It’s ironic that RuPaul’s Drag Race would include Alyssa Edwards’ famous “rigga morris” line in the script for this week’s maxi challenge, because that pretty much describes the episode itself.
The Logo-turned-VH1-turned-MTV reality competition is regularly accused of over-producing for the sake of building a narrative, but the string-pulling felt especially egregious in Friday’s episode, which short-changed a truly deserving queen in favor of forcing a story.
Within the first few minutes of the hour, it was clear that this episode belonged to Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Malaysia Babydoll Fox, whose leftover beef from last week’s Untucked solidified the kind of feud producers dream about.
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Some critical (but not subtle) maneuvering resulted in the rival queens having to work together as scene partners in a Daytona Wind reboot, leading to their joint realization that — wait for it — they actually make each other better. Mistress even won the challenge for her hilarious performance. (Edit: A previous version of this rant typo‘d the wrong winner. That has been fixed.)
Here’s the thing, though — was it hilarious? RuPaul certainly thought so, as he spent much of rehearsal laughing like a baby enthralled by a set of dangling keys, but I wasn’t impressed. They read their lines correctly, which is more than can be said about a few other queens, but should that be enough to win? Has the bar dropped that low?
So, which queen would I have condragulated as this week’s winner? Why, none other than Sasha Colby, who did a bit scene-stealing with a relatively minor role and was one of the few who fully embodied the classic sitcom vibe that Ru was looking going for. She also devoured this week’s puffer-themed runway, giving TLC in her entrance before transforming into a literal queen bee for her exit. One great look delivered two ways? Sending Colby to safety was a crime.
I can’t, however, disagree with Aura Mayari and Jax being chosen to lip sync for their lives to Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Sweetest Pie.” Their performances in the challenge spoke for themselves, and their runway looks weren’t enough to make up for it — even though I did really appreciate Aura’s 50-pound kimono silhouette.
Unfortunately for Aura, all the heart-shaped nipple pasties in the world weren’t enough to distract from the gymnastics show Jax was bringing to that main stage. After seven episodes in the competition, the self-proclaimed trade of Season 15 was sent sashaying away.
Did you also see the events of this week’s episode unfolding from a mile away? Vote in the poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.
