Lana Ja’Rae has been eliminated from the competition, and the queens are emotional, to say the least.
Sam Star was visibly upset and while lip-syncing against Ja’Rae and subsequently sending her home was her main source of angst, she also pointed blame at Lexi Love for choosing to work with Onya Nurve as opposed to teaming up with her for last week’s challenge.
Star remained rattled as the queens entered the Werk Room the next day, and RuPaul quickly entered to have the queens play a fun game called “Spill The Tea,” where the queens line up and respond to questions about each other, complete with paddles with their fellow competitor's faces on them. After this fun game was complete, the competition took an emotional turn when it was revealed that the next challenge was the makeover challenge, with the queens making over their parents.
Suzie Toot, Star and Love all had their mothers walk into the Werk Room, while Nurve and Jewels Sparkles’ had their fathers join them for the challenge. The reactions from the queens, their parents, and the viewers were all very moving and the affection between the pairs was instantly evident.
The queens are tasked with transforming their family members into their drag family members. The queens caught up with their parents about their work in the competition, and Star was intent on succeeding in this challenge. Star’s mom was ready to live her Dolly Parton fantasy while on the other side of the room, Toot’s mom was a bit slower to warm up to the challenge.
During the planning and preparation for the challenge, we got to learn a bit more about the queens’ relationships with their parents. Nurve and her father spoke openly about their relationship and how it was complicated during his incarceration (he was in prison for robbing banks and wanted his drag name during the challenge to be-get ready-Roberta Banks; brilliant)!
Love and her mother spoke about Love’s journey and the challenges they faced, and Love became visibly emotional when her mother gendered her correctly as “her.” Sparkles spoke about how the passing of her brother changed their family dynamic and how now, Sparkles’ parents are the drag parents of Tampa. As for Toot, we got a peek at where she came up with her own drag name: her mother’s last name is “Toot.”
Preparation for the main stage started and Sparkles’ and Nurve’s dad both had to shave their beards, with Nurve revealing that this was the first time she would ever see her father without a beard. Star’s mother had her own insecurities, but Star offered up some encouragement and Mama Star was on board. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Werk Room, Love’s mom was discovering the benefits of facial tape giving a mini-facelift of sorts, and was into it.
We headed to the main stage and RuPaul, Michelle Visage and Law Roach were joined by the stunning and hilarious June Diane Raphael on the judges panel. The pairs each hit the runway and the adoration between each and every pair was beyond evident. Sparkles and her dad were having a blast wiggling down the runway, Star eased her mom into an adorably retro runway presentation, Love and her mom were radiant and Nurve and her dad were each other’s biggest fans.
During the critiques we did hear from the judges, but we also got the opportunity to hear from the parents of each of the queens. Star and Toot’s mothers clearly have pride in their massively talented children and Love and her mother’s emotional moment had everyone choking up. The critiques even had a bit of humor when Law Roach openly and hilariously hit on Nurve’s father.
We’re at the point in the competition where even the smallest details can receive the biggest critiques Star (and his mama) took the win for this week, while Nurve and Sparkles landed themselves in the bottom (marking the first time Nurve landed in the bottom two after grabbing four wins).
Amerie’s “1 Thing” was the lip sync song of the week and each of the queens delivered in their own signature way. This also marks the first time in “Drag Race” herstory that a wig was actually liked behind the judges panel when Nurve gave Sparkles wig a bit of an assist in taking flight. With the queens fathers’ watching backstage, the deliberation for the week was a double shantay.
The jubilation won’t last, though. The next challenge will have the queens auditioning for RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! in Las Vegas, and RuPaul made it clear in the preview that at least one queen will be going home.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs on Friday’s on MTV (check local listings).
Follow RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 on Instagram @rupaulsdragrace.
