Blondie
founders Chris Stein and Debbie Harry joined the judging table and lent some
credibility to the evening’s musical odes to street meat, chicken wings and …
shapes, or something.
Considering
the creative demand placed on the queens as they had to write lyrics and sing
live this week, most of them did a pretty decent job! Who had a real a-ha
moment and who was asked to go-go?
There was no
mini challenge, and the neon-themed runway walks felt like they were
broadcast in double-time, which meant we spent lots of time on this week’s
main challenge. The ladies were tasked with splitting themselves into groups of
three to tackle tracks in the genres Party, Synth and Punk.
Team Bob,
Thorgy and Betty sweet talked their way into getting the Party tune and wrote
lyrics about gyro carts. Thorgy and Bob clashed in the workroom over Thorgy’s
negativity, and Thorgy made some comments venting her frustration over being
this season’s Susan Lucci (receiving praise from the judges, but not the win).
Their high-energy performance transcended the drama, successfully infusing their
humor into the song and committing 100 percent to the live performance.
Team Les
Chicken Wings (Naomi, Robbie and Kim Chi) was a close second, in my eyes. They
put the pun in punk with their snarling, Weird Al-esque (which I guess is a
compliment in this context) song about sucking bones, thigh meat, etc. What
really made it shine though were all the moments of self-deprecating humor
woven in, like rhyming “crispy” with a line about Kim Chi being “lispy.”
Finally, Team
Leftovers (my name, not theirs) cobbled together a sub-Demi Lovato level
confidence anthem about … shapes, or something. I get the geometric
reference point they were going for and the “love yourself no matter your
shape” sort of message, but boy was that a mess. The lyrics were inscrutable,
and their outfits included these awful headpieces with craftsmanship that
wouldn’t qualify for a high school drama production. Worse yet, this team
(Derrick, more specifically) was the only one who tried to really sing — excuse
me,sang — the songs with Mariah/Christina vocal embellishments.
One last
point before we get into the rankings: On this week’s runway, Michelle used the
term “ratchet drag” which is something Derrick got a lot flack for using in the
trailer for this season. (His use of the term comes up next episode.) Michelle
Visage, who has called herself a gay man and a black man in the past, is a
complicated study in identity politics, for sure. And she’s sort of emblematic
of RuPaul’s and Drag Race‘s staunch defiance of the imaginary “P.C.
police” or “word police” or whatever. I don’t say this to pardon poor, simple
Derrick for parroting it back next week, but just to underscore that it felt
gross when she said it too.
OK, on with
the rankings!
1. It’s a
toss-up for me this week between Bob and Thorgy. Both queens
gave solid, clever performances, but both queens also showed a bit of ugly
attitude. Working with Lucian, Bob just came off as cranky. I don’t think it
was egregious enough to truly shake Bob’s standing, especially since none of the
other queens really ran away with the show this week, but it wasn’t the cutest
look. Team Street Meat gave the best performance of the night, including
creative choreo and the joke of the night, “big black beans.”
2. Thorgy lights
up the stage whenever she’s up there. I didn’t even hate her runway look the
same way the judges did. (The black makeup was a bit too far, but those neon
green lashes were everything.) That said, her nitpicking and negativity in the
workroom was a real drag. Let’s hope that was mostly editing’s fault as they
manufacture a rivalry between Thorgy and Bob.
3. Kim
Chi’s runway look was a showstopper, and I wonder if the judges either
didn’t appreciate it or the rushed runway walks just didn’t show them gagging
so. She was a lot of fun during her performance and probably brought the most
punk energy to the stage.
4. On a week
where the lovable Thorgy and charming Bob are getting clocked for their
attitude, Acid Betty actually came off looking less villainous
than the previous few episodes. Her performance look was indeed a bit of a
mess, but, I mean, Naysha wore a lopsided circle on her head, let’s be real.
Plus, that runway look was incredible. I’m not quite rooting for Acid Betty to
win this thing, but I want to see her, Kim, Bob and Thorgy really duke it out.
5. As much as
I love me some Naomi Smalls, middle of the pack is where she
belongs. She’s risen to the challenge each week, but I don’t think she can
outlast the NY girls and Kim Chi.
7. Chi
Chi’s bubbly personality was a big part of her success so far, so when she
turned sour this episode (and lobbed excuses at the judges), it felt like
the beginning of her end. Though, to be fair, the episode sent some mixed
messages. Kim Chi literally said earlier that drag is an expensive art, and
then Michelle said money is no excuse. So which is it? Considering she was
stuck with the leftovers this week, I understand her bitterness, and at least
she turned out the best performance of her trio. Still, those fast-fashion
runway looks are not going to pass muster with the likes of Kim Chi and Acid
Betty up there.
8. Even
though she escaped the judges’ bottom two, I still findDerrick pretty
toxic. First, she responds to the judges’ request for more soul by suggesting
she takes up twerking, which, sigh, come on. If that wasn’t bad enough, she
insisted on “singing” despite Lucian’s gentle suggestion that maybe singing
wasn’t exactly that group’s forte. I love me some Debbie Harry, but I don’t
know what she heard to make her call that voice excellent. You know, not every
Drag Race has to try to be a singer. Can we all just agree on that?
9. Ooh, Naysha,
what was that lip sync? What was that dance move she kept doing? What was that
desperate attempt to recreate the legendary Raja/Carmen
Carrera lip sync moment? All of it was bad. What a wasted
opportunity to bring in a queen to shake things up. It’s almost enough to make
me miss Laila McQueen.
Next week: Snatch
Game!
How would you
rank the queens?
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