We are down to the final six queens on RuPaul's Drag Race after we had to say goodbye to the Widow Von’Du.
This week, there’s no mini challenge, as the dolls have their work cut out for them, giving six “superfans” of the show a glamorous drag makeover. As with all makeover challenges, family resemblance is key.
I do have a slight issue with these “superfans” because not one of them is me, but since I miss Drag U immensely (and even flew out to LA to audition for it), I will allow it. So, without further ado, let’s look at the top moments from the episode.
Surprising the Superfans
Ru enters the werk room and announces in a whisper that on the other side of the wall are this week’s special guests. The ladies all think they are there to watch a performance and, little do they know that they are about to have a life-changing experience. Indeed, when the gals enter through the doors and find themselves in the place where the magic happens, they are understandably beside themselves.
Since Jaida won last week’s “Choices” challenge, she got to match up the other queens with their superfans. She chose cute Bethany and assigned kindergarten teacher Grace to Crystal, Janet (“the planet”) to Sherry, Nicole to Heidi, Shea to Gigi, and Tiffany to Jackie. These look like some pretty solid matchups.
Getting To Know You
As the queens and the fans all get to know one another , we learn that Janet, who is extremely tall, was mistaken for a man and started going to drag shows when she was 18 (same, Janet) and Bethany is not comfortable walking in heels. My favorite shoes are my 5” sparkly Steve Madden platform pumps, but, of course, I wasn’t asked to be part of this show. Yes, I am Miss Petty LaBelle right about now.
Jackie gives her daughter Tiffany lots of “Jackie points” for having watched the show since season one, watching with her mom, and being a Bianca Del Rio fan. Heidi’s girl Nicole loves disco and claims to be a jeans and t-shirt kinda gal and hasn’t shown her legs since middle school. She’s a bit insecure and has suffered with bullying but Heidi thinks there’s a diva lurking within her.
Grace, like Crystal is positive and energetic but struggles with anxiety. Grace shows her the “Wonder Woman pose” she uses before any potentially stressful situation.
As Ru visits the teams, Jaida says she selected Bethany because she felt she had an inner wild side. Bethany says that all parents should take their kids to DragCon to show them they could be anyone they wanted to be. Preach, Miss Bethany. Janet legally changed her name to Janet the Planet and asserts that tall is beautiful (she is.)
Gigi says she’s going to get back to the top this week with the help of Shae, who says Drag Race creates community and has made her more comfortable with who she is. Nicole tells Ru that “drag brings joy” and she and Heidi are going full disco as Donna Summer (not, as Ru points out, Summers) and Diana Ross. Grace and Crystal are both Aries, like to doodle and are a little nerdy and Tiffany is the frontrunner for best drag name as “Little Snacky Cox.” (They are also going with a disco look, much to Heidi’s dismay.)
Drag Family Resemblance
This runway was one of the most fun of the season. Let’s take a closer look at our newly minted drag families:
Heidi Aphrodite and Honey Almighty: Heidi looked adorable in a sequined, rose-colored jumpsuit and does serve a really convincing Miss Ross. Nicole’s face and hair looked amazing, but I wasn’t nuts about the dress. It wasn’t giving me disco fabulousness – and the judges agreed. Heidi said she was worried that she wouldn’t have the time to create a complementary garment for her. Nicole looked confident and was definitely having a good time, so there’s that.
Jackie Cox and Little Snacky Cox: The pair looked adorable, with matching hairdos and attitude. Jackie was in a fantastic red sequined jumpsuit and Snacky had a black sleeveless top and shorts combo that looked great on her small frame. They did a cute disco routine on the runway and showed off some personality in the process. Ross said their looks were “really good” but hinted that to win, they need to be “great.”
Jaida and Jazz Essence Hall: Well, I think we all kind of expected excellence here, and we definitely got that. The pair looked amazing. Bethany was transformed into a platinum blonde goddess. They wore complementary red sequined giraffe print dresses (with Jaida showing off more cleavage than Jazz) and feathered boas. Ru said they reminded her of a production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starring Sheryl Lee Ralph and Judy Landers (I love Ru’s references). Daisy said they were stunning and polished.
Crystal and Opal Methyd: One thing about Crystal is that she’s true to her very unique brand, and she does not waver from her commitment here, transforming she and Grace into a drag version of Ernie and Bert from Sesame Street. To say it’s out there is an understatement (Ross flat-out asked them, “What the **** am I looking at?”), but I kind of love it (as did Ross.) Grace said she’s living her “Muppet, troll doll fantasy” and said she couldn’t stop smiling, to which Ru quipped “because it’s painted on your face.”
Sherry Pie and Tara Misu: I know we’re not supposed to discuss this queen, but she did an amazing job with Janet the Planet. They look identical as waitresses at the “House of Just Desserts” and Janet looks so damn cute. She went all out on the runway and was so entertaining that I would like to see her compete on the show next season.
Gigi Goode and Bebe Bad: Shea was gorgeous before she stepped foot in the werk room, so it’s no surprise that she looked amazing as Gigi’s competitive sister. They went for a black and white mod and chic look, wearing complementary fur coats and hats with matching bob hairdos and flawless makeup.
Daisy Ridley
Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of any Star Wars movie that came out after the mid-1980s, but I do like Daisy Ridley. She was a delightful guest on my favorite podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno (check it out if you need a good laugh) and she brings the same amount of enthusiasm to the judges’ panel. She is all smiles and excitement, and doles out complements like, “Yasss queen, werk.” She was a great judge and looked so beautiful too.
The Superfans Lip Sync for Their Lives
These women definitely got the full Drag Race experience. Before the judges’ critique, they were paired off and challenged to lip sync to RuPaul’s song “You Wear It Well.” The standouts were Grace/Opal, who was giving us life and Tiffany/Snacky who sold the song and even did a split. All of the ladies looked like they were having the time of their lives and I am so jealous. Of course, after they are done, Ru informs them that, “Shantay, you all stay.”
Kill the Lip Sync
Thanks to her amazing transformation of Bethany into the stunning Jazz Essence Hall, Jaida wins another challenge and another $5000. Bethany also gets $5000 in clothes and accessories from Betsey Johnson. Gigi, Sherry and Crystal are all safe, which leaves Heidi and Jackie, the disco divas, in the bottom two. The pair lip sync to Alex Newell’s song “Kill the Lights” and they both really…well…killed it. Heidi gave it her all and Jackie gave us crazy, which really worked (Michelle equated her to Gilda Radner, and as a huge fan of Miss Gilda, I am 100% behind that assessment.) Ru was unable to determine who turned in the lesser performance so sashay, they both stay. (You knew it had to happen sometime and I’m glad, because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these two.)
Well, that’s it for this week. Our top six will be whittled down to five next week so, until we meet again, if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell can you love someone else? Can I get an “amen”?
