'Legendary' Finale: The 3 houses reflect on their most memorable moments on the show before their performances
The theme for the final ball of Season 1 of 'Legendary' was 'Heaven and Hell'. The House of Escada, House of Lanvin and House of Balmain were the ones competing for the $100,000 grand prize — the biggest ever in ballroom history. Each of the standing houses had one last time to showcase their performances as a family on the stage, however, a major element that adds a whole another layer to any ball was missing this time.
The finale was shot in an empty studio, sans the audiences that were mainly comprised of members of the ballroom community from New York. The finale was taped in the month of March and by then coronavirus had been declared a global pandemic and large gatherings were prohibited, so all three houses performed only in front of the four permanent judges — Leiomy Maldonado, Megan Thee Stallion, Jameela Jamil & Law Roach.
Spoilers for the Finale Episode
This episode also featured all houses sitting down in a "Last Supper" kind of a setting and reflecting over all their wins and losses and all the lessons that they learned through the course of the competition. The Lanvins had won the Superior House trophy more than anyone in the competition but they also reflected on all the drawbacks they had to face which includes being in the bottom twice.
The Balmains reflected on their biggest moments in the competition including the time when the father of the house, Jamari, stepped up and went against Wilma West to save his house from elimination. Torie's first time getting into drag and conquering the stage as well as Gravity's hand performance in the 'Capes & Tights' ball were also some of the moments they collectively looked back at with pride.
London, the house mother of the Escadas, commended her children for everything they did in the competition. London also highlighted the fact that the always feisty Twilight was not confident coming into this competition but went on to the best-dressed category and won the $5,000 cash prize in the 'Wild Wild West' ball. The group is known for their positivity in the competition and it reflected in this exchange.
Coming to the performances, each house put up a show that was well-received by all the judges. The Lanvins were commended for delivering on all counts — costume, storyline and execution. Leiomy commended the Balmains for showcasing pure growth through their performance and Jameela thanked them for performing like they were to a full house even with no audiences in the studio. The Escadas put up a performance that was truly reflective of their bond as a family and were commended by all judges for doing so and they left the stage with the judge's mouthing their house chant, "You Can't Take Escada".
It was now time for the judges to pick the final two houses that will go on to battle for $100,000 dollars. The Balmains and Lanvins were chosen by the judges to battle in the finale and the Escadas took a final bow in the competition but not before the wonder woman of voguing, Leiomy, called them "true ballroom". To sum up, how the Escadas wanted to be remembered, London said, "We are the winners in this story as we did not lose our bonds and that's worth a $100,000."
Tune in to this episode of 'Legendary' on HBO Max at 12 am on July 9.