[Ammi]

...well done Moltyn Decadence...Veronica.....

[Ammi]

...oh I love a RuDunnit, I love to see their acting challenges and I love Jamie Lee Curtis.....

[Ammi]

...I’m enjoying reading the mirror chat...Miss Toto is actually a bodybuilder..was Tina an athlete..?..I can’t see any articles atm...

[Shaun]

outstanding

[MB.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...I’m enjoying reading the mirror chat...Miss Toto is actually a bodybuilder..was Tina an athlete..?..I can’t see any articles atm...

I try and get everything from actual interviews to accurately flesh out their personalities/backstories a bit (hence the weird but true stuff about Toto being a bodybuilder!) - with Tina, I remember reading something on Reddit about her being an athlete that I added to my notes, but I can't seem to find it now so I decided to be as vague as possible instead (although everything about her being a linebacker in a pantsuit, a catchphrase she'd probably wear out after the first episode in real life, is true, so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that she would have been a football player in school or some such)

[MB.]

Originally Posted by Shaun

outstanding

Much appreciated as ever

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by MB.

I try and get everything from actual interviews to accurately flesh out their personalities/backstories a bit (hence the weird but true stuff about Toto being a bodybuilder!) - with Tina, I remember reading something on Reddit about her being an athlete that I added to my notes, but I can't seem to find it now so I decided to be as vague as possible instead (although everything about her being a linebacker in a pantsuit, a catchphrase she'd probably wear out after the first episode in real life, is true, so I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that she would have been a football player in school or some such)

....there is a Tina Burner Ping Pong Table..(..I swear to the Lord...)...and Ping pong is an Olympic sport so I think we can safely say....

[Braden]

I'm here for Kandy getting DQ'd for punching another queen in the jaw. Just for the drama

[MB.]

Originally Posted by Ammi

....there is a Tina Burner Ping Pong Table..(..I swear to the Lord...)...and Ping pong is an Olympic sport so I think we can safely say....

Luckily for her I'm switching the elimination format to Ping Pong for Your Life from next week onwards

[Braden]

I don't encourage violence but just a little bit for these fab fan-fiction things.

[MB.]

Originally Posted by Braden

I'm here for Kandy getting DQ'd for punching another queen in the jaw. Just for the drama

I wasn't even planning on making her into an antagonist-of-sorts this episode, but every time I googled Kandy her name seemed to be followed by the word "drama" so... hey, if the stiletto fits!

(and really, I can't imagine that scenario would be much more degrading than being solely remembered for dressing up in a broccoli costume)

[Ammi]

...that Broccoli costume is so iconic......

Youtube video

[MB.]

which reminds me that Kandy has officially lasted at least one episode longer than her drag sister Dahlia (or she would have done if Dahlia hadn't made a cameo in literally every other episode that season, presumably because she was living on the studio lot)

[MB.]

Just because I'm a sucker for visually-appealing Excel charts and probably won't be able to post this in alphabetical order for much longer:



(white safe means they didn't receive feedback, yellow-y safe means they did. Don't ask me why, I just copied it all from Wikipedia)

[MB.]

Before we begin the next episode:

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[MB.]

After Veronica's Elimination
The queens return to the werk room following Veronica's elimination, and wipe her goodbye message from the mirror. Moltyn says that winning a Lil' Kim lip sync in front of Lil' Kim has lit a fire under her, and that she’s determined to avoid the bottom this week. After placing low in the previous challenge, meanwhile, Tina says that the harsh reality that someone will be going home each week has given all of the queens (herself included) the wake-up call they need to up their games. It's time, she says, to start separating the wheat from the chaff.

Mini Challenge
For this week's mini challenge, The Essence of Booty, Ru randomly divides the queens into pairs; season twelve winner Jaida Essence Hall then stops by and leads the pairs in a search for pirate treasure hidden somewhere in the werk room. The queens turn the room upside down in order to try and hunt this treasure down (no doubt the poor Pit Crew will have to clear up the mess), but it's the pairing of Jasmine and Kandy who find the treasure chest first.

Inside the chest is a list of roles for this week's challenge, an improvised murder mystery called Death by Rice. As the winners of the mini challenge, Jasmine and Kandy get to assign these roles. Kandy picks her own role with confidence, saying that she has an improv background from her school days. Jasmine, meanwhile, pairs herself up with Tina, as she thinks having someone like her to bounce off of will put her on the path to winning her first challenge. While they agree to assign the majority of the other queens roles that play to their strengths, Kandy says she wants to see how Gia copes with a potentially smaller role, after seeing how she crumbled under pressure as team leader last week.

Main Challenge
As decided by Jasmine and Kandy, the full list of roles for the maxi challenge is as follows:

Detectives
Head Detective Noelle Noir, the southern detective hired anonymously to lead the investigation into Santino Rice's murder - Moltyn Decadence
Detective Jessica Felcher, the deputy assisting with the case - Jazell Barbie Royale

Suspects
Lady Tuckingham, the family matriarch with a shocking alibi - Jasmine Rice LaBeija
Grandma Tuckingham, the crazy old woman who owns the manor - Tina Burner
Donna, Santino's bitter estranged lover - Olivia Lux
Toni, the self-absorbed heiress hoping to bag a windfall - Kandy Muse
Chrissy, the mysterious black sheep of the family - 6
Barfa, Santino's nurse who has a penchant for puking - Denali
Windexa, the maid who discovered one of Santino's darkest secrets - Miss Toto
Flora, the groundskeeper who heard a suspicious noise while gardening - Neon Calypso
Ginger, the cook accused of poisoning Santino - Kornbread Jeté
Honey, the kitchenhand who conveniently disappeared following the murder - Gia Metric

Roles assigned, the queens film their improv scenes, joined by Ross Mathews as Moltyn and Jazell's co-detective. After the first scene, in which the detectives discover Santino's dead body (played skillfully by a shop window mannequin, as the actual Santino refused to have anything to do with this), they get to work grilling the first suspects, grieving matriarchs Jasmine and Tina. As it turns out, Jasmine's decision to pair herself with a queen she has established chemistry with works wonders, as she and Tina steal the scene with their histrionics and eccentric character quirks.

Next up, the detectives interview the threesome of 6, Kandy and Olivia; although Kandy was confident in her improv abilities going into the challenge, she doesn't seem to have prepared more than one joke for her role as the heiress Toni, while 6 comes off as timid in her role as the mysterious Chrissy. It's therefore Olivia, as Santino's bitter ex Donna, who carries the scene, using her theatre experience to improvise some funny moments with Ross, Moltyn and Jazell.

The detectives then line up the house staff (Denali, Gia, Kornbread, Neon and Toto) for questioning. With so many queens in one scene, stealing the spotlight isn't easy, but it's poison-wielding cook Kornbread who best rises to the occasion. While Denali, Neon and Toto (last week's top three, it should be noted) do a fine job also as Santino's nurse, maid and groundskeeper respectively, Gia barely gets a word in edgeways as the shy kitchenhand, especially compared to Kornbread's larger-than-life character. In the final scene, detectives Ross, Moltyn and Jazell gather all the suspects in the grand hall of Tuckingham Manor, where Ross reveals that Santino's killer was none other than…

Spoiler:

As Moltyn and Jazell walk the killer out of the room (backwards) in handcuffs, Tina gets in one last joke as Grandma Tuckingham by comically feigning an over-the-top heart attack at the shock. Yay improv!

[MB.]

Mirror Chat
Back in the werk room the next day, the queens go over how they think they all did in the improv challenge. Kandy still seems confident about her contributions to her scene, confidence which is only exacerbated by Gia mentioning that she thinks she did poorly. Jazell tells Jasmine and Tina that even though she was supposed to be playing the serious detective, she couldn’t help but break character and laugh at their improv shenanigans. This compliment prompts Tina to discuss her status as the current reigning National Comedy Queen. In a confessional, Jasmine says that while she loves Tina like any sister would, she does have a tendency to brag just a wee bit.

When Denali mentions that she loved the murder mystery movie Clue as a kid, the queens get into the always light and cheery topic of childhoods. 6 talks in frank detail about her own childhood growing up in foster care; by the time she ran away from home, she says, she had lived in twenty seven different foster care homes. After this, she struggled with addiction and homelessness, living on Skid Row for three years, and by the age of fifteen she was working in gay bars. She says she feels the struggles she’s been through in life have made her a stronger performer and indeed person today, and that most importantly of all she’s in a place in her life where she’s happy.

Runway
This week's runway category is Absolutely Androgynous (outfits that combine the masculine and the feminine to create a look that's neither). As ever, I've supplied a moodboard below, and coincidentally this one features one of David Bowie's fabulously androgynous outfits made by the late Kansai Yamamoto (RIP):

Spoiler:

Judging
Based on their performances in the challenge and their runway presentations, Denali, Jazell, Moltyn, Neon and Toto are declared safe, leaving the remaining six as the tops and bottoms of the week. Before the safe queens leave the stage, Ross gives Moltyn and Jazell a shoutout for their great work as his scene partners in the challenge.

The judges then critique the top and bottom queens. 6 is praised for her Ziggy Stardust-inspired jumpsuit on the runway, but in the challenge Michelle felt she lacked a sense of fun and ended up fading into the background. Gia is also praised for her Klaus Nomi-esque androgynous look, but is criticised by Ross for being too "in her head" and allowing herself to be swallowed up in the challenge by her scene partner Kornbread. Speaking of the devil, the judges loved Kornbread's performance as she managed to make a minor role extremely memorable, even if her runway look (literally, she's dressed as the Devil, Crystal Methyd is shook) is a tad sloppy.

Olivia is given praise both for her quick wit and charisma in her scene and for stepping outside of her "pretty" box on the runway, while Kandy, who confidently chose her own role, receives criticism from the judges for her one-note performance and allowing other queens to overshadow her. Michelle does really like her club kid look on the runway, but isn't sure this is enough to keep her out of the bottom. Speaking of scene stealers, Jasmine and Tina - aka Lady and Grandma Tuckingham - are called "a comedy double act of ingenious proportions" by guest judge #1 Jamie Lee Curtis, while guest judge #2 Bowen Yang (of SNL fame) says that Jasmine's effortless use of improv techniques made her seem like a professional improv actress. The judges agree across the board that both Jasmine and Tina are forces to be reckoned with in the competition, and Ru declares them both the winners of the challenge. If you're into reading facial expressions, Tina looks a smidgen happier about this joint win than Jasmine does.

Kornbread and Olivia are also congratulated on their strong performances and declared safe, leaving 6, Gia and Kandy left on stage. Eventually, Ru declares Gia safe, leaving 6 and Kandy as the bottom two.

Safe: Denali, Jazell Barbie Royale, Moltyn Decadence, Neon Calypso & Miss Toto
Winners: Jasmine Rice LaBeija & Tina Burner
Safe (High): Kornbread Jeté
Safe (High): Olivia Lux
Safe (Low): Gia Metric
Bottom Two: 6 & Kandy Muse

Kandy says in a confessional that she was so confident throughout the challenge that being in the bottom feels like the wind being knocked out of her sails. 6 says that she refuses to fade into the background in the lip sync like she did in the challenge, and that while she loves Kandy, she has no qualms about sending her home if she must.

[MB.]

Lip Sync for Your Life

6
vs.
Kandy Muse



to
We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off
(Jermaine Stewart)

Youtube video

The lip sync isn't as much of a runaway victory as last week's, seeing as both 6 and Kandy are able to adapt their respective lip syncing styles to the song with relative ease. However, Kandy seems to lose some steam halfway through the performance, while 6's lip syncing remains consistently tight, controlled, sensual and confident throughout. There's no doubt that 6 is a true pro at this game.

"6.... shantay you stay."

Ziggy Stard-I mean 6 thanks the judges, before hugging Kandy and leaving the stage. Kandy seems upset, but is able to pull it together for her parting words. Ru tells her that while her time on the show may have been short and sweet, she'll always be her Kandy, darling. With this, Kandy departs, and unlike her drag sister Dahlia, she actually gives a goodbye message as she does so. It's a step in the right direction, at least.

[MB.]

I think you'll all agree I'm really Excel-ing at this

[Shaun]

poor Kandy </3

I imagine she'll last around 4 or 5 episodes in the real thing, so this isn't that devastating I suppose.

Santino refusing to take part at all presumably getting to the bottom of Ru's fracking empire (or, even worse, sabotaging it to bring about the apocalypse)

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by MB.

Before we begin the next episode:

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...I didn’t know of her, the only drag I’ve followed is some of drag race...she had a beautiful smile and such a warm face......such gorgeous photos and a thoughtful tribute, MB.....

[Ammi]

...I’m sure that Shaun might have done death by rice in ICB so there might be copyright issues/court case scandal there...

[Ammi]

....6 ...she’s overcome so much through her childhood to become her glorious self she is today....

[Ammi]

....awww, sad to see Kandy go, but I’m so glad that 6 stayed...I can’t believe you tributed Kansai Yamamoto who designed so many Ziggy and Aladdin iconic looks...I saw some at the V&A museum a few years ago, it was like being in the presence of Gods, emotional...and really quite exquisite and detailed......

[Ammi]

...I needed your Excel-ent skills when I was doing ML...bRutiful and FabRulous.......