We meet the other half of the season 16 queens and their special talents. Singer Becky G is a guest judge…
Last week we met the first half of the season 16 queens as they pranced into the werk room for the first time and showed us what they’ve got in a spring break talent show. This week seven new queens enter the werk room and they’re eager to show off what they can bring to the competition. Last week we were also introduced to a new judging system called Rate-A-Queen, where the queens will have to secretly rate each other to determine a top and bottom, similar to the rating system in The Circle. The top queen after a lip sync is also granted immunity for the following week. Let’s see how the queens stack up to each other. Let’s get into it.
This week’s episode begins once again in an empty werk room. This week the first queen to enter is Hershii LiCour-Jeté who is hailing from the esteemed Jeté family (you know her sis Kornbread). She’s serving Rich Aunty Couture and she loves to be silly. Next in is Plasma who is giving 1950s glamour with her entrance look. She says Old Hollywood icons inspired her to be a performer. Third in the room is Geneva Karr who brings Mexican excellence with a whole lot of glam. Geneva is the first Mexican-born queen to compete on the show. Plane Jane is up next and she claims she’s the authentic Russian hooker from Boston, not to come for Katya’s gig or anything. The queens notice that there are already wigs and gowns in the werk room and they catch on that they’re in the second group. Megami makes her entrance and she’s a geek-chic queen who got her start in cosplay. Following Megami is Mhi’ya Iman LePaige who is a performer, specializing in flips. Geneva reveals to the group she’s gone viral on Tik Tok for styling her leg hair and the rest of the queens are… confused. Nymphia Wind slips into the werk room on a banana peel thanks to a hex placed on her by Plane Jane.
They’re welcomed to the competition by Ru who lets them know they’re the second group but for now, all eyes are on them. For their first mini challenge they will be photographed at the She-M-V. The queens take a number and wait for Love Connie and Ts Madison to take their photos. One by one they give their best face in a sad beige room. After their photoshoots they get out of drag and meet each other bare-faced for the first time. They talk about how they feel about being on the show and Plane Jane throws some more shade as she’s been doing the entire episode. Ru re-enters and announces that the winner of this week’s mini challenge is Nymphia Wind! Ru also tells the queens that for this week’s maxi challenge, they’ll be showcasing their talents at the Queen Choice Awards. Ru also drops the Rate-A-Queen bomb on them, which has them gagged, and then the immunity incentive, which pushes them over the edge.
Fully shocked from the gameplay for the season, they talk about how they’re going to rate and Plane Jane suddenly announces she wants to be friends and fair when it comes to rating which most of the other queens agree with. As they finish unpacking they get to know each other. Nymphia and Megami talk about the possibility of a New York Girls alliance, and some of the others don’t trust Plane Jane.
It’s a new day in the werk room and everybody is busy getting ready for the talent show. Plasma doesn’t think that anybody is looking at her, which might work to her advantage. Nymphia tells the queens about what drag is like back in Taiwan, and how she feels a lot of pressure to do well to represent her home country. Some of them talk about who back home is supporting them and Hershii reveals she is raising her partner’s sister’s kids and even though it’s hard to be a queer parent in today’s climate, she loves being a parent. Someone sounds an airhorn and singer Becky G enters the room and gives the queens a little advice for their first performance. Out on the main stage Ru introduces this week’s judges, Michelle, Ross, and of course this week’s extra special guest Becky G. Derrick Barry is back to host and Geneva is up first and she does a dance performance which morphs into an original song which incorporates a lot of her Mexican heritage. Hershii is up next and she’s also performing an original song showcasing her hair whip that the judges and other queens really get into. Plasma is third and she’s performing a jazz number with a break for impressions and also an outfit reveal. Nymphia is next and she blends traditional Taiwanese dance which really stands out from the group. Megami does an interpretive performance to What’s Up? by 4 Non Blondes. It has a strong message about protecting queer art. Mhi’ya is next and she turns it out with flips and acrobatics on the stage. Plane Jane’s talent is singing a song about burgers and burger fingers (how your fingers smell after eating a burger) which ends with her squirting mustard and ketchup all over her boobs. To finish it all off Derrick gets slimed.
On the runway the category is “Made Ya Look” and all of the queens take turns walking down the runway with their best outfit reveal lewks. Critiques begin with Nymphia and Ross loved how campy and drag her look is while Michele compliments her dance performance. Michelle likes the colour on Hershii but doesn’t like the length of her dress though all the judges like her performance. Ross tells Plasma her runway is exquisite and Becky G was really impressed with her performance, Michelle liked it but says it was a lot and tells her to edit it back a bit. Michelle tells Mhi’ya that her reveal needed more time but all of the judges are gagged over her flips and splits. Ross tells Geneva he fell in love with her instantly in her performance and Becky G loves her traditional Mexican runway. Michelle likes Megami’s performance but said it took too long to get to the message and all of the judges agree there was no reveal in her runway. All of the judges loved how dumb Plane Jane’s performance and runway were.
The queens head backstage and step into the Rate-A-Queen booth in private to lock in their rankings. Everybody rates fairly except for Plane Jane who is purposely putting the queens she thinks did the worst, at the top. Back out on the main stage Ru reveals that there will be a top two lip sync for immunity. Based on the results the top two queens of the week are Plane Jane and Geneva Karr. Ru also tells the queens that this week nobody is going home. Plane Jane and Geneva lip sync for the top spot to Shower by Becky G. Both queens are giving high energy and Plane Jane has a nip slip that she makes work for her performance. Ru announces that the winner of this week’s maxi challenge, as well as immunity on a future elimination is Plane Jane!
Next week on RuPaul’s Drag Race: The queens meet each other, a little shade is thrown, A ball is had, and it’s the last chance for the girls to Rate-A-Queen.
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