
Are you invited to a HBO's Legendary screening tonight, but you don't know what happened in the first three episodes? Do you want to root for Portlandâs House of Ada as the belles of the ball, but havenât gotten someone elseâs HBO Max password yet? Do you just like reading and thinking about TV shows you've already seen? Fear not. I submitted myself to one of the streaming industryâs clunkiest apps to give you the lowdown on how the House of Adaâs self-styled âfresh Northwest pussyâ fares against their strongest competitors: nine fierce houses from the ballroom and fashion capitols of the world.
SPOILERS AHEAD for third season of HBO's Legendary:
The House of Ada debuted in the second half of Legendaryâs two-part season opener, but thatâs no reason to skip the first episode. Youâll listen to new judge Keke Palmer shove Trey Songz off a cultural cliff, performing her song âBottoms Upâ with the season two winners, the House of Miyake-Mugler. Youâll sample the masculine eye candy that is House of Alpha Omega, the showâs first all-male house. Youâll cringe when judge Leiomy Maldonado delivers a frigid score of '3' to the House of Lyght. Youâll even wish bone apple tea to the House of Revlon, the showâs first European houseâfrom Paris.
House of Ada is noted as Legendaryâs first house of all non-binary dancers. It's also a house of almost all-immigrants, but the show's editors gave the first kiki house distinction to the House of Juicy Couture, who entered the ball right before our heroes. SO I guess that's technically true? Papi Adaâs silent fingertip clap backstageâshown during Juicy Couture's introductionâwould seem especially salty without this context.
The House of Adaâs introduction feels like a backhanded setup for future greatness. Ada (pronounced as both âaye-daâ and âah-daâ on the show by Papi and his children) doesnât get the same goodwill from the judges that Juicy Couture earned by being the new kids on the block. Portlandâs premier house takes shade from both the judges onstage, and from their competitors watching offstage.
Additionally, Vanity Ada was sidelined due to her COVID-19 diagnosis, but Judge Jameela Jamil only noticed her absence at the end of the performanceâand not in a bad way. Papi, Virgo, Sophora, and Babi Ada delivered a feisty fairy fantasy. Virgo pedals his legs gracefully while in a handstand as Papi, Sophora, and Babi duckwalked like they were enchanting a mushroom circle. The house dipped, and Papi rose, relishing in his nasty-good Ariana Grande high pony. Leiomy and stylist Law Roach gave Ada stern scores of '6' and '5,' due to their stage costume style and supposedly over-polished choreography. None of that bothered Keke Palmer.
âNow, I didnât know Portland could get down like that!â Keke exclaimed to applause. She awarded Ada an '8.'
Reality show connoisseurs can smell a potentially lucrative villain edit a mile awayâthe only thing better than winning is proving why you should have won. But knowing how sweet the House of Adaâs onscreen members are in real life, itâs hard to buy them as TV villains. Adaâs storyline, so far, explores their desire to put Portland on the ballroom map, and holds the heavy price of failure over Adaâs heads. What viewers hopefully get from Legendary is the House of Adaâs journey to national prominence, where Portland is only a footnote in the story of their greatness. Their competitorsâ dismissive remarks give the viewers permission to underestimate Adaâs precision, which may prove to be a fatal mistake.
Ada tied for the lowest scoreâwith the House of Alain Milkiâof their first ball. The judges chose Ada to face off against the House of DuâMure-Versailles for a chance to save themselves from elimination. Itâs a gamble that first-time viewers have no way of knowing the payoff.
Since we will talk about episode three in this recap, letâs just say Papi Ada was wise to choose Virgo Ada as the houseâs defender. Virgo took the judgeâs critiques of being too polished and exuded charisma, energy, and improv prowess. Virgo won episode two by being the superior dancerâcausing Leiomy to audibly gasp when Virgo popped up on the floor between Cotton DuâMure-Versaillesâ legs, and Law to concede that Ada deserved to stay on their own merits.
But so the pendulum swings. Ada scored higher during the Animal Queendom ball of episode three, which was guest judged by Brazilian pop star Anitta. The houseâs frenzied poison frog mating ritual routine was among Anittaâs favorite performances, earning a '10' for their Cirque du Soleil-tier costuming. Despite post-COVID fatigue, a frog queen persona served the recovered Vanity Ada well for her onscreen stage debut. Leiomy and Law were more generous.
Ada unfortunately failed the challenge of the nightâthe 360 degree dip that Leiomy personally innovated in the mid '00sâbut Leiomy showed a softer side in awarding Ada a higher score, even formally welcoming them to ballroom (the House of Ada was founded nearly ten years ago, but viewers at home donât know that). By contrast, the historic House of Labeija earned the ballâs lowest score, but stayed in the competition due to immunity from Kekeâs Gag Flag.
So ended Adaâs screen time that episode, save for a few backstage reaction shots. The safest houses arguably got less screen time than the ballâs worst and best housesâa reminder that "safe" can be a dirty word, especially when exposure turns into payment. House of Ada proved twice now that they deserve the show's substantial cash prize and global recognition. With seven houses remaining, we have another chance to see how high Portland can boost the House of Ada, as they fight on for glory.
The next three episodes of HBO Maxâs Legendary drop Thurs May 26. House of Ada hosts It's Raining 10s at Portlandâs Vitalidad Movement Art Center, Fri June 17, 9 pm, $20, tickets here.