After being on the air for a certain amount of time, it’s only fitting that a reality television show starts to turn inward, dissecting and evaluating its own history. Granted, RuPaul’s Drag Race is probably one of, if not the most self-aware reality shows out there, so going meta isn’t anything new for it. That being said, when this week’s challenge involved recreating famous scene’s from Untucked‘s run, the pay-off was surprisingly better than the concept would have you think. So once again, let’s read the queens and see how they did, shall we?
Alaska
This was another good week for Alaska, as she once again distanced herself from the Sharon Needles comparisons by, ironically enough, impersonating Sharon’s arch-nemesis, Phi Phi O’Hara. Her decision to paint herself orange was hilarious, and her weird little make-out session with Detox made everyone at my viewing party shriek with laughter. Her mainstage look was pretty good, although not quite as good as last week’s.
Alyssa Edwards
Surprisingly, this week offered a much more mellow look at Alyssa, considering what a bitch-on-wheels she was last week. Granted, I think that was mostly because she and Coco Montrese were united against a common enemy, Serena Chihuahua. I think she’s a smart enough queen to know when to be aggressive and when to be passive, and her performance as her drag daughter Shangela was really quite spot-on, while her mainstage was … pretty good. A little Shannel, although personally I would have lost the weird dog purse.
Coco Montrese
I’m really digging Coco these days, and I think a big part of it is that she’s fantastic at cutting through bullsh!t. Her age gives her a wisdom that surpasses most of the other queens, but it doesn’t feel like she’s relying on tenure like certain other seasoned girls: she’s in it to win it. And her mainstage look was phenomenal. Honestly, I think Coco is a better Rihanna than Rihanna currently is.
Detox
At the rate Detox is burning through the competition, I wouldn’t be surprised if she took this whole show. Her Sharon impression was really good, although it lacked a little bit of the serpentine sissiness required, and I absolutely adored her gothic gown on the runway. And out of all the performances in the mini-challenge, her Joker lip synch was my favourite.
Honey Mahogany
Good for Honey for stepping it up this week. Her performance as Mystique Summers was really pretty spot on, and her caftan look was just gorgeous. That being said, I still don’t know much about her personality, so she’s really going to need to show a little more of who she is if she wants to stay in.
Ivy Winters
Okay, real talk here: Ivy Winters’ Morgan McMichaels was just okay. Not bad, not great, just okay. What really stood out for me was her mainstage look, which involved a butterfly dress that featured her walking on stilts. It was one of those looks that will probably go down in the show’s herstory as one of the best ensembles.
Jade Jolie
She really stepped it up after last week’s Rainbow Brite hodgepodge, and I’m super happy about that because she has a wonderful personality. Her Delta Work was surprisingly well thought out, and her Circus Ringleader look on the mainstage was gorgeous. That being said (and this is coming from someone who knows how to crack a single-tail whip) if you’re going to pull out a whip on the mainstage, know how to crack it. And especially DON’T SMACK IT AGAINST THE GROUND. Those things aren’t cheap, and knocking it against the floor is bad, m’kay.
Jinkx Monsoon
Casting the season’s campiest queen as Mimi Imfurst made for a pretty inspired performance, and had her group not been dragged down by a terrible team leader, she probably would have won. That being said, her mainstage look? Nyeh. The whole thing just looked a little frazzled, and it lacked the polish that she brought to last week’s runway.
Lineysha Sparx
After being robbed last week, it was nice for Lineysha to get her kudos this week. Her Tyra Sanchez was eerily accurate, and her mainstage look was gorgeous. Granted, I think Jinkx was overall better, but seeing Lineysha play her team mates and subvert Ru’s expectations when she came to check up on them seems indicative of a queen who’s a lot craftier than she lets on to be.
Monica Beverly Hillz
Last week, I said that there was something bubbling underneath the surface of Monica that needed to come out, and … well, spoilers here, but she came out as a trans woman during the judges’ critique, and I was so happy to see her not only come out about who she is, but seeing the other queens rally around her and offer her support was really sweet. Hopefully, now that she’s got that off her chest, she can really start to bring it because her Jiggly Caliente was kinda lacking. That being said, her runway look? Phenomenal. And her lip synch was fantastic, as she connected to the words while allowing her opponent to hang herself with her own rope.
Roxxxy Andrews
I have a special place in my heart for Mariah, and I thought Roxxxy’s impression of her was actually really good. Mariah’s not the loudest queen there, so in a lesser queen’s hands, the impression could have faded into the background, but Roxxxy really turned it out. Her runway? I liked. I think it was a look that reads better when it’s in motion than when it’s stationary, but I think Roxxxy pulled it off.
Serena Chihuahua
No, that’s now a typo. I know it’s Cha Cha, but I call her Serena Chihuahua. Here’s the thing: A chihuahua is basically this poor, defenseless little creature that just barks and barks its yippy little mouth off because it knows that if it ever actually got into a fight, it would be destroyed. So when my boyfriend and I see some little twerp run their mouth without anything to back it up, we call them a chihuahua. And that’s exactly what Serena was: All mouth, no talent. All she did on the show was parrot things she learned in “art school” (Florida State. You went to Florida State you little bitch.) and then acted like she was educated. Bitch please. I don’t think anyone on the show has ever made themselves so universally reviled as quickly as Serena Chihuahua did. Not only was her Raja impersonation impossibly bad, but her runway looked like a bad grade school arts & crafts project, complete with rinky-dink little flag. Thank the lord Monica sent her granny panty-clad ass home.
Vivienne Pinay
Vivienne Pinay was a queen who was there.