RuPaul's Drag Race: Ru Hollywood Stories
April 7, 2015 7:20 AM - Season 7, Episode 6 - Subscribe

The queens are tasked with telling the story of how Michelle Visage replaced Merle Ginsberg on the judging panel from each of their (Merle's, Michelle's, Ru's) perspectives. It is to the detriment of humanity that no one pulled out a "Ru-shomon" quip.

Ariana Grande serves up some cheer as she declares "It's the greatest day of my life!" to sit on the judging panel. The Death Becomes Her runway theme produces some pretty killer looks; the titular Stories are themselves a mess.
posted by psoas (9 comments total)
 
I know it was an act between Michelle and Merle, but Michelle looked really sour last night. I'm getting tired of her, "I demand that you do everything on the runway exactly the way I tell you" schtick. Max is one of the only queens who has shown any sort of charisma, uniqueness, or talent, so why not get off her back about her signature look? Bianca Del Rio certainly didn't have to change one thing about her look to satisfy anyone on the judging panel, but she was the pre-ordained winner, so...

The faux redemption arc for Pearl continues apace, and I guess I wasn't paying much attention, but she really works to make her face look horrible when she paints it, doesn't she? The eyes look so wonky.

Bless her heart, Miss Fame doesn't get anything at all. So pretty. So empty.

I'm loving Ross as a judge more and more, especially when he gives the Sour Visage sass back.
posted by xingcat at 12:29 PM on April 7, 2015


If you watch Michelle's Logo extra, Whatcha Packing, where she does the outro interviews she's an entirely different person. I assume the producers told her to bitch it up so Ross and Carson can play gay cop/somehow even gayer cop.

Watching Untucked, there are two things I don't like about Ginger: her face. Well that's not true there are more than two things I don't like about Ginger.

Max as always is my dear sweet perfect angel, but I hope she gets those claws out soon. Not impressed with Katya going along with Ginger and What's-Her -Faces shenanigans backstage.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 1:49 PM on April 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


This is a bizarre feeling, but I agree with Michelle about Max. It was unreasonable of the judges to complain that Latrice, who can't shop off the rack and obviously couldn't match the budgets of her seasons' other strong queens, wore some ugly dresses and a limited number of boots. And it was annoying to ask Sharon Needles, who showed great variety within a broad but precise aesthetic, to do a conventionally pretty look. But while I love Max's runways, they do get visually repetitive and I don't think "step out of your chosen palette for a week" is too much to ask her. Max's danger on the show is an excess of consistency, and anything that encourages her to show range is a good note. Even Ginger, a queen whose performances I love but whose looks are fairly standard, came out with a big camp look this week. (Which I adored, and which was by far my favorite thing on the runway.)

That said, I think Max was kind of screwed, because it's so specifically about the death of your drag character, and what was she going to do except gray hair tonight?

I'm with Violet on being tired of the group performance challenges, especially since this was a pretty excruciating script that nobody could do much with -- Ginger was the only one whose performance I particularly noticed, and she did the same kind of caricature as Max, but in a way that actually read onscreen. A Katya win was overdue, though, so I can't really complain.

Also overdue: Kandy going home.
posted by thesmallmachine at 3:39 PM on April 7, 2015


Are we too early in the season for top 3 predictions? I think Ginger is a shoo-in and might take the whole thing; I think Max is a reasonable hope if she doesn't self-destruct, but the third slot is anyone's guess. I could see Fame or Violet riding their looks all the way to the top if they can avoid the gears of Snatch Game -- we've had so many front-loaded performance challenges that I have to assume the end of the season will reward glamor. Pearl's redemption edit is such a juggernaut right now that I wonder if she's not intended for great things, although the fact that she's third-best at what she does this season has to catch up with her eventually, right?
posted by thesmallmachine at 3:49 PM on April 7, 2015


Are we too early in the season for top 3 predictions? I think Ginger is a shoo-in and might take the whole thing; I think Max is a reasonable hope if she doesn't self-destruct, but the third slot is anyone's guess.

I agree with you on Ginger and Max, but Max might be too Jinx Monsoon for the panel, in which case, I'd put Katya, who's more zany. There has to be a fashion queen in there, and while I worry Pearl is getting that edit, I think Miss Fame is going to stick it out, if only because she's kind of adorably clueless and can make fun of herself, while Violet and Pearl cannot.

I wonder if Kennedy Davenport will stay in the mix because of our good feelings about Sahara?
posted by xingcat at 7:01 AM on April 8, 2015


While it probably doesn't matter in the scheme of your drag career, being able and willing to step outside of your own signature thing has historically been a good way to do well on the show. Sharon Needles, Adore Delano, and Jinkx Monsoon did it, to their advantage.

HOWEVER.

This particular week's runway challenge would *not* have been the right time to try a new kind of look. The pale, colorless effect was an essential component of her absolutely beautiful "Death"-themed ensemble. If you're, say, an expert pastry chef known for meringue and you're on a cooking show, Meringue Pastry Week isn't the time to do something new and unfamiliar with lobster. I get what Michelle is saying, but I think Max made the right decision not to do it this week.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:29 AM on April 8, 2015 [2 favorites]


This week's RuGRETS from Katya is a joy.

Also, man, JDF. I just wanna hug her. I hope this is sort of a turning point for her in the show because I think she's super talented and fun to watch.

Ariana Grande hugging Kandy Ho backstage in Untucked was such a sweet, classy move. I was totally ready for KH to go but she really did turn out another great lipsync.
posted by en forme de poire at 11:32 PM on April 8, 2015


Katya is magnificent outside the show, probably my favorite queen from any of the seasons. It hasn't translated to much on the show -- although I think her little Bob Ross acceptance speech last episode was exactly the burst of pure lunatic genius this season has lacked.

And Michelle was right: step out of your comfort zone just once, show us what you can do there. Because no queen, and no performer, gets to always be in a comfortable space in every situation. Also Max is becoming a little tiresome and could use a change.
posted by argybarg at 8:41 AM on April 10, 2015 [1 favorite]


It hasn't translated to much on the show

I knowwww. I am hoping it's mostly because of all of the team skits, and that as the crowd thins a bit we'll get to see more of her screwiness. But it could just be that the editorial staff just isn't buying what she's selling, or that the format's not a good fit. Who knows.
posted by en forme de poire at 2:33 PM on April 10, 2015


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