The queens spoof cheesy Hallmark holiday movies in the season’s first acting challenge, and the first queen of season 13 is eliminated…
We’ve made it to episode four, and we still have all of the queens we started the season with. We were promised that the winning group and the B squad would finally come together in this week’s episode, where we will also see this season’s first acting challenge, and our first official eliminated queen of the season by the end of this week’s episode. Let’s get into it.
This week’s episode begins in the werk room where we meet the winner’s circle waiting for “the B squad” to walk in following their performance on the main stage. Elliott is feeling good about her spot with the winning group, and the queens decide she should hide to surprise the other group that she’s still here. As the B group watches into the werk room they mare met with the other group. There’s a bit of tension, and there’s a bit of entitlement from the winning group. The girls stir the pot and ask the other girls why they sent Elliott home. Elliott appears from behind a wall, looking sickening I might add, and the group that sent her home is GOOPED. Elloitt picks a small fight with Tamisha Iman, which was … a choice. Kandy breaks the tension with a toast to the season 13 sisters, and we’re off. OFFICIALLY.
The next day ALL of our queens enter the werk room, and with all of them around the table, it’s feeling a little more crowded than usual. After a quick kiki, Ru enters the room and tells the queens that one of the girls will be going home this week. The maxi challenge is announced, and it’s all about cheesy holiday movies. Ru has split the queens into teams to mix up the two groups, but it’s up to them to assign the roles in the movies. The first team is Denali, Elliott, Kahmora, and Olivia Lux (Valentine’s movie Misery Loves Company). The next group is LaLa Ri, Rosé, Symone, and Utica (Flag Day movie, God Loves Flags). This means the final team is Gottmik, Joey Jay, Kandy Muse, Tamisha Iman, and Tina Burner (April Fools Rush In).
The queens get their scripts and start assigning the roles. Kahmora is already annoyed with Elliott. Denali is in denial about the number of lines for the character she chose. Group three gets to work on their April Fools script, and Kandy immediately takes the role she wants without discussing it with the other queens, a bold move. Group two is rehearsing their lines, and Rosé knows that this challenge is going to be between all of the acting girls, her biggest competition being Tina. Ru does a werk room walk around, and lets the queens know that much like real Hallmark holiday movies, all three of their scripts are pretty much the same. Meaning it’s up to them to really pop, and make sure they stand out among the other groups. After talking to the groups, asking about their roles, and clocking Tamisha for not being a Cher fan, she lets the queens know the category on the runway is “Trains for Days.”
It’s time to shoot the holiday movies, with Ross directing, and the April Fools group is up first. This group starts really strong. Tina and Gottmik give it everything, Tamisha’s acting starts rough, but she’s directable, and that’s what matters in challenges like this. Joey Jay has some issues with playing to the cameras, but Kandy’s clown brings it all back. Next up is team Flag Day. Symone turns it on and sets the bar high. Rosé kills it with her gnome. Utica gets nervous and forgets her lines, but one quick read of the script and she’s back. The Valentine group is last to film, and Denali is struggling with her lines as the lead. Kahmora’s tree is kind of wooden (we were ROOTING for you… we were all rooting for you!).
The next day in the werk room, it’s elimination day! Kandy is working on a new look for the runway with Gottmikk and Tina helping. As the queens paint for the runway they all talk about their first time in drag. Symone reveals the first time she was in drag was at her high school prom. The queens talk about the women they may have dated in the past, and Tamisha tells the group she has biological kids, and her drag name is actually her daughter’s name. Out on the runway and Ru introduces the judges, and this week’s guest judge Loni Love. The queens walk the runway in their Trains for Days lewks, and they are all stunning, seriously not a bad one in the bunch. Following the runway, the queens all watch their films. We start with the Valentine’s Day movie Misery Loves Company. Olivia Lux was definitely the breakout of this group, and the Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman cameo did not go unnoticed (he appears in all three as a prince). The Flag Day film God Loves Flags is up now. This was a strong group overall, but Symone really stood out, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she takes the top spot this week. Last up is the April Fools movie April Fools Rush In. It wasn’t as strong as the Flag Day movie, but there were noteworthy performances, especially Tamisha, who really made that Cher impersonation WORK FOR HER.
Ru has made some decisions. Elliott, Olivia, Utica, Joey Jay, Gottmik, Tina Burner, and Tamisha Iman are all safe for the week. This leaves the rest of the queens representing the tops and bottoms of the week to get critiqued. First up is Denali. Ross loves her train look, but Michelle thinks she could have gone further with her acting. Next up, the judges loved Kahmora’s runway look, but her acting wasn’t there. She cries and tells the judges she is too in her head, and wants to let go and show more of herself in the future. Michelle loves Symone’s use of her durag train, and her performance was applauded by Ross for her professionalism, and willingness to just be stupid with it. LaLa Ri’s outfit is full of venom, but her performance wasn’t all the way there. Michelle wanted more from Rosé on the runway but did an amazing job in the challenge. Michelle also didn’t love Kandy’s last minute train look, but her performance in the challenge was one of the best of the week. It should get her through for sure.
Following the judge’s deliberations, Ru announces Symone is the winner of this week’s challenge. Rosé, Kandy, and LaLa Ri are all safe. This leaves Denali and Kahmora Hall at the bottom this week. The two queens lip sync for their lives to “100% Pure Love” by Crystal Waters. Denali won’t give up her spot in the competition easily and she is going for it making for a slightly more colourful performance than Kahmora’s who is barely moving due to being weighed down by her train. It’s no surprise that Ru chooses Denali to stay in the competition, making Kahmora Hall the first to be eliminated from season 13. We’ll miss her, and her original Bob Mackie pieces.
Front runner of the week: Symone continues to impress. She is a truly dynamic queen that keeps surprising us with each new challenge. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Underappreciated look of the week: Tamisha Iman’s handmade pink runway look was everything of the sort, and it deserved more recognition. Period.
What we’ll see next week: It’s the first ball event of the season! Who will be the queen who doesn’t know how to sew?
Missed a week?: Read our RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 weekly recaps right here!
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