RuPauls Drag Race

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Nowthatis an episode of reality TV.

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She can fight back.

Season 17 still has some life in her yet.

Lets run through the fights, starting with the big one: Jewels versus Arrietty.

And none of that could have been planned for this story line.

But then Jewels decides to get shady with the order, and were off to the races.

And heres the thing: I do think Jewels is shady with the ordering.

But also: Its true that the ordering never really matters that much to the judges.

But also … of course Arrietty is gonna do a bad job!

She is maybe the worst comedy performer to make it this far in the competition ever.

Look, its a competition, but Jewels making a shady running order is not the same as this.

Again: That could just be an edit.

The intensity of the episode is supported on all sides.

Its sad to watch Lexi beat herself up week after week in the Werk Room.

UntilUntucked, Onya and Suzie are mostly not involved in the main drama this week.

Early in the season, I yelled at the girls for letting Suzie nab a Jinkx Monsoon edit.

Is anyone surprised that Onya knew how to put a kibosh on it?

Finally, we should talk Butthole.

Her story this week centers around her place in the competition post-Kori.

And it pays off.

On that note, lets dig into the performances.

In terms of presentation, she does the best of the entire week.

She delivers every joke with panache, but none of them really hit.

Its impressive, but its not a good roast.

She is, quite correctly, safe.

manages to squeak through by sheer power of her looks.

She gives a performance like this.

Next is Jewels, who, as I said before, bombs one joke and then nearly falls apart.

Shes just a young, giggly mess.

I do think she is significantly better than Arrietty, but that means virtually nothing.

Jewels is followed by the first big surprise of the episode, Lana JaRae.

Lana does a really solid job, shockingly.

Who knew she had this in her?

A solid week on a hard challenge for a queen who has not given a standout performance yet.

Deeply happy for her.

Her best joke is when she refers to Sam as someone with family who probably owned her ancestors.

Shes followed by Sam, who is the best presenter outside of Onya.

Unlike Onya, she has some solid jokes.

Shes fun and sassy and clearly very talented.

The oscillating fan joke really is funny.

Then its Suzie, who does fine for herself.

There was something about her this week that I just found a little … dour?

She just couldnt give the kind of bright, excited presence that a roast needs to fully work.

Finally, Lexi is a big disappointment.

Unfortunately, she refuses to let that part out because she gets so bogged down in the interpersonal.

The runway category is shorts, which is kind of eh.

Love the color of her wig.

Arrietty, per usual, has the best look of the night.

Either way, she looks great.

Sam does a lovely, predictably polished football look.

I think the shoulder pads could have gone out a little further, but thats a nitpick.

The shorts are bad, but the Balaklava is great.

Suzies look is good, looks expensive.

Lexi does a shredded jeans short look that destroys Onyas look.

I dont get why TS Madison would have a problem with all her trains.

Shes a drag queen!

Judging bears out as expected.

How could they not?

Id say the girls get to about an eight.

Still, a deserved win.

Arrietty goes home, mercifully.

And also onUntucked…

Untucked is fucking fierce.

I was glad to see Lexi honestly apologize.

Oh wait, those are all toward Arrietty.

Rus description of Suzies look as Merchant of Penis is really, really stupid.

Kamala was forced on us so hard, youd think she was patented by Pfizer.

She has also recently has made transphobic jokes like Shania Twains on the show tonight.

Reminds me of this years Paris Olympic theme: Man!

I feel like a Woman.

All of this happened after filmingDrag Race.

Predicted top four:Sam, Onya, Suzie, and … Jewels?

She had a bad week, but Lexi seems to be trending even worse.