We are thrilled to report that there was a collective stepping up of pussies with this episode. Not only did several of the queens break out from the pack all at once, but the judges have settled in a bit and aren’t coming off quite so timid or unsure as they did in the first few episodes. We’ve got a lot of looks and performances to get through, so let’s get to it.
As always, well-crafted challenges are what makes or break a Drag Race episode and so far, Canada’s Drag Race hadn’t quite caught its stride on that front until this episode. There’s a long history of news-reading challenges in Drag Race, but we loved the language twist on this one.
Scarlet gave it her all and Ilona seemed like she was just trying to get through it – an approach she would continue through the rest of the episode.
Lemon and Priyanka were polished and funny. And they both pulled off some impressive quick drag looks. They deserved their win.
They aced the French language portion and their looks are pretty well-resolved for quick drag, but otherwise, Rita and Kiara were forgettable.
BOA started out as an interesting mess and with this challenge, we started thinking she was just plain messy, although it didn’t help that Jimbo kept reading her lines. It did help that Jimbo refused to break character.
Not feeling either of these girls. Anastarzia is way too reserved and Tynomi is way too in her head.
After putting them through their paces with a fairly difficult mini-challenge, the girls broke up into two teams and plunged into a song and dance challenge. This is a big reason why this episode felt like a big step up in quality. These girls needed to be put through their paces.
Lemon is clearly the girl to beat at this point. Jimbo manages to get by with great looks, a lot of charisma, and a full-speed-ahead attitude. Kiara faded into the background. Boa shut our mouths with this one. She gets flustered easily, but if you give her time to prepare, she really does bring it full force to the stage. We believe that Tynomi is a fierce queen and a great performer. Enough people have said so already. But she is not able to get out of her head and it’s really starting to hurt her.
We’re not sure we’d have given the win to Priyanka, but she certainly earned it through effort alone. She commanded the stage and that’s 90% of what’s asked of the queens in a challenge like this one. Ilona was completely lost. Scarlet was surprisingly great and we think we might have given her the win. Anastarzia was as lost as Ilona. Rita stayed in it enough to not get overwhelmed, but she still hasn’t had her moment.
We have a feeling the producers weren’t expecting the direction it took when they proposed a hair-based runway category. Instead of serving big drag hair realness, a lot of them got more creative than we would have predicted. Collectively, the costumes were a bit on the ugly side, but we were impressed by how unique some of them were.
Not Kiara’s, of course. That was a sad-looking thing. And Tynomi’s look was just ugly. We don’t understand the hat or the boots. BOA’s is a LOT to take, but the gorgeously beat face and flawless hair are what make the look.
Again, we’re not sure Priyanka would’ve been our choice for the win, but we did love her look – especially the wig. Anastarzia, girl we don’t even know what to say to that dreary-looking mess. Where’s the joy? We loved Scarlet’s look and might have given her the win, but we think her wig looked a bit too messy. Ilona’s look is a pure stunner. The best costume yet. But we’re getting tired of the pasties.
The only true letdown of the episode came with the lip sync. It had all the elements to produce a truly epic showdown and it felt like these girls were in a race to see how low-key they could get with a song that’s anything but. We agree that Tynomi won, but she didn’t exactly mop the floor with Anastarzia – and she should have, given her history with the song. Still, there’s a lot of reason to be happy with this episode and hopeful that the quality will continue to rise. All Canada’s Drag Race needed was a little time to find its groove.
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The Los Angeles Times called it “a nuanced exploration of the gender-bending figures, insider lingo and significant milestones in queer history to which the show owes its existence.” The Washington Post said it “arrives at just the right time … because the world needs authenticity in its stories. Fitzgerald and Marquez deliver that, giving readers an insight into the important but overlooked people who made our current moment possible.” Paper Magazine said to “think of it as the queer education you didn’t get in public school” and The Associated Press said it was “delightful and important” and “a history well told, one that is approachable and enjoyable for all.”
[Photo Credit: WOW via Tom and Lorenzo]
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