Drag Race RuCap: “The Crystal Ball”

NICK TAYLOR: Following the high entertainment value and disappointing culmination of last week’s LaLaPaRUza, I thought this was a pretty satisfying episode! The Ball’s been through a lot -- originally a late-game nailbiter that’s sent home many a fierce queen, it’s been deployed very early as of season 10. Can you imagine if this had been the third challenge? A nightmare. But here we are, on the 200th episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, with officially half of the cast gone, to talk about the Crystal Ball! Was it everything you were hoping for, Cláudio?

CLÁUDIO ALVES: This was the season's most satisfying episode thus far from both a structural and entertainment perspective. At last, we have enough queens gone to make the editor’s job manageable within the 40-minute format, leaving enough space for a mini-challenge and even Ru’s typical pre-challenge walk-thru. My only quibble was with the actual performances…

Many of them could have been more creative when tackling some ball categories, and the final lip-sync was an underwhelming affair. Overall, the cast delivered inconsistently, but that's a matter for later in our RuCap. First, let’s appreciate the episode’s opening salvo.

NICK: Right away we jump into the werkroom after Jax’s elimination. Anetra has a new fire under her ass, and Spice vows that now she’s in her top era, for realsies this time. Ru enters the werkroom and announces that this is the 200th episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, a historical milestone that the girls are impressed by. She then starts a mini-challenge, the first we’ve had since the reading challenge all the way back in episode four. The queens are asked to get into quick drag and photobomb iconic moments from the series’ past, and it’s really fun! Anetra scores a win for jumping into Willow Pill’s bathtub, and as great as the final shoots from Luxx, Marcia, and Mistress were, I can’t pretend anyone topped that.

CLÁUDIO: I don’t think I’ve ever liked Marcia as much as when she popped out in that insane attire. Good on you, Broadway Girl, for having such fun with this challenge. You’re right that Anetra was the obvious winner - because of the striking pose and how she somehow managed to paint her mug in record time without looking half-assed. Bitch was practically ready for the main stage.

NICK: We then move onto the main challenge: It’s the ball! The Crystal Ball, to be precise, as crystal is the present for fifteenth anniversaries. The first look will be a reinterpretation of RuPaul’s pink racer look (flag optional). For the second the queens design a look inspired by a former ball. The third and final look will be a Crystallized Eleganza Extravaganza, with the queens creating their own look from provided fabrics and jewelry. It’s an exciting challenge, though I admit I thought the second look would go down like the season 11 premiere and each queen would be assigned a certain ball to recreate. What do you think of the challenge?

CLÁUDIO: I wish the prompt for the racer look wasn’t as limiting and the second had more specificity. All the girls took on a past ball challenge head-on, not really paying homage to what their other season sisters did. Wouldn’t it have been amazing to see an update on LaLa’s iconic bag mess or maybe a fully realized version of Yvie’s evil doll look? I also wish they had assigned balls to the girls, so we didn’t have so many repeats.

NICK: I don’t mind that the queens weren’t assigned specific looks to recreate, especially when it comes to the queens who gave distinct interpretations of the challenges they picked. It would’ve been fun to go down memory lane with individual looks, but I wasn’t expecting it, and I imagine it might’ve cramped a bitch to get stuck with a bag of bags. You’re right about the repeated categories, though.

CLÁUDIO: I’ll say this - for all my grumblings, this is a good theme for an episode suffused with televisual self-love. Also, the crystal materials are fun, providing enough of a challenge without hindering anyone with lesser construction skills. Plus, it gave us two brilliant bits of funny business. First, the Showgirls-esque gag with the dropped pearls. Second, the way every bitch walked around with glitter all over them for the rest of the episode. Even the confessionals were sparkly.

NICK: After the queens make their grab for all the fabric and shiny bits they can carry, RuPaul walks into the werkroom with Style Superstar Carson Kressley to offer one-on-one critiques. Spice is called first and is told to push her designs and personality further - the judges have been seeing a lot of the same and want more. Mistress brings her rough drafts and plenty of details behind her designs, to glowing reviews. Ru asks how the girls respond to her personality, and Mistress, moments after spearheading the Roast of Loosey La Duca with the rest of the cast, says she always keeps it real, and you know what? She does. Salina comes up with several strips of fabric that the judges warn her is too much, and she has a heart-to-heart about how her confidence has been suffering the past few challenges. RuPaul comforts her against her Inner Saboteur, though is Salina in the right headspace to use that advice? She looks exhausted.

CLÁUDIO: I just want to say that I am living for Sasha’s confidence in her craft and her rockin’ body. The way every single person in that room is over Loosey’s ideas of grandeur is also fun, making for a tonally fluid section. From the laughs, we seamlessly go to tears for one heartbreaking passage.

NICK: While the girls put their faces on for the runway, Anetra and Salina have their own Tragedy Mirror moment. Anetra goes deep on her relationship with her family - she used to live with her mom, her stepdad, and her mom’s kids. Eventually her mom found her drag and accepted Anetra for who she is. This lasted all of a week, until Anetra was told to leave without saying goodbye to any of her siblings. Anetra talks about how this brought her together with her birth father, and though she wouldn’t trade the life she has now for anything, she misses her mom. It’s the saddest damn confessional.

CLÁUDIO: This is what I meant when I referred to this as the season’s most satisfying hour. It’s a well-rounded episode where we get highs and lows, peaks and valleys of emotion.

We also get ridiculous shenanigans like some makeup mirror nonsense littered with Drag Race clips and RuPaul lipsyncing to one of her new songs. Damn, she looked amazing. Indeed, every judge was fabulously attired, from Michelle’s disco decolletage to Julia Garner dramatic eyes. Were you into Mama Ru’s musical stylings?

NICK: It was catchy, she looked great, the backup dancers were hot. I have purposefully not gone back to watch it because I’m scared it could turn into an ear worm. Also, Michelle has looked great this whole season! It was nice to see her deliver so many critiques this episode.

We’ll be judging the challenge one queen at a time, rather than going down the order they walked the runway.

First up is Mistress Isabelle Brooks, delivering the look to beat every single time. She knows her body so well, and she just radiates confidence and pleasure selling them on the runway. For me, her racer look was the best of that category, with its homages to big girls past and Ru’s platinum blonde wig on her head. Her big boobed beach balloon face-kini realness, in emulation of the Ball Ball, might be my favorite of that category too. Silky Nutmeg Ganache’s anal bead wig with a Patrick Star silhouette? Holy fuck! And it still works as fashion. Her final, hand-sewn look is divine, pageant-ready glamour that also keeps up Mistress’ theme of tasteful, cleavage-first presentation. Tens across the board, bitch.

CLÁUDIO: I don’t tend to like ensembles that integrate writing, so I’m resistant to Mistress’s first serve. However, she works it like a pro, justifies the reference, and showcases how much she knows her shape. The beach ball fetish gown is phenomenal - no notes. The last gown, while beautiful, could have done with more embellishments. Nevertheless, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt since too many stones might have weighted down the structureless stretch fabric. We don’t need a repeat of Darienne Lake’s droopy emeralds.

Next comes Spice, whose racer lewk reads too costumey in quality. I think it’s the fabric choice, plus the combination of colors, calling to mind a kitschy fast-food mascot. The Ball Ball outfit is fine, if crafty, but the big failure is her crystal extravaganza. After being asked to vary her fashion, Spice comes up with a repeat of her House of Visage design, now in silver and with a longer skirt. It’s always a fatal mistake to directly contradict Ru’s advice if one wants to stay in the competition. Love the hair, though.

NICK: I WAS ALSO THINKING OF A FAST FOOD UNIFORM! I mean, it looks good. The Ball Ball look is solid, and I like the disco ball bust for her crystal eleganza. There’s not a ton to get truly excited about, but compared to some of her past runways, I was honestly expecting worse.

After her comes Luxx, whose first look is not my favorite. Given how her bra keeps showing from underneath her shirt, I wish the top was either longer or shorter. But the lace-up thigh-high boots are a yes, and I love that she used a real flag. The hair ball is very high fashion - the collar is my favorite stunning detail. Her last look, however, is clearly the coup of her series. She looks like a fairy that came out of a snowflake, frigid and graceful and covered in microscopic patterns you could study for a year. How does she do it?

CLÁUDIO: I’ll say this for Luxx, she got better with each look. I think the exposed bra is intentional since, in her reference photo, Ru’s black bra is also showing. Still, not an exciting look, in contrast with that fantastic Mugler-inspired hair fantasy. Your description of her snow fae outfit is so good that I have nothing to add. She’s icy perfection.

Marcia…girl, I’m trying to like you, but you’re not making it easy. Her racer look is good enough, bringing her pastel rainbow aesthetic to a design that’s inherently sporty. I also think Miss BFA hit it out of the park with that crystal costume with bejeweled clit, especially when it comes to the hair and makeup. However, I HATE her Bag Ball construction. What possessed her to fashion a look of head-to-toe beige canvas?

NICK: It’s so weird! And fundamentally unadventurous, not just in the material chosen but in the oppressive beige of it all. A big misfire, but for another queen whose runways have been a consistent sore point, I thought she made out fine with her first and third runways. The third look is especially rewarding for pulling way outside her typical brand.

No such luck, however, for Salina EsTitties. I don’t have anything against her first look, though it looks more like she’s about to be parachuting out of a plane. She wins points for being the only queen to do season three’s money ball, and making a palm tree out of food stamps with her face on it is pretty endearing (how much would that cost?), but it’s still very busy and shapeless. Her third look might be the worst of the night given the hard lines of the dress on the inflexible satin, and the flat wig isn’t doing her any favors.

CLÁUDIO: I had an almost opposite reaction to Salina’s output. The first one looked way too baggy to me, while the second went down the same road as Yara Sofia’s elimination-worthy mess in Season 3. However, I dug the last gown in the EsTitties’ collection. Or, at least, the idea of it. The construction is off, made worse by the stiffness of satin, I’ll grant you that. And yet, it’s such an ambitious design, full of geometric lines that must have taken ages to apply and make her stand out from the group. She flounders because she’s trying to do difficult things rather than flopping in mediocrity. You can never say Salina is basic, and that’s worth admiration.

Sadly, I can’t say the same for Malaysia Babydoll Foxx. Her first and third looks could be mistaken for things she wore before on this runway. I love this queen and hope she goes far. Nevertheless, her fashion is starting to bore me.

NICK: One might even say the color schemes of her first and third outfits could make them mistaken for each other, though that’s too mean. Yes the hair ball look is original, and the eccentricities of the clashing prints makes it sorta interesting to look at, but do I think it’s actually that good? Do I?

Loosey is next. I liked her racer costume at first, with its bright colors and bows and jewel-like textures, but why is there a vaginal slit? The plastic Princess Peach hair could be a fun cute touch but it also looks really hard. The second one is just bad - the doodoo bag flower crown’s a fun touch, but the dress itself is everything that bored me about Gigi Goode’s bag ball closer, except Loosey didn’t even finish this. Her final look is fine, but Loosey doesn’t go hard enough to sell the bit of Miss Runner-Up, and the mermaid tail shouldn’t start above her knees. When we were first watching this I was initially confused by her bottom placement, but now I think the judges were onto something.

CLÁUDIO: I was vibing with the magical roller girl spark of that first look, incongruities and all. However, the second one is plain bad, and the third is a further failure despite a good concept. Why so few crystals? Why is the skirt so short and limp? Why does it all read half-assed?

I just let out a little squeal of excitement when I saw that, once again, I have the honor of introducing Sasha Colby’s runway.

This time around, the season 15 winner brings to us a tryptic summation of all her style sweet spots, starting it out with biological woman elegance. Her take on the racer costume isn’t the most exciting on the stage, but it’s certainly the most beautiful. Next is time for camp, to show the bitch’s sense of humor and how smart she can be. Unlike her sisters, Sasha didn’t let herself be bogged down by the constraints of the real-life challenge of past seasons. Instead, she brought a look that needed to come from home, full of custom elements that span from that giant blunt fascinator to the glittering leaves forming her top.

Finally, we arrive at showgirl pageant excess, complete with lots of bare skin and a touch of gold. Sewing appliques together into a necklace cum breastplate, Sasha Colby looks goddess-like, every detail contributing to the overall effect. Love the shoes, most of all.

NICK: Mind if I get a word in on Sasha, bitch? I’m pretty psyched about her runway too. Sasha being the only queen to reconsider Ru’s racer suit as a dress wins her creativity points - she really showed it to us as we’ve never seen it before. She’s absolutely best in show of round two for her dime bag couture, which is inventive for all the reasons you listed, and managed to be totally original relative to any of the categories or 50 individual looks of that original ball. It speaks to the ingenuity of her competitors that Sasha’s final look isn’t my favorite of that category,. But it's so stunning, complimentary to her body and aesthetically very different from the silvers of the other queens. 

Last but most certainly not least, Anetra is here! I thought her first look was totally proficient, and I for one am charmed by her weird taffy bust in her second look. Is this another glittery bodysuit? Maybe so! But no one else did the candy ball, so even if it’s not the riskiest thing, she picked something different and had fun. But come the fuck on, she made that third dress???? On set??? In eight hours???? This is the best she’s looked all season, with her jagged crystal spine and shards going up her arms like she got hurled through a windshield. Is she The Bird with the Crystal Plumage? I love this so much.

CLÁUDIO: She should just start making all of her costumes in the werkroom, because, as you say, this is the best she’s ever looked on Drag Race. The runway of the night. But the racer suit was basic and the Sugar Ball ensemble just another bodysuit with shit glued on top. I think it’s even worse than Jinkx’s creation in season 5. Still, what a way to close the ball. Wow!

In other words, Sasha was a just winner, with Anetra as a worthy runner-up. Mistress also feels like she belongs on top, though I would make it a foursome by adding Luxx.

Loosey, Salina, and Spice make up the bottom three, with Miss LaDuca declared safe. If it were up to me, I’d have made her lipsync instead of the satin-clad one, but the producers are clearly invested in keeping her around. If nothing else, she’s a great source of drama with all that hunger and delusion.

NICK: I might have given the win to Mistress, but I can’t complain about Sasha winning this challenge. I would also have made it a top four to include Luxx, who did an exceptional job and was very pissed she didn’t make the top. So was Marcia, but that second look says otherwise about a top placement. Maybe Ru didn’t want to suffer through a Loosey vs Spice rematch? Still, watching the whole room awkwardly gawk at her claim she received “extremely positive” notices from the judges for her first and third looks was worth the delusion. The real winner might be Michelle Visage, who has some great moments with Spice and Anetra.

Salina and Spice lipsync to “That’s What I Want” by Lil Nas X, and it’s a bit sad. Spice, to her credit, puts up a good fight, though “her best lip sync of the season” still involved flubbing words. You can see her starting to go full Princess Poppy and throwing comedic bits in a song that can’t remotely accommodate them. Salina gives herself fully to the sadness at the heart of the number, and though she cinches this pretty decisively for me, it’s hard not to see some of the exhaustion she expressed earlier in this performance.

CLÁUDIO: This was a dispiriting spectacle. On the one hand, you have an incompetent lipsyncer trying her damned best. It’s still not enough. On the other hand, a great performer acts as if she’s given up already, surviving almost by default. I can only hope that Salina will feel better next week. If not, I think her farewell is imminent.

For now, we must say goodbye to Spice, the last of the Tik Tok twins. As much as I’ve been annoyed by the girl’s ability to coast by while better competitors fall to the wayside, one can never be too mad at her. She’s just too damned chill, seeming as if she’s having the time of her life even when fumbling. Honestly, after watching Untucked, I can see her as a surprise Miss Congeniality - everyone seems to have a soft spot for the trotting queen.

NICK: Watching all the queen trot onto the stage for the end credits dance was pretty damn cute. I still think she should’ve left a while ago, but you’re right about how endearing she is. I wish her the best. The real question is what on earth will happen next week, which looks to be fairly chaotic. The top eight are all tough, memorable competitors, so odds are I’m gonna miss whoever goes home next week.

Previous RuCaps:

• Episodes 1 & 2: "One Night Only"
• Episode 3: "All Queens Go to Heaven"
• Episode 4: "Snatch Game"
• Episode 5: "House of Fashion"
• Episode 6: "Old Friends Gold"
• Episode 7: "The Daytona Wind 2"
• Episode 8: "LipSync LaLaPaRUza Smackdown"

Comments

[Sad Man]

I disagree about Sasha. This was one of her weakest runways. The proportions were off and they didn't look as flattering as they should have,
MIB was the clear winner for me.
As for the lyp sinc, Salina slayed last week, but this time she gave up. Spice won that lip sync.

[whunk (he/him)]

Spice would've won the lipsync if she had the words down.

[NATHANIEL R]

I was so relieved to see Spice go home. SO NOT READY FOR RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE. I also dont understand why everyone finds her endearing. Pretty twinks with delusions who can say a few catchphrases are a dime a dozen ;)

I also am not quite sure i get your dual Sasha obsession. Yes, she's very professional and beautiful. But I rarely if ever find myself wondering what she'll do or wear. So there's something missing for me... though the blunt costume was an unexpected highlight taking me off guard and she definitely deserved praise this week. But I think Mistress was the hands down best this week since all three looks were surprising / interesting / fun.

[muffled dstop]

Being a fellow Sasha fan, I totally get it. Indeed, her professionalism and beauty make her a desirable employee. It's not often that I feel myself curious about her next actions or wardrobe choices, though. Hence, I feel like something is lacking, even if the blunt outfit caught me by surprise and earned her a lot of kudos this week. word wipe