Episode nine, people! Can you believe it?!
This week the challenge was something we would usually see in the second or third episode, not the ninth: yet another team acting challenge. So far we’ve seen team challenges for lip-syncing past Drag Race moments, a children’s show, a ballet, an anthem, and now a Spanish telenovela. Ay dios mio. Though their lines were in English, the contestants were challenged to over-act and be as obnoxious as that announcer for Telemundo.
This episode just felt a little off. Not only did their scripts suck but the ‘shows’ themselves felt a little empty, given each team only had 3 members. If they would have stuck to a single long ‘show’ starring all 6 racers it would have been a little easier to swallow. Either way it is a bit odd that they’re doing this kind of throwaway challenge so late in the season, Alyssa Edwards had a point when she said that a lot of the challenges so far have been leaning toward performance over haute couture. As a result, ‘entertainer’ queens like Jinkx Monsoon and Alaska have been flourishing the past few weeks while pageant queens like Alyssa and Coco Montrese have been tanking. I’m not trying to discount the success of the successful contestants, but one can’t help but wonder how this would play out if the challenges were rearranged.
Oh well. Usually lackluster challenges are off-set by great runways, and this episode is no exception. This time we’re starting with a shot of RuPaul, because this week she actually looks great!
I was almost starting to give up on her when she kept wearing those frizzy wigs and garish gowns. This week though the hair is wonderful! I don’t think we’ve seen many pictures of Ru with a hairstyle like that, but we should more often. The dress is also a lovely shade of aqua with some watercolor-ish designs across the front. You can’t see it in the picture but the dress is very flowy from the middle down, and as Ru went down the runway he swirled the ends of the dress like a boss. This might not sound like much, but Ru rarely does anything different besides simply walk and pose. All in all it was a nice return to grace after a good few missteps we’ve seen from her this season.
To somewhat tie-in to the challenge, the runway criteria for the contestants was Spanish/Mexican glamour. Be prepared to see a lot of red dresses and fans.
COMMENCE… SHAKE… DOWN.
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Detox starts us off this week with her take on the mythical Urban Sombrero.
Since we’re winding down on the body count for this season, I’m going to do some more pictures per person. Everyone loves Drag Race runway pictures! Back to Detox, she looks especially fishy this week, makeup and hair completely on point. But as for what she’s wearing, it’s a clash between a relatively simple dress and a scene-stealing hat. It’s just a little out of proportion for my liking, and she comes off top-heavy. But hey, at least her head is perfect!
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Wow, is that Roxxxy? It must be, since the screen graphics never lie, but she looks so much… better that usual!
What a redemption from the past few weeks, and the judges were also keen to notice that. Roxxxy said this was the least amount of makeup she ever went out in, and it shows in a great way. We can finally see the whites of her eyes! Everything else comes together beautifully while still being true to Roxxxy. Even the curls on the sides of her face were done with skill. Bravo!
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Pardon Alaska’s strange body movements while she pulls some maracas out of her dress.
I absolutely love that last picture. This is some premium distilled Alaska right there. Big hair, glamorous dress and a look of pure horsey bliss on her face. =P So yes, those maracas were as much the star of the runway as Alaska was, and those things were loud. Come to think of it, she does enjoy her props, as previously she’s brought on stage a fish and a bag of garbage. Have I mentioned that I in love with this queen?
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Now starts the fan performers, and yet another red dress. (Yeah this one is mostly black with some red accents, but that still counts.)
Now tell me, do you like Alyssa’s dress? Judge Santino Rice called it the worst one he’s seen in all five seasons of the show. Ouch. And for a pageant girl like Ms Edwards that must be like putting salt and alcohol in a gunshot wound. Santino’s biggest gripe was with the red sash thrown under her right arm (best visible in the final picture). To me it looks like a cheap, strung-out plastic lei that DJs dole out to children during those horrible family parties that take place in restaurants’ back rooms. Personally I can see past the lei and see the really nice red/black color combinations of the look. Plus I love the rose in Alyssa’s hair. I think Santino really overreacted here, we’ve seen some looks on this runway that are a million times worse than what Alyssa brought here, which includes but is not limited to Serena ChaCha’s first runway look as well as anything Monica Beverly Hillz ever wore.
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Hello Miss Coco wearing yellow!
Here’s another pic we can consider as a queen’s signature look: Coco looking wistfully off to the side, as if she’s saying ‘you know you want to love me.’ The outfit is a tad simple but easily made up for by the flowers sprouting from her shoulder and those massive sleeves. But as big as they are she is in complete control of them, and she spun those things around very similarly to how RuPaul spun her dress earlier. My only critique of Ms Montrese this week is that her hair a little cropped, but it helps draw more attention to the splashes of color throughout her ensemble.
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This was how Jinkx began her runway walk, concealing her face.
This was the reveal. WOW!!
And this was RuPaul’s genuinely shocked reaction. When you can make RuPaul’s jaw drop like this you know you’re doing something right.
Why Sharon Needles didn’t do a runway based on Dia de los Muertos last season is beyond me. Enough about Sharon, Jinkx looks phenomenal this week. This could have crashed and burned so badly but it turned out better than I think even Jinkx thought possible. The Hot Topic mashup she’s wearing also works, and check out that spider in her hair! Perhaps most impressive is the chest makeup, especially how it makes the boob illusion. I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again, drag is an art. How someone could shake their heads at this is such a shame. For every (usually religious) nut that damns what polished drag queens are capable of, I damn them right back tenfold. =)
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Ranking Based On Runway?: Partially
Winner: Jinkx Monsoon
High-Ranking: Alaska, Roxxxy Andrews
Low-Ranking: Alyssa Edwards, Coco Montrese, Detox
Bottom Two: Alyssa Edwards, Coco Montrese
Eliminated: Alyssa Edwards
First off, what a lip-sync. Rivals Coco and Alyssa finally found themselves lip-syncing each other, with both racers having been in the bottom two before. It really could have been anyone’s game, but Alyssa was chosen to sashay away and I mostly agree. Alyssa stalled for the past few weeks in her looks and in her attitude, even saying that she’ll lip-sync her way to the finals if she has to. That’s a very defeatist way of thinking, and her admitting that she’s not an actor doesn’t help matters. Alyssa was just done in every way by this episode, which explains why she took her elimination so genially. She proved everything she set out to prove and that’s that. As for Coco Montrese, I still think she has some more surprises she hasn’t pulled out yet, but that said I don’t see her staying around much longer either.
Jinkx has pretty much cemented herself in place as the winner-to-be, and Alaska has proven that she’s a formidable queen who can stand on her own two feet, not having to rely on the crutch of being Sharon’s boyfriend (of which she very rarely has anyway). Detox I’m still having a little trouble classifying, but she’s still very much a class act. As for Roxxxy, I was ready to count her out until I saw this week’s runway, but unfortunately I see this week as a fluke for her.
Here’s my predictions for the final five:
1st- Jinkx Monsoon
2nd- Alaska (or Detox)
3rd- Detox (or Alaska)
4th- Roxxxy Andrews
5th- Coco Montrese
The queen who wins Miss Congeniality is still very much up in the air. It would easily be Jinkx if she doesn’t win the competition outright, but if she does then I have no idea. Idk… Alaska? Jade Jolie? Ivy Winters? Me? =P
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