As the fifth episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 kicks off, Joella has departed the competition and while some of the queens seem shook at seeing her leave, others (Kori King and Acacia Forgot in particular) are not overly disappointed at seeing the self-appointed “Los Angeles icon” sashay away.
Crystal Envy is galvanized more than ever to snag a win the next challenge (following a fantastic showing in the previous week) while Onya Nurve is relishing in her own win.
The next day, the queens re-enter the Werk Room. After some challenging moments on the runway during judges deliberations, Arrietty is prepared to enter her “villain era” (which seems to be foreshadowing based on this week’s “Untucked”). Jewels Sparkles coins what is sure to be one of the phrases of the season when she asks which queen is the “piggy” of the week (meaning they are so fierce and “eating” constantly). RuPaul joins the queens in the Werk Room and lets them know that it’s time for a maxi-challenge that is “everybody’s favorite sketch comedy show: RDR Live.”
The queens dive in to choose their parts, with Lana Ja’Rae and Envy battling it out for the role of Brooke “the bimbo” (in the end, Envy chooses to stretch herself and chooses the newscaster role) and Hormona Lisa and Lydia B. Kollins quickly choosing who will take the role of Gert (it’s Lydia). In the end, Lexi Love, Envy and Suzie Toot handle the Weekend Update-style sketch, Nurve (also handling the role of the host for the challenge), Arrietty, King and Ja’Rae’s have a cave people/judge hybrid sketch, Jewels, Sam Starr and Lisa host a sapphic-tinged podcast, and Lydia and Accacia doing a sketch inspired by “The Golden Girls.”
The challenge kicks off with the cave person sketch delivering some solid laughs (if not some perplexing accents from King and Arrietty). Nurve returns to the stage solo and delivers a breezy and bold solo monologue, leading directly to Lisa, Sam and Jewels delightfully double-entendre filled “Beaver” sketch (also chock full of interesting accent choices). RuPaul drops in as the musical guest of the week for RDR Live! with a performance of the single “Devil Made Me Do It,” which leads us right into QNN news, co-hosted by Lexi Love and Envy who are proving to be a divine duo every time they are paired together on screen together. The skit gets a jolt of what can only be described as true comedy gold when “Miss Rhonda” joins the newscast as a special guest, a fully formed character in her own right (courtesy of Toot). The woman who “allegedly” babysat for RuPaul and taught RuPaul “everything” has some colorful origin stories for where some of RuPaul’s most iconic signature phrases come from. Acacia and Lydia wrap up RDR Live! with their “Golden Girls” inspired sketch (with a co-star spot courtesy of Extra Special Guest Judge Paul W Downs) and while some of the jokes are inspired, there seems to be that “something extra” missing.
The queens prepare to head to the main stage, with a number of queens feeling confident about their own performances in the challenge (although Toot predicts a different outcome during her confessional). Speaking of Toot, Toot is taking Michelle Visage’s note to change up her makeup a bit and is diving fully into a clown look for this week’s runway. Love speaks openly about her day job (she is an Assistant VP trainer for a financial institution to help bankers detect money laundering). She and Toot discuss Love’s trans journey openly and Love reveals how being on “Drag Race” is the first time she has been able to “embrace it” and she feels “so free.”
This is not the only facet Love revealed about herself this week. On Instagram during a passionate and eloquent statement about the current administration’s removal of HIV resources from the government website, Love acknowledged her own HIV status. She also committed to using her new platform to “find resources for myself, but those I am connected to…”
Back on screen, we head to the main stage and RuPaul is joined by Visage, Ross Matthews and Hacks star Paul W. Downs. The runway category this week is “Tickled Pink” and the queens are fully immersed in the rose-colored hue. Nurve’s garment is fully crafted from hot pink sneakers, while Arrietty is decked out in vibrant pink vinyl, an “out of the box” look for this queen. Ja’Rae steps out of her own box in a Little Bo Peep inspired look, while King steps into the box (so to speak) as a larger than life Barbie doll. Lisa delivers what we have quickly discovered is her signature color and silhouette, Sam Starr leans directly into her showgirl motif, Sparkles recreates an “old pageant gown” into a brand new and stunning garment, and Envy “pops” onto the runway in a bubblegum confection crafted head to toe out of silicone. Love arrives decked out as the “New Jersey State Bird” as Jersey girl Visage coins her, and Toot is bright and vibrant as a “1920’s Ziegfeld Follies perspective on a 17th Century harlequin” and Forgot’s business woman in fuchsia look is instantly clocked by guest judge Downs as “needing to file a Missing Persons report” (an ode to ‘80s new wave group Dale Bozzio’s signature pink-hued hair). In one of the most gagworthy looks seen on the runway this season, Lydia B. Kollins arrived as an “oversized, irreverent, and a little sticky…penis!
The queens receive their critiques, with Toot receiving rave reviews for her turn as Rhonda (Ross Matthews said she left "no meat left on the bone”), while Nurve is credited for her consistent charisma. Arrietty is commended for taking a big swing, but seems to have missed the mark just a bit according to the judges. Lisa was “the star” of the sketch according to Visage, while Starr’s accent in the challenge did not translate with the judges, who also felt that Lydia could have pushed farther in her own role. Toot snags her second challenge win of the competition, leaving Nurve and Lisa as safe and Arrietty, Starr and Kollins as the bottom contenders of the week. After a few comments from RuPaul, a visibly shaken Arrietty and Lydia are left to battle it out to Earth Wind and Fire’s disco anthem “Boogie Wonderland.” Both Lydia and Arrietty pull out all of the stops, with Lydia especially delivering a rapid fire performance that the judges seemed to be living for. When all was said and done, Lydia won the lip sync, leaving Arrietty to sashay away — almost.
Thankfully for Arrietty, the Badonka Dunk Tank is still in full effect, with Visage perched high above the Main Stage ready to (possibly) be dunked. Arrietty steps behind the levers and after a bit of deliberation, wisely chooses the #1 lever, dunking Visage into the tank. Arrietty officially remains in the competition, who is then awarded a complimentary trip to Sin City (courtesy of Las Vegas). RuPaul also encourages Arrietty “When you’re there, bet on 17.” We then get a close up of the remaining levers and the “1” and the “7” are lit up, leading us to believe that not only have we seen the end of the Badonka Dunk Tank for the season (possibly) but the code to crack from the beginning was a simple one: it was a nod to Season 17 itself.
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