Spilling the tea on season 14, episode 3

*Warning* The following article contains spoilers for RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 episode 3.

After two weeks apart the queens have finally been brought together. After the elimination of Daya Betty, the queens from the second premiere return to the werkroom where the other queens are waiting for them. As always, the meeting of the queens was friendly, with some queens having known each other before the competition. As expected, while friendly, each group of queens think they are supreme queens, throwing some light shade. I’m looking at you Willow, youngest in the face, girl you savage.

Before the remaining 12 queens find out this week’s challenge, RuPaul has a couple of announcements. The first announcement is, there are two more queens he is adding to the competition. Just like past queens put in this situation, everyone is visibly upset about the extra queens coming into the competition. Those are two more queens they have to compete against. After what seems like an eternity the two queens are finally revealed to be… Orion Story and Daya Betty.

I was excited that both of these queens got the chance to come back into the competition. RuPaul really had me believing that he had sent both of them home. I think that both Orion and Daya have so much more to show. Both of them seem like really fun queens that have a unique perspective. I’m glad that we will get to see more from them, but their every move is going to be meticulously watched by both the judges and other queens.

The second announcement from RuPaul is, he’s adding yet another twist to the season. This season RuPaul is giving one lucky queen a get-out-of-jail-free card. RuPaul has the Pit Crew bring out a cart with 14 RuPaul’s chocolate bars, one for each queen to pick from. Out of the 14 candy bars, one is a golden bar. This golden chocolate bar is the get-out-of-jail-free card. Each week, the queen who loses the lipsync will unwrap her candy bar. If she has the golden chocolate bar, she gets to remain in the competition.

After dropping both those bombshells, RuPaul tells the queens that this week’s Maxi Challenge will be the ball challenge. And we’re not just having one ball, we’re having two, the Hide n Chic Ball and the Red, White and Blue Ball. RuPaul breaks the queens up with the week one queens doing the Hide n Chic Ball and the week two queens doing the Red, White and Blue Ball. That means there will be a whopping 42 looks to grace the runway this episode.

Maxi Challenge

Both of the balls will have similar categories with the Hide and Chic Ball centering around various animal prints and the Red, White and Blue Ball centering around you guessed it red, white and blue. The categories for the Hide n Chic Ball are Zebra Print Resort Wear, Leopard Evening Gown Down and Animal Print Bridal Couture. The categories for the Red, White and Blue Ball are Red Hot Resort Wear, Evening Gown Down: All White and

Of the three looks, the queens were allowed to bring outfits for the first two categories, but their wedding gown look needed to be made from scratch from the various material that was provided to them.

Because there are two balls, 14 queens and a total of 42 looks, I will be focusing on the tops and bottoms of the week. This is not to say that the other queens didn’t do well. In my opinion, this was one of the best ball challenges on the show. Michelle said it best, “Finally, it took 14 years of people understanding you need to sew to be on this show, at least a basic way.”

This week the top three queens are Willow Pill, Angeria Paris VanMicheals and Jorgeous. The bottom queens of the week are Orion Story, June Jambalaya and Maddy Morphosis. This week I agree with RuPaul’s placement of the top and bottom queens. Watching the episode, the first time I disagreed with some choices, specifically on one of the bottom queens. But, after re-watching the episode I agreed with his reasoning.

To see all the looks from the Hide n Chic Ball, visit the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page or follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KQmDJPwrO8.

To see all the looks from the Red, White and Blue Ball, visit the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page or follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZg_kGdr2Cc.

Top Queens

Willow had an amazing week. I thought all three of her looks for this challenge were great. Her first look, which was my least favorite, was a little basic. The outfit looked nice but looked like something off the rack that was slightly customized with colorful zebra print. Carson Kressley said he looked the top real-estate broker of Boca, and that explains the outfit perfectly. I also liked that she chose a colorful zebra print. It made her look stand out among the more literal interpretations of zebra print by the other queens.

Willow’s second look tonight was my favorite of her looks. She presented a beautiful, long, off-the-shoulder gown with black-on-black leopard print with gold chain accents. She looked like a European supermodel from the 90’s. She wore big jewelry that would be extremely expensive all the jewels were real. Her big up-do hairstyle also worked really well with the look. Unlike the other queens in the Hide n Chic Ball, she was able put together a really fashionable look in a print that I feel is the tackiest animal print.

Willow’s final look took a unique approach to Bridal Couture. She chose to do a jumpsuit rather than a gown for her look. The unique choice paid off for her. The jumpsuit fit her like a glove. She chose to do a loose-fitting pant leg rather than something more form-fitting and with smaller-figured queens, this can potentially swallow them, but it looked great. The train helped to give the jumpsuit a slight gown-like feel and add more shape. The other accessories and the hair complemented the look wonderfully, making for a great all-around look.

Angeria had a great week and is keeping that momentum that she had from her first episode going. Angeria’s first look for her Red Hot Resort Wear was my favorite of all her looks. The cute baby-doll/60’s mod-style dress looked great and flowed even better. The movement of the dress and the personality she infused into the look was what made it my favorite. She also accessorized the look beautifully. Angeria is proving to be a very serious competitor and I would be wary of her if I were the other queens.

Angeria’s second look for White Evening Gown Down was my least favorite of her looks. That is not to say it was bad, far from it. It is just something that I feel like I’ve seen before. The look was accessorized well from the embellishments in the coat, the jewelry and her nails. When Angeria first came into the werkroom I could tell she was a detail-oriented queen, and she is proving to be just that. She is definitely proving that she is going to be fierce competition.

Angeria’s final look was beautifully crafted. The fit of the dress was perfect, it hugged every curve of her body. The red sequin fabric looked beautiful on her skin tone. The blue gem details throughout the breast and abdomen provide the perfect amount of contrast to the red sequin fabric and furth accentuated the fit and construction of the dress. Overall Angeria had a great collection of looks for the runway and was definitely deserving of her top placement this week.

The final top queen of the week was Jorgeous. Jorgeous’s Red Hot Resort Wear look was my favorite in this category. It started a common theme that carried through all her outfits, less is more. Her resort wear look was a red mini dress with huge hair, giving the complete Selena fantasy. The mini dress showed off her beautiful legs and tiny figure. While very simple, it looked great on her. I think for other queens the look would have been too simple, but Jorgeous wore it well.

Again, for the White Evening Gown Down category, Jorgeous had my overall favorite look. Her white gown was strapless with a white corset and shirt that went to the floor but had a slit on one side all the way to the top of her leg. Even though the outfit was simple, it was well done. The white corset was beautifully laid flat, even Michelle complimented her on it. I do hope that we get to see some classic drag looks from her this season though. I mean come on; the girl hasn’t worn any jewelry besides earrings yet. When am I going to get the huge jewelry Jorgeous? I’m waiting for it.

Jorgeous’s last look was my least favorite from her tonight. While it was crafted pretty well, I could tell that she made it herself in only a couple hours. That’s not to say it wasn’t an impressive feat because I couldn’t do it. She looked great in the look. It complimented her figure well and I thought the silhouette was fun. Her biggest drawback, I didn’t get wedding from the look at all. So, while the garment was crafted pretty well and looked good on her because it didn’t read wedding, I think it’ll keep her from winning this week.

Bottom Queens

I still disagree with Orion being in the bottom this week. I’m not sure who I would replace her with, but I don’t think any of her looks were deserving of a bottom placement. Her overall critique from the judges was to make sure to edit, which I can agree with. But even her “too much” outfits were well done. Her look for Zebra Print Resort Wear was really cute. She went as a confused golfer girl that had no idea what she was going. The outfit screamed classic golf wear with short zebra print skirt, a fitted turtleneck sweater vest all paired with long golfing socks with a sensible lace-up heel.

Orion’s look for Leopard Evening Gown Down was probably my least favorite of her three looks, but I still think it was well done. Yes, the outfit was a tad busy, but this is Drag Race, a show that has turned “busy” into a Emmy-award winning TV show. There were a lot of cut-outs that made it look like a leopard attacked and shredded the outfit. I also think the jaw fascinator she wore was completely unnecessary. I didn’t understand the storyline behind it. But, even with those things, I don’t think the actual outfit was bad.

Orion’s final look for the Animal Print Bridal Couture was probably my favorite of her three looks. The dress was extremely well constructed and hugged every curve of her body. She looked great in that dress. The judges commented that it looked like something Peg Bundy would wear to her wedding and I can’t agree more. Personally, I thought for the Hide n Chic ball, her bridal look was one of the best. I got bridal from the outfit, and the animal print didn’t make me want to gag. While it may have been slightly over-accessorized, I thought it was a successful look. I stand by my opinion that she should not have been in the bottom this week.

Our next queen in the bottom line-up is June Jambalaya. I was sad to see June in the bottom this week but, unlike Orion, I think she deserved to be there. Her look for Zebra Print Resort Wear was a great outfit. I got strong Black woman executive realness from the look, and I was living for it. That was until you get to her head. The wig she wore down the runway was atrocious. Michelle was right when she said it looked like June took the wig from the bag and threw it on her head. I wish she was able to channel the powerful energy I get from her into the challenge because I know this queen is capable of really big things.

June’s looks continue to get worse as the ball progresses. Her look for Leopard Evening Gown Down was really disappointing. June did not wear this look; this look wore June. The gown was too long causing her to trip almost all the way down the runway. I was terrified that she was going to fall on her face. Besides being too long, the outfit looked to be too big on her. This has been a common theme with June. Most of the outfits we have gotten to see June wear have either been too big or too small on her. Also, this hair did not work with this outfit. If you watch Untucked (which gurl if you aren’t watching Untucked, you’re only getting half the story) we got to see an exclusive clip of Ru saying the hair didn’t look like it belonged to her.

June’s final look really sealed her fate of being in the bottom. In the werkrrom while everyone was making their outfits, we find out that June doesn’t know how to sew. I love you June but come on. This is season 14, every season they do at least one sewing challenge. Some seasons they even have multiple sewing challenges. If you don’t learn how to operate a sewing machine and aren’t able to make a simple garment, you’re dooming yourself for failure. Her look was so poorly constructed that she actually tried to hide it with a huge palm leaf bouquet, which made it so obvious how bad it was. You could also see the disappointment/defeat on her face as she walked down the runway.  

Our final bottom queen of the night is Maddy Morphosis. Once again, like June, I think Maddy deserved to be in the bottom this week. Her look for Red Hot Resort Wear was extremely basic. Like I’ve seen girls at NDSU in almost this exact look at soon as it hits 40 degrees. If I’ve seen something similar on the NDSU campus, it’s way too basic for Drag Race. I’m hesitant to say this but one maybe redeeming factor is that Maddy made this look herself. It is a well-constructed look but way too basic for the main stage.

Maddy’s White Evening Gown Down look was my favorite of her looks in this episode. I think this gown had everything it takes to be successful in this category, but something was missing even though I couldn’t tell you what it was. The mixture of gold stars and moons could have looked whimsical mixed with the interesting headpiece and cape, but that just didn’t happen. The look could have been very editorial, but the execution just wasn’t there. Maddy needs help with her fashion execution. I think she has good ideas, but she needs someone to help bring those ideas to reality. She just doesn’t have the fashion knowledge to properly execute those types of looks.

Maddy’s final look was really something. In the werkroom we saw her making an outfit with a very different silhouette that remind me of the ballgown Cinderella wore. But when she got to the main stage, we see she changed her entire concept. Instead of looking like something a princess would wear, it looked like a tube sock. She had almost no shape, it looked like she took an American flag and draped it around her body. Her makeup was also really bad. While Maddy has pretty fair skin, her makeup was literally white, like as white as the white on the American flag. Overall, this was a bad look for Maddy, this look alone probably could have landed her in the bottom.

Winner and Loser

After the judges deliberated RuPaul lets us know that Willow Pill is the winner of this week’s episode and won herself $5,000 cash money, honey. I think Willow’s win this week is definitely deserving. All three of her looks were quintessentially Willow, but also were well done and fit each category well.

I predicted that either Willow or Angeria was going to be the winner this week. I think what put Willow over Angeria was that Willow took a risk with her bridal look and gave the judges something they weren’t expecting. Angeria’s bridal look was really well done, but it’s something that we have seen on the runway before.

Our two bottom queens lipsyncing for their life this week are June Jambalaya and Maddy Morphosis. I think these two queens were the obvious bottom two. Comparing both of their looks to Orion’s, they don’t compare. All three of Orion’s looks were better executed than both June and Maddy’s.

This week’s lipsync song was I Love It by Kylie Minogue. As the queens were getting ready to lipsync I didn’t know how it was going to go. I’ve seen June lipsync against Orion in week one and she gave it to us. I haven’t gotten the chance to see Maddy lipsync and so I was nervous for her. But, going into the lipsync June was really defeated, so will that ruin her chance to win?

As the song started, I was scared that June was going to wipe the floor with Maddy. June was taking a more literal approach to the song while Maddy was taking more of a campy approach. That’s when things started to turn for June. Before the start of the chorus, June takes a walk to the back of the stage and throws off her wig. (There at least was a pussy cat wig underneath it.) That’s when things started to get messy for her. Her dress was falling down, and she took off her shoes. In the past, this has been the sign of a last-ditch effort. The rest of her lipsync just seemed really sloppy and that was all I could focus on.

Maddy, on the other hand, had the opposite progression as the song went on. Maddy started the song very timidly, but then she started to feel herself. She played into her campy persona and had fun with the lipsync. While it wasn’t the most entertaining lipsync I’ve ever seen, I could tell she was having fun. I could see and feel the joy that was coming from her as she performed. She was fun to watch, especially with how messy June’s lipsync got. She wasn’t just lipsyncing for her life, she was living for the lipsync. (Not to be shady but, Maddy’s outfit also remained in one piece.)

Maddy ends up winning the lipsync and is safe to slay another day. I definitely agree with the decision. June’s lipsync seemed to be driven more by desperation to stay rather than showing what a fierce queen she is. But June still has a chance to stay in the competition. Don’t you remember the gold bar? RuPaul asks her to unwrap her candy bar to see if she is the lucky queen with the gold bar. June starts to unwrap the candy bar and… it’s just chocolate. Unfortunately, that means that it’s time for June to sashay away.

To see the lipsync between June and Maddy, visit the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page or follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP7aWOaeAng.

Now, 13 queens remain in the competition.