RuPaul's Drag Race Season 7 Episode 11 [Review]

No. No no no no no no no. No. Just no. I can't say why before the cut, but no. Rupaul, just no. Michelle Visage, no. Assorted other producers and personnel, NO. Just no. Please don't do this to me. But the positive side is there is Hello Kitty. And Rebecca Romijn. BUT NO!

 As per usual this year, right out of the gate the girls have their claws out. Trixie is gone, and only five remain. Tensions are high and Ginger makes sure to point out that Violet is the only person who hasn't had to lip sync yet. She's suffering from Tyra Sancehz syndrome (although she's far more tolerable), and from the looks of it she will continue this for the rest of the game. Violet fires back saying that we have finally seen Ginger in a weak state. Yikes.

Ru steps in to help settle the score with everyone's other-other-other favorite challenge, the puppets! Why? Because everybody loves puppets. To be honest I feel like it's a bit of a repeat of the library challenge, but it's way more fun because we get to see how the other girls see each other. They have to stick their hands through a hole to get their surprise doll, which is obviously a set up. Go figure. Pearl gets Kennedy, Katya gets Ginger, Ginger gets Violet, Violet gets Katya, and Katya gets Ginger.

All of them do surprisingly well. Pearl had rhinestones glued all over Kennedy, Kennedy bitched about Pearl's lack of pads, and Violet mispronounced Katya's last name on purpose. I absolutely love this challenge, and it's cartoony nature fits in with the main challenge.

Ru announces the main challenge, and it's a doozy. This time they will be repping Hello Kitty, a major international brand, and creating couture out of her memorabilia. Of course they tried to make this a big surprise, but all of the promos ruined who it was. The only people surprised were the five finalists. Anyway, the girls are all kind of devastated, except for Violet, because most of them kind of suck at designing.

Into the workroom works my favorite past judge, Santino Rice, who is sexy as hell. Apparently the only one who agrees with me is Ginger. The two go around and pre-judge everyone and makes them all nervous as hell. Violet gets her flirt on, asking Santino if he would like to go to Red Lobster. Gurl, there are nicer restaurants out there and we know Mr. Rice has got some money. Get it!

At the very end, after everyone is shaken up and annoyed with the challenge, Ru throws a curveball. He hands then all mascot heads and tells them to prep a second look -- a mascot costume to be Hello Kitty's new BFF. Oh. My. God. Ru please stop it! Katya and Ginger both are bad at sewing, so we have no real idea who is going to be at the bottom, but already I knew it was going to be horrid.

No interesting workroom drama, so let's slide right into the runway. First runway category is: Hello Kitty's New BFF (it's like a Paris Hilton TV show spinoff):
Hello Violet - Yaaaas! I love this. She gets that it's a cartoon character and that they need to be kind of campy and kid friendly. She had a concept and personality for the character. She got it. Simply as that.
Hello Ginger - She's a cow. I get that it's different, but it's not flattering. I didn't care for it, even if the HK franchise is yet to have a cow character. Meh.
Hello Pearl - I agree with Michelle. This girl is giving off real Madonna vibes. She really missed the mark with her being kid friendly, but she stood out, mostly in a good way. Pearl always brings it, no matter what ridiculousness she's got on her head.
Hello Katya - She pulled the Russian card again. I love Katya but this wasn't her best moment. I wish she had nailed this challenge, but that idea is tired.
Hello Kennedy - I actually thought this look was hilarious. Again, it's not really kid friendly, and it definitely would never make it to the franchise, but it was funny and totally captured who Kennedy is. It was sassy, a bit crass, but overall it was awesome.

And for the second runway of the episode:
Violet Chachki - Violet always owns it. She is always on point and always fantastic. I love her fashion sense, and given that she designs costumes, it was a no brainer that she would rock this challenge -- even if it's a little different from what she's used to doing.
Ginger Minj - Her dress isn't awful. It definitely fits the category of Hello Kitty, but honestly it's not what I wanted out of her. It's not really camp and it's not really glamor. Pick one of the other and commit!
Pearl - For the first look I hated this dress, but then I got it. It all clicked. The look is such a fun take on her usual style, and anybody trying to read this is just jealous.
Katya - No. NO. Please do better. I CAN'T LOSE YOU!
Kennedy Davenport - If there was any hope of Katya staying alive it would be Phaedra Parks's awful fashion sense. Err Kennedy. Yeah. Kennedy.

I didn't want it to happen. I wanted my girl in the top three. I wanted her to win. Katya really deserved more than this, and she is so amazingly talented. Yet just like all the hilarious queens before her (lookin' at you Pandora and Willam) I don't think they saw the amazing hilarity and potential until the editing process of the show. It's such a shame.

Violet is the clear winner hear, snagging yet another win for her, putting her as a shoe in for the top three. The bottom is Katya with Kennedy. In a bizarre twist of events,  this season has another unjust elimination and there's no more time to bring back another girl. Katya is gone for good, but will never be forgotten. I'm sure she will join the ranks of the others that have been robbed such as Alaska, Willam, and Adore, exploding in post Drag Race fame.