Oh dear, where do we begin this week? Amazing highs and utterly depressing lows, and in places you never expected, and yet still in others totally expected. People failed where we didn’t think they would, others did fail as we expected, and some of the failures were praised as we didn’t expect them to be at all. Despite all this the show still entertained more than Project Runway has in 10 years, but the seemingly eternal faith in RPDR took a hit this week.
Samir: MY GOD, after the long long wait to get to #SnatchGame I was really underwhelmed with the output this season. More than any other season before this, which gives me less of a high-heeled leg to stand on when defending this season to those who have been trashing it.
Margaux: Couple of things, right off the bat.
- *Spoiler Alert* Isn’t it interesting that last week on the Shady Ladies podcast, we wondered aloud what a Lip Sync For Your Life by Max would like it? Boy howdy, did we find out this week. I couldn’t stop hearing friggin’ Violet from episode 2, flatly saying, “Max just looks like Max”. I can’t un-hear that.
- I was double disappointed in #SnatchGame because I was secretly holding out hope that John Waters would be the guest judge this week – Tamar Braxton and Michael Urie were terrific though! And I can’t believe a non-snatch, Kennedy as Little Richard, ended up being as funny as she was.
The lack of ‘comedy queens’ this season never seemed to glare as much as it did in this episode and Snatch Game is the episode I always look forward to. I love you Katya, but Suze Orman – I really wish she’d taken Ru’s advice of going full-on Russian. That would’ve been great. And I’m really bummed we didn’t get see much of Violet’s Donatella, besides the small clip in Untucked.
Samir: TBH I was really unimpressed with Kennedy’s Little Richard. I was actually offended by the hypocrisy of the judges in regards to this decision as well. It’s called SNATCH game, a game of female impersonation. And there was no logical connection between what Kennedy was doing and female impersonation. Add to that, the Little Richard look was totally busted, the mustache was more Magnum P.I. than Little Richard, the look was just a bad wig and an ill-fitting gold jacket with shoulder pads. And the makeup did not at all create an illusion of Little Richard, which was already easier than doing a female impersonation as it was. Little Richard is so over the top, Kenney did not live up to that energy. She looked like she raided PEarl’s Ambien supply. And every joke was the same! The same high-pitched wail after the same sex-joke over and over. Then the judges praised this, after giving Milk and Alaska shit for doing boy-drag in their respective seasons, and then knocked Jaidyn for being repetitive? I felt like I crash landed on some alternate backwards planet where Drag Race somehow is still a show on TV and I wasn’t having it!
Margaux: Ha, damn gurl! Tell ‘em how you really feel.
I found it utterly laughable that Kennedy said she was “torn” between doing Little Richard or Sweet Brown as her Snatch Game character – I literally said, TORN BETWEEN WHAT?! IT’S CALLED SNATCH GAME.
I agree, I was actually taken aback by how supportive Michelle Visage ended up being of Kennedy’s performance. Especially, as you pointed out about Kennedy’s mustache, Visage has been particularly hard on queens this season if they don’t look glammed out enough. Personally, the only line of Kennedy’s that I truly laughed out loud at when she was in Little Richards character was her answer about the Batman and Robin cave with glory holes. I think if Kennedy wasn’t sitting next to Ginger Minj’s spectacular Adele, having her play off of was really valuable, her Little Richard would’ve ended up landing like Jaydin’s That’s So Raven.
Samir: I thought Ginger had the look and accent down pat, and she was damn funny girl had me in stitches, but really she was doing Ginger dressed as Adele, because none of Adele’s characteristics were really on display. It was actually just insulting to Adele more than anything, which is fine if you were taking aspects of her personality and tweaking them for humor. But she just made Adele crazy, stole Latrice Royale’s Aretha Franklin food bit from Season 4 Snatch Game, and made Adele so conceited she thought she was the only musician that ever existed. But you are right, without that brilliant comic energy, I think Kennedy would have had a nothe dismal crash to deal with on the tarmac. To get back to Katya, I loved her Suze Orman, but I was praying she would do a Russian character, and the reason she didn’t led to a really heart-breaking confession on her part, and we learned more about her that gives her the vulnerability the winning queen needs to show to win RPDR.
Margaux: I was tearing up, yet-a-fucking-again, when Katya and Miss Fame had their heart-to-heart over their respective sobriety. I’m always so touched by how supportive they are of each other, despite it being a produced reality show, and how they always rally around a queen when she’s down. It was nice aside and pause from all the shadeeeeeeee, that had a dash of aspiration, too. Plus, even when Katya is feeling vulnerable, she’s still funny as hell – can someone get her a show please?
Samir: Let’s apply for a MacArthur grant or something – or a Kickstarter is probably a better way to go to get the pilot money. Either way, let’s make this happen. Her YouTube webseries’ are freaking genius.
Both you and I have had personal experiences with people in recovery, and I’ve seen people succeed and grow, and fail drastically and become the worst versions of themselves, and it hurts a lot to see that happen. It really hit home to hear Miss Fame and Katya bond over trying to maintain their sanity and sobriety in such a pressure-cooker environment, and this is a huge accomplishment that they have done this so well and with such amazing grace (how sweet the sound). I was pleased that I didn’t feel the show was being exploitative by giving us this moment, it makes it more real than most other reality shows on TV because it arose naturally from the circumstances, not some pre-planned PSA type announcement. And SO revealing that Katya seems to have replaced substances with an addiction to anxiety that held her back out of fear from not succeeding as her staple character. RuPaul, you a doctor too? You may have helped Katya even more than you know. But I do think some of the other queens surprised us with their Snatchs this episode, despite Kennedy being torn over having come to RPDR unprepared with a character other than another man. Like Pearl! Her Big Ang was a dream come true for me – “What’s your bra size Ang?” Answer: “It’s a medical mystery.” Again, Kennedy must have stolen her Ambien, because Pearl was giving me LIFE. And after having an 18-gauge needle in my tonsils this week, I needed it!
Margaux: RIGHT?! It’s like Kennedy and Pearl have Freaky Friday’ed bodies or something. Kennedy has seemed sleepier and sleepier, and flying by the seam of her tuck, lately. While on the other hand, Pearl has been the sleeper hit, her Big Ang – from the look that was spot on, to the voice, to giggly bounce of her huge boobies – I could not even handle. And for switching up her Snatch character last minute, Violet was very funny as Alyssa Edwards, too. See, Violet is funny! I know she thinks it isn’t her thing, but I think Violet could be onto something if she keeps working on comedy like she does her flawless fashion. Violet’s runway look? WHIP ME ANYTIME BBGURL.
Samir: My safe word is “Yes Please” as I believe Ross Matthews said of one of these looks on Willam in Season 4. I loved their interplay backstage in Untucked too, they totally called one of my predictions for this episode before it happened. Violet’s judgements tended to fall pretty closely in line with what I thought this episode. She really is funny, you’re right she just tells herself she’s not. I knew right away that Miss Fame was going to crash as Donatella, and that Violet changing last minute would end up being more funny. It’s true of people who are in their head a lot. When I did on-camera stuff for my college news website (CalTV Entertainment forevah!!) I always found the best way to get into character was to not think so consciously about doing everything perfectly, but to just GO and lose the conscious anxiety. By forcing Violet to go on instinct she did better, and I really think Miss Fame would have benefitted from the lack of time to get into her head. If she had changed her character up last-minute I think she actually would have done better because she would have just gone on what she knew and not what she had had several months to overthink. Lesson for the future on Snatch Game: ALWAYS have more than one character at the ready! I’m surprised this is only the second time two queens have chosen the same character in the run of this series!
Margaux: If Miss Fame could’ve figured out a way to blend her strange, hilarious love of chickens with a Snatch Game character, she woulda blown Little Richard right out of the water – no question. CH’YEAHH, HUH.
Samir: Who is a famous chicken-themed lady she could have done I wonder, I know there’s one out there. OH, how about Lady Tuck from the animated Robin Hood? But she was actually a chicken huh?
Margaux: PAULA DEEN!!!!! MISS FAME AS PAULA DEEN WOULD OF BEEN THE MOST GENIUS SHIT.
Chicken, butter…same diff.
I digress, the fact of the matter remains, Miss Fame landed in the bottom three because she was all up in the dome. And not the good kind, but not as bad as that 18-gauge prick (needle) in your throat yesterday.
Samir: Thank god for prescription drugs (taken and acquired legally folks!) they are holding me together right now, otherwise this would be a much more bitter write-up!
Margaux: Care to get bitter over Max’s….’interpretation’ of the beloved Sharon Needles? Umm, I was living for Violet’s face when Max told her she’s going to do a “Disney spin” on Sharon Needles. Uh huh hunty.
Samir: This made me so sad 🙁 Max had the look and the voice perfect, and the attitude was there, but the funny and the actual characterization was not. The key is to bring the funny, and even though I felt the celebrity judges and RuPaul were being WAY too generous with the laughs for Kennedy’s Little Richard (I think the judges were on a little behind-the-counter medicines from the pharmacy if you ask me), Max just didn’t give them anything to live on comedy-wise with her butchering of Sharon Needles. I loved the idea, but it seems queens are getting more and more comfortable doing versions of people on Drag Race for their Snatch Game characters in the last few years. There were TWO on this episode alone! Violet’s actually worked, but poor Max was destined to bottom this week for the panel, I guess her online dating profile should say “versatile” because she switched from top to bottom REAL quick. And ironically, it was the same week she took Michelle Visage’s advise to change her look. She wore black hair on the runway and she LOST! Maybe Michelle is turning into the Tim Gunn of this show- her advice was the kiss of death.
Margaux: I honestly cannot argue with that. I think even Ross pointed out that it was a valiant effort to take Michelle’s pointed advice, but he ultimately missed Max’s grey hair.
And Max’s Sharon Needles seems to almost be a reoccuring theme, the look is great but the comedy is lacking. But I will say, I was happy to not have to watch another group challenge or watch queens struggle to remember their lines. The improv aspect of this challenge, I thought, showed the queens acting and comedy chops better than watching a slow-moving train wreck of a group acting challenge.
Samir: I love the themes of the group challenges, but this season I agree with you, I’d rather have an embarrassment of riches, than a richness of embarrassment, to mull through each week. And this is where you can usually tell who the real talented queens are. It’s a shame Jaidyn got so in her head too, but I also think Michelle should have extended her criticism to Kennedy in terms of doing the same shtick over and over again. I’m with Violet on this one, Kennedy should have already been eliminated. But the problem is that Kennedy is both heartwarmingly supportive and hilarious when she’s not in a challenge! We know she’s got it but I’m not seeing it where it counts, other than when she’s being shady.
Margaux: Something about Kennedy’s humor gets lost in translation from backstage shade to the challenge stage, it is hard to disagree with Violet’s point about Kennedy needing to go, or at least, knocked off her high horse a little. It’s sort of unfair that Ginger has to share the title of challenge winner this week with Kennedy when Ginger has been working triple overtime to stand out and Kennedy is in Ambien coasting mode.
Wanna talk stars?
Samir: Yes lets, the humanity on display this episode really saved it for me, but combined with the low of the challenge winner and judges hypocrisy I give this episode, and it pains me to do this because I Love Drag Race more than any show on TV, 3 stars.
Margaux: What about the Reality Show Twist? Ru’s gonna bring back an eliminated queen back next week. Hello again, Trixie Mattel! (As if it could be anyone else).
Samir: Violet and Pearl worried about putting that out in the universe during Untucked and it came true immediately after. They must have sensed it in the musky air. And they made the same prediction- it has to be Trixie hands down. Ru does this every season (except last year when he changed it up and just didn’t eliminate Ben De La Creme instead of bringing someone back). I will give an extra half-star if Trixie does indeed come back. A hopeful 3.5 stars.
Brought to you by Ambien (we’ve mentioned it enough times to at least get some $ back for it).
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