RuPaul’s Drag Race inches toward its finale with “Henny, I Shrunk The Drag Queens!”
TV Reviews Elliott
Season 13, despite its talented cast, has had pacing problems. There’s been a clear set of front-runners for almost half the season and only Rosé has made any headway breaking into that group. As in most seasons, the producers have their favorites and these queens have consistently done well. However, when they have stumbled, they’ve never felt in particular jeopardy, giving the season an air of marking time until the top three. The best episodes of the season have distracted from this, keeping the laughs and moments of reflection rolling. Unfortunately, “Henny, I Shrunk The Drag Queens!” flounders, a pleasant but forgettable blip in the final run of the season.
The episode begins with Symone shaken from her brush with elimination. While it seems clear as a viewer that she’s in no danger of going home before the finale, Symone doesn’t know that and she’s understandably thrown. Kandy, however, is thrilled to have her first win and the rest of the queens seem genuinely happy for her. This is a completely different energy than the late season dynamic in the earlier seasons of the show. Yes, these queens want to win, but they’re also thinking long-term. This season is the beginning of the next phase of their career, not the culmination of it, and them taking the long view has resulted in one of the show’s more congenial seasons.
The next day, the queens skip into the workroom, celebrating their top five status. Ru heads into the workroom in a gold flowered suit, blouse, and delightfully ridiculous glasses and moustache, and introduces the next challenge. No time for mini challenge silliness this episode, they’re heading right to the maxi. It’s another acting challenge, though one with a sci-fi twist. The queens will be acting against green screen and other special effects as they film, “Henny! I Shrunk The Drag Queens.” Ru walks them through the characters, which they’ll divvy up amongst themselves, and sends them off to work.
The queens read the script and right away, most have a character they’re drawn to. Olivia wants Ginger Ale, the dumb one; Rosé wants Brandy, the sarcastic one; and Mik wants Chardonnay, the whiny one. That leaves Dominique Perignon, the power-hungry villain, and Margarita, the smart one. Both Symone and Kandy want Dominique, putting them at an impasse. Rosé makes a crack about Elliott holding an audition and it’s immediately clear they won’t be resolving the issue that way. Eventually, a frustrated Symone relents, acknowledging that he’s a better fit for Margarita than Kandy is, and the queens start their read-through.
Once they’re done, it’s time to figure out their looks. As Rosé says, it’s late in the season and the queens are running out of drag. There’s also the green screen to consider—they can’t wear anything green and they can’t wear anything that shines or reflects light, as the green screen will be reflected in their outfits, causing that part of their body to be written over by the digital background. It’s not the most thrilling conversation and in a more exciting episode, this would have been cut, but it’s neat to see the queens engaging with this aspect of production. For most of the queens, this is a stumbling block to be overcome, but for Symone, it’s another stressor after days full of them. He heaps strain and expectation onto himself at the best of times and this latest difficulty is pushing him toward his breaking point.
As the queens sort out their wardrobe, they’re interrupted by the RuMail siren and are treated to a happy surprise. They’re joined by Scarlett Johansson, via video call, who is there to chat and give out acting tips à la Anne Hathaway. This notes session is much drier than that one, alas, but there’s some solid advice in there and the queens are delighted when Colin Jost pops his head in to deliver a quick one-liner. After the call, the queens are energized and they start painting for the challenge.
At the green screen, the queens are met by Michelle and Carson, who will be directing them. They remind everyone to go even bigger than usual with their performances to make sure they read when they’re shrunk down. Winning performances are never subtle on Drag Race, so that’s saying something. The queens seem comfortable filming aside from Symone, who’s still in her head about her character. Much more game is Mik, who cracks the judges up with her big scene, an allergy attack prompted by a giant cat. Kandy has fun wielding the giant cat’s paw and Mik goes for broke, giving the editors plenty of material to work with.
After filming, the queens return to the workroom and prepare for the runway. The reality of the next elimination is sinking in. They’ve all done well; making top five is no small feat. But the last cut, pre-finale—theoretically, though who knows what Drag Race has cooked up for the finale, given COVID restrictions—is the toughest of all and Symone in particular is struggling with the weight of expectation. He’s worried about letting down his drag family, the House of Avalon, and not living up to his drag sister Gigi Goode’s terrific season 12 performance. The stress of the competition has taken an increasing toll and he breaks down in his confessional, overwhelmed by anxiety and strain. Symone is an amazing queen and still a favorite to win, but again, that’s easy to say as a viewer. In the moment, during filming, there’s no way to know which way producers will spin your narrative and Symone is hyper aware of how little control he has over his edit and Drag Race story.
After a pep talk from Kandy, the conversation pivots to representation and when the queens first saw someone they identified with on TV. Olivia gives some love to the 1997 ABC production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, starring Brandy and Whitney Houston, and Mik talks about never having seen someone he identified with on TV. That dearth of representation set him back in his journey to understand and accept himself and he’s hopeful he can be that point of reference for someone else. The queens also talk about how important seeing a range of representation is, both of types of people and experiences, but also outcomes. As Kandy says, it’s not helpful to have representation if it’s only as victims and perps in crime procedurals. While this exchange may be Drag Race patting itself on the back, its role in showcasing queer performers and their stories, with queens from New York to L.A. to Symone’s Conway, Arkansas, cannot be denied.
On the runway, Ru walks out looking amazing in a sparkling silver, or maybe blue, dress and white hair, a welcome return to form. Michelle’s in light blue, with beautiful makeup and a gentle waved side part, Carson’s surprisingly subdued in a dark suit and pink pocket square, and joining the panel is special guest judge Cynthia Erivo, who looks chic in black with a beret and plenty of sparkle in her jewelry. Ru welcomes Cynthia, then introduces the runway. Category is: Haute Pocket.
Symone comes out first, stomping the runway in a denim jumpsuit with a massive zipper and bright red wig. She’s made herself into a fashion doll, stuffed in a giant’s jeans pocket, and she looks great. Olivia goes for glamour, in a silvery dress with draped, off the shoulder sleeves that match her oversized, hip-accentuating pockets. She looks beautiful, in a lovely white wig, dangling earrings, and fantastic paint. Rosé has a more stylized look, a black and white ’60s Mod coat dress that she throws off to reveal a matching black and white dress made entirely of pockets. It’s not her best look—that’s either her vamp look from “Phenomenon” or her Beast Couture devil—but it’s a welcome change of pace. Much less successful is Kandy’s Japanese-inspired look, individual envelope-shaped pockets connected with yellow ribbon and a bulky top and sleeves. While Kandy is to be commended for going with a bolder concept, it doesn’t stand up to the rest of the queens’ looks. Last is Mik, who walks out in a long black wig and plain tan trench, then flashes it open to reveal pockets full of watches she’s selling and a gold mini dress covered in chains, watches, and other accessories. It’s another fantastic look from Mik, who along with Symone, continues to dominate the runway this season.
With the queens assembled for critiques, Ru screens their film. It’s—well, it’s fine. It’s cute enough and there are some fun moments, but it’s way too long. There also isn’t that much separating the queens’ performances. Olivia is slightly off with some of her timing, but not significantly, and she does well with her biggest moments, including the Designing Women nod at the end. Kandy also suffers in comparison to Mik, Rosé, and Symone, but only because she’s in so little of the film. Symone definitely got the better side of her and Kandy’s fight over Dominique.
The judges’ critiques aren’t particularly illuminating. Symone’s worries turn out to have been for naught, and she once again is commended for her fabulous runway. Olivia is read for playing the same character she always does—a critique that could just as easily have been given to Symone, but wasn’t—and her runway, while complimented, is dinged for not being as blatantly pocket-centered as the other looks. Michelle and Cynthia love Rosé’s runway and they’re just as glowing about her performance. Kandy gets surprising feedback: Her performance was too sedate. The judges wanted her to go much bigger with Dominique, and her runway isn’t doing her any favors. As for Mik, they not only love her performance, but they gag over her runway, with Mik getting a coveted compliment from Ru.
Before sending the queens back to Untucked, Ru asks them the question they must have known was coming: Who should go home? Everyone picks Olivia, except Olivia herself, who gives the impression she would choose herself as well, had she not sworn previously she wouldn’t. She eventually goes with Kandy, but it’s clear her heart isn’t in it. Olivia is a talented queen, but as the others all say, she still has growing to do. It’s not yet her time. After deliberations, Ru concurs: Rosé gets the win and the $5000 tip, Mik and Symone are safe, and Olivia and Kandy are up for elimination.
The lip-sync song is yet another fantastic pick, Cher’s “Strong Enough.” Both Olivia and Kandy are ready to fight for their place in the top four and they give it their all. Kandy goes for more comedy than Olivia, who stays pretty earnest throughout, but Kandy has to fight against her look, which holds her back. Olivia sparkles through the lip-sync and to these eyes, takes it. If Kandy were in a better look, it would be a different conversation. It doesn’t matter in the end, though, because Ru either sees something else in their performances or bases her choice on the queens’ potential in the finale. Kandy gets the shantay and Olivia is eliminated.
Olivia may be going home, but she does so with her head held high. She’s a strong contender for Miss Congeniality this season, she won two challenges, and she performed admirably in three lip-syncs. More significantly, she made top five on RuPaul’s Drag Race after only doing drag for a year and a half. That’s incredibly impressive. As for Kandy, she has her work cut out for her to contend with the rest of the queens. It remains to be seen whether season 13 will have a top four finale or follow season 12’s example with a top three. Either way, it’s shaping up to be a battle and depending on how the producers decide to structure the finale, it really could go a number of ways. Viewers have been waiting all season for the competition to heat up and with the finale around the corner, it finally is.
Stray observations
- Kandy stroking Rosé’s five-o’clock shadow, the accompanying sound, and everyone’s response, was hilarious.
- I loved all the quotes and references in the film, from the Ru-K-O picture title card to Kandy’s Wicked Witch of the West moment. The Scarlett Johansson lines were disappointing, though.
- At last we see the stealth diva moments Tina and the other queens have been referencing for Olivia.
- I’m with Olivia- the Brandy Cinderella is the best Cinderella, thank you very much.
- I would watch the crap out of Mrs. Columbo, starring Cher.
76 Comments
Kandy bitch count: 8Also, worst runway wig in herstory.
Also, worst runway wig in herstory.Fixed that for ya, sis.
Everything about that look was an abomination.
It may not even be the worst runway look of the season. Remember LaLa’s bag-ball fail?
the difference is Kandy paid someone to make hers.
I’d argue that it was more of a fit issue than the look being bad. If it had fit her better, it likely would have played into the category well and worked. But it didn’t fit properly. If the same outfit had been put on Utica or Symone, I don’t know that we would be hailing it as the worst look ever.
Remember LaLa’s bag-ball fail?Like Austin already pointed out, LaLa made that awfulness because she didn’t know how to sew. Kandy actually paid someone for that hideous excuse of a look she was wearing on the last ep.
Kandy made the conscious choice, long before standing on that runway, to put that outfit and wig in a suitcase with the intention of wearing them both on RuPaul’s Drag Race and being filmed.Oof.
Everyone, with the exception of Symone: THAT IS NOT THE CATEGORY.Rose, while nowhere near as awful as Kandy, puzzled in her double latex muumuu/poncho “look”. I agree with Carson to this extent: she did give us a shape: a triangle. I loved the way he praised her for “showing her neck”. But good for her for winning the acting challenge!
I have seen Michelle several times kind of struggling with the critiques she has to say this season, to be honest.
I thought Gottmik’s was a clever choice with all the pockets inside the coat. But Symone was hands down the best runway.
I thought Gottmik had a fantastic look, although that jewellery dress was a little hard to read on the runway. The problem for me was that the pockets were just a neat detail instead of being the central focus of the outfit; they only became apparent when Mik did a reveal to hold open her trench; and were merely props to hold up the watches. Or maybe categories don’t matter at all anymore on the runways…
I haven’t watch this episode but there are ways to make cheap wigs look better. There are videos on Youtube for that.
I’ve always felt very soft on Olivia the entire season and I think it’s this episode I really know why, because while not a drag queen I too – as a black gay person – had to figure out that it was OK to be bolder, take more chance and not be afraid of how it all might come across. Everyone clocked Liv needing to go different for the same reason and it was clear on the runway even she saw it but wouldn’t dog herself out and rightly pivoted to the only other person that could meet her in the bottom. In any case, top 5 is still a great accomplishment and I hope she makes it to an all stars one day with a greater personal sense of self to match all that bright charisma.
Everyone clocked Liv needing to go different for the same reasonAnd that reason is that Kandy was saved by her friends. I mean, that outfit…And Olivia won two main challenges! How much more “growth” did they want to see?
Oh, Olivia will be back for an All-Stars for sure.
And Ru will make sure to take the credit for her development.
I’d feel better about that if AS wasn’t such a shit show at this point. Olivia, having come in fifth place, would also have no chance of winning, so she’d have to want to appear in order to market herself. And she’s doesn’t come across as much of a Branding Queen.
Olivia had much better fashion this season than Kandy, and was much more consistent.
It felt like some producer just said “hey we have all these greenscreens, ok writers do something with them” and then reverse engineered a Honey, I Shrunk the Kids-pun title. But then when it started, the title screens set the tone that it was going to be some 1940s horror movie? The script was just a mishmash of unrelated, unfunny references that went on way too long. Anyways, agreed that the characters seemed so one-note that the critiques were arbitrary. This would have been one instance of me being ok with them intentionally assigning them different roles to challenge them all not to fall back into their acting tendencies. Edit-wise, seemed like Symone was going to be in trouble, but the Olivia vs Kandy bottom two was so apparent from the judges (which, Kandy’s runway was atrocious). Even the “drama” of Olivia taking so long was so boring that it didn’t really turn into anything in Untucked.Good cast, drawn out season that’s floundering, but the set of the RuMix looks promising from the previews, so I’m hoping the Top 4 brings the energy next week.
“Honey, I shrank the kids” was an homage to of course the Shrinking Man, not by RKO but Universal but I guess Ru preferred the other pun and… the funny thing about that movie and the trivia I like more about it: the original story is by the glorious pair of Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, from Reanimator fame. So it was a clear reference to the oldschool horror, as most of the 80s fantasy and science fiction movie directors were (Spielberg et al were doing what they wanted to watch as kids).Which has nothing to do with drag. As much as I love it.
And “Honey I Shrank the Drag Queens” is an homage to the 1981 stinker “The Incredible Shrinking Woman”, starring Lily Tomlin. I mean, why reference a classic when you can give a nod to a garbage retread of an original idea? I’ve also noted that the panel continually refers to the the late ‘70s/first SNL era as some type of comedy golden era, instead realizing that it was merely self-indulgent and unfunny 90% of the time. Michelle on Jackie last season? “Full-on Gilda Radner”. Well, no. And: please, no. Gilda Live really, really sucked as a movie. Clearly, message boards are where the comedy is at nowadays.
Gilda Live really, really sucked as a movie.Okay, you just lost me; I adore Gilda Radner and liked her stand-up film.
I am not trying to come for Gilda Radner, whose comedy I liked far more than that of her vastly overpraised (and unfunny) male co-stars. It was just that reference from Michelle, which underlines two problems with the way that this show approaches comedy: one, we’re given a cute concept (well, usually cute, but this one was just stupid and random) that is then stetched out interminably until its sags under its own flab, instead of something sharply written and incisive and contemporary; and, two, it often reaches back half a century or more) for points of cultural reference and after all edginess or threat has been ironed out. Ru thinks she’s Bob Hope; watered-down double entrendres are the height of wit; Drag Race is the Vaudeville circuit; and that sexuality should be presented today with a fan dance from 1910 with corsetry and a coquettish bustline. Um, sure.
Ru thinks she’s Bob Hope; watered-down double entrendres are the height of wit; Drag Race is the Vaudeville circuitReal talk; for all her pretense about keeping up with ‘what’s trending,’ Ru is actually incredibly set in her ways and old fashioned when it comes to the art of drag as a whole.
This is a very bad take. That era of SNL is ridiculously influential for a reason. You not liking it doesnt magically make it bad or overrated.
And we’re all welcome to our opinions here. Welcome!
No one should be surprised when a comedy challenge on this show is badly written.
The script was just a mishmash of unrelated, unfunny references that went on way too long.On a RPDR acting challenge? Noooooooo.
Top 3! And Kandy.
shade rattle
This challenge and the performances were pretty meh. I did think Rosè was the rightful winner of the challenge Kandy and Olivia were really just fighting for a (distant) fourth place but unsurprisingly Rupaul put her pet project in the finale.
I’m liking this season less and less. What does a thirty year-old kids’ movie have to do with drag? Couldn’t they do another camp sexploitation movie like Boobarella? I’m getting increasingly uncomfortable with the desexualization of a party of gay life that is supposed to be celebratory about sexuality. It’s no wonder Jimbo couldn’t have won Canada’s Drag Race in this Disneyfied climate.ALSO: did the producers to a bait-and-switch on the queens? WHAT funny script were they reading? It clearly wasn’t what was shown in the rehearsal or final edit.
YES. I think it has to do with the amount of children watching drag race because of their super cool mothers. Or maybe because RuPaul is now a centrist, who knows.
While the title was from Honey I Shrunk the Kids, I got the impression they were sending up 50s sci-fi like The Incredible Shrinking Man. The RKO logo seemed to allude more to that than Disney.Covid restrictions are also probably likely part of the choice – It required limited crew, limited interaction and limited physical contact of everything they could have done.
I hear you, but it’s hard to understand the motivation for introducing this theme beyond “just because”. S3 “Boobarella” and the S7 John Waters Rusical were also made with little but inspiration through desperation, and they turned out surprisingly well. And they had a definite connection to drag/queer culture/subversive sexuality and gendering. There’s certainly enough in the ‘50s Lavender Scare blacklisting tragedy that they could have mined that rich territory to produce something pointed (and funny), but no. Like I said in an earlier post, Drag Race is becoming increasingly desexualized, and I see the title of this sketch — which was a deliberate choice by production — as another sign of that trend.
I agree it may be a deliberate choice on the part of production, but I also wonder how the age of the queens factors in here. This was something that was discussed more in earlier seasons, but a lot of the contestants have fewer and fewer links to some of those pop culture camp moments. That’s not new, per se – Jinx’s Little Edie was one of the first examples – But the amount of youtube celebrities in the Snatch Game makes me think that the lack of conversant queens in the sort of cultural milestones Ru used to emphasize may be a factor in these choices.
This is part of the show’s structural problem. RuPaul has consistently emphasized that she expects her queens to have a thorough and insightful knowledge of contemporary pop culture…and then consistently places them in a comedy framework which is most definitely not. Yes, I know that the Match Game was revived again a couple of years ago, but I agree with you that it’s unlikely that any of these younger queens know anything about it beyond watching Drag Race itself. And modern celebrities don’t promote themselves through televised appearances, so it’s not hard to see why it would be difficult to channel and display their personalities in that format. Crystal’s performance last season is the perfect example of this problem: she produced a spot-on performance of a celebrity relevant to young viewers: Poppy…and that didn’t work in the format. I think you have to extremely smart and pick your characters with great care to do well at Snatch Game, which is why I think Aquaria and DeLa had performances which will be dificult to surpass. Okay, I’ll through in Ginger’s Adele in there as well, as that was hilarious and she did it with a singer.This same problem exists for the AS Dating Game format and — let’s please throw the Rusicals in the mix, where leaden writing and dated music and musical styles weigh down the proceedings.I guess that the Snatch Game has to stay in Drag Race, because celebrity impersonations are still a part of drag (though a lot less relevant than it once was), and comedy is still Queen, and it would be difficult to find another comedy challenge that draws upon celebrity impersonations without a lot of experimenting (and that won’t be done). And I suspect that a lot of fans still want to watch a challenge with a typical 50% pass/fail rate.
And I’ll admit that I’m always there for Snatch Game to see who crashes and burns. But it is interesting to me that a fair number of “icons” for lack of a better word have never really been done on Snatch Game – I don’t think we’ve ever had a Judy Garland, never a Barbra Streisand, never Divine. Again – I think the producers probably push people towards ones that will be “interesting,” but I think it does speak to some of the cultural touchstones that might be missing. Rue McClanahan was a big bust this time around, but Bea Arthur seems like she’s RIGHT THERE for the right queen. But I digress.When Gottmik explained her flasher reference was from Hercules, I was like oh right, you’re 23. Of course that’s your reference. It’s not necessarily a bad reference, but I think compared to the earlier season queens there is more and more remove from what informs Ru’s outlook on things.
Manila was Barbra Streisand on All Stars. Her performance was praised, and I love Manila, but that one was rough. Most of her competitors downright sucked, though, so I’ll agree that it was a comparative win.And Raven was Bea Arthur on All Stars 1. Eureka is Divine (or at least thinks she is), and we had two seasons of that, so maybe it would be overkill at this point to have someone do her on Snatch Game. Maybe someone can do “Glenn Milstead” instead to mix it up?I personally thought Aquaria had the best Snatch Game performance on any of the regular Drag Race seasons, and yes — I’m placing her higher than DeLa’s Maggie Smith. That was one smart, funny performance.
I thought there had been a Barbra, but then I was looking at a list to jog my memory and it looks like the All Stars were missing (which admittedly, I don’t watch as closely).
Ginger’s Adele was a sad retread of “fat girl is dumb and eats” and she likely only tied because Kennedy was the first queen to break the barrier with a male character and there was rumbling at the time regarding the controversy of it. Pearl’s Big Ang (RIP) had more character, and Big Ang was an example of a specific, modern pop cultural reference done well.If you’re going for over the top and harsh, Sharon wins for Michelle, Tati’s Britney is still iconic, as are both of DeLa’s turns, Little Edie, Marlene Deitrich, Cher (Chad version), Chyna, and even Trinity’s knockoff of Sharon’s superior Caitlyn Jenner do better than “my house ::stuffs face::”.
I guess we all have our favourites!
Part of it is that it’s become more mainstream for sure. They won’t have lip syncs through a glory hole anytime soon.I actually think the Boobarella type challenges are almost too easy for drag queens. Harder to display skills on something like this. But the jokes have to be in the script…and they weren’t
Everyone played it how you’d expect, so can’t really knock anyones performance.My problem with Rose I think is that she doesn’t really embody a different persona when she’s in her drag. I know there’s the essence of each person in drag, but every queen definitely feels different in and out of drag except her.For me this has always been Symone’s race, but Mik has a lot to offer too.
For me this has always been Symone’s race, but Mik has a lot to offer too.There’s no question that this is a talented cast, but it’s also hard to care about the outcome at this point. There have been such questionable pacing, editing, and production choices throughout the season that it’s sucked any sense of momentum — and much of the fun — out of the home stretch this time. Gottmik or Rose could probably have won any other season, but Symone has four wins at this point. I can’t imagine how the show would spin it if she didn’t win it all now. I mean, what would be the point of the entire competition any more if either of those two won? Shea’s Drag Race “journey” hasn’t been very satisfying to watch, and neither will AS7 if it’s just set up as a consolation prize for Symone losing this one.
Gigi had 4 wins last season and still lost to Jaida.
Gigi got a lot of wins last season to set up a Gigi vs Sh***y P*e plotline that ultimately got edited out. So viewers just got Gigi getting a ton of wins that felt absolutely unearned. That said – wins don’t mean much in this era of Drag Race.
ugh I hope it’s not Rose, I don’t know what her drag is about, other than being a good performer I really don’t get what she’s representing.
I don’t know what her drag is aboutRuffles.
I view Rose vs Symone the way I viewed Chad Michaels vs Sharon Needles. Just like Chad, Rose is a professional, level-headed, with no major stumbles on the challenges, and a bit of an old-fashioned aesthetic. But Symone, just like Sharon, just has that it factor / star quality.
They’ve been carrying Kandy all season, and they weren’t going to stop tonight. They even gave the Trash Barrel That Walks Like a Woman a lip-sync song that played into her groove, and she still had to rely on Olivia not being ready for comic moves in hers.
I’ve said all along this is Mik’s to lose, but Rose is going to make it very tough.
The Judges have been surprisingly kind to the contestants this season, even though they’ve consistently produced some of the worst looks we’ve seen on the runway since they very first seasons of this show. I still can’t quite believe that the British queens were treated so harshly on UKDR2 in comparison.
The Judges have been surprisingly kind to the contestants this season, even though they’ve consistently produced some of the worst looks we’ve seen on the runway since they very first seasons of this showAgreed; they’ve let a LOT of horrid shit slide recently when in other seasons they would have been utterly merciless.
They were so delicate about calling out Utica’s utter failure of a roast! She wasn’t just “a little harsh.” Heck, she wasn’t even telling jokes! It was shitty, mean-spirited, fatphobic bullying, from someone who’d just put on a big ol’ performance out of not wanting to cause any racial offense in the makeover ep. They should have torn her apart for that shit during the critiques.
That’s something that the panel has never done, and probably never will do. This show has let the queens proceed with presenting broadly offensive cultural stereotypes as “edgy comedy” (I’m thinking of Manila’s lazy racialized characters, as much as I love her) and often has tacitly approved its use because production doesn’t think it’s going to get any blowback for “doing something controversial” (translation: pulling in ratings). After all, the producers aren’t going to be the ones who take the fall if the comedy bit crashes and burns (translation: Utica) on social media. At the same time, they’ve also quashed any hint of sexual comedy or expressiveness that might have truly pushed boundaries on television (I’m thinking of Manila’s “Period Piece” tampon dress and the real Club 96).
Genuinely amazed at the amount of people who watch this show and have such a poor comprehension of how reality TV works that they’re ripping Kandy for decisions the producers made.
Kandy’s high final placement wouldn’t have drawn nearly as much ire, though, if she hadn’t been so grating and obnoxious and had actually performed well during the first half of this long, long season. And she called herself a “villain” tonight, so she’s clearly well aware of reality show tropes, and is willing to use them, and not is some naif who was corrupted by the wily RuPaul. I think we’re all well aware of reality show conventions and the fact that production on this show has offered queens “more airtime” if they play a “villain” on it.
Yeah I’m not saying she doesn’t have a clue what she’s doing, but on the other hand I’ve heard “grating and obnoxious” applied disproportionately enough times to any minority who dare be loud that the attitude towards her can fuck right off. Judge her clothes, performances, and words, not *her*, FFS.
It’s an interesting debate, and one that deserves a place in discussing this show. Reality shows in general edit real people into cartoon charicatures of themselves and offer them up for public judgment; this show, among many, has done an incredibly poor job of protecting them from toxic fan behaviour once the show ends. I’m all for ending shady edits and portraying all contestants as the fully rounded people that they are, much like what happens on the international version of the this show.A more complicated question is this: Tina Burner was equally obnoxious and grating on the show, and I (amongst many) called her out for it. But is it okay to do that because she’s a white queen who’s unlikely to face the backlash that is waiting for Kandy because of her behaviour and because she’s a person of colour? Or even just because she’s a person of colour? And how do we address her problematic behaviour, such as how she treated Tamisha (at least, in the beginning)? I’m still waiting for RuPaul to address these topics either on or off the show.
Yeah, definitely!
That’s a good question, TBH I think part of equitable treatment means calling out specific comments (like Elliott’s uhhh…history) – I’d expect those to more frequently be an issue with thinner/cis/white queens, but doesn’t make it less important.
As to the rest…IDK. I’m thinking back to S6 where my understanding is that the edit removed Jinkx Monsoon giving back as good as she got, so it came off as Roxxy just being awful to her all the time. I think I’d rather hear from queens on whether or not they’re on good terms.
It seems like in general the better move is to be positive – if someone’s being a jerk to Tamisha, promote her kickass shoes & other work, don’t dwell on the person being a jerk. I mean, even without the edit, competition is stressful, and unfortunately not everyone does well under that kind of pressure – which is hard to predict beforehand IMO.
Considering how long it took the show to even acknowledge harassment…I think we’ll be waiting forever on that one. Ru’s too busy fracking.
I feel like annoying people this season: Utica > Nina >> Candy tbh. Though I wonder if producers ARE banking on the POC who takes up space physically being hated by the audience for having the audacity to be talkative. They failed though, Candy has a ton of raw charisma and confidence that doesn’t come off as fake or thirsty.
I 100% that queens of color get disproportionate criticism when it comes the their personality. Thinking queens like Kennedy Davenport, Jasmine Masters and Ra’Jah O’Hara getting slammed by toxic fans But I’m judging Kandy by her words. She’s loud and insufferable.
Yeah, on the one hand you totally have the right to find her insufferable! But on the other hand, how to untangle from implicit bias?? I got nothing there, TBH.
It’s a great question and one that will continue to pop up as Drag Race becomes more and more of entertainment for the masses. All I can say is that I’m judging Kandy as a fellow Hispanic / Latinx if that makes any difference. And it’s not his fault that RuPaul decided he’s the next Vanjie Matteo, and that this season has been 17 months long.
Huh, IDK! I mean let’s be honest, sometimes we’re harsher on minorities from our own group cause…yeah. But yeah, there’s totally factors here that are gonna play it up, I mainly think the issue is when you get all the online dogpiling that’s lead to some really bad shit for contestants as of late.
Don’t think I’m being harsher in Kandy Than Tina Burner but I get the larger point about the impact on the contestants. So I will pledge to stick to matters of performance and looks. Like Kandys terrible clown outfit she wore on this past episode
Ha! Goodness the combination with the hair…very odd choice.
That’s absolutely fair, but I don’t think its a complete defense for the way someone acts. Kandy, like Silky, seems to mistake being loud for having a personality. The judges have absolutely not pushed her as hard as they’ve pushed others to step outside her comfort zone. Like, Vanjy had the same type of personality but tried to put her own spin on it. I have a hard time thinking of anything unique about Kandy
That’s what I don’t really understand. It’s edited reality TV. Kandy obviously doesn’t deserve her final 4 placement, but she’s a strong personality that gets the idiot fans of the show angry and then gets the Kandy fans defensive.I do wish the show would at least attempt to appear fair, because I think forcing a queen for the sake of drama and personality and then saying not to bully the queen isn’t the best tactic.
In general I think RPDR has done a bang-up job demonstrating how to not deal with toxic fan behavior. (Admittedly, they’re not alone in this.)
So I saw an episode where Kandy was the funniest and the most well rounded character though with a horrible runway – not as bad as the alien though -, Rosé was kind of cute in both acting and challenge, Olivia was read on the runway for random reasons – Cynthia Erivo sorry but a competition is about who is the best and you cannot have the nerve of saying you are dissapointed because of someone not saying who is the worst… oh but what the fuck am I saying, it was a role, and no one on the judging panel tonight seemed comfortable with what they were saying – and a bad acting, Symone did the same character again with half of the fun but a cute runway (though really is it a surprise to mix denim with orange hair?), and Gottmik was horrible on the acting challenge to Scaredy Kat levels but with another cute runway. It felt random. The lip sync felt random. And I felt Kandy being really tired at the end. It has been an overlong season for all of us. If the top 4 get to the ending with adequate mental health I cannot stop admiring them.
This should be the A.V. Club “Weecap” of the week. You know, like the ones TWoP used to have, or the 1 minute “quick” version of stories on the Christian Science Monitor website.
Honestly didn’t care who went home from that lip sync.
The way Rosé technically has the best track record but it seems the Fandom is going for Mik. Seems right. Even as a rose stan this Era of drag race its all so random. Shea/gigi/Bimini all had 4 wins and didn’t win.Only winner with 4 wins is Sharon lmao
I was kind of wondering if Symone was going to really crash and burn a la Valentina and be a shock exit, but not so much.I know Kandy isn’t popular and I don’t imagine a world where I’m clamoring to follow her career, but I do think she’s grown on me and I appreciate that she does have a more distinct point of view than some similar queens have had in the past.
This entire season has been very one note. Almost everyone has being doing the same schtick since Day 1, and only Olivia has been dinged for doing it. Kandy’s awful looks alone should have kept her out of top 4. I actually think that outfit this week might be worse than the bag dress from earlier this season; that had the excuse of being made quickly on the show, and at least had a good hat.
Maybe I’m just bitter. Hearing from so many queens talk about how miserable the show has made them and all the complaints about background shenanigans have sucked the fun out of it. And Kandy doing so well has felt like a bully being rewarded for their actions. Everyone has just kind of glossed over her flaws. At least with Silky you had other queens push back against her nonsense.