It’s down to the magnificent seven, and after the sad departure of John Fedellaga, a new week lies ahead. For this week’s mini-challenge, the Philippines library is now open and with a twist. Guest judge Jiggly Caliente joins in to oversee the reading alongside Mama Pao.The reads are good, and as always, chaos reigns, and Maxie wins with a grand prize of 20,000 pesos!
With the mini-challenge finished, the maxi-challenge is announced—and its make-over time. I love the family makeovers; they’re a good balance of fun, high emotions, and creativity. But the next part does require a pack of tissues as the queens are reunited with their loved ones. Out first is Maxie and Angel’s mother. The love that radiates between the three of them is so beautiful, and while there are two of them, Angel is chosen to makeover her mother. The second person for Maxie is their father, and he is a bundle of pure joy. Seeing the four of them together is so heart-warming to see loving parents. Myx Chanel is reunited with her bestie, Khianna, with her mother, and Popstar Bench with her boyfriend. Tita Baby welcomes her boyfriend (who is beautiful, by the way), and finally Zymba Ding is reunited with her mother. Tears are shed within a short amount of time, but it looks set to be an interesting and creative challenge.
As usual, family resemblance is a requirement, and guest judge Kahled Karen is in the werkroom to see how everyone is getting on. There are very emotional tales being shared. Khianna and her mother discuss their volatile and tough relationship that has only been rekindled as adults. Zymba Ding’s mother is a super trooper who explains about her skin condition that Zymba had previously showcased on the mainstage; she truly is an inspiration. If making over your loved ones into superheroes isn’t stressful enough, the duos are to lip sync to Rupaul’s Freaky Money (a classic). The special guest judge this week is the megastar of the Philippines, Sharon Cuneta, which gets a very good reaction, to say the least.
Kicking off the category of Super Queens is Angel, and her mom looks stunning; the contrasting of pink and blue works well. Their dad takes centre stage, which Maxie allows him all the room to rule the catwalk. Now, Khianna and her mother could be twins; they look alike, and while her mom might be a bit unsure of what’s going on, she slowly gains confidence. Myx and her bestie are in sync with their performance, going on to death drop in unison. Popstar Bench and her boyfriend look great, and he looks like he’s having a fabulous time. But it’s Tita Baby’s boyfriend that steals the show; he is stunning. The outfits are fun; I do think that her boyfriend outshadowed her though (gasp!) Zymba and her mother are golden eagles that have reclaimed their power. This category has been perfect and so wonderful to see supportive people in their lives.
With seven contestants left this week, everyone is to be critiqued, and I would hate to be a judge on this season as I would be useless. It’s dancing time, where they’ll be lip-syncing to Freaky Money. It’s such a fun watch and, importantly, inclusive. Every single person is enjoying themselves, which is the most important point of this franchise. Talk on the panel turns into what superpower they would all like to have, and the guest judge, Rajo Laurel, says he would love to eat everything and to never get fat. The dream!
The decisions have been made, and the winner this week is Maxie, who now has her third RU badge. The two bottom queens are unfortunately Khianna and Popstar Bench. The duo are to perform Get Your Rebel On by Rupaul. It’s fire from the get-go; every effort is put in from both to stay. But Khianna is jumping, twirling, and making sure all eyes are on her. Her efforts paid off, as she’s told Shantay. This leaves us saying goodbye to Popstar Bench—a shame as she is fabulous but her time has come to an end. The fun never stops, as the queens celebrate onstage, Mama Pao shouts to cut the music. As the competition has become so tough, and to separate them next week there will be a lip sync Lalaparuza smackdown. I love the twist, I love the chaos, and I love Drag Race Philippines. So, what did you all think of our drag queen superheroes this week?
So what did we think? Do you have a favourite? Drag Race Philippines airs Wednesdays at 4am PT // 7am ET, worldwide on WOWPresents Plus.
