Drag Race RuCap: "Red Carpet Mash Up"
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 at 10:00AM
Cláudio Alves in Drag Queens, Drag Race, Kylie Minogue, LGBTQ+, Law Roach, MTV, RuPaul, RuPaul's Drag Race, TV, TV Review, fashion, red carpet

Law Roach is THAT GIRL! She is MOTHER!!! Just look at the material.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: After a couple of great first episodes, season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race seemed to fall off a cliff with the advent of its first comedy challenge. While this fourth installment still leaves much to be desired, it’s a marked improvement, full of drama and strong work by the queens. Sure, the judging’s still fucked and some of the conflict skewed nasty rather than entertaining, but it was better than that “RDR Live!” trainwreck. And, at least, this week, Law Roach added some needed sanity to the judges’ panel, delivering good if catty critiques, showing he’s getting better and better at this Drag Race gig. There really is no better critical eye for a challenge this focused on celebrity red carpet fashion, a refreshing spin on the team’s design challenge from DRUK season 2 that was a tad complicated but not nearly as frustrating as I initially assumed. Following my grumpiness last time, I’m ready to be the good cop to your bad, dear Nick.

NICK TAYLOR: What if we’re both on a similar wavelength?...

CLÁUDIO: *Ilya Rozanov voice* Boring.

NICK: Ilya? I don’t even know ya! We can both be bad cops at WOW+, after the second elimination in a row of a queen who needed much more care and nurturing from the show than she got. I have questions for the judges, who still feel a little too pushy about the outcomes they want versus the results the queens have delivered. But I was pretty entertained overall.

Drama is served hot and ready right from the jump. Lip sync survivor Briar Blush is at the center of it all, and since she’ll be sticking around for at least another week, Mia Starr decides to put this shit to bed as soon as the girls return to the Werk Room following Mandy Mango’s elimination. We don’t even get to see Briar reading Mandy’s mirror message (which apparently took forever, according to season 18 scribe Jane Don’t) before they get into it. A conversation about respecting personal boundaries quickly expands to cover extensive Briar’s shit-stirring on and off camera. Athena joins in too, calling out Briar’s attempts to drive a wedge between her and her drag grandbaby.

How long has it been since the lip sync victory was smacked down like this after being saved? I can’t argue it’s undeserved, but Miss Blush is clearly not prepared for an argument with Mia, let alone half the cast telling her to her face that they wanted Mandy to stay instead. Sometimes you need to tell the colleague you’re trapped with to get their act together! If nothing else, this did a lot to endear me to Mia and Athena. Mama Dion’s unshakeable faith in Juicy is so moving, and to learn she was wearing a blonde unit underneath that owl mask... cunty as hell.

CLÁUDIO: Cunty is one word for it. At least, in that moment, I could see the family resemblance to a certain Bostonian menace, but I’m not sure either queen would find the comparison flattering. Plane Jane’s mom is very much in her feelings throughout this intro and, like you, I can’t really blame her. Putting myself in the owl’s shoes, I think I’d have reacted the same. Moreover, it’s heartbreaking how sad Juicy looks when, for all intents and purposes, she should be celebrating her first maxi challenge win. Her babyface doesn’t help dispel the feeling of staring into the big boba eyes of a kicked puppy.

And yet, Briar’s shenanigans were one of the few things that kept me alert and mildly entertained through last week’s terrible episode. As in many reality competitions, it’s a bitter pill to swallow that bad behavior makes for good TV, and peacefulness is oftentimes boring to the viewer. Oh well, let the drag queens fight. It’s practically part of the job description, anyway.

Next day in the Werk Room, tensions remain high, but there’s not too much time to dwell on it. Mama Ru soon enters the scene to present the maxi challenge, but first, she asks her girls to team up. Thinking perhaps this will be a matter of cooperation, each queen is eager to find a pair in their closest sister, so we get a bunch of besties hugging and smiling, unaware of the upcoming twist. Because, of course, they won’t be collaborating, but competing directly against one another, automatically landing in the high or low placements depending on how the cards fall. Oh well, it’s a design challenge, so the likes of Mia and Myki are immediately regretting their decision to join seamstress powerhouses Vita and Nini, respectively.

Then comes the Pit Crew hottie with his skimpy Grindr-sponsored briefs and a mysterious board full of mysterious possibilities that may spell the queen’s doom, mayhap their triumph.

NICK: They don’t just think it’s a matter of cooperation. Ru instructs the queens to go to their bestie without a thought for strategy. Poor divas, betrayed again by their ringmaster. At least the revelation leads to Kenya saying, “And that’s when the diarrhea started!” in her confessional, one of the more insane exclamations I’ve ever heard in my life.

Behind each panel is a famous red carpet moment. The queens pick a number, and each pair must construct two original outfits by marrying the mismatched designs. Fabrics and materials will be provided by the show, though the queens will be using their own wigs and accessories. It’s a “Which Bestie Wore It Best?” challenge, and each pairing has the tricky task of working together and battling directly. Mr. Pit Crew also gets a great moment of identifying the 9 he’s handling, and it is a very tantalizing package. Without further ado, the six pairs are:

 

 

Do any of these pairings stand out to you? Myki and Nini’s combo of leopard print and tropical flora looks pretty promising. On the flip side, I don’t blame Ciara and Kenya for looking unsure about how to merge meat and denim. There’s even a single hunk of raw meat wrapped in plastic! But why just one? What ever happened to sharing? Have you ever handled raw meat in your work, mister professional costume designer?

CLÁUDIO: While I have tried my luck with some unconventional materials - fishing apparel, ash, lots of burnt stuff, fake blood, latex-dipped gauze, so many newspapers, fake flowers, floral foam, coffee capsules, fiberglass, melted plastic bags, etc. - I have never handled meat of any sort as a material like this. The closest I ever got was when, at theater school, a colleague was putting on a performance that involved a pig’s heart hanging from the ceiling, dripping blood into a bucket.

Anyway, I think whoever got the meat had the biggest challenge, though I also feel pretty sorry for those poor sods who have to figure out how to coordinate a very loud tropical print with even louder leopard spots. You think it’s promising, I felt it was a disaster waiting to happen, tacky to the nth degree. The Katy Perry x Lil’ Kim team had the easiest time, however, getting materials that already seemed to go together from the start.

Not that Miss Mia sees the challenge ahead of her as easy. She’s in her head a lot, practically begging for help and direction. Some of her sisters are happy to provide the attention, with Jane hinting at ways to repurpose some of the pre-sequinned fabric they’ve been given, but Vita is having none of it. Not only does she not want to aid Mia too much, but she doesn’t want the other bitches to do so either, seeing Jane’s helpfulness as a strategic play against Vita herself. To her credit, it’s understandable why the premiere’s quasi-winner would feel the pressure to excel here, having amassed a reputation for exquisite replicas of celebrity looks. This challenge couldn’t be more in her wheelhouse, and that’s often when queens fail or are made to fail. Never tell anyone what you’re good at on Drag Race!

NICK: But Cláudio, leopards live in the jungle!! They already go together!!!!

The photos of Vita’s previous forays in recreating celebrity looks really heighten the stakes. Her over-strategizing here is certainly in line with all the argumentative smoke and mirrors she used on Athena to make sure she got the punk girl group number. Still, I don’t love her reticence to really collaborate with her partner. Contrast that with Jane Don’t, who cooperates fully with Discord and physically cannot stop herself from assisting Mia and Juicy. Two different potential winner edits, let’s just say that.

Briar is having a hard time recovering her confidence after being in the bottom two and immediately getting told to shape up by the other queens. I never expected to see her crying, particularly with such exhaustion behind her tears. We can get to the extent of Briar’s medical issues later on, but fuck, knowing what she was struggling with at the time casts a much darker pall on her fatigue. Also, apparently, she had to leave the Werk Room early and the edit cut that out? The fuck? Juicy is thankfully a supportive shoulder to cry on, though Miss Love Dion is still not equipped to handle a maxi challenge without help from her sisters.

The other teams hum along quite nicely. Athena and Darlene are doing the whole “I support you because I’m not threatened by you” routine, which lasts until Athena stresses herself out and remakes her garments. Myki and Nini are solid, and Kenya’s hoping for the best while having no illusions she’ll beat whatever Ciara’s cooking. Watching Kenya, Mia, and Vita gossip about the other designs is one of the funniest moments in the episode. They’re embodying what the “cool girls” last season thought they were serving before collapsing into nervous wrecks.

CLÁUDIO: I love Kenya so much. Please don’t send her packing in the next few episodes, Ru. I need some reason to keep watching while you and your pals overproduce the shit out of the drama and the results. Mia is also very fun, despite how sour she was early in the episode over her bestie’s elimination.

On elimination day, when she and Briar are sitting at the same station, they even get a heart-to-heart, burying the hatchet before it’s time to walk the runway. The Blush girl even shares some of her life story, a rocky relationship with folks who feel she’s a mighty screw-up and so on. It was at this point in the episode that I was pretty sure we were going to be saying adieu to Briar by the end of the hour. When you’re the protagonist of a Drag Race episode, it’s either because your storyline is wrapping up or you’re bound for a win. Not for a second does Briar’s work seem win-worthy, her fragile state just making her look like a lamb walking to the slaughter.

Then again, Miss Mia also gets to share a lot about herself, and how she returned to drag later in life as a way to cope with her brother’s death. Grief catalyzed into art. Sometimes, even in material terms, as it’s revealed that the Starr queen’s entrance look was made from jeans of her dearly departed sibling, walking into this new chapter in her life carrying some part of him. It’s exceedingly moving, with the editors doing everything they can to pull a tear or two from the viewer. Because as soon as she finishes that story, Kenya is back under the spotlight, confiding in Nini that her mom gave birth to her in her college dorm. My favorite queen was raised by her grandparents, and only really got close with her mom when coming out as gay. That’s incredible.

What’s even more incredible is that what prompted that revelation was a Randy Newman song of all things. Toy Story’s out there changing lives.

NICK: It’s the kind of story I would not believe if it was shared on Facebook by anyone I work with. Kenya’s such a light this season, and I hope she sticks around for as long as possible.

After this, we arrive on the main stage. Our special guest judge is Tony winner Annaleigh Ashford, who’s delighted to be hanging out with Ru and Michelle. Our main judges - and rotating diva Law Roach - continue to look stylish and expensive. The queens start walking, so without further ado let’s start talking!

First up is Juicy Love Dion’s pink and yellow robe. Or is it Juicy and Jane’s, since the Seattle queen ended up making her train? What does Mhi’ya Iman LePaige think of all this? Juicy’s look is a pretty straightforward success for me, nailing design goals that look relatively easy compared to what some of her sisters are serving. Her yellow bush is a miss, but the train is fab, plus the gold prints on the cuffs and down the middle are a nice embellishment.

CLÁUDO: It’s mostly a good design that marries the two celebrity looks better than I expected. The crotch hairs are the only serious issue. I guess there’s also the way all the materials look dirt cheap, but that’s not Juicy’s fault. The judges were right that she should have had more fur, though. When the hair count is so low, a good way to hide the thinness of the thing is to fake density by adding more tracks. Love that Juicy (or Jane) lined the train.

Briar Blush had the smarts to pick the most flattering shades of yellow and pink they had available. Her outfit looks much more expensive than Juicy’s, as far as the textiles are concerned. And that’s about it. Nothing nice to say beyond that. The jumpsuit is so badly made that it literally fell apart at the crotch later in the episode, and the cape is so badly proportioned that she had to hold it to keep it from looking unflattering. Well, more unflattering than it already was.

NICK: Why did she pick such a stiff fabric for the cape? It doesn’t flow at all. Briar’s mug is immaculate, and I like the breast of her design a lot. But yeah, this is a big fumble from a queen whose packages from home have been much more fashionable.

Discord Addams continues the trend of fantastic mugs and dubious outfits. The green-trimmed fronds look fantastic, but they seem like part of a completely different garment. Meanwhile, the very Mackie top drooped further down her torso the entire runway. It doesn’t look like it fits - would a breastplate have helped? Why does this look necessitate her bottom-coded cutouts above her hips? It’s not a good blending of her two references, and it’s not even a good look on its own.

CLÁUDIO: That bodice is a crime against proportion and the very concept of “elegance.” I do not understand why she insists on distorting her body so, making it look like her whole torso is melting off her, pooling at the hips. And then there’s that back, cutouts that seem designed to highlight the flatness of her derriere. None of this makes sense, and though the result is intricate, it’s also ugly as fuck. The boots are the worst possible choice for this Frankenfrock, unflattering from head to toe. I don’t know what she was thinking, honestly.

Jane Don’t is also working with some bizarre proportions, though there seems to be more cogent thought put into her Mame-ish design. I don’t exactly like it, but I see what she’s going for, and it does look awfully striking from certain angles. My most detested detail is those hip-horn feathers ejaculating, while my fave tidbit has to be her head-styling with the wig over the cowl and a berrette on top. It gives neither Cher nor Sarah Paulson, it must be said.

NICK: I love how transformative it is. It certainly isn’t giving the original looks, but I appreciate Jane doing her own thing with it, especially next to Discord’s awful attempt at Mackie. The hip pieces are a lot, but I’m digging the mix of strong lines and accessories used to bust against her silhouette rather than streamlining the garment. Jane’s much more exciting to me as a fashion girlie than a comedy queen.

Right away, I want Myki Meeks to ditch that Na’Vi nude illusion fabric on her upper body. Otherwise, I quite enjoy what she’s working with here, and don’t agree with the judges about her over-accessorizing. The headpiece is a lot, sure, but who’s ever complained about too much head? I like how the leopard print is more subdued, allowing the tropics to really pop. She looks regal.

CLÁUDIO: That crown thing looks like it has jagged teeth, and I, for one, do think folks would complain about too much head with too much teeth. It’s funny you dislike the blue because, to me, it’s the only interesting part of the outfit. The frock itself is a cliché, with the rushing making an already difficult pattern seem all the more unreadable. All the gold makes no sense for either outfit she’s referencing, and the tropical print looks like an afterthought, pulled directly from the fabric roll when Myki realized none of it was giving JLo.

Now, is this a tad more Shania than Nicki? Perhaps, but I’d argue that this is mostly because Nini Coco is whiter than Bing Crosby’s Christmas, rather than because her design is especially Twain-y. Apart from that, I really like what she cooked, giving J-Lo through the shapes the green drapery suggests, while keeping the Minaj touch with that cheeky leopard-print bodysuit. It’s surprisingly elegant and the mug is lethal.

NICK: Nini’s looks has grown on me a lot! I still wish the green drapery was a more exciting shade of green, but the bodysuit is tailored within an inch of its life and, as you say, the mug is lethal.

In an act of true versatility, Ciara Myst isn’t doing her exaggerated lip for this meaty denim design. I love the meat twine wrapped around her body, and how her walk is referencing a lot of Gaga’s avant garde choreo from that era of her career. The fascinator headpiece is a great piece of asymmetry. Maybe the best she’s looked all season, and with far less noise than she usually serves.

CLÁUDIO: Somehow, the Philip Treacy headpiece is even more reminiscent of Gaga than the walk. Indeed, this is a genius mix of both references, suggesting meat and entrails without getting too literal, serving couture with just the right amount of camp, as interesting from the front as from the back. The “Mysterious Meat” tag is the cherry on top.

On the one hand, I love the silliness of a slab of packed meat with jewels glued on, passing as a designer clutch. On the other hand, the move reeks of desperation on Kenya’s part. Like Myki, I figure she realized she was missing a big part of the reference and added it to get meat on the ensemble. Because, otherwise, it just looks like a Western-y denim dress with lots of red on top. It’s not too bad, just generic to a fault. Horrible wig choice. The two-toned fringed gloves are a serve, though.

NICK: This isn’t pulling too heavily from either of her references, but it’s a very solid look. If nothing else, she’s redeemed herself from what she made for the first sewing challenge.

Mia Starr’s look leans closer to the Lil’ Kim vision board, with the chandelier jewels draped across the front of her gown. Thank god a queen who wears pads got to recreate this look. It’s a very fun garment, and for someone who never once thought she’d outdo her bestie, she still put a lot of personality in this piece. Also, how has she made her mug look younger every single time she’s on this runway? Marvelous. What do you have to say about the zigzag on her front?

CLÁUDIO: Hate that nonsense. Hate that it’s just on the front. Hate the random shoulder pad. Hate that the titty does not match her torso or tatted arm. Hate that the boob is bigger than her head. Hate that the wig is so petite, making everything about Mia look broader than it already is. Hate that the wig, the earrings and the collar conspire to make it look like she’s got no neck. Hate how literal the design turned out, to the point it just feels like Lil’ Kim cosplay with some unpersuasive drag zhuzhing on top. The makeup’s good, the ash blonde is flattering.

So, according to drag math, Katy Perry + Lil’ Kim = Cicely Tyson in The Supremes? Makes sense, I guess. Vita, for sure, makes me believe the fantasy, even if it’s closer to madness than reason. Because she looks gorgeous and she knows it, a crushed glass glisten with a million-watt smile shining bright. It’s not perfect, however. That cut-out looks out of place, the fabric hanging from it even more so. And I don’t like that she rewore the exact same wig and necklace from the premiere runway.

NICK: I didn’t even notice the necklace, which camouflaged itself quite well in all the other opulence. The dangling chest piece is a choice, and the effect it gives could likely be replicated with a belt or sash of some kind, but it’s an interesting disturbance to a gown defined by opulent extravagance in precise detail. It’s also my one qualm with Vita’s look, which is otherwise completely stunning.

Darlene Mitchell marries the grandma’s couch fabric with chrome accessories and a space-age glam in her makeup and proportions. She looks like if the Martian diva in Mars Attacks! modeled itself after a cow. Or maybe she’s a yassified version of Katya’s stewardess runway? Her waist is insane, and the proportions make her look eight feet tall. I also disagree completely with the judges about her shoes, which I find chunky and fun in a way totally befitting the different references going on here. Walk of the night.

CLÁUDIO: I can’t believe I’m saying this about an ensemble made from an ugly floral print that kinda looks like cow hide from a distance and cheap silver lamé, BUT… this is so fucking chic. The construction is immaculate, full of fun details like the peak of silver on the skirt’s trumpeting bottom, or the Muglerian gorget, the abstracted cowboy hat, the fringed gauntlets. She manages to look better than one of her references, even! Then again, it’s Kim K in a horribly misconceived Givenchy, so that’s not the greatest challenge. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but Ru was insane for dismissing Darlene this week.

I don’t understand why the judges made such a big thing out of her hemming the skirt with a panel of ugly floral pattern when that cape was left unlined for all to see. Darlene really got the good fabrics from their boxes, or else Athena just chose the worst ones. The silver dress looks cheap, stretch fabric too thin, highlighting the corsetry underneath. Also, is it me or is this matronly fit aging Grandma Dion? She looked younger and more vivacious when she was halfway out of owl drag at the beginning of the episode.

NICK: It’s rough. I wonder how much time Athena spent editing and reworking her design before we ended up here, or if this was the goal all along. Her design is giving “cool aunt” to a degree I don’t think any wig could alleviate, but the great white wig isn’t helping one bit.

After this, all twelve queens assemble on the main stage for critiques. The judges address each pair of besties before deciding who wore it best. Loved seeing all the queens get critiqued, a statement independent from the quality of the critiques received.

Juicy and Briar are up first, and it goes exactly how one would expect. Law at least has some nice things to say about Briar’s ideas, but it’s pretty clear Juicy’s gonna take it. Juicy gets the first of many lines about the quality of the fabrics used, and it’s a weird thing to hear when the queens didn’t bring the fucking fabric! That’s a very different thing to say from Juicy using a fabric badly, which the judges get to eventually, but not soon enough.

More concerning is when Briar faints right before Ru announces who wore it best, brushing against Juicy while Ru and Michelle call for medics. She’s up again in a minute, with no memory of falling, and has to be taken offstage to receive extended medical attention. Briar is gone until final deliberations are announced. She’s not even in Untucked. It’s rough, but two things make it diabolical. One: the repeated cutaway to the crotch hole in Briar’s pants while she’s passed out. Two: having multiple queens weigh in on whether or not she’s faking it. That’s a wild thing for the show to include, even granting that this was a hot topic of debate for the queens as it happened. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but if the show I was on knew I suffered a medical episode and allowed for ambiguity for the sake of drama, I would be peeved!

CLÁUDIO: While I understand why the other girls, especially the ones farthest away from Briar on stage, doubted the authenticity of that fainting spell, they were a tad too adamant about it. Similar things have happened on Drag Race, notably Down Under, and the queens were much more graceful and supportive about it. Or, at the very least, they were edited more generously. I fear for Vita, the way she was presented this episode, regardless of the challenge outcome.

Either way, that was a scary moment. Briar’s unfocused, frozen, glass-eyed inexpression as she collapsed was more upsetting than the collapse itself. We now know she was suffering from pneumonia that later developed into sepsis, which nobody at the time could have known. But still, her sisters should know this was real. After all, they knew from last week what a lousy actress she is! I kid, I kid, and hope Briar is on good terms with everyone.

Moving on, the judging is a tad incoherent, with some queens being praised for things that go unacknowledged in their sisters’ work, and a recurring bit about the cheapness of the materials. You already mentioned the stupidity of that particular nag, but it bears repeating. At the end of the day, Juicy, Jane, Nini, Ciara, Vita and Athena are the winners of each individual face-off. Miss Don’t, Myst and VonTesse Starr are declared the top three by Ru during deliberations, while Briar, Discord and Kenya are deemed the bottom trio.

To me, this is bananas. How can they look at Darlene standing next to Athena and pick the silver granny? I’d go so far as to say that Darlene should have won the whole thing, yet she was put in the lower tier of queens??? Madness! Vita is a fine victor, mostly because she already should and would have won the season opener had it not been a top two lip sync. In that regard, this outcome tastes like justice. I would’ve also subbed Mia for Kenya in the bottom three, while ultimately deciding to pit Discord against Briar. Their outfits were the ugliest in a week when everything was supposed to be about red-carpet glamour, no matter how much the wackadoodle catwalker might amuse Ru or how opulent her creation was.

Am I crazy? What would your placements be?

NICK: I’ll cosign a lot of what you said. Vita’s victory is totally deserving, especially in that Lynesha Sparks way of apologizing for not going her an earlier, even more deserving win. I’d also give it to Darlene, with Jane, Vita, and Ciara very close behind. Discord and Briar are so clearly the bottom two this week that I can’t care much about a third queen to join them. Do you think the judges were tempted to put Athena and Briar in the bottom together for a very early culmination of their squabbling? That could’ve been fun. Kenya, however, should absolutely have been safe for crafting a wearable, attractive garment, something Discord 100% failed to do.

Ultimately, Kenya and Briar are this week’s bottom two, squaring off to Kylie Minogue’s “Lights Camera Action”. I’ll say this for Briar, she gave a much stronger lip sync this week than she did last week, especially considering how badly she was doing hours earlier. Matching Kenya’s backbend with a much deeper bend is a choice move. But Kenya performs the house down, approaching season 10 Monet X Change with her exuberant lip syncing and goofy asides. Shaking her titties like that? Magnificent, and Miss Pleaser skills as a dancer and entertainer are on full display. She outpaces Briar completely.

So Boston’s pin-up princess sashays away, a bittersweet goodbye made worse by every bit of information Briar’s shared about her health since she went home. Part of me wants her to come back next season to get a proper run at the competition, but mostly I feel bad to see her struggle so badly in a situation she shouldn’t have been put through to begin with. At least she leaves with a fabulous kiss-off, telling Ru that no matter what everyone else says about her, Briar knows she’s still cool.

CLÁUDIO: Kenya was good, but she wasn’t Monet X Change good. Nevertheless, she handily won what, at times, felt like a lip sync smackdown running on fumes. What I mean to say is that both those bitches looked tired as fuck, sweating off their despair to stay in the competition. Miss Pleaser did a better job of modulating her dance throughout the song, moving with precision even when the energy seemed a touch too low. May I be frank? I need one of these queens to give me the full fantasy, with their face in a lip-sync. So far, most of the showdowns have been about the improvised choreo they can bring to the function, but I’m harkening for some variation, some high drag, some old school divadom.

So, it’s goodbye to Briar Blush. I’m sure the season will be much less combative without her, which is a big loss for those who enjoy reality TV drama. I think the two of us will survive, as long as the drag is up to standard.

In the upcoming episode, it’s talent show time, with the return of Rate-a-Queen. It’ll be hilarious, after all our criticism of Jane, she turns out to be right and the other girls aim for her as a perceived frontrunner. I guess we’ll see next week.

 

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