Due to the large number of girls traipsing through the work room on this episode (no double-premier this year), I'll have to make it a big more formulamatic for a bit. The first segment is a very, very long walk in sequence for the girls. Some of them really popped with their introductions, others totally flopped.
Some of the gals I got good vibes from are Miss Fame (whom I already interviewed! Holla!), Ginger Minj, and Kennedy Davenport. A few of these queens completely stole the spotlight when they walked in, proving their star power. Katya had them all talking as she strutted around in her Russian getup, Max had props and poise for days, and Trixie Mattel is, well, Trixie Mattel. God I love her odd style of makeup.
But nobody cares who I liked. They just wanna see me throw shade, right? So I'll throw shade. First off, I know that Violet Chachki is one of the standouts this season, but she is far too conceded. The thing that made some of the past gorgeous queens on the show so amazing was that they were humble. Violet definitely is not. Then there's Pearl, who has the personality of sandpaper paired up with Kandy Ho, who is like the Puerto Rican version of Violet minus most the good looks. Every year our PR queen is so lovable, but I'm not sure what happened here. She's snobbish, and she doesn't even have the talent to back it up.
On the "meh" list for right now (IE the in between queens) lies Jaideynn, who was giving us Jiggly Caliente with that dress she walked in with, which isn't a good thing. We also had Tempest, who while being funny and looking like an adorable daddy outside of drag, didn't look too polished walking in the door along with Jasmine Masters, who is basically just a bunch of teeth and abs crammed into a person. As mean as that sounds, it could be a good thing. I guess I'm just getting used to seeing a drag queen with a six pack.
The first challenge for this large and in charge group of women is a fashion show. To their surprise, they were walking down the runway first thing, modeling summer and fall lines from their own fictional fashion collections. The judges on this runway were Ru, Michelle Visage, Alaska Thunderfuck (who was hilarious, but barely got a mention as to even being there), and new permanent judge Carson Kressley. Gag!
To my surprise, most of the girls really worked it on the runway. They kept their shit together and most of them looked like they knew what they were doing. It's about time, too, as we are six seasons into this bitch. Of course being a big fan of Katya's already I was in love with everything she did. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it? The one that honestly and truly surprised me was Trixie. Now, up until this point (contrary to what I said earlier, remember this is being written post watching), I was unsure about her, but she owned that runway and really looked fabulous. Once you get used to the makeup and just accept that it's simply her style, she's a fabulous queen! Werk it girl!
With no winner for this "mini challenge", we segue right into the main one -- them dressing naked. Now I could get into all the shady comments, but I'd rather judge these girls for everything, so let me get my list out. The challenge this week was to get naked! They had to come out clothed and tear away to a nude illusion. Let's see what they get into.
Katya - The best goes first, I see. She has a stunning red kaftan, with a long blond wig. I love the hippy free love image she creates after the reveal.
Mrs. Kasha Davis - She had a beautiful drapery as well, but it was a bit longer and more gaudy, which I didn't buy anybody wearing to a resort. Her nude illusion was great, though.
Sasha Bell - She came out looking great. She had a pretty robe that was almost believable for the challenge, but when she pulled it off, it was just a nude leotard. And on top of that, she turns around to reveal a black bra underneath. NO GURL!
Miss Fame - This gurl really has fashion down. Her pre-nude look was probably the most polished of them all. It was really applicable to the challenge and what they had announced as the challenge situation. Her nude illusion was in the top as well.
Kennedy Davenport - Another one of the girls who missed a big part of the challenge, about it being at a resort. Nobody would wear that gold cape at a resort. Even if her Egyptian style was off the mark she still looked HOT!
Tempest DuJour - She came out in a bit of a hippy style similar to Katya, but with less flare. Her nude body suit was ill fitted as well, giving us a bit less of an illusion.
Trixie Mattel - This. Bitch. Got. It. Really. She understood the challenge. She was at a resort, playing tennis, and stripped right down to hit up that nude beach. This was the challenge. This is what they asked for.
Pearl - This one always looks bored. You're on TV. Cmon now. She didn't look bad, exactly, but her sand paper personality makes her forgettable.
Max - She had her character down AGAIN! This girl can commit to a character and I LIVE for it. She came out with a couple of canes that barely kept her up, but that won't stop grandma from enjoying the nude beach! Really a standout.
Ginger Minj - She looked very cute, as usual, but she didn't shine as bright as I wanted her to. She's got a bit of work to do to catch up in the fashion department.
Jasmine Masters - I almost wrote Dida Ritz. My bad.
Kandy Ho - She was a mess. No. Really.
Jaideynn Dior Fierce - She really proved that she deserves fierce in her name! For a big girl, going nude can be scary, so I loved seeing her own it, even if that dress wasn't the best on the stage tonight. Conquering stereotypes trumps all!
Violet Chachki - She almost had me rooting for her here, but when she stripped, she had boy body. They were supposed to make their character naked, not themselves. I really don't think this risk worked.
I'm not going to waste everyone's time with the drama of who goes and who stays. We all know Tempest sashayed out the door in a huge travesty because she really did deserve this, while other conceited people stayed. In all honesty, I believe that it should have been Sasha in Kany's place, as much as I dont like Kandy, and that Sasha should have been the one to go home, but then again, I'm not Ru, so I don't call the shots. Big shout out to the two new judges, Carson Kressley (Queer Eye) and Ross Matthews (Chelsea Lately), along with guest judge Kathy Griffin (Duh).
Instead of the usual ramblings, I think I'll give my impressions on the episode. As for the queens, I really do see a lot of past girls showing up in spirit here. We have Katya who has a lot of visual and humoral similarities to Willam (Which is why I love this bitch probably) we have Jasmine who is the new Dida, and we have Max who is the best parts of all the character queens combined into one.
Speaking of Max, last year, (off the site, due to hiatus), I was criticized for my rather harsh opinion of Milk, and now people are eying me weird because of how I feel towards Max. Well when we go to see interviews of Max out of drag, she remains the same weird and awkward person she is in drag, unlike the cooky queens of the past who turn into catty normal gays when their persona drops. Max is Max, in drag and out, and that's why she has my respect.
One final musing is that the show feels really different. It's hard to put my finger on it why it's different, but something feels a bit off. I know it's just the first episode, but it really flashes back to the big jump in changes from season three to season four, although then it was mostly a budget thing. I think between the strikingly different Untucked companion show, and the overuse of black and white, this time around it's mostly editing. Also, we will have to see if the idea of double main challenges continues into the future of the show, because that runway walk was no mini challenge (and there was no winner or prize/advantage either).
The future of Drag Race is bright, and we have thirteen new girls geared up to go. The next few girls sent home seem very clear, but then again, in the past we've seen some crazy stuff.
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