I know RuPaul’s Drag Race is everyone’s favorite show, but is it just me or can Friday not come soon enough this season? Something about this cast makes me even more excited to tune in each week. Maybe it’s the combination of drama and sisterhood? I’m not sure, but I’m not complaining.
The queens returned to the workroom after Joey Jay‘s elimination and that big Untucked blowup between Tamisha Iman and Kandy Muse. Utica gave us the perfect narration. Tamisha says what she thinks, Kandy can dish it but can’t take it, and overall it was blown out of proportion. I think that perfectly summarizes this incident.
RuPaul entered the workroom with an ode to one of my favorite people of all time, gay legend Charles Nelson Riley. I don’t think any queens got the reference, and maybe you didn’t either, but I had to shout this out anyway. For the mini-challenge, the queens picked a partner to construct dresses out of wallpaper. I was surprised to see all of these looks were well constructed and the storylines were strong. As to be expected, Utica’s antics stole the show. Apparently not in RuPaul’s eyes, as Tamisha and Eliott with 2 T’s ode to Tiger King took home the win.
The groups the queens chose spilled over into the maxi-challenge. The queens were to make a documentary about the history of disco broken into various parts. The groups consisted of Tina Burner, Gottmik, and Kandy, Tamisha and Elliott, LaLa Ri and Symone, Rosé and Denali, and Olivia Lux and Utica. The different parts were fun, highlighting things like disco fashion and Studio 54. Meanwhile, Symone and Lala were given the concept “disco sucks”, so, there’s that.
As everyone was prepping for the challenge, Ru went around the workroom and spoke to the queens. Denali shared that she used to work on a cruise ship in disco shows. She also ice skated on cruise ships? That concept gave me anxiety. Rather than helping the queens with the challenge this week, she just schooled them all on the history of disco. It was incredible.
This episode gave us one of my favorite aspects of this show: watching drag queens who do not know how to dance attempt to learn choreography. Utica was the star of the inability to dance show. Of course, her goofy personality made it that much more fun to watch. During rehearsal, Tamisha opened up about her medical struggles after having cancer. She has an ostomy bag, which she explained is an open wound, that can prevent her from doing some physical things. The more we learn about Tamisha, the more I respect her. She’s a legend!
While getting ready to hit the runway, Gottmik, Tina, and Kandy solidified their clique by giving it a name. They are the mean girls, which is an interesting name to give yourselves in the midst of all the drama going on with Kandy and some of the other queens. Also in the workroom, we got to learn more about some of the queens. Olivia shared her struggle in high school due to her weight, Kandy opened up about her past, and Tamisha shared that she grew up in the projects and found a passion thanks to a woman who put on cheerleading in their neighborhood and gave her the nickname “booty”.
The queens hit the main stage to perform their disco numbers for Ru, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and Loni Love. I loved the idea behind this challenge, but I thought the performance was a little lackluster. Not because the queens did a poor job, but I thought the concept fell a bit short. There was no lipsyncing which threw me off a bit. The queens did a great job with the choreography, however, especially Rosé and Denali!
As for the runway, the category was little black dress. While that concept may sound boring, some of these queens took the concept outside the box. I love that Gottmik showed off her body on the runway. She made Drag Race herstory! I thought Kandy’s concept was fun and outside the box, I loved Denali’s simple but detailed look, and Symone’s wig!
It was time for the judges’ critiques. The queens that were safe was a bit confusing for me, as I thought some of the strongest performers were apart of that group. Tina, Elliott, and Olivia got the highest praise, while Tamisha, Kandy, and Utica were clearly in the bottom. Again, I was confused on a few things, but as it turns out it is not my television show.
The results were in. Olivia got her first win of the season and rightfully so! The bottom two consisted of Kandy and Tamisha, which was interesting given the history between these two. They faced off to Hit Em Up Style by Blu Cantrell. I think if Tamisha knew the words better, the decision may have been more difficult to make. However, it was Tamisha who sashayed away, which broke my heart! She is a legend and we will miss seeing her on tv greatly!
What did you think of the episode this week? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments below! I’ll see you next week as we watch the queens compete in an over the top appearance on the fake show Bossy Rossy After Dark.
