The remaining queens perform monologues on the main stage. Comedian Jerrod Carmichael is a guest judge…
Last week we said goodbye to Lydia B. Kollins, just one week after she won her first maxi challenge. The queens competed in another acting challenge, this time paying homage to Truman Capote and his iconic swans. Onya took home her third challenge win with Sam and followed just behind her in second place. This week the queens will be performing again, this time with moving monologues while a partner does an interpretive dance beside them. Let’s get into it.
This week’s episode begins in the werk room following Lydia’s elimination. The queens are feeling sad to see Lydia go, especially after she frantically tried to cut herself out of her dress in the lip sync. Lana tearfully reads her message on the mirror, all of the queens say kind things about Lydia before heading over to the couches. They congratulate Onya on her third win. Onya doesn’t want the girls to think she’s feeling cocky, so she plays it cool, but she does bring up what happened on the main stage when Ru asked who they wanted to go home. Onya thinks a lot of the answers given were cop-outs. With only six queens left the competition is getting even more fierce.
It’s a new day in the werk room and the queens are feeling energized to take on another challenge. Ru enters and tells the queens that Drag Race is like a sisterhood and asks the queens to pair up with the queen who knows them best. Lexi chooses Onya which pisses Sam off. For the mini challenge they’ll have to write their partner’s Drag Race bio. After filling in their Mad Libs bios and they read them in front of the group, Ru announces the winner of the mini challenge is Jewels Sparkles for her scathing bio of Suzie Toot. For this week’s maxi challenge, the queens will have to move the judges with their own personal stories at the Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve & Talent Monologues. A pit crew member brings in a pink fuzzy box and the queens pick out their story prompts. The twist is, they’ll work in pairs. While one tells their story orally, the other will have to do an interpretive dance. They’ll be staying with their mini challenge partners, but since Jewels won, she’ll pick the order. Lexi is already sweating.
They head over to the tables in their pairs to start working on their challenge. Suzie and Jewels are feeling good about their group. Sam and Lana think about how movement will play into their performance while picking the stories they want to tell. Lana opens up about her upbringing and Sam hopes it’ll give her the push she needs to win this week. Lexi and Onya talk about karma and what story Lexi should choose for her story. Onya takes a more laid back approach while Lexi gets in her head, and Onya hopes her inner saboteur doesn’t take control this week. Jewels wants to make a couple of the girls upset with the order again and works with Suzie to ruffle a couple feathers.
It’s finally time to decide the order, Jewels gathers everyone around a table and asks them which order they’d like to go in and everyone easily agrees on their places. They have to choreograph their own dances for their partner’s monologue. Onya isn’t really getting Lexi’s story, but it’s not stopping her from trying her hardest. Suzie really takes it all the way with micro-managing Jewels’s movements. Sam is lost with Lana’s story about being lost which is making Lana a little worried about being in the bottom again. It’s time for them to get into hair and makeup for their performances. Lexi is feeling surprisingly confident going into this challenge. Suzie reveals her painful family history with addiction and in confessionals, Sam reveals she has similar stories and can relate to her. Lana tells the other queens she used to be a clown which Sam thinks will give them an advantage in the challenge.
Out on the mainstage, Ru introduces us to this week’s panel of judges Michelle, Ts Madison, and this week’s extra special guest judge, comedian Jerrod Carmichael. The Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve & Talent Monologues begin with Suzie’s story about losing a spelling bee as a child with Jewels dancing beside her. The energy and movement is clear, and the story is good. After, Jewels tells her story about her best friend being a ghost with Suzie dancing. They’re a good team but the queens look a little bored. Next Onya tells her story about being a vegan with Lexi dancing beside her, absolutely killing the movement. They trade places and Lexi tells her story about revenge with Onya dancing. Next Sam tells the crowd what triggers her with Lana dancing. Finally, Lana tells her story about being lost with Sam and a lantern dancing to her words.
After the monologues, the category on the runway is “Ugliest Dress Ever” to commemorate a decade since the first time this category werked the runway, and there are so truly terrible gowns. Critiques start with Suzie. Michelle and Ts loved her story and felt moved by it but felt disappointed with her dance. Her ugly Christmas dress is horrible though, in a good way. Michelle tells Jewels she struggled to tell her story and Ru wanted more drag in it but they loved her dance. All of the judges agree that her outfit isn’t ugly enough. Onya’s story about her experimental raw veganism wowed all the judges and loved her movement for Lexi’s story. Her hideous turkey outfit also takes top toot from the judges. Jerrod loved Lexi’s lines in her story and all of the judges loved her dancing for Onya. Her tutu tower also catches the judge’s attention. Michelle liked Sam’s story but Jerrod wanted to laugh more and Ts wanted her to interpret her partner’s story better. Michelle tells her that her dress is gorgeous but Ru can tell why she would think it’s ugly. Jerrod can relate to Lana’s story the most, but Michelle felt she was disconnected to the words. Ts tells her she interpreted Sam’s story better than she told her own.
After deliberations Ru announces that the winner for this week’s maxi challenge is Lexi Love and Onya Nurve! They’ll split the cash tip and they’re moving onto the top five. Also safe this week are Suzie and Jewels. This means Sam and Lana are in the bottom. They lip sync for their lives to Illusion by Dua Lipa.
Both queens bring the energy, there are outfit reveals, it’s a tight lip sync. Ru decides Sam will stay in the competition, meaning after her fourth lip sync, it’s Lana Ja’Rae’s time to go home.
Next week on RuPaul’s Drag Race: The queens welcome their loved ones into the werk room and put them into drag to walk the runway.
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