Good points!

Yeah, the touch of glittery makeup is just one signal in a season full of them (Florian, the closet full of Bob Mackie…). No particular reason he couldn't be gender-queer or on the trans spectrum instead of gay, of course, but I think the little subtextual hints would be different if the writers had that in mind.

Don't a lot of these women live in Hollywood, though? I mean… West Hollywood is right next door, and in 1985 they already had municipal same-sex domestic partnerships.

I SAID I FELT

Zardulu has straight up run out of ideas

I do really think Sasha is different. RPDR has had its share of brainy queens but she's by far the *nerdiest* competitor to make it on Drag Race, which I say with love. And I think marrying that with very well-executed, unusual fashion choices and a surprising sense of humor does make her something the show hasn't…

Really, Farrah at #5 and not Aja's "Holding Out For A Hero"? Huh. I even thought Farrah's lip-sync against Cynthia was better tbh.

That's actually why I find her so fascinating, though! It's obvious how artificial Valentina is, but she's also not trying to sell us on being real or approachable. She's selling us on this fantasy of a beatific but slightly inhuman star that you love from a distance.

Hey that's a good video. It particularly sucks because like, out of the people with the most legit trauma in the US, queer Black people are way overrepresented…

"Even" Sarge?? hdu

yeah she's kinda the Jujubee of S9. She's funny, sweet (but can still read a ho), and a fierce lip-sync performer. Probably won't win, but will go far.

Yup, Sasha is a for-real arts and criticism nerd. People often make the mistake of assuming that only STEM nerds actually have a pure love for their subjects and that critical theory nerds are just posturing or something, but nope, she is a big old nerd who probably reads Deleuze and Guattari for fun and I love her…

The brothel is also supposed to be a place they take foreign diplomats, etc., though, so it made sense to me that the commanders would want it to look as luxe as possible. Like, I'll bet there are sleazeballs from other countries who just loooove to party there.

Re: frontrunners faceplanting, Max, kind of — she had *two wins* before completely choking during Snatch Game. But even then, she performed a lip sync that was better than at least two efforts this season, so, snaps to her.

The leaked stills are also all super creepy for some reason. I kinda feel like the girl from The Ring is going to come out of my TV now that I've seen them.

Too real

"What a fun sexy time for her"

Stop making me feel emotions, random internet stranger

I thought it was pretty relatable actually. I went to a ton of loud shows in scuzzy venues starting when I was around 13, but I also totally remember having a Gene-ish freak-out reaction to overly loud music in a kinda weird/aggro environment when I was 10-11. Stuff changes fast around that age.

The faux-mom thing is very Wendy Pepper.