The challenge in Friday’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race may have been inspired by Freaky Friday, but with all those buses the queens threw themselves under, it felt more like we were watching Mean Girls.
But first … The remaining eight contestants sat down for a group session with Char Margolis, easily my favorite reality show since Allison DuBois in The real housewives of Beverly Hills. And what did she do, you ask? Because, simply the most! In a single session, this woman made peace between Tina Burner and her late father, put Utica Queen in contact with her baby boy (Clara says “Moo!” By the way), and even exposed Rosé and Denali as each other’s passions. .
Through Char’s intuition about which queens could learn more from each other, Ru brought together some really unexpected pairs for the 13th season’s transformation challenge. (What, did you think they would bring strangers again? Not in this pandemic, baby!) So, let’s see how some of these opposing poles managed to incorporate their partners:
UTICA QUEEN & SYMONE | We can start with the best, right? Believe me, I was as surprised as you were to see Utica transform into an “ivory sorceress” on that catwalk, especially after she told Symone that a look based on the 1987 film BAPS “It can be very inappropriate.” Fortunately, Utica learned an important lesson about ownership vs. ownership. appreciation (“Don’t worry about the skin, worry about what’s inside!”), Rocking the main stage and making your partner proud. It was also a trip to see how Symone fully embraced his inner Utica, serving movements that were “strange” and “non-sexual”, but still fun – and if what it is not Utica in a nutshell. The word “brilliant” was mentioned during Symone’s review, and I don’t disagree. Very well, ladies!
GOTTMIK & KANDY MUSE | Kandy made it clear, both in a confessional and on the main stage, that she and Gottmik had a lot of work to do, as their vastly different body types prevented them from simply “shopping with each other” like the other couples. That’s why Kandy was particularly annoyed when Denali commented that Gottmik looked more like Tina than Kandy. (In addition to confirming that Tina does not own the red and yellow ownership, Kandy added, “You never see Tina Burner coming down the catwalk like a bitch, looking flawless!” Um, ouch?) With all that said, the judges were impressed by the transformations of both partners, especially Gottmik’s undeniable “brand” across Kandy. (Side note: there was always so much talk during the tracks? Some of those girls were serving dialogue during your walks.)
TINA & ROSE | These New York queens, who didn’t know each other very well before filming this season, made a perfectly suitable pair. Rosé got Tina’s mannerisms right, even though her exaggerated movements made it look like she was starring Tina Burner: the musical, and Tina … you know … learned to embrace the color pink. The judges were not very impressed with this pair, but the two worst were eliminated since the jump.
DENALI & OLIVIA LUX | With that long ponytail and light blue tulle, I really thought Olivia was a perfect companion for Denali. Unfortunately, the reverse was also not true. As Michelle Visage put it, Denali “could be anyone” coming down that catwalk. Where was the big hair? Where was the bubbly personality? As Denali would say in his confessional: “I’m at rock bottom because of the mistakes my partner made. This sucks. ”I swear, if any more bus throwing occurred this week, we would need a traffic light installed in the werkroom.
As if the episode hadn’t been dark enough, Ru then asked the queens which of his competitors should be sent home this week. Rosé, Tina, Symone, Utica and Gottmik chose Olivia, while Kandy chose Olivia and Denali because of the comments already mentioned about Gottmik’s look. (Hell is not as fierce as a despised drag queen!) As for Olivia, she was the one to highlight Utica, who she said was “based on the whole competition”.
But the lipstick writing was already on the wall. After being announced as the two worst of the week, Olivia and Denali took center stage for a ridiculous Mary Mary’s performance “Shackles (Praise You)”. I call this ridiculous not because of the actual performances, but because of the choice of music, which even Symone referred to as “some fucking golden comedy”. (As someone who once watched this song being played in a church in my youth, I have to agree.)
Despite her reputation as a sort of lip sync killer, Denali did not contribute much to this battle, mainly because her Olivia outfit wasn’t exactly made for fun. She was able to do it again as she lifted the dress, but Olivia already had it in her bag. And so, Denali was sent away skating.
What is your opinion on this week’s challenge? Elimination? Psychic group therapy lesson? Vote for the queen you ordered to pack below, then leave a comment with more of your thoughts.