Drag Race RuCap: “The Daytona Wind 2”
Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 12:00PM
Cláudio Alves in Drag Queens, Drag Race, Harvey Guillén, LGBTQ+, MTV, RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race, TV

CLÁUDIO ALVES: Between this episode’s sequel to "Daytona Wind" and next week’s LaLaPaRUza 2.0, the show’s producers have decided that the way to make season 15 work is to copy its successful predecessor. Sadly, between the rushed edit and other concerns, this season continues to live in the shadow of the glorious 14. If anything, these repetitions only highlight the fact. That’s not to say “The Daytona Wind 2” is without its merits. All in all, it was a fun 40-minute chapter, though the laser focus on two feuding protagonists relegated most of the contestants to supporting roles.

NICK TAYLOR: Given the more noteworthy failures of pacing this season, The Daytona Winds 2” was pretty well-paced. Turning most of the cast into supporting players is a very real issue here --I'm afraid we’ll find out who gets eliminated next episode based solely on who gets chief narrator duties....

The final version of the skit is one of the weirder, more interesting acting challenges I’ve ever seen from Drag Race, but you can feel how many performances are short-changed within the episode - hell, one of the queens who ultimately lip-syncs is barely in the final version. As much as these issues should be critiqued, the thru-lines that we’re given are sturdy entertainment.

CLÁUDIO: One of those dramatic thru-lines becomes apparent from minute one, as the queens congregate after Robin’s elimination and the fight from last week’s Untucked continues.

Malaysia is up in her feelings about the bratty behavior exhibited during the preparation for the Girl Groups challenge. Though in interviews and watch parties, the queens have said Miss Babydoll Foxx was maybe even more annoyed with Luxx than she was with Mistress, the editing quickly brushes the younger queen aside to make it all about the big girls. Sasha - bless her heart - tries to moderate and keep the peace, but Malaysia’s not having it. Indeed, even Mistress seems to be over Mama Colby’s mothering, so the episode starts with an all-out World War Auntie.

NICK: Both queens stand firm in their own feelings. Mistress insists she was only joking and didn’t mean for it to be taken so seriously, asking for open dialogue from Malaysia in a way that speaks as much to wanting the matter resolved as to needing this petty shit finished. Malaysia, alternating between stonewalling and boiling over at her castmates, demands her hurt be recognized, and for Mistress to realize her behavior did not come off as flippantly as she claims she intended. Nothing is resolved as the credits roll (thank god this blocked out any time for a “who’s on second” debate), and the queens will continue to circle each other the whole episode. It’s the realest drama of the season.

The next morning, Ru introduces the newest challenge: a revival of "The Daytona Winds," now structured like your typical sitcom. The queens will be attending the funeral of Big Daddy as family members, lovers, and other outlandish attendees. Aura Mayari, the winner of the previous challenge, is given the power to delegate the roles, and everyone is hungry for the role of Big Daddy’s mistress, Fancy Michaels. Everyone wants a piece of her, but Aura gives it to herself instead, and the rest of the show is cast without much argument.

CLÁUDIO: Oh, but that’s not the end of the casting shenanigans, since Aura soon realizes she’s way over her head. Unable to comprehend the role’s referential humor, last week’s winner finds herself between a rock and a hard place, doomed by the lead role she claimed for herself. Mistress takes this opportunity to pounce on the part, talking Aura into switching assignments, thus going from bereaved widow to town trollop. While I’m sure there was no Machiavellian scheming at play, it sure felt like it - hilariously so.

NICK: It’s slick as hell either way. Aura now has a smaller part to wrangle with, and Mistress gets the role she (and everyone else) wanted. This also means Mistress’s main scene partner is Malaysia, cast as the priest presiding over Big Daddy’s funeral. The final cast list is:

Filming starts, and we mostly spend time with eventual tops and bottoms of the episode. Malaysia and Mistress seem poised for the top 2, using their off-set tension to achieve their comedic repartee without getting overwhelmed by it. Aura is still struggling with her smaller part, forgetting her lines and fumbling her delivery.

The other two whiffs feel like slam-dunk casting that gets lost in itself: Jax is too caught up in the “stoner” part of her to find a funny way to play it, and Spice is totally one-note as the bratty child. Even worse, none of them grasp Ru’s direction well enough to save themselves. It’s a decent prelude to the final skit, but the rehearsals left me unprepared for the finished product. 

CLÁUDIO: After that, we head into the rare pre-runway portion without a single Tragedy Mirror moment. The editors are too busy exploring the Malaysia/Mistress rivalry to concede any time for sentimentality or pathos. After many a poignant makeup conversation, I’m glad for this episode’s levity - bless these bitches! That being said, this fun time also means that any queen not part of the main feud is cut down to the point of unexistence. My beloved Sasha Colby is basically an extra for most of the 40-minute duration. At least, Luxx still gets some talking head portions. 

NICK: It’s very strange that Sasha isn’t in more of the average Drag Race episode! Will they have time to give her a talking head once the top six unlocks 90-minute episodes again for some goddamn reason?


We move on to the judge’s panel. Ru emerges from the darkness in a blue-and-black, impossibly glimmering dress, with gold jewelry and a familiar fiery wig. Our special guest for this week is Harvey Guillen, the actor/hottie of What We Do in the Shadows, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and a previous guest judge on Dragula season 4 and Dragula Titans. Even his runway look - a glittery, transparent white button-up with a huge black bow - looks like the daytime version of an outfit he wore on Dragula, except in that case, the transparent top was ink black and had a harness involved. Is this enough to finally make you watch Dragula, Cláudio?

CLÁUDIO: Maybe, we’ll see. In the meantime, let’s discuss a runway that couldn’t be farther from Dragula’s gory floor shows if it tried. The theme is “Puffer Please!” and I am fairly disappointed with the queens’ offering overall. Where’s the Gigi Hadid at the MET Gala realness? Where’s the Lady Gaga-adjacent ski chic?

Anyway, Loosey LaDuca is first on the catwalk, paying homage to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from the original Ghostbusters. It’s fine, living and dying by that incredible hourglass shape. Even so, I wish Loosey played more overtly with the character’s rotund shape, instead of sacrificing the exaggerated volumetry for a basic bodysuit. In Untucked, this bitch kept complaining she didn’t get top placement, but neither her look nor performance warranted such honors.

NICK: My final Dragula plug for this write-up is that the season 4 premiere had a bitch stomp the runway as the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, and though I wouldn’t call it a “better” look than Loosey’s, Merry Cherry did serve voluptuous and a whole lot of attitude. The fact that all the queens kept clocking her as other sailors (Popeye, Donald Duck) speaks to its inadequacy for this cultural reference.


Next is Spice, in an outfit I’m wildly unimpressed by. The thigh-high puffy boots are fun, but the rest is just ...a jacket? With no fur on the waist and cut just high enough that the underwear is visible if she moves too much? I’m sorta mystified that she wore this and gave the performance she did in the challenge without having to lipsync.

CLÁUDIO: Like Lindsay Lohan’s Elizabeth Taylor, 'I’m bored, I’m so bored.' 

After that fashion failure, Sasha brings to the stage a fashion miracle. Of all the girls that pulled from streetwear to style their puffer look, Mother Colby is the clear highlight, in part because she elevates the garment into a realm of stylized stagewear. Love the bee-like color story, the fun hair, the pristine execution of Salina’s idea of a puffer top becoming a backpack train. As always, perfection, thy name is Sasha. 

NICK: She’s perfect, she’s a model, and so on.


Luxx is next, wearing Jackie Kennedy’s infamous pink dress by way of Judy Jetson. There’s none of the kineticism in this garment that defined her previous runways, but I love the texture of it, like it’s solely made out of inflatable balloons. The shock of black is excellent with all the bubblegum pink. What a knockout.

CLÁUDIO: Though I can’t really see the Jackie reference, I do love this outfit. You love the texture, but my heart belongs to the accessories - the balloon knot hat, and the balloon dog purse are brilliant touches. The collar is also fun in a “Juliette Binoche at the Oscars” sort of way.

You know what they say: When life gives you lemons, make it fashion. At least, that’s what Malaysia Babydoll Foxx did, twisting an Atomic age housewife look with a citrin motif and a gravity-defying beehive. Again, I adore the thematic purse, but the outfit’s most ingenious aspect is how it integrates puffer elements. Instead of sculpting her shape out of quilted outerwear, she made it into lining, opening her housecoat for a delightful surprise. 

NICK: Malaysia’s runway is my favorite, especially the lemon-drop hairdo, like her wig is wearing its own wig. The yellow wallpaper is lemon-flavored honey, and she is coming for you!

From the waist up, Aura’s look is a complete knockout. The sleeves are immaculate, heavy-looking and seemingly endless, and they look like they match the styling of her wig. Her mug is exceptional, and the gold belt with the floral print is a stunning accent. But why wasn’t this a full-on kimono, or even a robe? There's nothing exciting happening below the belt here.

CLÁUDIO: Having seen people online criticizing the purported shapelessness of her belt, I’d like to applaud Aura for actually going for an obi look rather than just throwing a basic cincher.

How many turtlenecked bodysuits does Jax own and why has she decided to wear them all on Drag Race? This is a worse version of her first episode runway, looking especially unflattering from the back with that tail construction. I’m also growing tired of this wig style paired with hoops - she works it well, but it’s repetitive. 

NICK:  I like it from the front, but the proportions of the puffs don’t really do her silhouette any favors. Sasha’s runway outdoes her on the puffer-bee front, if nothing else.

Next is Mistress Isabelle Brooks, wearing the first thing on this stage I don’t love. We stan the bell-bottoms, but does she need the cut-outs on her thighs? Could it work better as a dress? I’m honestly baffled by it. 

CLÁUDIO: Mistress struts the runway like she’s serving Moschino, but I’m only getting diaper realness from her. If you want to do puffer chaps, maybe avoid making the panties similarly quilted. I guess the color combo’s nice?

Next comes Anetra, wearing a look inspired by the Las Vegas official bird - the prostitute! Red and hot pink make for a striking match, augmenting the look’s deliberate trashiness, like a hooker Barbie straight from the box. It’s a simple design, sure, but gets the job done.

NICK: She looks good! After a couple runways that left us both pretty cold, it’s nice to see Anetra doing her things so successfully. The sheer amount of feathers around the hood is delightful, and she sells it with such glee.

Marcia Marcia Marcia is up, and I for one am very mixed on this! Love the wig and the eye makeup, the puffy boots are nice, but I’m not at all into the ribbed bikini - god, the bottom straight up looks like a diaper. Michelle Visage gave her credit for how much makeup she’s putting on now, but I want to know why she decided to douse her collarbones and belly button in hypothermia red. She’s trying, but she has to get her shit together faster than this if she wants to win a challenge. 

CLÁUDIO: Between her broken nose obsession and this freezing flush, I’m fascinated by how much of Marcia’s drag seems to be about suggesting the fragility of a broken doll made flesh. Apart from that, I remain unmoved by her style. Also, those boots look sloppy as fuck.

Last but not least, Salina Estitties delivers a cute schoolgirl outfit. Instead of going for a fetishized aesthetic, she opts for a humorous take on the challenge, wearing a puffer jacket that’s also a dress and a backpack. Were the puffer panties a step too far? Maybe, but the joke still lands. 

NICK: We stan Salina realizing the American interpretation of Rita Baga’s prize-winning cheese curd dress from season one of Canada’s Drag Race. The bent towards comedy is a great touch, and the mug is flawless.

From here we enter the challenge proper and the queens watch the pilot of their Daytona Winds revival.

You know what? It’s weird as hell, verging quickly into surrealism in its editing and sound choices. An ant covered in bug spray screams Laganja Estranja’s “I feel very attacked!!” line as it writhes on the carpet. The same shot of Malaysia slowly turning towards Jax is repeated three times before we see the action completed. Laugh lines and zingers often have several seconds of dead air or stilted coughing (or, in one instance, an incredibly long howl from Latrice Royale) while the queens pause for a canned laugh that never comes. Unlike almost any previous scripted acting challenge, there’s actual filmmaking to talk about, and in several instances those choices are as interesting (if not more so) than the queens themselves.

CLÁUDIO: As someone unfamiliar with the Tim & Eric show the editors were (apparently) referencing, I was utterly dumbfounded by this challenge’s finished form. And yet, I can’t say I was ever bored. The weirdness wasn’t necessarily funny, but it served as an electric jolt, waking senses dulled by years of perfunctory acting challenges.

But I get why the queens themselves might be irate. Apart from Marcia and Anetra’s interactions near the end, the cast’s performances are so bizarrely edited that it’s difficult to get a grip on their work. Hell, some of them - Sasha, Luxx, Spice, Salina - are cut into oblivion, barely registering as characters. Nevertheless, even when one considers the potential unfairness of the edit, Malaysia and Mistress are the clear standouts. Indeed, I wouldn’t have minded a double win, so great is their presence.

Also, Danny Trejo!!!

NICK: What a fun walk-on. From here, the tops and bottoms are announced. Anetra, Malaysia, Marcia, and Mistress are this week’s tops, with Mistress nabbing her first win of the season. I would have handed the prize to Malaysia, if only for having a superior runway, but it’s a deserving win. Aura, Jax, and Spice are the bottoms of the week, with Spice ultimately saved from lip-syncing. I can’t make any excuses to save my beloved Jax, aside from her barely being in the final version of 2 Daytona 2 Wind. I admit I expected Aura’s runway to save her, let alone the fact that she won last week’s challenge. I’m not gonna say it’s the wrong call, but I’ve gotten more from Aura on her Drag Race tenure than I have Spice, who’s a fun narrator but has yet to break through in any real capacity.

Jax, on the other hand, has emerged as an entertaining personality and the lip sync assassin of the season. The two lip sync to “Sweetest Pie” by Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa. Aura puts up a solid fight, to include moving in front of Jax so the judges can’t see her, but she’s powerless to stop Jax from eating this the fuck up.

CLÁUDIO: While the lip sync isn't quite as strong as last week’s, Jax still puts on one hell of a show. I can’t really say Aura should have stayed after that, but I’m still frustrated at Spice’s safety when she's deserved a bottom placement for two weeks in a row. Get rid of the bitch, sniper or no sniper. Apologies to the condiment queen’s fans - I hope the next episode’s lip sync tournament spells her doom, eliminating the last remaining girl who could be called a filler queen. After this, it’s a death race to the crown, with Sasha leading the way.

NICK: I’ll be curious if this lip sync smackdown tournament will actually have a winner, or if it’ll follow the same pattern as last year and only build towards the biggest loser of the night. And I’ll take a turn to be pessimistic about this - since the inaugural LaLaPaRuza somehow axed Jasmine Kennedy, my absolute favorite of season 14’s lip sync assassins, I’m scared we’ll somehow lose Jax in this bullshit. It’d have to be real fuckin awful for that to go down, but who knows how the twists will twist. Anything can happen.

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