This episode opens explosively, and this chaotic energy runs throughout the episode. Following on from Episode 3, after having to lip sync for her life, Miss Abby OMG waves the other queens away as she walks off stage. Sederginne is not impressed by the dismissive move, reminding her “you were just in the bottom bitch“. After a short but intense spat between the two, they make up. The group dynamics are fast-changing in the Werk Room as we rapidly approach the crown. It’s Madame Madness’ birthday and this quickly lightens the mood, as Ma’MaQueen greets her with a rainbow birthday cake to celebrate.
It’s everyone’s favourite mini challenge: the reading challenge. Assisting Fred van Leer in leading the challenge is legendary Dutch queen Diva Mayday. A personal favourite is Envy Peru to Sederginne: ‘It breaks my heart they’re still testing makeup on animals‘. Sederginne lives up to her rep as comedy queen and takes the win, along with Ma’MaQueen, who reveals a different side to herself with cutting reads such as, ‘Madame Madness, I don’t have a read for you…I didn’t expect you in this episode.’
This week’s maxi challenge is a voguing challenge, choreographed by voguing expert and mother of the ‘House of Vineyard’, Amber Vineyard. Team Sederginne consists of Envy Peru, Janey Jacké’ and Madame Madness, and Ma’MaQueen picks Miss Abby OMG and ChelseaBoy for her team. There are a few dancers in the group, but Madame Madness and Miss Abby OMG both struggle with timing during rehearsals. It doesn’t appear to be Sederginne’s challenge, with her quickly having to change into a shorter heel.
In the Werk Room, Madame Madness shaves off her beard in an attempt to wow the judges with a new look and show her adaptability. Sederginne begins to feel overwhelmingly dizzy and is taken to another room, and at this point it is unclear whether she will make it to the runway.
This week’s runway theme is “Shine Bright Like a Diamond”, a theme that requires a level of glamour that these queens certainly deliver. ChelseaBoy puts an underwater spin on the diamond theme, with an embellished netting dress and transformative makeup look. Miss Abby OMG glides down the runway in a silver floaty dress, and Janey Jacké’s look is polished and glamorous, but unfortunately her feather skirt begins to fall and there is an impromptu reveal. Ma’MaQueen’s look is dripping with crystal beads, layered over a black vinyl bodysuit adding an extra shine to the textured outfit.
Envy Peru comes out in a similar look to Janey Jacké’s, with a few more feathers, but they both deliver so the similarity doesn’t seem to matter too much.
Madame Madness reveals her new beardless face, and her makeup retains the same striking quality without it. Sederginne makes it to the runway, head-to-toe in an embellished red outfit with a matching pram, and Sederginne knows how to make the most of a prop, with a baby that pees in her face.
Team Ma’MaQueen win the voguing challenge, and Fred van Leer asks the divisive question, ‘who deserves to be in the lip sync?‘
The majority say Miss Abby OMG and Madame Madness, including her drag sister Envy Peru, which Miss Abby OMG takes as a big betrayal. In a shocking twist, there is a three-way lip synch with the voted bottom Miss Abby OMG and Madame Madness, as well as Ma’MaQueen, whose outfit the judges felt missed the mark. The queens don’t let there being three of them on the stage affect their performance though. The lip-synch is to Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, and it is a great showcase of Miss Abby OMG’s dancing abilities and Ma’MaQueen surprises everyone by landing in a split at the last opportunity.
It feels like Madame Madness’ time to go, as she admits on the main stage that she doesn’t feel like she has been performing her best in the competition. Madame Madness sashays away, but she will remain the first bearded queen on Drag Race!
Drag Race Holland is available on WOW Presents Plus in the US and select territories worldwide, and on RTL Nederland’s Videoland.
