Wow, what a wild week for RuPaul’s Drag Race news. If you’ve gone on the internet in the last 48 hours, you probably know the tea. I won’t go into too much detail, but Sherry Pie, who made her debut this week, was disqualified from the show for some bad behavior prior to her stint on the show. I think RuPaul and World of Wonder’s decision were well made. She will not be attending the grand finale or have the chance to win. With that being said, it’ll definitely make the season really interesting! Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming!
We got to meet the new queens! I must say, Rock M Sakura‘s entrance was hard to beat. She was the first queen in and started us off with a laugh. I will try not to be too biased, but I’m a Bay Area native, so I’m rooting for the San Francisco girl. Jan‘s reference to Fergie‘s incredible NBA All-Star game anthem performance made my heart sing. Let’s play some basketball!
This episode’s crop of queens included the ones I mentioned above plus Dahlia Sin, Aiden Zhane, and, Jaida Essence Hall. The mini-challenge was the same as last week. The queens featured spring and summer looks on the runway. I must say, this week’s runway show was more impressive. I thought everyone looked great! Jan’s spring look and Dahlia’s fall look were my favorites!
Similarly to last week, the queens had to choreograph and write a verse to a song. This one wasn’t a rap but a Fosse number. (Do you want to learn more about Fosse? Feel free to read my Fosse/Verdon recaps. Available on Itunes. I’m kidding. I’m not). Anyway, Dahlia loves Fosse but thought he/she was the main character in Chicago, so, big fan. Rock, Sherry, and Jan had a fangirl moment over Fosse’s style, but Jaida wasn’t really digging the thought of doing a number exactly based on his work. That was a very offensive comment to the Fosse stans.
Rock took over the choreography duties. She did the best she could trying to teach a group where only half the members were open to learning the dance. Jaida really struggled to learn the moves and wanted to do something simple. Remember, like, 20 minutes earlier when someone in the workroom said it was great they were all getting along? That quickly fizzled out.
It was a new day in the workroom. As everyone was getting in drag, Rock opened up about her struggle with leadership roles. She opened up about how her mom was addicted to drugs and blamed her for using. She realized leadership roles were triggers for her because she felt responsible for others. We love healthy conversations about our emotions in the first episode!
On the main stage, Robyn and Tandie Newton joined Ross Matthews, Michelle Visage, and RuPaul on the judge’s panel. The performance was cute. I thought Jan’s verse was the best. As for the runway, the theme was tulle. Rock was wearing 800-900 yards of tulle. That’s dedication. The runway was cute. Jan pulling out a literal tool during the tulle challenge was incredible.
Time for the first judges’ critiques! Aiden was criticized for having a meaty tuck, but other than that, all was well with her performance this week. Dahlia got high praise for her looks but was encouraged to paint louder. Ross actually told her to “pop like Soju on episode one”. That was unfortunate. Jaida’s lyrics, performance, and confidence were highly praised by everyone. Jan got praised for everything, of course. She had a great week. Rock’s personality really shined, but Ross said her outfit was like a man going on a date with Michelle, she was getting swallowed. Do I need to speak on Sherry’s critiques? They liked her, but she’s, ya know, disqualified.
As we know from last week, no one was going to go home, but someone was going to win. Jan, Aiden, Rock, and Dahlia were safe. It came down to Jaida and Sherry for the first win. They would fight for the win to Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend. I loved how much Robyn loved the performance. In the end, Jaida took home the win!
The episode didn’t end there though. The queens from this week got to meet last week’s girls. Of course, they are acting like rival gangs, which is fun. Next week, the episode is an improv challenge, which looks terrifying. Please let us know who your favorite queen from this week’s new group is!
