RuPaul’s Drag Race is back and as sparkly as ever, which should be expected with Season 18’s “Let There Be Light” theme. This time around, each of the 14 queens feels polished and seasoned. Perhaps that correlated to the majority of queens being over 30, or maybe it’s due to better casting. Either way, Season 18 is shaping up to be one of the show’s most exciting seasons in recent years.
After the controversy stemming from Season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, most fans are ready to get back to basics and discover some new names to fall in love with. With Drag Race going back to its classic formula, you’ll find few complaints from us. And since RuPaul loves a good acronym, we’ll be conducting our reviews using the word DRAG (Drama, Runway, About That Challenge, and Gooped, Gagged, and Goated). Read on for our thoughts, musings, and reactions to RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 3.
Drama: Is Athena the drama, or are the other girls making her the drama?
Jeanette: Truthfully, I wasn’t impressed with Athena’s attitude after last week’s disco fight. This week, Athena finds herself at the center of another challenge squabble, only this time, it feels like some of the other girls might be purposefully trying to sabotage her. Okay, maybe sabotage is too harsh a word. Maybe it’s more like they’re trying to get under her skin strategically.
She indeed got her way last week with the disco group, but Briar, Jane, and a couple of other girls were quick to dash her hopes of playing the overbearing mother. Instead, they wanted her to host. Athena has a lot of hosting experience, so it’s not the worst idea, but I can’t quite decide what the motive was here. Was pushing her into hosting the easiest way to solve the stand-off between her and Jane, or were some of the girls hoping the pressure of hosting would cause her to choke?
For what it’s worth, Briar seems to have the slightest schoolgirl crush on Athena. You know, the type where you’re a little mean as a way of flirting. Maybe I’m reading into their interactions too much, but perhaps that also prompted Briar’s desire to work with her. Regardless, I’m hoping Athena doesn’t find herself in another challenge stand-off next week.
Shana: Hear me out: It’s probably both. She knows what she’s doing to make good TV, and someone younger like Briar Blush is obviously going to want to be in her orbit and pressing her buttons to make sure they get their camera time. I also wouldn’t at all be surprised if there’s just a wee bit of jealousy or insecurity there.
Lyra: Everything happening with Athena kind of feels forced. She’s talented. Get over it. The continuous needling from Briar doesn’t even seem like she’s being shady. It seems like she’s pulling Athena’s pigtails. But it definitely is manipulation of Athena. That’s what reality TV does; play mind games. So it feels like it fits right in with this show.
Lizzie: I agree with Shana, I think it’s a little bit of both. I think she can certainly be the drama, but in a lot of ways, it seems like she is because the others are making her the drama. Everyone’s a little too obsessed with Athena, even when they say they’re not. And I get it! She’s always stunning, even when she doesn’t do as well on the challenges. But everyone else would do better if they just focused on themselves.
MORE: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 2 Breakdown
Runway: Any favorite looks you need to scream about?
Jeanette: Because I’m a twisted freak who ranks The Texas Chain Saw Massacre among my comfort movies, I really like Discord’s animal carrying a human handbag look. The walk… it’s still a thing, BUT she looked so edgy it didn’t really matter. Plus, the anti-animal cruelty messaging is something worth pointing out.
Also, although it’s not technically runway, can we talk about Sarah Sherman’s creepy doll? I’m pretty sure it might be haunted.
Shana: The runway had me kinda underwhelmed this week. Athena’s had my jaw about to drop…but then she started taking things off.
Lyra: I hate saying this because I can’t stand the fact that she doesn’t know how to do anything on this show by her own admission, but Juicy Love Dion looked amazing in that runway look. I don’t know the animal and will be looking it up online, but it was beautiful.
Then there’s Nini Coco’s frog look. That face was immaculate and a straight work of art. But the complete package came in the form of Darlene Mitchell. It was high-end and on theme but you understood what animal she was. And honestly I like it more because it didn’t have a heel. Sorry Ru.
Lizzie: Eh, I hate to be basic, but I really loved Juicy Love Dion. She and Jane Don’t were the only ones that impressed me.
About That Challenge: Thoughts about the challenge. Love it, hate it, or meh?
Jeanette: Maybe this is controversial to say, but the more I talk to people, maybe not. I don’t like SNL. So, yeah, I don’t particularly love the RDR Live challenge. I found most of the skits to be pretty meh, besides the last segment about young Michelle Visage, which had a campy, almost Fran Drescher vibe to it that I liked.
Honestly… truly… my favorite part of the whole thing was RuPaul’s performance. I can’t tell you how much joy watching Ru stand in one spot on stage, barely dancing, barely trying, but looking absolutely fierce, brings me. Those boots. That hair. The fact that she wasn’t even promoting a new song, just lip-syncing “Queendom.” It’s all so perfectly stupid and hot that I love it, although it still doesn’t top her “Hustle That Cat” performance a few seasons back.
Shana: Jane Don’t ate that up. Their mom character could actually go on Weekend Update and put everyone else who’s done the roll-in to shame. And I’m talking about even on some of the best recurring bits to stop by the Update desk that I’ve watched in my many years of rotting my brain with too much TV. Athena Dion was also a better host than the majority of the recent hosts on the real deal.
The rest? …well. For everyone that loves to hate on SNL, this one’s for you: It was a true homage to what we’ve gotten more recently.
Lyra: Drag Race needs to cancel RDR Live. More often than not it absolutely bombs. And the ones who look like they did a good job (Juicy Love Dion) are just the best out of a whole bunch of people who did terrible. I don’t even like Jane Don’t, but if anyone won that comedy challenge, it was her. But her runway look paled in comparison to Juicy’s, so she was never going to win.
Lizzie: I hated it. I didn’t think anyone was funny and Juicy Love Dion only got kudos because everyone other than Jane Don’t was horrible. It doesn’t do anything to showcase anyone’s talents, it’s not funy and I was just hoping it went by fast. Please, let it end.
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Gooped, Gagged, and GOATED: Do you agree with RuPaul’s choices for bottoms and tops in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 3?
Jeanette: Did I think Darlene Mitchell was going to win? You bet I did. However, I’m not mad that Juicy Love Dion came in first. She had a nice full-circle arc, starting the episode as someone underconfident in her acting abilities and then just trying her best and fully letting go. As someone who would undoubtedly fall to pieces in her shoes, I respect her commitment to giving it her all.
Jane was good, and Darlene was excellent, but I would have loved to see her take a role more outside her comfort zone. Darlene Mitchell can play white trash amazingly. But that doesn’t shock me one bit. I would have loved to see her in the conservative Amish role or something more akin to that.
As for bottoms, I’m a bit surprised Briar earned the lip-sync spot over Vita VonTeese. I agree Briar was one note, but Vita, I could see the poor thing thinking about her lines. She wasn’t butch enough. She wasn’t funny enough, and really, she lacked any type of emoting or inflection. Personally, I thought she was the weakest of the lot. Mango really committed to the bit, but yeah, she committed in the wrong direction.
Shana: Absolutely…not. I kind of understood Darlene, agreed with Jane, and just don’t know how Juicy won. No shade to her — that sketch just wasn’t for me. Like, I get it: They love a good Michelle Visage tribute. But that really wasn’t one? And Michelle did her own Michelle Visage tribute with her little tap number. Congrats, Michelle! You’re finally a winner, baby!
Meanwhile, RuPaul’s lip sync for her life wasn’t it, so I’m sorry to her, but it’s time to sashay away.
Lyra: Firstly, the Juicy Love Dion win kind of felt like Drag Race going, “Oh we can’t crown Jane Don’t twice, right?” You can. And Briar Blush and Mandy Mango deserved to be in the bottom two. Sorry, not sorry. Briar was flat in that challenge and her look felt like it was straight out of a CW show where there’s a masquerade ball. And Mandy really could’ve got another way with her sketch. But at least her runway look was cute.
So why did they save Briar Blush? Because Mandy Mango isn’t ready yet. She reminds me sometimes of Chi Chi Rodriguez in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. She’s a drag princess and not a drag queen. She’s not ready for a competition of this range. But… neither is Juicy, who admitted that she can’t sew, act, or comedy. So, who knows!
Lizzie: I liked the top; they were my favorites, and unlike Lyra, I do think Juicy Love Dion deserves it, especially after she spent the entire episode telling people she wasn’t good at anything. She fooled me! But I thought the bottom could have gone a number of ways, as no one else really impressed me in the “comedy” challenge, and the runway was just okay. I can’t really defend Mandy Mango after that lip sync, though. I didn’t love Briar Blush either, but at least she was trying to do something different.
