Greetings, RuPaul’s Drag Race fans and welcome to another week of fun and fashion from the supremely talented queens of season 14.
We open after Kerri Colby’s elimination and Jasmine says she respects the fallen queen for her ability to live her authentic life and not hold anything back before wiping away her lipstick message. Daya Betty is glad to finally have a win under her belt and now, only DeJa and Jasmine Kennedie are the only queens without a win.
Ru enters the werk room and…finally! It’s time for my beloved quick drag challenge! The queens are put to the test to deliver their best photobombs in an attempt to upstage some of the world’s most famous men. In the grand tradition of quick drag challenges, the queens looked truly bizarre, with DeJa Skye giving us full “Blue Meanie from Yellow Submarine” vibes. In the end, Willow Pill and her “washed up Mary Lou Retton” look won with a hilarious headstand on Jake Gyllenhaal’s adorable pooch.
For the main challenge this week, the dolls split into two teams to present panels suitable for DragCon (an event I was hoping to cover for the site, but, alas, no press credentials for me. Sad panda.) The topic is “Menzes” (and not “menses”, which would be a very odd topic for drag queens to discuss.) Since Willow won the mini, she gets to pick her team and chose DeJa, Angeria Paris Van Micheals and Lady Camden. This leaves Jasmine, Daya, Jorgeous and Bosco as #teamleftovers (at least according to Daya, who was less than pleased to be working with “energy vampire” Jasmine.)
Team Willow (with Willow as moderator – which is good because Jorgeous had no idea what a moderator was) wanted their panel to be more of a chat amongst friends and wanted to have fatherhood as one of the topics they discuss. DeJa is really the only one in the group who had a strained relationship with her father, who left the family when she was a kid. Angeria was worried about how she’d do on the panel, as she was unsuccessful during pageant panels because if her shyness. Lady Camden also needs to overcome her quiet demeanor and tap into some of the Freddie Mercury energy she demonstrated on the runway last week.
Over on Team Leftovers, Bosco suggested a more informative structure, a la Steve Jobs’ Apple presentations. Jasmine wants the moderator role, but that’s not happening on Daya’s watch, as Jasmine hasn’t yet mastered the art of knowing when to stop talking. Ultimately, Bosco is bringing her “salty barista” to the panel to act as moderato for the group. As they worked to put their panel together, Daya joked that she was in a relationship with Satan and that he wasn’t any good in bed and Jorgeous confessed that she walked around on her tiptoes as a kid (me too!)
While the tension between Daya and Jasmine is still evident, Daya said Jasmine was like “a little sister” whose head she wants to bang into a concrete floor…but she does love her. Bosco admitted that taking on moderating duties could “blow up in my face or be my saving grace” and Jasmine agreed to dial it back for the panel and feels she’s on the right track.
On the runway, Ru stuns (as always) in a beautiful silver sequined gown. Willow’s team presents the first panel, titled “Men: A Work in Progress.” The queens discussed what makes a man sexy, masc 4 masc dating and Dads. Angeria called herself a “drag lesbian” and confessed she thought it was sexy to “find a man to share a wig with.” Lady Camden confesses that her celebrity crush is Blake Lively…and then corrects her answer to Blake Shelton. DeJa made for a great moderator and the team delivered a solid performance.
Next up is Team Bosco, presenting “Men: Electric Boogaloo Part 2”. The team discuss male privilege (under the title ‘You’ve Got Male…Privilege”.) Jasmine (looking like Nancy Reagan for some odd reason) was able to keep her talking under control and Jorgeous kind of got lost. However, the team did a great job addressing toxic masculinity (stating drag is the perfect antidote to that) and their turn-ons. Daya said she loved WWE wrestlers, Jorgeous wants tall men to make her feel petite, Jasmine loves gamers and Bosco loves “hefty” men – she wants “a loveseat that walks around.” Again, another fun panel and another great turn from Bosco (I told you not to sleep on her.)
On the runway, the theme is “shoulder pads” (fashion that is near and dear to my heart). DeJa came out in a fantastic white Chanel-inspired suit with incredibly exaggerated shoulders. Lady Camden gave us a Nutcracker look with sparkly gold epaulets. Willow came out with spiked hair serving a sexy menswear look and described herself as the manager of an evil pop group in the year 2079. Angeria stepped away from pageant wear and served a black and white houndstooth club kid look – complete with a crown. Bosco gave us neon Blade Runner realness with Dragonball Z-esque shoulder pads. Jorgeous showed us what the love child of Selena and Prince would look like in blue sequin and a pompadour, Jasmine channeled a Powerpuff Girl villain in a day-glo bodysuit and Daya was a “G.I. Joe, Gladiator bitch from hell” in camo and spikes.
Safe this week are Lady Camden and Angeria. Bosco got her second win and poor Jorgeous and Jasmine are in the bottom. The pair lip sync for their lives to Etta James’ “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” and the two absolutely set the stage on fire. I wrote in my notes “double shantay?” and that’s exactly want happened. I sure wouldn’t want to have to pick a winner this week – and apparently, Ru didn’t either, so both queens live to slay another day.
This week’s MVP (besides the always delightful Nicole Byer – who should really be a permanent judge) is DeJa Skye. I really thought she was going to finally get her first win because her moderating was on-point and her runway look got kudos from the judges (especially Carson, who praised the look as “campy, high drag fashion”.)
She was a riot in the mini-challenge, expertly photobombing Shawn Mendes and wasn’t afraid to go all out and serve a completely bizarre look. She also got my favorite line in this week at the expense of Jasmine. When she knocked over someone’s powder, she noted that she’s been “dropping everything” like powder and glitter – to which DeJa interjected “and choreography”. The shade of it all, am I right?
Well, this never-ending season continues next week with the eagerly awaited Snatch Game. Until then, remember that if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an “amen”?