Did you miss the eliminated queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 as much as I did? If so, this episode was a delight, right? Every queen from the cast was reunited for a Lipsync Lalaparuza Smackdown for a prize of $50,000!
Everyone reunited around a table in the workroom like old times. Plasma did us all a favor and asked Mih’ya Iman LePaige to do her Cher impression. The episode could have ended there. I saw what I needed to see.
RuPaul entered the workroom and dished out the details for the Lalaparuza. The eliminated queens had two hours to get into drag and hit the stage for the competition. I was absolutely thrilled to see Dawn and Amanda Tori Meating reunited. It was also so fun to see Hershii LiqCour-Jeté and Mirage back since they were eliminated so early! While they were getting in drag, Mih’ya shared that she allegedly let Morphine Love Dion win, but how much of that can we believe?
It was time to get the show going! The queens were judged by Ru, Michelle Visage, and TS Madison. You know the drill. If a queen wins her lipsync, she would advance, if not, she would sashay way. Sapphira Crystal called it the Kentucky Derby of drag!
Here’s how round one went down. Bruno of the Pit Crew would pull a bingo ball with a queen’s name on it. That queen then got to pick their opponent. The first name pulled was Dawn, and she made it clear that the viewers may be upset with who she picked to face off against. She selected her bestie, Amanda, because she just wanted to have fun, plus she would pick a song Daw wanted to do. Amanda picked Damaged by Danity Kane. I love these two so much. Amanda advanced!
Up next was Q against Megami, who selected What About by Janet Jackson. Morphine thought there was some strategy behind Megami’s choice of song. If that was the case, it paid off. Megami advanced! Next came Morphine, who chose Geneva Karr, and the song was Million Dollar Baby by Ava Max. Morphine absolutely smashed that performance and advanced.
Next up was Mirage, who I think everyone was most excited to see, against Hershii, who I was also excited to see. Ok, first two to leave! She said she only picked Hershii because she knew Plasma would pick a “dumb ass song,” which was hilarious. Hershii picked Alone 2.0 by Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj. That performance was everything I wanted. It was Mirage who moved forward.
Plasma, Xunami, and Mhi’ya were left and they would all face off against one another. Whoever won got to advance to the semi-finals automatically. Mih’ya got to pick the song and chose Milkshake by Kelis. This was going to be a SHOW! I know Mih’ya was doing all her tricks, but my eyes could not stop looking at Plasma. She was really selling it. However, Mih’ya won.
Then came round two. Amanda chose Megami to face off against, who picked The Shoop Shoop Song by Cher. It was a fun performance but Megami advanced. Then came an absolutely iconic competition between Morphine and Mirage. Morphine got to pick the song and chose This Time I Know Its For Real by Donna Summer. These two are UNREAL! It could have gone either way. Morphine advanced.
Here’s how the final round took a twist. Megami had to choose between Morphine and Mih’ya to take on, and selected Mih’ya! This meant that Morphine was automatically moving on to the final round. They had to perform to the last song remaining, We Got the Beat by The Go-Gos. I think everyone’s favorite moment of the night was Megami predicting Mih’ya’s split. She was the clear winner for me this round!
Megami and Morphine were to face off to Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) by C+C Music Factory. Although Megami couldn’t out-dance Morphine, she could out stupid here, but in the end, it wasn’t enough. FINALLY, Morphine won something. I was so excited for her!
That episode was pure joy! What did you all think? Remember to let us know if you’re Team Sapphira, Team Nymphia Wind, or Team Plane Jane! See you next week for the finale!
