Producing “Save A Queen” PSAs can’t save anyone from elimination on RuPaul’s Drag Race

Screenshot: VH1

Following Alyssa’s elimination, Kerri leads the group back into the workroom feeling relieved to have survived. After four episodes, many of the queens are reflecting intensely on their performance thus far. After her critique from the judges, Kerri is determined to leave pretty behind and show herself as a strong competitor. While the group celebrates Angeria for her second win so early in the season, Kornbread, the winner of the first episode, feels shaken. Meanwhile, Bosco and Lady Camden are panicked that their “safe” placements so far are not enough. It’s that moment in the race where people realize they need to put their foot on the gas to win, and those who don’t will far too far behind.

The next morning the queens realize something is off. They eventually notice that Kornbread is absent. Kornbread appears via the video screen to reveal that she hurt her ankle during filming and has been advised by a doctor to leave the competition. In an emotional goodbye, she resolves her tension with Jasmine, and cements her enduring friendship with Kerri and her new one with Willow. It’s a testament to Kornbread’s infectious personality that her exit is so emotional so early in the season. She will be missed by the other queens even as they recognize the advantage of having such a strong competitor leave the competition. Producers must have been panicking to lose such a great narrator so early. One has to ask what is the harm of letting Kornbread just sit in the workroom offering colorful commentary for the rest of the season.

Following Kornbread’s exit, the competition begins again with a pointless and absurd mini-challenge that in no way measures any iota of drag talent in any conceivable way. And it was marvelous. To determine teams for the main challenge, each queen must pop a balloon that reveals the color of their corresponding team. They must do this, how should I phrase it, by thrusting at a balloon placed on the backside of the pit crew. It creates some memorable moments. The first being watching Maddy, the sole straight contestant, hump Bryce, the straight member of the pit crew. This is the queer agenda Republicans have been warning society about for decades. Jorgeous crafts a hilarious moment when her petite frame can not produce enough momentum necessary to pop the balloon, while releasing a yelp each time akin to a chihuahua.

With the teams arbitrarily and hilariously decided, the main challenge is revealed. Each team must produce a parody of a charity PSA for a first eliminated queen from the past. RuPaul reintroduces Tempest DuJour from season seven, Jaymes Mansfield from season nine, and Kahmora Hall from season 13 as the queens in need. It just seems like a shame they didn’t get Porkchop.

The dynamics of each team are really interesting as no team leader is really assigned—it really feels like Tempest was the team leader of her group, whereas Kahmora and Jaymes take more of a backseat. The queens go over the history of their charity queen and come up with concepts to execute. Tempest instructs her group to attack her age, as that was her major storyline of her season. In fact, season seven revolved around a tension between new-school drag and old-school drag. Interestingly it is Jorgeous, one of the younger queens, who feels very uneasy about the challenge. The group with Jaymes seems split. Willow and Maddy naturally take leadership roles, while Jasmine and Orion feel like they are a couple steps behind. The group dynamic between Bosco, Lady Camden, Daya, and Kahmora feels better balanced, but it seems pretty clear that Bosco is taking the leadership role. During her meetings with each group, RuPaul really hammers the idea of characterization as the key to this challenge, as well as finding humor in sincerity. Those who accomplish that do well, and those who don’t fall flat.

The teams arrive on a green screen set to find Michelle in a director’s chair. Interestingly, Michelle notes that she isn’t taking the director role. She is merely an additional set of eyes to help out. Everyone on Tempest’s group—Jorgeous, DeJa, Angeria, and Kerri—all struggle at the start. It feels like everyone, sans Jorgeous, finds their footing by the end. Although Kerri does seem preoccupied with the idea of being ugly. This isn’t a challenge about being pretty or ugly, it’s a challenge about being funny.

Bosco, Lady Camden, Daya, and their charity case Kahmora are next. While Lady Camden struggles to project her voice at first, her performance comes off as nuanced and emotive. Daya has a rich and complex characterization of a demented Diane Sawyer. Bosco stands out in a particularly great wig and by ending her lines with a deadpan delivery. In addition to a good performance, Bosco also really shines in the role of director, keeping the shoot organized and focused.

From the start of the Jaymes PSA, Orion is the odd woman out. Her look doesn’t correspond with the executive realness her teammates are conveying. Like last week, Maddy seems to come up with a lot of the ideas for her team, yet doesn’t really stand out as a performer. It seems like a repeat of her earlier critique, that she’s lacking a je ne sais quoi. Perhaps it’s really just that unique queer perspective that Maddy just doesn’t have, that sort of third heat à la 30 Rock. Willow, on the other hand, has that to spare, creating a fully realized character in a scant amount of time. Though it is a brief performance, it is easy to see Willow doing a full one-woman show as this character. Despite her enthusiasm, Jasmine falls flat with a strange cadence that allows for both Michelle and Maddy to do wonderful impersonations of the Count from Sesame Street.

As the queens get ready for the runway, they discuss how they think they performed. Jorgeous feels like everyone except her thinks they did well. It’s clear that Jorgeous has let other people’s opinion of her get in her head when she reveals that people back home said she would struggle on acting challenges and being funny. Even Orion feels good about her performance, which Jasmine considers delusional. It seems that even Jasmine, who has often felt she has done a little better than reality would suggest, is a little concerned. Jorgeous and Jasmine bond over having started drag at a very young age. Jorgeous reveals that she started in clubs at 16 when she still required parental permission and attendance in order to perform. On the other side of the room, Willow, who also started young, talks about her own family support when she came out at 17 to her mother. Willow also reveals more background about her illness. At a young age, Willow already feels her mortality—she describes her body as “disintegrating.” This is Drag Race editing at its best. They’re both young, talented queens, but Jorgeous is holding herself back with hesitation, a luxury that Willow cannot afford with her condition.

On the main stage, RuPaul enters in one of her best looks of the season. A glamorous gown with metallic florals and a sheer skirt, it is pitch-perfect glamazon RuPaul. Michelle gets the best joke of the panel when she compares herself to Ursula from The Little Mermaid and is joined by Ross Matthews and special guest judge Ava Max. RuPaul reveals the runway category is Spring Has Sprung. Cue “Florals for spring? Groundbreaking.” That said, most of the looks this episode are pretty good.

Most queens go the floral route. Jorgeous has a cute pastel minidress punctuated with floral embellishments. She also has an apparent fetish for ostrich feathers. It is really the makeup and unique hair that elevates this look. Kerri also got the memo on florals for spring. This is an interesting, out-of-the-box look for Kerri. It is more conceptual and club kid than what one might expect from her. That said, it lacks some refinement in its execution. It’s a look that would be great for a Ru-demption runway during All Stars. Angeria, far from Clueless, also does florals but is a bit of a Monet: From faraway, her ensemble looks great, but up close, the ill-fitted bodice really deflates the otherwise arresting look. It’s a minor issue, but noticeable because she is consistently operating at such an impeccable level at all times. Jasmine’s look conveys spring showgirl, but hardly feels fresh. She does earn points for making it herself, though.

DeJa and Orion take a slightly different inspiration for spring. Finally showing herself as a pastel princess, DeJa proves that she could use some editing. Her looks consistently feel very heavy with an abundance of fabric. It should also be pointed out that if you’re going to wear pants on the runway, they need to fit perfectly. A rabbit-inspired mask completes the look as a nod to Easter. Orion, interestingly, goes full Easter bunny providing a version that crosses a Playboy Bunny with an Austin Power’s FemmeBot. Oddly, DeJa seems perplexed by Orion’s spring look in Untucked even though they both found inspiration in the Easter Bunny.

Daya and Willow have more unique inspirations. Presenting full fairy garden nymph, Daya’s look is very impactful. At a quick glance, Willow’s may feel a little pedestrian, with the exception of the dollhouse on her head. But when you look closer and see the house painted on the dress as well, it starts to give a sort of surreal, René Magritte energy. Just when you might think it’s a perfectly fine spring look, Willow turns to provide the chef’s kiss: Help Me! Scrawled in blood on the back of the house. It’s surrealist subversion of spring that no one asked for but everyone loves.

Maddy finds inspiration in spring shows with a fringe look and a large cloud headpiece that looked like Bowen Yang’s SNL Titanic skit. It’s a memorable look and redeems Maddy’s underwhelming runways thus far. Bosco has a similar idea: Her bunched-up gray tulle is revealed to be a golden sunshine yellow gown. While neither look on its own is spectacular, the narrative and presentation make for a memorable moment.

The PSAs are presented on the runway and each has good moments. Perhaps the most bewildering part is why they were tasked with writing rhymes for the first half of the PSA. Successfully parodying a PSA means mining the humor in their sincerity, and the rhyming undercuts that premise. The second half of each PSA is fundamentally better than the first. The Kahmora PSA is probably the best because that team makes the rhyming feel the most cohesive and there’s the great visual gag of Kahmora’s ear. Hands down, the best part is the appearance by Sarah McLachlan.

As the critiques start, Kerri, DeJa, Maddy, Willow and Daya are declared safe. They exit with Tempest, Jaymes, and Kahmora. Maddy, Willow, and Daya could easily be in the top. Since all the PSAs were solid, they are judged individually as opposed to groups. The queens who showed strong characterization have the edge. Jorgeous is critiqued for her inability to translate her runway confidence into the challenges, which could have also been levied at her last week. Jasmine, though called a young Alyssa Edwards for her look, did not manage to deliver that in personality in the challenge. Orion is also criticized for lacking presence in the challenge.

While Angeria conveyed a natural funniness and pristine comic timing, the judges take issue with the fit of her dress. Lady Camden, who was eager to prove herself, is applauded for both her look and performance while acknowledging that she needs to amplify her personality. They call Bosco’s work “poetry,” saying that she stood out from the rest as a dangerous and risky performer. Strangely, the panel makes no mention of her role as director. It seemed to be the hidden key to this challenge and Bosco excelled at keeping her team in check. It seems like why she may have edged out Lady Camden, Maddy, Willow and Daya for the win. She also managed to make the judges laugh saying her look extended from a performance about seasonal affective disorder that she performs in gloomy Seattle. Ultimately, the bottom three are all there for the same reason not conveying characterization or personality in their performance.

In the end, Jorgeous and Orion land in the bottom two and get to lip-sync to Ava Max’s “My Head & My Heart.” Kerri kind of spoils the lip-sync before it even starts by stating it’s all about Jorgeous. There is always a special energy when the original singer of the lip-sync song is present, but there is a strange, palpable feeling from everyone standing behind the stage. They are all amped up to get to see Jorgeous perform. It’s one of those lip-syncs where you already know the winner before it starts. Orion, like June earlier, has a series of wardrobe mishaps. She loses most of her outfit in the course of the song, starting with her bunny ears, followed by her earrings, then shoes (which always signals disaster), and almost her wig. Jorgeous, on the other hand, is in complete command of her body and the stage. Her spell is only broken sporadically when the camera gets Willow in the background with a full dollhouse on her head singing along. Jorgeous is obviously declared the winner. Orion, who does not have the golden bar, leaves the competition for the second time.

Stray Observations

• Okay. What is going on with all the injuries? Eureka, Victoria Scone, Oceane Aqua-Black, Kornbread. What can we do to protect Drag Queen knees and ankles?
• What a priceless moment if Jorgeous had just gotten on her knees and bitten the balloon.
• It feels like Kerri is taking her Pretty/Ugly critique like Derrick Barry in season eight with Soul. Like she’s missing the point. She doesn’t need to be literally ugly, but she does need to let loose and stop worrying about always looking pretty.
• I could watch Jaymes Mansfield tumble over and over again on an endless loop for the rest of my life.
• Sasha Velour’s head-house walked so Willow’s could run.
• With the theme of Spring Has Sprung, it’s a shame no one came out as a literal spring.
• Why on earth will no one from the production open the cans for the drag queens in Untucked? Opening a can with nails is a dangerous exercise.
• The drama of the chocolate bar, though expertly edited, really just ruins the flow of the elimination. Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to open it back stage and surprise the others the next day.
• As no one has bitten the chocolate bar, I’m convinced it is a prop bar.
• With the appearance of Tempest, Jaymes, and Kahmora, there is a rumor about filming an upcoming season made up of early-out queens.
• With Kornbread out, I’m adjusting my top four to Angeria, Willow, Bosco, and Daya.