Drag Race RuCap: “Q-Pop Girl Groups”

Like in the last couple of years, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping the new RuPaul’s Drag Race season…

You know what? Bless this MESS.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: After that promising premiere, Drag Race season 18 continues to prove itself an entertaining new addition to the franchise. Sure, some judging decisions at episode’s end left a little to be desired, but these girls are very fun, and the runway is an all-timer that had me cackling alone with my cats - Major Tom looked very confused, but he always looks confused. Were your fur babies similarly mystified by your reactions to “Q-Pop Girl Groups” or were you a very sedate watcher, bored into inexpression? I can’t imagine you could be that displeased by this hour, though one never knows. (I know, because we’ve discussed the episode on DMs and GroupChats, but please allow the subterfuge for this intro’s sake. You saw nothing, dear reader. Thank you.) 

NICK TAYLOR: I wasn’t with my cats when I watched this episode, though the host of my watch party has a lovely, skittish young cat who didn’t seem inordinately cautious while we were howling at the runways...

The episode itself was rich with drama, culminating in challenge performances you couldn’t look away from for better and worse. Several queens surprised the hell out of me, and basically everyone emerged with a more distinct presentation of their drag by the time our first Porkchop walked away. I have many quibbles about the judging, but none for “Q-Pop Girl Groups” as a piece of television.

Beginning immediately after Nini Coco’s lip sync victory over Vita Vontesse Starr, season 18’s queens convene in the Werkroom to celebrate the first top 2 of the season. Discord and Jane are still peeved at Nini’s place in the top two, but the lip sync victory is more decisive, and they’re both willing to wait for America to judge Miss Coco’s backless garment for themselves. It feels as though Nini’s flowers are for the lip sync and Vita’s are for doing the best in the design challenge. Meanwhile, Kenya Pleaser and Mandy Mango are ready to bounce back from their anomalous trips to the bottom. 

The next day, the queens are presented by RuPaul with their first elimination challenge: girl groups! Ru presents them with three tracks, referencing specific musical genres and artists. We have Disco by way of TEAM, Pop by way of WHAM!, and Punk by way of Joan Jett and the Runaways. And the selection process Ru gives the queens is just nasty. But real quick: How mad do you think the season 17 girlies are to be the only queens to miss out on girl grouping since it was re-introduced as a mainstay in season 14? I mean, I loved the “Bitch I’m a Drag Queen!” challenge, but it’s not a traditional girl group number.

CLÁUDIO: Considering some of the vocal performances we experienced on season 17, maybe they should count themselves lucky. That said, I’m sure Acacia Forgot is sure that is the only reason she didn’t get a challenge win, that delusional country singer. Lana would have been safe, of course, and Onya would’ve done great, but maybe Jewels might’ve snagged herself an early victory and built a better narrative before the middle of the season.

Anyway, back to this year’s crop of queens, the way the teams are formed is indeed beyond nasty. As last week’s top two, Nini and Vita get to pick who they want in their groups, with the winner going first and so forth. But, of course, this is not going to be a girl group challenge with seven queen line-ups. Instead, the two tops select four bitches each, and the four poor sods at the bottom, the sad sack quartet that nobody wanted, form their own group - The Leftovers! This was either going to end in an out-of-left-field Rudemptian arc or in an obvious failure and… well… no expectations were subverted this episode.

And then, to cause even more drama, they fight over the songs as a pack of hyenas scraping for the last bits of flesh left on a decaying carcass. There’s a pop tune, a disco number, and a “punk” track. All in all, It’s savage, with everyone seemingly wanting disco. The loser squad argues that, since they didn’t get to pick their team, they should, at least, get their preferred tune, but Vita’s team is deadset on those 70s funky discotheque vibes. Even though it should be noted, they look like the most stereotypical group of off-stage punk rockers you ever did see, all in black with tattoos and sullen looks. Well, the sullenness might just be Discord’s baseline state of being. Honestly, I don’t understand how they don’t pounce on the punk song instead of treating it like a one-way ticket to the bottom two. Well, Tamar, have you ever watched the show?

NICK: It’s a wild combat session, to the point where Nini’s team can’t even get their pop track until Vita and Athena have settled who gets disco and who gets to dis-go with punk. Discord eventually gets Vita to give the other girls the disco track, but as it turns out, Vita never wanted it to begin with. Vita didn’t want to risk Athena reflexively trying to take whichever track she wanted, so she led Mama Dion away from the punk number. I’m not sure Vita needed to go through all that work, but we haven’t seen mind games like that in a hot minute. And everyone got the team they wanted in the end, so really it’s a happy ending for all involved.

Team Disco - Athena Dion, DD Fuego, Darlene Mitchell, Mandy Mango.
Team Pop - Ciara Myst, Kenya Pleaser, Mia Starr, Myki Meeks, Nini Coco.
Team Punk - Briar Blush, Discord Addams, Jane Don’t, Juicy Love Dion, Vita Vontesse Starr.

Team Pop and Team Punk are harmonious from the jump. Nini is the only queen whose voice is shot from last episode’s screaming photoshoot mini-challenge, and is very worried about her vocal performance. The funniest part of the initial planning sessions is Jane Don’t relaying with some confusion how her team wrangled her into editing all their lyrics. As it turns out, Jane had a past life in the punk scene, which explains her bonafides - though she’s still unsure why actual punk musician Discord needs her help. 

But the real star of the episode is the Disco team’s efforts to prove themselves as competitors against all evidence to the contrary. Darlene, DD, and Mandy are trying to make the most of being the leftovers. They certainly have an idea how to move forward, but it’s an uphill battle, totally impeded by Athena’s sour attitude. I don’t begrudge her resentment about being passed over, but it’s another thing entirely to watch her wallow in it the entire episode. The self-confidence upon entering the Werkroom has curdled fast, and it’s deeply unsympathetic.

Let me do the obligatory reminder that these queens are real human beings who have entered into a plastic, high-stakes reality for a chance at life-changing money. Athena Dion the TV character is being very bitter about her Drag Race experience not going exactly as she wanted, and it’s not endearing. The entire cast joking with her on Twitter about how she’s easily aggrieved is a great bit, and I’d love to see her let loose at some point on the show.

CLÁUDIO: She’s a petulant diva and part of me is living for it. But it is very unsympathetic and doesn’t bode well for her future in this competition. She seemed to enter the Werqroom expecting Sasha Colby treatment, but failed to deliver both the Colby combo of generosity and humility and great couples with professionalism and actual good work on the challenges so far. I hope she redeems herself down the road. if nothing else, because it could be a great arc to follow throughout a season. 

Also fun, watching the engineer twink croak her way through a recording. Poor Nini really has no voice, and is obviously feeling some type of way about the predicament she’s gotten herself and her team sisters into. I commend her for the fortitude to not have a nervous breakdown and actually work through the ordeal. Even if her vocals are shit, she’s confident she can deliver in the performance, helped by Mia doing the choreography. This is great teamwork and I’m vaguely surprised these queens are gelling so well so early on.

Well, the pop girls are. And the punk rockers, too. The disco leftovers… not so much. Indeed, the only silver lining of their process is how much fun Michelle is having with Darlene in the recording booth. I’m starting to see this country girl charming her way through the competition in a Crystal Methyd/Heidi N Closet style run. She’s very loveable, even as she is committing acts of terrorism against our ears.

NICK: She’s very lovable! And she’s giving it the old college try, which is always admirable. It must be said that the whole quartet gives it their best shot. Mandy’s surprisingly high energy, providing the only evidence any of these queens might be able to perform. Team Disco also gets the funniest cutaway of the recording session, as the queens see Athena has ever-so-briefly nodded off in her chair. No one in herstory has ever taken an angrier nap.

The dance rehearsals even seem to go okay! Or at least as well as one could hope for. Darlene can’t keep time to save her life, though she and Mandy do her best while Athena and DD butt heads over the choreography. Mia and Juicy do a much better job of leading their teams through the choreo/performance aspects, working with each queen’s skills and limitations - Mia drawing up pages of blocking in her notebook is such a serve. Discord is still inhospitable to all forms of grace and movement. Thankfully, this time someone’s trying to help her navigate the main stage.

At last, the first elimination day is upon us, and the girls are ready for the runway! We also get our first mirror therapy session, as DD Fuego is asked to recount her childhood and the origins of her drag career. It’s not inspiring for her longevity in the competition, especially when no one else on her team gets a comparable deep dive. The closest we get is Discord discussing her punk band and the history of punk in queer culture. The photoshoots of her band are incredible, and her message about the necessity of queerness in punk - in art, in life - is pretty great. 

CLÁUDIO: Every time one of these girls starts sharing their life story by the mirror, alarm bells start sounding off in my head. Production-wise, I wonder if they’re asked to share these things repeatedly throughout the season, just so the editors have material and available choices depending on how the episodes turn out. 

Anyway, it’s time to go to the main stage, where RuPaul is serving sequined stripes and White Walker eyes. Mama has always loved light-colored contacts, but I’m alarmed by the number of contestants returning to that trend I thought we had overcome a few years ago. Michelle Visage is serving sparkle tits, Ts Madison is a delight in neon wiggery, and Dove Cameron seems like she’s feeling her Matrix fantasy. It’s all about the divas on the judging panel this week!

The first girl group under the limelight is the Studio 50-Whores, performing “Funk Almighty.” Oh dear, this is a mess and a half, with none of the queens seeming like they’ve coordinated their verses among each other. Somehow, they also appear to be mocking the song they’re performing, if not the entire disco genre, which is a no-no when you’re trying to court Mama Ru’s favor.

There’s a way to play into the inherent ridiculousness of these numbers without falling into condescension, but these bitches missed that mark. Indeed, a good strategy when doing comedy during Drag Race girl group songs is to poke fun at oneself, yet only Darlene seems to have gotten the memo. Which, honestly, explains why she’s the best of these messy bottoms. Mandy also deserves kudos for her efforts, giving it her all even when it’s on the verge of too much. Athena and DD, on the other hand, are sour snoozefests whose verses I’ll have completely forgotten by next week. Also, for what it’s worth, the Dion matriarch’s ensemble is a dreadful misfire.

NICK: The poignant despair on TS Madison’s face during every cutaway of this number is more powerful than either of last year’s Supporting Actor Oscar winners. Poor woman. Athena’s outfit makes her look like the leader of this girl group, in perhaps another lunge towards proving her worth despite not being picked. Her lyrics are also painfully disconnected from disco music, instead going for the most generic Drag Race verse patter. DD’s flow is disconnected in a way all its own. Mandy’s energy is infectious, and commendable even when it seems slightly out of control - very Amanda Tori Meating. Darlene is genuinely great. The fact that none of these girls developed real choreo for the background dancers is another miss - no one’s doing much when they’re not in the spotlight, and then they get into the spotlight and it’s not much better!

The Pop girlies of Glam! do a much better job with “Go Go Go!” at presenting a unified front of pussy-pink joy while letting their own personas shine through. I’m not sure anyone’s a standout, but the queens all have their own victories and redemptions - namely Kenya serving after fumbling last week and Nini performing the dickens out of her number despite the hoarse vocals.

Mia Starr’s choreo is fabulous and her star power is more than I was expecting, Ciara’s eccentricity is wielded to great comedic effect, and Myki wraps it up with a sincerity I don’t always get from the self-styled funny girls. Put Ms. Meeks in the same shade of pink everyone else is wearing and we have the platonic ideal of how to do this challenge. Loved Ciara’s line about butch and femme, they and them, though even now her pro-kink at pride stance is overwhelmed in my memory by Kenya’s smutty verse and gospel-style closing note. Did any of these girls stand out to you, for better or worse? 

CLÁUDIO: Like the judges, I was pretty wowed by Mia, who felt so much like a natural that, at times, one could confuse her for the star and the other girls as background fodder. Kenya probably impressed me the most after Miss Starr, though I think her wig was coming undone by the end of the number, which detracts from the fantasy. Now that I think about it, Mia’s wig was also pretty bad. Nini was great considering the circumstances, though she never looked more like Alissa Edwards, complete with a Global All-Stars-esque arrhythmic spoken verse. I was less enthused about Ciara and Myki, even though they were still safe placement-worthy. Overall, this was my least favorite of the base tracks, so that might be coloring my judgment. I’m not just a bubblegum pop sorta guy, I guess.

 

Of course, the punk rock number isn't that close to actual punk rock either. Still, it was more pleasing to the ear and helped Vita’s team achieve the best collective performance of the night. From the “Cherries” singing Tucked-Aways, Jane was the highlight, so full of attitude and charisma, comedy and fierceness. The family resemblance to Bosco and Irene was never more intense, to the point you could have plucked her off this group and have her perform in the All Stars 10 rock challenge, and she’d feel right at home. Moreover, she’d still be win-worthy. 

That’s not to say her teammates were subpar or on a markedly lower level of excellence. Discord isn’t the best lip-syncer, yet her verse was fun enough, while the look was phenomenal enough to make you overlook performance deficiencies. Vita was hot as fuck, commanding the stage without straining. Briar revealed herself to be a show-stopper star with immaculate padding. And Juicy was a surprisingly coherent team player whose dance-forward moment didn’t strike the discordant note I was expecting. I’m not the biggest fan of team wins in girl group challenges - UK 1 and 2 being the exceptions - yet I would understand if Ru had handed the whole quintet a win. 

NICK: Briar Blush was the biggest takeaway for me - her stage presence was such a gigantic leap from what she delivered last week. Jane Don’t makes sense as the success story of the punk team, though I’m more inclined to reward the whole group for all the reasons you listed above. 

After the final show comes this week’s runway. Category is: “My Neck, My Back, My Pussy and My Crack,” a chance for the gals to show off their favorite body parts, and the queens knock this out of the fucking park. 

First up is Athena Dion, representing her back in a gorgeous all-red ensemble that still feels a little basic. I love the drama of her gigantic cape and the sensuality of watching her lower it to reveal all those golden necklaces adorning her tanned, chiseled back muscles. A mouth-watering victory let down by the bathing suit serving as the main body piece, though maybe a breastplate would have carried it over. It doesn’t help Athena that most of the runways to follow are much wittier. Did she miss a brief to get silly with it? 

CLÁUDIO: Beautiful, basic, and boring - a mixed bag all around that feels like a runway concept we’ve seen a thousand times before. This prompt is essentially a re-work of early seasons, where we got such memorable nonsense as India Ferrah’s paean to her breastplate or Jade Jolie’s rainbow hairiness, so there’s some pressure for the season 18 girls to freshen up an old standard. The Dion matriarch did not accomplish that in any way, shape or form. In addition… why is she wearing silver shoes with gold jewelry?

Darlene is much more successful, again making fun of herself in the process and inviting the audience to laugh WITH her. Supposedly, this is a celebration of skin, though it feels more like a joke on American white trash that’s straight out of the tanning song from Drag Race season 7 - remember Katya, Trixie, Fame and Pearl? My one note is that there’s a bit too much going on. Maybe lose the roach hair accessories or the burger tits.

NICK: My first thought was Kylie Sonique Love’s patriotic denim and her hot dog proprietress in All Stars 6, but the tanning song number is the right reference for sure. I’d chop out the roaches, too, but I’m generally in favor of Darlene’s fashion sense. Her sense of camp is such a delight.

Mandy Mango continues the trend of savvy stupidity, showcasing her face by putting her face in a picture frame and dressing up as a table cluttered with family tchotchkes. It’s a hysterical bit, capped off by an actual portrait of her non-binary ass boymoding on the other side of the frame. Mandy’s purple drapery is one of my favorite fashion choices of the whole night, especially her gloves with the tassels on her fingertips. Granted, this isn’t much below the waist, but keeping it simple lets her face(s) do the talking, and I appreciate how she still served body. I do wish the mug was more polished.

CLÁUDIO: Like last week, you are much more into Mandy’s fashion sense than I am. There’s a lot of fun to be had with the stupidity on display, and the gloves with tassels on each finger are a delightful touch. And yet, so much of the execution rubs me the wrong way. Why that particular picture for the back? For a lewk all about her face, the mug should have been flawless, yet it remains her Achilles Heel. The skirt is too unresolved, and we know there are better ways to do this. Indeed, I’m thinking of multiple Canadian girls from season 2, like Adriana with her pastry platter Rococo couture, or Pythia dressed as a Ionic column.

DD Fuego is another gal with a hilarious idea and subpar execution. Honestly, she should have kept her loofah closed, because the sight of a ball of tulle with legs strutting down the runway was priceless. The ill-fitting bodysuit beneath? Not so much. Still, I laughed like a madman the instant she walked on stage, and that has to count for something. 

NICK: It’s a great gag, though I wish the loofah itself were either more decorated or unadorned, rather than the scattered multicolored nubs. The bodysuit isn’t it, and I wish the mug had more definition to it.

Mia Starr is the first queen to serve cunty Bene Gesserit this evening, and I wanted more from it. Revealing an iffy nude illusion is not a great way to showcase the body parts she loves so much. I’m not opposed to Mia covering her face, and the anemone on her head is fun to look at, but I wish she’d either committed and torn off the brows or added eyeholes. Still, the snatched waist is absolutely to die for.

CLÁUDIO: Do I wish this fit better and that the “nude” parts weren’t as baggy? For sure. Nevertheless, I found this a pretty successful look that tried to meet the category’s name at face value with an added dose of old-school drag pagentry. Sorry diva, but we have to disagree on this one.

Kenya Pleaser decided she wasn’t going to choose a body part. Instead, she’s celebrating everything about her physique with equal self-love. It’s a bit of a cop-out, leading to a pretty generic outfit. Still, she looks good. The way the cape attaches to the back is too bizarre not to be intentional, right? It’s got to be some sort of joke. It reads like one, in any case. 

NICK: I like the spirit of what Kenya’s going for more than the outfit itself. She’s clearly enjoying the chance to show off her body in a good bodysuit, and it’s nice to see her charisma savoring a runway instead of trying to rescue it. Having her cape go up her asshole is a very strange maneuver, and I wish she’d played it up for some demented sight gag.

Speaking of demented, sight, and gagging: Ciara Myst quadruples down to show off her eyes. She’s wearing a bra made in their resemblance, as well as a giant T.J. Eckleberg moment on top of a cerulean swimming cap. I feel like I’m looking at one of those butterflies with huge eye patterns on their wings to scare off predators. The scale is amazing, the many shades of blue work together nicely, and I enjoy how the sparkles on her nude illusion look like an extension of her freckles.

CLÁUDIO: I’ll never get tired of a Carol Burnett/Bob Mackie reference, and neither will Ru by the looks of it. However, I’m pretty sure Michelle is going to hit Ciara with a versatility critique the moment she’s up for the judges’ commentary. That mug is unique and I appreciate that. However, it’s also sort of ugly.

That anxious little twink from The Pitt is serving brain on the catwalk. And why not? After all, she is a doctor. Jokes aside, I commend Alissa Edwards after she took the substance for turning such a strange concept into something genuinely fashion-forward. Love the mushroom-like protrusions on her gloves, the hat straight from a Robert Wun runway. It’s a risk to call oneself “cerebral” in this competition, but Nini Coco seems like she’ll continue to impress. At the very least, I am impressed.

NICK: It’s pronounced “Alisha”, actually. I love everything about Nini’s look. I’m amazed that the entire outfit is modeled around the brain, with all the wrinkles and folds giving her garment such fascinating dimensions. Blessed be a white girl who knows which shades of pink won’t look fucked on her skin tone. It might be my favorite look of the night.

Myki Meeks is less fashion-forward in her runway but fulfills the prompt like only the best pin-up girls could. Myki’s celebrated her legs by strutting down the runway wearing a billboard advert for her gorgeous gams, with a little spinneret attached so she can kick her legs any way she wants. Her mug is stamped, her hair is as big as her torso, and she sells the gam gag like a seasoned pro. The “for rent” sign on the back is the cherry on top. For pure comedic effect, this might be my favorite look of the night.

CLÁUDIO: It’s simple as fuck and just as funny, something straight out of the show’s early seasons and I mean that as a compliment. Points for the presentation of this brunette Angelyne, which couldn’t have been more perfect.

I’ll echo what I’ve seen said online and hope that Discord has a Xunami-like track record, so that she’ll keep doing this bizarre pelvic-forward walk for over half the season. It’s the funniest thing, even if it tends to detract from the fashion she’s presenting. In this case, it mostly highlights how cluttered that front is. Honestly, this is giving mob wife showing off her tats more than a celebration of the queen’s back but what do I know. 

NICK: It’s very fucking odd, and bless Discord for having a sense of humor about it online. The way she turns to the judges like she’s the hottest woman in the world only for Michelle to laugh out loud is amazing. I think the outfit is a great way to show off her lower back, but that’s also a lot of gender envy on my part.

I can’t think of anything witty to say about Vita Vontesse Starr’s runway celebrating her ass, because she’s such a smokeshow it feels disrespectful to joke about it. Her body looks fantastic, and the entire leather-and-gold ensemble makes her look like a wealthy dominatrix. The auburn unit is fantastic, her hat is giving woman of mystery in the sexiest way, and I can’t stop looking at her. 

CLÁUDIO: To quote Cole Porter, “it’s too darn hot.” In a good way! Vita looks fabulous in this Versace-adjacent ensemble and even the plainness of her panties helps suggest a sexy transgression. But of course, the hat is my favorite part of the whole thing. Love a dramatic chapeau.

Briar made the inspired decision to showcase one finger and one finger only, otherwise covering herself in fetish-y widow’s weeds because Mia can’t be the only one feeling herself in Bene Gesserit fashion. All in all, it’s very silly, mayhap a bit simple, yet ultimately delightful. Again, it’s worth reiterating that this was a very fun runway across the board.

NICK: It might be my favorite look of the night! Everything Briar said last week about fashion being couture and irreverent is such a guiding sensibility here, only this time her runway is streamlined exactly as we wanted. It’s like she heard us!

I want to hear what you think of Jane Don’t, because I like this rhinestoned mouth but definitely don’t love it as much as the judges. The giant lolling tongue, uvula, and gums all take this to the next level, as do the curlicues poking out under her bodysuit, but I just can’t love it. Do we need the lipstick? Am I being a grouch unfairly? Help me! 

CLÁUDIO: You’re a grouch and that’s alright. Oscar was always my favorite Sesame Street resident, anyway. Regarding Jane’s look, I love it unabashedly, from the overt Carol Burnett Show reference of the lipstick headpiece to the way she painted her own lips with a graphic highlight. There’s not one thing I’d change about it.

Last on the runway, we have Juicy Dion, serving a number inspired by the Schiaparelli Cynthia Erivo wore for the promo tour of the first Wicked movie. Like Jane, there’s a graphic quality to this I appreciate, the entire thing giving off fashion illustration come to life. It gets less impressive when you look closer at the details, the relative cheapness of the couture knock-off. Nevertheless, a beautiful package and she models the shit out of it.

NICK: Neither the most fashionable or the most silly garment on the runway, but Juicy’s still very fashionable and silly. Highlighting only her left leg is the best kind of gratuitous nonsense, and encasing said leg in a metallic, reflective material that completely obscures it from behind is clearly the best way to go about it. 

Once all the queens assemble on the main stage, it’s time for the judging to begin. Team Disco is announced as this week’s bottoms, while only Jane Don’t and Mia Starr represent the tops. I understand the logic behind it, now that Drag Race sticks to keeping just six queens for critiques whenever possible, but having so few tops doesn’t feel representative of this week’s peaks. Or hell, give it to Team Punk and let them chill while the other groups stand for judgment.

The critiques are mostly fair, though you can see them ladling what they believe is an appropriate amount of praise onto Athena before they rake her over the coals. Darlene gets good reviews for her crazy high note and a very lovely one-on-one with Ru that convinced me she’ll be sticking around for a good while. Mandy’s high energy is better received than DD’s stiffness, but they’re both dinged for their runways and their makeup. Mia’s star power and performance leadership are rightly praised, and I had no time for the judges saying she should have shown her face. Bitch, look at that body! Look at her dress!! Jane gets no negatives, and her victory is almost as assured as DD’s banishment. It’s kind of amazing to see DD rightfully throw Athena under the bus for their awful choreo - did you think we were hurtling towards a DD vs Athena lip sync, or did you doubt they’d put Mama Dion in real danger this early? 

CLÁUDIO: Considering how forced I felt some of the Mandy critiques were, I was pretty sure they were going to throw her into the bottom two. Honestly, I haven’t been this annoyed at the judges' attitude toward an energetic queen in a girl group challenge since Down Under season one, when they wrapped themselves into pretzels trying to justify Elektra Shock’s trip to the bottom. Moreover, Athena feels like a character they want to keep around and, perchance, this low placement will ignite a fire under her ass. I sure hope so, though I still think she should have been made to lip-sync. Nothing about her performance worked, to the point I think she might’ve been even worse than DD’s utterly forgettable contribution. Maybe the runway saved her.

Anyway, the table and the loofah battle it out to the sound of Dove Cameron’s “Too Much,” a song tailor-made for Mandy’s brand of overenthusiastic drag. And though she struggles to get out of the costume early on, losing her wig along the way, the Nurse Mango quickly recovers and pisses all over that stage. It’s a messy thing overall, but it fits the spirit of the tune while DD flatlines. I get that the bodysuit is ugly, but Miss Fuego should have let go of her giant boa, as it mostly seemed to impede her movement. Similar to last week’s result, the winner is evident and the loser even more so.

And just like that, New York’s own DD Fuego becomes the season 18 Porkchop. I can’t say I’ll miss her since we barely got to know her, but I’ll mourn an opportunity to better familiarize myself with the girl’s drag. She seems sweet, if nothing else. What do you make of their showdown and DD’s elimination?

NICK: Mandy owned that lip sync. The sheer number of death drops gave me flashbacks to Rock M Sakura’s losing battle in season 12, but Mandy is clearly having fun with the song. I’d have tipped the fuck out of that performance if I saw it at a bar. It doesn’t bode well for Miss Mango’s future in the competition that she’s booked at Roscoe’s next week, but I’ll hope for the best until proven otherwise. Can’t say I’ll miss DD, but she seemed fun, and she deserved to go out against Athena.

I’ve said this to you in other venues, but I’m genuinely suspicious if the show foregrounding Athena so hard in the early going is actually a sign she’ll be an early out. She’s failed to deliver on some big talk for the second week in a row, and while her reputation is enough to save her from becoming the Porkchop, Drag Race normally doesn’t let a queen coast through if they can’t get an early win. Maybe this humbling will be the start of a legendary Rudemption arc, but I need her to turn it out soon. Next week’s challenge is RDR Live!, and I’m surprised how excited I am to see this cast do some silly skits. Challenge win for Myki Meeks incoming? Only time will tell, and I can’t wait to talk with you about it next week!

Previous RuCaps:

• Episode 1: "You Can't Keep a Good Drag Queen Down!"