RECAP: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17, Episode 11 (Acting)
As we surge into its final act, Season 17 is really delivering. Last week’s roast gave ample drama, which spilled over into the beginning of this episode — Arrietty has said on social media that she was ignorant of Onya Nurve’s medical condition when leaving that petty mirror message; I’ll leave you to be the judge of the likelihood of that — and this week’s acting challenge gave us something truly novel for RuPaul’s Drag Race: a well-written, well-acted, and genuinely funny acting challenge. Real talk, the spoof “Ross Matthews vs. The Ducks” was infinitely more entertaining than the show it spoofed, 2024’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans on FX. That show was awful I literally gave up watching it halfway through. This, on the other hand, was a delight, and a great showcase for all seven queens left in the competition.
Below find my thoughts on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 Episode 11, “Ross Matthews vs. The Ducks” SPOILERS AHEAD!
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There was no mini-challenge this episode — I feel like we have had very few of those this season — as RuPaul informed the queens that this week would be a comedy-acting challenge. That delighted a few of the girls, specifically Onya Nurve and Suzie Toot, and brought dread to several others. The girls had to divvy out their parts, and all things considered, I thought it was remarkably civil, especially given some of the drama we’ve had this season. Suzie and Jewels Sparkle once again found themselves battling over the same role — just as in the Rusical — and once again, Jewels got the part, mostly because the other queens didn’t want Suzie to get a part that could easily net her another win. Dr. Suzanne Tooch really has these girls shaking in their kitten heels.
Most of the queen acted in duos, playing “Ducks” — socialites inspired by Truman Capote’s “Swans,” but more inspired by various meme queens of the 21st Century. The Hilarious Ross Matthews (TM RuPaul) was actually hilarious in his Capote-esque role, mixed with Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’s Reality Von Tease. And clap for whichever hooker wrote this script, because it was largely quite funny. Did they finally hire a professional instead of letting someone on set write these? What a concept.
I’ll rank each segment from most successful to least; I’ll also include my thoughts on the generally great Black & White Ball runway:
Onya Nurve & Lana Ja’Rae as squabbling rapstresses who also happen to be mother and daughter. I was actually really proud of Lana in this. I thought she did well, was funny, and most importantly, she took direction from guest mentor Cheyenne Jackson. I understand the judges’ note that Lana was completely pushed out of the screen when Onya came in, but like…who among these girls would be able to stand up to Onya? She is a powerhouse. The judges keep saying it, we keep seeing it, she is absolutely crushing this competition, and the little touches she put into this character — the nailography, if you will — were sending me. But Lana held her own in the first half of the bit. She did not do bad at all! I thought Onya’s black swan look was bold and inventive, but lacked finesse (the judges loved it); I enjoyed Lana’s exaggerated shape, although I thought the visible panties were a choice.
Suzie Toot & Lexi Love as frienemies inspired by The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ infamous Season 5 trip to Amsterdam, specifically the ASMR version in which Kim Richards and Lisa Rinna are overdubbed in insistent whispers. Lexi struggled mightily during rehearsals, getting in her head when Ross and Cheyenne praised her scene partner and personal bogeyman, Suzie. Suzie was good, but not at the level of Onya — that’s been true for almost all the comedy challenges this season, actually. There were apparently a ton of takes required for Lexi to get it right, but in the end, she did, and the scene worked overall. Suzie looked cool as fuck in a tassel-covered bodysuit with a cat hood, while Lexi looked great from the neck up. I don’t know what was supposed to be happening with that…rouched? bodysuit?…but I did not enjoy the core of this look. I thought she had the worst look on the runway tonight, and that bums me out given how strong she started the season on the runway.
Sam Star & Lydia Butthole Kollins as a woman whose husband is sleeping with her close friend — and his proctologist — which became a play on Whitney Houston’s “It’s Not Right, But It’s OK.” They both looked amazing, and Sam was good. Overpraised by the judges a bit? Sure. But she was good. Lydia was not bad, but she wasn’t anywhere close to Sam’s level. What’s worse, she wasn’t able to take direction from Cheyenne and Ross, and the whole thing felt a bit frustrating. Sam had arguably the best look on the runway tonight, a kind of Italian Harlequin figure — Suzie Toot’s impact. I have often and loudly admitted that I do not get Lydia’s aesthetic this season, but I LOVED what she wore tonight. So chic! So interesting! The weird gloves still spoke to Lydia’s off-kilter style. This is the level of finishing I have been looking from Lydia all season.
Jewels Sparkles as Chicago, a play on Tiffany “New York” Pollard’s epic savaging of Gemma Collins on Big Brother. Jewels was a huge fan of the source material, and fought to get this role. The edit made sure we understood that she was stuck waiting to go on for hours while Lexi and Suzie tried to lock down their shot, but even if that’s true — and I’m confident it is — you still need to bring it when it’s your time. And Jewels could not. She kept getting the lines wrong, confusing the text of New York’s speech with the slightly altered version she had to work with. But the big issue was the energy. It was very mid, the whole way through. It was supposed to be THE big finish, and it was just…OK. On the runway, Jewels gave us a super cool art-inspired black-and-white power suit thing that I suspect will inspire future runways. It was so simple but so well executed, and very striking.
The tops of the night were Onya (yep), Sam (sure), and Suzie (OK), and the bottoms were Lydia (yep), Jewels (definitely), and Lana (I guess but only because there are so few girls left). Onya got her third win, much deserved. But surprisingly Jewels was spared and it was Lana vs. Lydia lipsynching to guest judge Sam Smith’s “Unholy.” I didn’t realize how polarizing that song was in the gay community, but damn, some of you really hate it. (Personally I like the song, but I don’t think it made for a good lipsynch — it has one mode and doesn’t really “go” anywhere.)
My feeling is that the judges/producers wanted to spare Jewels, and they knew that Lana could potentially outperform her in a lipsynch. And at this point, with Kori King gone, Lydia was expendable. I thought Lydia was winning the lipsynch for the first half. She’s a strong storyteller, especially with her face and physicality, while Lana was giving us length and Instagram sensuality. But then close to the end of the song, Lydia made the fateful decision to take out a pair of scissors to try to cut open her very tight dress so she could move…and it all came to a screeching halt. She couldn’t cut the fabric, then the skirt got caught on her shoe, then she just kind of flopped to the ground to get the dress off…it was a mess. I’m sorry, Lydia.
Because of that wardrobe malfunction, I think the answer was undeniable: the enema was applied, and Butthole was evacuated from the competition. That is kind of shocking. Ru was clearly quite taken with Butthole, and even though I struggled with her for most of the competition, I was so impressed by her in the past few weeks. She is unique and very much her own drag queen, and I appreciate that so much. She also seems like a sweetheart, but one with an acerbic edge. Relatable icon.
That leaves us with a Final 6 of Onya Nurve (3 wins), Suzie Toot (2 wins), Sam Star (2 wins), Lexi Love (1 win), Jewels Sparkles (1 win), and Lana Ja’Rae (0 wins). Definitely not the group I thought we would have when the season began, but here we are.
One last note, when Ru asked the, “Who should go home tonight and why?” question, more than half the girls said Suzie Toot, not because they thought she did poorly, but because she’s the frontrunner and they were trying to game the system. I found that whole thing irritating and I wonder if there isn’t a better way to get to that question, but which still provides drama behind the scenes. Like bringing back Rate-a-Queen again or something.
Next: it’s some kind of interpretive dance thing. What in the Debbie Allen are we doing here? What do you think of Season 17? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
