RuPaul's Drag Race S9E9 - Behind the Mask
Saturday, May 20, 2017 at 12:30PM 
by Chris Feil
Have you caught your breath since this week’s dramatic elimination on RuPaul’s Drag Race? Should I get you an oxygen mask?
Drag Race has always been a show that delights in shocking us. This episode was so briskly paced, it was positively giddy to get past the challenge and workroom so that it could bring the drama. This week, the queens teamed up to create their own sitcom pilots (more a commercial for one, really). The challenge is perfectly timed with the upfronts over the past week, but Mama Ru dealt us one vicious cancellation.
And the challenge mostly served to deepen existing relationships and divides. Power couple Shea and Sasha immediately pair off, but last week’s lipsyncer Alexis is just as fast to snag the previous winner Peppermint and Trinity, leaving Valentina and Nina Bo’nina as the odd couple left. It seemed like the girls were given a lot of free reign in assembling their pilots, which brought out the best and the worst in them depending on the queen.
Mary, Mother of Gay - The Alexis/Peppermint/Trinity... um, trinity created a comedy about two Christian mothers seeking advice from a nun about their gay sons. All that free reign allowed a lot of room for Alexis’s ego to take over, even somewhat pulling Peppermint’s focus. Meanwhile, steady and unbothered Trinity sneaks up the middle and steals the show once again with another wacky performance.
Teets and Asky - Would watch! SaShea came to set fully prepared with quick jokes and a clear concept of spy partners fighting bad fashion. Drag Race has been needing a good alliance again, but these two are like a less evil Rolaskatox or Raven/Jujubee. Has there ever been a more adorable moment of Drag Race friendship than that shared sunset booty grab?
Nina and Tina - Oof! This is why the essence of creativity is limitation. Without a set script and left to their own devices, Nina and (Valen)Tina were comfortable winging it without even a strong concept to follow. They could do literally anything they wanted and what they came up with was drag prison hookers who rub food on eachother’s faces? A real mess.
The runway this week was a Club Kid Couture. While I do think this has turned out to be a strong season, one thing that has been missing is discussion of drag aesthetics and influences in general. So a little herstory lesson for the children all about the enduring relevance of the club kids was a delightful inclusion this week! And of course it made for one (mostly fantastic) runway.
Best Runway - Trinity Taylor
She may have claimed to not be well versed in culb kid culture, but her venereal disease inspired look was strong and unexpected (much love for Peppermint’s literal take, though). Trinity has been steadily been showing more and more versatility while delivering that perfect mix of shady sweetness.
Shea and Sasha were the winners, making Shea the first three time winner of the season. Both of Sasha’s wins have been shared, so she’ll need a win of her own to rise above her galpal. Maybe her next prize can be something she could, you know, use - this week she won hair care products and previously won a year’s supply of burgers (she’s vegetarian).
Alexis doubled down on the ego in the critique, trying to save herself from a challenge performance that didn’t register and a runway look that wasn’t club kid enough. Good on Pep for sticking up for the team. But the obvious bigger miss was with Nina and Valentina. Aside from their rough challenge, Nina gave an incomplete look and the only toe Valentina dipped into the club kid pond was a sequined SARS mask.
When the two begin their lipsync, we get what will become one of the most legendary moments ever on RuPaul’s Drag Race. It was like a symphony of gay gasps, a compounding clusterfuck of a downfall. First, Valentina doesn’t take off her mask, trying to Smize For Her Life instead of lipsync. Second, RuPaul stops the music to demand that Val removes the mask and is not happy about it. Third, the lipsync restarts and Valentina can’t muster the words.
Nina’s lipsync performance is passable, but could have been an easy elimination had Val lifted a finger to perform, especially with Nina’s downward trajectory. Valentina’s lipsync was barely a cut above the one that sent Charlie Hides home earlier this season - except Charlie knew the words and at least lifted a finger to weirdly touch her lady bits. The lipsync is meant as an ultimate sink or swim moment, and few contestants have ever sunk as hard as Valentina did this episode. The complete lack of preparation is hard to rationally defend.
I kind of hate to see Valentina go home on an acting challenge, considering her performances in previous ones were a large part of what warmed me up to her. We got more of that grating falseness from her this episode that had originally put me off, but here it felt like a way to keep her spirits up. She’ll be missed, but the inevitability of All Stars 3 will provide her a chance at redemption.
In Untucked, she owns up to a lack of preparation and choking at the fear of being in the bottom two. Meanwhile, Trinity shows more of her soft, pacifying side and Shea elaborates on the growing divide between her and Nina.
This elimination is a wake up call to the girls as we’re down to the final six. I think my top three favorites are most likely to make it to the finale, based on strong performance and having the preparation that Valentina did not. Here’s my current ranking:
- Shea Couleé
- 🔺Trinity Taylor
- 🔻Sasha Velour
- Valentina OUT
- 🔺Peppermint
- 🔻Nina Bo'Nina Brown
- Eureka O'Hara OUT
- Farrah Moan OUT
- 🔻Alexis Michelle
- Aja OUT
- Cynthia Lee Fontaine OUT
- Charlie Hides OUT
- Jaymes Mansfield OUT
- Kimora Blac OUT
Gif as Episode Grade:
Drag Queens, LGBT, RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race, Television, nuns
Reader Comments (18)
This was sort of devastating to watch. And the Untucked was incredibly sad. I knew that there was going to be a shock elimination, just not of this magnitude.
Valentina really gave Latinx fans someone to root for. The first time in a long time that a Latinx queen wasn't reduced to a language barrier joke or the Spicy Latina stereotype. This was so important in this political climate, I'll really miss her. It was hard seeing her basically shutdown during the lip sync, I know many of us have been in dark places like that.
The fandom is losing their mind, the reaction is already worse than DeLa and Katya going home.
Ooof. The worst part of this elimination is that no one can dispute it on any justifiable grounds. And watching Untucked, where she spends maybe the last minute listening to the song., was like watching a car wreck in verrrrrrry slow motion, knowing what was coming.
I thought my head was going to explode when Valentina talked back to Ru & said she'd rather keep the mask on! Unbelievable.
Good one, Chris, with the SARS mask reference.
i am still gay gasping and still devaststed, Valentina being my favorite. But yeah...
Olivia -- totally. as much as Valentina was my #1 Ru had no choice but to send her home.
That was shocking! I really liked Valentina, but she deserved to go given that disaster of a lip sync. Ru seemed rather pissed off (which is understandable, given Valentina's lack of preparation and initially refusing to take her mask off, which came across as disrespectful). Even if she did know the words, I'm not sure she would have beat Nina, whose lip synch was very good.
I can't stand Alexis. I don't like rooting against people, but I really hope she goes soon. Yuck.
I am gutted that Valentina went home. I was rooting for her, we were all rooting for her, how dare she! And I don't have a second favorite. I like Shea and Sasha, but I was stanning hard for Valentina. It was such a weird, uncharacteristic fall from grace. Someone on twitter captured it very well: the worst part of the whole thing is that it was completely justified. We don't even get to cling to an injustice done. After that stunt, there was no choice but to send her home.
I'm so frustrated. The general treatment of Valentina by the show never sat right with me, and for that it's even more frustrating to agree that she deserved to be on the bottom and kicked out this episode. It's frustrating to still see talentless hacks like Alexis in competition with a bad attitude to add (I would have put her in the bottom two for the comments on the runway alone). It's so frustrating to see her be the main reason of her own demise, her self-defeatism surpassing even Katya's and totally blowing it. I think the fact that she already knew she had to lip-synch blocked her even more from even trying to keep going. At that stage she didn't look like she didn't know the words, she looked miserable and defeated.
Ru looked as frustrated as I feel. She seems done with Nina, rooting for Valentina and forced to kick her out.
Valentina was a meaningful, powerful, and gorgeous example of representation in the media and the queer community that we never get. That's why so many of us feel instantly for her, adored her and rooted for her. Why we appreciate what she offers so much and see the beauty in her drag. She brought out the Latino roots in full force in a way no queen ever has on that show (not even Bianca) and it was stunning to watch. It's an upsetting finale to her story. And the whole Miss Congeniality award being a lock for her doesn't even begin to make up for it.
Olivia - yep, you just can't argue with it. You can see it on Ru's face that it's a tough call that's not a tough call at all.
Steve_Man - one of the great things about Drag Race is that their time on the show is NOT the end of their stories though. Look at Trixie Mattel, Latrice Royale, even Laganja Estranja to an extent. The queens can go on to bigger and better things and can build massive fanbases without getting close to winning. Valentina is certainly headed in that direction
I was team Valentina, but that lip sync was just painful to watch. She even wanted to keep on her mask. Ugh.
I am silently hoping that they bring her back in the competition when the top 4 is announced.
I saw it with a large (mostly drunk) crowd, and the gasps and anger were loud and strong when she went to the bottom two over Alexis. And...as much as I dislike Alexis and think she's by far the weakest link left, I can't argue with Ru's decision...she was a step above Nina and Valentina's disastrous and incoherent pilot episode, and their lack of preparation and discipline was beyond apparent....Alexis is petty and disruptive, but you can't fault her for being under-prepared. LOL
...and the fact that Valentina just completely shut down and was maybe even a bit overly combative with RuPaul about taking her mask off during a LIP SYNCH...yeah...she dug her own grave with this one.
I thought she would make it to the final three, but now I'm thinking it's Sasha and Shea (locks) and probably Trinity, unless Peppermint can continue her momentum from the last two weeks.
Sad to see Valentina go, but an inarguable choice. I was a little surprised that Ru didn't immediately send her home either when she stopped the lip-sync, or when Valentina said she'd prefer to keep the mask on.
Alexis Michelle is so annoying. Previously: blaming the other girls for not fixing her look in Untucked; taking the reads personally b/c she has body image issues - even interpreting the read about broad shoulders to be about her weight; and now, she is trying to boss the directors of their pilot around.
Do you think Vegas does odds on who wins Miss Congeniality? Because I think it's Peppermint. The facial expressions in her talking heads are delightful, and usually it's a queen who gets pretty close to the end, but not top 3, and is generally more well-liked than she is a frequent high placement or winner.
Rebecca - I'd vote Pep for Miss Congeniality personally, but between Valentina's massive fanbase and her untimely departure, I think Val's got it sewn up
chris & rebecca -- i agree with Rebecca. I think it's going to be Peppermint who wins Miss Congeniality. She's so nice to everyone on the show and it's just impossible to dislike her. Valentina wasn't exactly chummy with everyone.
i'm sad that Alexis is getting the villain edit because i kind of like her... but that is like with disappointment because I often feel like she's just not quite giving what she outta be giving in any paritcular challenge.
Nathaniel - Agreed on Alexis. Every challenge, you just know she can do better (I'm not a fan of even her winning Snatch Game performance). This "coming up short" complaint is being largely sent in Nina's direction, but at least we know what Nina's aesthetic and point of view is. I don't feel like we even know who Alexis is as an artist
Alexis' hindrances are reminding me of when Anna Faris said that Keenan Ivory Wayans told her "there is no vanity in comedy". Somehow the pageant queen Trinity gets this, and that's why she's excelling in the comedy challenges. Alexis has to learn to LET GO.
Yes, the bar I was at was also in shock, even though most of us were spoiled (a local promoter works a lot with the S9 girls and the tea gets spilled). And I love that Ariana album!!
She deserved it. I'm saying that, and I wanted her to win. She was too cocky to learn a song cuz she didn't think she needed to. Shame on her. That's arrogance and it'll bite you in the ass. She thought her position in the competition was so safe that she didn't need to bother learning lyrics to the songs (she admitted in Whatcha Packin' that she didn't know the words to the song, whereas in Untucked it was kinda alluded that she just choked under pressure). That's a mistake a more experienced queen wouldn't have made. She's brand new to the game, so she's only ever been praised, and hasn't experienced setbacks yet. If she had a little more experience under her belt I bet she wouldn't have made that mistake. They literally set it up perfectly for her to stay, all she had to do was deliver a decent lip sync and she could've easily sent Nina packing just based on track record. But she didn't know the words. And on top of that she put a bunch of attention on the lips with that mask ordeal lmao what a mess. A) Did you really talk back to Rupaul when she told you to take the mask off?! B) She shouldn't even have to tell you to do that when it's lip sync. lol
I will say, as a performer, I understood what she was saying about being in a dark place... where you feel so absolutely unprepared and devastated about it, knowing you're about to have to perform either way. It makes you stronger tho, especially for someone like her who's so positive... to just face that darkness head on and walk through it. She tried to avoid it with the mask but couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. Reminds me of the straight-A perfectionist student who's always on top of their shit and suddenly gets caught off guard one day when nothing goes their way like it usually does, and they have a mental breakdown. lol.
Unfortunately I was basically spoiled before watching so it wasn't shocking for me... well, yeah, the way it all played out was though lol. But I thought she would be top 3 with Shea for sure. Still kinda in shock.
Really can't stand Nina's defeatist attitude, but at least her drag is interesting. Alexis on the other hand... generic drag and one of my least favorite personalities ever on the show. She has the nerve to allude to others being "self-centered" yet she is the epitome of that. I hope she goes next. I'm honestly shocked she even ended up being a real contender because when the promo materials came out, I totally thought she was a filler queen that was going to be booted in the first few episodes.
With all that said, thank god for Trinity Taylor. I thought she'd be filler for sure when I saw the promos. I was like "meh" the first couple of episodes. I thought she'd be a strong contestant that I just didn't really care for. But she is amazing, she slays.
Trinity's look was cute but Peppermint's was LEG AND DAIRY!!!