Squirrels, a Scot, and a solid “Snatch Game” return RuPaul’s Drag Race to competitive play
TV Reviews RuPaul
“Social Media: The Unverified Rusical” ended rather unsatisfyingly with a double shantay, right before Drag Race took a week off to air their COVID special. Season one had nine episodes total and season eight had 10. Season 13 premiered on New Years’ Day and two months later, there are still nine queens remaining. It’s past time for the season to kick into gear, showing fans who has what it takes to stand out and shine. Fortunately, the challenge of all challenges is here: The Snatch Game.
Though it has lost some of its luster over the years, the Snatch Game remains the most daunting of Drag Race’s many signature challenges. Impersonate a celebrity visually and vocally, bone up on your knowledge of their public persona (or invent your own for them), and be ready to banter with RuPaul, dropping cultural references and above all, making Ru laugh. Be a look queen, a performance queen, a reference queen, and a comedy queen, all at once. And don’t let the audience see you sweat. Season after season, it remains the show’s best litmus test for who has the chops to win and who needs a rude awakening.
“Snatch Game” begins with the queens reacting to Symone and Kandy’s double shantay. Symone and Kandy are relieved, while Denali is salty, frustrated that the first all-Winners Circle bottom three were spared. Rosé finally has his first win and is feeling a bit more secure, while Kandy is feeling the heat. Being spared so distinctly by Ru, rather than having the lip-sync with Symone declared a tie, puts the onus on him to live up to that vote of confidence. Kandy won’t get another chance.
The next day, the queens skip into the workroom and are quickly joined by Ru, wearing a purple, pink, and white suit: Good & Plenty, but make it men’s fashion. For the mini challenge, Ru tasks the queens with channeling his punk days fronting Wee Wee Pole. They’ll have 20 minutes to get into quick punk drag to audition for The Panty Hos, using materials provided by Snag Tights. The queens scramble to get ready, then come in one by one to rock out with a couple masked-up Pit Crew members on drums and guitar. It’s a charming concept for a mini challenge, and a welcome change of pace. It’s great to see the show celebrate the messy side of things. Ru gets in on the fun, taking the mic to close out the segment, and overall the queens do well. Tina stands out the most, though, and Ru gives her the win, and the $2500 cash prize.
With the mini challenge out of the way, Ru announces the next maxi challenge. It’s time for the Snatch Game! The queens are thrilled and raring to go, confident in their characters and preparation. Kandy is playing Patrick Starrr, Denali is going with Jonathan Van Ness, and Utica brought a painter’s palette—yes—and squirrel wig—wait, what?—to help him play Bob Ross. As a white queen, Utica isn’t comfortable wearing an afro, so he chose to go this way instead. The rest of the queens, and likely most of the viewers, are puzzled by this choice. If you’re not comfortable wearing an afro, why pick a character who’s iconic look requires an afro? Mik is going with Paris Hilton, who he knows and has previously painted. He has the voice down and this feels like a slam-dunk choice. Much less expected is Rosé’s pick, Mary Queen of Scots. Kandy is completely at a loss, but this is a creative and canny choice from Rosé. Ru loves a pronounced accent on Snatch Game, so as long as he can land some jokes, Rosé should be set.
Ru returns to the workroom and calls the queens over to chat. Elliott is the latest queen to take on Golden Girls legend Rue McClanahan. Ru is a massive Golden Girls fan and Kandy quickly spots the danger in Elliott’s choice. The balance and humor that cast brought to their characters is difficult to replicate. As Kandy warns, if you’re going to do Golden Girls, you’d better not miss, because you’ll miss hard. Elliott isn’t listening to Ru, though, certain that his extensive viewing of the show has prepared him. Next is Symone, who has another bold choice: He’ll be playing Harriet Tubman. Whereas Elliott dismisses the risks of playing McClanahan, Symone seems well aware of the risks of playing Tubman. He’s considered and accepted them, fully aware that some people may be offended.
Closer to the Elliott side of the spectrum is Utica, who doesn’t seem to hear Ru when he warns Utica away from choosing such a sedate character for Snatch Game, and doing so with a squirrel wig. Ru similarly warned Gigi away from Maria the Robot in season 12 and she won, so maybe Utica will be okay? Tina has two options for his Snatch Game: Richard Simmons or Jennifer Coolidge. Based on Ru’s reaction, Tina sticks with Simmons, and that seems like the right call. Last is Olivia, who is playing Tabitha Brown, a vegan chef popular on Instagram. She’s a good choice for Olivia, but Ru has no idea who she is, which means Olivia is in for an uphill climb.
The queens finish getting ready, then head over to the set. Ru is joined by celebrity guests Raven and Victoria “Porkchop” Parker and they dive right in. The introductions go pretty smoothly and the queens are off to a strong start. The first question trips up Olivia, who references ASMR but doesn’t have a follow-up ready when Ru asks what it stands for. She gets out of the exchange, but barely. Similarly floundering is Elliott, whose Rue McClanahan doesn’t have a second beat beyond talking about her love of gentlemen. Mik, Rosé, and Kandy do great, though, and Tina’s solid, showing off some new jogging techniques.
Ru throws the second question over to Denali and she nails it, bringing the Fab Five references and capturing Van Ness’s inflections and energy throughout. Elliott tries to banter with Denali, playing off her Antoni answer, but gets left in the dust. Symone makes a rather notable misstep, confusing Jenifer Lewis for Jennifer Lawrence, but she gets out of it with grace, staying in character while acknowledging her confusion. That’s nothing next to Utica’s decision to pivot her Bob Ross in a decidedly less family-friendly direction, pondering Ross Mathew’s underwear and awkwardly staring at Ru while spraying green paint onto her card, then licking it up. It’s unsettling and undoubtedly effective, but not funny.
For the final question, Ru tosses back to Mik, who continues to crush her Paris Hilton, cracking up the panel and Ru. Olivia tries to play off of Ru’s idea during the walkthrough that maybe Tabitha is secretly cheating on her vegan diet, but she isn’t able to stick the landing. Symone and Rosé close out their performances with on-point answers, while Utica sticks with her memorable, but not particularly funny approach, escalating by painting on her face. To Raven’s dismay, Ru names Porkchop the winner and the season 13 queens have officially made it through Snatch Game, with a pretty solid showing.
The next day, the queens excitedly break down the challenge—as Rosé notes, some of the queens are perhaps over-confident about their performances—and prep for the runway. Elliott asks the queens about their families and several share heart-warming stories of their families supporting their drag. Symone’s mom, Elliott’s grandfather, and Rosé’s parents all sound lovely, and Denali shares that his parents don’t really understand drag, with his mom specifically connecting it to the kink world, rather than an art form. Kandy closes the conversation by celebrating chosen family, and the importance and strength of the connections people build for themselves. It’s a nice note to end on, and one that connects the entire cast.
On the main stage, Ru walks out in a lovely pink and blue vertical striped dress, with platinum blonde hair. Michelle is in an armor-inspired black dress, a style she always slays with, Carson is in a black and floral suit, and guest judge Ts Madison is back, looking fabulous in a blue wig, a statement necklace and hoops, and a blue dress. For the runway, category is: Fascinating Fascinators. First out is Olivia, who goes mad scientist in a white patent leather lab coat, white thigh-high boots, and a white leotard. She has dark purple gloves, a cute auburn wig, and a silver headpiece, evoking a splash of mercury. Rosé took inspiration from her name for her look, with a massive red rose on her head and a petal-inspired dress. Like so many of her runways, there’s more volume than she perhaps needs, but this category is about the headpiece, and hers is the scale the queens should be shooting for. Utica’s look is much more stripped down, with a red gingham body suit, blue gingham garters, and stocking boots. Her fascinator is a picnic basket, complete with button ants crawling up her leg and bees flying out of the basket. There’s also some volume at play with one of her sleeves, and the look is playful and chic.
Just as stylish a look from the front, and far more powerful from the back, is Symone’s. She’s in all white with a papal-inspired headpiece, tilted askance. She’s going for an angelic look, without the wings, and she nails it. When she turns around, her message is clear: “Say Their Names” is stoned on the back of the headpiece, dripping glittering blood, and there are two bullet wounds in her back. Symone completes the look by walking back down the runway with her hands up. She’s making a clear statement on police violence, and this is a potent example of Symone taking advantage of her platform on Drag Race. Symone names Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Brayla Stone, Trayvon Martin, Tony McDade, Nina Pope, and Monika Diamond, and would undoubtedly have gone on, had the runway been longer.
Gottmik comes out next in full ’70s Brit punk rocker mode, wearing her first Pierrot paint since her entrance look. She looks great, with a giant silver safety pin stuck through her head and a glittering, massive drop of blood hanging from the pin. Mik isn’t the only fashion throw-back, Denali rollerblades out as a ’50s carhop, with a red and white striped mini dress uniform, tray of food, and a pot of diner coffee splashing into a coffee cup for her headpiece. It’s cute and campy, and a fun pick for her. Elliott is the first miss. She comes out with a massive pink feather headpiece, which looks terrific, a white blonde wig with vibrant pink accents, and a delicate pink body suit, with one arm and one sleeve made of flowy fabric that matches her skin tone. She wanted to evoke a flamingo, but the pink reads more petal than feather, so it doesn’t track.
Tina also takes animal inspiration for her look, with a horse and saddle headpiece, brown suit, and black riding boots and crop. She has a red flower wreath across her shoulders and at her wrists and she’s holding her giant blue ribbon: First in show. It’s a solid look, but it doesn’t compare with best on the runway. The same is true of Kandy, who flounces down the runway in black and white houndstooth. She’s wearing ruffles on ruffles and has her name spelled out in black and white feathers as her headpiece. It’s a fun idea, but again, it doesn’t stand up to the best looks on the runway.
Ru starts the critiques with Symone, Tina, and Kandy. The bottom three from the Rusical are now safe. Declaring Symone safe after her strong Snatch Game and that spectacular runway is puzzling, but Tina and Kandy were both securely middle of the pack. Ru specifically commends Symone on her runway look and its powerful message, then sends the trio back to Untucked. That leaves Rosé, Denali, and Mik as the top three queens and Olivia, Utica, and Elliott in the bottom. Rosé is complimented for her look, with a mild read from Michelle about her past runways, and the judges commend her for going so big with Mary Queen of Scots. Denali’s look is similarly praised with some light shade, but the judges loved her Snatch Game. She nailed Jonathan Van Ness and kept the jokes coming, and that’s what Snatch Game is all about. Ru loves Mik’s look and the judges rave over her spot-on Paris Hilton. As for the rest, Olivia missed the mark with Tabitha Brown, needing more specifics to capture her personality. The judges love Utica’s look, but she couldn’t find Ross’s voice or energy and the laughs weren’t there. Elliott’s runway critiques are the harshest, but she’s also in danger for her Rue McClanahan. Ts Madison better embodies Blanche with one hand motion and a little bit of shoulders than Elliott did through the entire Snatch Game.
After deliberations, Ru declares Mik the winner, awarding her the $5000 tip, and Rosé and Denali are safe. Olivia squeaks by as well, leaving Utica and Elliott up for elimination. Their lip-sync song, Company B’s “Fascinated,” is a good choice for both of these queens, but Elliott, who crushed her previous lip-syncs, is off her game here, while Utica is in her element. Going into the lip-sync, Elliott seemed the clear favorite, but between Utica’s strong performance and Elliott being in her head, Utica gets the shantay and Elliott is eliminated. Elliott had a rough time on Drag Race, faux eliminated twice before the season even began, but she showed some serious sewing skills in the ball challenge, danced her way to the top in the disco-mentary, and gave the season one of its best lip-syncs so far. That’s more than many can say about their time on Drag Race. Mostly, it’s a relief to get back to eliminations. Buckle in, fans. Eight queens remain, so there’s still a long way to go.
Stray observations
- Points to the editors and composer for the timing and scoring of Rosé’s, “Bitches beware” and the cuts to the other queens, culminating with her fantastic Maleficent collar-pop and mirror stare.
- I loved Kandy’s shout-out to Adore Delano during the quick punk drag.
- I’m going to need audio of Rosé saying all of the queen’s names in his Scottish accent.
- Mik being viscerally offended by Utica’s Bob Ross, particularly the voice, was hilarious, and relatable. “No!”
- Symone’s Harriet isn’t the only one hurrying along the delayed Tubman $20s.
- Ru and Michelle’s Yogi Bear impressions were absolutely delightful.
- Ru asks the panel which celebrities they’d pick for Snatch Game, and I love their picks: Carson would do Michelle, Michelle would do Rosie Perez, Ru would do Pearl Bailey, and Ts Madison would do Ursula the Sea Witch.
92 Comments
The whole Utica not wanting to wear a ‘fro because of appropriation seemed like a weird hill to die on here simply because as Ru and others pointed out – Bob Ross was white and Bob Ross had that hairstyle. I don’t really get how making it squirrels made it better? My bigger problem though was that it was an interesting character pick and then she didn’t sound or act anything like the character.I wanted to see Denali get a win. I didn’t necessarily think she was the best, but girl is trying so hard and not getting there.
The whole thing was ridiculous but the most baffling aspect was that voice. Why did she choose that speaking voice? So strangeI really thought Symone should’ve been on top and maybe even the winner. I don’t understand. The whole Harriet Tubman thing which could’ve gone south easily was well received and her runway was amazing. It didn’t add up that she was only in the “safe” groupI like Denali too but at least she finally got a critique which she was complaining about before
There should definitely have been a top four. How was Symone not in the top for the performance and amazing runway? Whatever.I didn’t understand Tina’s performance on many levels. She uses glamour makeup for Richard Simmons? And decided not to show off his creepy pube mullet? Girl.Elliott could easily have been replaced with Tina or, frankly, Olivia. In fact, at this point of the season, a triple Elliott/Utica/Tina elimination would have been satisfying and richly deserved.
I was kind of left wondering if Utica actually watched much Bob Ross to prepare. Because it wasn’t the right voice. It wasn’t the right mannerisms. Nothing about it seemed particularly well-crafted. Even having a bottle of spray paint didn’t track with Bob Ross. I was waiting for at least some reference to the happy squirrels in the ‘fro or something.I was REALLY surprised when Symone didn’t win. I think they do like to encourage those who do actual impersonations (hence, Mik) so that people don’t all just start doing “in name only” things. I also wonder if Rose’s whole schtick was funnier in person as well.
I think the problem here was that this was a perfect opportunity for Utica to be…Utica, and she didn’t grab the opportunity. I watched part of Ross’ ultraboring PBS show this morning, and marveled over the fact that she and Ross are pretty much the same person. Utica had so many great points of departure, but miffed them all. Why didn’t she save her “landscapes” for her answers, like Eureka did? Why didn’t she paint the panel on her cards? Why didn’t she didn’t she make outre and off-colour comments about her paint choices? The episode I watched this morning had Ross painting with Indian Yellow, for godsake. I would have died if butthole brown and poisoned rosebud were presented in a calm, soothing voice.
“Indian Yellow… Landscaper Tan… Housekeeper Brown.”
Coulda won with that shit.
(Also, I’m wondering if she had the squirrel wig and just tried to think of an excuse to wear it….)
The squirrel ‘fro was inspired! Unfortunately, her performance was not.
Great wig, but it didn’t work with the character. Maybe using a squirrel wig in the punk challenge would have been better.
I mean maybe that was my problem with it – Like if the voice and the affectations had been right, I might have been like “haha squirrel ‘fro.” But instead it was like “Oh all this awfulness and a squirrel ‘fro?”
It kind of bothered me. It’d be cool if it wasn’t an afro replacement for a different look but…my hair doesn’t look like a bunch of squirrels.
If it had been a forest of friendly little trees on his head…
That’s exactly what I said to my mom (staying with me during quarantine) when we watched. He could’ve made it a Bob Ross nature scene with squirrels. Just the squirrels alone made it seem insulting to fros like ours.
I didn’t get her issues with the ‘fro either. It’s a fact that Bob Ross had an afro, in fact, it’s probably the first thing people will say about him (apart from “Titanium white!”) and if you’re playing a character on Snatch Game, it’s a given you need to help the audience (and Ru) go “oh, you’re X celebrity”. There’s woke, girl, then there’s waking nightmare.
I get that she didn’t want to get blowback, but it make it feel more eye roll-y because everyone was like “you won’t get blowback. He was a white guy with a fro.” But that would have been fine if the rest was there – No ‘fro plus no catch phrases plus no similar sounding voice all ends up being bad.It made me think she knew so little about Bob Ross and his vibe that she fixated on the hair as a problem (or out of desire to get a pat on the back).
I’m sure you’re correct, but for a moment I was hoping that she was chanelling Jujubee not choosing a Thanksgiving theme for her runway because she didn’t want Pilgrims coming after her for cultural appropriation. God, I miss Jujubee.
It’s like Utica not wanting to wear an afro because another white man (who was appropriating nothing but his own genetic code, and a refusal to use hair straightener) had an afro is like what you’d expect from a parody of being overly woke. And yet…here we are. I mean, good for Utica for being mindful and not wanting to offend on the basis of race (even if it was a wholly unnecessary overcorrection), but he just ended up offending Bob Ross fans everywhere.
So I tried to warn everyone about Utica and now she’s finally getting the villain narrative she deserved all along. She’s not evil but it’s pretty clear she’s an overpraised annoying theater kid. It’s clear she’s been told she’s great at everything her in entire life and probably is very ggggh at some thing, but it’s led her to believe she’s some kind of savant at improv and comedy. And all that forced quirkiness and “awkwardness” masks her passive-aggressive shady personality. And it’s all going to get worse as she’s unable to process any kind of negative feedback about anything. Her lrrr
Her runway lewks aren’t my cup of tea but she’s succeeding at what she’s going for there, just not in her comedy, performance or personality
I can’t agree with this. She’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea — but villain? She hasn’t come after anyone and, again — killed it with her lipsync performance, and I was not expecting that. She’s somewhat socially tone-deaf, but she comes across as goofy, and not mean. Her Snatch Game was awful, but it was made more awful by the edit, which was devoid of the laugh track that made even some of the jokes made by the weaker performances (translation: Tina and Kandy) seem stronger. The judges also routinely underscore her runway, though they did give her some love for it tonight. Gottmik’s runway was good; Utica’s was great. Her fascinator was wonderful, and that was supposed to be the entire point of the runway. I thought Gottmik’s was just a little bit weaker, but she absolutely deserved the win for the challenge.
Hasn’t come after anyone!? Did you not hear the anecdote of her doing all of her ideas for library “reads” at a totally inappropriate moment making everyone uncomfortable which was told the same way by multiple different queens?
Did you not hear the anecdote of her doing all of her ideas for library “reads” at a totally inappropriate momentOff camera.
And here’s my issue with that;
Utica might be socially inept, bad at ‘reading the room,’ or even on the spectrum, (which is my personal suspicion) but anyone who was offended or didn’t like what she said should have spoken up right there in the moment, at that dinner.And maybe they did, but we don’t know because again, IT HAPPENED OFF CAMERA. Bringing it up on camera seems both unprofessional and petty, especially when the behavior described isn’t particularly nefarious, just ill-timed.It’s fine to dislike a queen because she’s not your personal flavor of tea, but that doesn’t automatically make her ‘a villain,’ especially not when the likes of Tyra Sanchez and Phi Phi Ohara still exist in DR Herstory. Utica is this years LaGanja. There, I said it.We’re not the ones who have to “live with it,” as it’s just your opinion, hon; – not a joke, just a fact.Utica is off kilter compared to the other queens this season; nevertheless, she’s turned way more memorable looks that LaGanja ever did, and unlike LaGanja she hasn’t been whining and lacking in self awareness all season.When Utica fucked up she knew it, whereas Alyssa’s daughter was rather delusional about her own standing in the competition during S6.I don’t know why the Utica hate is so intense among some fans, but we each have our different pet peeves that get under our skin, I guess…
Let’s not forget that Laganja turned out some pretty stunning looks and that S6 would’ve definitely been crappier without her. As Bianca has said, without Laganja, Untucked would have sucked.
As Bianca has said, without Laganja, Untucked would have sucked.Fair enough.
So Utica isn’t even held to basic standards of adult human behavior because she’s “awkward” (or whatever) yet the other queens are expected to all have the emotional intelligence social skills to stand up to someone going Don Rickles on them out of nowhere? And I think it’s pretty clear that what happened was more less as Rose and others described it because even Utica didn’t try to say it wasn’tI understand the skepticism about them waiting to bring it up when the cameras are on though. That’s valid
So Utica isn’t even held to basic standards of adult human behavior Wow, sis… I don’t even know where you got that from, because it wasn’t what I wrote, nor even implied.
I mean “Utica might be socially inept, bad at ‘reading the room,’ or even on the spectrum, (which is my personal suspicion) but . . .” but okay
That’s not me saying, “Utica should not be held to the basic standards of adult human behavior,” which is exactly what YOU wrote, hun.Please don’t put words in my mouth, and instead address what I actually wrote.We get it: you are NOT a fan of Utica, and that’s fine.However, that doesn’t make your assessment that “she’s a villain” some kind of verifiable fact. You have yourself a good day now, I’m gonna go out and get some fudge.
You do really have a dislike for Utica and theatre kids because even in the meanest edit there is little more than a delusional “fake it until you make it” quiet queen that is just a bit out of her element. I am still living for her and the amazing runways though, ehm, this snatch game deserved instant elimination. What a way to bomb.
Coming for Utica for talking behind their backs? They ALL talk about each other behind each others backs. Are we forgetting about the whole “Mean Girls” thing? Kandy, Tina and Mik are ALWAYS talking smack. Tina so badly wants to be this season’s Bianca, like some mother hen but A) she’s not funny and B) she’s not nice. The first few weeks, Utica was helping almost all of them with sewing. How is that a villain? Smack talk is part of the show and she is far from the worst offender.
“I would never have imagined that Ru would use a save on me!”Finally, Kandy says something with which I can wholeheartedly agree.
Was surprised Symone didn’t make the top tier. Her Tubman and her runway had the kind of audacity that Ru supposedly wants, far more than Denali’s constant hair-flipping.
Yes, Kandy, we know that you’re what’s on your mind all the time. Are you noticing how thin the act is wearing?
Also shocked that no one caught what I thought was the obvious American Beauty reference in Rose’s look. But damn if everything didn’t sound like a riot in that Scottish burr (yes, Kandy, Scotland has its own dialect, it’s not some “Irish thing”).
Love all the shots of Mik just sitting there watching the drama swirl. Eight queens left, but honestly, is there any way Mik doesn’t win this short of a major injury?
I’d be happy with giving Symone the title right now and moving to S14. What is it with these even-numbered seasons? All of them, with the exception of 3 and 5, have been pretty bad.Audience reaction at this week’s USDR elimination: can’t you eliminate more? Like three or four?Audience reaction at this week’s UKDR elimination: NOOOOO! Seriously, how in the hell did that happen?
I concur that either Symone or Gotmik is going to win S14.I can’t agree on your odd/even seasons theory:Personally, I liked S1-S2, was less than thrilled with S3 (I dislike ‘mean girl’ cliques) loved seasons 4, 5, and 6, I was NOT a fan of S7, I lived for S8, liked S9, was surprisingly underwhelmed by S10, I stanned S11, and I thought S12 was good.
So overall, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the regular seasons of RPDR, with the exceptions of 7, 10, and this one, 14.Now as to the version of DR that is giving me life this season, on to the UK:I admit I was a tad shocked at the final top four, but I’m not actually mad. The queen who made the certain choices that she did was not wrong to play the game that way; regardless to what order of performance is set up, the contest is a challenge to do your best no matter what and overcome whatever obstacles are thrown in your path. All the drama back and forth about it was annoying, and when Tayce ends up being the queen that’s most reasonable, you know the others just might be overreacting just a touch. I’ll chalk it up to hurt feelings, and the pressure of having made it so far…
If Symone doesn’t win I think Rosè is the better bet for who would. Gottmik doesn’t seem like a good lip syncer based on the evidence so far. But Symone is still who I’d like to see win
13 is not an Eve number. Neither is a or 5.
Thanks for catching that. I meant to call attention to the odd-numbered season “curse”, but clearly can’t count late at night.
This is the last episode I’m going to see because I just canceled my cable. I was hardly watching it I can get every streaming app and still it would be cheaper then cable.
I’d be happy with giving Symone the title right now and moving to S14.
What is it with these even-numbered seasons? All of them, with the
exception of 3 and 5, have been pretty bad.
???????
Kandy’s look sure didn’t look like it came off the Paris Runway like she said unless she was thinking of Paris, Texas. Smart of her to pick someone most people never heard of that way she can just do her and not try anything new.
Her makeup was rough again. Ugh, Kandy and her shrinky dink paint jobs drive me crazy, especially when the panel ignores it.
The panel’s refusal to read anyone for their paint this season is driving me crazy. I really like Denali, but I’ve been screaming at her contour through the screen every week.
Kandy totally just skated by on doing exactly what Silky did in her Snatch Game as “Ts Madison”; she was still herself, with a catchphrase or two thrown in, not an impersonation.
Tina played it safe as well. It’s easy to impersonate Richard Simmons just act energetic and hopeful.
It was a smart move. In addition, RuPaul seems very reluctant to boot contestants who portray “hot” social media stars, even when the performances suck (translation: Crystal and the Vixen), as he probably feels he’d alienate the young’uns, so it’s not a bad place to turn if comedy’s not your strong suit. In fact, I think only two losing performances have been of “viral” stars — Sonique and Gia — and their performaces were so bad it was hard to debate the choice. On the other hand, all of the winning performances on AS have been of has-beens and/or dead celebrities. It’s like you’ve got to tap deeply into Ru’s bag of gay cliches to really get his approval on that stage.
Real talk; if I were an aspiring drag queen who wanted to compete on DR, I’d make it my personal mission to learn all about ‘Ru’s favorite things’ just to insure a longer run in the competition. That and knowing how to sew are two major factors that will help keep a queen around, IMO. The panel’s refusal to read anyone for their paint this season is driving me crazy.Oh, good; so it’s not just me.Tina’s makeup is consistently AWFUL*, and she has yet to be clocked for it; I also fully agree about Denali’s tragic contouring – it’s just way too damn dark.*It’s very telling how both of Tina’s ‘Mean Girl’ besties are far better at painting than Tina is, yet neither one has given her any pointers on how to improve it.
Well that, and also be under thirty. There are many boxes to be ticked off if you’re going to be a winner, baby (including the background psychological trauma that can be carefully milked into a tender workroom moment), and that’s probably the biggest these days. This is what kills me: Ru expects you to look and dance like you’re twenty but have the cultural references, wit, and wisdom of a sixty year-old. And that’s a battle in which looks will always win out “for the fans”.
Well that, and also be under thirty. I thought that was a given. This is what kills me: Ru expects you to look and dance like you’re twenty but have the cultural references, wit, and wisdom of a sixty year-old.I hear you; it’s like each season, Ru’s expectations become ever more unrealistic and harder to attain.What’s ironic is that for all her being an icon who helped propel the art of Drag into the mainstream, RuPaul isn’t even the most famous/most popular drag queen out there right now.Going just by the stats of followers on social media platforms, this Brazilian drag queen, Pabllo Vittar is:Miss Thang is 26 years old, fish as fuck, can SING and dance, and she’s highly supportive of the Trans community.
The queens always like to reference ‘the future of drag’; I happen to think that Pabllo is going to be a big part of it, whether she has a RPDR affiliation under her belt or not.
And yet, for all of her many faults, RuPaul is one of the few queens who have been able to sell drag to a white, mainstream audience, which is still the most important market for many advertisers. The only host who has come close in charisma is Fred Van Leer…and he’s been equally questionable on trans representation on Holland’s Drag Race.
for all of her many faults, RuPaul is one of the few queens who have been able to sell drag to a white, mainstream audience, which is still the most important market for many advertisers. Excellent point; all money may be green, but they still want those White dollars more than anything.
Oh, I’ve heard of Patrick Starr. Was half expecting Kandy to come out in a starfish outfit, considering her lack of knowledge on most topics.
I got nervous when Mik picked Paris since Paris is essentially playing a character already, that’s why she’s a hard snatch to pull off, but Mik fucking nailed it since she grasped that. Very impressed and well deserved.I think Eliott’s one of the best dancers ever on the stage, so I felt she really threw in the towel tonight, but I also felt she knew she was kind of out of things to offer except some good face.
With Elliott, I also think you can’t underestimate how poorly fitted that costume was. I get the idea of a blousy leg, but you could tell it was making her attempts to dance like she normally would much harder. It looked too big.
It seems kind of mean, but I have to laugh at the fact that only about two people here have mentioned her elimination or said that they’re sorry to see her go. And I sort of liked her at one point, but yeah, me neither.
Holy fucksocks, there are still soooo many damn queens left; sheesh.That said, I was surprised by how well Gottmik did with Paris Hilton, but I suppose knowing her personally helped a lot, especially with the little touches like not using the fake vocal fry voice until after she was told the camera was rolling. I cannot argue with that win.
Rose did well, and so did Denali. Utica, Elliott and Olivia did not, clearly, and I can’t disagree with the bottom two or the elimination; the correct queen sashayed.
I’m still officially over both Tina and Kandy; even their talking heads are starting to annoy me now, and the way the season is being dragged out is NOT helping. So I tried to warn everyone about Utica and now she’s finally getting the villain narrative she deserved all along. Gurl… I know that we all have our queens that we stan and our queens who we ‘love to hate,’ but Utica being awkward and not knowing how to relate to the other the queens hardly makes her “a villain.”You’re making her out like it was revealed that she was Agatha All Along*, when that really didn’t seem to be the case, IMO.*I don’t know why the video link wont fucking upload properly (fucking janky-ass Kinja) but anyone who doesn’t know what I’m referencing can likely google it for themselves.
I’m still officially over both Tina and Kandy; even their talking heads are starting to annoy me now, and the way the season is being dragged out is NOT helping.They’ve annoyed me for most of the season, which is now officially in its second decade. Is Symone on strike? Can Ross start giving talking heads?When. Will. It. END? I can’t disagree with the bottom two or the elimination; the correct queen sashayed.Let’s be honest: there should have been a bottom four up for elimination. Let’s see Tina lipsync!
Maybe this has more with perception vs reality, but I think I expected to dislike Tina so much that I’ve kind of been in a “oh, she’s not so bad” headspace for most of the season tbh.
It’s not even that I actively dislike Tina, it’s just that I’m not impressed by her drag at all, yet she’s been coasting all season. I have a problem in general with queens who suck up all the air in the room constantly, yet their skill level is nowhere near up to par.
She’s sucking up something, that’s for sure. She’s just coastin’ on down to Burgertown…
“Utica being awkward and not knowing how to relate to the other the queens hardly makes her “a villain.”Especially when Tina’s annoying ass is still in it. Utica is too much quirkiness for the sake of quirkiness but villain she ain’t. Not sure what is that over-the-top selling of Utica as Phi Phi part 2 is about
Assorted thoughts:* Raven, what the fuck. I thought she was Jaida when the camera first cut to her. There’s a fine line between tan and blackface.* I did not expect Utica to turn it out in the lip sync like that, and I’m kinda living?* Your daily reminder that this is a reality TV show, and a notoriously difficult and intense one at that. You can’t get an accurate read as to whether they’re Good or Bad based on selectively-edited content filmed under a lot of stress.* On a similar note, the endless whining about Kandy has become much more annoying than Kandy herself.
* Raven, what the fuck. I thought she was Jaida when the camera first cut to her. There’s a fine line between tan and blackface.But I thought she was giving us Valentina Realness! And Gottmik was able to finally make Raven’s face move — it’s a medical miracle! Raven’s amazing. I’m not afraid of much in life, but I’m sort of terrified of both her and Raja. They’re the waxwork aunts who will always be whispering in your ear that you’re too fat. And then pinch you in your fat. * On a similar note, the endless whining about Kandy has become much more annoying than Kandy herself.A fair point, but I feel that we need to balance out the outrageously lavish praise that Kandy heaps on herself in her talking heads in order to achieve a cosmic karmic balance. And without that, the season will not end.
Do these queens even bother to test their Snatch Game ideas in front of other people? Or do their “friends” consist of yes people who hate them? Because that was mostly bad. It’s like going on The Amazing Race without leaning to drive a stick shift or on Survivor without mastering the art of making a fire. Only 4 of them were even remotely funny…Symone, Gotmik, Rose and Denali and Symone should have been top 3 over Denali. They all go on and on about how much they look forward to making it TO Snatch Game but apparently they don’t have a plan to get PAST Snatch Game. Mik, Rosé, and Kandy do great, though, and Tina’s solid, showing off some new jogging techniques. Kandy did great? Kandy did Kandy. Yes, she made Ru laugh I guess because she said “bitch” 3 or 4 times every answer. I’m still pissed at that bullshit Ru pulled in the last episode in saving her. And Tina was not good at all. They only got by because the bottom three were herstorically bad. Good for Utica for slaying that lip sync.
I am so tired of Kandy saying “bitch” all the goddam time.
This looked like a hot mess from the beginning and it was! So fascinating to watch. The only reason why Tina and Kady were safe is because of how misguided were the other three.Rosé is so smart, smelling that the use of an outlandish scottish personnna was enough to create a snatch character.Symone is amazing and I agree with davidcalgary29: give her the crown already. I am fine with it.Gottmik is pure 80s early new wave and I am loving it so much.Utica is one of my favourite fashion queens evah. But as mentioned somewhere else, that snatch game was instabye. There was absolutely nothing there that worked, no choice that was wise. But again, a moment of smart when chosing a runway that left her space to dance and stretch. I don’t believe she will get to the end (my initial top three were Gottmik, Utica and Symone) but I am still so entertained. I’ve known people like Utica, talking very quiet, with a sharp shade, self deprecating and a pure joy to be around and to talk to. Eliott face of DREAD during the lipsync, by Munch.And I really think that Tina and Kandy are tired of being on the competition at this stage of the program. It just went on for too long.
When has Utica been self deprecating? All she talks about is how she’s the best at everything she does and is going to steal scenes and win everything
I do hope to meet the guy that Utica reminds you of so I can really have a few words.
The only reason why Tina and Kandy were safe is because of how misguided were the other three.Isn’t that the trick to Snatch Game – Unless you know impersonations are the best thing you do, pick something middle tier and just try to get through it while someone else falls on their face.I kind of expected more from Tina (or at least expected her to be trying to get more attention than she did), but she managed to skate.
I kind of expected more from Tina Like, every week.
Well, as soon as Ru said Symone was safe I knew Gottmik had won, but they were neck-and-neck to the end.
But let’s talk DRUK, because this week something happened I can’t really remember anyone doing before. As winner of the mini-challenge, Ellie Diamond had the power to pick the order of stand-up performances in the maxi-challenge. Now IIRC pretty much anyone in this position has either tried to give everybody the spot they want, or at the very least focus on making the overall challenge entertaining without ruffling too many feathers.
But both A’Whora and Lawrence were explicitly upset by the spots Ellie chose for them, and yet Ellie went ahead with it anyway. There were excuses such as “it’s not RuPaul’s Best Friends Race” (though at least Ellie and Lawrence were apparently friends, probably not anymore), “Ellie’s playing the game”, “Ellie hasn’t won a badge yet”, but all of this was insignificant to me compared to the fact that if Ellie had ordered everyone the way they wanted then at least she’d know if she could compete with them at their best.
Now she’ll never know, neither will we, and the IMHO the finale next week (I think) is lesser for it. Shady bitch indeed, Ru. Shady bitch to us all.
UKDR SPOILER:But that hasn’t been the case for USDR. Remember Shangela’s standup order in S3? Gay’s Anatomy? Blac Chyna? The difference is that, instead of gritting their teeth and saving their ire for talking heads, half of the UKDR cast were big, whiny babies about the order and misdirected their rage at the one person not responsible for it. Hate Ru! It’s her fault! I’m increasingly liking Lawrence less and less as the season progresses. She’s frankly been a bitch to Ellie for the entire season now, and unless something big happened off camera — blackmail? “Special Sauce” that she put in one of Lawrence’s orders? — all of this is just so unnecessary. I was feeling Tayce this week, and wish the show had dumped Lawrence’s ass for A’whora’s.
Utica is this years LaGanja. There, I said it. Live with it. She was fun for a few minutes and now I just want to see her booted off. You’re boring, dear, boring!Rose’s Mary Stuart was fun. Thing is, I know that if one of the UK Drag Race queens did Mary Queen of Scots they’d play her as either a pure Glasgow Ned or a Real Housewives of Newton Mearns (Newton Mearns is a horrible little suburb of Glasgow where a lot of the nouveau-riche live along with their completely fictional accent which didn’t exist 40 years ago!). But she was fun nonetheless.Utica was a bore. Simple as that. Really, just really, really, really fucking boring.
“Utica is this years LaGanja. There, I said it. Live with it.” ding ding ding ding ding!
I do think Utica thinks she’s Sasha or Yvie without actually having the point of view they have. I mean, I still wish we got to see Sasha do Judith Butler because I know she’d bring a nuanced insane take on that tbh. Yvie is weird and dark, but she has purpose behind her aesthetic (as do most of the other “weird” queens who have come through).Everything Bob Ross did seemed like an attempt to shock when ultimately it wasn’t shocking, interesting or Bob Ross.
Yvie was spectacular in many ways. She brought some gorgeous, weird, even creepy visuals and aesthetics to drag that we’ve not seen on the show since Sharon Needles. Sasha will forever be my favourite queen after Bianca Del Rio (I always remember Mr Biblioteca shouting at the television “Look, it’s you, but less evil!”) and her style and humour was delicious. I mean, come on, she made Marlene Dietrich funny. That is not easy!Like I said before: Utica was just boring. Dull, even.
I think Utica lives in her own little bubble and doesn’t really have any real drag (or contemporary pop culture) references, and that’s part of what makes her both so charming and frustrating to watch. She’s just going to do her own thing right until it sends her out of the competition. She’s like Amy Adams’ cartoon character in Enchanted, but without the self-awareness that she actually isn’t a cartoon character after all. Bless her.
I’m actually surprised we haven’t seen more historical figures on Snatch Game- doing someone like Harriet Tubman or Mary Stuart basically means you get to create your own character without being immediately compared to the real person, and you can easily mine the contrast between modern behavior and historical prestige for comedy. And Rosé and Symone did both those things, to great success! Meanwhile, Utica’s Bob Ross was baffling. We’ve certainly had good Snatch Game characters that weren’t great impressions. But Utica was doing something so bizarrely far removed from anything Bob Ross was that nothing came together. And the thing about the Afro was just silly. Wearing a wig to appropriate or emulate a different race or culture than one’s own is wrong, yes. But that was not the case in this situation.It really feels like we’ve seen all that Kandy Muse can bring to the table. Week in and week out, it’s been the same thing. She is consistently and thoroughly outshined in the challenges and on the runway. That dramatic save better have a payoff, but I just don’t see how it can.
I think the whole historical figure thing is why Symone and Rose didn’t win – They don’t want that to become a trend. In the end, they picked the person who was the closest to a true impersonation with another (Denali) being close behind.
I am going to reply here: the afro was an extremely lame excuse to hide the insecurity for … a choice. If you go with a dumb thing, go all the way with it and don’t hide it under cultural appropiation. Just say that you see the guy as connected to nature or something. UTICA YOU ARE MAKING IT HARD TO ROOT FOR YOU NOW.
I am going to reply here: the afro was an extremely lame excuse to hide the insecurity for … a choice.Yeah, 100%. Ru has already commented on how Utica will do something fine or wonderful and then just add one touch to push it over the edge and sometimes ruin the whole affect and that was this.
She needs to put a spin on something that doesn’t necessarily need a spin on it and I’m positive that she was thinking about how Bob Ross having a hair made of squirrels was far funnier that just Bob Ross and far “more Utica”.
In the end, I think Utica is here far more to establish her brand and create a fanbase than to actually win the competition (and I think that is a smart choice in the long run) but I think we are going to see Utica refusing to compromise or even doing anything other than “her way”
“Well, I found this question very unfair because, as you know, I don’t know these things, I rarely leave my house, and I died many decades ago.”
Do we need some Denali killing it to make up for a lacklustre episode again?
Seeing this reminds me exactly how much I hate the storylines this season. I have a hard time remembering Denali and Rose in any of the episodes, even though they’re having good-to-great runs, because they’ve been pushed in the background to focus on meaningless conflicts involving queens who aren’t a threat to take the title and/or are not bringing anything fresh to the challenges. What happened to good old competence and professionalism? Yeesh.
Might have just been me, but the edit this week felt either lazy, predictable, or probably both? The bottom 3 for snatch game felt obvious before they’d actually started and nothing ever really surprised me in terms of a Queen exceeding the expectations established early on.
The edit actually made me sit there and think “Wow, someone must really throw a surprise in the mix.” Then nope. Like I thought maybe Tina or Rose was going to crash and burn or Elliott would somehow do good. But then that didn’t happen.
Yeah, I thought maybe the Bob Ross was going to surprise me with some kind of left field swerve, but Eliott specifically just seemed doomed as soon as it became clear they were only a casual Golden Girls fan.
Eliott also fell prey to the idea of doing an iconic actress when really you’re just planning to play their character. I kept waiting for the surprise, but it didn’t come. Even Harriet Tubman, I was like, this must have been passable or we probably wouldn’t be talking about it and not just editing it out.
Utica’s Bob Ross sounded like the kind of angry southerner that Symone’s Harriet Tubman was hiding from at the start of the game.
I’d have been down for that.
I get why they said no even if I would have been down for that too (especially with Harriet Tubman on stage), but I’m also like so for the funny impersonation challenge you brought Rachel Dolezal and Tabitha Brown and nothing else? Still seems like a bad read on a backup plan.
I suppose a black man impersonating a white woman impersonating a black woman was too much for them. Yeah, I get it too, but I like the way that kid thinks (except for his backup plan, agreed). And maybe it’s a subtle way of drawing the line on people not impersonating people of other races in the competition…but does that mean we’d have been denied Bob the Drag Queen’s Carol Channing, or Trixie Mattel’s RuPaul? Okay, the latter should have been denied, but not because of the race thing.
I honestly don’t think the depiction of race was the problem – They didn’t stop Thorgy Thor from doing Michael Jackson which got a fair bit of blowback.I think the Rachel Dolezal issue is more the possibility of the jokes falling uncomfortably flat and putting Ru in a position to make jokes about race that go outside of the kind of race jokes he normally does. Snatch Game isn’t really the venue for a potentially politically charged character. Even Harriet Tubman stuck to jokes that everyone was going to easily get on board with.
IDK if I’d say worst snatch game ever, but…Kandy and Symone being in the same group was insulting. Willam spilled some tea about Drag Race Australia’s snatch game on RaceChaser and if anyone else heard it and wants to talk in a vague, spoiler-free manner…