Blanca poses as Damon's mother and manages to sweet-talk her way into getting him an audition for the New School of Dance, which he completely aces. Upon finding out that he got in, he rushes out and embraces Blanca, telling her that he'd be dead without her.
Giving and Receiving:
Helena visits her former student, who's dying of either HIV or AIDS, in the hospital, as he has no other family. The same scene also shows a more vulnerable side of Pray Tell, who is visiting his lover Costas.
Blanca buys Angel the red pumps that she's wanted ever since she was a kid.
The Fever:
After seeing Candy getting trashed in the "body" categories, Angel tries to help her search for a way to make herself more "real".
When Damon gets a fever and Blanca fears that he might have been exposed to HIV, Pray Tell steps in and takes Damon, Ricky, and Lil Papi out to be tested. Throughout the whole thing, the guys are nothing but supportive and reassuring to each other, and they celebrate when they all come back negative. Of course, they don't know that Pray Tell himself found out that he is HIV-positive.
In the wake of learning that he has HIV, Pray Tell and Blanca commit to taking care of each other, deciding that they will both fight like hell to make sure that they both stay alive.
Mother's Day:
Blanca decides to put aside her differences with Elektra to visit her after the latter undergoes GRS. They may be enemies now, but Blanca has not forgotten what Elektra did for her when she was starting out.
The whole House of Evangelista goes with Blanca to her mother's funeral so that she doesn't have to face her homophobic, transphobic relatives by herself.
At the end of the episode, Blanca reconciles with her sister, who gives her the family recipe book and tells her that their mother spent her life regretting that she drove Blanca away.
Love Is The Message:
Blanca and the Evangelista kids try to stage an intervention after becoming concerned about Pray Tell's drinking.
Blanca blows off her first date in years to help Pray with his concert, including singing a duet with Pray.
Judy puts aside her personal dislike for Pray to call him about Costas's death so that he can say goodbye before they take the body away. This was not a standard procedure during the AIDS crisis.
Despite the rivalry between their Houses, Lulu and Candy back Blanca up when she is confronted by Darius.
Pink Slip:
Wracked with doubt over her decision to expel Papi, Blanca goes to Helena for advice. Helena concedes that she's not the best person to ask, having never been a mother, but gives Blanca a pep talk.
Mother of the Year:
After starting out the series homeless and disowned, Damon ends the season with a choice between going on tour with Ricky as a professional back-up dancer or getting a full scholarship for another year at the New School of Dance. After much contemplation, he decides to stick with school even though it means having to be away from Ricky for a while. He's come a long way in a short time.
After seeing what's become of Elektra, Blanca does not hesitate to offer to let her live with the Evangelistas. She also helps Elektra land a real, honest job so that she will never have to rely on people like Dick Ford again. Elektra repays her kindness by formally joining the Evangelistas, enabling them to defeat Ferocity in the Princess Ball.
She goes further by bringing in Cubby and Lemar and convincing Papi to return to Evangelista. Blanca happily welcomes Papi back in.
Pray goes out on his first date with Keenan. Despite Pray's best efforts to scare Keenan away, Keenan makes it clear that he's willing to put in the work to win Pray over.
In a bid to get Angel out of her funk, Blanca tells her that she intends to name her as her successor. It takes a minute for Angel to come to grips with the notion that her best friend is dying, but she quickly steps up and starts getting her shit together. When Stan turns up towards the end of the episode to try and win Angel back again, she finally has the nerve to tell him to go away and fix his own life instead of using her to make himself feel more substantial.
Acting Up:
In the opening, Blanca and Pray Tell go out to the middle of nowhere to pay their respects to Keenan Howard, an ex-boyfriend of Pray's who has since died of AIDS. It later turns out that Pray and his friend Judy have been attending every funeral possible for every New Yorker who dies of the disease.
Blanca and Papi push Angel into trying out for a modeling gig. When the photographer exploits her, Papi beats the utter shit out of him.
With the notable exception of Elektra, every single member of House Evangelista joins Pray Tell at the die-in at the cathedral.
Worth It:
Doubles as a Tearjerker, but Damon breaking up with Ricky after the latter's latest infidelity shows yet another bit of character development for him, as he's increasingly learning to stand up for himself.
Butterfly/Cocoon:
In the main plot, Elektra has a client die on her, and despite their rivalry with her and each other, Blanca and Candy come to her aid.
"When the world comes after us and tries to tear us apart, this army closes ranks."
Secondary to that, when it becomes clear that Elektra's going to have to do some illegal things to stay out of jail, she gently sends Blanca away so that, in the very possible event that she gets caught, Blanca won't be caught up in the fallout.
While Angel's tough-girl attitude costs her a spot in the Fresh Faces, Ms. Ford still recognizes that she has talent and helps her get a modeling gig somewhere else. It hurts her relationship with Lil Papi, as she is forced to blow off a date with him for the gig, but he is genuinely happy for her and says he can wait a while.
Never Felt Love Like This Before:
When Pray Tell threatens to ban Candy from the ballroom after her latest antics, Blanca and Angel both stick up for her, pointing out that the whole point of the balls was for people to have a space to be themselves.
Blanca doesn't even hesitate to help Lulu look for Candy. Neither do any of the Evangelistas. And neither does Elektra.
The funeral director embalmed Candy free of charge because it turns out that she's been going to every AIDS-related funeral in the city.
Rather than presenting a bunch of eulogies for Candy, the show instead allows her say to each of her mourners the things that she always wanted to say to them. She gets to call Pray Tell out on his elitism and force him to confess that he's always admired her. She gets to tell Angel how much she appreciates all the times Angel helped her. She gets to clear the air with Lulu after all the years of being Vitriolic Best Buds. And she gets to reconcile with her estranged parents. And at the end, she gets to make her own finale - a beautiful lipsync performance to "Never Felt Love Like This Before" where she makes her rounds hugging and holding hands with everyone she loves in the audience.
Isn't it beautiful that a character who constantly got ridiculed at the balls, who seemed to have no real friends, who made some awful choices, whose backstory was pretty much unknown, and who was in a terrible life situation with a terrible untimely death to match, got a sendoff like this? With her whole community uniting behind her and for her, mourning her and honoring her legacy, with everybody rejoicing in what a wonderful person she was, and with everybody openly saying how much they loved and appreciated her? And with her getting to tie off every loose end and saying her final thank you's and goodbyes? The episode title could not have been more fitting.
If you consider the metatext, the final lipsync becomes even sweeter: It was the last scene Angelica Ross, the actress who played Candy, filmed for the show. All the cheering, celebration, and affection in the scene was genuine.
What Would Candy Do?:
Blanca is ecstatic over Damon getting a job offer. So are the other Evangelistas, who all work together to get him prepared for his audition.
Despite being in direct competition for the Blonde Ambition gig and despite the less-than-ideal circumstances under which they broke up, Damon and Ricky do not resort to fighting each other. And while neither of them gets the gig, they both get another offer. In the end, they part as friends even though Ricky wishes they could be more.
Love's In Need of Love Today:
Angel shows another sign that she's going to be the next Mother of Evangelista, as she helps calm a stressed-out Blanca.
When Blanca gets conned out of her nail salon, the Evangelistas, Ferocity, and Wintours all band together to publicly shame Mrs. Norman.
Blow:
Blanca decides to help Ricky, Damon, and Lulu out of their respective funks by sending them on a caper to troll Mrs. Norman. For Ricky and Damon, it's enough that it gets them off of the couch, but it revitalizes Lulu, driving her to use skills that she'd thought she'd lost, and by the end of the episode, she decides to go back to college and become an accountant.
Revelations:
Damon becomes the first Evangelista to graduate from college. Almost every member of the main cast shows up to cheer him on, even Elektra.
Helena's parting words for Blanca: "It has been a joy to teach Damon... but it has been an honor to know you."
Life's a Beach:
Elektra invites Blanca, Angel, and Lulu out to the shore for a weekend getaway. Granted, she's taking advantage of one of her clients who happens to have a house out there, but he seems happy enough being stuck in a cage in the basement.
After nearly two seasons with no real love interest, Blanca finally lands one in the handsome medical student Adrian. The other ladies are all thrilled for her.
In My Heels:
Eight and a half months after the events of "Revelations", Blanca and Pray finally reconcile.
Damon returns from Paris, where he has apparently been hugely successful, having started a local branch of the House of Evangelista.
Forced to drop Angel as a client after her status as a trans woman is revealed, Ms. Ford gets around her partners by hiring Lil Papi as an associate, with Angel as his client. This also gives him credibility to start finding other clients.
Angel and Lil Papi propose to each other. Everybody else rushes to congratulate them.
After two seasons of being practically useless, the series finally throws Cubby and Lemar a bone, with Lemar winning the new Butch Femme Drag trophy.
Elektra announces Blanca's return to the ballroom by saying that she is her heart and that she is proud to call her daughter.
Blanca starts building the new House of Evangelista with young Quincy and Chilly.
On the Run:
After several years apart, the Abundance-Evangelista-Ferocity family reunites in order to challenge the House of Khan. This time around, they unite under the singular banner of Evangelista.
Cubby tragically succumbs to AIDS, but he dies surrounded by his family, including both his longtime House Mother Elektra, his erstwhile House Mother Blanca, and his biological mother, in addition to most of his former adopted siblings. It's a nice reminder that even though he was never a major character on the series, he was an important part of these characters' lives.
When Cubby's mother meets Elektra, she thanks her for all the years that she took care of Cubby. They can also be seen comforting each other later.
Intervention:
The family gets back together to raise money to send Pray Tell to rehab by winning the upcoming ball.
Elektra gives Blanca a pep talk after her disastrous attempts to meet Christopher's parents - "You are my daughter. You are every fucking thing."
After risking her career and her relationship with Papi by doing crack, Angel finally decides to sign up for an outpatient program so that she can get clean.
The Trunk:
When Elektra is arrested on trumped-up charges in an effort to pressure her into giving up the names of high-profile clients, Blanca, Papi, and Ricky work together to retrieve and dispose of the trunk containing the corpse from "Butterfly/Cocoon".
When Christopher finds out about their plans, he is initially shocked, but when Blanca explains why they're disposing of a body, he quickly gets on board because he understands how much Elektra means to Blanca and how badly things will go for her if she goes to jail. He even reaches out to a friend at the DA's office to get the charges against Elektra dropped.
In flashbacks, we see the origins of the House of Abundance. Back in 1985, Elektra was actually nicer and more motherly; she adopted Angel, Cubby, and Lemar off the streets, even when she had no money of her own, and when her growing family was unable to fit into the small apartment they shared, she sold all her most valuable finery in order to buy them a suite.
At the end of the episode, Elektra tells Blanca why she called their old House Abundance - after years of chasing after finery and valuables, she finally felt whole for the first time when she adopted her children and bought their suite even though it cost her all the valuable objects she'd accumulated.
Take Me to Church:
Pray's childhood was not easy, but at least he had an aunt who loved him even after he came out, and who still loves him even after he tells her that he's dying of AIDS. She even agrees to a power-of-attorney arrangement so that in his last days, he will have someone to make sure his final wishes are carried out.
After twenty years, Pray finally makes peace with his mother.
Something Borrowed, Something Blue:
Having grown absurdly rich from her new Mafia connections, Elektra chooses to share the wealth with her daughters, refurnishing Blanca's apartment and paying for a lavish wedding for Angel and Papi.
Papi is reunited with the sister of his ex-girlfriend, who informs him that his ex has died and that she left behind a son - his son. While Papi is understandably shocked at this revelation, he barely hesitates before deciding to adopt little Beto and raise him.
Elektra continues to spread the wealth to her daughters, treating them to the best bachelorette party any of them could dream of:
First is a day at the boutique, where she attempts to buy Angel the dress of her dreams, while also allowing herself, Lulu, and Blanca to try on dresses. When the boutique owner refuses to sell the dress to a trans woman, Elektra arranges for her Mafia friends to break into the store and take every last one of his dresses.
Second is a day at a fancy spa. Among the highlights is seeing Blanca, who spent much of her adult life doing other women's nails, having another woman do her nails while she cheerfully discusses her relationship with Christopher.
Third is a nice dinner with every trans woman in the Manhattan ballroom scene, even current rivals like Pretentia and Nefertiti.
And the coup de grace is Elektra announcing that not only are all the trans women invited to Angel and Papi's wedding, but every one of them gets their own, high-end dress from the collection that Elektra's mob friends lifted from the boutique.
Something Old, Something New:
It's a wedding episode, prepare for happy tears.
Despite the less-than-ideal circumstance under which he became a dad, Papi turns out to be pretty good at parenting. This helps Angel come around, and they decide to get married after all
After all of Angel's fretting about applying for a marriage license, the process ends up being painless, as she and Papi get to deal with a friendly Dominican lady who may or may not have decided to ignore the "M" on Angel's driver's license.
Before the wedding begins, Papi meets with Pray, Ricky, and Lemar to thank them for being his family when he had none. We also see Cubby's ghost in the background, raising a glass.
Elektra, Blanca, and Lulu present Angel with the bridal gifts. For Something Old, Blanca gives Angel her family cookbook, to help her feed her family. For Something New, Elektra gives her a fur coat like the one Elektra bought for herself when she first started making money. For Something Borrowed, Lulu gives Angel her one-month chip, showing that she decided to clean up her act for her sister's wedding. And for Something Blue, they give Angel Candy's hammer, which is accompanied by a vision of Candy herself, who advises Angel to use the hammer to protect herself and her family, but also not to dwell on her past.
Wanting to demonstrate his love in a way that Angel would never expect, Papi breaks into song. Everyone else starts singing along.
When it's all said and done, the final scene is Papi, Angel, and Beto on a beach, a happy, content family with not a care in the world. They've earned it.
Series Finale:
After Judy bullies the hospital administrator into letting Blanca and Pray into the new drug trials, Pray actually begins to recover. He reconciles with Ricky, joins the Gay Men's Choir, and starts having hope for the future. It doesn't last, but at least he gets to end things happily.
Blanca finally becomes a fully-licensed nurse. And one of the first things we see her doing is counseling a young trans woman who just got diagnosed with HIV.
The former ladies of Abundance have all gone on to good lives. Elektra is still rich and now moving into the lucrative new webcam business. Lulu is a licensed accountant. And Angel is managing to balance modelling and being a stepmom.
When Elektra boasts about her money, Blanca mentions that she's heard rumors about huge donations to AIDS clinics and homeless shelters. Elektra asks her daughters not to mention a word to anybody; she has a reputation to maintain.
In the final scene, we see the House of Evangelista is still going, with Ricky as the new Father, leading a new pack of scrappy young kids to ballroom glory, with Blanca serving as a "Grandmother". The final scene also sees Blanca being recognized as a Legend of the ballroom, with Elektra showing up to bestow a plaque upon her, and Angel, Lulu, Papi showing up to cheer her on. At the end, Evangelista welcomes its newest member, Safaree, the girl Blanca counseled earlier.
