It is the most wonderful time of the year… again! We’re so spoiled getting a fresh new season right after All-Star’s ended. Can you guys believe this is the 10th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race?! This season started off with a bang. Let’s jump into it, kitty girls.
The tenth season means a brand new workroom! Can we talk about how stunning it is? All the color! So beautiful! Despite the new surroundings, we were greeted by a familiar face! Eureka O’Hara was the first queen to step into the workroom. Originally from season 9, Eureka was injured during episode two and had to leave the competition to have surgery. Due to her injury, she was welcomed back for season 10, and she looked beautiful! Rising from the ashes of season 9 and into season 10 like a phoenix!
Some memorable entrances were Yuhua Hamasaki, who came in with a ton of energy and a kind “hi gay people!”. Monét X Change came in giving us Rosie the Riveter realness with a broom to sweep up the competition. California legend Mayhem Miller auditioned for every season and finally got the opportunity to crash the party. New York is well represented this season, but Dusty Ray Bottoms was my favorite because she proudly announced she’s dark, glamorous, sexy, and also dyslexic. Fellow New Yorkers Miz Cracker and Aquaria apparently have some outside Drag Race drama due to people thinking they look the same. It’ll be an entertaining season for sure.
In came RuPaul, and we got a mini challenge! Not just any ole mini challenge, but one with a ton of our favorite queens from the past ten seasons! The queens had to slay the runway and stand out amongst the crowd of Drag Race legends! Cracker had the most adorable moment with her drag mom, Bob the Drag Queen. Kalorie Karbdashian got to show off twerking. The Vixen went so hard her skirt fell apart. The highlight was Yara Sofia confusing Yuhua with Uhaul. The commentary from the former queens could not have been better.
The girls went back into the workroom to get out of drag. I love the first episode because we get to see the queens as boys for the first time, but more importantly, we get to see the queens react to one another out of drag. Everyone was gagged over how young Blair St. Clair looks out of drag. Yuhua couldn’t match any of the girls out of drag to their drag counterpart. All the girls went crazy over Kameron Michaels, calling her the trade of the season.
Monét X Change won the first mini challenge of the season! For the maxi challenge, the girls had to create a look out of items from the 99 cent store. This challenge is a throwback to the first ever challenge on the first season of Drag Race. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo provided us with all the best sound bites during her confessionals. Eureka got her inspiration from a small stuffed dog in the bottom of the giant shopping cart, which I could relate to. Cracker was resourceful, trading things with Monique Heart and explained that she loves making outfits because she grew up poor with an artist mother who taught her how to make her own things. Kalorie made a dress out of fake money, and Monique made an outfit completely out of playing cards. Dusty and Blair used similar materials, hinting at some drama brewing. The pressure is on and the girls were feeling it.
Elimination day was here, and it was time for the girls to get ready to hit the first runway of the season! Eureka opened up about her injury from season 9. She tore her ACL and had to have surgery. The doctors warned her it could take up to two years to fully recover. She was worried she would never be able to dance again. Six months later, at the season 9 premiere, she danced for the first time post-surgery. We are so happy you’re well, Eureka!
https://pizzabills.tumblr.com/post/172160129184/aquaria-and-miz-cracker
Time for the girls to get into drag. Cracker made a scrapbook full of her makeup looks and ideas, which is such a brilliant idea. Upon further investigation, it appeared Cracker and Aquaria were doing similar looks for the runway. Aquaria popped off about how she thinks Cracker copies her looks all the time. Anyone else getting Coco and Alyssa vibes from this drama?!
Bring it to the runway! I need to talk about Ru’s look right this instance. Oh. My. God. So beautiful! Joining Ru on the judge’s panel this week are our usual judges, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and Ross Matthews who all looked wonderful as well!
The queens stomped the runway in their drag on a dime couture. Kameron, Aquaria, Asia, Eureka, MonĂ©t, Monique, and The Vixen were all safe and sent to the back of the stage. Before the judging began, Ru announced that they would be bringing back another queen, and it was Farrah Moan from season 9! Oh, wait, no, it was Christina Aguilera, and her impression of Farrah was so good. This bit was so good, and Christina joined the judging panel. Here were the judge’s critiques of the top and bottom queens.
Kalorie Karbdashian: Christina loved her confidence. Michelle and Carson were both disappointed by her designing. The money dress concept has been a few times in the past, and the judges were disappointed by her lack of detail. She was bottom two.
Blair St. Clair: Ross instantly mentioned how young she looks and Michelle chimed in that she too looks young. Ross loved the look because of how she utilized the textures of her materials. Michelle could have done without the collar piece, but Carson loved it because it shined some light under his chin. Christina thought she made the dollar store look chic. She was safe.
Dusty Ray Bottoms: Carson thought the outfit was fun and an ode to the 60’s. Michelle thought the bottom of the dress looked high fashion, but the cone hat made the outfit seem more witchy than fashion. She didn’t understand the dots on the face, but that’s Dusty’s signature makeup look. She wanted her first look on the runway to be true to herself. She was safe.
Mayhem Miller: I about died when Carson started off her critiques by gagging. Girl… SAME. As a proud Californian, I stan Mayhem Miller pretty hard (sorry for my bias in advance). Carson loved the shoulder detail. Christina and Michelle were both incredibly impressed by her attention to detail. Mayhem’s emotions on the runway after being validated by the judges… priceless. She was the winner of this week’s challenge!
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo: BAM. Ross loved how she has so much flavor. Christina loved her personality. Michelle loved the camp of the outfit, but the shape of the outfit wasn’t right. She was bottom two.
Yuhua Hamasaki: Her caution tape dress was a bit unoriginal, but the judges thought it was cute. Michelle made the incredible dad joke, “Yuhua pulled it off”. She also went on and on about the ankh on her head. You’re never going to make ankh happen, Michelle. She was safe.
Miz Cracker: She explained how she used hats and shower curtains to make the outfit after Carson gave her kudos for the construction. They loved how she made a character to go along with the look. She had the judges cracking (no pun intended I am so sorry) up on the runway. She was safe.
Kalorie and Vanessa prepare a lipsync for their life to Christina Aguilera’s Ain’t No Other Man. They both killed the lipsync, but Vanessa sashayed away.
What did you guys think of the opening episode? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to let us know who your favorite queens are!