The premiere lip sync winners have come and gone, with Olivia Lux and Symone impressing—the latter scoring $5,000 for her efforts. They relax at the start of this episode, content in how they’ve set the bar for this new Drag Race season. But whither the Porkchop queens? Where are the dolls the winners vanquished in their premiere—save Elliott With Two Ts, now a full-fledged member of the Winners’ Circle? Will they get their own chance to prove their mettle, even after stumbling over the first hurdle?
Of course they will, silly goose, did you not see last season? This is a split premiere—or, rather, a split second episode—and the other group will now get to try their hand at the same challenges. First comes a Lady and the Vamp double runway mini-challenge, then comes writing, recording and performing their own verses to the RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! song “Phenomenon.” No one will go home, but two will be named the best of the lot, and one will lip-sync her way to a hefty cash tip.
I have a lot of positive things to say about this episode, but if I can start on a slightly down note: This is quite a while to wait for an elimination. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK aired its second season yesterday (in a very good premiere!) and has already eliminated a queen. They’ll eliminate another one next week, too! A show that premiered two weeks after RuPaul’s Drag Race in the U.S. will have eliminated two queens before we even get to the first chop. The positive spin on this is that it gives us plenty of time to get to know these girls, and I do appreciate that. The negative spin is, well, a couple are becoming pretty obvious early boots at this point.
Still, while I can quibble with the format, I have fewer qualms about the actual episode. This is a stronger installment than the winners’ “premiere” because there’s more narrative heat: These queens need to prove themselves. They work extra hard to stand out, and for most of them, their hard work pays off. As Ru tells them at the top of the episode, the immediate Lip Sync for Your Life twist in the premiere may have given them a scare, but to triumph in this competition, they’ll have to break through tougher stuff than that.
The mini-challenge gives us some great looks: Rosé impressed in an artsy Lady look, while Tamisha Iman pulls out some fire harem pants. Kahmora Hall wears a Kate Middleton-inspired number, which distracts from how late she is to the challenge. (She has time management issues, apparently.) On the Vamp side, Rosé once again shines in an Alexander McQueen-inspired cage look, while Denali wears a Moschino “burnt ballroom” gown that stuns. My favourite fashion moment of the challenge belongs to one Utica Queen, someone I admittedly wasn’t that impressed with in her premiere. She tones down her persona in this episode, and delivers really strong looks. Her Edwardian fantasy in the Vamp runway is a true knockout.
But of course, that’s just the warm-up. The “Phenomenon” performance provides the meat of the episode, as these queens jump all over each other to be involved in the choreography. Denali, Joey Jay and Rosé all consider themselves dancers, and repeatedly talk over each other. This stresses out non-dancer Kahmora, while Tamisha seemingly regrets her choice not to take the reins as a choreographer.
“Oh bitch, this is Cirque du Soleil! We’re all over the place!” she exclaims in a confessional. “I’m at the daycare and the children are excited. I don’t know who gave them this candy!” She finally jumps in to quell the chaos, embracing her role as the “motherly figure,” as Symone called her in the premiere. Once she does get involved, they immediately right the ship; it speaks to Tamisha’s capabilities as a leader.
More than anyone, this is Tamisha’s episode. She opens up about being a drag mother, as well as an actual father to three kids—even noting with a laugh that her children are all older than her competitors. She’s the mother of legendary queen Tandi Iman Dupree, who gave us perhaps the most famous drag performance entrance ever, and delights in sharing her experiences with the late Tandi with the other girls. Tamisha brings a real maturity to Drag Race: she’s been through it, has built a career for herself (over 200 pageants! nearly a hundred wins!) and commands respect and attention. We have a true legend of drag competing this season, and to the other queens’ credit, they seemingly know to show her great deference.
The performance of “Phenomenon” is solid—the song is worse than “Condragulations,” but I generally prefer this group’s choreography, especially as a unit. Denali is up first as a soloist, and absolutely smashes her verse. She explains earlier in the episode that as an athlete, losing does nothing but fuel her fire to win. That comes through in her verse, a rapid-fire introduction to Denali with just the right amount of confidence. She dances the hell out of it, too, making her an easy pick for one of the top two. I’d actually slot Tamisha in for the other spot. Sure, she’s a bit hesitant as a dancer, but her verse is great, and all of her runway looks (particularly her final sheer number) are stunning. The judges are practically breathless in their praise, but can’t get over the feeling that she’s “low energy” in the performance. (I disagree!)
Instead, Ru gives it to Rosé, who does a nice job in the performance and turns out some great looks in the mini-challenge. Full disclosure: I’m not totally vibing with Rosé yet. She’s very confident, but it borders on a misunderstanding of her own abilities. (A lot of her suggestions for the choreography, for instance, are unhelpful.) As a fashion queen, she’s pretty remarkable; as a performer, I’m still waiting to see her really let loose and have fun on stage. That goes for her lip sync this week, too—more on that in a second.
Elsewhere, Utica surprises both on the runway and in her verse, causing the judges to sit up and give her another look. Joey’s reliance on her boy hair doesn’t draw as much ire as you’d expect, but the judges do knock her for being repetitive. And Kahmora gets the worst critiques of all, as she’s pinned for being a pretty model for her fashions, but not showing off any of her personality. Luckily for Joey and Kahmora, they don’t have to lip sync, but I do think they’re the most likely to be in Ru’s crosshairs starting next week.
The lip sync is to “If U Seek Amy,” the latest in a long line of Britney Spears songs on the show. Rosé goes comedic, but like with her “Ex’s and Oh’s” lip sync, there’s something just not connecting there. You can really see Rosé perform—she never really gets into the groove or makes it look easy. I do hate to compare her to Jan, just because I know they’ll be compared to death all season long as sisters, but they share a hyper-aware style of performing. Alexis Michelle, Jan’s drag mother, had a similar vibe in Season 9. Maybe it’s just a theatrical thing?
Regardless, Denali makes pretty quick work of Rosé in the lip sync. Her dancing style is well-suited to a pop song, and her sharp, precise movements make her an easy winner. She is rewarded with $5,000, and emerges from the split of the two groups in the best shape of her crowd. How will she do against the winning queens, though? We’ll finally find out next week.
This has been a nice three-week introduction to these queens, but I am very much excited about getting to the heat of the competition next week. How crazy is it that we still haven’t seen the whole cast interact, and next week is episode four! I feel properly introduced, and now I’m ready, at long last, to start to say goodbye.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨Nicole Byer is our second of the many recurring judges who will appear this season, after Jamal Sims last week. This is her third time on the show, and you can tell she’s a pro. Not only does she arrive dressed in a garment seemingly inspired by Crystal Methyd’s “Night of 1000 Michelle Visages” runway last season, she also offers smart, funny critiques. Telling Kahmora she wants to rob her is delightfully quotable, but my favourite bit is this description of the queen: “Her performance reminded me of when I go to the grocery store without a list. You’re just like looking around, kind of lost. ‘Spaghetti-Os? I would never!’ And then you have Spaghetti-Os in your basket.”
✨It’s sad to hear that Kahmora feels like she has to keep her drag life away from her boyfriend. Hopefully, through her being on the show, they can find some kind of compromise; she shouldn’t have to hide her passion from him like that.
✨RUPAUL: “Rosé.”
ROSS MATHEWS: “Not right now, thanks, I’m working.”
✨Ross references getting dragged by the fandom for calling Shea Coulée’s 3-in-1 All Stars 5 runway “crafty.” He seems to struggle to find a better term, but Nicole helpfully corrects him that Rosé’s sheer runway look is also not crafty. Fun fact: Nicole was the guest judge on that episode, too!
✨“Syracuse. Schenectady. Utica.” A new yodel from Ru for Utica Queen!
✨Heidi N Closet gets a shout-out when the queens quote her Untucked rant from last season. I will now use this as an opportunity to remind you that I miss Heidi on Drag Race so, so much. Come back to my television screen, Heidi!
✨“Sis we’re on Drag Race, it’s not called Drag Walk.” Wise words from Joey: Time management matters!
✨I don’t know if “there’s always time for Rosé” is a Mrs. Kasha Davis reference, but I’m desperately hoping so.
The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race airs Friday, Jan. 22, at 8 p.m. EST on VH1 in the U.S. and on Crave and OUTtv in Canada.
Why you can trust Xtra
