Chad: I agree, a lot of her earlier performances did turn out pretty well, but it was the grumbling and uncertainty that preceded each of them that was the problem. Especially since pretty much all of the challenges so far have been with teams, her attitude has kept anyqueen from wanting to work with her.
Aside from her stand-up set, her shining moment this week was in Episode 7’s UNTUCKED, when she stood up for the other queens who had been picked apart--Joslyn, Laganja, and Dela. She spoke to each of their strengths, bolstering their spirits. Is she… the anti-Bianca??
TinTim: That was AMAZING. She should become the Iyanla Vanzant of drag. Does anyone remember Iyanla? It was as good or better than anything Ru has done on Drag U or in the Tic Tac lunches. Yeah, she and Bianca could team up to do a great good cop-bad cop schtick, where Bianca breaks people down with her tough love, then Trinity builds them back up like a life coach.
Chad: SOLD.
TinTim: I’m curious what you thought of the makeup challenge in general. I feel like every season, there’s at least one of these challenges -- in the past, I’ve called it the “WTF” challenge -- where it’s really hard for the queens to know what to shoot for tonally -- if you go too funny, you risk not taking the product seriously enough, but if you go too earnest, then it can flatline like Courtney and Joslyn’s. I always have mixed feelings about these “sell a product” challenges -- on the one hand, I think it’s interesting to see them try to learn how to code switch the way Ru has had to in order to function and have a long career in mainstream media. On the other hand, it’s kind of gross and like the opposite of drag’s more underground or transgressive spirit.
Chad: Well, you’re right--it’s a tricky balance. Last year, we were treated to Alaska’s unforgettable “Red for Filth” commercial, but that commercial challenge succeeded precisely because the queens were called upon to sell their own (made-up) product, not the latest thing Ru’s hawking.
I thought that the pairing of the queens for the challenge was diabolically brilliant, and it almost seemed tooeasy that each team was assigned their own theme. Dela and Darienne’s commercial wasn’t terrible, but their deranged, drugged cougars were a little too offbeat to make for a good commercial, or comedy.
TinTim: I thought it was kind of like a Cecily Strong-Vanessa Bayer SNL sketch that failed.
Chad: Yeah, the skit needed a straight man. Like, Dela would be a normal cougar, and Darienne would show up swaddled in bandages from her extensive plastic surgery, trying to act as if everything’s normal. Dela makes everything better with some thoughtful application of RU’S MAKEUP NAME for COLORLOTION.
Ultimately, I was shocked that Bianca and Trinity didn’t win--the whole arc of the episode seemed predestined for it, and nothing will ever beat the image of succesful CEO Bianca Del Rio literallyjugglingher babies on television.
Were you surprised by any of the performances in the stand-up challenge?
TinTim: Trinity surprised me, very pleasantly, as we have discussed. I thought Dela’s delivery would be a lot stronger. Other than that -- not really, I don’t think. I appreciated that they gave it to Bianca… American reality television has such a tendency to reward underdog stories and relatability over actual skills, so I always kind of like when the most truly qualified person wins, rather than the “most improved.”
Chad: I had the same feeling! I thought it would be another case of “Coco” from last year’s Roast of Ru! Bianca killed.
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