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In “Intergalactic,” things get a little nasty between the judges, for a hot minute, but everyone tries to keep it cute.
| Director(s) | Rik Reinholdtsen |
| Writer(s) | N/A |
| Aired (HBO Max) | 6/25/2020 |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Recap
Rise of the Fembots – Chise, Jamari, Deshon, Shyanne
As usual, with “Legendary,” it is when the individual, rather than the house, gets showcased that we see the best do, as Law Roach would say, “What had to be done.” Which for the femme queen vogue? Oh, between Jamari of Balmain and Deshon of Gorgeous Gucci in heels, you can tell some of the judges were getting their life, since this is their primary reference to the ballroom scene.
Yet, it should be noted, with the House of Ninja being all cis-women, it seems for some, like Shyanne, who is a femme queen, it makes their inclusion rub them the wrong way. But they get to have their moment in the final battle as they don’t make the finale. That battle is Chise v. Jamari, who EATS Chise as if he was straight or equal opportunity.
Take Me To Your Leader – Law Roach, Leiomy, Makaylah, Eyricka
It’s an avant-garde fashion category, but rather than show your house’s style and looks, you have to perform. Which you know is a struggle for some since not everyone has mastered a good look and a good performance at the same time. Never mind recognizing individual members strengths and weaknesses as a house.
But, despite props slowing down Gorgeous Gucci, their house is safe. Balmain, despite boring Law Roach, and causing him to get HIGHLY defensive, after getting boo’d and Leiomy initiated a back, and forth, they are safe. After all, Balmain has consistently gone for bizarre outfits for damn near the whole competition. Did you really think the one time it calls for such outfits they’d lose?
However, while those two houses stay, neither were the superior house. Rather, it was, for the third time, the House of Lanvin. Primarily thanks to Mother Eyricka listening to the judges and letting Makaylah show up and show out. I’m talking doing backflips, in stripper heels, and then going into a duck walk. Leaving you to think, when homegirl gets older, that pain is going to be ridiculous.
You Don’t Belong Here – Sharron, Shyanne, London
Which leaves the House of Ninja and House of Escada. Now, for the House of Ninja, it seems expectations for them are always so high, that anytime they aren’t met with a top tie performance and look, they usually end up in the bottom two. The problem this time around is taking too long to get the performance started and many feeling that, while consistently good, they aren’t consistently excellent. A problem that is becoming a bigger deal since other teams are getting better, so Ninja can’t just live off being good.
As for Escada? There remains the issue of having a strong presence in London, but the rest not working well when they perform in a group. Add in their outfits being criticized, and it led them to being in the bottom two.
Which is when things get nasty for the second time in the episode. The first was Leiomy and Law Roach going back and forth, since she is an ICON of Ballroom and him a famous stylist. And while Leiomy isn’t about running resumes, she does take offense to when people don’t get Ballroom as she knows Ballroom. Especially if they are coming from an outsider’s perspective. Even if they were inspired by Ballroom or claim to like it.
However, we’ve seen the judges, Law Roach, especially, have spats multiple times with other judges. What is rare is there being moments when the contestants get feisty. We saw that with Mother Eyricka in the past, but that was a one-time thing. Shyanne, however, being in her feelings, when she battles Sharron, things get a little nasty.
Why? How? Well, each person gets to speak before the battle, and Shyanne makes it clear they are doing Femqueen Vogue. Thus putting Sharron on notice that, with her being a cis woman, this category is not for her – at least, that was our vibe.
But then, to take things to the next level, Sharron was using blocking maneuvers during the battle! Which didn’t work, since Sharron is no Chise when it comes to vogue, hence why Shyanne won. It does make you wonder though, are things about to get nasty?
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Is it just me, or does anyone else notice they don’t really use title cards for the second category consistently?
Review
Highlights
The Drama
Does reality tv need drama? Absolutely. “Legendary” has mostly relied on the unfortunate stories of its contestants to do that, but it’s starting to veer towards those who haven’t made a name for themselves yet. Cali and Sharron, while part of the top teams, neither has gotten individual attention previously. So while it was nice to hear Sharron might have popularized Ballroom in Taiwan, and hearing Cali’s story, there remained the question of who are they and what have they done on this show, specifically?
Which is why Law Roach is so necessary. Was the back and forth with Leiomy a bougie ghetto moment? Yes. But it wakes you up. As noted in a previous recap, without feeling the bass and with the way the camera jumps, unless you are on some Makaylah level, with the right outfit to match, you aren’t necessarily going to stand out. So that back and forth, and Shyanne’s comment about femme queens, that is what increasingly is giving us life.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for love, peace, and chicken grease. However, ever since Mother Eyricka made that comment about another house, it made it seem they were suppressing any and all ill will or comments, when the show is starting to need that.
The Music
Most of the time, the music is just a beat for them to dance to and Dashaun to add his two cents. But, with each song having a weird story or vibe to it, you had to take notice. Making it so you want to Shazam, or whatever you use, to get to know what song was playing.
On The Fence
They’re Back To Cutting Shots Too Much
Who honestly cares how a guest judge looks when the performance is happening? Is Law Roach usually not behind tinted glasses and analyzing a performance? Thus giving you Blue Steel? Why not just focus on the best angle to show both people off, huh? Because, increasingly, it is starting to be noticed they focus on the person who is going to win and leave little for you to guess or debate on. It’s like, you’re being pointed towards certain houses and people.
Overall
Trajectory – Plateau
After a certain point, you have to see and accept “Legendary” for what it is. It’s something which wants authenticity, but also wants to ride the wave of LGBTQIA+ culture being part of the mainstream, or at least entering it with members of the culture as the face. There is a desire to share their stories and struggles, but also be uplifting and entertaining, but not show the cattiness of Ballroom.
To be fair, I think with it being one of the first to focus on the Ballroom culture, vs. Drag Culture, we’re seeing a lot of growing pains that are hard to reconcile. Yet, you can see adjustments in nearly each episode. Some of the tweaks are for the better, in terms of the drama, and some for the worst, like the editing. But, at least we’re seeing incremental progress.
Where To Watch
TV Shows We’re Covering This Season
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