‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 18, Episode 4 recap: Who wore it besties?

RuPaul’s Drag Race is, theoretically, a comedy program. I do tend to forget this when watching the flagship series’ later years, with the focus on the competition and interpersonal drama. But when the show first launched, it was as a parody, specifically of America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway. Its goal was nominally to find America’s Next Drag Superstar, and maximally to provide as much entertainment as possible. Some casts still do really bring the funny—I smile every time I remember how funny Monét X Change, Asia O’Hara and Mo Heart were together in Season 10—but I rarely find myself laughing out loud at episodes that don’t feature comedy challenges. (Hell, I don’t laugh even during some of those!)

But it is with great joy that I report that I cracked up many times watching this week’s episode. Between returning judge Law Roach’s remarkably frank critiques and Kenya Pleaser simply being Kenya Pleaser, there are a lot of laughs to go around. If that were all the episode had to offer, that would be enough—but this installment also features compelling drama, genuine mirror moments and a new design challenge type that puts the queens through their paces. The result is what I’d call the best episode of the season so far, one that really uses the stellar cast of Season 18 to full effect.

We start with the drama in the cold open, in the first installment of a recurring segment this week: “Briar Brush Is Going Through It.” Mia Starr says in confessional—at least, at first—that Mandy Mango should’ve stayed over Briar. She speaks for the fandom, which spent the better part of the week after Mandy’s elimination bemoaning it. (FWIW, I can’t say I disagree that Mandy won the lip sync against Briar, but Ru clearly wasn’t vibing with her, and this is still a show where Ru makes the decisions. Plus, we can’t fall to pieces over the second queen eliminated—we’ve got a season left!) Mia’s opinion is mostly influenced by her belief that Mandy is the better performer, but her mind is at least partially also made up by a negative interaction the two had last week.

In unseen footage, we see Mia ask Briar about her relationship status, with Briar revealing she had a bad breakup not long before. Mia, jokingly, asked if the breakup was Briar’s fault. Briar didn’t answer the question, and now explains that she wasn’t willing to have that conversation in that moment. However, Mia calls out her hypocrisy regarding an off-camera interaction between Briar and Athena Dion, when Briar did not respect Athena’s boundaries. (Once again, we’re dealing with something that happened off-camera with Athena and Briar, but I appreciate them for hashing it out on camera.) This leads to further drama between the fraught frenemies, as Briar apparently tried to drive a wedge between Athena and her drag (grand)daughter, Juicy Love Dion, by telling Athena, “The funniest part of all of this is that Juicy doesn’t even stick up for you when I take you down.”

It’s all a bit “she said, she said,” but what makes for good drama is that the Florida girls are not just letting it slide. When Briar finally accepts Mia’s apology for the mirror talk faux pas, Mia notes that she’s only doing it now because the cameras are on. When Briar tries to interrupt Athena and Juicy talking to “defend” the younger Dion, Athena makes clear this is a family affair, and Briar’s interjections are not welcome. It’s quite feisty! And it indicates that the issues between Athena and Briar during filming were not just friendly banter, but something deeper.

While I enjoy the drama, I’m happy that we move onto the maxi-challenge quickly enough. The queens are asked to pair up with their “bestie,” with no further explanation as to why. Once they’re all in pairs—including Briar claiming Juicy before Athena can, relegating the elder Dion to be paired with Darlene Mitchell—Ru drops the bombshell: The queens will be designing mashup garments, incorporating elements of two different iconic red carpet looks. While queens like Mia (paired with Vita VonTesse Starr) and Kenya (paired with Ciara Myst) are initially grateful to have designer partners, they are decidedly disappointed when Ru reveals that they will each be making a mashup look, and they will be judged against each other.

“Bitch, that’s when the diarrhea started!” So well put, Kenya. The queens’ panic, and perhaps bowel dysfunction, only gets worse when they see what looks they have to mash together. Discord Addams and Jane Don’t get lucky with looks that pair well: Cher’s famous Bob Mackie Oscars dress and Sarah Paulson’s Ocean’s 8 premiere gown. Others, like Myki Meeks and Nini Coco, are not so fortunate. Jennifer Lopez’s Versace dress is iconic, yes, but will the patterns pair well with Nicki Minaj’s leopard print from her Grammys look? And how on earth will Ciara and Kenya make a combination of Lady Gaga’s meat dress and Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s Canadian tuxedoes make sense?

Someone who has little to worry about is Vita, who nearly won the design challenge in the premiere and actually does celebrity look recreations all the time. Mia is well-aware of how much the deck is stacked against her here, telling Kenya she knows Vita is going to “dogwalk” her. Elsewhere in the werk room, Discord is determined to land in the top after she was just called safe in the premiere, while Jane agrees to help Juicy with her construction—while acknowledging in confessional that others’ willingness to help Juicy has an end date. And of course, queen of challenge misfortune Athena somehow sews her dress on the wrong seam and has to start all over again. “Why do I do this to myself?” she says in confessional. “I love to be a woman in crisis.”

Now it’s time for our second installment of “Briar Blush Is Going Through It”! Briar is having a rough time in the wake of being in the bottom two and fighting with Mia and Athena. Juicy thinks the competition is getting to Briar, and that she’s not as tough as she puts on. This leads to a nice moment of reconciliation between Briar and Mia, as the Boston queen opens up about leaving home at 16 after being othered by her family. She says that, as Juicy observed, she projects confidence on her exterior so people don’t see the hurt she carries around with her. Mia apologizes again, asserting that Briar does deserve to be there, and opens up about losing her brother to drug addiction. This is a heartbreaking story to hear, as Mia laments pulling away from her brother, even if it was the right decision at the time. She has already given us a gorgeous tribute to him this season, though: Her all-denim entrance look was made from her brother’s pairs of jeans.

I can’t wrap up the talk of the mirror moments without talking about Kenya’s. She talks about her mom not knowing she was pregnant, and having Kenya on the bathroom floor at her college. They had a strained relationship as Kenya grew up, but they got closer once Kenya came out in the middle of a gospel choir rehearsal. I admit, I teared up hearing Kenya talk about the choir embracing her post-coming out as they sang “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” Kenya deserves the world! What a loving, wonderful queen.

Law Roach is back on the panel tonight—Law before Ross Mathews this season, wild—which means real critiques are on the menu! Thanks to the structure of the episode, we get critiques of the whole cast, as Ru declares “who wore it best” between each pair. Juicy and Briar are up first, and there’s no real debate here. Juicy’s hooded dress perfectly mashes up Rihanna’s iconic yellow Met Gala gown and Lil Nas X’s pink cowboy look, and while the fur lining leaves a bit to be desired, it’s still a much better garment than Briar’s Mayan warrior look. 

That’s right, folks, it’s time for Round 3 of “Briar Blush Is Going Through It,” and it’s a doozy! Michelle Visage knocks the choice of shoe, but Law actually defends it as true to Rihanna’s look. However, immediately after sticking up for Briar, Law turns and says, “Everything else I hate. You look like a WWE wrestler.” It is brutal. I actually cackled at the tonal shift. Law is many things, but you can’t call him a liar! Briar actually faints shortly after the critiques, leading Law to ask, “Was I too harsh?” (Never, Law.) 

Mia and Vita are skeptical of Briar’s faint, saying to each other—on the runway! while Briar is getting medical attention!—that it’s not real. Athena is also not ready to call it real in a confessional, while Myki sticks up for Briar, saying she would not fake a faint. She is the only one not participating in “Briar Blush Is Going Through It” in this episode. And Myki is proven correct, as Briar revealed in this episode’s installment of “Whatcha Packin’?” that she actually contracted sepsis. Sepsis! I’m thrilled she’s okay, because that’s scary. But I don’t blame Vita and Mia: They didn’t see the faint or her facial expression, which are what make it the most clear in the moment that it’s real.

Briar is shuffled off to the medical tent, while Ru declares Juicy as having worn it best. Up next are Discord and Jane, and the chickens finally come home to roost on Discord’s runway walk. While Ru still loves it—and even does it himself earlier in the episode—it drags down the presentation of her Bob Mackie tribute look. When Michelle says she has a note on Discord’s walk, Law looks at Michelle and just says, “Oh, God …” Again, RuPaul’s Drag Race is a comedy, and I’m laughing when Law tells Discord, “You came out looking like Cher but walking like Sonny.” Jane’s “Erté creation, but on LSD” that doubles as a Mame tribute look, on the other hand, gets roundly praised, and lands in the top three of the week.

Myki and Nini virtually tie on their mashup, and neither lands in the top or bottom three, but Nini wins out thanks to Myki’s unwise accessory choices. Ciara’s denim-wrapped meat dress, which she calls “a mixture of horror and couture,” is pretty spectacular, while Kenya’s pleather gown unfortunately does not read as either of her inspirations. Mia actually pulls out a stunner of a look with a Lil’ Kim reference, and in many other pairings would’ve won her battle. Unfortunately for her, she goes up against Vita in what might be one of the greatest design challenge looks we’ve ever seen. The judges are breathless in their praise, and rightfully so. It’s a perfect mashup, a great garment on its own merits, and as Michelle says, truly high drag. Vita ultimately wins the whole challenge, but Mia should be very proud of her efforts as well.

The last pairing is Athena and Darlene, and they’re both in distinctly safe territory with Ru saying he likes both. The judges do take a moment to drag Darlene for her clunky shoes, which gives Ru a great moment: “Darlene, I noticed those shoes in the werk room when we were in there yesterday. And I noticed that you had several pairs of them!” Again: a comedy. Ultimately, Ru calls Athena safe, which feels like an act of kindness considering all that Athena’s been through in this competition so far.

But you know who’s been through more? That’s right, folks, it’s the finale of “Briar Blush Is Going Through It”! Briar is given a clean bill of health by the medics—kind of a dubious distinction now that we know what was going on—and she says she’s ready to continue. Not only that, she says she can’t “squabble” this opportunity. Of course, as Myki notes in confessional, she meant “squander,” but Kenya makes a meal of this. She draws the comparison to Kendrick Lamar’s “squabble up,” then later, when she and Briar are set to face off in the lip sync, she gets serious. “The girl passed out earlier today. And I feel very bad,” Kenya says in her talking head. “But guess what? I cannot squabble this opportunity!” Comedy.

The queens lip sync to Kylie Minogue’s “Lights Camera Action” off her second Tension album, and reader, we’re at a bit of a critical mass of queens stripping off accessories and garments at the start of the lip sync. I wish the show would adopt the new Canada’s Drag Race rule of letting the queens change before the lip sync. I know that’s previously been for All Stars only, but if the queens are just gonna spend the first few seconds stripping anyway, we might as well get it over with before the performance starts.

Anyway, Kenya eats this up. She’s a very athletic lip syncer while not losing her sense of humour, which leads to a super entertaining performance. Briar, once again with seemingly only a cursory knowledge of the lyrics, can’t keep up. Kenya shantays to safety, and we get one more, final note of “Briar Blush Is Going Through It” as she sashays away.

What an episode, y’all. This is fun. This is reality television. This is what Drag Race is meant to be. If every episode were like this, they’d be kicking The Traitors’ ass at the Emmys. Sadly, I don’t know if modern Drag Race is capable of existing at that high a level, but every once in a while, we see a peek of the old, hilarious Drag Race shine through. This week, that peek shines particularly bright.

Untucking our final thoughts

✨ We don’t even see the girls read Mandy’s mirror message? Damn, this show really does not fuck with her.

✨ Kenya says she is ready to be in the top. Specifically she’s ready for a “good, nice, rough, nasty top.” Jane is playfully shocked: “Kenya, Jesus can hear you!”

✨ A round of applause for guest judge Annaleigh Ashford, who is terrific in this episode. While I’d always prefer specialist judges for challenges that fit their talent, like a Rusical would for Annaleigh, she is clearly so excited to be there. She shares that while breastfeeding her new child, she binged all of Drag Race. “Did you ever find out who the father is?” Ru asks. “Still working on it!” she replies. Love her.

✨ “Ru Rule #21: If you lend a friend your lacefront, you’ll lose both your friend and your lacefront.” I actually think this is pretty funny!

✨ Ru looks very good on the runway this week. Love the dress.

✨ I simply can’t accept two “Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking” references in the same episode. Both Athena and Law make one. Listen, I love The Devil Wears Prada too, but this reference alone is hitting sarcastic “groundbreaking” status all its own.

✨ Perhaps my favourite Annaleigh critique: “I think first of all, Mia, I wrote down TITTAY! Titty titty titty, titty titty titty, we all like titties, and you’re showing us yours!”

✨ Not them deputizing Kenya and Ciara to do the Scentbird fragrance promo!

✨ Annaleigh gives Briar props in deliberations on the construction of her bodysuit. Law is less generous: “I don’t really give a fuck how well she sewed it; it was ugly!” Law is truly incredible in this episode.

✨ This episode may have been brutal for Briar in so many ways, but her exit line about not caring what the other girls say—she thinks Ru’s cool—is an all-timer.

✨ #BringBackMiniChallenges

The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race will air Friday, January 30, at 8 p.m. EST on MTV in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada. Check back every Monday after new episodes for our recaps and power rankings, and subscribe to our drag newsletter Wig! for exclusive Drag Race content delivered straight to your inbox every month.