Lip-syncing, whether for a queen’s life, her legacy, the crown or the hood, is one of the key ingredients in the delightful real-TV poundcake that RuPaul’s Drag Race. Each episode of Drag Race culminates in a heated lip-sync showdown, but not every season of Drag Race has a bona fide lip-sync assassin. A lip-sync assassin is a queen like season two Jujubee or sixth six Trinity K Bonet who regularly sends other queens packing Drag Race‘s Lip Sync for Your Life Elimination format, and does so with levels of passion and passion that can make a circuit wave and crack a screen when you watch it at home. We’re only four episodes in Drag Race season 13, but on January 22, Alaska Queen Denali regained her status as the John Wick of lip-sync killers.
Due to some formatting conflict this season, Denali has lip-synced over every episode in which she appeared, and last night it was one of the best performances we’ve seen on television so far this year. After a Hallmark movie parody acting challenge, Denali finds herself in the bottom 2 opposite the beautiful Kahmora Hall, which has given a wooden performance as a lesbian tree (if that’s not reason enough to watch this show , we do not know what). Both carry casual looks inspired by majestic animals – Denali as a beautiful quetzal, Kahmora as a golden dragon – which gives this battle a mythical feature. The track “100% Pure Love” by Crystal Waters kicks in, and Denali immediately throws off her feathered train, the better to kick in and turn in. Kahmora, meanwhile, is limited by her floor-length gown and does not do much, but swish her arms and walk around the stage verrrrry slow. But Denali is not going to take her opponent lightly. She needs to prove herself to the judges and queens, and loves duck trails and props, and her energy fits perfectly with the dance floor of the 90s.
These many seasons in the Drag Race machine, it’s rare for RuPaul to be so caught up in a performance, but Ru and the judges toss, yawn and clap together to the enchanting queen. “I’m sorry for the fool who has to act against you,” Ru tells Denali as she declares herself victorious. Some fans have theorized on Twitter that this is the fastest “shantay you stay” Ru-ling in Drag Race story. It’s a lip-sync slaughter, it’s an amazing television, and it’s the nicest you can have while the bars are still closed.