1. “There’s nothing sadder than the tears of a drag queen.” The mini-challenge for this week had Ru inviting all her girls to a big ol’ sharing circle. There, they put on some mascara and competed in the Crying Game (highlight: Ru attempting to wipe off her crocodile tears and hitting her glasses instead). The two winners were Alyssa Edwards, whose tale of an OC housewife was oddly convincing, and Detox, who shared a poignant story about her boyfriend’s death and its effect on her. I’m glad we got to see Detox’s vulnerability, but has anyone else noticed this year has seemed way more emotionally manipulative than previous seasons?
2. “Casa de Locas” and “Ella No Es Dama” Both winners picked teams to perform together in two scripted telenovellas alongside a very stoic Wilmer Valderama. You’d think someone who played Fez could bring a bit more humor to the proceedings. Detox chose to reunite Rolaskatox and Alyssa picked Jinkx and (reluctantly) her nemesis Coco. Rolaskatox’s telenovella, “Ella No Es Dama” (bilingual realness right here) had much less outright camp to work with, but all three queens performed well. “Casa de Locas” was much more entertaining because of Jinkx’s stellar performance and Alyssa’s total misfire, both captured wonderfully in their chimichanga–induced orgasms. After the strange whimpers Alyssa produced, I don’t think Jinkx was the only one wondering if Alyssa had ever actually had one.
3. “Latina Glamorosa Extravaganza" After the telenovella tapings, the queens hit the runway in their Latina-inspired attire. The best looks were Roxxxy’s dominatrix–meets–matador ensemble and Jinkx’s Beetlejuice–has–a–quinceañera outfit. Although Detox’s sombrero was slightly too much for me, Alyssa had the worst look of the night. I’m sick of her prom bargain basement wardrobe, but I’m not sure I agree with Santino’s read that it was one of the worst looks in drag race herstory. I’m not even sure it was the worst outfit of this season. We must never forget Serena ChaCha’s fashion soft sculpture, Honey Mahogany’s closet full of caftans or that time Jade Jolie scalped a tribe of Troll dolls and glued them to a jumpsuit. 4. Alyssa Edwards vs. Coco Montrese. Jinkx wins the challenge, which marks her second win and seventh consecutive week on top (It’s Monsoon season, pageant queens, you better grab a lifeboat). Coco and Alyssa finally land in the bottom together and have to face off in a lip sync of Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted.” This showdown has been inevitable ever since we first saw these two interact and for good reason: both queens have showed they can turn out a lip sync, and this Abdul–off might have been the best of the season. I was critical of Coco’s outfit when she first walked the runway but it obviously gave her an edge during the lip sync, although Alyssa’s dance moves were on point as usual. RuPaul commands Coco to stay and sends Alyssa to sashay away. I agree with Ru’s choice based on the lip sync but I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to stand Coco’s hypocritical attitude. However, this marks her third lip sync, so it’s doubtful she’ll be staying around if she lands in the bottom again.
