OK where to start...
I like almost all of the cast. I'm getting kinda ****ty vibes from A'Whora and Tia, and I think Ginny will start to grate on me very soon. I love campy queens, don't get me wrong, but there's something so 2D about her that's just very uninteresting and... loud noise, to me. I do think A'Whora has something very "star" quality about her; she does command attention and just seems very wired and smart and present, but... also probably trying a little too hard to throw shade and start fights? I loved Tia's entrance and the talking head about Boutros Boutros-Ghali
but there's definitely something a little bit... irksome about her. Can't quite place my finger on it.
The mini-challenge...
producers, for the love of god, stop hiring "celebrity photographers" just because they're attractive. The quality of those photographs - the lighting, the angle, the focus - was ****ing abysmal! Complete waste of time. S1's was (sorry) much better.
And the main course... I'll split my thoughts into each queen.
Joe - LOVED the Bowie look, very obvious to a Bowie fan. Haven't a ****ing clue what Michelle is on about here. However, I do think the Brighton look - whilst definitely 'Brighton' - was a little bit too much and she just didn't have a good silhouette or something about it that stood out. As a "look" it was definitely engaging but also a bit of an assault on the eyes. She should have been safe, and towards the top half of the 12 though.
Asttina - I'm in two minds about her win. On one hand, she killed the presentation... on the other, I preferred Tayce's Naomi
but I think it was clever to play it simple and subtle, and she did a great job with the London look. Definitely deserved top 3.
Ginny - The Kate Bush look was identifiable as Kate Bush and that's about where the goodness ended... but she did a good job on the runway. The hometown... I would have expected the judges to read her for having a manly physique. It was pretty much just a suit. Bottom 3 for me, with her safe over the other two.
Tia - I would have had her lipsync against Sister Sister. Whilst I applaud the novelty of trying to take "Alan Turing" and make it a look, it just felt like a major stretch and wasn't really that impressive. Her Robin Hood also looked really homemade and flimsy, and was completely upstaged.
Bimini - I really liked the Norwich City look
really smart take on a football look, and I didn't really notice the visible tape. But... who the hell is that hero? Never heard of her, sorry :/ and as a result it just read "what A'Whora should have looked like"
Lawrence - definitely made the top three based on personality and a favourable edit. The stained glass look was very nice, and I did like the Avengers look too, but it wasn't stunning.
Cherry - I... may have put her in the bottom three? The steampunk look seemed unfinished and underwhelming, and isn't at all memorable aside from that sad billow of smoke she coughed up. The Freddie Mercury look was nice, but basically a Halloween costume
like... if you want to dress as Freddie Mercury for a drag competition, you surely don't choose the look where he looks incredibly busted in a music video, do you?
Veronica - really baffled as to how she wasn't top three. The Boy George look was spot on, and complete. And the rose dress was gorgeous. Robbed.
A'Whora - I really liked the Robin Hood look... but that first one was completely lost on me. It wasn't so much Westwood as it was... Alice in Wonderland, if Alice was dragged through a forest and left for dead. The makeup was ugly, the dress was just a bunch of mismatching patterns held together by an ugly green corset... boot.
Sister - oh dear. She should have been told to start packing her bags for the Dusty Springfield look alone. Horrific. And the Liverpool runway didn't really scream Liverpool either - there's SO much iconic culture about that city and you go for "manic-depressive housewife from the 50s"?!?!?! Worst by far.
Ellie - definitely in the top 3 of the challenge; the Beano look was fantastic and her Lily Savage was pretty strong too.
Tayce - I think a case could be made for her being top 3... she definitely would be 4th for me if there was a 4th. The Welsh look was simple but effective, and her Naomi trumped Asttina's imo.
All in all, I'd therefore have placed them thusly (in order of preference):
Winner - Ellie
High - Asttina, Veronica
Safe - Tayce, Joe, Lawrence, A'Whora, Bimini, Cherry
Low - Ginny
Lipsyncing - Tia, Sister
Lipsync was pretty bad. Joe seemed to visibly give up at some point
so it left it a home run for Bimini.
Final thought: I do wish Lawrence had used the "desgusten" reference as her entrance rather than a random aside
