The top five queens see how they’d fare as headline acts in Las Vegas before a final four is decided. Tracee Elis Ross is a guest judge…
Last week the queens welcomed their parents into the werk room for some iconic makeovers in what many fans of the show have called one of the most heartwarming episodes of the series to date. While Sam Star and her mama took top spot, Jewels and Onya found themselves in the bottom. After an impressive lip sync and a week full of love, Ru decided to keep both of the queens in the first double-save of the season. This week the top five will become headliners for a Las Vegas show before the judges decide who will head to the finale. Let’s get into it.
This week’s episode begins in the werk room following last week’s double-save. All of the queens are excited that nobody has been eliminated this close to the finale. Sam is gagged and a little annoyed that they aren’t a top four yet, but nobody can deny how good the lip sync was. Jewels says being eliminated with her dad there would have been horrible and knew she had to do that wig reveal to survive. Lexi leads the queens in congratulating Sam on her win, and she says having her mom there was just the boost she needed to push through. Onya isn’t letting the good energy the parents brought to the werk room cloud her competitive spirit. She knows it’s gametime and she is not planning on letting her guard down until there’s a crown on a queen’s head.
It’s a new day in the werk room and the final five are feeling ready to take on this next challenge. Around the table Suzie brings up that since there was no elimination last week, that means two of them could be going home. Ru enters and congratulates the queens on making it to the semi-finals and tells them it’s still anybody’s game to win. He also says that to win they have to know how to give good head…liner. For this week’s maxi challenge the girls will be auditioning for a spot in the Drag Race Live show in Las Vegas. They’ll have to take promotional photos, create a video package, sit down with an interview with legend Latrice Royale, and learn and perform the newest song to be added to the live show. Before he leaves the werk room Ru tells the girls that by the end of the week at least one of them will be going home.
The queens get right to working on how they’re going to sell themselves in their video packages. Sam wants to bring her country diva persona to the table while Onya is delivering pure nerve. Suzie leans into her vintage Vaudeville aesthetic. Out in the photo studio the queens are met with Ru and photographer Albert Sanchez. One by one the queens take their shots under the direction of Ru to get the perfect promotional photos. Some queens know how to command the camera a little better than others, but they all get the shots in the end.
Next, the queens sit down with Drag Race icon Latrice Royale to see if they have headliner potential, kind of like a job interview. The questions range from silly to serious and everybody gets real about their strengths and weaknesses. In her interview Lexi reveals she was a victim in a human trafficking incident and how her tougher life experiences have prepared her and given her strength to live her life. Jewels also tells Latrice that Arrietty stole her jokes, but struggles to tell her where she’ll be in five years.
It’s elimination day and it’s their final day in the werk room. While getting ready for their final performance on the main stage, Onya asks the girls what their favourite moments in the competition have been. Many of them say that the Squirrel Games challenge in the first episode was the most difficult for them, and how different their first impressions of each other have totally changed. Onya and Jewels talk about how their rocky relationship started (remember that fight over the stolen trim?) and how it blossomed into a true friendship. They all agree the biggest boot of the season was Joella in that mattress she wore on the runway. They talk about track records and whether they’ll play a part in the judging going into the finale. Out on the main stage Ru introduces this week’s panel of judges Michelle, Ross, and this week’s extra special guest judge actor Tracee Ellis Ross. It’s time for the queens to premiere the new number Gift Shop. All of them do an amazing job with the performance. It’s polished, clean, and each of them has a spotlight moment.
Ready for the runway? Following the performance, the category on the runway is “Opulent Outerwear” and the queens all stun with over the top coats.
Critiques begin with Jewels. After viewing her promotional photos and kiosk video Michelle says it’s been a pleasure to watch her sparkle in the competition. She compliments her video, but Ross says her vulnerability was lacking in the interview until she was stumped in the interview. All of the judges love her outfit and Ru says she was the easiest to photograph. After viewing Lexi’s promotional material Tracee tells her she has joy that’s always bursting out of her. Michelle tells her she couldn’t take her eyes off of her during the performance but Ross didn’t love her promo video. However, all of the judges loved her storytelling in her interview. Next, Onya’s publicity footage grabs the judges attention. They also love her performance, but were left confused by her interview outfit. Ru tells her that she’s been guarded throughout the competition and tells her to have a little more fun. Sam’s promo package is viewed. Ross tells her that her runway ages her a little, Tracee says she felt disconnected with her promo video but Ru tells her she was fantastic in the performance. Michelle warns her she came off a little cocky in the interview which Sam takes beautifully and it does not go unnoticed by the judges. Finally, Suzie’s promo video is shown. Ross says she is so talented as an actress but says she missed the mark with the Vegas brief by leaning too much into her vintage aesthetic. Tracee calls her incredibly self-reflective with her interview, and Michelle echoes that but tells her to look at herself as a full picture and not just one thing.
Following deliberations Ru announces that Jewels is the winner of this week’s challenge. Lexi and Onya follow her right to their spots in the finale. This means Sam Star and Suzie Toot are the final bottom two of the season. They lip sync for their lives to Love Child by Diana Ross & The Supremes. Both queens are gunning for that last finale spot with performances filled with passion and emotion. Ru decides that the last queen joining the finale is Sam Star, meaning Suzie’s time in the competition is officially over.
Next week on RuPaul’s Drag Race: All of the eliminated queens return to compete in a lip sync LalaPaRuza.
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