Drag Race RuCap: “Drag Baby Mamas”

GET OUT 2 will star Onya Nurve. Start polishing the Oscar.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: It’s no secret that I don’t tend to like makeover challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race and that the last few episodes of season 17 have led to a crescendo of grumpiness on my part. So, everything was stacked against “Drag Baby Mamas,” as far as I’m concerned. But surprise surprise, this was a rather lovely hour of reality TV, so sweet as to give you a cavity yet assembled with enough brio to develop the competition’s main characters in interesting ways. It felt raw and earnest in a way we rarely get on this program, whose manicured sentimentality usually trumps much-desired authenticity. And we even got to see Law Roach thirst over Onya’s dad which was the most relatable he’s ever been. Agree or disagree? 

NICK TAYLOR: I really liked it! Compared to how good the episode was at the level of pure characterization and emotional honesty between the queens and their parents, the actual challenge was kind of a letdown. I am reminded of one of Dawn’s many tweets from a few weeks ago saying how although season 16 had better drag, season 17 has been an even bigger serve as reality television, and she’s right on the money...

“Drag Baby Mamas” opens with the five remaining queens crying for their dearly departed Lana. Sam is especially overwhelmed, in part because she had to send the bitch home in her first ever lip sync for her life. She’s mourning her sister, sure, but she’s also terrified about going home right before the finish line, and very aware of how one bad week on Drag Race can spell the beginning of the end. Trinity the Tuck didn’t raise a fool. And as we’ll soon learn, Sam’s had many an influential mother in her life to impart this lesson.

In happier news, the girls are overjoyed for Lexi finally joining the two-timers club, and for Onya getting her fourth fucking win of the season. Onya’s one of only eight queens to have accomplished this in a regular US season. We love her for it. But Ms. Nurve is not letting this fact get to her head, perhaps because she knows only three of the previous four-timers went on to win their season. This isn’t about getting the best scorecard, this is about being able to see this through all the way to the end, and she intends to do so. 

CLÁUDIO: Next day in the werkroom, Lexi continues to wear her hair down, signaling her newfound commitment to good vibes and say no to insecurity. Love when makeup and hairstyle enhance a character arc. Not that there’s much time to consider Miss Love’s loose tresses when Ru promptly comes in with a mini-challenge in tow. It’s time to “Spil the T,” where the queens vote on a series of questions with their little wooden panels. Whoever is in agreement with the overall group gets a point. Some of the queries include “to which queen would you like to say hasta la vista, baby” (Onya and Suzie tie) and “which queen is likeliest to search for the best little bathhouse in Texas” (Sam!). Onya takes the win and the money prize, because the bitch is addicted to getting cheques from World of Wonder.

But again, there’s not much time to ponder this victory because Mama Ru has an announcement to make. This week, the queens will tackle the makeover challenge - one of the show’s mainstays since its first season - and, for the occasion, production has brought in a set of special guests. It’s time for family reunions on the werkroom, as, one after another, the contestants’ parents make their way into the scene. First comes Sam Star’s mom, Leslie, whose presence elicits tears from the Alabama twink and makes it pretty obvious she’s a mama’s boy. Suzie’s mom, Susan, gets a more astonished but a tad less effusive welcome and Onya fully breaks down when her dad, Andre, is announced by Ru. Papa Nurve is a snack but so is Daddy Sparkles (aka Douglas), a professional chef who comes into the room with a sassy “hey queens” and immediately lifts his baby boy up in the air for a tight hug. It’s adorable, made more so when Jewels explains this is how he greets her every time. Last but not least, Lexi Love’s mom, Tammy, leads to her daughter’s astonished meltdown - “mommy,” she shouts between sobs.

It’s such an emotional scene, teetering on the verge of reality TV exploitation if not for how much Ru himself is choked up. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like for drag performers of a certain age to look at the younger generations of queens being so strongly supported by their families. I’m not one to tear up at Drag Race, but I came close at this moment. How about you?

NICK: It was so moving. I don’t usually cry in general, but I got close multiple times during the episode. Compared to Ru trotting out Ginger Minj’s deadbeat dad or trying to force an emotional reconciliation between Kim Chi and her mother during their respective season finales, this feels much more earned and earnest, even with the potential for bathos cooked into it. Everyone reacts authentically, and that makes it real. Sam’s tearstruck reaction to her mother is goddamn great, with the chorus of queens sobbing behind her out of sheer empathy and because they’re all realizing “oh shit, my family’s coming through that door.” Knowing is not preparedness, and it’s unbearably sweet to watch all these queens cuddle up with their parents after so much emotional turmoil. Or, to quote Ru, “We put your kids through hell, and they survived. And now we’re gonna put you through hell too!”

A large amount of the episode has almost nothing to do with the challenge, if you can believe it. Ru presents the queens with this week’s maxi challenge, telling them to makeover their parents as part of their drag family. In most cases, we get only the most preliminary glances towards what everyone is planning. I’m confident we spend more time watching Suzie Toot craft Mickey Mouse ears on her mom’s dome with duct tape and a plastic bag than any other individual sartorial act.

Instead, we spend so much time watching the queens really share what they’ve experienced on the show with their parents, hashing out baggage without any TV-ready melodramatics to inflate the episode’s intimacy. You rightly mentioned the strong support the queens have received from their parents, but they’re also trying to reconcile past absences or ongoing wrinkles in how they relate to each other. Lexi has had a very tumultuous relationship with her mother, who kicked her out of the house at age 17 and has only been part of Lexi’s life for the last few years. Tammy is still learning her daughter’s pronouns, but she’s also making a concerted effort to respect and understand who Lexi is. The sheer fact of her trying is enough to repeatedly drive Lexi into tears of gratitude. Onya’s father has been in and out of jail for robbing banks the entire time she’s been alive, and though she’s never let go of Andre, she’s lost a lot of moments with him she wanted to have. He might not have seen Onya graduate high school, but he’s here for her on fucking Drag Race, and that means the world to her.

Suzie Toot’s guardedness takes on a slightly new wrinkle as we watch her manage Susan, who seems so lethargic I was worried there was something medically wrong with her. Unlike the other families, Susan doesn’t really have any ideas to bounce off her daughter for a drag persona or presentation on the runway. Tootsie Scoot’s usual braggadocio is replaced with a need to turn out something good and survive the week. She spends so much time trying to work around her mother’s limited energy to make her comfortable it’s honestly hard to gauge what - if anything - Mama Toot is feeling about any of this. As a social worker, it reminded me a lot of how you interact with someone willing but not entirely able to engage with an activity. I pined for Suzie.

CLÁUDIO: It’s remarkable how the most harrowing relationships on show were Suzie and Lexi’s dynamic with their respective mothers. Both Miss Loves were incredibly candid about their difficult journey - just a few episodes ago, Lexi talked about being kicked out by her mother when she was a teen - while the Toots are closed off to an almost infuriating degree.

It’s not just Susan’s lethargy, but a clear unwillingness to explore whatever’s going on in their relationship on international TV. This comes to a climax during the makeup mirror musings, when a confessional reveals how Suzie is a bit melancholic about how close a relationship her sisters have with their parents. There’s a longing there that transcends the challenge. And, honestly, I respect the show for not forcing Suzie into disclosing everything. Ru tries to get something out of the mother-son pair by inquiring about the queen’s name - a clear homage to the matriarch - but doesn’t go further than that. Hell, the most we get out of Susan is in conversation with Leslie, when she seems to realize there’s a barrier between how much she’s willing to engage with her child’s queer art in comparison to Mama Star.

But these parallels aren’t just about troubled relationships with parents. They’re also about troubled relationships with the self, as Lexi Love finally verbalizes what’s been at the tip of her tongue for weeks now. A lot of the resentment she feels for Suzie Toot stems from insecurity, but also how much of herself she sees in the other queen. Only, all the years Lexi lost to partying and drugs, Suzie spent honing her craft. It’s an illuminating realization that paints the tap-dancing diva as an embodiment of everything the season’s oldest contestant feels she could have, or maybe should have, been. For all the tears and joy in this hour, Tammy assuring Lexi that she’s good enough might be the emotional highlight. In some ways, it feels like a narrative arc is coming to an end within the story of season 17.

NICK: I loved watching the lightbulb go off over Lexi’s head. You can see the weight of this realization wash over her in real time, tinged with a recognizable irritation about the source of her angst being so obvious now that she’s said it out loud. Lexi’s so real for that.

Speaking of Leslie, I want her to win Miss Congeniality. She conveys such a loving, supportive mama bear history with Sam, having stood by his side in a conservative Texas town his entire life. She’s even become a den mother to the other drag queens at the clubs Sam performs at. As Sam recounts it, Leslie’s one of the only parents to see her son’s shows, let alone stay in his life in such an active way after he came out and started performing, so she’s taken on a maternal role for the other queens in Sam’s life even when she shows up to party. Sam has such an open rapport with his mother, going from crying on her shoulder after recounting last week’s lip sync to kiki’ing about what kind of drag Leslie wants to wear and how to make Mama Star feel sexy. Right away it’s Dolly Parton realness, big hair, big everything. Sam also makes a concerted effort to make her mom feel sexy and confident, relaying a history of Leslie as a former beauty queen who’s fallen out of love with her body, and needs to be reminded she’s still able to serve it.

Jewels has a similarly positive relationship with her dad, though their lives have been touched very recently by tragedy. Jewels’ older brother died in a car crash in 2020, and their family has been irreparably changed by his loss. Shortly after he died, they moved to Florida, and Douglas found the bar where Jewels would perform in drag for the very first time. He encouraged Jewels to go and even went to his first performance in drag. Douglas knew Jewels could make friends if he felt comfortable and safe, and believed his presence would allow that to happen. Based on what we know of Jewels from the show’s edit, it seems like his support rewarded her tremendously - this queen radiates such confidence and self-assuredness.

CLÁUDIO: Well, at least now we know how you get such a relatively cool-headed and emotionally mature queen at such a young age. Honestly, their dynamic is one of the episode’s sweetest elements and Papa Sparkles is game for all sorts of drag shenanigans. Even though they’re not wearing breastplates for their outfits, Jewels makes sure to give her dad the full fantasy on the werkroom. Which leads the father to empathize with the women of the world whose backs must carry such endowments. Andre wants some of the fun, so he follows Douglas’ steps and models some titties. I burst out laughing when he called his boobalicious self Viola Davis.

The mid-episode meetings with Ru serve to reinforce these characters and storylines. When Sam’s mom shares stories of being there for the other queens her son works with, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my own mother who is always there for my theater kid friends and even calls a few of them her adopted children. Douglas reveals Jewels put the whole family in drag during lockdown and his queen persona’s called Salchicha - hilarious, suggestive, I’ll take a bite. Suzie’s mom is going to be Queenie Toot, her whole demeanor as inert as ever while her daughter constructs a ductape Mickey Mouse-like headpiece to which RuPaul gives a funny, doubtful look. Everybody wants to flirt with Andre and I get it, especially when he tears up saying he’d do anything for his son. Lexi and Tammy barely mention their looks, since there’s so much lifestory to share and the show’s host is hungry for it all. She’s also thirsty for another Emmy, thank you very much.

NICK: The look on André’s face when he’s confronted with having to shave his beard for his son is maybe the funniest thing to happen all episode. This is a burden he does not relish, and then Onya picks up the electric razor to reveal her father’s fine jaw . . . . like what the fuck. He’s so much man. No bigger reversal in mood than looking at André’s fine, clean-shaven face only to see Onya start putting that makeup on him, lemme tell you.

The last step before the runways is sitting everyone down in the makeup chair to begin their transformations. This was the moment I realized we hadn’t even seen much of what the queens were planning as far as fabrics or what have you, aside from the sketches they showed Ru at their one-on-one talks. Lexi immediately gets Tammy onboard with the whole thing by taping her face back and seeing how the wrinkles have suddenly vanished. Mama Love is gagged! Sam gets her mom into drag and Leslie immediately starts cutting it up with everybody. The Stars are seated next to the Toots, and the sight of Leslie and Susan throwing shade at each other with full mugs on makes Suzie wistfully realize she’s looking at her and Sam in a couple decades. 

Still, the mini-challenge winner for best mirror moment has to be Jewels and Salchicha, who read the other queens together as part of getting themselves ready for the judges. They’re putting on makeup, they’re throwing shade, they’re getting in the zone! You better believe Salchicha has some choice words for Queenie Toot in her Babadook mug.

CLÁUDIO: And, in what feels like no time at all, we’re off to the races. On the main stage, RuPaul models a dazzling gold look that looks like molten metal poured over a lace ensemble. It’s maybe my favorite thing she’s worn all season, give or take the Megami cosplay from last week. Michelle is taking the notion of a keyhole dress to sternum-baring extremes, Law Roach is back and glowing, while special guest judge June Diane Raphael is an oiled-up vision, all glistening skin and leopard print. All that said, without further ado, on the runway, category is… Drag Family Resemblance!

Lexi Love and Mimi Lovely are first on the catwalk, a pair of Valentine giftcards given life and a bootylicious shape. The fashions seem like echoes of the queen’s entrance look, though, more overtly boudoir-esque. Truth be told, they’re not the most exciting ensembles, but I think Mimi looks… well, lovely, even though her brow shape is a tad strange. Her corset is more flattering than Lexi’s cincher, and I like the headpiece better, too. Kudos for serving ass in a thong, outsexing and outshining the season’s body queen. And kudos to Lexi for making it happen.

NICK: The Love family outfits are quite attractive, if not breaking molds, but they pass the vibe check for family resemblance and sisterly camaraderie. They look like they’re working the club together, strolling down the hall offering pixie sticks shaped as cigarettes. Mimi’s ass is the best of any queen this week, and she’s flaunting it. Still, the prevailing mood is utmost joy. Lexi looks the happiest she’s been all season walking across the catwalk with her mom.

Sam and Sassy Star strut down the runway looking like the latest country music duet, or perhaps the owners of the bordello the Loves are working at. The baseline of sheer polish that’s defined Sam’s tenure on Drag Race is again a major asset against her competition - this isn’t far from the cloning we’ve seen before, but the execution is top notch. Love the simplicity of the golden jewels/hat and rhinestoned blue and white bodysuit, the giant tassels, the decision to show off Sassy’s legs while Sam stays relatively covered. Even better is their rapport onstage, pageant girl love/rivalry made manifest by slapping each other’s asses in appreciation as they pass each other before Mama shoves her kid offstage so she can bask in the spotlight by herself. Great stuff. 

CLÁUDIO: Their whole dynamic was a delight, but the tacky-ass country glamour was the best part for me. It was game over the moment they stepped on the runway, so polished, so drag-y, so spectacular while they swayed their hips around and made the giant fringe fly all over the place. Some people online said Sassy resembles Cheryl Hole’s tethered but I think one shouldn’t understate just how much Sam managed to replicate her mug on her mother. Sheer perfection, any way one looks at it.

Suzie and Queenie Toot are taking the former’s 1920-30s aesthetic to its vaudevillian cum cartoon apotheosis, complete with grayscale makeup. Straight from Steamboat Willie, they’re serving Mickey Mouse realness with a side of Fleischer stripe, squish and stretch. It’s a very smart approach to this challenge by Suzie, exaggerating her brand to a point where anyone would look like her drag family when all thel guiche was done. I have some quibbles - Queenie’s legs should have been padded and the scarves feel extraneous or needed to be made from some other textile - but there are a number of details I love - the bishop sleeves, the headpieces, Queenie’s nose. Honestly, Toot Sr.’s mug looks better than her daughter’s.

NICK: There’s a lot of smart, fashionable detailing here. Suzie’s look might be my favorite individual outfit from this week. I’m so glad Law Roach called this fashion forward, simple and campy all at once. You’re right about Queenie’s legs, and I wish her stockings were striped too. Otherwise, very strong.

Jewels and Salchicha sell it as far as dragged-up pizzazz. The judges may have even liked Salchicha best of the parents, with her sassy, flirtatious attitude. But the outfits themselves are wildly unflattering, an unforced error I wasn’t expecting from Jewels. Why are they so fuzzy and so unflattering to their silhouettes, especially when the Sparkles brand is sweet and sexy? Why wear pastel parkas in the first place? Douglas was so excited for the breastplate, let him flaunt it! It’s everything underwhelming about Gigi Goode’s makeover without even the pretense of chic minimalism or a reveal to punch it up. What a weird misfire.

CLÁUDIO: Welcome back, Wintergreen. Salchicha was a goddamn star on that stage, playing it up for the cameras and the judges alike. It’s a tragedy they didn’t have a reveal planned, because Salchicha would have knocked it out of the park. Then again, Ru might have been persuaded to give her the crown in that case, and we can’t have that. Anyway, I agree with everything you said. I’d add that Jewels made her dad look bigger and older in drag than he is in boy mode, though the wigs and makeup were on point. Indeed, Salchicha might have had my favorite mug out of all the baby queen divas.

One can’t accuse Onya of half-assing it in the same way Jewels did. That said, I almost wish she had gone for a simplistic approach over this mess. The outfits are hideous - why is Onya’s skirt longer on the front? - the color story repulsive, the wigs an eyesore. Even the makeup leaves something to be desired. I get what Onya was going for with those cartoonish eyeliner swishes, but it just looks like she painted crows feet on Nunya Bidness’ glorious face. I didn’t expect our frontrunner to flop this hard, especially considering these ensembles were clearly brought from home and pre-planned, from head to toe.

NICK: They look like thrift store magical girls. How did Onya take a face as beautiful as her father’s and turn him into Coco Montrese’s tethered? Everything about these fits is awful, and while I’m glad whenever a queen forgoes straight cloning, the way Onya (and Jewels) basically do alt skins like they’re video game characters (akin to Kameron Michaels) is somehow more embarrassing to me. I’d argue the biggest tragedy has nothing to do with the looks - I wish André had really gone with Roberta Banks as his drag name, but Nunya Business is a hoot, and very on brand.

After the walks have been walked, the judges commence their judging. Most surprising is their mixed remarks for Lexi and Mimi, dinging their lack of family resemblance but applauding the quality of their individual looks and salivating over Mama Love’s tuchus. I thought the variations in their designs served the Loves decently, but I guess not! Otherwise, it’s a pretty predictable field going down the line. Sam and Sassy get high marks for serving it across the board. I’m surprised by how much the judges were living for Suzie and Queenie - I suspect if Law Roach were head judge then Suzie would’ve won. Their praise for how touching it was to watch Suzie looking out for her mother makes sense, and feels like a very generous interpretation of Queenie’s limited mobility. I’m also quite touched by Suzie vowing to make room for her mother in her drag life, which managed to be unusually candid without reading as forced.

Jewels and Onya get read for basically everything we’ve said above. Given how convivial the mood was, I didn’t expect Law Roach to call Onya’s whole presentation ugly, but repeatedly shooting his shot with Onya’s father really lightened the mood. He’s just saying what we’re all thinking!! We must at least praise the before-and-after family photos presented during the critiques, which showcased the families in professional headshots - seemingly with their pets edited in? Or maybe it just feels right to imagine Sam and Leslie own a horse, Onya and Andre have a pitbull, so on and so forth. Everything about it is great.

CLÁUDIO: Loved the sales pitch for La Roche-Posay, even if Zaddy Nurve didn’t buy any of it. Indeed, Law Roach was the highlight of this judging, from his flirting to the defense of Suzie’s vision. I appreciate how this is the second time this season where he shows support for a queen’s brand and aesthetic, calling it fashionable even though it might fall outside what one might think as fierce, cunty style. Can’t say I agree with what almost all of the judges said about the Love duo, however. After so many weeks of them softballing Lexi, it was bizarre to see them all being so over-critical over a, more or less, successful maxi-challenge performance on her part.

Even so, I agree with the judges regarding Sam’s win - it’s the fairest of her three victories, though I’d also co-sign her Monopulence success - and struggle to see a case where it could have gone any other way. Jewels kept talking about the possibility of a top two lipsync for the win on Untucked and, while I wouldn’t mind seeing Suzie vs Sam, it’s good for Onya to get a well-deserved bottom placement to shake up her narrative. Weirdly enough, I think it might increase her chances of winning it all in the end. Then again, I thought the same about Sapphira last year and we all saw how that turned out.

But regardless of Jewels’ wishes coming true or not, this was a non-elimination episode so everybody’s happy and no queen was sent home while their tearful parent watched. That’s not to say it was a draw as far as the lip sync went. Strutting their stuff to the sound of Amerie’s “1 Thing,” both Onya and Jewels put on a show, with each performer going a different route. Onya is all about the face and finding comedy in the song while maintaining a fighting spirit. Jewels is a stunt queen ready to dance the house down, hitting top marks with sexy poses galore and a pop diva attitude. It’s a fun smackdown that Jewels’ wins on account of vibing more definitively with what the song’s giving in the first place. Onya did well enough that I’m excited to see her lip sync for the crown but, were the judges in a more unforgiving mood, she’d be packing her things by the end of this episode. And, gag-worthy as that would have been, it would have also been a sad end for one of best, most well-rounded performers of the season and my current choice of winner. I’m glad they both got to stay and their sisters seem to agree. Did you see Suzie jumping for joy in the background? Adorable.

NICK: Suzie got air, dear lord. Love her, love Lexi moaning in shock reaching her hand out like she’s casting a spell once she realizes no one is going home. I would’ve enjoyed a lip sync for the win between Sam and Suzie, and was half tempted to give them both a win in my little notes app page about the season. Still, I co-sign your statement about Sam deserving this victory wholeheartedly. And all the parents get money to continue their drag journeys! Maybe we’ll see Salchicha on season 19. 

Losing Onya would have been devastating, even if Jewels beat her fair and square. She’s still my pick for the crown, too, but I still have my sneaking suspicions about Suzie coming from behind. Or maybe I’m just hoping her tenure on the show, starting strong right out the gate and maintaining the most consistent game of this final five, while seemingly everyone throws stones at her, culminates with a big movement going into the finale. Maybe she wins the challenge, maybe she sends someone home. Either way, I’d love this bitch to make a very big splash next week without going home. If I’m missing writing on the wall, so be it, but if Tootsie Scoot makes it to the end she could win the crown.

Next week’s challenge asks the girls to do a trial run for RuPaul’s Drag Race Las Vegas, as well as sit for interviews with some of the show’s most legendary cast members (and staples of the Vegas show). Ru promises “at least one girl” will be going home next week, and while I have no idea whether to take her implied threat of multiple eliminations seriously, I do believe everyone is potentially on the chopping block.

Previous RuCaps:

• Episode 1: “Squirrel Games”
• Episode 2: "Drag Queens Got Talent"
• Episode 3: "Monopulence!"
• Episode 4: "Bitch, I'm a Drag Queen!"
• Episode 5: "RDR Live!"
• Episode 6: "Let's Get Sea Sickening Ball"
• Episode 7: "Snatch Game"
• Episode 8: "The Wicked Wiz of Oz: The Rusical!"
• Episode 9: "Heavens to Betsey!"
• Episode 10: "Villains Roast"
• Episode 11: "Ross Matthews vs the Ducks"
• Episode 12: “Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve & Talent Monologues”