Ahem: HAHAHAHAHAHA. We’ve arrived.
Often on Drag Race, there’s a point at which the show begins frustrating some viewers (and some queens) because Ru stops rewarding talent and starts rewarding star power. It’s when we start to see queens who do well in the challenge end up not winning, or even in the bottom. It’s not fair, but it’s necessary. It’s how you get Shuga Cain going home on season 11 despite doing objectively fine, it’s how you end up with Jan not winning the Rusical, or Loosey landing in the bottom for it last season. I am, personally, all for it. I believe in the value of star power.
I’ve been worrying this season that once we got down to this point, Q would just keep on keeping on. The judges have never seemed particularly sour on her — in fact, they’ve supported her at every turn (unless she’s dancing). Michelle approvingly calls her a theater kid, she won two look challenges, etc. My theory was that something comes across with her work live that just wasn’t translating to TV, because the truth is that I wasn’t buying it: She doesn’t have a drag persona so much as a skills, she is confident in performing challenges but not actually funny, her fashion reads like the coolest thing you’ve ever seen in 2016, etc. This week, I learned that this was not the case. Q did everything right — gave a polished challenge performance, wrote one good joke, wore an outfit they liked — but she still lost to the superstar over there who, objectively, did worse. But subjectively? She ate her alive.
I imagine that after this episode some people will be crying “producer manipulation.†Sure! They’re right! Here’s my retort: Doesn’t matter! The challenge isn’t about who can actually give the best Power Point presentation, it’s about who can hold a room in the palm of their hand, who has innate presence, and who can make an audience trust them. Sapphira stumbling through some of her words is overcome by her ability to get all eyes on her. The issue isn’t that she stumbled, it’s that she could have lost the audience, but then she got them back, so it didn’t matter. Sapphira is the best public speaker because she feels natural and inviting. Q — and Plane, for that matter — make fewer mistakes, but everything is so labored. Their team is on edge the entire time, forcing the audience to imagine them spending time memorizing their scripts. You can feel the work.
Someone being a “tryhard†is kind of an icky criticism, the kind that got lobbed at Anne Hathaway when she was doing her Oscar campaign or that the Rachel Berrys of the world have to contend with constantly. But one of the tricks of entertainment, particularly live entertainment, is to not take your audiences out of the moment. Nobody fully accomplished that this week, but Sapphira got the closest. Her toast at the beginning was effortless, for example, and that is what should be rewarded. Jokes are good, memorization is good, but star quality? That’s priceless.
In a lot of ways, this is the episode I’ve been waiting for this season. We’re finally in the most intense portion of the competition, and after punting last week, Drag Race provides a tough comedy challenge that starkly lays out who isn’t ready to be there. Later, in Untucked, the girls call this the hardest challenge of the season so far. Good! It should be! Turn up the pressure and see who comes out a diamond.
The episode even begins with a bit of psychological warfare, which is always welcome on this show. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work because the person who should be accruing psychological damage, Plane Jane, is incapable of comprehending criticism (good for her!), so she’s not particularly affected. Sapphira wins, good for her!
The challenge this week is to give a PowerPoint presentation in groups about a topic that doesn’t especially matter. I would have been interested to see how the groups shook out if the queens had chosen them, but instead they’re assigned. The challenge is fine, though I was hoping for a solo performance challenge this season — a roast, a one-woman show, etc. We could still get it, but that would mean we don’t have either a makeover or a classical acting challenge all season. (This would not be a bad thing.)
The teams are:
Plane and Q (immediately confident)
Dawn and Mhi’ya (immediately destined for failure)
Sapphira, Nymphia, and Morphine (immediately the most interesting)
Joel Kim Booster and Michelle do the Werk Room chats, and, I think, give some really solid advice, particularly Joel. His note about the PowerPoint not being a hindrance but an asset was well taken.
Nymphia is terrified of the challenge, which I think is honest. If “Aspire! To! Community!†showed us anything, it’s that she’s being truthful when she says that she’s not great at writing. While I understand how it would be annoying to the other queens, especially since she puts on the same routine when it’s a sewing challenge, this plays as the real Nymphia.
Mhi’ya also seems to approach this challenge as a guaranteed loss. As a viewer, I did much the same, but that defeatist attitude isn’t going to help her. It’s interesting that she didn’t or couldn’t apply her Snatch Game success to this challenge. That was a character, yes, but it was one entirely of her own creation that could easily work in other contexts and would have given her a little leeway here.
When we arrive at the challenge, the first group is Plane and Q. I already talked about this and I won’t belabor the point, but: They have the best written material and the most jokes. At the same time, they’re robotic and off-putting. It’s very impressive that they performed without cards, but I’d prefer they had cards if it meant that they would relax. Q, in particular, is always shouting and wraps her mouth around the words in a way that sounds ridiculous. Also, neither one of them nailed “corporate drag.â€
Mhi’ya and Dawn are, as expected, a mess. Dawn earns points for keeping it from completely spiraling, but I wouldn’t say she does “well.†Her look is ridiculous for the challenge (why go for a sculpted wig like that when you’re supposed to be the normal one?), and the writing doesn’t make sense. Could she have done better with a different partner? Yes. Is her work this week all that impressive, even taking her limitations into account? No. But also, Mhi’ya is a nervous wreck who was clearly not helping with the writing or the performance, so any chance Dawn did have was torpedoed. It’s another unlucky break for Dawn, but after a certain point you have to wonder if she’s unlucky or just unable to break out.
Sapphira, Morphine, and Nymphia do well enough as a crew. It’s worth stating outright that, despite Nymphia and Sapphira being called as the top two, nobody actually smashes this challenge. Sapphira is clearly a great speaker, even if she has a few hiccups. Nymphia does some accent work that the judges dance around calling offensive without actually committing to it. Here’s the thing: Without the accent, her performance would still be safe. She gets through the jokes, she has a character, she’s loud, she’s fast, but I think the only way she got to that point was by putting on the voice. Morphine is a shrinking violet. This is not a challenge she’s comfortable with (she notes that she graduated high school with a 2.3 GPA), and you can tell. When she calls out that she’s bombing, it plays like a defense mechanism. Compare that to Jaida, the queen of bombing, calling out her own deficiencies. When Jaida does it, it’s a wink to the audience. When Morphine does it, it’s sad.
So here’s my question: Does it matter if the challenge performances are good? Because these are mostly stinkers. Your mileage may vary on this, but, of the different types of challenges that can go poorly, bad improv and poorly written acting challenges are episode-killers for me, while I’m fine watching stand-up get flubbed. I found it entertaining, and I think this challenge laid bare the strengths and weaknesses of all the queens in a worthwhile way.
The runway category is ’80s. I do not respond to the hips on Plane’s blazer or the length of her pants. Otherwise, it’s a serviceable if not particularly exciting look. Q looks great. Going down an AIDS-awareness route for an ’80s challenge makes perfect sense. Dawn’s punk look is another smart interpretation, though I kinda wish she’d just committed to punk and eschewed the neon. Mhi’ya’s Patti LaBelle drag is nice, but Michelle is right about her shape. Sapphira looks great. I don’t think her face has ever been more beautiful? At this point, I think I’ve fully switched over from Nymphia. Sapphira, to me, is the winner. Nymphia does, however, turn out the best look of the week. Grace Jones’ Vamp is a perfect reference, and I like that it’s not an exact replica. Morphine looks… awful? What happened here? And why does every outfit need an ass cutout?
Ultimately, Sapphira wins, Q is gagged, and I’m having fun. Look, I am as God made me, and God made me someone who loves it when queens crack on the runway. If she blows up next week? All the better, honestly. That’s television.
The lip sync earns this week’s episode a full extra star. It’s our first iconic one of the season. Lots of stuff here is great, from Morphine’s extended split to the clear animosity between the girls to the utter lack of care the show displays toward Mhi’ya flipping again. But the best part, of course, is Mhi’ya throwing her skirt on top of Morphine as she’s doing a fierce limbo. I watched the rest of the lip-sync mouth agape. Mhi’ya’s sent home, which needed to happen sooner or later, but I’ve gotta say, it was fun having her. Great character.
Also on Untucked…
• An impressively un-exciting Untucked. Q’s husband’s message is nice, Joel’s segment is short but nice, the girls chatting is nice, but I’m really missing the drama. Somebody please go off.
• The slides and clips joke was, in fact, the best joke of the night. Credit to Q where it’s due.
• Ru introduces this challenge by saying, “This week, it’s Drag Awareness Month.†No comment.
• Gay Thoughts from Gay People: The talented and kind Joel Kim Booster, who used to have this very job, agreed to share some thoughts this week. “It’s so disorienting as a fan of the show to be dropped into the middle of the season without any context around who is doing well and who is a front runner or who the villain is,†he says. “And while I was impressed by each girl individually once I saw them perform, Sapphira was the only queen who immediately upon meeting you’re sort of like, whoa this is charisma, this is gravitas. Her presence really fills a room, and it was immediately apparent I was dealing with a pro.†Thank you, Joel!
• Predicted Top Four: I hold strong! Sapphira, Nymphia, Q, Plane. Now, with Sapphira winning.
• UK vs. The World Report: Marina is just going to win every challenge that isn’t a comedy challenge, it appears. This is fine by me. I would love for her to win the season. I’d also love to see LGD win another challenge. Next week is going to be a bloodbath given the queens who are left. I haven’t exactly soured on Tia, but I do think she’s been a bit overpraised. Hannah is doing well enough, but she’s less exciting on a season full of polished queens than she was on a Down Under season, where her level of professionalism was a novelty.