I may not be sold on Trinity Taylor just yet, but she made the brilliant decision to take advantage of her plastic surgery and picked Amanda Lepore, while Cynthia Lee Fontaine picked Sofia Vergara aka Cynthia Lee Fontaine with a longer wig. Nina Bo’Nina Brown’s choice of Season 7’s Jasmine Masters was interesting considering she is one of the only other queens with a more over-it demeanor.

        Alexis Michelle is slowly getting better and earned her spot as winner of this week for the spot-on impersonation of Liza Minnelli and her especially gorgeous runway look. (Although I do feel we must mention the consistently amazing performances and looks from Sasha Velour. Ross Matthews said it right: “She’s got me.” Keep it up, Sasha.)

        The runway challenge this week was Night of 1000 Madonnas: Part II. To those who didn’t watch Season 8 of Drag Race, the girls were given the chance to pick their favorite Madonna look from the COUNTLESS YEARS SHE’S BEEN PERFORMING, yet four of them decided to wear kimonos. You would think this year would be better. Instead, we were faced with two repeats: Shea Couleé and Peppermint as Material Girl Madonna and Nina Bo’Nina Brown and Trinity Taylor as 2014 Met Gala Madonna. As for who wore them better, I would side with Trinity and Peppermint, merely for the sake of accuracy.

        In other news: Shout-out to VH-1 for airing a commercial about Trans support directly after Peppermint opened herself up to the rest of the girls and came out as a trans woman.

Drama Level

Almost non-existent. Welcome to Ru Paul’s Best Friend Race!

Ru Paul’s Look of the Week

She has proven that rose gold hair is definitely not out of style, at least when it’s on her fabulous head. I should also mention that it took me until the second time around to notice her hair color because I was so distracted by her hips. Hide your couch cushions, folks. No padding is safe when Ru Paul is around.

Favorite Look of the Challenge 

Trinity Taylor’s Amanda Lepore was not only spot on, but objectively gorgeous. She highlighted her own traits and somehow accentuated them more than they already are. I mean just look at those lips. (Once you’re done ogling her silicon valley, if you get what I mean.)

(I’m talking about her boobs.)

Favorite Look on the Runway 

Valentina knocked my socks and all of her clothes off by recreating Madonna’s Sex Book look. Head to toe she was flawless and outrageously tan. She always looks amazing, but this week I am proud to feature her as my favorite.

Queen of the Week

Peppermint, because of her bravery. Drag Race has an interesting past with the trans community, so to come out on such a public platform with such a mixed history, I’m just so proud. When it came time for her to lip sync for her life, it was apparent that her life really did depend on this opportunity. She fought tooth and nail, blowing the competition out of the water and Cynthia out of the competition. And I mean, come on, just look at that FACE.

Runner up goes to Shea Couleé for her lecture/threat to kick Nina Bo’Nina’s big padded booty if she ever doubted herself again. Shea never fails to give me more reasons to adore her. I guess being flawless comes with the territory of living in Chicago.

Lip Sync

There wasn’t much to say this week for the lip sync, because it wasn’t much of a battle. Peppermint fought to the bitter end while Cynthia, on the other hand, seemed to understand she was going home no matter what and was just up there to have a good time.

3.5 out of 5 Farrah frowns (or more accurately, Farrah side-stares)

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As the girls were supporting each other and talking out their beefs during Untucked, Nina remained silent with her back to the rest of the girls, pouting in the dark. Poor Shea Couleé was assigned the role of Black Chyna, instantly painting her as the antagonizing “it” girl, when in reality she was simply following orders, and killing it in the process. Shea earned her spot as the winner of this episode’s challenge, despite Nina’s constant rooting against her.

While certain queens were riding on rivalries, others were making amends. Eureka made it a point to apologize to Sasha Velour and Valentina for making a joke about eating disorders – thank God – and successfully made it off of my hit list. Not only did the apology ease the tension in the workroom, but it invited a conversation that I was grateful to hear.  Valentina confides in the other queens about her current battle with an eating disorder and the promise she made to her mother to eat every day. The sobering confession brought the queens closer, and my love for her stronger.

Drama Level 

One sided and underwhelming. Nina Bo’Nina Brown vs. The World and Alexis Michelle with the classic blame game. How dare they not monitor your drag while simultaneously taking care of themselves. You’re a big girl, Alexis, you should be able to tell when a dress looks pedestrian.

Ru Paul’s Look of the Week 

10/10 the glitziest of the glam.

Favorite Look of the Challenge 

Alexis Michelle being an eerily accurate Kris Kardashian

Favorite Look on the Runway 

For the second week in a row, Sasha Velour and her tasty pastees. (I tried my hardest to like the other looks more, but I’m a sucker for Katya-esque decorations and a tasteful pair of pants.) Runner-up for the runway was Eureka with her best look of the season, even with crutches and ballet flats. I would provide a photo, but Ru Paul’s Drag Race won this round of “can our lighting ruin every shot of this runway look.”

Queen of the Week 

Out of honor and appreciation, I deem Eureka as Queen of the Week for the second time in a row. In one episode, she managed to change my mind about her behavior and look and act absolutely phenomenal despite her injuries.

Honorable mention goes to Aja for making significant progress with her makeup and her attitude as well. Look at all these cranky queens growing up, I’m so proud!

Lip Sync

The bottom two for this week were expected, but the deliberation most certainly was not. As Cynthia Lee Fontaine stripped herself bare and threw herself around the stage, Farrah Moan did a passive jig, not because she didn’t care, but I guess because she isn’t capable of doing more? It was clear she was going home, until a crew-member informed Ru Paul of the orders from Eureka’s doctor, forcing Ru to send Eureka home to heal. I may have been bitter about Eureka’s attitude the past few weeks, but gosh darn it, she had finally redeemed herself!

I give this episode 3.5 out of 5 Farrah Frowns

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The latest episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race aired Friday night and things are finally starting to pick up. With the first episode’s no elimination challenge and new cucu competitor, things have been struggling to motivate. (No offense to James Mansfield and Kimora Blac: James was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and Kimora gained some sympathy from the audience with her farewell on Untucked. However, I will not excuse the throw away character that was “Banana Lady.”)

This week’s challenge was to host a live morning news show with Aja and Trinity Taylor as the team leaders. Aja’s plan to keep her enemies close may have kept her safe for the week, but if she keeps up that bitter attitude, her chances of making it any further will be as slim as Valentina’s cute little chicken legs (that were surprisingly average on the runway this week.) Sasha Velour and Shea Coulee’s performances, on the other hand, blew me out of the water.

Once again, Nina Bo ‘Nina Brown has been pushed under the rug and still managed to shine as her group crumbled around her. Trinity Taylor’s character was as stiff as her new cheekbones and it seemed like everyone was struggling to get a word in without stuttering, Peppermint being the most notably challenged. Charlie Hide seemed to be at risk of a heart attack the entire time, not because of age but because of her unraveling sanity. And while I understand Cynthia Lee Fontaine’s shtick is all about her accent and her “cucu,” but after two seasons of this, I’m starting to get flashbacks of Shangela, the queen who never left (Halleloo when she did. I loved her dearly, but that horse was dead, buried and rotted away long before they decided to stop bringing her back.)

One would think that the longer the show runs, the fiercer the competition and the higher the standards for quality of drag, but that doesn’t seem to be the case so far. This week’s runway looks were nightgowns and by the end of it, you could clearly separate the heathers from the boogers and the few that just didn’t cut it this time around. While some people, such as Aja, are slowly but surely applying their critiques, others looked forgettable.

Highlights

Drama level: too high to care. Really, girls? You’re going to argue about whether or not it’s offensive to make jokes about eating disorders? The childish drama got old after the Alyssa-Coco war of 2013.

Ru Paul’s look of the week: Girl, you have endless streams of income. You can afford a new wig.

Favorite look of the challenge: Shea Coulee with Charlie Hides as runner up. I mean, come on. She’s 52, how is that even possible?

Favorite look on the runway: Sasha Velour and her reliable props.  Look at those tasty pasties.

Queen of the week: Eureka. Partially because of her unsavory behavior, but mainly because of this face.

Lip Sync: Trinity Taylor turned it OUT, giving us one of the best performances in a good while. Charlie, quite frankly, made me angry. I understand being stuck in your ways, and I understand the importance of live performance, but giving up like that is shameful. Tammie Brown already did the “this is it” final sway in Season 1, recreating that is not only an insult to yourself, but to Tammie Brown. AND NO ONE INSULTS TAMMIE BROWN.

As Charlie Hides says goodbye to the season, she will not be forgotten. Despite the poo-poo attitude, Charlie represents all the older queens that deserve a chance to hold their own against the newer crowd of drag. Hearing her goodbye letters from the other girls, “This is not Ru Paul’s Best Friend Race, b*tch” rings in my ears and I feel pride for the evolution this show has made in camaraderie.

2.5 out of 5 Farrah frowns

Stay tuned for next week’s episode on Friday and the review on Sunday!

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