by Nathaniel R
Do people even watch trashy daytime talk shows anymore? Haven't they all been replaced by trashy reality tv shows that follow shameless people around in their "real" life for full seasons rather than inviting them to walk on to humiliate themselves for a single episode? No matter. RuPaul's Drag Race revels in nostalgia week after week while simultaneously living in the now when it comes to drag trends (notice all the flat chests this year? An about face from the breastplate rage a few seasons ago). For this week's maxi-challenge the queens were tested on their improv skills as guests on "The Bossy Rossy Show." The show was curiously believable (i.e. it's easy to picture Ross actually hosting such a thing) but the skits were so bizarre (marrying a cactus? fear of pickles?) that it seemed less an improv challenge than a comedy skit-writing challenge.
As a result the episode felt messy and forced as if all the contestants were nervously scrambling to reposition themselves as viable contenders given that each of their strengths and weaknesses seem almost shockingly visible now. And not just to our eyeballs at home, but there in the room, too...
You're a winner, baby
Eureka is still on a comeback roll and aced the challenge by rolling around on the floor with a baby tantrum in only a bib and diaper (!) in her skit about adults who think of themselves as "sexy babies" and I'm still typing this sentence because these words are absurd and it's such a damn weird thing to type out that it suddenly feels possible that this episode was just an elaborate hallucination. The "sexy baby" joke was a not particularly funny sidebar in John Waters parade of perversions movie A Dirty Shame (2004) but a really funny sidebar on an episode of "30 Rock" so that joke about horny adults acting like babies can go either way.
The win of the episode though, at least for me, was what I hope was the end of the story arc of Vixen battling with both Aquaria and Eureka. The Vixen seemed slightly thrown that her multi-tasking animosity didn't pay off. Her attempts at sabotaging Eureka backfired with Eureka deservedly winning the challenge. Her attempts to humiliate Miz Cracker and Aquaria also fell flat when the jokes didn't land. (The thing is, I'm pretty sure that if the jokes had been funny Miz Cracker would have been the one laughing hardest because she doesn't take herself too seriously. People who have mastered that character trait seem happier in general, dont they?)
The mandatory workroom argument portion of the episode was far more interesting this time around. The Vixen's "100" mode was organically subdued by her stated efforts to ignore Eureka and her comment about not knowing how to get to "50" struck me as her most vulnerable moment, though I suspect she'd absolutely hate that choice of adjective. Nevertheless the arc of the episode and the fallout from their previous fight allowed for an interestingly low key discussion in which The Vixen remained largely inscrutable while Eureka babbled about her issues and than everyone watching could project whatever they wanted on to The Vixen while this was going on (and even, to a lesser extent on Eureka if they chose to view the babbling as not fully self-aware default mode not unlike The Vixen's battling, which I do). I haven't looked around but I'm sure people are projecting a lot on to this conversation whether or not any of it was actually there -- human psychology is fun AND obnoxious that way.
As an unapologetic fan of Eureka's drag gifts (I do not care that you find her obnoxious. Do not care!) and as someone who finds constant babbling easier to deal with on a human level than constant battling I was delighted to be surprised throughout this interaction and at the end result. The Vixen's refusal to indulge Eureka's silly request for a "hand-shake" (lol) struck me as admirable in its unfriendliness. And you won't hear me calling unfriendliness admirable very often! A hug or handshake would have been so phony and self-care is totally A+ cool so long as it isn't paired with meanness / needless escalation. So, for me at least, they were both winners in this episode. (Plus they both served it on the runway)
Sashay away
Mayhem Miller, who had failed to ever really wow this season, was sent home after another undeniable lipsynch from Monét X-Change. Even if Monét is in the bottom every episode going forward it's hard to imagine her ever being sent home because she's so ALIVE during the lipsynchs... If only she would bring that much wit and fire into the other portions of the competition!
Quotable Bitch
[On Fighting] “I'm not going to be any part of that. My teeth were too expensive” -Asia O'Hara.
Name dropping
Guest judges were actress Carrie Preston (yes!) and country superstar Shania Twain. Pop culture references this episode: Geraldo Rivera, Little House on the Prairie, Tina Turner in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Honey Boo Boo, Elvis, "Rhinestown Cowboy," Designing Women, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend," Niecy Nash, and barbie dolls.
Rankings
Shifts from last week indicated with arrows...
| PREDICTION | PREFERENCE |
 |
 |
| Subject to change as we get to know them | |
| 1. Miz Cracker | 1. Monique Heart |
| 2. 🔺 Eureka | 2. Eureka |
| 3. Asia O'Hara | 3. 🔺 Miz Cracker |
| 4. 🔺 Monique Heart | 4. Asia O'Hara |
| 5. 🔺 Aquaria | 5. Monét X Change |
| 6. 🔻 Blair St Clair | 6. Kameron Michaels |
| 7. The Vixen | 7. Dusty Ray Bottoms OUT |
| 8. 🔻 Monét X Change | 8. 🔺Aquaria |
| 9. Kameron Michaels | 9. 🔺 The Vixen |
| 10. Mayhem Miller OUT | 10. Yuhua Hamasaki OUT |
| 11. Dusty Ray Bottoms OUT | 11. 🔻Blair St Clair |
| 12.Yuhua Hamasaki OUT | 12. 🔻 Mayhem Miller OUT |
| 13. Kalorie Karbdashian Williams OUT | 13. Kalorie Karbdashian Williams OUT |
| 14. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo OUT | 14. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo OUT |
Gif as episode grade
