Drag Race S5 E02 - Runway Recap

I think it’s time I catch up with this show. First thing to note is that they *finally* somewhat updated the intro of the episode! After the previous episode recap, the queens immediately go see their fallen comrade’s farewell message and discuss the elimination. Then comes the CG intro sequence but with RuPaul announcing the grand prizes over it. There’s no more preview of Ru’s outfit anymore. =(

Though I completely agree the the intro needed to be tweaked, they didn’t go about it the right way. What they needed to do instead was revamp the CG intro. With 5 seasons of material to slap in the background in monochrome while the Drag Race logo formed, I’m really surprised they haven’t done something like that yet.

Episode 2 was another one of the lower-budget challenges, where the racers had to lip-sync to classic altercations from Drag Races past. The mini-challenge split the contestants into 3 teams led by Ivy Winters, Serena ChaCha and Detox, who each did a scene from Drag Race 2, 3, and 4. Watch the episode if you want to see how that all went down (as well as Alaska and Detox making out), because in these posts all we’re interested in is the

RUNWAY!!

It’s RuPaul in surround! I’m liking the dress and the hair is classic Ru, and even though the white ruffles try to add something more to it, it doesn’t quite elevate the look to the next level. In episodes where the challenge doesn’t involve making a garment, the girls just wear what they want. I love these episodes the most because you really get to see what these racers have in their closets and what they know makes them look their best. Let’s get started!

COMMENCE... SHAKE... DOWN.

This episode opened with Lin-AY-sha. Once again we get the bitch face; I’d love to see this queen smiling.

Hey! A smile!! Yay!!! I like Lineysha so much more now. Now that that’s out of the way, we can talk about her dress. Just like last week, her outfit is detailed and interesting, and she’s in charge of all of it. Pretty good tuck, too. Makeup is also lovely, as is the hair. To me I see a cross between Shangela and Jessica Wild.

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Thank goodness she’s got that pink thing swirled around her, otherwise she’d blend into herself and into the walls again.

Wait a minute. Is Honey wearing the same dress as last week?! I think she is!! She just took off that shoulder piece and the skirt, and smeared a pink thing around her. She even did the same makeup! I mean yeah, it looks good, but this was your chance to pull out anything from your wardrobe and you choose a look that is so close to last week’s? At least she put a wig on, though, and it makes her look leagues better.

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WHOA!! O_O

What an entrance! What a runway! What a… uh… STILTS! It’s so funny how the cameras are trying to keep her in the shot. Makeup is once again on point, and even the dress is super-detailed even though it’s not what we’re supposed to be looking at. I wonder if Ivy figured how much clearance her head would have before she put on the stilts. Anyway, here’s an instance where visuals speak louder than words.

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Here’s another one that re-used a look we’ve already seen… from the first episode… and the stock photo… 

Pretty girl, pretty simple dress, yeah yeah… I need to see and hear more from you Vivienne. I’m not saying go out on stilts, but I need a little more to work with in order to know where you stand with the rest of the contestants. There’s no denying the amazing beauty captured in these screenshots, but Ms Pinay is dangerously close to becoming boring.

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DUHHHHHHHH.

Oh Alyssa… let’s start with that puffball on a chain. I’m sorry that no one told you this yet, but that’s not a dog. I know that’s what you want us to think it is, but it’s not. Maybe if it was on a ‘magic leash’ (those novelty rigid leashes) it would’ve worked, but it’s on a limp chain and even Ru clocked you when she said it looked like you were dragging your pet behind you. Besides that half-baked dog analogy, the dress is meh and the hair is decent. And about the mouth… keep it closed more often.

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Bravo! That hair and makeup is vastly improved, Serena, I didn’t know you had it in you!

Serena traces her heritage to Panama, which explains this spectacle from Carnivale. Everything this week completely makes up for last week… almost. Serena committed two major Drag Race sins here. First is in the pocket-sized Panama flag. For everything else to be so over-the-top and then to wave around this little herp-derp 50-cent flag is beyond awkward, and one of the guest judges completely crucified Serena for it. The other sin you can’t see, and I didn’t want to waste bandwidth by showing a picture of it. There’s no back to this outfit, and it reveals that she’s wearing these hideous granny panties, with barely any effort to hide them. She did know that she leaves the runway by turning her back to the judges, right?? She should have walked backwards towards the exit. It would’ve been odd but anything would be better than that sight we were treated to.

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No headpiece this week. Now we can see Jade Jolie’s beautiful head in its entirety, and I’m glad because Jade is hot!

The circus is back in town, and Jade Jolie is the lion tamer. I would have cranked the shoulder pads back a few notches personally, but everything else looks great. The whip was a great touch, and I love how it was real (unlike Alyssa who tried to make a dog out of something it wasn’t). Too bad she never cracked it. See Vivienne? Here’s how you look fishy and beautiful while also keeping it fresh and interesting.

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Roxxxy, where did your dress go?

Yes, Ms Andrews’ outfit is made entirely out of a breastplate and some cloth strips. There’s no dress here to speak of. I’m surprised Carmen Carrera didn’t think of wearing something like this!  That said, I’m not loving it. It’d be one thing if this was a full dress at one time and it was turned into this (especially on accident through a dry cleaning mishap) to try and recycle it, but that’s not the case. She just has some strings attached to her, and drag is supposed to be no strings attached.

(Yeah I hope that wordplay made sense, I honestly wrote it because it sounded cool.)

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I think Jinkx mistook this episode for the Hollywood one. She always seems to be a challenge behind in her runway. =P

Ms Monsoon is always bringing some major face to the competition. It’s not necessarily a, uh… pretty one… (I’m sorry!)… but it’s trademark and it’s toothy. Look I’m not saying she’s ugly, just distinct. There, that sounds better. On a less cynical note, I really like her wig and hairstyle this week, it’s very realistic and it plays well with her makeup. Jinkx is definitely no amateur, and she knows what makes her look like her. And I say keep on keeping on.

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Same hair and makeup as her stock photo. NEXT.

Monica says her face is her moneymaker. If she keeps doing her lips like that then she’s bound to make about 30 cents. There’s still nothing of interest to see here, but what she admitted to was extremely interesting. After her runway she confessed to RuPaul that she is a transgendered woman. And instead of making Monica the second disqualified contestant in Drag Race history, she allowed her to keep competing and gave her a nod of encouragement. I was under the impression you had to be 100% male to be a contestant. WHAT THE HELL. Monica better start doing better, because she’s got a very unfair advantage and she’s not using it.

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THIS. Favorite look of the night by far, even beating out Ivy’s butterfly.

Yes you get four shots of Alaska today because I couldn’t decide which of the last two I liked better. I’m getting a very strong shiksa/Gina Gershon vibe this week from Ms Thunderf*ck, and that’s a kind of woman I have a severe soft spot for. My god I can’t stop looking at these pics of her, she’s so pretty!! Like I would seriously take her/him for a night on the town if she was dressed like this. Sharon Needles you are a lucky man.

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It looks like Coco bedazzled a set of football shoulder pads, doesn’t it?

Coco has been showing her talents more and more with each runway. The reds coordinate, the silver is there but not too much, and she makes some great faces. At this rate Coco will make it on my good list faster than Alyssa will.

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Last but not least is my girl Detox, dressed in black.

I’m loving the dress and the matching headpiece, and all the darkness is broken up successfully by her standout makeup. Look at those sharp, defined corners of her eyes. And those lips! If she keeps it up she’ll have nothing to worry about in this competition.

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Winner: Lineysha Sparx
High-Ranking: Honey Mahogany, Vivienne Pinay, Ivy Winters
Low-Ranking: didn’t work that way
Bottom Two: Serena ChaCha, Monica Beverly Hillz
Eliminated: Serena ChaCha =)

Keep in mind that they were not evaluated by their runway looks for this episode, as it stemmed purely from the challenge itself. Ivy Winters led the winning team and Lineysha was deemed the best of the four, so that explains that. The other two teams were not considered ‘high’ or ‘low’ and Monica/Serena were called out singularly for their horrendous performances during the challenge.

Serena pulled the same stunts as in her last lip-sync for her life, while Monica fared much better. Monica was spared and Serena rightfully packed her bags. It’s too bad Penny left when she did, because it’s clear that Serena was meant to leave from the start. As for Monica’s little secret, please understand my stance is nothing against transgendered persons. I just feel it’s a bit unbalanced in this competition because all the other men are going to such lengths to look like women; Monica doesn’t have to go as far. Though considering my scathing critiques of Monica in the first place, maybe it’s not as balance-threatening as I’m making it out to be. And maybe RuPaul knows this also.