Reloading and Ru vivals may be all the rage, but it rarely matches the quality of the original. Write this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Three seasons later The Bossy Rossy Show captivated audiences with his terrifying pickles and sexy drag babies, Ross Mathews’ iconic late night talker was brought back for another round on Friday – and it was everywhere. (Of course there were some highlights, but it’s not a great night of performances when someone receives the highest honor for playing a mime. Even if she told the gods.)
This came after a very satisfying reading mini-challenge, which Gottmik won with a series of wild readings about Kandy Muse identifying with the pug community, Tina Burner being a footballer and Utica Queen was just ‘weird’ . The last one was actually a recurring reading in the mini-game; Tina asks straight for Utica where she is hiding the bodies of her victims. Check out the full reading challenge below:
The real gag this week appears to be Olivia Lux, whose coverage as a low-key hard-core competitor has been officially blown. Tina even looked at her as a ‘secret diva’, and she did not go wrong. Not only was Utica furious when Olivia ‘stole’ her part in the improv challenge, but Olivia even threw a little salt in her wound and suggested, ‘I might end up in the top again.’ And you know what? His done beland bo. This is the second maximum victory for Olivia, who has yet to finish anywhere near the bottom. And the more I think about her clever runway theme (pictured above), the more I appreciate her ingenuity.
With all due respect to Miss Lux, however, I think I would declare Symone’s winner this week. Not only did she bring enough energy to keep her entire improvisational sketch alive, but I don’t even have words to say about how good her runway looks. I just sat there sleeping and trying to record every inch of this African warrior-inspired masterpiece …
I also have to let Gottmik tilt my hat for her brilliant anal bead-inspired look. Look at the latex number in all its glory, plus each of the other queens’ “Bead It!” runway ensembles, in the video below:
Category is: BEAD IT! 😍✨
Our Queens shine on the track in their very best beads! Who was your favorite of the night? # DragRace pic.twitter.com/goSxIWFHbR
– RuPaul’s Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) 13 February 2021
At the other end of the spectrum, LaLa Ri and Elliott this week have a combination of unimpressive improvisational performances and bland track shows, with 2 Ts in the bottom two.
Despite LaLa’s record for the murder of lip-syncing, Elliott confidently entered their fight. And from the moment Kelly Clarkson’s “Whole Lotta Woman” starts playing, she’s spinning it out. LaLa may have charisma, uniqueness, and talent, but Elliott brought on the nerve while staying at or above LaLa’s level all the time, occasionally throwing in a tear to sweeten the pot. And that synchronized body roll! Real talk, none of these ladies disappointed. In the end, however, the “LaLa Ri Experience” was simply not enough; Ru was forced to bring the queen back to Atlanta.
Do you think this was the right call? (To be honest, part of me was expecting a double shantay.) Then vote in our poll below leave a comment with your thoughts on the episode.