RuPauls Drag Race
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Because, lets be honest here, this marks the true end of the season.
And its fine thats whatDrag Raceis.
Part of that is the challenge.
The makeover challenge is unique in theDrag Racecontinuum.
For one, its a challenge with two primary goals, one of which is never really stated outright.
When queens get critiqued on this aspect of their makeover, the judging mostly sounds like gobbledygook.
Still, its a worthwhile ask.
But the other aspect of this challenge, which doesnt get discussed so much, is about visual branding.
Is your makeup unique enough to be recognizable when put on someone elses face?
This is not a particularly interesting challenge with this group of queens.
Typically, that goes over well in this challenge.
If AI produced five drag queens, it would look something like this.
Looking at the season more broadly, that makes sense.
As I said a few weeks back, this is a season about the idea of the drag queen.
This far into a successful series, it makes sense that the show needed a season to reset.
One way its done that by eliminating someone every week.
But its also reset in terms of expectations for the queens themselves.
The weirdo was becoming the norm.
Thats back to being the winning formula.
I would not have!
I would have liked to know what these queens would do in a challenge like that.
From the moment the episode begins, were off to an inauspicious start.
Its fine theres not too much drama.
I was hoping for Everybody Loves Puppets.
Loosey wins, and good for her.
(Her favorite queen is Raja.)
So, yes, some of the conversations got to me.
Specifically, Mistresss conversation with her teacher got to me.
This is the second politically prescient week in a row, following a Rusical that discussed drag bans.
This week does that.
Nice work, show.
Luxx doesnt really get this.
Looking back, we probably should have known Luxx would flop at the emotional component of this challenge.
Shes an extremely competitive queen but also an extremely young one.
Sasha, the motheriest queen of all, gets the easiest partner.
(Seriously, though,check outsomeLeiomy.)
Does/should this exempt Sasha from winning this week?
Anyone could have done well paired with this girl.
On the runway, Sasha goes first, and I think she did a bang-up job on her girl.
Its interesting to see Sasha in extreme padding this week as a way of adding a family resemblance.
I dont love it!
She was probably going home this episode no matter what.
When was the last time they gushed over a Loosey look?
It might have just been episode one, when they were obsessed with her shaping.
In terms of runway walk, Michelle critiques their connection onstage.
Whatistrue is that Loosey does a pretty piss-poor job of showing off that connection.
They dont have any bits planned.
Loosey takes her jacket off, while her daughter keeps her jacket on.
Theres a lack of fabulousness in Looseys drag this week, and its not the first time.
The looks arefine, the makeup isfine.
Everything is competent, nothing is exciting.
Mistress goes for the exact same look in different colors, which isnt a bad route.
Her drag daughter looks great with a signature Mistress mug.
On a polish level, though, its worth noting the things that dont quite work.
When the Brookses drag their feather boas while walking back, they arent doing it in the same way.
check that you’ve got the option to get it exactly right or simplify.
It is unequivocally true.
The look she creates for her teacher has nothing to do with the Luxx persona.
They dont even look like queens who would perform at the same bars.
Luxx had the biggest challenge this week, and she whiffed it.
She looks great, and her daughter looks a damn sight like Jennifer Coolidge, which is hilarious.
I would go to her teachers show first, for what its worth.
But on the rubric set out, Luxx could not complete the challenge.
Anetra wins, and her looks are fine.
Shes clearly a skilled seamstress, but am I wrong to be underwhelmed?
I like my Anetra a little fiercer than this with just a little more edge.
She gets raves for an arm foreskin, which, okay.
Is it a winning arm foreskin?
This week, yes.
Loosey either cant lip-sync to this song or just gives up.
Its a poor effort.
Luxx, meanwhile, gives all the effort left in her tiny little body.
She dances like a wild woman but without much sense of the song.
She never seems to be interpreting and instead just flings her body around the stage.
Loosey goes home, leaving us with a top four that is both talented and perhaps too similar.
Next season, I hope we get a Utica.
Also onUntucked…
Loosey makes it clear why she gave Luxx a tough partner.
The girls quietly seethe but dont end up screaming.
The teachers come back and are pleasant to be around.
Best runway comment in a while goes to Ru calling Loosey and her daughter Barb and Star.
Of course Ru would love that movie.
Mistress and her daughter challenging Loosey and her daughter to a walk-off is good TV.
Looseys daughter winning the walk off is also good TV.
That kind of good-natured ribbing is one of the best things about these challenges.
This is the first full-blown makeover challenge weve gotten since the seasons started filming during COVID.
Welcome back, old friend!
They looked great, and he was a hoot.
Ending the season with only one Mistress win is baffling.
