This week, the role of Dakota Schiffer will be played by Hunter Schafer.
NICK TAYLOR: We’ve arrived at one of Drag Race’s mainstay challenges: The Ball. Do you think production expected there to be fewer girls by the time we reached this episode? Arrietty’s certainly lucky to be here, after being saved from going home by the second lever of the Badonkadunk Tank, but I think the show (and the audience) are even luckier for her to be here and give us such a complete package. Other queens delivered on drama and entertainment, and the judge’s panel delivered some of their most astute critiques of the season, even if I wasn’t expecting them to pick the tops and bottoms they did. But as a culmination of a six-episode arc for one queen, and the first challenge without a safety net, it’s a damn good episode of television. Were you as taken with this as I was?
CLÁUDIO ALVES: I loved this episode, from challenge performances to werk room drama, from guest judges to mini-challenge tomfoolery. Mama Ru is coming off that Emmy loss full of piss and vinegar, ready to prove Drag Race naysayers wrong. I know we’ve been saying this a lot, but season 17 feels like the old days of the show returned, with all the marvelous messiness that entails…
Anyway, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of this “Let's Get Sea Sickening Ball.” It all starts in the aftermath of Arrietty’s non-elimination, and a lot of these girls are feeling some strong feelings. Lydia is in a weird position, having witnessed first hand how much her sisters were rooting for the Seattle queen to stay. Thankfully, there are no resentments, as no one left, but at least Miss Butthole has herself a King on her side. A lot of the gals are also pressed about Suzie’s win. Like Lexi, who justifies her snarkiness by saying the Tooting bitch has no sense of style, which, in my opinion, couldn’t be further from the truth. Suzie has one of the most unique aesthetics in the whole cast, a style so hers that some queens are already doing parodies. Again, I’m looking at you, Mrs. Kori Scott King.
NICK: Kori’s antics with the girls (to include all her nonsense online since the season began airing) are almost fun enough for me to forgive how underwhelming she’s been in the main challenges. Her beau Lydia at least has a kookier POV for her drag and a killer lip sync under her belt. I wonder how much Arrietty’s lack of heat against Lydia is because she’s still in the game versus not seeing this goofy twink as a serious threat. Which, hey, I’m not predicting Miss Butthole to make the final four, but she’s proven she can send you home!
Still, one hopes Arrietty will be on the upswing with her second chance in the competition. Lexi’s pettiness is a different matter entirely, one we’ll see more of throughout the episode. But after the pink day closes, the girls regroup in the werkroom in time for a mini-challenge with Anastasia Beverly Hills Cosmetics ambassador Norvina, who’s getting her bit out of the way early this year. The queens get into quick drag and split into two teams, and Ru asks them to carry fifteen lipsticks in their mouths from one side of the room to another. The catch is the girls must pass them between each other through a glory hole. One team had Ru’s face on the opening, another had Norvina’s, and no one, sadly, had Joella’s face to inspire/haunt them.
CLÁUDIO: I love these ridiculous mini-challenges whose primary purpose seems to be humiliating the contestants. Or maybe just encourage them to be silly. Whatever the case, it makes for amazing TV and a nice way to knock those bitches down a peg. It also diffuses tension, which is something we need going forward.
The orange team wins, meaning Onya, Suzie, Lexi, Sam, Lydia, and Acacia each win 500 doll hairs. They do not, however, get any sort of advantage for the main challenge, which will see our girls present three sea-themed looks on the runway. The first category is “Bathing Beauties,” a swimwear lewk that’s bound to be the simplest of the bunch. Then comes “Sea Creature Couture,” where the queens are asked to take inspiration from some subaquatic fauna. Finally, they’ll have to construct an outfit out of trash for the “Sea Sickening Eleganza” category. But not just any trash - Ru specifies these are items commonly found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, giving the episode an environmentalist message I wasn’t quite expecting.
Lexi is immediately thrilled, practically vibrating in place with the need to prove herself and the certainty she’ll pull it off. According to confessionals, upcycling is her whole thing, so this challenge is as good as made for her. Well, we all know what happens to queens who are overconfident, don’t we? If the judges don’t punish them, producers or the edit certainly will. Lexi is especially cocky talking to the other girls as they figure out their designs, warning Sam not to repeat the same silhouette. To be fair, this is something Ru also brings up when she makes the rounds around her burgeoning designers, Tim Gunn-style. She’s especially insistent with Hormona, who’s starting to be repetitive in her adoration for mermaid gowns. It’s giving Latrice Royale on All Stars 4.
NICK: Surely there’s footage of Ru giving the same warning to Kori King left on the cutting room floor. I know having twelve girls to cut between means we can’t see what everyone’s up to, but the edit is a good warning for who to keep an eye on. You might be worried about what Suzie Toot’s cooking up at her work station, but the show's not.
Lana Ja’Rae gets the best one-on-one with Ru. After admitting how desperate she is to hear some critiques from the judges, Ru confides that Lana was almost in the bottom for her Monopulence design, because the judges found it a tad unfinished, and encourages her to take some risks. Has Ru ever said anything like this to a queen? I wish she’d do it more, if only for the gag of it. Lana was not prepared to learn she was low-safe, but she soldiers on, rattled but determined not to disappoint the judges. We can only hope Luxx’s daughter gets her shit together and learns how to own the stage, but I’m surprised she’s flailing so badly to get the judge’s attention, let alone the audience’s.
Ru also has a chat with Arrietty, poking her about being saved and asking if she thinks someone else should have bottomed instead. With minimal hesitation, she throws Crystal under the bus. The bigger surprise is how Arrietty’s more confident in her answer a few minutes later when she hears Kori and Crystal start to gossip about, and immediately inserts herself into their chat to say it to the queen’s face. If RuPaul asks her a question she will answer it! Crystal, for her part, is put off by Arrietty’s whole thing, but she’s confident in her design and will not be distracted by this impetuous elf. After the visit from Ru, the girls settle into the working hours, and we get a calm, relaxed, uneventful stretch of time devoted to harmony and good tidings for all peoples. Right?
CLÁUDIO: Alright folks, it’s time to face the episode’s big drama. Since the queens can’t very well spray paint indoors, those who want to get new color into their materials go outside to do the dirty work. From what we see, there’s a designated spot for this and even some tarps on the ground to make a working space of sorts. The thing is, some of the queens are using tarps as their materials and one of them is even going with a huge swath of it, laying the rectangle down and covering it in a (mostly) uniform blue. That girl is Lexi, who leaves her tarpaulin rectangle to dry and goes back inside to work on other things.
But, as she goes back to the painting place to check on the blue sheet, Miss Love discovers a bunch of blotches in lighter blue and brown. Her reaction is an instantaneous burst of tears, despair surging into anger, leading her breakdown back into the werk room to demand someone confess to the sabotage. Nobody steps up to take the blame, which only throws fuel into the flames of Lexi’s fury. Only when she departs does Onya come clean about it. Basically, the whole thing was an accident as the Nurve queen and Arrietty mistook Lexi’s tarp for one of those others protecting the pavement. Indeed, though she remained silent as Lexi burst into tears, Arrietty - who never left the outdoor spray paint station - tells her crestfallen sister what happened. The Latina’s apology seems to appease Lexi but there’s no calming her down when it comes to Onya. The two get into an outright fight in the werk room, shouting at each other, mad as hell. According to Jewels Sparkles, it got real bad, putting a break on filming for three hours during which the girls couldn’t work on their outfits.
Well, the fandom seems to be on Lexi’s side, especially after Onya Nurve’s similar kerfuffle in the previous design challenge. Back then, while criticizing Jewels’ reaction, I did point out Onya’s wrongdoing. This week, I actually don’t think the bitch did anything wrong. Of course, she should have fessed up when Lexi first asked but isn’t her reaction understandable? Moreover, Arrietty saw Lexi burst into tears and only admitted to her fault later. Why is Onya getting such hatred, but Arrietty is fine? Moreover, the whole shitshow was Lexi’s fault for being careless. Her feelings of betrayal and panic are entirely justified in the moment, but c’mon. Notice that the other queens draped their drying tarp on the railings or away from the spot where other folks were spray painting. Why did Lexi leave it there, alone, on the ground, without so much as a note? Messy, messy, messy (aka great reality TV).
NICK: It was a mess! I’m sympathetic to Lexi’s abject panic and the feeling of betrayal from Onya’s silence. All that being said, she absolutely should have put the tarp somewhere safer. Miss Nurve keeping quiet makes plenty of strategic and emotional sense, though it absolutely does not square with how to handle Lexi’s whole deal. Arrietty seems like she skated by the way Onya wanted to - let Lexi rage for a minute and then come clean. It’s the kind of fuck-up where each queen’s actions make sense, and the shouting match between them is one of the realest conflicts we’ve seen on Drag Race in some time. The other queens spectating on the whole thing, completely absorbed in the drama while wondering how this became a whole fucking deal, is the cherry on top.
It’s even more amazing, then, that the girls bury the hatchet the next day before they get their makeup on. For the record, I think Lexi insists on it too much for me to buy it completely, but it’s very mature of her to apologize to Arrietty and Onya rather than solely demand they apologize for damaging her garment. Everyone shakes hands and makes nice. As Lexi says, “I’m not gonna hate anyone over garbage.” which is among the most level-headed things ever uttered in those four fake brick walls. Lexi is also quite proud to have recovered her tarp from the stains Onya and Arrietty left on it, and because she’s feeling hot to trot again, it’s time for her favorite game: judging the other girl’s outfits with Sam and Kori. And they see a lot to judge! Which, sure, Acacia is an easy target, but does Kori have the room to talk shit about anyone’s clothes?
Before we get too much time to study who’s wearing what, it’s time for the Ball to begin! RuPaul saunters onstage wearing one of her skinned disco ball moments, with a slit showing off her entire left leg. Michelle Visage looks great, as does rotating judge Law Roach, who looks like he’s trying to match Demi Moore’s immaculate hair inch for inch. The guest judge this week is Hunter Schafer, who looks fabulous in vintage Jean-Paul Gaultier, and has some fantastic chemistry with the judges and the girls. Everyone go watch Untucked just to see Hunter kiki with the queens.
;)
First down the runway is Crystal Envy. The Barbie couture is nicely executed, and she wins so many points for plopping the bangs directly onto her forehead. Her pufferfish look is just odd, and I don’t know that she actually sells it on the runway. It seems like a lot of effort to still serve body while riffing on such a goofy-looking fish, but it at least fits with her penchant for sticking odd stuff on her head. I admit I was so nervous watching her wiggle down the catwalk in her original dress, because if a bitch cannot comfortably lip sync in a runway I get nervous as fuck. But that’s a damn well-constructed look, with all those leis embroidered down her silhouette. Pink and yellow can really harmonize beautifully.
CLÁUDIO: Crystal’s presentation of the first look elevates a fairly pedestrian idea. She almost has the exact opposite issue with her creature couture. I really love the weirdness of her puffer fish getup with armadillo shoes and a fan mechanism inside. However, the difference between the deflated and puffed-up versions of the garment was minimal, and her silly demeanor robbed it of its essential oddity. Her strawberry lemonade eleganza is cute, but this time, I kinda wish she had leaned on the comedy of having to wobble her way through the runway. It would have made it look intentional rather than like an accident Ru clocked as far back as the werk room when she showed concern over Crystal’s choice of a non-stretch fabric. Nevertheless, bitch looks beautiful, proving again she’s much more than the filler queen we thought her to be.
;)
Jewels Sparkles sabotaged her chances at a top placement with that Bathing Beauty getup. The oversized Cuban link chains are a fun idea that could have been executed much better. Hate the color discrepancy between her upper and lower body. If you’re going for this sort of thing, either choose bare skin or do a whole nude illusion like Jimbo or Shea in that AS5 runway. It’s a pity because her Spanish Dancer fantasy is one of my favorite creature couture offerings, and that outfit she made in the werkroom is rather fetching. The use of black sequins on black painted tarp, plus those contrasting nettings add a lot of visual interest to a piece that might’ve seemed too simple otherwise. She’s a smart cookie, that Jewels.
NICK: The chains at least give some variety to a very basic runway prompt, but I agree it doesn’t totally cohere. Still, Jewels’s other two looks are stunning enough for me to get behind her. The Spanish Dancer is one of the only truly spectacular outings from the Sea Creature Couture, with all those layers of tule bunched up like a sea slug’s fins. Her original piece rewards extra attention for details, with all the layered materials and criss-crossing fishnets. Very smart accessorizing.
;)
I continue to like the concepts Lydia B. Kollins brings to her drag without totally being sold on it. The more classical cunt being served in the Bathing Beauty section disrupted by four bulges along her middle is a fun bit, but dare I say it would have worked better with just the one dong? I want to wear her angler wrangler, and continue to admire how dedicated she is to showing her midriff even when the outfit doesn’t seem to warrant it. That kookiness is catnip for me. But I don’t think I like her original look at all? I want to give her credit for leaning so hard on the garbage of it all - she’s not gussying up her pipes and pylons even as she’s bent it into a feminine silhouette with a masculine moustache, and dares us to call it fashion. I just might not accept that dare.
CLÁUDIO: I wish the dicks read more like dicks on that first look, and that she had ditched her sad white towel, which does nothing for the ensemble or her presentation. Still, it’s such a fun concept I can’t be too bothered. The same can be said about her angler fish jockey. I think it would have worked better if her legs were more obviously obscured, but it’s hard to get mad at such a delightful show of craftiness and creativity. Love the armor-like bits of her final creation while feeling the tubes add little to the overall effect. I also hate the shoes - what, in that outfit, calls for basic black heels?
;)
Sam Star started her presentation with a perfectly serviceable bathing beauty lewk that’s unlikely to excite anyone, drag or fashion enthusiasts alike. It’s polished, I guess, and the midcentury vibes are well realized. But she knocked it out of the park with her subsequent ensembles. That creature couture paean to the viperfish looks dangerous and the plastic bag eleganza extravaganza does a magnificent job of mixing an environmentalist message with campy glam. For once, I can get behind the choice of that bulbous bubble wig.
NICK: I really love her garbage raft realness, which looks like she’s cosplaying as the actual garbage island. The sheer volume of the dress is incredible, as is the way she saunters on the catwalk like she’s Glinda the Good Witch. It’s fantastic pageantry. The harsh spikiness of her viperfish makes her look like a regional variant of Sasha Colby’s metallic chicken. The cage and the headpiece are such statements I admittedly don’t register the rest of the outfit very strongly, but it’s striking and against type. Sure, the swimsuit’s basic, but at least she padded the brazier. Not everyone decided to bust out the boobies.
;)
Onya Nurve, aka Mrs. Barry White, has a very fun silhouette with her sea creature couture, even if I wish she was doing anything with those arms. But the puffer pants and the spiked chest are sublime. I’m glad she had a creative approach to her swimsuit with that sheer white cape, but the hairline looks rough, especially with her brows cutting into her scalp like that. More boudoir coded than beach ready. I wish Viola Davis’s Beautiful Creatures character had worn that headpiece. We’ve talked about Hormona getting washed out by her color schemes but damn, I can barely register what’s going on with Onya’s original look. She looks a mess.
CLÁUDIO: As much as I am willing to defend Onya regarding that Lexi drama, I’m not defending her here. That white swimsuit look is weirdly matronly, and every styling choice detracts from its supposed beachy vibes. That sheer cover is so misguided it hurts. The African starfish couture is the most successful of her three ensembles, but I wish she had gone further. The bare arms make for an awkward mismatch with the pants, and that nude illusion isn’t doing its job up top. Finally, her design is a brown mess, with a litany of oddities that don’t coalesce into anything remotely fashionable or even elegant. I guess I enjoy the flower up top, like a lily blossoming from swampy waters.
;)
The difference in quality from Onya to Arrietty is enough to give you whiplash. Simply put, our Latina villain delivered a knockout ball package that left no doubts about who should win this week. It’s one of the most decisive victories we’ve seen in a long time and incredibly deserved to boot - no crumbs and all that. I could write for ages about my love for each one of these ensembles, but I’ll try to be brief. Arrietty knocked the first category out of the park by actually finding a way to make it fresh, alien, surprising. Her creature couture is an immaculate creation, like an Iris van Herpen under the sea. Finally, you gotta love her coral cool girl. What’s most impressive is her ability to change mugs depending on the outfit. How fast can she paint?
NICK: Arrietty’s mugsmanship is astounding. How the fuck do you pull off that level of time management and finesse? That would be enough to tip her over the edge in a more competitive season, but this is not that moment! The sheer number of RuGirls who’ve hyped up her runway would be its own prize if it wasn’t for the winning - I love Alaska holding up Arrietty’s Avatar realness against her Read U Wrote U getup. But yeah, she aced this completely. The cool girl vibes throughout, the insane headpieces, the chic cut of her coral reef dress. I only wish Lucky was still here to watch her own this challenge and to give her some legitimate competition.
;)
Suzie Toot gives us a different kind of freshness with her bathing beauty, looking like a mustachioed drag king doing Buster Keaton. I like the beehive on her octopus couture, and she gets points for picking my favorite species of animal. She looks like a very silly Doctor Who villain, and I’m glad for the thigh-high tentacle heels. But god, poor Amelia Earhart has been getting a rough go of it two seasons in a row on Drag Race. “Amelia Earhart after she crashed” is a good runway concept, but it also looks like a cover for asymmetrical sloppiness. This reads a little more steampunk to me, but it also reminds me of Plane Jane’s deconstructed suit, and I hated that shit.
CLÁUDIO: Buster, darling, I’m so sorry for what this nasty skunk is saying about you. In any case, while I love the concept of that 1900s bodybuilder, the execution isn’t there. Her octopus glam is the best look in the package, and I especially love the wig. But it’s not good enough to make up for that mess of a final ensemble. It’s sloppy, ugly, and not nearly as smart as the judges’ commentary makes it sound. Honestly, bottom-worthy.
;)
But speaking of bottom-worthy, what the hell is this, Miss King? The first look is another cute idea that is poorly executed. If you’re going to use a Halloween shark costume, add some glitter, put the fish in drag, give that bad boy some lipstick. And then, don’t try to give a Super Bowl Katy Perry fantasy in blonde. That wig looks awful here and way too low on Kori’s face. Her couture is colorful but looks cheap and the glued rope runway is horribly reminiscent of Vanity Milan’s UK3 disaster. And if that nonsense earned the British queen a lip sync for her life, so should Kori’s work.
NICK: That shark should have had tiddies! It’s a fun gag, fully deflated by the reveal underneath. I like the drama of her sea creature couture - it’s not fishy, per say, but she kinda looks like a nautically-themed Storm, and I’m living. But yeah, the last look is just hideous. Her worst mini-skirt yet.
;)
Acacia Forgot starts strong with her bathing beauty. The look is quite fun, and I love the gigantic mop of hair coming off her bathing cap. That’s good drag! I have no idea what the hell Michelle was talking about saying the suit looked like it didn’t fit properly, especially when it’s the only outfit that really shows off her body. However, I cannot say her sea anemone reads as good drag. The headpiece is great, but below the neck it’s a bummer, with the stalks protruding from her corset sagging like she’s the world’s saddest showgirl. I really like her original look in broad strokes. Is there too much on her? Maybe, but the overall impression is solid.
CLÁUDIO: I get Michelle’s critique and even share it. Using vinyl for such an outfit is a risk because, if the fit isn’t right, it shows an awful lot. Nevertheless, it looks fun and the styling is pitch-perfect. I admired the movement of her creature couture, but it looks unbecoming in stillness. At last, I actually like the dress she created quite a lot, drop waist included. Curiously, the greatest strength of her first lewk is the styling, but it’s that very element that brings down her eleganza. I say keep the ornamented shoes but lose the bracelets, the headpiece, and the…clutch?
;)
Lexi Love hits it out of the park with her first look - those tiny crabs are delightful as is the bedazzlement of the censoring bar. The jellyfish thing is less successful, but she gets by on the strength of a sculptural headpiece. Still, it’s not even close to the levels of medusa cuntiness Keiona and Yvie Oddly served on their seasons. Miss Love also ends in her worst look. To quote Michelle Visage on another occasion, it’s a piece of fabric. Sure, she painted it and glued flowers on top. She even cut a hole to get her head, her arm and a boob through. I’m sorry, that’s not enough for a design challenge. I love Lexi but…no. If a big girl had walked down the Drag Race runway in this getup they’d have been read to filth. The only reason Miss Love isn’t receiving such scrutiny is because she’s got the bod of a supermodel. I hate it.
NICK: I’ll say this for Lexi: she knows how to work her mug to dazzling effect. The face and hair are absolutely right, no matter the occasion. Her first look is a goddamn stunner, and I like the crazy headpiece of her jellyfish couture. She went in on jellyfish textures and opacity, though Jewels outshines her as far as cunty invertebrates go. If she had done even a little bit more with her tarp I’d have been on board with it - she labored over her lily pad pond setup, but it’s just not shaped at all. You’re right. It’s a piece of fabric.
;)
Hormona Lisa continued to deliver on her brand, to her ultimate undoing. This is a violently safe package after so many similar-looking runways. Her swimsuit is perfectly polished, but it’s not elevated to full drag like Acacia’s giant blonde updo. Her sea creature couture is gorgeous in its own right, but everyone clocking its similarity to previous runways is right. More disappointing is how it doesn’t even look like a seahorse. Ru’s right - where’s the drama? Her original dress is fine, but not up to the standard of her first design look.
CLÁUDIO: I wish she hadn’t revealed the plastic bag rump that’s giving her final lewk its silhouette. Why would you reveal the trickery behind the illusion like that? Especially confounding when it’s the most impressive part of the outfit. As you say, it’s safe to a fault, that middle gown most of all. I might have been more forgiving had she gotten the details right, but that bubble gun is so sad and plain, the accessorizing on her creature couture so generic, the shoes hateful throughout.
;)
All that said, I’ll take Hormona’s safe package before I embrace whatever Lana thought she was serving down that catwalk. Like Lexi, her first look is the most successful, even though it needed a bigger wig and more contrast between the several colors at play. The shoes gave me a jumpscare, but they kinda work here, so props for that (and for not including any live fish). The second outfit is a massive disappointment, reading not at all like a sea urchin. And then there’s her original design, which is made of trash and looks it too.
NICK: The best thing about any of Lana’s outfits was Hunter Schafer quipping, “I think she needs to go to urchin care!” at her spiky bodysuit. It looks cool, but it doesn’t look good for the prompt at all. Seeing her swimsuit look just reminds me of Naomi Smalls standing up for Bosco and body girls everywhere on the Pit Stop, but even if the swimsuit itself is painfully boring, I’m impressed with the presentation Lana put into glitzing and oiling her body. But the last look is handily the worst of the night. She looks like a drowned elf. You talked about Lexi getting away with wearing a shoddy look by being skinny, but by god did she sell it on the catwalk, and Lana absolutely didn’t.
After the queens have presented themselves, Ru announces the Safe contingency and sends them to untuck. Lexi is called last of this bunch, and is visibly crestfallen to hear she’s safe. Remaining on the stage are Arrietty, Crystal, and Sam, who are this week’s tops, while Acacia, Hormona, and Lana are the bottoms. These wouldn’t have been my exact picks. I’d have liked to see Jewels in the top this week, though I’m not sure if I can pick which white girl to kick out for her. Kori should absolutely have taken Acacia’s place in the bottom, and even if Hormona had the night’s dullest collection, other girls did worse than her.
What I will not argue with, however, is the judge’s critiques. Each queen received thoughtful feedback from Ru and her panel, and their arguments made sense to me as a viewer in a way they don’t always achieve. Hearing them discuss why they loved Crystal’s runways: made me better appreciate her looks. I’m also surprised by who the judges repped for, especially Law Roach going to bat for Hormona Lisa. There was a lot to savor, especially with Arrietty’s win being a foregone conclusion.
CLÁUDIO: I liked Law much more this time around and am excited to see him back this season as a rotating judge. I get his affection for Hormona, even if it surprised me. Let’s not forget he’s a stylist, so there’s gotta be some appreciation for those who have a specific aesthetic and are consistent in how they approach fashion from a personal point of view. Even if Miss Lisa was unexciting, I still think she was the best of the three the judges singled out as bottoms.
Like you, I’d have probably added Jewels to the top three. Between the two blondes, I’d probably kick Crystal out. I also considered Lydia for a top position, as messy as her last look was. As for the bottoms, Kori should have lip synced for her life, and I am shocked she didn’t even ge critiqued. I would have also brought Onya or Lexi down to low placements for a scolding. They are probably my current pick for top two of the season, but both of them need to re-evaluate their approach to Drag Race. Lexi must stop relying on that body and show more ambition in her designs, while Onya needs to realize she’ll not always be able to rely on her personality to save a lousy runway presentation. Picking Acacia and Hormona over all those troublesome queens only tells me the judges aren’t invested in them for the long game. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Forgot girl were out of here in the next couple of weeks.
So, Arrietty wins, as we all knew she would, and Acacia is declared safe. This leaves Hormona and Lana to lip sync for their lives to the sound of Olivia Rodrigo’s “get him back.” Neither does terrible, but I can’t say I was wowed. In the end, Lana is more in tune with the song’s energy so she gets to stay, meaning it’s Hormona’s turn to sashay away. This time, there is no twist to save her so it’s really the end of her Drag Race journey. Farewell, pink lady.
NICK: I wasn’t wowed either. Hormona focused on serving the song’s narrative, while Lana went all in on dancing queen kineticism. Neither stood out, though Hormona at least served face, and she made being on the verge of tears the whole time kinda work for the song. Lana’s dancing matched the song fine, but some of her moves felt very repetitive. I can only hope Ru saving her will give her the kick in the pants necessary to get her shit in gear. She’s been such a blank in this competition so far, and I need her to do something interesting soon.
I’m gonna miss Hormona Lisa, with her goofy titles and her dry humor and her Midwestern mom tgirl realness. I’m especially sad she got axed right before Snatch Game, where she surely would’ve turned out a devastating Rue MccLanahan or Paula Dean. Maybe she’d have won it? Who knows, but I’m able to say it so I will. There’s some bold swings from the girls, and with eleven queens still in the competition, hopefully we’ll get a nice variety of quality. At least Alyssa Edwards will be there to look absolutely magnificent. We’ll always have that.
Previous RuCaps:
- Episode 1: “Squirrel Games”
- Episode 2: "Drag Queens Got Talent"
- Episode 3: "Monopulence!"
- Episode 4: "Bitch, I'm a Drag Queen!"
- Episode 5: "RDR Live!"