The episode kicks off with the queens returning to the Werk Room following Arrietty’s departure, as the queens walk in to read a fairly shocking and personal lipstick message from Arrietty, directed at Onya Nurve.
Nurve was visibly both upset and disappointed by the message from her sister Arrietty, but the support that she received from the remaining queens showed the sisterhood that “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has become known for. Additionally, the queens celebrated Lydia B. Kollins, who had finally snagged her first win.
The queens arrived the next day in the Werk Room, and they were assigned their new challenge: re-imagining “Truman Capote vs. The Swans” in the acting challenge “Ross Matthews vs. The Ducks” (with directing by the swoon worthy Cheyenne Jackson). The queens would each be playing one of Matthews’ “ducks,” with the personalities based on reality show sensations. The choosing of roles got a bit dicey, with Suzie Toot and Jewels Sparkles both choosing the same role and, much like during the Rusical, Toot giving up the role she wanted to one of her competitors.
Despite having insecurities crop up when Toot is in her orbit, Lexi Love shared a scene with Toot during this challenge, with both of them eager to share the screen. Kollins and Sam Star also found themselves paired up, despite their own misgivings about each other, which could potentially work in their favor during the challenge.
Lana Ja’Rae and Nurve were first up, with them both bouncing off of each other after Ja’Rae found her groove in the role and Nurve being instantly at ease in front of the camera. Star and Kollins were up next, and Star was fantastic, while Kollins had to be coaxed to bring more and more to the role she was inhabiting. Toot was fantastic in the role as expected, while Love found herself tripping over her words a bit, but the irony of both of them relishing in the fighting scene was not lost on the viewers. Sparkles found that knowing the source material so well was a bit of an Achilles heel, as she started to blur the line between that and the material that she as handed for the challenge.
We head to the Main Stage and RuPaul was joined by Michelle Visage, Matthews and extra special guest judge Sam Smith. The category on the runway was, in another tip of the hat to Truman Capote, “Black and White Ball.” Love stepped out of the pack with an ethereal flowing presentation, while Toot delivered a feline-inspired look with fantastic attention to detail, and Nurve paid great homage to Truman Capote’s Swans during her runway presentation. Both Sparkles and Star delivered a balance of black and white with a fantastic fashion nod, Ja’Rae was glorious in white, and Kollins delivered glamour-puss in a fur laden confection.
The competition has gotten to a point where everyone is a serious contender for the crown, which was reflected in the runway critiques. RuPaul did pose the question, “Who should go home and why?” and the queens had an almost unanimous answer: Toot. Ironically, both Toot and Love were in the top this week, with Nurve snagging yet another win. After final deliberations, Kollins and Ja’Rae ended up in the bottom two.
This week’s Lip Sync For Your Life song was Smith’s “Unholy,” with Kollins’ snug dress proving to be challenging to perform in, so she brought a pair of shears along and cut it off. The dress (and getting out of it) proved to be an obstacle Kollins may not have anticipated, as it was somewhat difficult to get out of on stage. Ultimately, Kollins ended up sashaying away, just shy of the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 Top Five.
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