BLACK LIVES MATTER! I fully support the ongoing movement to combat and dismantle the systemic racism that has devastated our country for centuries. Please review the following resources and donate, march, learn and be active. Www.Linktr.ee/nationalresourceslist
Hello, hello my dears! WHAT A WEEK. I hope everyone is finding ways to stay outraged, safe, healthy and motivated after the heinous and hate-motivated insurrection that was attempted this week. Please continue to expose and hold accountability the bigots who perpetrated this act. I will try to post resources in the coming weeks to help.
RECAP/THOTS:
Taking a super sharp turn, let’s talk Drag Race. This was a bizarre episode that wound up feeling devoid of a lot of the joy and energy we are accustomed to seeing in the premiere. We watched 5 different pairs and 1 triplet of queens enter the work room, and immediately be whisked off to the runway for a lip-sync. The 6 winners rejoiced together and vaguely shaded Rosé (I’m here for it). The 7 losers were sent to the “Porkchop loading dock”, where they were told at the end of the episode that they would need to vote one amongst themselves off the show. They were given no criteria by which to vote (they didn’t even get to see each other’s lip-syncs) and, most heinously, Porkchop didn’t get to say hello to them and the millions of viewers, though they used her name a million times. So- did I like the twist? In a word- No.
But will I stop watching? Not today Satan. So, I found the joy where I could. My favorite moment was when Joey Jay asked Rosé if she knew Kandy Muse. Rosé responded knowingly with a long list of compliments for Kandy and said, “I’m so glad she’s here.” Joey Jay, sitting in the “’Porkchop Loading Dock” after losing her lip-sync to Kandy Muse, squinted her eyes and responded wryly “Yes….me too”. It was spectacular.
STATS:
Perhaps the biggest problem I have with the twist is that it thoroughly throws off my statistical system. As a reminder, I create a chart for each drag race season with the following point system:
- If a queen wins the main challenge of the week, they get +2
- If a queen is rated high by the judges, they get +1
- If a queen is rated low by the judges, they get -1
- If a queen is in the lip-sync for your life but wins, they get -2
- Queens stop accumulating points when they sashay away, but should they return to the competition later (Hey Carmen Carrera!) there first elimination from the show will be coded as -3
So, wtf to do this with these 7 losers and 6 winners? It didn’t seem fair to give everyone who lost a lip-sync -3, and also didn’t feel fair to give everyone who won a lip-sync +2. To avoid large point stratifications but still incorporate the episodes’ results, I decided to give everyone who won their lip-sync +1, and everyone who lost -1. We will see what statistical chaos this causes later on, but I regret nothing.
PREDICTIONS:
There wasn’t much to go on prediction wise this episode, but I did see some things that changed my mind a bit.
13. Elliott with 2 Ts (preseason: 13)
I did enjoy her comments about Botox and liked watching her try to move her forehead. Nothing about her really stood out, and I think it’s definitely her or Joey going tonight. The cruelty of the twist could be a long-term blessing for her: many fans will likely advocate for her to come back next season when otherwise…. I’m not so sure they would. I wish her well.
12. Tamisha Hall (preseason: 12)
Tamisha was a fun presence on the show (and has the merch to prove it), but here’s the thing: it’s never a good sign when they reveal your trauma storyline (which let me be clear, beating cancer is obviously beyond cool) early on, because it means the producers no longer have a reason to keep you. I don’t think Tamisha will be voted out (that would be ROUGH of the queens to vote out someone who told them she beat cancer to get on the show), but I also don’t think she’s long for this season.
11. Joey Jay (preseason: 11)
Joey really is the dumbest bitch we’ve ever met, and I love her. She calls herself a “filler queen” and I think that description a bit too apt for comfort: I’m not seeing anything that makes me think she is staying for the long haul. If Elliott doesn’t fall victim to the vote, I think that it will be Joey.
10. Kahmora Hall (preseason: 10)
The Mackie doll is finally out of the box. Thankfully, Kahmora didn’t disappoint on the bitchy front. I don’t think she is going home in the vote (she and Denali know another from Chicago and won’t vote for each other), but she’s also already negative enough that I don’t think she’s staying for long. I still think she’s our early season bitch, and god bless her for it.
9. Denali (preseason: 3)
Denali takes the biggest fall of anyone in my predictions. It’s not personal: it’s drag. I loved Denali’s entrance line (“let me break the ice”) and was incredibly impressed by her lip-syncing on ice skates. I do think, however, that most of the queens who lost their lip-sync won’t outlast the queens who won them. Denali said she’s a Tonya Harding, so hopefully I’m wrong and big hits are coming.
8. Utica (preseason: 7)
What a joy! On their amazing podcast, Bob the Drag Queen and Monet Exchange described Utica as “Thorny Thor if she was a skinny twink and not a jaded and negative New Yorker” which is a perfect description. I think she’ll stick around for a bit because of her personality and fashion but will fall around this point.
7. Lala Ri (p/reseason: 6)
My prediction that Lala would stay longer than expected seems to be on track to come true. She won the first lip-sync which puts her in a very comfortable position in the competition. I’m curious what we will see from her moving forward.
6. Tina Burner (preseason: 9)
Tina pleasantly surprised me this episode: I found myself giggling at her comments and liking her aggressive attitude. That said, I’m still very skeptical that my opinion on Tina will stay positive for much longer. The narrative this episode clearly forecast a future conflict between Tina and Rosé and seemed to cast Rosé as the antagonist in the schism. I have a wild theory that Rosé will be the early season villain in this feud but will ultimately fall back into the audience’s favor as they gradually turn against Tina. It’s unlikely, but I’m going for it because it would make for a fun season-long feud.
5. Symone (preseason: 8)
She’s gorgeous and has an engaging personality. She held her own in the lip-sync, though she didn’t pull out any insane tricks or acrobatics. I think I put her too low last week, so though I still think she could miss the final 4, I’m bumping her up a few spots.
4. Rosé (preseason: 4)
She definitely was put through it in this episode, and especially for someone as accomplished as she is, I thought she did a great job holding it together. It would have been a totally acceptable time for a bitch fit (though he would have thoroughly been vilified by the edit). I’m going with my theory that the Nina-Rosé feud is a season-long twisting arc, which is why I have her ending up here.
3. Olivia Lutz (preseason: 3)
It went about as good for Olivia as anyone could have hoped. She won the lip-sync against a queen far more experienced and advanced in the New York scene than her and got general raves from the judges. I definitely think she could go all the way to final 4.
2. Kandy Muse (preseason: 2)
She started us off with loud boisterous energy didn’t let up the whole episode. I think she’s definitely in it for the long haul, and I hope it’s as a hero and not a villain. She’s a joy and so talented.
1. Gottmik (preseason: 1)
Gottmik sits in a comfortable place, having won the lip-sync. I totally missed the genius of Gottmik’s entrance line the first time I heard it- “time to crash the cis-tem”, but now I love it. Gottmik definitely started with more of a whimper than a bang, but still seems a good bet to the take the crown.
LIST
Finally, for my list, I’m going to go the easy route and list the 6 lip-syncs of the episode. Many were marred by nerves and disagreeable entrance outfits, but it’s all we got so let’s get to it.
Ranking of Lip-syncs
- 1: Kandy Muse defeats Joey Jay
Kandy looked beautiful and killed it with the boombox stunts. Joey was fun but couldn’t match Kandy’s presence. It was good, though I’d have preferred they save this incredible song for a more high-quality lip-sync.
- 2: Tina Burner defeats Kahmora Hall and Elliott with 2 Ts
I thought all 3 of these queens did well. Tina definitely brought it home with her funny (if predictable) filthy gesticulating. Kahmora surprised me with some well-timed motions, and I loved the ending where she leaned back over and over, eventually collapsing into a split. All the while, Elliott was splitting and twisting about, showing off great flexibility but not connecting to the music the music in any way. Tina definitely won, and the right queen winning was rare in the episode so that sets it apart.
- 3: Olivia Lutz defeats Rose
My opinion on this one really changed the more times I watched it. Olivia is gorgeous and mirrors the song well with her movements and expressions. However, I didn’t notice the first time how repetitive Olivia’s shtick was- she legit did the same motions each time for the chorus. Now, I’d actually give it to Rosé, who captures the tone of the song with her intense facial expression and hair flipping. I definitely understand why the producers picked Olivia, because it made for a great “All About Eve” style narrative.
- 4: Symone defeats Tamisha Iman
Both Symone and Tamisha did well in this lip-sync, but I wanted both of them to add another level to their performances. Tamisha’s 80s dancing was great, but her performance didn’t build in any way. Same for Symone, who sauntered around the stage on her gorgeous legs making funny and well-timed facial expressions throughout the whole song without any real momentum. The result was enjoyable, but hardly illustrative of the pleasure principle.
- 5: Gottmik defeats Utica
Both of these queens did well, but I thought that Utica was the winner of this one. Of course, I DIED from joy when the song came on. Gottmik did fine, but Utica’s weird head movements, that were perfectly in time to the music, and her bizarre wheelbarrow jig made me smile. They’re gonna do it their way and I should take it for just what it is, but I wanted a Utica win.
- 6: Lala Ri defeats Denali
Bizarre that they reused a song that Coco Montrese so thoroughly demolished back in season 5 (see below). Both Denali and Lala did fine in this lip-sync, and once Denali started struggle to keep her outfit up, I knew Lala was the winner. That said, Denali was on full ice skates, which I genuinely didn’t know you could do splits in on a sound stage. I feel like that should’ve carried more weight, but I suppose I should be careful what I wish for. I just might get it.
Alright my dears, please find below the Pitt Stop and Fashion Photo Ruview. Pandemic remote teaching is insane, but I will try to get next week’s blog to you several hours, and not just 2, before the show airs.
And with that- LET THE MUSIC PLAY!
Dumb Pop Culture Lists 