Drag Race unveils an extremely timely Oz-themed Rusical and we automatically tense up in our seats because, after that utter flaming train wreck of a Snatch Game, we’ve come to the conclusion that most of these queens are not performers at all.
We were a bit surprised, however, to see that all of the queens were thrilled about the prospect of performing and that several of them had very strong opinions about who should be playing whom. Suzie wanted the character with the big solo moment because of course she did, but it was kind of nice of the queens to rally around Acacia and encourage her to take her shot. Too bad it didn’t pay off for her.
There was a little bit of getting-to-know-you action around the makeup mirrors as Lydia and Kori continue their flirtation and Acacia revealed a longstanding serious medical issue. We don’t think this group will ever go down as one of the most memorable, most talented, or cuntiest in the show’s history, but they do seem to have a fairly good rapport with each other at this point.
Suzie of course took her green witch as far as the character could go, commanding the stage and projecting to the back row like the theater queen she is. We thought the costumes were surprisingly bad this time, by the way.
We can’t say we were surprised that Jewels aced the Glinda character. You couldn’t have found a queen better suited to the part. Her breast plate was awful, however. Shiny, clearly fake, and didn’t match her skin tone. We’re not surprised she had a wardrobe malfunction mid-number. The costumes really let the girls down this time. We wonder if they’d all been better off making their own.
It actually took us a minute to figure out which one of these was the Lion and which was the Scarecrow. This trio all did a fairly decent job. Arietty took command of her performance in a way that indicated she listened to the judges when they critiqued her cavewoman sketch. Lexi was okay, but she wasn’t exactly memorable. Lana surprised us. It wasn’t the most polished performance, but she really put her all into it and created a character for herself.
When Lydia and Kori’s number started we knew instantly that the latter would be in the bottom. She looked like she was running through a cheer routine rather than performing a song. She was far more focused on whatever she had to do next rather than trying to connect with the audience. Onya blew everyone else out of the water, Suzie included. She’s the total package.
Honestly one of the worst Cher costumes we’ve ever seen. Still, Sam killed it. She was funny and commanding and she did a passably decent camp take on the icon.
Then came Acacia’s big moment and we groaned out loud. As a performance, it was so po-faced and serious, so uninteresting to watch. Her voice isn’t great, but her main problem as a performer is that she really doesn’t seem to know how to perform at all. There’s no joy, no connection, no sense of anything except that she’s working really hard and that she seems to want this to be over soon.
This was, to our shock, one of the best Rusicals we’ve seen in several years. Doing a Chorus Line take on Oz was kind of brilliant and it seems to us that even the weakest performers can turn out decent work if you give them good material.
Category Is: Parasols! Shady Ladies ☂️ Who’s serving up some top-tier shade? #DragRace pic.twitter.com/1HCpoqf1n5
— RuPaul’s Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) February 22, 2025
Rating the safe girls first: Arietty’s look was gorgeous. Lexi’s was another ode to high-fashion, but we loved it because first, you rarely see a Sciaparelli knockoff in drag and second, she was serving actual fashion and not just body. Lydia’s look was probably her best of the season, but we still think it’s a poor idea to constantly obscure your face when you have this once-in-a-lifetime promotional platform available to you. Lana’s was another Black Widow take made marginally more interesting by the addition of fangs. She should have gone further with the vampire aesthetic.
We suppose Suzie’s 1930s showgirl look is meant to be sepia-toned, but we’d have loved a little color somewhere. Still, it’s a great look. Jewels looks lovely, but it’s probably a little too low-key for drag and the whole “I’m a wealthy widow at my husband’s funeral” bit has been done a thousand times on this runway. Sam went in the opposite direction, with yet another Southern Belle look that’s gorgeous, but a bit wildly over the top – in a good way.
That’s the cutest Kori’s looked all season and the costume design is clever. We agreed with the judges that it needed a little extra something to bump up the drag. We loved Onya’s just because it didn’t look like anything else on that runway. Acacia’s wig is cute and funny, but the rest of her look is dreary. The skirt doesn’t really go with the bodice at all.
Hunh. While we think she acquitted herself fairly well, there’s no way in hell she gave a better performance than Onya or Suzie. We won’t get pissy about it because we’ve been saying for years that this is a variety show with cash prizes and not a legitimate competition. Sam did the two things the show most likes its queens to do: listen to the judges and loosen up a little. It wasn’t the best performance by a long shot, but it made the judges happy because it centered their critiques. It’s actually kind of amazing how few queens understand that. The point of Drag Race is not to do the best job, it’s to do the job the judges like best.
A total cannon fodder showdown. Not to be mean, but we didn’t care which one of them went home. Unfortunately, Acacia’s lack of any stage presence – and lack of any understanding that she possesses the aforementioned lack – extended to her lip sync. Kori didn’t exactly slay, but she did a slightly better job. Can’t believe she’s still trying to make those cage booties happen.
It sucks for her, because we’re not sure she understands what she needs to work on to be a better drag queen and we suspect this whole experience has been a bit more painful to her than she wants to admit.
Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life, a New York Times “New and Notable” pick, praised by The Washington Post “because the world needs authenticity in its stories,” and chosen as one of the Best Books of The Year by NPR is on sale wherever fine books are sold! It’s also available in Italian and Spanish language editions, darlings! Because we’re fabulous on an INTERNATIONAL level.
[Photo Credit: MTV via Tom and Lorenzo]
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