RECAP: RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17, Episode 13 (Makeovers)
First off, so sorry for the lack of an Episode 12 blog! I was traveling last week, and while I hoped to find time to knock one out, the charms of Chicago rendered that impossible. HOWEVER! I not only watched the episode, but thanks to the Roscoe’s Viewing Party, I got to watch the episode in the company of…
Sam Star and her drag mother, All Stars 4 winner Trinity the Tuck! That photo is not zoomed in at all; I was literally about five feet from the stage. Both Sam and Trinity were great guests, speaking candidly about not only Episode 12, but their experiences with drag and Drag Race overall. They also looked incredible. While they both had great points throughout the evening, I want to specifically relay two of Trinity’s most salient points:
When she discovered Sam was cast, she forbade her from spending tens of thousands on designer clothes for the season, and instead had Sam raid her own drag closet, as well as the closet of her other drag daughter, Shontelle Sparkles. Trinity did not want to see Sam go into debt for outfits that people may or may not get to see, especially when runways don’t actually matter in the judging (unless they magically do that week). This is a great point, and I think it’s time for the show to figure out how to incorporate the runways more meaningfully into judging, and also give credit to the designers on screen. (And also put up the queens’ Venmo/CashApp handles whenever they lipsynch — that’s a me suggestion, not Trinity.)
Trinity and Sam both encouraged World of Wonder to do a Legends spinoff starring some of the queens who were stars before Drag Race ever existed. I love this idea, especially if it’s an All Stars 7 or All Stars 9 nonelim season that’s more of an exhibition. There are a lot of living legends out there whose work paved the way for the show we are enjoying today, and they deserve their flowers. Personally I would love to see Rochester, NY, icon Aggy Dune get her moment; she more than deserves it.
The Roscoe’s Viewing Party is a great experience, if you’re ever in Chicago. Season 8/All Stars 8 star Naysha Lopez is a great host, doing a very good job keeping things moving, and she is ably assisted to Chicago’s Batty Davis and Kara Mel D’Ville. Check out who is coming to the party next by clicking here.
Beyond that, I thought Episode 12 was…a thing that occurred. The challenge was…one of the challenges that took place on Season 17 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. I felt bad for Lana Ja’Rae, who had a rough run on this season overall — and who I was quite critical of especially early on — but who I came to find quite endearing. I think she has oodles of potential, she just needs a little longer to fully develop. I would not be at all surprised if Lana comes back in a few years and absolutely destroys an All Stars run; I also think she could do well in the Vegas show or on one of the big national tours. But it was her time to go this season.
And that left us with our Top 5, who THIS week had to transform their mothers and fathers in the notorious makeover challenge. Below find my thoughts on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 Episode 13, “Drag Baby Mammas.” SPOILERS AHEAD!
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There was a mini-challenge this episode, in which the queens were essentially tasked with doing straw polls on one another. (Speaking of polls, please check out our active pop-culture polls — YOUR VOTES determine what we debate in every episode of our podcast.) The main takeaways from this were that Onya Nurve and Suzie were viewed as the twin frontrunners, and that almost everyone thought that Jewels Sparkles was the next queen to go home, based on her sole win. For the record, the other girls each had 2 (Lexi Love, Sam Star), 3 (Suzie Toot), or 4 (Onya Nurve). And Onya snatched another win, this time a mini-challenge victory. Which by Loosey LaDuca math still counts.
After that, we got to the meat of the episode: the very emotional interactions between the queens and their real-life mothers and fathers, who would be their makeover partners for this season. If you watched Drag Race UK Series 6, you know that these family makeovers can be incredibly moving, as well as entertaining. I thought these scenes were lovely and affirming, but not quite at the level of the UK6 edition, which was one of the best episodes of any season of Drag Race.
All of these parents were absolutely wonderful with their children, and I’ll echo what several of the queens said: It is going to mean so much to some little queer kid watching this show with his/her/their parents, to see that it IS possible to have parents who love you and support you for you are, fully and without reservation. All of these parents gave us that vibe, even if they acknowledged that their relationships with their children have not always been perfect. It’s situations like that that make Drag Race more than just some reality TV competition; there were interactions this episode that could potentially impact some young person’s life. Or their parents’ point of view. And that’s amazing.
As for the actual challenge, anyone who has watched and truly understands Drag Race knows that the makeover is basically the point where Production can reach in and remove whoever they do not want to advance, or boost someone who they want to see succeed. The judging rubric is so subjective that it borders on absurdity. We have literally had queens win for sending out twins (look at the family resemblance!) as well as queens sent home for sending out twins (it’s too similar). Basically, producers gonna produce. I also think the makeovers have gotten far, far simpler over the course of the years. In the early seasons, the queens often had to make the looks for their partners from scratch, and there was often some bullshit performance aspect thrown in (never forget Season 8’s “Wizards of Drag” broomography). At this point, the queens bring the looks from home, they’re pre-made, and all they really have to do is paint their mug, teach their partners how to walk and carry themselves like a drag queen, and call it a day. I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m sure it’s a lot of work. But compared to, like, Season 4 where they had to work with homophobic straight dudes and create maternity wear for them (!), putting your loving mom into a pre-bought frock seems like a gimme.
And by and large, everyone did do well. Nobody embarrassed themselves on the runway, and all the parents were game for the experience. With that said, I did not fully agree with the judging here. (BTW, hello guest judge June Diane Raphael! Obsessed with you!) Let’s break it down by pair, from strongest to weakest.
Sam Star and Sassy Star: You could argue that Sam had the easiest task of the night, as her lovely mother was the closest to a drag queen of the incoming parental units. I mean that as a compliment — she’s a pistol! I absolutely loved those country-inspired outfits, and Sassy looked beautiful and had a ton of fun. No notes.
Lexi Love and Mimi Love: The judges (specifically Michelle) complained that there wasn’t a clear family resemblance and I honestly don’t know what she was seeing. The outfits were clearly related and complementary without being carbon copies. Did she mean that Lexi and Mimi don’t facially look alike? Because that’s her Mom. I don’t know what more she wants here. From a narrative perspective, Lexi’s scenes with her Mom were among the most touching of the episode, as Lexi was repeatedly overwhelmed (positively) by her mother using her correct pronouns — obviously that was not always the case between them. That said: Lexi was sobbing in seemingly every scene this episode. I continue to question whether this is a good environment for her emotionally and mentally, and that’s something I generally shouldn’t be wondering about at Final 5.
Suzie Toot and Queenie Toot: I agreed with (rotating?) judge Law Roach’s take that Suzie actually gave us the most fashionable looks of the night. But doing a Fleischer cartoon-inspired makeover was, in its own way, super predictable for Suzie. The concept was well executed, but I thought Suzie and Queenie had one of the weakest rapport on the runway. And that’s to say nothing of the work room, where it felt like Suzie’s mother was struggling mightily to get through this. Weird energy out of this pairing. Additionally, the edit that Suzie is an annoying, insufferable know-it-all has really gotten out of control; there’s a tremendous amount of online aggression surrounding Suzie, and I don’t get why people are that pressed. Yes, she’s overconfident, blunt, and can be condescending, but I don’t think she’s malicious. I would encourage people to question why they’ve turned on her so intensely in the past few weeks.
Onya Nurve and Nunya Bidness: I was so invested in their interactions. Onya and Jewels arguably had the two toughest tasks in the makeover, as they had — you know — men, where everyone else had a biological woman to turn out. Onya’s father was a delight, and I would argue we saw the biggest personality transformation once he was put into drag. It started with those magic titties on that bib. Unfortunately, the outfits were unequivocally bad, like something out of a Lolita Parade from San Diego Comic-Con 2012 (very specific reference, but I was there, and trust me: this is what they were wearing). But Onya has traditionally not been a look queen. She can sell the fuck out of a garment. But a fashion girlie she is not.
Jewels Sparkles and Salchicha Sparkles: As unattractive as Onya’s looks were, they were at least finished looks with a concept. Jewels and her father came out in pastel pussycat wigs wearing hideous faux fur caftans with faux fur leg warmers and called it a day. I was convinced we were going to get a reveal, but the revelation was, this was the whole concept. They looked like off-brand Care Bears harassing tourists for paid photos in Times Square. Salchicha was wonderful both in and out of drag, total Dad goals, and that family sounds like it has been through more than its fair share of tragedy and trauma. In case it needs repeating, I enjoyed getting to know all of these parents.
Ultimately Sam was named the winner — I do think that was correct, there was literally nothing to fault there — and Suzie and Lexi were called Safe. That left Onya and Jewels lipsynching to “1 Thing” by Amerie.
Going into this lipsynch, it was Onya with 4 wins, Jewels with 1. It seemed impossible that Onya would lose. But Jewels devoured that lipsynch, without question. Onya got a great moment literally punting Jewels’ discarded wig off the stage, but Jewels came out strong and never let up. This wasn’t close to me.
And yet, in the end RuPaul declared that the “love vibes are too strong,” and both Onya and Jewels were spared, meaning we are still at Final 5. That’s kind of strange, but here we are.
Next: it’s a tie-in with the Vegas Live show, with special guest star Latrice Royale! One or more queens will go home! Who do you think will make it to the finale? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
