I have been FREAKED this FRIDAY...
Added 2021-03-14 01:11:16 +0000 UTCHappy Saturday, Patrons! How is everyone doing this week? I hope you're feeling yourself or feeling your feelings or feeling whatever substance you're currently putting in/on your body! I hope you're all safely letting your freak flag fly.
Speaking of (FABULOUS) freaks! OH LAWWWWD THIS WEEK'S DRAG RACE EPISODE. I just finished watching it, so my thoughts on it are fresher than a freshly cracked can of perfectly chilled White Claw. With the built-in headache.
Here. We. Go.
This week starts with Utica surviving last week's lip sync and is filled with the "spirit" to do well. I don't care if it's the Holy Spirit or a plastic bottle of Popov's...whatever it is ...FINALLY. I've been waiting for her to do SOMETHING. Meanwhile, Tina, barely burning, says she's ready to sneak attack the competition. But there's no way she can sneak around with that bathroom-reverse-bowl-cut she gave herself. I lol'd and had to rewind and make sense of it! It was like Friar Tuck was standing upside down.
Moving on!
It's a new day in the werkroom and Denali says she's also feeling confident...there must be something in Covid safe water they're serving at craft services. Someone mentions that they think Tina's makeup has gotten better and Kandy responded by saying my thoughts out loud ...“from what week to what week?” It was a real psychic moment... which makes sense because Ru busts into the room in a Cheetah Girl ascot and says they're all about to have a psychic encounter with a world famous psychic!
The queens have a session with a Sylvia Browne look-a-like and we learn a few important things!
-Denali and Rosé might have a love connection (but honestly, I have a theory that everyone has a secret/not-so-secret crush on Rosé)
-Tina gets a sweet message from her father, who she never really connected with
-Utica gets a message from a cow she used to bottle feed
This psychic is the REAL DEAL, y'all!
Then we find out the maxi challenge ... it's a doppelgänger Freaky Friday makeover challenge! The queens get psychically paired up....and this is where my suspicions started to chafe my brain-thighs. If the girls don't pick their pairs and are instead pre-selected into pairs I find it curious. I would have loved to SEE them randomly select pairs out of a magic hat, I would have loved to SEE the psychic pick their pairs or I would have loved to SEE them pick their own pairs. Ru simply declaring their psychically picked pairings left me a little uneasy. Anyone else get a side-eye at the situation?
Regardless we have some interesting duos! I haven't seen duos this interesting since my lunch a couple hours ago which was sushi and black coffee. I DO NOT recommend it.
Denali and Olivia are paired up and honestly I thought ... well damn, they're certainly being set up to win. They have seemingly accessible looks and potentially complimentary personalities so this should be a walk in the park for them. But this is why I don't go for walks in parks....because sometimes you get lost. But we'll come back to this!
Tina and Rosé are a team and Tina makes Rosé try on a Elvis as a fire wizard costume and I thought 'good lord' ...until Rosé put Tina in a slutty 90s laser grade school photo backdrop dress with spike sleeves and I thought 'I think they just actually hate each other.' Side note Rosé's line “Tina’s drag is really fun and really expressive and ...I don’t like a lot of it.” The psychic energy of these queens saying my thoughts out loud throughout this whole episode was STRONG!!!
Then we have Utica and Symone as a team. How iiiiiinteresting. This duo has opportunities. This could be a fashion clash of two Titans ... or they could be an artistically diverse cash cow (Utica knows). They both have respect for their artistic messages, a specific vision of their drag and a tinge of control freak in giving that up. I, for one, was fascinated to see what they could do. And nervous. Just like Symone said. But I applaud their dedication to upholding the drag vision each of them have with love and respect and without mockery or shade.
Then we have Kandy and Mik and they had a difficult task. One, they're not similar in body size to be able to shop each other's closets as effortlessly. And two, Kandy apparently has "goat's mouth" and that might be contagious.
The queens try to teach each other their walks and it was ...lovely. We got Rosé explaining her superhero spins as dance (lol) while Tina tried to show Rosé how to walk like some Scarecrow/Tinman hybrid. Symone and Utica really tried to understand and get into the feeling of each other...whether that was like a fierce fashionista or like an inflatable car lot airdancer. Olivia and Denali again seemed to have the easiest job attempting to teach each other but maybe that's where it started to fall apart. I think they thought they knew it already (they both seem like the pride themselves on being very intelligent and observant) that they didn't take the time to really get the nuances? Then Mik and Kandy attempt to teach each other their ways and though it seemed clunky-unky-unky and aw-aw-awkward I've seen Mik fail in rehearsal and kill it on stage so many times at this point that it all seemed routine to me.
Elimination day is here and I loved hearing the explanation behind Mik's white clown mask aesthetic. But not as much as I loved hearing Tina call Rosé TUNA BURGER. Uh, that got me SO GOOD. But then I saw her makeup and my stomach felt like I actually ate a bad tuna burger. Wow. *sings THIS GIRL IS ON FIRE* SOMEONE GET THE FIRE HOSE.
The runway begins and here are my brief notes:
-Rosé as Tina did fine...I'm just not a huge fan of Tina's drag but Rosé...did it, so that's technically the challenge
-Tina as Rosé was...meh. I wasn't a fan of that neon porcupine outfit but I thought her makeup was classic Rosé and nice to see Tina with eyeballs and not dark eye sockets
-Olivia as Denali looked good but her whole walk was...stupid. Like, I can't get over how stupid it was. Why was she trying to ice skate in heels? It seemed more mocking than embodying? Whatever it was it fully bothered me!
-Denali as Olivia was okay...I don't think her look was Olivia but that's not Denali's fault...I think she did what Olivia taught her to do and Denali seems like a consummate "top student" so I can't fault her for it
-Symone as Utica was stupid...BUT THE BEST KIND OF STUPID! It was silly and she was selling it and I will buy all the stocks!
-Utica as Symone really tried! You could tell she was fighting all the urges to give you a 329847219378129 toothed grin and I appreciated her restraint! She sincerely stayed in her sexy and it was sweet!
-Mik as Kandy gave me very Russian Hacker Rusical flashbacks but also I thought she was doing her goofy best...like she always does
-Kandy as Mik was so fun to see! Obvi Mik painted that face for the high-fashion-juggalo-gods and I was so impressed!
At this point I thought everyone had done pretty well and I had no idea how the judging was going to go! Mostly because I have lost the ability to trust any ounce of my own isolated judgements, but also because this season has already been a little wonky so it could be anyone's challenge.
After some not-totally-scathing critiques the girls are asked the dreaded question who should go home. Dun dun duuuuuuhhhhhh we all knew this was coming. Most do the politically correct thing of piggy backing off of the judges critiques and saying Olivia while a couple go a little more rogue while Kandy just GOES OFF. And, honestly, I was with her. Her and Mik had the hardest challenge in terms of costuming but they turned it out and I appreciate her fighting for the work she did while others had an easier time with less impressive results. I feel like I understood what having a "goat's mouth" was in that moment?
Turns out Utica and Symone are the winners and I was just so happy and proud of them! Meanwhile, Olivia and Denali are in the bottom and I was a bit shocked. I didn't think Denali looked especially like Olivia but I also didn't love Rosé and Tina's looks at all...but I guess the challenge was to look like the other person and maybe I'm just not into Rosé and Tina's drag as much and so I guess technically they did the challenge correctly and wow I'm realizing this as I type it out. I told y'all my thoughts were fresh!
Olivia and Denali lip sync and Denali ends up going home and honestly I have such a strange feeling about it. I really don't think it was her fault. Yes, her blending on Olivia wasn't good (but did you SEE Rosé as Tina?!?!), and yes telling someone to 'mimic ice skating down a runway in heels' looks incredibly stupid but the majority of the downfall for their team was Olivia failing to turn Denali into her. Ugh, I really feel for people who go down in a group project because of the failures of the other members of their group. It's also, to me, a clear sign that they all just secretly/not-so-secretly love Olivia and are trying to keep her around in the same way the slightly bogus double shantay kept Kandy. I don't know y'all...these are fresh feelings. I gotta know what you think!?! I didn't think Denali was a top 3, but I do think she left too soon. Hmm, my emotions are all turned around like Tina's upside down Friar Tuck cut! Okay, I gotta go and rectify this sushi/coffee flavor combo in my mouth. Have great weekends, y'all! ❤️G
Comments
The last illegal chemical that I put in my body was Cocaine back in 1984. I hated it! The last time I let my "freak flag fly" (thank you David Crosby of Crosby, Stills and Nash for that phrase in the song "Almost Cut My Hair") was back in October of 2003. That was when I took my first trip/vacation to LA. These days I sit on my back porch at night and play my harmonica and my guitar.
2021-03-16 00:03:06 +0000 UTC2021-03-15 05:51:49 +0000 UTC
Well now you won’t have a problem as a novelist writer great job I am impressed
2021-03-15 05:51:22 +0000 UTCI love all the opinions! Yeah I was slightly bummed they were so turned on by Utica being completely different than she normally is...but Symone was equally outside of what she normally does and maybe having this pallet cleanser of a week will make them appreciate Utica's signature style more (knowing she could do both if she wanted)? Also Mik is making a big ol run for the crown...I really don't know who's ahead at this point!
2021-03-14 19:46:37 +0000 UTCyeah Tina's moment was a deeply complex emotional moment shoe horned in between a cow and crushes... it definitely feels like it wasn't handled with care. And iiiiiinteresting point about the judged in teams vs judged individually - I never noticed that! And yes, Denali will be more than fine...this "unjust" storyline might even give her more momentum than had she finished in the top 5! Thanks for these wonderful thoughts!
2021-03-14 19:42:54 +0000 UTCI'm glad you mentioned the Tina's dad thing. My partner and I are always making jokes about the way Ru really takes uncomfortable steps outside of what is appropriate to create "moments." Like queens talking about bad family ties or how mom doesnt know I do drag and then suddenly "well, I have someone who wants to say something to you" videos pop up. Like what if that went badly and the family member didnt approve? Or triggered a breakdown for the queen? Or took a rocky relationship and completely severed it? So many reasons it's a bad idea.
Steve Jenks
2021-03-14 19:12:07 +0000 UTCNo omg the way my jaw was on the FLOOR when Tina came out dressed as Rosé, and not in a good way. I'M SORRY BUT IT WAS SO JARRING. I appreciated her confidence though. I couldn't believe that Rosé wasn't in yellow, red and orange though?? The signature Tina fireman vibe was simply nowhere to be found! Symone made Utica look really cool and I actually enjoyed Utica and Symone going down the runway as each other bc it felt like they did it with a lot of respect for one another. Also their little friendship that blossomed this episode was so lovely to see! Kandy and Mik were a fun pair to watch in the end and omg I just love Mik more every episode. But who decided that Kandy was suddenly a member of the judging panel? I truly don't know what made her feel the need to get so opinionated ? Though that could just be bc I'm super non-confrontational and passive so i can't cope when people are blunt and bold lol I agree that you can just TELL this season who the judges love and don't love. And they love Olivia Lux so I'm not surprised she stayed. Also the way the judges were overjoyed to see Utica not being herself on the runway was a little sad. It seems like they really don't get Utica's authentic drag style. I get that she did the challenge well, but it felt like they revelled in the fact that she wasn't being herself for once? Am I reading too much into this? Probably! Anyway! All that's left to say after having given too many opinions about too many things is: have a lovely rest of the weekend, Grace!
2021-03-14 10:09:02 +0000 UTCI don't think I've ever seen a queen this excited to have lipsynced as Utica was. Her "Whaddya think?" to Ru was a moment XD. The bit with the Psychic lady was... a choice. I mean the cow was fine but Tina's face when the psychic mentioned her dad? Very not the time for Mr. Burner and his truck. She obviously felt very uncomfortable. And you're 100% right on the pairings. Production-decided teams always hide something. Same with the judging. Being judged as teams is actually the norm UNLESS it hasn't gone as production planned (which can happen when queens decide on the teams) so suddenly "Tonight, you will be judged as individuals". Personally I really like the makeover challenge, it has given us some great moments and I'm glad they gave it this twist this year. I think fans have been asking for it for years. The only thing I didn't like in past seasons where they make over other people is how bad the "makeoverees" feel when they don't do well on the runway and their queen lands in the bottom. Now as far as the challenge goes, Kandy was right (I know she just went off when she heard her name but I'm super proud of all of them about resolving it in Untucked). I wasn't crazy about Tina and Rosé's looks either but they did fit the brief imo. Olivia and Denali on the other hand.... Olivia did look like Denali cause we ALREADY KNEW the look but it was not good on her. Make up aside, the outfit was not for the body shape she wears and it looked very cheap. Denali on the other hand looked STUNNING imo but yes, you couldn't pick her out of a lineup as wearing an Olivia-inspired look. Very sad for her leaving, at the very least before Tina. I love a campy old school queen but she's not doing it for me. I guess her style of drag just doesn't translate in the competition, cause I keep reading about how well she does in show in NY, and that's fine. I do hope she doesn't fall victim to the toxic fandom and people do give her a chance in live shows. Denali is going to be fine. Sure she lost the crown, but I thing she got very good publicity out of her part in the competition and has built a solid fanbase.
2021-03-14 07:58:49 +0000 UTCWith your combined costume hoardes (homes with wig/hat/costume boxes spark more joy, this is proven science) the potentials for video portraits are endless
2021-03-14 06:20:54 +0000 UTCcling to the positives! and ohhh i haven't seen but I'll check it out!
2021-03-14 05:57:29 +0000 UTCI have all the raised eyebrows for this week's episode but I'm going to cling to the positive feels that came from getting to see Utica and Symone shine! Also, I just saw that Rosé and Austin Nunes made a video portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, have any of you seen this yet? https://youtu.be/Ij8E-Z6DMR4
2021-03-14 05:29:43 +0000 UTCIf Rosé doesn't make some random highlighter unibrow and try to sell if after this season then that will be a tragic loss. I haven't looked much at Twitter before/during/after episode but I can imagine it's a minefield!
2021-03-14 05:01:10 +0000 UTCI know! However! Tamisha has already claimed her stake in All Stars (and they aired her sound byte of it!) and it felt like they cut off the part where Denali probably said she'll be back for All Stars so who knows! And yes I do miss the aspect of the queens having to take an eager outsider and bring them into her family!
2021-03-14 04:57:55 +0000 UTCI couldn't agree more with pretty much all of what you wrote here. Like I understand Tina and rose were more "successful" at the challenge but tina did rose DIRTY with that makeup (the random highlighter unibrow SENT me) and the justification being "her makeup is always questionable" didn't seem right to me lol I thought it should've been judged individually with Tina and olivia in the bottom but it is what it is. Can't stand that people send the queens so much hate on Twitter after every episode like it ain't that deep y'all.
Matt kowalski
2021-03-14 04:06:36 +0000 UTCYeah I truthfully agree with all of this. Drag Race has been doing this for years tho if we are honest. I was so sad last night about Denali leaving. Then I remembered there is All Stars. I did enjoy how this makeover challenge was extremely different from past years due to covid restrictions, but I missed the performance aspect with the drag Queen and the outside person’s chemistry. I hope once this panorama madness subsides, we can have the typical makeover challenge once again.
Dustin Muise
2021-03-14 03:38:21 +0000 UTCyes! wow! what a beautiful accidental yin yang of personal artistry that celebrated their complimentary duality! or some shit!
2021-03-14 03:33:15 +0000 UTCI loved the poetry of Simone wearing Utticas "not comfortable in my skin" drag while Uttica wore Simone's "celebrating black skin" drag!!
Theresa Murphy
2021-03-14 02:55:49 +0000 UTCfully agree that even though they were in teams they could have been judged as individuals ... in that case I would have put Olivia and Tina in the bottom and I would have love to see that lip sync! I don't get why they keep keeping Tina safe? Is it bc she's NYC drag royalty and blah blah blah I just don't fully understand it!
2021-03-14 02:09:31 +0000 UTCBimini is already showing she came to play. If it's not Lawerence I hope it's Miss Boulash!!
2021-03-14 02:08:19 +0000 UTCAt the beginning I thought they were totally setting us up for a Tina/Rosé lip sync since it seems like they secretly hate each other. Oh, I'm sorry, they 'don't really hang out in the NYC scene'...lol which to me seems like code for they can't stand each other. Either way I was still surprised to see Denali and Olivia at the bottom. And yes...I'm a big Lawrence Chaney fan but the last couple eps have me irked on her tiny entitlement and I'm hoping Bimini gives her a run for the money!
2021-03-14 02:04:14 +0000 UTC"P.s. tina lowkey hating rose and shitting on her was fun, tina has no room to talk, but rose do be spinning." oh how you make me giggle!!! Also yes I agree that it was a unique way to twist them having to handle the double duty of gifting their partner with their aesthetic while also receiving and doing justice to their partner's. It kept it from merely being a "who can paint someone else's face the best" challenge...which we all know Mik would walk home with.
2021-03-14 01:55:23 +0000 UTCThis episode felt quick for some reason, so I don't have a novella to write like I usually do (also I agree with most of what Grace said). 1) I wish the makeover challenges were like this every year, maybe with some kinks worked out like the judging in pairs because I really don't think it's fair especially when it's such a "you do your part, I do my part." Like, even though they're paired, it's not so much a "team" challenge which is why I think it shouldn't be judged in pairs. 2) Denali absolutely went home to early. It blows my mind that she got 8th place, but I think that production/judging overlooked her for a lot of the challenges this season so I guess it was inevitable (although now this means no more Rosenali and idk what to do with myself). 3) Gottmik's style on Kandy was so gorge. And UTICA LOOKS SO GOOD when she's in a "normal" drag look; sadly I think the judges would take her more seriously if she looked like this more often, which is kinda a shame but I get it as well. 4) i also think the "psychic" pairings were a bit...suspect, which circles back to this year's judging and production being so in-your-face and is honestly one of the biggest issues with this season imo because it's clear that the very first lipsyncs were a way to pre-pick favorites because now only Rosé and Utica are the leftovers from the pork chop group as opposed to the 5 "winners circle" girls. So, I also think that's suspect, but I am still ROOTING for Rosé to be top 3 because I honestly don't think she'll ever do bad enough in the main challenge to be lower than safe (this was the only week I thought could land her in the bottom based on the results). Overall, I did enjoy this episode A LOT even if I'm gutted by Denali going home, but I think she's probably gonna have a good presence outside of drag race so I'm not too terribly bothered by it.
Will Dudley
2021-03-14 01:44:24 +0000 UTCYour round up was very accurate. I am still trying not to be so mad at this season because it's just entertainment and I should feel joy and not frustration! I digress !! Did they setup the pairings for who they wanted out? If so it should have been Tina and her unfortunate buzz cut!! They saved Kandy again because Mik was gonna save her with her talent. I don't get it . Olivia and Denali didn't do well as each other which was a shock. Did this expose their weakness? Who knows?! So happy for Symone and Utica who always embrace the challenge and werked it! I loved Utica smizing that runway and Symone Spider-Man walking and being so free. I think Mik is still the front runner along with Symone. We'll see🧐 Side note : RPDR UK Lawerance Chaney is my pick! Ru just loves her.
2021-03-14 01:37:49 +0000 UTCI think this might have been my favorite episode??? (Full disclosure, I skipped the psychic bit, cus mediums like that I find exploitative and messed up but that aside) I normally am whatever with the makeover challenge but the covid twist I think elevated it. They're not just trying to make jimbob and mary beth look fabulous, they as artists are trying to embody a different artists style and that was way more interesting to me. It gave all the shady comments, it had the heartfelt moments, and I feel like it gave the queen's something to take with them. was a great vehicle to show off Symone, mik, and kandy and how they've really perfected their brand and personas, and it allowed utica and tina to step out of the boxes that were pigeon holding themselves into, being kooky and always looking like dogbutt respectively. I agree that denali shouldn't have been bottom two, I'd put tina down there, cus Rosé looked rough, but I wasn't in love with olivia's transformation, the make up was something else, btut I didn't see denali going that much further so I'm not too heart broken. P.s. tina lowkey but not that lowkey hating rose and shitting on her was fun, tina has no room to talk, but rose do be spinning.
Mitchemditchem
2021-03-14 01:30:51 +0000 UTC
