It’s down to the final six, and although we said a sad farewell to Norma Bell last week, on a positive note, Ruby On The Nail has finally hit her stride after winning her first challenge last week.
Kickstarting the episode, the queens hobble into the workroom, acting old due to the strain and hardships of the competition. With a new week comes another odd mini-challenge; however, it’s more in tune with the theme for this week’s episode. Getting in their best quick drag, they are to become the elderly for a game of drag bingo, which, of course, over the years has become a drag staple for audiences to enjoy.
This week’s Maxi Challenge is another favourite of mine; it’s the makeover. The queens are challenged to pair up with a LGBTQIA+ elder to drag up to resemble family members. This one is a 100% wholesome episode and is full of emotion and pure joy. With Perseo winning the mini challenge, she is in charge of pairing up the queens, and she chooses to be nice and not strategic. Everyone is happy with their makeover, and the fun begins. Many are extremely excited to get into drag with Michel, who is part of an association to help his LGBTQIA+ age well. He tells a heart-warming story about being a married straight man with children (and now four grandchildren) before deciding to finally live his truth by divorcing his wife and finally coming out as gay at 38. He is an inspiration, and you can see he is clearly excited to dive into the heels. Perseo goes on to explain that the Canary Islands drag is very revealing, which is lucky for her because he is very on board with this idea.
Leona Winters is paired up with Claire, who discusses her trans journey and living life as a female. Growing up with the terminology wasn’t a prominent topic or discussion, but it’s fantastic to see her living her life. Like Michel, she too was married with children, and it’s a real treat to hear these touching stories of positive stories from people in their 40s and getting to live their truth for them, maybe inspiring those watching at home.
There are so many important and uplifting conversations going on with all the queens, and most importantly, the discussion turns to who can walk in heels. Lulu Stega hits the jackpot with Sylvain, a trained dancer with great poise. The goal is for all guests to feel looked after, fabulous, glamorous, and have the best experience possible. Sylvain truly is going for the drag queen experience and is happy to have his eyebrows shaved. Brave.
The werkroom is a sparkly big playground for everyone, from those learning to walk in heels to those sharing their wisdom, and most importantly, the hard work that went into paving the way for LGBTQIA+ rights and raising awareness during the AIDS pandemic. As always, no one should forget and keep up-to-date on their history and the fight that still continues today. Time for the runway, and joining the judges panel this week are Meryl Bie and Beatrice Dalle. The category is: My Big Drag Sister, and out first is Ruby On The Nail with Opaline On The Nail, and they are both stunning in emerald green. Le Filip comes on the stage in a chaotic whirlwind of madness, accompanied by an equally chaotic drag sister named La Baronne De Roche Godemichel, aka Baroness of Dildochel. Yes. Really.
This week there really were no weak links as they all incorporated their own style well with their big drag sister and shined on stage, as always the power of drag. If one were to pick who would be at the bottom, it would be Misty Phoenix and her big sister, Foggy Phoenix, who quite literally stomped the runway. It’s cohesive and cute, but in comparison to the others, it’s not as grand. On the judging panel, there are tears from judge Daphne who can feel the love pouring alongside the gratitude that is whirling around beautifully onstage.
Unfortunately, of course, people still do need to go home, which is a shame for an episode so full of happiness and joy. The top three this week are Leona Winters, who in her showgirls sparkle wowed the judges, Lula Strega in her wizardry theatrics on stage, and Ruby On the Nail who shone from the moment she stepped out onstage, leads to her winning this week’s challenge and for the second week in a row. Lula and Leona will join her in the semi-finals next week. As does Le Filip, leaving Perseo and Misty Phoenix in the bottom-to-lip sync. It was a tough week to judge and kind of surprising to see Perseo at the bottom, but after countless critiques about her similar- looking outfits, it does make sense.
This week, the duo is lip-syncing to Hey Mama by Davide Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, and Afrobecky. As expected, it is an energetic performance from both the dancing divas, who aim to put on quite the show. For me, Misty has that edge, and although she too struggles with the words, she does a little better than Perseo. The judges agree, and shockingly, we say goodbye to our Canary Islands girl, Perseo.
What did we think of this week’s episode? Tune-In: Drag Race France S3 will premiere Friday, May 31st on WOWPresents Plus in the US and select territories worldwide, day-and-date with its local airing on France TV’s SLASH.
