So remember when RuPaul said, in the wake of bringing back Orion Story and Daya Betty post-elimination for no clear reason, that he’d be leaving second chances up to the luck of the chocolate bar draw in Season 14? As it turns out, that wasn’t even the last instance of such non-elimination trickery: in addition to the all-tops episode a couple of weeks back, this week we get a double shantay after the Lip Sync for Your life. Methinks Ru promised more than he could deliver in terms of limiting second chances—and as a result, we’re stuck with the top eight for yet another week.
I kid because I love it. Mostly. There is part of me that wonders if Drag Race will one day move almost the entire cast into the finale (a thought that Season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen also jokingly tweeted about). But the effectiveness of this slow burn of a season has largely worked for me thanks to the strength of the cast. This group is one I would be willing to spend extra time with, unlike, say, having to make it through over two months before Ru finally eliminated Elliott With Two Ts last season.
Still, I remain an ardent opponent of a non-elimination model, at least when it comes to the regular seasons. I’ve seen it suggested for All Stars seasons, and I could see its potential depending on the size of cast and structure of season. But as lovable as the Season 14 queens are, I do want to see the competition progress because that’s what this is: a competition. This is supposed to be a race to become America’s Next Drag Superstar but these days, it’s felt more like a nice stroll.
That said, this week’s double shantay works for me thanks to the casual feel of the episode. I could’ve guessed it would end in a non-elimination early on, but my suspicions were confirmed when the epic Jasmine Kennedie versus Jorgeous lip sync was treated like a fun romp, not a cutthroat battle of showdowns past. (Remember Alyssa Edwards versus Coco Montrese?) True, as Trae DeLellis argued in his recap for The A.V. Club, you could just delete this episode from the season and it wouldn’t change a thing. But I like some fun filler once in a while—as long as there’s not too much of it.
Credit: Courtesy VH1
After winning the celebrity photobombing mini-challenge, Willow Pill is given the honour of splitting up the teams for this season’s panel maxi-challenge. Ostensibly, this is a return of the Drag Con panels challenge from Season 10, but it’s actually Pink Table Talk from All Stars 6 in disguise. In Season 10, the queens were tasked with doing talks and tutorials on a part of drag—body, hair or makeup. But this time around, the queens must do a The View or The Real-style chat on topics related to men, with criteria that’s much more akin to the Pink Table Talk challenge: be real, revealing and entertaining.
After two weeks of working with Bosco and Daya Betty, Willow goes fully left-field and chooses queens who she’s not had much of a chance to work with. That means her team is DeJa Skye, Angeria Paris VanMicheals and Lady Camden. This leaves Daya and Bosco with Jasmine and Jorgeous, and DeJa quickly clocks that Daya looks pressed. To quote what Trinity K. Bonet and Kylie Sonique Love once said about Jan: “She mad!” Daya can barely contain her annoyance with Jasmine both during team selection and when the question of who the moderator should be comes up. (Meanwhile, over in Jorgeous-land, she asks: “What’s a moderator?”)
Eventually, after some twisting from Daya, Bosco gets the role of moderator. On the other team, the queens volunteer DeJa for the gig, which shows they have a really good understanding of her talents. DeJa has been a background player for much of this season, but when she has stood out, she’s been smooth, personable and engaging. She’s an ideal fit for a moderator, particularly for a panel focused on a serious-but-entertaining discussion. Theoretically, this is shaping up to be a good week for frequent flyers of the DeJa Skyes.
And reader: it is! DeJa is terrific this week. She leads the “Men: A Work in Progress” panel with poise and professionalism, as comfortable cracking jokes as she is delving into something more serious, like how the panelists’ fathers affected them. The whole team is great: Angie and Camden are enjoyable, sporting some of their cutest drag yet in sensible looks. I especially love Camden’s—it’s both Heathers-inspired and something that makes sense in her greater Spice Girls tribute aesthetic. But it’s Willow who stands out the most: her drag is terrific, her jokes are great and her ability to open up without merely mining her trauma is remarkable. Both she and DeJa score high this week, but DeJa’s better understanding of the Shoulder Pads runway prompt puts the Fresno queen in the top.
Credit: Courtesy VH1
DeJa does not win the week, however, because Bosco absolutely dominates her panel, “Men: Electric Boogaloo, Part 2, Now With More Men,” nailing every joke she tells from the outset. She says the topic of men brings up questions for her, like, “Why? For what? And: Honestly?” It’s pretty impressive watching her knock punchline after punchline out of the park while still effectively moving her group’s conversation along. (Her introduction of Jorgeous is another favourite moment of mine, leaning into the absurdity of Ru constantly telling the young queen that she’s born to do drag: “Maybe she’s born with it, or maybe she’s born for this. It’s Jorgeous!”)
Still, I would’ve personally given DeJa the win over Bosco, because the latter does not effectively lead her team. Daya, Jasmine and Jorgeous all fall into the bottom three largely based on how lacking their group chemistry is. Their observations are pretty shallow, and there’s no rhythm to the panel. Daya, at least, looks good during it; Jasmine ages herself with her look, and both Jorgeous’ top proportions and hairline are both dreadful. They’re the clear bottom two, with Daya easily scoring safety.
Angeria and DeJa both hype up the Jasmine versus Jorgeous battle before it happens, making clear that, like the audience (and most certainly Ru), they’ve been waiting for this. In a twist, they aren’tgiven a high-energy pop song to dance to like they were with “My Head and My Heart” and “Suga Mama.” Instead, they get Etta James’ “Something’s Got a Hold on Me,” which, while a terrific classic, is not suited to the kinds of stunts and gags we know this pair is capable of.
But Jasmine and Jorgeous effectively counter any argument that they’re just dancers this week. They both move well to the song while embodying its energy and spirit. Jorgeous is precise in her movements, but varies the mood from sensual to joyous. (Her blue bodysuit, while a terrible fit for the Shoulder Pads runway category, is a perfect outfit for this performance.) Jasmine gives my preferred performance of the two, even finding a way to insert a split into her performance in a way that fits the song. That’s impressive! To just do stunts on a song that doesn’t call for them is one thing; to expertly place a stunt in the one place it can be done, without letting it dominate your performance, is amazing.
Credit: Courtesy VH1
But trying to split hairs about the quality of the performances is silly: as soon as Jasmine and Jorgeous start working together to back-bend during the “oh-oh-oh-oh” section of the song, it’s all over. It’s clearly a double shantay, and while it may drag out the season a bit longer, it’s hard to argue with the result. Do I think either Jasmine or Jorgeous is going to make the top four, much less win the season? I do not. But I don’t mind a bit more time with them.
Next week is Snatch Game, and I’m very intrigued by some of these character choices. Camden is doing Shakespeare? DeJa is doing Lil Jon? Angeria is doing Tammie Brown? This feels like it could be either epic or an epic disaster, and I’m not sure which I’m rooting for more. Season 14 may be a slow ride, but it’s one I’m still willing to take; I could just use a big drop sooner versus later.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨Jasmine starts the episode very sad about sending Kerri Colby home, in stark contrast to her declaration that eliminating Maddy Morphosis “was easy.” I’m glad to see the range: while I personally prefer the casual bitchery of Jasmine’s post-Maddy elimination attitude, eliminating an idol of hers who helped her come into her own as a trans woman is a very different thing. Jasmine has become one of this season’s most engaging, well-rounded characters.
✨Speaking of this season’s trans representation: Willow recently came out as a trans femme on Instagram! They use they/she pronouns, and go by Willow in and out of drag. She joins Kerri, Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté, Bosco and Jasmine among this season’s trans representation, spurring a new round of memes about Kerri as a trans influencer on the cast. (My personal favourite joke was her “You’re next” message to Maddy.) Thrilled for Willow—and for all these queens!—that they’re part of such a supportive, groundbreaking cast.
✨As a side note, I want to highlight All Stars 6 winner Kylie Sonique Love’s Instagram post amid these coming out stories, noting how far the show has come since she first came out as trans in the Season 2 finale. She also shouts out trans queens from across the many iterations of the Drag Race franchise, and the comments section is an outpouring of love. Absolutely recommend reading it all.
✨Nicole Byer is back! I’m so happy that she, Ts Madison and Loni Love all got to come back as guest judges after their rotating stints in Season 13. Honestly, I’d bring them all back every season—though I’d prefer they take over the rotating main judge spot entirely. Byer’s best moment is calling Jasmine’s neon green look “Radio-attractive!,” then looking absolutely delighted with her own joke. Love her!
✨The judging in this episode is generally very good. The panel has by and large been underwhelming this season (in stark contrast to UK Versus The World, I’d say), but the notes this week are all smart and on-point. Gotta feel for Daya that a low placement snuck up on her, though: all the critiques the judges give her this week are positive!
✨Nothing in this episode made me laugh quite as hard as Ru whispering his “you faded into the background” critique of Jasmine, only for Jasmine to cackle. No one responds better to being dragged than Jasmine! It’s a good attitude: If you can’t laugh at yourself, how in the hell are you gonna laugh at somebody else?
✨“I’m an anarchist who believes men should be punished for their crimes against the world, but I do find them very attractive.” God, Willow is amazing with a quote.
✨Truly never expected Ru to drop a Lou Grant reference on us. Mary Tyler Moore Show-themed acting challenge when?
The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race will air Friday, March 11, at 8 p.m. EST on VH1 in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada. Check back every Monday and Tuesday 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 Tuesday afternoon.
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