“The Prancing Queens” – Almost a misleading title considering that this episode saw RuPaul delving into the early genderfuck drag phase of her career, with another challenge that proved this show is taking drag to same interesting places. Anyone who knows anything about drag has seen this before, but this is a new direction for the show, from bearded lady, to a male impression winning Snatch Game, to this week’s half-man/half-woman runway, genderfuck has proven to be a big theme this season. Though we had our complaints about it in Snatch Game, we can agree that this worked on a lot levels. If only the outcome weren’t so unfortunate… Dear Margaux, what say you about the prancers this week?
Margaux: I wanted more of the Real Fake Housewives mini-challenge, like you always point out, something about the spur of the moment mini-challenge always produces hysterical results (and gifs!).
Samir: I loved the use of scotch tape to change their faces and create “housewives” of reality TV. This is a Housewives variant that I would happily watch obsessively. Simply brilliant as always, and I think Ru got it right with Violet as the winner because that upturned pig snout nose was worth it all by itself. Every queen was damn funny though, and each had a great tagline for their character. Pearl: “People call me a slut, but I’m also an alcoholic.” And Katya’s psychopathic “the constant threat of danger keeps you skinny.” Ginger’s line about Katya was pretty good too-”she’s serving Hannibal Lecter realness.” Gagging I was.
Margaux: Call it my reality competition show intuition, but Trixie’s housewife tagline was a little weak, “how do I sleep at night? Ask your husband”, it was the first -albeit small- red flag that she’d be LYFYL later. Contrary to what Trixie may of thought going into Untucked.
Samir: Yeah, and when Violet won the mini-challenge and paired her with Ginger, we had a feeling of deja-vu that would not go away, which Trixie herself commented on at the end. She even says “ I don’t want to be upstaged by Ginger again” which turned out not to be her problem bizarrely. The maxi-challenge was interesting because not only were their looks a symmetrical half-man/half-woman mashup, but the dance styles were mashed up as well-with “the Charleston Twerk,” the “Vogue Tango” and the “Country/Robot” Wisely, Violet chose Katya as her partner and got the Vogue Tango. Katya of course (in an interview that HAD to have been recorded after the events of the episode were complete) says flat-out that she doesn’t want to work with her, unless she helps her win the challenge. That was a really nice arc in this episode, of Katya warming up to Violet.
Margaux: Watching Katya and Violet work together was unexpectedly fun, almost like, why haven’t these two teamed up before? It felt like a natural fit. And, oddly enough, Kennedy getting out of her comfort zone and opening to the younger queens, in this instance, Pearl, was an arc that carried over to Untucked nicely. And was interesting to see Ginger sort of roll solo in the Bitter Betty Brigade.
Samir: I think there was a lot Kennedy was willing to open up to Pearl’s necklace. Although you’d think this was her comfort zone, since she’s known for her flips twirls and kicks in her drag career. She was not shy about her horniness Untucked and that she was having a grand ole time dry humping Pearl in their dance performance. She even spoke for most of Reddit when she said Pearl made the hottest man.
Margaux: And Tumblr. Helllllllo Orlando Bloom, circa 2001.
But something about Pearl and Kennedy both coming out their Ambien daze and showing the audience why they were picked for Drag Race feels reality TV poetic.
Samir: That symmetry dividing their looks also defined the episode as a whole. Pearl was afraid (in Untucked) that since the LSFYL song of the week was one she’d used in her audition video, that she was definitely on the bottom. Untucked this week was the most fascinating yet since we saw that nearly everyone thought they were going to be on the bottom except for the person who went home ultimately. And were as surprised as us that the teams were judged together, and not separately and there was not one solitary winner.
Margaux: I have a couple theories as to why Ru decided to judge the queens in pairs, but I don’t want to put words in the Almighty RuPaul’s mouth.
But, just between us squirrel friends, I’ll tell you what I think. I think, since the judges panel seemed to be so torn over the teams flawless dances, they really did have equal good vs bad things to say to the queens themselves and them as a pair. It did feel a bit like punishment, for any pair, to have to do learn the moves to the “Country-Robot”, but perhaps Ginger’s defeatist attitude rubbed off on Trixie more than she may of thought. Out of all the pairs, they did have the lowest energy, regardless of familiarity with the steps – and PEARL AND KENNEDY WERE AN EFFIN’ TEAM.
Samir: And even though they didn’t have their steps totally down, they still sold it (especially that amazing flip into the splits that Kennedy turned out)! As for Ginger and Trixie, I really felt Trixie got screwed over because of this team judging, since it really was Ginger who dragged her team down, and if you know this show at all you know to ALWAYS bet on the big girls to win a LSFYL. So really, Ginger got a Get Out of Jail Free card by tanking the challenge and having the weakest runway look, and Trixie paid the price for that failure. Really a deflating moment to end the show, and I did love almost everything we saw this week except for that. Yet I couldn’t totally disagree with guest judge Rachel Harris that there was a “glint” missing from Trixie’s eyes this week. Sad to see, but all the more reason to seek her out in a club or theatre near you, since she is hilarious in everything else we’ve seen of her outside the show.
Margaux: I can’t imagine it’s easier to be sent home, twice. But Trixie real-deal skills and this isn’t the last you’ll hear of her.
Anyway, let’s talk about who did win. Long overdue, Katya! (and Violet, but that bitch has a won a challenge). I think anyone who is fan of Katya had the same reaction to her win as she did, “shut the fuck up! You bitch!”. Of course, the bitch part was directed at Violet. I just can’t believe either of them thought they were going to LSFYL this week, it’s so strange to watch Untucked when you know who’s already eliminated. But Trixie said it best, it’s at that point in the game where there are so few queens, it’s a 1 in 3 chance you’re in the bottom.
Samir: Violet and Katya had the only dance of all of them that really suited itself to the genderfrucked binary challenge. The vogue really exists in that area between socially constructed masculinity/femininity, as it was drag culture and feminine men who made an art of it. And the tango worked well with this concept because of it’s staccato moves and symmetrical posing, and the clearly defined gender roles. So Katya’s and Violet’s dancing really did play with our heads and force us to question gender altogether as a construct, as the male leader and the female being led were in flux, making the dance more entrancing. And they seemed to have the best chemistry with it as well. And let’s not forget their flawless runway looks. Violet really was a work of art this week. Nobody could compete with her I felt this week, besides Katya. So them winning together was enough to salve my aching heart that we had to say goodbye to Trixie again. And I thought besides the winners she had really done the most with the male/female disparity in her look. 🙁
Margaux: Shall we talk stars?
Samir: Yes, Linda Richman style. 4 stars seems appropriate. If Trixie hadn’t been so sure she’d won the challenge in Untucked and then been eliminated I would have been more mad at her elimination and driven down the star rating in protest. But not today Satan.
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