RuPaul’s Drag Race has lost the plot on talent shows. The shows have become a never-ending stream of performances tend to blend together. Consider a salve: season-three contestant, wig professional, and Emmy winner Delta Work showing off major skills in the arena of “Diet Coke identification.†Very Delta, Work’s podcast and YouTube show, is a reliable treasure trove of meme-worthy moments, including but not limited to: Delta Work imitating a Subway worker squirting out mayo and Delta Work unearthing the nuances of iced tea. But this time she’s outdone herself. She begins episode 104 of the show with a Diet Coke taste test, attempting to guess, based solely on taste, which Diet Coke is which.
The segment lasts about eight minutes (here’s a shortened version, but you should watch the long one), and never once does she falter. It is a remarkable showing and a true talent that has clearly been cultivated after years of Diet Coke consumption. The sheer competency displayed in these eight minutes is boggling to the mind.
There is high-level analysis. “Burger King and Del Taco, they have no pride in themselves,†she declares. “They have no shame.†We have no choice but to trust her. Her ability to simultaneously analyze Diet Coke and keep the audience in suspense is utterly individual to her. Now that’s a talent show.