Rupaul's Drag Race: Season 5, Episode 3
Yeah, I know Alaska is still a totally polarizing queen, but can you argue that she's not the funniest one this season? I mean, come on, this week's mini-challenge? I died. Lil' Poundcake, whose catchphrase is "You're not my real dad and you never will be" was priceless. But my favorite line of the episode was her dry response when Rupaul asked about the underlying lesson to their children's programming: "Down with Communism!" I wasn't weirded out by Alaska's choice to serve up some Farmer Peewee realness during the TV shoot--for me, the challenge was about proving yourself as a comedian and actor, not as a ravishing drag beauty. So, what was all the fuss about?
The overall challenge this week was totally absurd, but in the zany Drag Race way that we all know and love. Despite some of the trainwreck performances, I was actually surprised by the number of queens who really nailed their characters. Including, of course, Jinkx.
I've been frustrated by the lack of screen time Jinkx gets, since she's one of my very favorite queens this season. But this challenge gave her an opportunity to show off her performance skills, not to mention some of her lovelier looks so far. (People have been saying she did a riff based on Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, but I totally missed it. Anyone?)
This episode seemed to set up Jinkx as sort of an underdog, finally giving us a little bit more about her history (especially her awesomely supportive grandmother). And although she didn't win this week's challenge, hopefully we'll see her pull ahead sometime soon.
Roxxxy was pretty fabulous in the "Kidster TV" challenge, too, especially because she embraced such a deranged, silly character. I've been trying to nail down what exactly I find so alluring about Roxxxy--I think she embodies a kind of hyper-realized mega-glamour, which you rarely see pulled off so well. Raven does so, too, but with a very different approach. For Roxxxy, it seems so effortless, but also so utterly fabulous. If Jinkx is this season's underdog, Detox is definitely the top dog, or, uh... biggest bitch? In only the best way. Tall, stylish, stunningly distinctive, and sickeningly talented, I think she's going to be hard to beat.
When Ru announced the runway's theme was "Think Pink," I groaned a little. But only Detox could pull out such an unexpected, stunning number.
By the end of this episode, it felt like the show had run through a lot of the "big storylines" it alluded to in the first episode and in subsequent teasers. Monica's "big secret" has been revealed, Serena got taken down, and I'd guess most of the drama and intrigue about Coco and Alyssa's past has been dealt with. No, we haven't heard exactly why Alyssa lost her title, but I suspect the actual reasons are complicated and not terribly dramatic, so I doubt the show will dwell much more on all that.
So, what's next for this season? My hope is that, now that a lot of the over-sized personalities and rivalries have gotten their share of the spotlight, we might get to see more of the quieter queens, like Honey, Ivy, and (of course) Jinkx. However, in this week's Untucked, we got a glimpse of something new on the horizon--a potential romance brewing between Roxxxy and Detox. Which could be pretty spectacular, but I just hope the other queens get a little love, too.
Although we're only 3 weeks into Season 5, I've already gotten permission from a lot of the queens to make my illustrations of them available here, so I'll be posting 11 x 14 prints at $10 each in my Drag Race Print Shop!