen.

The one thing they don't know is who else is going to be on the season with them. They each arrive to their hotel separately, have no phone or internet and are not allowed to leave their rooms. The first time they see each other is in the work room on the first day.

Here's a list of "Fun Facts" about Drag Race:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/cassiesmyth/facts-you-never-knew-about-rupauls-drag-race?utm_term=.smnOL3VO8#.cbkQNglQO

[bjh2114]

They get the list of songs (with the lyrics) for the entire season when they arrive, but the audio for only the song for that particular challenge is loaded onto the iPods as season progresses.

[Someone in a Tree2]

^ Thanks, Wickedfan and bjh-- really helpful info there. I can't imagine anything more exhausting than living your drag queen personna 24 hours a day 7 days a week as it appears these queens need to. Used to be a monthly club here in LA called Dragstrip 66 where all my friends and I would get dressed up for the 2nd Saturday of every month. 4 hours of that was super-fun but absolutely draining.  

[Valentina3]

Yep. The show's super predictable this season. Sigh. Also - the crew makeovers were actually quite funny. I'd love to see more of queen-crew interaction. The way Bob was tweeting last night makes me wonder how many inside jokes we missed.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Last night was arguably the best makeover challenge the show has ever done. Not that the looks were gag-worthy (though are they ever), but the guys were so sweet and really into it. I was dying at Wintergreen's back and forth with Kesha. 

Personally, I was surprised not to see Sasha win. I've really grown to like Trinity, but it was strange to me that Alexis Michelle got read for being basic and she didn't. Yes, the tuck was impressive and it was polished, but she walked out in a bathing suit. Sasha and her sister had great looks, and the family resemblance was for me the strongest. 

[Valentina3]

^ while I agree from the look perspective that Sasha should have won, we got to see a very small excerpt of the lip sync performance and I think that's where Trinity might have outdone Sasha.

[Someone in a Tree2]

I'm all Team Sasha myself, and frankly wouldn't mind a bit if Trinity didn't make it past Final 5. But I've felt for a long time that Sasha's brand of humor and design style is just too damn intellectual and -- dare I say it-- elitist for Mama Ru's brand. Her Marlene Deitrich was for me the true high point of Snatch Game, and her red outfit for the Michelle Roast was a brilliant sendup of Helena Rubinstein which had me in stitches. So now I think it's high time Sasha wowed us all with a full-on naked show-girl pageant look like the ones Trinity is addicted to. Michelle Visage and Ru would probably fall all over themselves praising Sasha's power to reinvent herself for the masses.