Rupaul's Drag Race: Season 4, Episode 5
YES! This week's episode finally gave the spotlight to Chad Michaels, who has proven herself to be classy, compassionate, and captivating. I'd been looking for an opportunity to do a gorgeous portrait of her, and here you have it!
Sure, if I find time this week, I'd love to make an animated gif of her different Cher looks, because they were badass, and she was fabulous in The Snatch Game. But I couldn't resist drawing her great giraffe look--both for its sleek pattern and the sentimental significance.
This week, Chad was given the chance to call her partner Adam, which was moving in itself. But apparently Adam made this outfit for her, which I think is too, too great.
The Snatch Game was, as always, a shitshow. Some of the queens delivered fantastic performances, but "those front row bitches" tried too hard and shoved the show off the rails.
Yes, of course Sharon Needles was fabulous as Michelle Visage, and if I have the time, I'll do a fun little portrait of her/them. Last season, I drew this little doodle of Michelle, herself:
My favorite parts of Sharon's performance were the constant recollections of Michelle and Rupaul's past antics, fueled by "uppers and downers and candy corn." She injected more wit and imagination into the performance than some of the other queens, who relied on just a few catchphrases.
I was charmed to see Dida as Wendy Williams, though was disappointed that we didn't see more of her performance.
And of course, Chad deservedly won the challenge, with his speedy costume changes and ridiculous banter: "I'm a fucking Oscar winner!" "I don't know why they book me on these chickenshit gigs!"
Prior to his performance, I was a little worried that Chad Michaels revered Cher too much to deliver a compelling rendition of her--seriously, hearing him talk about Cher is like me talking about videogames. (I know, I'm a geek.)
This week's runway once again felt like an afterthought--did anyone catch what the theme was supposed to be?
In any case, there were some great outfits. Yes, I liked Milan's dapper suit, and I loved her energy on the runway. Sharon Needles, once again, had a very crazy, striking outfit, which needed to be drawn.
It was sad to see Kenya leave the show--she definitely has an amazing spirit and energy, even if she was inconsistent in the challenges and on the runway.
One of the most baffling moments of the episode was Willam's response the judges' criticism. They voiced the concern (which I totally agree with) that he's too withdrawn into his character, failing to show any vulnerability. Later, he seems to have a mini-breakdown, perhaps showing some genuine emotion? But no, it seems to just be setting up another joke: "It sucks that everyone else is going to have to go home so I can win." So, I don't know--Willam seems to be the strangest mindfuck of the season, which could prove to be compelling, but maybe not.
In any case, I'm excited for more! Sorry that I didn't go quite as overboard with this week's art as I have for previous episodes. I had other stuff to take care of yesterday, and I wanted to take the time to make these portraits of Chad and Sharon particularly sickening.
Okay, okay, I couldn't resist drawing Sharon Needles in her ridiculous beaver outfit. This animation is only intended as a silly little thing--Sharon is clearly one of my absolute favorite queens of this season, and I think she handled this week's challenge really well. I love the old school squeaky "dumb blonde" voice she used, and the cartoonish make-up!