Spilling the tea on season 14, episode nine

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

The queens reenter the werkroom with spirits high after the non-elimination. This is kind of unique for Drag Race. I don’t think there has been a non-elimination episode like this so far into the season before. Usually, the two bottom queens are saved due to spectacular performances in the lipsync, instead the queens were all saved because of their spectacular performance in the maxi challenge.  

Lady Camden is rightfully feeling very good after getting her first win of the season. She had an amazing performance in the maxi challenge as well as on the runway. She was able to turn every drag queen’s worst nightmare into a jaw-dropping runway moment.

Another queen that is feeling some joy is Daya Betty. She is thrilled to have finally broken her streak of being safe. She was not only in the top, but in the top two of the week to lipsync for the win. There were some girls that thought Daya shouldn’t have been in the top, (cough, cough, Jasmine), but I think she had a great performance.

I don’t normally recap the mini challenges but is week’s mini challenge was one that could not be skipped. The library is officially open; because reading is what darling, fundamental. Yes, that’s right, this week’s mini challenge is the iconic reading challenge. For those who don’t know what this type of reading is, reading is “The act of pointing out a flaw in someone else and exaggerating it.” I pulled the definition from Urban Dictionary so I could explain it in the straightest words possible.

My top three for the reading challenge was Lady Camden, Willow Pill and Bosco. Apparently RuPaul and I think alike because he decided that Bosco was the shadiest b*itch in the building. Along with being awarded the title, Bosco also won $2,500 courtesy of SweeTarts. RuPaul also gave a shoutout to Lady Camden for her shady performance.

To see the queens’ reading abilities in action follow this link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOR7KtQzs-w (skip to 4:10 for the reading challenge), or sashay over to the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page.   

For this week’s Maxi Challenge, the queens will be competing in the 60’s style girl groups the ShangRu-las, the Ru-nettes and the Rupremes. The girls argued back and worth about which girl group they wanted to be in but were finally able to come to a decision. The ShangRu-las will feature Daya Betty, Bosco and Willow Pill. The Ru-nettes will feature DeJa Skye, Jasmine Kennedie and Jorgeous. The Rupremes will feature Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Kerri Colby and Lady Camden.

Maxi Challenge

For this week’s maxi challenge the queens are responsible for writing their own original verse the lipsync track, coming up with group choreography, coming up with characterizations and performing it all on the main stage. In the words of Bosco, “This is a hell of a challenge.”

Watching the queens get ready for the challenge I think the group that has the most promise in the ShangRu-las. These three all worked really well together last week and in other challenges where they have worked together. They have cracked the code on how to do well in these challenges, make a lot of references, have a unique vision and make the judges laugh. I think this group is very likely going to be in the top this week.

After watching the actual performance, I definitely think the ShangRu-las were the best group this week. Like I said, these girls have cracked the code on how to do well in these challenges. Ru says this every season, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, the wheel in just fine. These girls are doing just that. They brought a unique perspective to the song, showing their personality and chucked the song with funny material. I was locked in on the lyrics because I wanted to know what they were going to say next.

The weakest group for me this week was the Ru-nettes. The main culprit in my mind that both this group in the bottom for me this week was Jasmine Kennedie. Jasmine came into this competition saying she was a dancing queen. But in this challenge the choreography didn’t look natural, and you saw it on her face that she was thinking about the steps. The lack of face from Jasmine really took her out of the performance. Also, I know not everyone is a singer, but Jasmine is a terrible singer. DeJa and Jorgeous’s performances were much better in comparison across the board, but you’re only as strong as your weakest link.

The Rupremes, for me, were the obvious middle group of the week. That is not to say this group didn’t have its problems, they were just less obvious than the Ru-nettes. Angeria was the clear star of this group, however. Before the challenge she said that she does Diana Ross in her act, and it showed in the challenge. Kerri and Lady Camden had okay performances, but they lack the ease that Angeria did. They caused them to feel out of place next to Angeria and took a hit to the quality of their performance.

To see the queens’ 60’s inspired girls group performances, follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eOeTMPmQkA or sashay on over to the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page.

Category is…

On the runway this week category is… Heart On. This week’s runway was really kind-of a letdown for me. So far, the queens have been bringing great runway looks this season. But this week I only have two words, missed opportunity. I was expecting just a lot more from this runway overall.

My top three looks this week were Daya Betty, Bosco and Jorgeous. These looks were my favorite of the night, but my critique for all the looks is safe. For a category like Heart On, I was expecting these girls to be DRIPPING in hearts. Some of these looks only had one heart on them. I just think that overall, the queens could have pushed these looks a lot further. Some of these girls have been bringing jaw dropping looks to this runway and they really let me down this week.

My bottom three looks of the night were Willow Pill, Jasmine Kennedie and Angeria. Willow’s outfit this week was just straight ugly, I’m going to say it. That was the worst thing she has worn on the runway this season and is probably in the top five worst looks of Drag Race. Both Jasmine and Angeria’s looks were just so basic. Jasmine’s look had two hearts on it and Angeria’s only had one. Had I not known what the runway category was I never would have thought it had anything to do with hearts just looking at their outfits.

To see all of the queens’ Heart On looks, follow this link https://twitter.com/RuPaulsDragRace/status/1497396498631311365 or sashay over to the RuPaul’s Drag Race Twitter page.

Tops and Bottoms

The queens in the top this week are Daya Betty, DeJa Skye and Angeria Paris VanMicheals. I think these queens were definitely the standouts in their groups this week. Daya had the best characterization in her group and held character the entire performance, even when the ShandRu-las weren’t the focus. I think DeJa was the backbone of the Ru-nettes and overwhelmingly gave the best performance of that group. Same with Angeria, I think the Rupremes performed better overall but Angeria’s performance was the gold standard that the other two queens should have been reaching for.

The queens in the bottom this week are Jasmine Kennedie, Lady Camden and Kerri Colby. I do agree with this bottom three, it is just hard to see them here. Kerri and Lady Camden have been two of my favorite queens since the beginning and Jasmine just has an amazing week last week in the soap opera challenge. However, Jasmine’s performance was off on multiple levels: dancing, singing and characterization. It was really hard to watch her performance this week. Kerri and Lady Camden were on two different spectrums in this challenge. For Kerri the performance felt almost forced and was relying on extreme body language too much. Lady Camden, on the other hand, was really reserved and seemed to fade into the background.

After deliberating with the judges, RuPaul gives this week’s win to Daya Betty. After finally breaking her safe streak last week she finally got her first win, and a $5,000 cash tip courtesy of Snag Tights. Daya has really pushed through these last few weeks and has proven she is competition for the other girls.

The two queens lipsycing for their lives this week are Jasmine Kennedie and Kerri Colby. I know that Jasmine and Kerri have gotten very close during the competition and Kerri had helped Jasmine feel comfortable telling the other queens that she is a trans woman. This will definitely be an emotional lipsync for both of them.

This week’s lipsync song is “Un-Break My Heart” by Toni Braxton, the Hex Hector Remix. Both Jasmine and Kerri gave great lipsyncs. They both gave extremely emotional performances. However, as a dancing queen Jasmine has just a few more tricks up her sleeve. A well-timed split from Jasmine is what I think sealed Kerri’s fate.

In the end RuPaul does decide to keep Jasmine over Kerri. I, and Jasmine, was devastated that Kerri could possibly be going home. Our only hope left was that Kerri had the golden chocolate bar. Unfortunately, Kerri’s bar is just chocolate, meaning that her time on season 14 has officially come to a close.

To see Jasmine and Kerri’s lipsync, follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR-X49njac0 or sashay over to the RuPaul’s Drag Race YouTube page.