Ron Does Stuff

I really am trying to get these things out as quickly as I can, but my actual paying job needs my time, so I hope you guys understand if it’s a lot late. Let’s get into the new episode!

The previous episode saw Elips send Bertha home, a decision that surprised me because like I said previously, I thought she would send Moon home since their drag had the most overlap. But I apparently do not know the intricacies of Elips’ mind.

The queens are definitely somber when they go back to the Werk Room, but they’re not so distraught that they can’t congratulate Kam and Elips for their top placements and Elips for her victory. Both top queens also reveal that they couldn’t imagine Moon going home, so even if Kam had won the lip sync, it was still Bertha’s time to go.

It’s clear to everyone the day after that the show’s frontrunners are Mami Watta and Elips, who both have two badges. I think it’s only Moon and Piche who don’t have any badges, currently? Or am I misremembering?

When the Nicky Mail arrives, the queens are a little confused by it and if I didn’t know that this week’s Maxi Challenge was Eurovision, I would have been confused as well. But Nicky doesn’t immediately explain it as she dives right into the mini challenge, which involves the queens playing a game of Charades trying to guess quirky French expressions.

The mini challenge starts and I do wish the subtitles translated the proverbs and expressions literally since it would have shown the quirkiness more, but instead they showed the English equivalent, so the expressions didn’t seem quirky at all. But it’s a small complaint on my part. The queens looked like they had fun and I thought it was funny too, but it could have been funnier, you know?

Piche and Elips win the mini challenge, and then Nicky reveals that this week’s Maxi Challenge is a Eurovision challenge. The pairs made during the mini challenge remain the same in the Maxi Challenge, and Piche and Elips get to pick their song and color first. AND, Nicky teases a new red lipstick for whoever wins in the Maxi Challenge this week. I have a feeling it’s immunity.

There’s a little tension between Kam and Misty’s duo and Mami and Moon, but they manage to talk it through. It also shows how unfashionable I am because I honestly cannot tell the difference if they pick blue or white. They then head to rehearsals and…oh the level of difficulty is high. Elips is having trouble, but Kam is in danger. Kam, you in danger, girl.

On challenge day, the queens start talking about longevity and striking while the iron is hot, especially in their careers where there’s always a new queen coming up or a new season of Drag Race France set to premiere. Elips talks about taking on every job she could because she was afraid that her 15 minutes of fame would soon run out, and how so many in their industry often can’t take a vacation. Piche talks about getting burnt out and her fear of being abandoned by her fans and it reminds me of Trixie Mattel’s own health issues and K-pop idols as well. There’s a lot of overlap.

The Maxi Challenge starts, and I don’t know if they’re going to be judged as a duo or individually, but Elips is definitely the bottom in her duo with Piche. She’s clearly being out-danced, and it might just put her and Piche in the bottom if they’re judged as a duo. Also I know I’ve been advocating for songs longer than two minutes, but this song did not need to be as long as it felt.

Mami and Moon are up next, and they definitely do better. They’re not synchronized either, but it felt cleaner than Elips and Piche’s performance. I think it’s because the difference in skill between Elips and Piche was more apparent than between Mami and Moon?

Kam and Misty are the last to perform and…well. They had the same problem as Elips and Piche, I think. The difference in skill was too obvious and I think it’s going to be Kam and Elips in the bottom again. I’m not as sure who’s going to be the top two this time, though. Maybe Mami and Moon by default?

The runway theme is the circus and while the queens really served it on this one, it’s Piche who once again stands out because…well, everyone else has seen her runway look at this point. You all saw it!

BUT THEN, we get a twist because after the runway, Nicky asks the queens to move aside and then the eliminated queens start walking in. So, the red lipstick wasn’t for immunity, but to save one queen. HOWEVER, it strictly is for one queen only, whether from the bottom queens or the ELIMINATED QUEENS. If the winner this week chooses to save one of the eliminated queens, both bottom queens go home.

The critiques start and mabye I’m just crazy but the judges thought there was no skill difference between Elips and Piche. Okay. I’m not a dancer, so I’ll give them that. But I really did not get that impression while watching. Moon gets the critique that Mami kinda outshone her in this one, and I guess? Now that they’re showing the clips, she did look unsure. But in the moment, I thought they were doing okay. At least I was on point with Kam, but I think everybody expected that.

Elips and Piche get the top spots this week, and are now headed to the semi-finals. Mami and Moon are safe, which means that Kam is going home. I’m sorry, I just feel like she’s the one that’s going to be sent home this time around.

Elips and Piche lip sync to Nicky Doll’s song and I think Piche has this one in the bag! Nicky agrees and Piche finally gets a badge! She gets to pick who to save and I really thought she was going to bring back Punani! However, it’s Misty she decides to bring to the semifinals with the rest of them.