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 correlates 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 Goped, Gagged, and Goated). Read on for our thoughts, musings, and reactions to RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 6.
Drama: Any thoughts and comments about Ciara Myst spending the entire episode trying to strategically take down Discord, only for it not to work out?
Jeanette: Like last episode, I find the whole Rate-A-Queen thing to be… tedious. And come this episode, we get more of the same: 30 minutes of non-stop talking and strategizing. *Yawn*
That said, I’m not mad at Ciara for trying to sway the polls in her favor. She didn’t necessarily do it maliciously, and honestly, she seemed to vote pretty fairly, at least from what little we saw. I found the Ciara/Discord “drama” of it all actually pretty funny. Because neither one of them is a loud, confrontational personality, it was like watching a PG-rated version of Game of Thrones. Discord deciding that talking about her exaggerated love of Brittany Spears within earshot of Ciara was her evil strategy had me rolling. Come on! That’s what we call wholesome manipulation.
Lyra: I’m with Jeanette on this one. It was a PG-rated version of Drag Race. But on top of that, the Ciara and Discord of it all wasn’t interesting because they simply don’t have the personality for it. They seem like the kind of queens who keep to themselves. And that’s fine and all. Finally we have some different personality for queer people that isn’t built on a stereotype. But this feels disingenuous to Ciara and Discord and like they’re playing it up for the show. And it makes sense, this is reality TV after all.
MORE: Catch up with our RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 5 Breakdown!
Runway: Any looks you want to scream about?
Jeanette: Somehow, Jane made the ugliest shade of green look… amazing?! Her hat alone completely ate. I also want to spotlight Nini Coco. At first, I was like, “Whoa! That’s way too much!” But by the time she made it to the front of the runway, my perception totally changed. The hot pink, orange, and yellow looked stunning on her. Overall, I thought it was a lot of fun.
Lyra: I’m sorry but Darlene Mitchell got me with her look. It was simple, yet camp. And then it was over the top but also conceptual. She made it all the better by her stoic face in the entrance, the makeup, and the way that she moved her shoulders to make the tinsel move and shake. Then there’s Nini Coco. She is absolutely a work of art that thinks about how her outfit will look from different angles. Truly she’s miles ahead of all the other queens.
About That Challenge: We need to talk about Myki Meeks and the dangers of Rate-A-Queen. Was anyone else shocked by her bottom placement?
Jeanette: After all three judges gave Myki high praise in their off-stage critiques, and two of them placed her in their personal top twos, I was truly shocked she ended up in the bottom. Although I agree with Ross that she could’ve gone even bigger, I thought her performance was unique, funny, and perfectly derranged. Similar to Nini Coco’s mantis bit last episode, Myki’s Bride of Frankenstein striptease perfectly encapsulates drag’s marriage of camp and artistry.
Don’t get me wrong, Athena’s performance was good, too. However, if I were voting, I’d place her smack-dab in the middle. Instead, Athena secured high placement votes from Juicy and Mia (are we surprised?), along with a couple of other queens. The other gaggery is Kenya. More on that later, but I couldn’t believe Mia put her in the number one spot. Kenya didn’t know the words to her own song, and Michelle specifically warned her about that just beforehand.
Myki, you were done absolutely dirty as far as I’m concerned.
Lyra: Absolutely shocked at the fact that Myki Meeks was at the bottom this week. Her performance was the most memorable out of all of them. It elevated drag, told a story, and would absolutely be the one to get a full Broadway production if she wanted. At my hearts heart, the only reason why she ended up in the bottom is that she doesn’t have a drag family there like Athena does or close allegiances like Discord does. And if the judges were breaking it down this week, I don’t think they would’ve gone this way.
Then there’s Kenya. Love her as a person. But she failed this challenge from top to bottom. For her runway look, that was a black corset with butterflies glued on. And then her song. SHE. DIDN’T. KNOW. IT. It’s her song. How can you not know your own song? Baffonery of the highest order that she wasn’t the one lipsyncing for her life. Biggest upset of the season. But it’s Rate-A-Queen. What else did we expect from a segment that isn’t about talent. It’s about alliances.
MORE: Need more? Read our RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 4 Breakdown!
Goped, Gagged, and GOATED: Do you agree with RuPaul’s choices for bottoms and tops in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Episode 6?
Jeanette: Oh boy, Myki Meeks in the bottom? Nope. Nah. Absolutely not. (See my rant above.) That said, I really wish Myki sold her lip sync more. She had such a fun outfit to play with, and she really could’ve hammed it up. Why didn’t she swing her boobie innards around like tassels? Why wasn’t she tearing her intestines out more dramatically and falling to her knees? And why in the world didn’t she put it in her mouth like some maniacal (or maybe sexy maniacal) zombie person? Brittany gave her the opportunity! The lyrics, “with a taste of your lips, I’m on a ride,” were right there! I guess it all circles back to Ross’ earlier critique about going bigger. This was a case where that advice would serve her.
Still, I’m a big fan of Myki Meeks and fully believe that if Ru and the judges were, well, judging, she would’ve been a second-place contender (Jane would most likely win). Yes, Kenya had the energy, BUT the girl didn’t know her lip sync, so much so that the editor made sure we saw Ru and Michelle commenting on it after Kenya’s performance. And again, MICHELLE WARNED HER RIGHT BEFOREHAND! This feels like a repeat of last week, where Vita also didn’t know her lyrics, yet made it into safe territory. Personally, I think that’s one of the biggest sins of drag, so why are these girls safe?
As for the tops, I’m not mad or surprised about Jane or Athena. While Athena was much more middle-of-the-road for me, she ultimately deserved the spot more than Discord or Kenya. Do I wish she had gotten it without all the alliances? Sure. But she also did a solid enough job that it didn’t seem like a “handout,” for lack of a better word. And I’ve got to admit that Athena really killed her lip sync against Jane. I, too, didn’t expect her to pull off punk, but I agree with Discord, it was a blast to see her be a little more raw and edgy.
Lyra: For the choices we had, it makes sense that Athena and Jane ended up as tops this week. And I gotta say, despite me feeling like Athena was saved by her family, she turned it on that lipsync. I didn’t know you had it in you, Athena!
As for the bottoms, it’s like I said above, the one at the bottom should’ve been Kenya. Valentina got booted for covering her face because she didn’t know the lyrics. Same rules on lipsyncs apply here. You don’t know the song, you’re at the bottom. Thankfully we’re past Rate-A-Queen because it proves to be a disaster. Again.
