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:
