RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 Episode 6: A Recap

Disclaimer: This post discusses spoilers from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13 episode 6, including who goes home this week. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

Last week on RuPaul’s Drag Race, we said goodbye to our queen Joey Jay, who was defeated in a killer lip sync performance by LaLa Ri to Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy.” What did you think of last week’s lip sync?

This week, there’s still some unfinished drama between Tamisha and Kandy from last week’s Untucked. To Elliott, what’s more important to her is what they’re going to eat for dinner. Same, Elliott, same.

I don’t want to spoil too much if you missed last week’s episode of Untucked, because it was honestly so iconic that you need to watch it yourself. Here’s what went down:

For this week’s mini challenge, the queens have to work in pairs to create eye-popping designer dresses out of wallpaper provided by Spoonflower. We also find out that the queens have to pick their pairs wisely, because their partner in this week’s mini challenge will also be their partner in the maxi challenge.

The queens have 30 minutes to create a dress, beat their face, put on a wig, the whole sha-bang. It’s always a joy to see some of the queens in quick drag, because some still look gorg, while others look a little questionable. Since Gottmik was the winner of last week’s maxi challenge, she gets to choose which duo she wants to join. To no surprise at all, she chooses Kandy and Tina.

The other pairs are Rosé and Denali, Olivia and Utica, Symone and LaLa Ri, and Elliott and Tamisha, a.k.a the “bottom of the barrel.”

The winners of the mini challenge are Elliott with 2 Ts and Tamisha Iman. Personally, I think Gottmik’s dress was cuter, and her eye makeup was definitely on another level for only being done in 30 minutes. But, hey, the dresses are made out of damn wallpaper. It’s not easy to make wallpaper into high fashion, so they all did pretty well.

For this week’s maxi challenge, the queens will be making a dancing documentary (a “Disco-mentary”) about the beat that defined a generation of liberation — disco, baby. In order to create the perfect disco-mentary, the queens must learn choreography and ultimately embody the spirit of disco. Each team will be covering a different chapter: Tina, Kandy, and Gottmik will be covering the “Birth of Disco,” Elliott and Tamisha have “Disco and Sex,” Olivia and Utica have “Studio 54,” Denali and Rosé have “Disco Fashion,” and Symone and LaLa have “Disco Sucks.”

Right off the bat, Denali and Rosé are confident about being able to snatch a win because both of them have extensive dance backgrounds. We love a dynamic dancing duo! Kandy, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be too confident because Tina and Gottmik have “two left feet.” Kandy’s words, not mine, y’all. Don’t come for me.

In rehearsal, the queens are learning choreography from Miguel Zarate, who has worked alongside icons like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, and Demi Lovato, to name a few. Kandy and Tina seem to be picking up the moves fairly well, but Gottmik is falling behind. LaLa and Symone seem to be doing fine, but they initially seem hesitant to go full out. We all know they’re going to end up turning it, though. Let’s be real here. Elliott and Tamisha have to use hola hoops in their performance, and Tamisha is clearly getting in her head, because a hula hoop isn’t the easiest prop to be working with. Rosé and Denali are absolutely killing it in rehearsal, and they have the hardest choreography out of all the queens. Are we surprised they’re picking up the choreography easily, and executing it flawlessly? Not at all. Utica and Olivia are using very large pieces of fabric in their performance, and while Olivia is slaying, Utica is on the Struggle Bus Express. She’s in her head, and it isn’t going to end well for her if she doesn’t break out of her shell.

The next day while the queens are getting ready, Tina, Kandy, and Gottmik seem to be more confident than in rehearsal. Good for them, but it’ll all come down to how they perform on the main stage. They’ve also officially named themselves the “Mean Girls” of the season — yikes. Not sure if that’s what you want to be known as when you leave Drag Race, but you do you, girl. We also learn that Olivia struggled with her weight growing up, and that she used to be almost 300 pounds. She’s obviously lost a lot of weight and looks amazing now, but the road to self love is a bumpy, twisty, extremely long road. Good on you for feelin’ your oats, Olivia! You look bomb as hell.

On the main stage, RuPaul is joined by judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and this week’s extra-special guest judge (again!), Loni Love.

In the performances, all the queens actually did fairly well (I didn’t think I would say that). I don’t think any queen in particular did terrible, however, my top two pairs go to Denali and Rosé, and Symone and LaLa Ri. If I had to choose two queens who did the worst, I’d give it to Utica and Tamisha. And while they weren’t terrible by any means, their performances lacked the most energy, and they were the two who had the least technical ability.

On the runway, category is “Little Black Dress.” I wasn’t a huge fan of tonight’s runway, as I feel the category is too simple for a show like Drag Race. Tina wore a paint-splattered white jumpsuit which she revealed into a black mini dress with flame detailings. If Tina doesn’t wear a different colour scheme other than red, orange, and yellow, I think I’m actually going to lose my mind. Kandy has a dress made out of canvas paper with a painted on black dress, Gottmik is going full nude with a teeny tiny black dress covering her you-know-what, Elliott is wearing an off the shoulder black mini dress with a black cape which she takes off, Tamisha has a simple black mini dress with black stockings, Olivia went with a sparkly black mini dress with matching sparkly tights, Utica took inspiration from Audrey Hepburn in a black leather dress with gold tights, Denali is serving us black widow spider realness, Rosé took a campy but fashionable approach by covering the outline of her black dress in grey tulle, LaLa went with a simple black dress with silver detailing along the neckline, and Symone completely served in a black two-piece and an iconic braided blonde ponytail.

Here’s where the gag of the episode comes in: the safe queens this week are Gottmik, Denali, Rosé, LaLa Ri, and Symone.

Um, excuse me? What fresh hell is this? Denali, Rosé, LaLa, and Symone being declared as safe is literally a hate crime. We all know RuPaul often makes CHOICES on the show, and girl, this was an absolute choice.

Meaning that the tops and bottoms of the week are Tina, Kandy, Elliott, Tamisha, Olivia, and Utica. If you ask me, half of these should have been safe. But, hey, that’s just my opinion. The judges critique the queens, and it’s clear Utica, Kandy, and Tamisha are walking on thin ice. Olivia and Elliott received positive critiques, and Elliott was complimented on her dance abilities. RuPaul also stressed the fact that, if you have kids, PUT THEM IN DANCE CLASSES. Seriously. Just do it.

After the judges deliberate, the rankings this week are as follows:

Olivia Lux: WINNER

Tina Burner: HIGH

Elliott with 2 Ts: SAFE

Utica Queen: LOW

Kandy Muse: BOTTOM 2

Tamisha Iman: BOTTOM 2

Girl, Tamisha and Kandy being in the bottom together? A GAG. Last week, they practically came for each other’s throats in Untucked. And now, they’re lip syncing against each other? I’m living, but I’m dying at the same time. They face off to “Hit ‘Em Up Style” by Blu Cantrell. Tamisha is giving an old school drag performance, while Kandy is taking a completely opposite approach to the song, giving us both comedy and bad bitch vibes.

Kandy Muse is declared the winner of the lip sync, meaning we are unfortunately saying goodbye to our queen Tamisha Iman. I give her props for competing at 49, because it’s not a common age for the contestants. Let’s also appreciate the fact that right before she came to the show, she beat stage 3 colon cancer, and has been living with an ostomy bag since. In my opinion, being able to still perform in drag after everything she’s been through is even better than winning the actual crown. We love you, Tamisha, and we’ll miss your iconic one-liners!

What did you think of this week’s episode? Did you expect Tamisha to go home?

Ta-ta for now!

x

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 Episode 3: A Recap

DISCLAIMER: This post discusses spoilers from RuPaul’s Drag Race season 13, episode 3. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, don’t say we didn’t warn ya!

This week on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the queens in the Porkchop Loading Dock (the “loser” queens) performed their own verses to RuPaul’s “Phenomenon.”

The queens are excited to enter the werk room and get a second chance at rudemption. And the first thing we notice is that the losing queens are full of TRADE, TRADE, TRADE.

There definitely wasn’t any trade in the winning queen group, just saying.

MINI CHALLENGE

Just like last week’s episode, the losing queens must also bring two looks to the runway: “Lady” and “Vamp” (a play on Lady and the Tramp).

While the queens scramble to get ready, Kahmora immediately begins to panic, because back in Chicago, she’s known for taking hours to get ready for a performance. While she barely makes it in time, I was definitely cringing a bit. After 12 seasons of Drag Race, you should know how fast-paced the show is, right?

For the “Lady” runway, Denali had a gorgeous blue mini dress with embroidered blue flowers on one of her tights, Joey gave us “cool aunt who shows up drunk to the family gatherings” (with no wig?!), Rosé went with a geometric pop-art dress with bold butterfly shoulder pads, Tamisha wore a stunning pink pantsuit, Utica went total camp and covered herself in plastic balls and a patterned colourful mini dress, and Kahmora served us 1950’s First Lady realness.

For the “Vamp” runway, Denali went with a completely different “goth girl at the prom” look, Joey gave us “cool aunt” again, but this time she’s wearing a black catsuit (and no wig, again..), while Rosé wore a gag worthy red leotard with an exposed hoop-skirt and black halo covering the top half of her face. Tamisha wore a dress covered in synthetic black hair and a silver corset. Kahmora gave us a simple black mini dress with a silver cross necklace, and Utica served camp AGAIN with a Victorian-inspired look.

MAXI CHALLENGE

The time now comes where the queens record and write their own verses to RuPaul’s “Phenomenon,” as well as choreograph their own routine.

Denali instantly takes charge as she says she’s a professional choreographer, but the queens begin to clash as Rosé also attempts to try and take control of the routine. I liveee for some choreography drama!

Needless to say, this rehearsal seems to go smoother because Denali took charge as opposed to Elliott, who didn’t speak up about being a professional dancer last week.

Back in the werk room while the queens get ready, we learn that Kahmora doesn’t do drag full-time because her boyfriend isn’t supportive of it (SHE ONLY DOES DRAG ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH – HELLO?)

She also mentions that when she does do drag, she tries to do it “away from him,” and she keeps all of her drag in a separate storage unit.

This made me FUMING.

I don’t know about you, but if my partner isn’t going to support something I love to do, you can walk right out the door, sis. Although Kahmora loves her boyfriend (as they’ve been together for 8 years apparently), I would never hide a part of myself from someone just because they don’t like it. When you’re in a relationship, especially for that long, you don’t get to pick and choose the pieces you want from your partner’s life. You either get all of it, or none of it.

NEVER SACRIFICE YOUR HAPPINESS FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S, KAHMORA.

In terms of the actual maxi challenge, girl..

These queens ATE THIS CHALLENGE UP!

The choreography was on point and went perfectly with the music (they even brought in small pieces of fabric to wave in the air as props), the verses were great, and the dancing? Definitely not half assed like last week.

This may be the “losing group,” but the “winning group” better watch out, because these queens did NOT come to play.

Also – Tamisha’s verse was I-CONIC. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

RUNWAY

Category is: We’re Here, We’re SHEER, Get Used To It.

Denali gave us a high fashion lavender dreams mini dress with black detailing in the hair, earrings, and shoes, Joey served up some black fringe (with no wig, again..), Kahmora looked rich in a Britney-Cher inspired catsuit with a sheer kaftan on top, Rosé wore a dress covered in hand-dyed plastic with some flowy billowing sleeves, Tamisha wore one of the most gorgeous gold gowns that has ever graced the runway with a big sheer buckle, and Utica wore a fire-and-ice Fleetwood Mac-inspired flowy dress.

CLOSING

The judges critiques this week:

Denali received praise for the contrast in her two looks in the mini challenge, and Michelle couldn’t take her eyes off her during the “Phenomenon” performance. The judges loved Joey’s sheer look on the runway, and Michelle and Ross questioned why she didn’t wear a wig for any of her runway looks or the performance. Kahmora was told she has “impeccable taste,” but that she needed to “come to life” and have more personality (she was compared to a mannequin.. ouch). The judge’s loved all of Rosé’s looks, and received huge praise from Michelle for her powerhouse performance in the maxi challenge. The judge’s couldn’t get over Tamisha’s sheer dress (I can’t blame them!) and was clocked for her “lowkey” performance in the maxi challenge, and Utica got some love for her unique and weird personality.

The queens leave the main stage while the judges deliberate on who will be the top two queens of the week (that’s right – no one is going home this week either — yet!)

The top two queens of the week are Denali Foxx and Rosé, which I agree with. They both served LEWKS, and their performances in the maxi challenge were definitely top of the line. The rest of the queens are declared safe and head to the back of the stage.

Denali and Rosé lip sync to Britney Spear’s “If U Seek Amy” (YAAAASSSSS), and I was cheering the entire time, seriously. Both of them had so much personality (when it’s Britney Spears, you have to serve). While Rosé took a more comedic approach to the song, Denali definitely embodied the song more.

The winner of this week’s maxi challenge, along with a $5,000 cash tip, is Denali Foxx! Rosé is safe to slay another day.

According to RuPaul, starting next week, “heads will roll.” (AKA – queens are going to start packing their bags each episode).

While I enjoyed these first three episodes, I’m excited to finally get the competition rolling and seeing who goes home next week.

NEXT WEEK: The queens star in cheesy holiday movies for the “RuPaulmark” (Hallmark) channel.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Do you think the losing queens did better than the winning queens in their performance?

Ta-ta for now!

x

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 Episode 2: A Recap

DISCLAIMER: This post discusses potential spoilers for RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13, Episode 2. Unless you want to know what happens, don’t continue reading. I warned ya, sis!

OPENING

This week on RuPaul’s Drag Race, we continue from the cliffhanger in the premiere, where the queens faced off in six rounds of lip syncs.

In case you need a reminder, the queens who won their lip sync were Kandy Muse, LaLa Ri, Symone, Gottmik, Olivia Lux, and Tina Burner. The queens who lost were Joey Jay, Denali Foxx, Tamisha Iman, Utica Queen, Rosé, Kahmora Hall, and Elliott with two Ts.

The “eliminated” queens remain in the Porkchop Loading Dock, where we learn that they must vote one of them out — WHAT?

We’ve never seen someone be voted out on a regular RuPaul’s Drag Race season, and let’s just say this was GAG WORTHY. After a tie break between Joey Jay and Elliott, Elliott sashays away.

BUT WAIT.

As the episode starts, the queens (as boys now) come into the werk room and RuPaul lets them know that he’s bringing back a queen who he believes “didn’t get a fair shot.”

And guess who walked through those doors?

ELLIOTT.

Yup, Elliott may have been “voted out,” but she didn’t actually sashay away!

Needless to say, the queens who won their lip syncs didn’t take well to this and assumed Elliott was there to spy on them. Because of this, Elliott wasn’t afraid to throw some shade to Kandy Muse, which made the queens even more suspicious.

Not a good move on Elliott’s part if you ask me.

MINI CHALLENGE

The first mini challenge of the season is a runway challenge where the queens must serve two looks: “Daytime Drama, Mama!” and “Nighttime Is The RIGHT Time!”

In Daytime Drama Mama, Gottmik wore a rainbow mini dress, Kandy worked a glamorous red wrap dress, LaLa Ri went with a simple southern style curtain dress that got caught in her heel, Olivia Lux was midcentury in a simple purple feathered dress, Symone presented a bare chest in a vibrant (and caped) business suit, Tina Burner glammed it up in a sequined red babydoll look, and Elliott capped it off in a long red dress and matching beret.

In Nighttime Is The RIGHT Time, Gottmik switched into a sexy black velvet dress with a pasty on one nipple, Kandy returned in red with a latex bodysuit and messy makeup, LaLa Ri came out in a dominatrix black and caged chest look, Olivia had a shiny burgundy dress and what she said is a “rare brunette wig,” Symone put on a mustard and orange wrap dress, Tina also came in latex in more red (and yellow and orange), and Elliott looked like a dark circus master with a whip and feathers.

MAXI CHALLENGE

For the first maxi challenge of the season, the queens must record and perform their own verse in a girl group to RuPaul’s new song, “Condragulations.”

I don’t know about you, but I love these kind of maxi challenges. I love being able to see what kind of verses the queens come up with — and if you ask me, it’s a big way to tell who knows their stuff, and who doesn’t.

The queens are tasked with also choreographing their own dance along with these verses – and when this happens, it’s usually a hit or miss.

No one wanted to step up to the plate and choreograph the dance, which was a little awkward, even though Elliott, who is a trained dancer, refused to do it. Yet later we see Elliott step in and start to direct the dance, which further ostracized her from the rest of the girls after being quiet for so long.. yikes.

The rehearsal had some tension due to Gottmik, as a transgender male, facing some gender dysmorphia and not being able to pick up the choreography.

However, she didn’t say anything about it until the next day to Olivia Lux in the werk room, who agreed that during rehearsal wasn’t the time to talk about it. She was so sweet and supportive of her – can you say Olivia Lux for Miss Congeniality?

As the queens get ready for their performance in the werk room, Elliott is still the center of attention, and the queens want to know what happened and why she was brought back.

Elliott reveals to them that all the losing queens are waiting in the Porkchop Loading Dock and that she was unanimously voted out. The queens are gagged, and they definitely feel a little better now knowing Elliott isn’t a double agent.

On the main stage, RuPaul is joined by judges Michelle Visage and Ross Matthews, and this week’s extra-special guest judge Jamal Sims (who typically choreographs for the queens).

The singing and raps? Not bad. The dancing? Well, it’s pretty half-assed to say the least. If we compare this performance to “I’m That Bitch” from last season, this one definitely lacked. Elliott and Symone really stood out for me.

RUNWAY

The runway theme this week is “Lamé, You Stay.” Gottmik was inspired by a sea dragon in tendrils of fabric, Kandy went pinup in lingerie, LaLa was wrapped in gold from head to toe, Olivia looked elegant in white and mint green, Symone took on a boxing theme in shorts and a robe, Tina finally dropped the red fabric for an all silver Tin Man fantasy, and Elliott had an Ariel wig and a sea green and blue dress.

CLOSING

Ross told Gottmik that her mini challenge looks earlier in the week were fun and together with the main stage look showed versatility, but Jamal and Michelle clocked her for overthinking the choreography, which “made her performance a letdown.”

Michelle liked Kandy’s look on the main stage, but asked her to explain her thought process behind the look (agreed). Kandy said it was a “medieval mother of the hookers.” LaLa got high marks for her gold look on the stage, and was told her confidence in the performance really shined through.

Ross called Olivia a joy to watch in the performance, and they all loved the looks that she presented in all the challenges. Symone also won over the judges in every moment and Michelle called her day look “hot,” while Ross and Ru were already saying she had star quality.

Michelle was happy to see that Tina was finally not wearing red, orange and yellow (yikes). Ross and Jamal really enjoyed her performance, but Michelle advised her to be more aware of performing for television and not like they would in a bar.

Michelle said Elliott’s night look was fantastic, and Jamal said that Elliott looked like she was waiting to show her stuff throughout the performance. Ross backed that up by saying that she proved she deserved to stay.

Olivia and Symone are the top two queens of the week (instead of the usual sole winner). The rest of the queens are safe, meaning this week, there are no “tops” or “bottoms,” aka no one is going home.

Olivia and Symone lip sync to Dua Lipa’s “Break My Heart” to be the sole winner this week, along with a $5,000 cash tip. Both queens used their garments to their advantage and delivered really strong performances. Symone’s use of her long braids was brilliant.

Symone is declared the first winner of the season, and I think this immediately sets her apart as a frontrunner.

NEXT WEEK: The queens in the Porkchop Loading Dock record and perform their own song and dance to another RuPaul song to get the chance at a second impression on the judges.

That’s it for this week! Let me know in the comments – what did you think of this week’s episode? What are your predictions for next week? Do you think anyone’s gonna go home?

Ta-ta for now!

x