‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race 15×03’ Review
I used to be of the mind that you can never have too much of a good thing and that included seasons of Ru Paul’s Drag Race! I couldn’t quite understand why people were complaining that more episodes of their favourite show were being produced but I have to admit that I am starting to lose some of the sparkle new episodes once had. Not only was last week’s episode weirdly split but we also saw the return of the highly controversial talent show which saw the queens supposedly showcase unique and hidden talents to a brand new audience. However, this challenge has very quickly become watered down due to the rate in which new seasons are being produced. I personally am beginning to get fed up with multiple lip-syncs to original songs every single talent show iteration. With all that in mind, however, it’s been over a week and I am still in awe of the Street Fighter/Vogue routine by the one and only Anetra. The moment she delivered a spinning roundhouse kick through a board, held carefully by the wonderful Bryce, will be one of the most iconic moments to ever come out of the talent show from any season. I have found myself walking around the house shouting “walk that duck” which shows that the song itself was incredibly catchy with the insane dance routine working together flawlessly! On the other end of the competition, however, was the alien queen of Seattle, Irene Dubois who was sadly told to sashay away after deciding to make ice-cold water in the variety show which just did not land with the audience.
This week’s main challenge saw the queens being grouped together to explore their own personal ideas of what gay heaven would be like and then had to construct an infomercial-style advert to promote said location. As the winner of last week’s episode and survivors of the bottom two respectively, Antrea and Amethyst were given the advantage of being able to choose who they wanted on their teams. However, there weren’t simply two groups for this challenge but instead, three which meant the queens not chosen were simply grouped together to form “the leftovers.” What was interesting about this allocation method was that the Tik Tok megastar duo Sugar and Spice were actually in two separate groups. In fact, it appeared that Sugar’s team were really harsh to her throughout the challenge and ignored any creative decisions she was suggesting. Now while I have totally bought into the hype of having the previous Miss Continental and trans icon Sasha Colbi, I do think that the producers and fellow queens are making a point to exaggerate the legendary status. Sasha was given the role of a literal god in her advert with all the queens telling her how she is the only person who could take on this role. However, as soon as she stepped foot into the studio to record her parts for the adverts, the producers decided to include her visibly messing up her first few lines in front of Michelle Visage who even expressed how she expected more than this from her. However, I must say that I really enjoyed the running gag Sasha decided to include of her snapping her neck to help teleport from place to place. I was really disappointed with team Amethyst as they tried to include bucketloads of crude humour which did not land well with the audience. The highlight of this advert would have to be the amazing impression of Dolly Parton as god.
You would be justified in thinking that this week’s runway category was a homage to the 80s heavy metal band, but instead, the title “Metallica” was supposed to encourage the queens to showcase metallic materials. Sasha decided to use this opportunity to showcase a wonderfully extravagant, showgirl-inspired outfit which showcased her body perfectly! The metallic feathered wings and Mohawked headpiece not only looked amazing but was also very different to what every other queen decided to wear. My favourite look this week however would have to be the golden outfit that looked absolutely amazing on her beautiful melanated skin. Lux used the wonderful draping to add the perfect amount of drama to her runway presentation which really added to the stunning garment! I also thoroughly enjoyed Amethyst’s golden look this week with one of the largest wigs I have ever seen! I do think that the outfit looked better with the flowy jacket and so when that started to fall it did, in my personal opinion, ruin the look every so slightly! Sadly, however, I was not a fan of the street lamp inspired looked that Selina Estitties decided to wear. The haphazard light headpiece and adorning of street signs made this look seem very confusing and chaotic and it was only after listening to her talk about it that I realised it was supposed to be a street lamp. I have to admit that I don’t think I fully understand what this queen is all about as I also didn’t like her strange entrance outfit from last week either.
In the bottom this week we’re Princess Poppy and Amethyst which marks the laters second time (in the first two episodes) in the bottom. It must be incredibly terrifying to be this close to elimination twice so early in the competition so I can only imagine what this queen was feeling stood in front of Ru and the judges. However, Amethyst managed to use the aforementioned drama of her Golden look to fit the Diana Ross song beautifully. This look worked beautifully with the song choice but I also think that Princess Poppy also ruined her chances when she began dancing/twerking with the safe queens (which is not something I have seen before) which did fit the glamour of head judge Ru Paul’s all-time favourite performer. This is why it came as no surprise when poppy was told to sashay away!
Overall, this was an extremely short episode (coming in at around forty minutes rather than the usual hour) which meant everything appeared to move very fast. While the infomercials were pretty fun, I would struggle to remember finer details apart from Sasha Colbi and Dolly Parton both behind shown as gods in queer heaven.
