SOMEONE TURN THE OVEN OFF!

I am so over Olivia. I can't wait for her to go. I feel like every season they keep one queen around whi really killed it in the beginning, but hasn't shown much potential since about half way. I thought that she should have gone home instead of Denali! She should have been lipsyncing after the soda challenge too! The 4D chess theory is interesting, because something tells me that she wouldn't slay a lipsync. I thought that Denali did better than her. I think that Rosé started off the season too slowly to win, but I do like her. Gotmik wins the season for me based on her overall body of work.

"smile her way off into the sunset" lololol but I don't think you're wrong...it'll be V interesting to see what happens next week!

yeah it feels like they might be trying to make her the villain but there isn't an outright villain this season so they're scrambling! Gritty has a tiktok?? Uh oh!

yeah I definitely needed to grab a lozenge bc my throat was so dry from 45 straight minutes of open mouth confusion! And ohhhh what do you mean by questionable lip sync songs?? Like, impossible to preform to? Skewing obviously in the direction of one queen vs another? I love all your insights that I don't see immediately!

I never thought I'd see a room of drag queens all unintentionally do this emoji 😐at the same time. But that's the gift that Utica possesses! And wow "endearing and worrying" so perfectly encapsulates how Utica makes an audience feel! It is charming and harming, engaging and enraging, artistic and ICK all at once!

Love RPDR weekly roundup! I get to have my daily reading in and have a chuckle at the same time!! Thanks y'all ! I pretty much have the same views as most. It was Utica time and Symone is now on notice. Gotmik and Rosé are really finishing strong. Olivia will smile her way off into the sunset next and Kandy will make final four I think. She has really had a nice turnaround for me. Until next week!

yeah there's such a difference between ridiculous exaggerations and what Utica claims are "observations" eek! Yeah Rosé was great all around, I just liked a couple of her jokes in rehearsal better than the final ones she went with. Still, she was great both times! Yeah, Olivia has really fallen ... wonder what's going to happen next week!

Yeah I expected Utica to be more awkward quirky in her bombing, not awkward harsh and mean!

Oh wow yeah them dragging it out for the hopes of an in person finale makes soooooo much more sense! I guess we'll see what happens! And 😱about the "Ru stand up" line - I figured it was something like that but HOW BALLSY!

SO many bombings! I really didn't think there'd be so many bombings!

This episode was good..if I block out Utica. I don't know if it is the edit or her at this point, are they making her the villain or was it her? But I cringed so much during the prep I wouldn't have put it past Michelle to slap her. I will give her credit for asking ru to stand up, because that was funny because it confirms the rumor that when judging ru is in drag from the waist up only, Sweatpants is the rumor. I still think Symone will take the win, she has won the most and has done consistently better, 2 episodes to go. Unrelated but of you don't know already, gritty has a tiktok! @Grittynhl and it is nuts

Megan St-Amour

Never before have I watched an episode of RPDR completely open-mouthed... the cringe was real all the way through from the start to finish with a brief break for the Norvina makeup mini-challenge. Ooof. And when Utica tried to come for Ru after being heckled by Loni Love... I don’t think I’ve ever seen a queen so angry DURING a challenge before? Yikes. Side note: anyone else feel like the producers have chosen some Questionable lip sync songs this season?

Laura Parrish

Okay here are some thoughts! 1. The AWKWARD vibes after Utica sends Tina home...all the queens were watching Utica talk like 😐 2. It does feel like they’re setting Rosé up to be top three, if not one of the front runners for the crown - but it’s well-deserved! 3. Kandy and Rosé both wanting to open made me squirm a bit bc I’d feel so awkward in that situation and I just KNOW I’d be like “well you can open, that’s fine!” & then be bitter about it 4. Utica was really digging herself a hole in the practice for the roast and it was so tough to watch - she has a lack of self awareness that’s both endearing and worrying 5. Each time someone’s joke bombed it took years off my life !!!! I have lost YEARS and YEARS of my life thanks to these bitches bombing their sets 6. Ultimately I think Symone deserved to stay and it was Utica’s time to go, but her giving Ru the double middle finger was ICONIC Have a lovely rest of the weekend! 🌞

god utica made me cringe SO much...i was such a stan of her too but it was just bad and lacked self-awareness. when loni called her out and ru flipped her off it was TOO MUCH i didn’t know how to respond. there was some interesting discourse on twitter about utica got told she was too mean for making a fat/whale joke when kandy compared nina to an olympics stadium. but the difference is that kandy’s joke was such an exaggeration it was funny, so utica just came off mean. it’s weird too how previously she was so scared about offending people then made a “am i triggering you?” joke ??????!!! i disagree that rosé was better in rehearsal, i think the judges may have said that to really set up a kandy win. which was 100% deserved btw!!!! she truly killed it and was the highlight of the episode. my top 3 are symone, gotmik and rosé. olivia has faltered in the past couple of weeks so i think she’s in danger tbh.

Karis Gorst

I loved the minichallenge. I just recently rewatched you and Mamrie trying to make BBQ sauce at Hannah's like that, so I was all "Aaah, the great art movements are still around." But the roast. Oh my... I did not expect Symone to bomb with all that natural charm and wit. I expected Utica to bomb but NOT LIKE THIS! NOT LIKE THIS! The rest did as I expected for better or worse. I'm a little bummed that Olivia started this season so strong but has really fizzled since then. On the other hand, Kandy has really grown on me as a person since I've had the time to see her share more of herself. I also think she has a better chance of getting in the Top4 that Liv but the other 3 are truly the TOP 3 atm. I really like it when we get finalists and I don't care who wins because they're all great.

Oh my god this was quite the episode and I still feel like it was some kind of NyQuil induced fever dream. Mini Challenge: I loved it. I used to watch Whose Line is it Anyways RELIGIOUSLY as a kid. One of my favorite bits on the show was when Ryan Styles would be doing a skit and Colin would play his arms. Comedy gold, all three groups had me LOLing The rehearsals: I gotta say, I was really scared for Rosé. In 9/10 cases, when a queen starts boasting about how good they are at the upcoming challenge, they fall HARD. Production loves to do the girls dirty. Pull a Kameron Michaels (S10 Cher challenge) and don’t tell anyone you’re good, then slay the challenge and surprise everyone. All the other girls had questionable rehearsals, but Utica’s was painful. I was praying she would listen to Michelle and Loni’s feedback, but we’ll see how that goes. Roast challenge: Kandy: loved! I was honestly nervous for Kandy before the challenge. She’s so naturally funny, but you can’t always understand her with the thick accent, lisp, and speed she talks at. (I feel her pain, I’m a very fast talker, especially when I’m nervous). I’m so happy she was able to deliver her jokes clearly and with fantastic timing. I totally agree that since the double shantay, her attitude has changed and I have really enjoyed her. Symoné: oh boy. In the acting and improv challenges, she seemed so at ease and so naturally funny. I was really hoping those natural abilities would kick in but they didn’t. At least she looked fucking flawless up there! Utica: If I was Utica, I don’t think I could ever show my face again. not only did she bomb a comedy challenge on national television, but she got heckled by the entire room while doing it. Her asking Ru to stand up was so ballsy and I loved it. It’s said that after the runway, Ru changes out of her pads, tuck, heels, etc during the judging. I don’t blame her, being in drag that long is hard enough, especially when you remember that she’s in her 60s! Utica really reminds me of that weird kid in school who tries so desperately to fit in with the cool kids and just keeps embarrassing themselves over and over. Gottmik: god I love Mik so much. I was so surprised by how effortless her comedy was, she looked like a natural up there. Her set was personally my favorite. Olivia: I honestly didn’t mind the “sweet” character she was doing, I just think she needed to take it farther for it to really land. Her jokes about Ru though were some of my favorites of the night. I’m glad she was able to redeem herself towards the end. Rosé: boy do I love Rosé more and more every episode. She was a fucking pro up there and her jokes were hilarious. She really deserves extra praise for doing her entire set without note cards!! Judging: Overall I agreed with the lineup. Although Mik was my favorite, Kandy also did great and they were really pushing the “she doesn’t have a win” story line this episode so I’m happy for her. The moment they said Symoné and Utica were in the bottom, I knew Utica was going home. There’s no way Ru would ever send Symoné home in this situation. Overall I’m still a fan of Utica, I think she is one of the best “look queens” to have ever graced the runway. Her brain is unparalleled and I can’t wait to see what she does in the future! I totally agree that the top three is Mik, Symoné, and Rosé, with Liv leaving next then Kandy. Some people have suggested the reason this season is so long is production wants to drag it out in hopes they can do an in person finale again. I think they could easily do the older finale format (4 queens, bracket lip sync battles) and have the audience empty or very minimal and socially distanced. I really hope these queens don’t have to do a zoom finale like season 12.

I think Mik won this challenge, I feel like the 'chess game' has become extremely transparent this season which is a bummer. No runway was a bit of a bummer too. There was a lot more bombings than I was ready for, so a lot of hiding under my blanket to repel the awkward this week! I loved Ru flipping off Utica, so so fun! Symone really killed that lip sync though which was so fun to watch.

SAME. okay, my gears are turning to figure out something we can all do for the next season ... has All Stars 6 been announced?

Yes, it must be all that WUDDER we drink in Jersey! Wow, I freaking love how Da Vinci Code you are on this. I can't imagine Olivia giving us anymore than what we've seen already and if she tries something new I worry it'll be so unconfident and wonky...but Kandy still had that ability to be a confident wildcard so bring it on! And if your psychic moment is actually calling it IMMA LOSE MY MIND.

If there aren't brackets, there should be! I want to fulfill my sports fantasy!

Will Dudley

Also, are there Drag Race brackets like there are March Madness brackets???

I love all these statistics brought into drag race! Math and art! Who knew?? And yes, agreed that Utica is best at cutting absolutely fantastical fashion patterns rather than trying to be comedically cutting to her fellow queens.

One one queen in Drag Race Herstory has won after lip syncing twice (at least from what I'm aware of bc I haven't watched Thailand), Priyanka is the only winner to lip sync twice before the finale. Every queen (who has won on a season with Lip Sync for your Life) has either lip synced once or not at all before the finale. 1 lip sync: Bebe, Raja, Sharon, Jinkx, Bob, Yvie, Jaida, Chad Michaels(AS1), The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney. Never lip synced: Tyra, Bianca, Violet, Sasha, Aquaria, Envy Peru Obviously it doesn't dictate anything, but it's so interesting

Ben Schonhorn

I don't really have any thoughts about this episode that haven't been said already, but I am disappointed we didn't get to see runways of the looks this week because I *really* liked some of them. I'm sad Utica is gone but it was her time. Hopefully she gets to live out her fashion designer fantasy because I truly think she's created some of the best dresses we've seen. I thought that this was Symone's crown to lose and I still kind of think that, but I saw on reddit that apparently only 10% of the winning queens have ever lipsyncd twice. Obviously that doesn't mean it's impossible for her to win, but if the trend holds up it seems like Rosé might just take it. All in all, I predict that Olivia will go home next week, then Kandy, and the top 3 will be Symone, Rosé, and GottMik and I can't be mad about that. That's a really strong top 3 and I'd be happy if any of them won which is really a testament to the strength of this season's cast.

Will Dudley

OMG GRACE THIS IS SO SWEEEEEET! Thank you so much🥰 I value your opinion so much and I love that we see eye-to-eye...ok well screen-to-screen on a lot of these opinions (it must be something in the New Jersey water we both drank growing up (i say that as if im not in my early 20's)). And LA county just keeps adding gutters because when y'all get rain everyone acts like it's their first time driving a car! Also please give my sincerest apologies to Goose for enabling the confusion. In my wreckspert opinion (bc i am indeed a wreck at all moments) we are going to have a top 4 because it seems like the judges are starting to feel like they've seen all they can from Olivia, especially because she doesn't have a distinct brand. If Olivia slips up and is in the bottom, they aren't going to spare her, unless she's up against Kandy then it's a toss up. When the judges say "I feel like we've seen all of *insert queen here*" i've noticed it actually means "if they aren't in the bottom this week, we are going to look for a reason for why they should be in the bottom next week." That's just my opinion though. I haven't read any spoilers so if I'm having a psychic moment and I'm describing next episode, uhhhh VH1 call me to hire me as a producer

Ben Schonhorn

Yeah, there wasn't a runway! I totally forgot about that! And that MIDDLE FINGER MOMENT was SO MUCH! I think I'm still recovering!

"The list of iconic roast moments from RPDR is the same length as the list of TikTokers attending COVID parties" BEN YOU HAVE TO STOP BEING SO EXCELLENT AT THIS. YOU JUST MADE ME STAND UP AND APPLAUD YOU AND NOW GOOSE IS CONFUSED. And yes Symone strategically did the best she could...she made sure she looked so distractingly GEWD that you almost forgot she was supposed to be roasting everyone. I also love how much we're aligned in our thoughts about these episodes because I've come to value (menu) your opinion SO MUCH. Olivia's 'nice girl' routine would have been better if she was confident in it...but it's becoming more clear each week that Olivia doesn't have a firm hold on ... (again, get your minds out of those damn gutters...who keeps putting those gutters there anyway!?)... who she is as a queen yet. Love seeing the score card! And in your expert opinion, do you think we'll see another double shantay or a top 4?

I completely agree about Mik's playing dumb about her abilities. I agree with your top 3 prediction. The division of girls doing well and not gets more clear, and some I am surprised are still there. Ru giving the double middle finger to Uttica was a MOMENT. A bit gagged there was no runway, and the best lewks were the miss congenialities. Maybe that was intentional?

Theresa Murphy

Hello esteemed panel of judges, and Michelle Visage, have y'all checked your inbox yet? Bc you've got mail and it's my Led Talk!!! (Led Zeppelin.....i'm trying real hard to find names that end in -ed that fit the rhyme scheme gimme a break) It is week 12 and we still have 4 episodes left, so either they are going to have ANOTHER double shantay or they are going to do what they did in Seasons 9 and 10 where they had the final 4 do a RuMix and no one gets eliminated. Anyways, this week is a Nice Girls Roast and oh my do I have thoughts, opinions, IBS, and allergies, but only two of those are relevant to the roast. And because it is roast week, buckle up bc imma throw in some extra reads...jokes?....puns?...no no definitely reads. We start off in the workroom, Utica is delusional, Kandy is mad, Gottmik is gottconfused, Rosé's not buying what Utica is selling, and Olivia's smiling. All is right with the universe. Kandy is still desperate for a win. But like girl that runway was garbage....But nothing changed form last episode LOL. But it is a new day in the werk room and I LOVEEEEEEEED this mini challenge. This was my favorite mini challenge thus far. I lowkey think Gottmik and Utica did better, but I was also laughing equally as hard during Samantha's and Kandy's. Quote of the evening thought goes to Rosé when she said "i'm feeling stunalina with my Norvina." Throughout the season 3 queens (Gottmik, Rosé and Denali) are changing English. They single handedly are destroying and improving this language. Gagatondra, stunalina, gorgalintresses, flopiana, divalicious angel baby of life; my computer understands none of it. I'm writing this on the Notes App and there are red dotted lines under ALL OF IT. Also, let's talk about how the length of Utica's arms are the length of Gottmik's legs, like I was screaming. Gottmik and his gorgalintresses (I would normally ask "spelling?", but I don't even think the closed captioner last night knew how to spell it). RuPaul announces that this week is a Nice Girl's Roast with 2 Miss Congenialities and 1 Fan Favorite. The RuPaul roasts have served us ICONIC moments. Coco Montresse, Jinkx Monsoon, Alaska, Peppermint, Shea Coulée, Manila Luzon, Alyssa Edwards flopping, Pharrah Moan flopping, Alexis Michelle flopping, Roxxxy Andrews telling us that her mom left her at a bus stop on the runway afterwards, i mean the list goes ON. The list of iconic roast moments from RPDR is the same length as the list of TikTokers attending COVID parties. To keep this response shorter than usual, I'll just skip to the roasts. (this was probably the funniest joke I wrote the whole time, just thought you should know) Now, I want to preface this with letting you all know that I'm very qualified to judge this challenge as I am a comedy prof-eh-sional and most of my jokes have a rockier landing than the Hindenburg so lemme know if I'm wrong! (too far???) Kandy Muse: KANDY SLAYED US! She was so prepared, she knew all her jokes (but still had cards smh), she knew how to interact with the audience and you can tell she has hosting experience in NYC because everyone was engaged. She set the bar so high that we had to stack 4 oompa loompas to reach it. Kandy insisting that she wants to go first was a great strategic move for herself because really made the show come to life, and ultimately helped her win. Let's also talk about this look because Kandy is a WOMAN....until you hear that voice. Symone: Oh Symone.......you tried. There were some times that she would set up jokes and didn't deliver a punchline! I had high hopes before this episode and then as the episode kept going I just felt worse and worse till the point I was like, "oh no she's lip syncing." Her performance was like UPS, didn't deliver on time. Her look though, OMG I COULD NOT LOOK AWAY! She was so stunning and that gold looked beautiful and that hair OMG fashion icon. Utica Queen: These fat jokes....im not here for it 🙄. It moved from jokes to just being offensive, and they weren't funny. Ross said it best, "nothing is off limits in a roast, as long as it's funny," and he hit the nail on the Utica Head. But the cherry on top of the balls on top of Utica's wig on top of Utica was when Loni Love and RuPaul started heckling Utica DURING HER SET! Those two moments were the best moments in the entire roast because they were so unexpected. I loved her look though, but we've seen balls on her head before....no, no nudes of her have leaked, I'm talking about the Lady and the Vamp Runway in Episode 3 get your mind out of the gutter. Gottmik: I was pleasantly surprised! She had tons of good jokes. Especially when she said, "Ross, when you watch porn you're the only person who cums when the pizza is delivered." I lost my entire shit. It grew legs and walked away and then came back because the jokes were so good. For a challenge she was nervous for, she really delivered. Maybe the Domino's (not spon) pizza that Ross came to?! who knows! I now can see Gottmik being a contender for the crown after this because she lowkey may be the funniest person this season....Think about it. She destroyed everyone in Snatch Game, she slayed the improv challenge and Olivia's miming wouldn't have been funny is Gottmik wasn't able to think fast on her toes, this roast, just wow. Olivia: This bitch is literally just reading off her cards! memorize it, or become more familiar with your jokes so that you don't need to be entirely reliant on them. She was the kid in 5th grade who read their book report directly from the page instead of having a notecard to remind you of your talking points. I liked her whole nice girl roasting as a nice girl schtick, that was smart, but also predictable. Her set overall was fine. It got better as it went along, but not great. Her best joke though was the "RuPaul is so old she signed the declaration of independence as parent/guardian." That was a 🤌🏻 level joke that I've never thought of before, but now I wish I thought of first. Rosé: She did great, but I'm ngl, I was kinda let down. She did so STRONG in rehearsal, but the bar was so high that when she didn't jump over it, I was sad a lil bit. I love her though and I also think she's a contender for the crown because she's never lip synced and she's only placed low once and she's grown a lot. She also has the best track record if you do a score count. (i'll place it at the bottom) Also, SHE DIDN'T HAVE ANY CARDS HALLELLO BITCHES! I love the look, although we've see the hair, but OMG that silver was so radiant! Anyways, Kandy wins and Symone and Utica are in the bottom and this all makes sense. I loved how happy everyone was for Kandy! That made me so happy to see everyone supporting her. Does Symone and Utica being in the bottom fit with my french vanilla fantasy? no, but it all makes sense. Utica and Symone lip sync, and we all knew Utica was going home. 4 wins vs. 1 win. 2nd time in the bottom vs 3rd time in the bottom. A queen who the other girls love vs a queen the other girls aren't liking that much. To an Ariana Grande song of all songs. It kinda just feels like the lip syncs don't matter anymore. Utica held her own, but we all knew they wouldn't get rid of Symone. Utica sadly sashays away and we have a top 5! This completely make sense, although I thought Denali would make it farther and I was hoping Tamisha would make it farther. I'll see everyone next week for Henny, I Shrunk the Drag Queens! It's officially a fight to see if LA or NYC is taking home the crown this year! Report Card Score Update: Win: 5 pts Top: 4 pts Safe: 3 pts Low: 2 pts BTM 2: 1 pt. Gottmik: 36 pts Kandy Muse: 32 pts Olivia Lux: 30 pts Rosé: 38 pts Symone: 35 pts But as we know, report cards don't entirely determine the winner with the Bimini Bon Burglary (but I'm still very happy for Lawrence because she did also deserve it)

Ben Schonhorn