Disclaimer: I don’t have a prior knowledge of the history of ‘drag’ and its culture and I’m only bringing in my limited knowledge of reality TV shows particularly America’s Next Top Model so apologies in advance. Timestamps for scenes and snippets of conversations have been included so if you want to read ahead, make sure you are also watching RuPaul’s Drag Race on Netflix.

The episode starts with dramatic disappearance of the lounge’s mirrors. In the first challenge, they have to pair up and put makeup on each other. Nina and Jade are partners so I know they’ll do well so it isn’t surprising to know Jade is the winner for this mini-challenge.

Since Akashia is out of the picture, a new drama has to be brewed to make the series more fun to watch and this time it’s Rebecca against Bebe and Nina. It’s a competition after all and if I wanted rainbows and butterflies, I would have chosen a good old princess-meets-prince movies.

Viva Glam Challenge

The challenge in today’s episode is to create a commercial for MAC’s VIVA Glam Campaign. Here are my thoughts on the challenge:

Nina has done well in her Glam shot. Language is not her strongest asset but she communicates better with her confidence, facial expressions and body language.

By now, many people have gotten over this season’s episode already but I have to give my take on Rebecca’s screen test: I don’t buy that story and those tears, babe.

Jade has become more confident in her challenges and it seems she has a lot of ideas on how she wants the campaign to turn out.

Bebe also appears like a strong competitor now. I already noticed her creativity in the first episode but this episode highlights another one of her facets. She goes to the screen test looking like a queen, acting like a queen, and killing like a queen.

Ongina grew up in the Philippines? That’s surprising! It’s nice to know she has thrived in a more encouraging place though and it has helped mold this optimistic persona she exudes. Personally, I think she has done so well with her screen test. Her posture needs to be improved though but by the time this post is published she will have been able to improve that.

It surprising to know Shannel’s real name is Bryan. That might have been given in the first episode but I think I have already established that I’m bad with names. She has a different take on this screen test and has delivered a documentary instead of a commercial. The fact that she easily admits to her mistake is probably one of the things has endeared her more to me.

Runway

If I like what I see, it doesn’t matter what anybody else what to say… because I feel good about myself, because I love what I see.

– Nina Flowers

That, my dear readers, is what we ought to teach the next generation: be confident in our own skin.

My top 3 certainly are: Bebe and Nina for the looks, and Shannel for the performance.

Verdict

Ongina wins the top spot which she definitely deserves and Jade is sent home after losing the lip sync battle against Rebecca.

My Reaction

I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again. I don’t like the lip sync battle. Perhaps, it is an element in drag and yes, it adds up to the spice of a program. However, this gives a perfect excuse for a contestant to simply perfect the lip sync and not do well in challenges.