Drag Race RuCap: "Snatch Game of Love: Island Edition"

Which one of the Snatch Game boys is your favorite? Don't be shy, share with the class.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: The narrative set forth by the Talent Show kerfuffle continues to unfold in this season’s Snatch Game. In some ways, it feels like Mama Ru is correcting the injustices she (or the broader production team) may have perceived in the Rate-a-Queen results, rewarding those who were thrown under the bus while punishing the conspirators behind Myki’s close brush with elimination. She’s like Eggers’ Northman, intoning to herself: “I will avenge you, Meeks! I will save you, Coco! I will kill you, Dions!” Then again, it’s not like the girls are making her job very difficult. The correct bottom two lip-synced for their life this week, and even if I might have picked a different victor, Ru’s champion is hardly scandalous. Anyway, did you know Athena Dion is Greek?

NICK TAYLOR: I do, though there’s a moment where she’s really pressed by the suggestion to play Greek. Diva, that is your brand!! You did this!! Along with course-correcting the talent show, Ru’s judging feels like a referendum against fictional and mythological characters popping up in Snatch Game. I have questions about the judging, but not complaints, and in retrospect part of my shock at this week’s elimination is from the edit not pushing the possibility as hard as they might have...

We start in the aftermath of Vita’s elimination. The queens are distraught, and Juicy in particular is devastated at having sent her sister home. The mood is somber at seeing a presumed finalist get sent packing, yet the girls still find time to congratulate Myki Meeks for her maxi challenge victory after lip synching for her life the week before. Her redemption is only just getting started, as is Discord’s campaign for a top placement and challenge win.

While redemptions are being announced left and right, mini challenges are nonexistent. The queens don’t even get to read each other for filth at the library before RuPaul announces this week’s challenge is the Snatch Game. But this isn’t your grandma’s Snatch, it’s the all-new Snatch Game of Love Island! The contestants will be doing celebrity impersonations for the love and adoration of three swarthy hunks. To me, this is a worthy twist to the format and for the queens, many of whom were planning to be horny on main anyways. But some divas are devastated by the change - were you?

CLÁUDIO: Sort of? Though everyone and their mother has OPINIONS about how Snatch Game needs to be revitalized, I’m fond of its format, shintzy Match Game parody and all. It’s a model that invites actual celebrity impersonation within a pretty well-structured device, the panel game show. I get wanting to update this to a more current reality-TV corollary that hasn’t been off the air since 1991, but Love Island doesn’t feel like the right fit. At times, this week’s maxi challenge felt more like The Bitchelor than Snatch Game. It doesn’t help that my only reference for Love Island is those Trixie and Katya reaction videos on the Netflix YouTube channel.

But I’m probably getting ahead of myself, for there is much to talk about before we arrive at the Snatch Game proper. Because, in the Werk Room, chaos reigns and, honestly, I feel for the bitches reeling from the format change. Suddenly, there’s a whole new set of requirements and physical performance elements involved, not to mention a need to adjust pre-planned bits around a new amorous spin on the material. Kenya is in a panic, for instance, and Athena isn’t far behind. Not that the latter’s idea for a Charlie Chaplin impression feels promising to start with, as it hinges on him not being known beyond his silent movies… what? Every time Athena mentioned her original plan, emergency sirens blared in my mind. Does she even know he was British?

Of course, the matriarch’s anxiety has nothing on what’s going on with the rest of her Floridian clan. Juicy is going through it, suddenly feeling like her America Ferrera as Ugly Betty impression won’t cut it, everything she planned beforehand focused on banter with Ru rather than the Love Island contestants. For once, Jane’s sour attitude feels justified, even if her assessment that she must think about saving herself first sounds suspicious, given that, going into the episode, I assume Miss Don’t was a frontrunner for the challenge win. Like, there’s no way she’s in danger of going home. Alas, I’d have said anything to get Juicy to leave me alone in that moment. That twink is pressed, going through around ten characters, most of which she knows nothing about beyond a vague sense of Latinidad.

NICK: Frankly, I get where Jane is coming from. Even if her character doesn’t demand heavy adjustment for the new format, she’s had to help Juicy build her challenge presentations from the ground up several times now. You know Jane packed backups in case of emergency. Side-eyeing Juicy’s unpreparedness is bigger than this challenge alone, and if there’s a moment for Jane to see if this diva can fly with her own two wings, Snatch Game is the best chance to do so. 

Athena’s idea is wild, but I would’ve liked to see her do something bizarre. “Old Hollywood icon is breaking their silence... and breaking OUT of the closet!!” is a Snatch Game character I’d like to see, perhaps based on one of legions of actual lavender artists. Hell, let Juicy use her dance training to pantomime Buster Keaton entering his thot era. If nothing else, I’d have given Athena credit for sticking to her guns, rather than watching her look like a deer in headlights when it’s suggested she play a Greek woman. Why is this a surprise?? RuPaul’s maybe not wrong to steer her away from Charlie, though, where Athena ends up is far lamer.

More confusing is why on Earth would Ru push Mia to do Bloody Mary. It’s fucking bad, and Mia never seems confident in any of her candidates. No one besides the Florida clan seems to be flailing with character selection, though, as you said, the format change is tripping some girls up. Nini’s choices of Nancy Pelosi and David Attenborough are fascinating, though I have no idea how one could make the Speaker of the House right for Drag Race. Myki is confident enough in her impersonation skills to flourish in any environment, even as her selection of Drew Barrymore means the ghost of Willow Pill’s season 14 bomb will hang over her head. Maybe the biggest mystery is Discord Addams as The Pope, not any particular incarnation so much as the concentrated idea of His Holiness as a fruitcake. I’ve been gagging severely over this since last week’s preview and lemme tell you, my doctors were terrified.

CLÁUDIO: Buster Keaton need not enter his thot era. He was born a thot, never stopped being a thot, died a thot. How dare you question his thotness!? 

But you’re right that he’d have been a better Snatch Game character than who Juicy ends up as - Jojo Siwa. More specifically, Jojo Siwa during the period when, according to Baby Dion, she was America’s favorite lesbian. So, before the current boyfriend and a drastic change in public image, which immediately makes this episode feel dated. Oh well, Juicy’s going through it, as, after that whole mess, she also doesn’t know who Brookie Shields is. To her defense, the other girls aren’t able to explain who the week’s extra special judge is either, no matter how judgmental they might look over the baby queen’s ignorance.

With that out of the way, it’s time we move on to the Snatch Game itself. But first, let’s assess the hot gay guys production has wrangled into the studio for our viewing pleasure. We have Zane Phillips, looking beefier than ever while shrouded in roids accusations, still mourning the untimely cancellation of Mid-Century Modern. Next comes former Teen Wolf star, present Zane Phillips’ beau, and eternal professional bottom Froy Gutierrez. Look, the guy looks boring as fuck, but I can’t help but want to queen out with him. I love gossip, I love mess, and he seems to have passed through every famous gay man in LA, open or closeted. Can you imagine what stories he could share? And, finally, Chris Fenro, a writer, comedian, and Queer as Folk alum. They’re a trio of handsome menses, none of whom would look out of place on Love Island - judging from those Trixie and Katya videos.

Now, if this were a real competition for their hearts and loins, who would you pounce on? I call dibs on Chris.

NICK: Nooooo, I wanted Chris too. We can share, right? Like good friends do??? To do a quick role call, we have in group one...

Athena Dion as Greta Feta Onassis
Jane Don’t as Truman Capote
Mia Starr as Bloody Mary
Nini Coco as David Attenborough
Darlene Mitchell as Mrs. Claus

Conveniently, the line separating real people and nonsense characters also divides the good from the bad. Athena is serving hot air as only a diva could, but the question remains why Maria Callas or Andrea Martin’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding character were off the table. Darlene fares slightly better, rendering Mrs. Claus as a Brandon Rogers character with harsh makeup and a thick smoker’s drawl. Her double entendres are more nasty than funny, but she keeps cracking up at her sisters and breaking after her lines, so it ends up more charming than despairing (though it’s not lost to me how little she’s in the final edit).

Mia is an unmitigated disaster, playing Bloody Mary like she’s Brenda Meeks’ Tethered and dressed as a dime store La Llorona. She fumbles through train-of-thought rambles about Louis Vuitton blood shoes as part of her ideal wedding experience, which might be worse than her wannabe “sensible 74 degrees” response to chasing down a stewardess flirting with her man. Ru hands her laugh lines and Mia just lets them slip between her fingers before picking them off the floor. The whole performance is barely thought out, and Mary’s incompatibility with her natural charisma means there’s no way for Mia to save herself, and she knows it. It’s rough.

The clear winners are Jane Don’t and Nini Coco’s drag king horndogs. Truman Capote is such a natural fit for Snatch Game I’m shocked to realize no one’s done it before. Jane’s note-perfect as a catty gossip, throwing shade with the best of them while salivating over hot tea and hotter men. It’s so precisely engineered, perhaps a bit closed-off and unsurprising once you get hold of it, but still a great feat of witty interplay. Nini’s portrayal of David Attenborough as a century-old pervert looking to mate the right find is possibly the most deranged performance of the night (complimentary). Her vocal imitation is just as astute as Jane’s, and hearing Attenborough’s measured intonations talk about starring in a porn film called “My Anaconda Do” that’s been lost to time is side-splitting nonsense. The look is great, the rapport is great, and Ru is living for it from the sidelines. I wasn’t prepared for what Nini served tonight, but she’s got a better funny bone than I was prepared for. 

CLÁUDIO: Brenda Meeks, my beloved, did not deserve that comparison. Whatever Mia was doing as Bloody Mary was uniquely hers, a joyless trainwreck that totally eclipses the collective catastrophe of season 14. It’s one of the worst snatches ever, mortifying to watch whichever way you look at it. She fails every part of the challenge - and this was an especially multifaceted Snatch Game variant. Her intro, B-roll and in-character confessionals? Fail. Her look, makeup, general visual presentation? Fail! Her banter with Ru? FAIL! Her responses to the hotties? FAIL!! Her interactions with the other girls sharing the couch? FAIL!!!

Athena and Darlene were bad, too, but on a normal level for Snatch Game, not the heretofore unexplored depths of incompetence Mia delivered. Still, Athena deserved some whacking for her character choice. Maria Callas was with Onassis before Jackie, so she already fit the backstory presented in the intro. And then, if you don’t want the pressure of being compared to an actual person, go as a deity. Go as Athena, even, and try to sweeten Ru up with memories of Pythia’s Zeus. But no, instead we get a completely made-up character that can best be described as a Greek woman stock type from some second-rate production of Mamma Mia. I already hate when they play concepts or folkloric figures on these things, but the OC route is even worse. Between this and UK vs the World, there needs to be a reformation of the Snatch Game. Issue a rule book, I don’t care. Anything to stop the madness and mediocrity.

I’m sorry for being so grouchy. I ought not to be because this season actually gave us three or four legit great snatches. Jane’s Capote serves up the witty literary fantasy Miz’s Dorothy Parker failed to deliver almost a decade ago. It was such a knockout that the only thing I can even think to ding her for is the nosering she didn’t take off, which, in some ways, disrupted the terrific late-in-life Capote drag king act she had devised. Nini is even more impressive, acing Attenborough’s cadence while still presenting a specific point of view. Hell, the gallows’ humor quality of her end-of-the-world fatalism was maybe the best bit of character work in all the episode. Who cares about any of this nonsense? We only have thirty minutes left before the climate crisis kills us all. Let’s fuck.

Well, I’ve already prattled on for too long. Why don’t you introduce us to the second batch of characters and caricatures?

NICK: Without further ado, we have...

Kenya Pleaser as Lizzo
Myki Meeks as Drew Barrymore
Juicy Love Dion as Jojo Siwa
Discord Addams as The Pope

No one here is as bad as Mia, though Kenya and Juicy are off in very similar ways. This Lizzo exists as a pre-pandemic time capsule, before her recurrent mistreatment of her backup dancers was exposed and brought to court. It’s not a bad thing per se, but more surprising is that Kenya can’t translate Lizzo’s sexually active, body-positive persona into a viable Love Island candidate. Her energy deflates steadily as the night goes on. The flute feels obligatory. Juicy is more consistent and more cringe, playing the same Jojo Siwa as Lemon did on Canada’s Drag Race. The makeup is amazing, especially the thinned upper lip and the stones placed on her face as a mask. It’s a weird fucking creation, committed to dancing through life and over-explaining everything, but I don’t think it’s necessarily worse than Athena’s whole nonsense.

Discord is also serving some weird-ass comedy, with facial prosthetics that aren’t smoothed at the edges and a crazy-high voice. She’s unrecognizable yet frighteningly herself. As Brechtian theatre and as a Snatch Game performance, I found her quite delightful, taking my entire watch party out at the knees with her favorite yoga pose. It’s the most physically loose she’s been all season, and she’s really proven she can do a lot the past three weeks.

So has Myki Meeks, whose Drew Barrymore impersonation is maybe my favorite performance of the night. Much like Jane, Myki’s not really doing a “spin” on Drew, though a sunny daytime talk show host isn’t quite as intuitive for this setting as a faggot journalist. But Myki delivers a physically expressive turn that’s at once deeply studied and totally in-the-moment. She’s the most exciting queen to watch when not in the spotlight, throwing little cheers for her sisters while finding a hundred ways to sit on that goddamn couch and hold that mug of water. Her jaw thing is maybe the biggest dip into caricature, but she’s otherwise so smart and honest with her comedy, I can’t really begrudge the tic.

CLÁUDIO: My favorite thing was her parody of Drew’s active listening schtick, all hands on chin and leaning forward with little nods of faux encouragement. You can tell that, like Jane, this gal studied her character and probably watched a million clips of the forsaken talk show. While I take your point that Myki isn’t really offering an especially interesting take on Barrymore’s persona, unlike Nini's with Attenborough, it’s still the most impressive impersonation of the bunch on a purely technical level. Plus, she made me laugh a whole lot, though never quite as hard as Sir David’s mysanthropy-fueled horniness or Capote’s oh-so-perfect musings on a crepe de chine wedding gown. I snorted when Myki rolled her eyes at Kenya’s Lizzo, inspiring the only positive expression RuPaul had the whole episode while looking at Miss Pleaser. 

Damn, that Lizzo was both uninspired and deeply uncomfortable to watch, feeling more like a humiliation ritual than a Snatch Game performance. Even the hunks seemed weirded out. Though I guess there’s some merit to the crash and burn cringe comedy quality of it all, while Juicy’s JoJo was all that and further failed to be interesting in her lousiness. It doesn’t help Baby Dion’s case that Elle Vosque almost won the last edition of the Drag Race UK’s Snatch Game a few months ago. Comparing that frighteningly believable Siwa impression with what Juicy displayed is like comparing Alyssa Edwards to Alyssa Summers. 

I am not nearly as enamored with Discord’s papal providence as you are, mostly for the fact that she’s basically playing a concept. And her approach is the one so many other queens have taken before. Take something one presumes masculine and heteronormative and make it both gay and unhingedly thirsty. Even the blasphemous angle feels played out after Drag Race Down Under earned itself a local controversy for Ashley Madison’s Jesus - he loves to be nailed - or Drag Race España spread the story of Drag Sethlas’ trouble with the Canarian public due to her Virgin Mary routines. Still, she was fun, alright, and would have easily won if this were season 14 or 11. Sadly, for the crotch-forward Addams, there was actual competition this time around. I do wish they had kept her “frociaggine” joke in the episode's final edit.

NICK: Look at us, with your negativity and my positivity balancing out the vibes. You’re right that Kenya’s performance is far more uncomfortable than I gave it credit for, though I’d 200% take Juicy’s weird gremlin over Lizzo. Luckily for the hunks, they get to take each other home rather than any of the queens, skipping away arm in arm in arm as they plan a trip to the Eiffel Tower.

The next day, spirits are about as high as they can be. Mia and Kenya know they bombed, and they’re bracing themselves to face the judges. Mia is in surprisingly good spirits, showing a level of zen I honestly admire in the face of an imminent firing squad. “A child was left behind!” she proclaims after blaming the Florida public school system for her abysmal performance. Meanwhile, Kenya goes deeper into her career as a Lizzo impersonator, joking that she’ll enjoy it until this airs and Lizzo sends a cease-and-desist letter. Bless her for retooling Alyssa Edwards’ apology tweet to Katy Perry from season 5. Nini and Discord are quite proud of doing well after several weeks of safe placements and bond over feeling underappreciated, though Ms. Addams is so certain she’ll win that it makes Nini’s head spin. For two of the competition’s most cerebral queens - and given Discord’s early resentment of Nini - it’s a very sweet bonding moment. 

The edit sustains all these moods, even accommodating a scene of Darlene seeking and receiving reassurance from her sisters that she deserves to be here. It’s supremely touching to see Jane affirm Darlene’s kindness and inventiveness as a punk rock necessity in a hateful world. This is the first place Darlene’s been able to experience this kind of queer joy and sisterhood, and it’s an affirming moment for this talented queen.

Back to the main road! The edit pulls off some solid misdirections with Discord, Kenya, and Mia, giving the first two queens narrative focus befitting their presumed fates while leaving Ms. Starr room to breathe despite her giving the very worst performance of the night. There’s no emotional buildup for a possible goodbye, no interrogating her ease, no familiar signals to the audience she’s in danger. Maybe the bigger surprise is how Jane is positioned as the inevitable runner-up to Nini, Myki, and Discord all leveling up in major ways. For a show we’ve criticized plenty for being pushy with its storylines (and will do so again in the future, on God), they really got me this time.

CLÁUDIO: They’re onto us, Nick! I agree with basically everything you say regarding this pre-runway passage. Though I know you were a tad put off by the misdirect in a way I wasn’t, not really. Maybe it’s because I hate when an elimination feels so pronounced in the edit that it kills suspense, or maybe it’s because Mia already got to share her story before, earn compassion from viewers and sisters alike. Even if it was cut short and feels devoid of a proper conclusion in the edit, her story doesn’t read as incomplete. Moreover, I’m guessing there’ll be a Mia-focused coda when we get to the reunion/lip sync tournament later in the season. Surely, she’s the favorite to take the win, yet again affirming Floridian superiority. Well, just in matters of lip syncing, since you better believe the Florida school system gets another lashing on this week’s episode. Deserved. 

Soon enough, it’s time for the runway presentation and, for once, I think the judging panel might out-glam the contenders. Ru looks heavenly in metallic green square sequins, like a hostess straight from Emerald City. Michele is her slinky self while Carson dons the most interesting suit he ever modeled for the Drag Race audience. But the real model in attendance is Brooke Shields, corseted to the Gods and caped for her pleasure. She’s a vision, alright, though I wish the banter about her first kiss on the set of Malle’s Pretty Baby wasn’t included in the episode. The Drag Race should never be made aware of that film, for the discourse around it would probably kill me. The last few days have been bad enough on social media - NO MORE!

Without further ado, let’s consider the runway, whose theme feels like a purposeful tie-in to both the maxi challenge and our extra special guest judge. if the Snatch Game was about celebrity impersonation, the catwalk shall focus on celebrity illusion. Category is… “80s Ladies!”

First on the runway, we have Athena Dion paying homage to Dame Joan Collins. I hate to say this about the Greek matriarch, but I figure this is her sweet spot as far as fashion is concerned. Sure, it’s matronly and outdated, so old-school it verges on kitsch, yet there’s no denying how it all fits together to create a spectacular bit of drag opulence in rhapsodies of gold lamé. Everything I might want to question - the shade of the stoning, the excessive jewelry, the helmet hair - feels like a deliberate nod to 1980s realness in a way that’s kinda impeachable for the category. Ok, I guess I am a tad tired of Athena’s penchant for off-the-shoulder monochrome Grand Dame gowns with cascading ruffles down her back. This is the third lewk of hers this season that fits that description.

NICK: She has her niche, and she takes to it beautifully as the gold lamé Cher spreads on her toast. I really do love Athena’s outfit. Even if it’s familiar to her repertoire, this is the best version of it she’s modeled all season, to include all the kitschy ‘80s accents. Plus, it’s definitely the best Greek matriarch she’s served all season.

Jane Don’t struts the runway as Kate Pierson of the B-52s. I’m a bit torn on the ruffles. which are quite fun and one of Jane’s biggest claims to dragging up Kate’s look, but fuck with her upper-body proportions in a major way. The sculpted beehive is great, though Kate’s gigantic, wind-swept tresses in the reference photo are more fun to look at. I like what Jane’s serving, but this is a solid look outdone by its source material. 

CLÁUDIO: Nope, totally disagree. To me, this is near-perfection and actually looks like a drag interpretation rather than a piece of Xerox-ed fashion. Switching the materials of what seemed like a pretty inexpensive garment to elevate it was genius, as were the construction tweaks peppered throughout. Love the peplum's volume to balance the shoulders, and the pleating of the bodice to accentuate the waist without complicating the design too much. The black tights and polkadot shoes matching the bracelet, the cartoon earrings - all great, no notes. Come get your tens, Jane Don’t!

Being the person who takes screenshots for these posts can sometimes mess with my assessment of any given look. Because I liked this Prince-esque ensemble when watching the episode. But the more I look at it, the more issues arise. I don’t really care that, from wig to shoe, this isn’t trying to be a 1-to-1 copy. I do care that the guitar mispells Mia Starr, that the photo print is ugly, and that it is held wrong. I care that the coat drags weirdly, which makes me think the outer fabric is too light for the lining and the brocade panels. I care that the purples don’t match and neither do the golds. Sloppy all around.

NICK: I take it as a sign of Michelle being humbled by Aja on AS10 that she explicitly says she doesn’t mind it being costume-y. But Mia’s ease modeling this does a lot to paper over everything inconsistent here. Didn’t notice “Starr” is misspelled. How does that even happen?

Nini Coco is going for a pitch-perfect rendition of Cyndi Lauper, and I’m mostly for it. The over-accessorizing, the big hair, the tie-dye and fishnets. Emulating Lauper’s controlled chaos is a strong left swerve from Nini’s portfolio until now. 

CLÁUDIO: I know they wouldn’t be appropriate here, but I miss her crazy graphic lashes. Overall, this is a good recreation with touches of drag and a personal perspective, like the more exuberant yet controlled hairdo, or the entire jacket with the competing print in the lining. My favorite bit of authentic 80s styling might be the mismatched petticoat with ratty lace trim she kept flashing.

Darlene’s been pulling from the 1980s a whole lot this season, so it’s no wonder she aces this runway prompt. What’s surprising, perhaps, is the high-glam she chose to run with. Dolly Parton can never be chic or traditionally elegant, but Miss Mitchell comes close to that in this all-white ensemble. I think part of it is that she’s got supermodel proportions, which immediately transforms a lewk like this, designed to be flashy on a much more petite figure.I guess one could argue the wig is a tad cheaper than one might like to see on Drag Race, but this is an 80s-themed runway. What better time to pull out the permed to hell and back synthetic hard front than an 80s-themed runway?

NICK: Long Dolly Parton is not a spectacle I’d ever expected to see, but Darlene looks absolutely elegant. The rhinestoned tassels and horned shoulder pads are very smart touches, and as always, Ms. Mitchell looks like she’s having a blast.

Kenya Pleaser’s take on Chaka Khan is not nearly as successful. The OG reference look has far more jewelry, more purposeful styling, more drag than what’s being served here, and the gray minidress isn’t flattering. The fact that Kenya has posted professionally-taken photos of herself in a Diana Ross runway rather than this makes me wonder how last-minute this substitution was.

CLÁUDIO: According to Kenya, this was one of the many outfits she had to improvise while on Drag Race after her designer didn’t send her the stuff ready in time. So, supposedly, this dress was made in the Werk Room, and the rest of the look thrown together to match. Sadly, it looks like it. Even the wig looks insufficient, though the mug remains right.

Myki Meeks follows that disaster with a much better presentation. It’s a very accurate recreation of Olivia Newton-John’s pink fantasy, down to the ugly shoes. And that’s the issue, for it’s replicating bad fashion without providing an interesting spin on it or exaggerating the thing to make it worthier of the Drag Race runway. Also, sadly, she needed to apply some sort of sealant to those shoes because the spray paint was cracking all over the place during the judging.

NICK: Those shoes looked like they were holding it together by a thread. Myki picked a good outfit to basically replicate for a drag show, but I don’t see the embellishments her sisters use to elevate their looks.

Juicy Love Dion has heard the internet’s bitching about her lack of wigs across time and space to deliver this voluminous Celia Cruz fantasy. Another feat of smartly recreating an outfit with an inherent drag excess, volume is the best thing Juicy’s ensemble has going for it. The doubled-up sleeves and mermaid’s tail look fabulous, and her makeup is as pristine as ever. You can better elaborate on differences in textiles and so on, but this was a good runway for Juicy.

CLÁUDIO: It should be noted that this is the same wig she used for RDR Live!, so Juicy’s hair closet is still only at 3 - blonde pussycat, finger-waved red, and Celia Cruz curls. But, really, who cares when the fashion is so beautiful, the drama so perfectly delivered, the references so well chosen? This color looks great on baby Dion, and I love that her nails match the lace applied over satin.

Last, but not least, Discord brings Reba to the runway. Unlike her sisters, who all seem to be sporting custom-made pieces, RuPaul’s Drag Race's worst walker has gone with a genuine vintage piece that echoes her reference without being a perfect match. It looks great on her, but for one small detail - the dress is too short, hitting awkwardly at the ankle. Furthermore, I’m not sure this was the right wig. Discord put so much work into giving Reba face, that it’s surprising how much the hair isn’t living up to that image. 

NICK: The lack of upper lip is sort of magical. Utter precision in that paint. I agree about the ankles, though the general excess of the wig works great for me. Amazing makeup, fabulous dress, and again, I would not guess someone who cemented their brand so early was packing Reba drag in their suitcase. Go Discord! 

No, seriously, go. After the queens walk the runway, it’s announced that she, Athena, and Darlene are declared safe. Discord delivers what might be the face crack of the season before returning to the runway. I get the point that she was likely just the fourth of four tops, but last year’s Snatch had four tops, and that was premising on praising Lexi Love’s bad performance. Why not give Discord her flowers, even if she’s not winning? Or is she now doomed to the Jan forever safe edit?

Instead, our tops are Jane, Myki, and Nini, with Kenya stuck between Mia and Juicy in the bottom three. I basically agree with these picks, although my morbid fascination with Juicy’s performance makes me wish she’d been safe. But her critiques about not evincing a point of view to her snatch are deserved and sorely needed at this point in the competition. Her RDR Live! win continues to read as an investment that hasn’t paid off.

Myki arguably gets the best performance reviews, yet it takes all of the judge’s powers not to jump onstage and rip those shoes off her feet. Nini gets that extra spicy “we didn’t know you could do that!!” seasoning to her raves that pushes her over the finish line, and you just know Jane’s gonna be in her head about it next week. I’d have a hard time deciding between Nini and Myki, but I’m happy to see my girl score her second win. Kenya looks crestfallen the whole time she’s onstage, knowing what’s coming and still not prepared to hear her runway shot down by Michelle.

Mia accepts her terrible performance reviews just fine, but suffers an unforgivable betrayal in Untucked when her safe sisters hide all the snacks. It’s the saddest she’s looked all season, and I hope she stole a bunch of snacks on her way out.g 

CLÁUDIO: The critiques were deserved. The snack-based emotional terrorism was not! Give that girl some popcorn.

I am mostly in agreement with the judges on this one. When I first watched the episode, I gravitated more toward Myki, but re-watching the Snatch Game on its own has really underscored the merits of Nini’s work. And, since the one non-Dion Florida girl won last week on a good but not undeniable performance, I can’t be too sad about her missing out on this victory. She and Jane can rest assured that their snatches were smashing, easy winner material in a less competitive edition. Honestly, it’s so nice to have three strong snatches to ponder after years and years of only a couple of standouts per season.

Alas, let’s get back to the snack queen. Mia deservedly lands in the bottom alongside Kenya, yet it almost feels like a formality that she’s made to go through a lip sync. Hers was the kind of performance that should earn you a one-way ticket out of the competition, no buts about it. Even with her Talent Show win and reputation backing her up, even with Kenya struggling with the words again, even then it felt like a foregone conclusion. But what about the smackdown proper, you may ask?

Well, they battle it out to the tune of The GoGo’s “Head Over Heels” and, as expected, Miss Starr has the controlled ferocity of a choreographer in her element. Hers is a precise performance, though perhaps too much so. There’s a loose effervescence to the music that begs for a queen who can seem as if she’s having fun on stage and inviting you along for the ride. And, this week, that queen is Kenya, sloppy as she may often be, crunchy dip and all. Still, Mia is very good, and, in different circumstances, she might have stayed, especially as her sync was tighter. If one wants to be conspiratorial, it could be that they realized Mia has shown everything she can do, and having her lip-syncing for her life across the season and into the finale would be a liability. So, they eliminate her when they get the chance and keep Kenya, whose track record makes her expendable and, thus, useful for when one of production’s preferred contenders lands themselves in the bottom. 

Whatever the reason, RuPaul chooses to say goodbye to Mia Starr and I know I’ll miss her. Not her runways nor her challenge performance, but certainly her enthusiasm when shaking her booty to a tune and the lightness she brought to the Werk Room. Those elimination day mirror convos will be so much less interesting going forward, now that we know impromptu dance lessons from Miss Mia are out of the realm of possibility. What a bummer.

From our conversations prior to the RuCap, I believe you feel Mia won the lip sync, right? How do you feel about her elimination if so? 

NICK: I absolutely disagree with her elimination. For one, I think your conspiratorial thinking applies much better to Kenya Pleaser, who fumbled this lipsync the same way she’s fumbled them the whole competition. She didn’t know the words, she fought against her wig, and this time she wasn’t facing a diva riddled with sepsis. Mia managed to do a lot while still giving bubblegum pop. She won fair and square. 

“Axe her when they get the chance” would mean more if her competition was up to snuff, or had a comparable track record. Especially with all but two divas collecting maxi challenge wins and/or winning a lip sync battle already. They could’ve put her against Juicy if they wanted a tight battle. Mostly this feels like stopping a queen not earmarked for ultimate victory from getting a better foothold in the competition. She would’ve killed it as a drag version of Annie.

If I can add my own conspiratorial thinking, and please feel free to read me for this if/when I’m proven wrong, I really think we’re gonna get an eliminated queens return episode. I have read zero spoilers and don’t want to know if I’m right or wrong. But we’re very close to half the cast being sent home,  and I wonder if we’re getting a season 7 makeover moment. Reading this over makes me feel insane, and I would not be saying any of this if Vita hadn’t said some censored nonsense at Roscoe’s last week. But anyway! Deserving challenge winner, genuinely surprising elimination. I will miss Mamma Mia, and I look forward to seeing her again whenever she comes back.

Previous RuCaps:

• Episode 1: "You Can't Keep a Good Drag Queen Down!"
• Episode 2: "Q-Pop Girl Groups"
• Episode 3: "RDR Live Returns!"
• Episode 4: "Red Carpet Mash Up"
• Episode 5: "The Rate-A-Queen Talent Show, Part 1"
• Episode 6: "The Rate-A-Queen Talent Show, Part 2"
• Episode 7: "Drag Queens for Change"

Comments

[gems aka]

It’s a bold take to defend Mia’s lip sync over Kenya’s—especially with the "snack-based emotional terrorism" she endured in Untucked—but your point about her being a "bubblegum pop" natural makes total sense. Whether she’s being set up for a "Jan edit" or Health Credit Card a Season 7-style return, your analysis of the "face crack of the season" and the runway hair critiques (poor Discord and her ankles!) was spot on.