'Legendary' Episode 2: House of West was 'robbed' despite brilliant battle, furious fans say after elimination
By now, fans 'Legendary' on the new streaming platform HBO Max have devoured the first two episodes of the ballroom-themed reality show. For the ones who still don't know about 'Legendary', the show has enlisted the best teams (known as 'houses') from the ballroom world and put them on the show where they will compete with each other for the 'Superior House' trophy every episode and a cash prize of $100,000 that will be awarded to the last team standing at the end of the season.
The first two episodes dropped on the newly launched HBO Max on Wednesday and one house was eliminated. At the end of Episode 2, House of Balmain and The House of West were announced as the bottom two teams. In order to defend their legacy, leaders (known as house parents in ball culture) Jamari Balmain and King James were asked to send in their best to the floor for one final showdown or a vogue-down. Jamari decided that he will be the one stepping up to the battle. With a quivering voice, he declared, "I came here to prove a point to my kids so I am about to f**k this stage up" before reaching out to his team for a hug. Backstage, Delicious from House of Gorgeous Gucci, Chise from House of Ninja and mother Eyricka of House of Lanvin were touched by this and they all got sad and emotional. Wilma West from the House of West was chosen by King James to step up to the battle and save their team from elimination.
Both of them vogued down like their life depended on it but there could only be one winner and it was Jamari Balmain. The battle was very close and anybody could have won. However, Jamari's display of emotions seemed to have given him a one up with the judges. When spelling out his decision, Law Roach went back and forth before declaring that he feels Jamari's emotion in his soul and would have to give it to him. Even rapper and judge Megan Thee Stallion mentioned that she's bowled over by Jamari's passion towards "his people" and gave her vote to him. Interestingly, Leiomy Maldonado who's one of the most legendary figures in ballroom culture, chose to give her vote to Wilma West, and that definitely says something.
Fans of the show too felt that West deserved to stay in the competition and it was Balmain who was supposed to be ousted. "Yall cheated House of West and for that, I ain't watching the rest of that s**t #LegendaryMAX," wrote one of the fans on Twitter. While another tweeted, "THE HOUSE OF WEST WAS ROBBED #LegendaryMax." Another said, "If Your Really Into Ballroom You Know The West’s Ate The Final Battle! I Did Want To See James Battle But Y’all Were My Favs #LegendaryMax #HBOMax #HouseOfWest."