Greetings, RuPaul’s Drag Race fans! We’re back after a short break to recap this week’s shade-packed, musical episode, which saw the return of a beloved mini-challenge and lots of heart on the runway. We open after Lady Camden and Daya Betty’s double shantay/lip sync for the win (which was a lot of fun.) Lady Camden has a little more spring in her step after getting her first win and Daya Betty is “relit” – and now it’s Jasmine Kennedie’s time to be bitter, saying she thought Daya should not have been in the top two.
Jasmine, however, is glad she was able to reveal that she is a trans woman during a dramatic Untucked and lift that weight off her chest but was worried about her father’s reaction. Kerri Colby said she was touched and reinforced that drag is a family – even though she asserts she’s going to mop the floor with her competitors (and we know how that usually turns out).
The next day, Ru enters the werk room and announces that the library is open for the annual reading challenge and this cast does not disappoint. Lady Camden delivers the classiest reads, noting Jorgeous as a “gorgeous little waist…of time.” Jorgeous says Jasmine is proof that “white do crack”, Willow called Jorgeous “Serena Cha Cha” and poor Jasmine got crickets. Bosco, who told us she has been waiting all season long for this and was “born for” this challenge proved it and gets the “W” (Lady Camden also got props).
For our main challenge, Ru invitees us to hop into the Drag Race time machine and head back to 1964 to pay tribute to the OG girl groups. The queens break into 3 groups to record a brand-new, “retro hit”. The songs are “Bad Boy Baby” by the Shangru-Las, “He’s My Baby” by the Ru-Nettes and “Baby is Love” by the Ru-Premes. As always, the groups have to write their own verses and come up with their own choreography, but this time, they get to form their own groups. The group formation was easy, but there was much squabbling over the songs, as everyone seemingly wanted “Bad Boy Baby.” In the end, Bosco, Daya and Willow Pill won out, with Deja, Jorgeous and Jasmine becoming the Ru-Nettes and Angeria Paris Van Micheals, Kerri and Lady Camden taking on Ru’s beloved Supremes.
The teams then went to record with Michelle as vocal coach. The Ru-Premes were up first and, once again, Angeria excelled, giving us Diana Ross the house down boots. Kerri was worried because she was coming off kind of pitchy. Daya got the “No! Johnny!” 60s girl group tragic scream down pat. Ru-Nette Deja is reluctant but impressed Michelle with her pipes. Jasmine thinks she’s been hiding her talent (I think she’s right). Jorgeous’ voice, however, was equated to nails on a chalkboard and she can’t seem to get the phrasing together. We’ll see how this plays out.
As for the choreo, Deja can dance and coaches her team. Jasmine in cheerleader mode. You can watch the frustration of Jorgeous and Jasmine grow as Deja is in full “cheer coach for kids” mode. Another hidden talent this week comes from Willow, who surprised her competitors with her choreo skills. Lady Camden (who we already know can dance) is doing her best to work with her two non-dancing partners, incorporating a LOT of “walking and arms.” We get our best confessional moment of the week here as a producer mishears Angeria and thought she said she had “two white feet” as opposed to “two right feet.”
As the queens get ready on elimination day, the conversation goes to girl groups. Lady Camden says she loves the Spice Girls because their message of “girl power” saved her from bullying. Kerri revealed she was spanked for humming “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child because the Lord was the focus of her home growing up and was unable to listen to secular music. Jasmine and Daya talked out their confrontation from last week, but they still hated each others’ runway looks.
On the runway, the groups perform together and they all impress. The Shangru-Las were hilarious and sheer perfection. Jorgeous’ lack of singing skill was solved by having her speak her lyrics, which actually worked perfectly and Deja, it’s confirmed, can really sing. Angeria delivers a flawless Miss Ross (but was anyone surprised?) As a 60s music fan, I will admit this has been my favorite challenge so far this season.
The runway theme this week is “Heart On.” Willow had a dress made of various thongs and lingerie and it was fascinating and really out of the box. Daya Betty gave us “cyber punk love” with safety pin sleeves and neon colors. Bosco was a “vampiric mistress having a midnight snack” clad all in white, and she surprised the judges when she turned around to reveal her nude behind (in a heart-shaped cutout.) Deja served “anime superhero fantasy” in a blue wig and a white latex dress with heart-shaped shoulders. Jorgeous was a sex kitten, with pink feathered wings and a sparkly red bra and panties. Jasmine channeled Aphrodite, goddess of love, in a lovely red gown and Angeria stepped away from her usual pageant glam to give us a 60s black and white mod Barbie doll fantasy. Kerri’s barely-there red net dress featured a removable heart and Lady Camden was Cupid struck with her own arrows. All in all, a very solid runway.
Willow, Bosco and Jorgeous were our safe queens this week. Daya got props for being the standout of her group, as did Deja. Of course, Angeria was also recognized for understanding the assignment and delivering a great tribute to Miss Ross. Jasmine was accused of being too in her head, Kerri was too “churchy” in her performance and distracted the judges on the runway with her very visible pantyhose waistband and Lady Camden was told to put aside her shyness and find her spotlight.
So, finally, Daya got her win and Jasmine and Kerri were in the bottom two. The pair had to lip sync to “Un-Break My Heart (Hex Hector remix)” by Toni Braxton. Jasmine kicked her shoe off by accident and Kerri seemed to lose the words along the way. Despite great moments from both queens, it’s time for the beautiful Kerri Colby to sashay away.
My MVP this week has been one of my favorites since episode one, Bosco. Yes, she may have been overshadowed by Daya in the girl group challenge, but she had so many hilarious moments on this episode that she deserves the kudos. She earned her reading challenge win solely on her kicker, when she said that Ru indicated in her will that she wanted to be buried on the catwalk and wanted the other queens to be her pallbearers so they can “let her down on the runway one last time.” Later, she said she was glad her “shit talking skills were seen and appreciated.” She also came up with some hilariously naughty lyrics as a Shangru-La and said she could be “poet laureate if Drag Race superstar doesn’t work out.” I loved her daring runway look and I think she’s amazing.
Until next week, remember that if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an “amen”?