Drag Race Season 14 Recap: Episode 3 – A Pair of Balls & A Return to Silly Camp!

Well, hello, RuPaul Charles. I’ve missed your silly, campy goodness. Episode 3 of Season 14 has thrown us two major wrenches, both of which brought back not only a true sense of “anything can happen” but also of, “Ru can do whatever the hell she wants.”

The first wrench thrown at us is a classic at this point, but is a major one for the queens nonetheless. The eliminations of the first two queens to leave, Orion and Daya, have been rescinded and they are back to slay, even if not to ultimately stay. The girls are understandably in shock, but hugs ensue and they’re all (mostly) one big happy family again. I am looking forward to seeing June’s displeasure at Orion’s return continue to flesh out, because that’s going to make for some juicy drama. The stakes have been upped and we now have a full house of performers ready to fucking werk.

But one classic twist wouldn’t be good enough, now would it? Ru brought in an entirely new challenge (though a classic in another sense). Each Queen gets a RuPaul Chocolate Bar. If your bar has a golden ticket inside, then Ru has assured them it will save that Queen’s “padded ass” by saving them from elimination. Future obvious branding possibilities aside, I love this as a fun twist.

Once again, Kornbread proves a favorite of mine. She’s funny, her sleek black leopard dress was absolutely on-point, and she’s also ridiculous. The self-proclaimed “messy queen” of the season loves to create fun drama, and that makes for my kind of Drag Race season. This week she offered Daya Betty $1,000 to eat a dragon fly that had flown into the Werk Room. Y’all, I’d eat a dragonfly for $50, let alone $1,000…for real. $1,000?! Do you know how many nutrients are in a dragonfly? They’ve got over 3g of protein, and you KNOW I loves me some protein. But seriously, a Queen eating a dragonfly will forever go down as one of the great camp moments of Drag Race herstory.

The Ball was in its glory this year, with a slighted updated approach: the categories were split up, and this made everything feel a bit fresher, and like less of a slog. When all was said and done Willow Pill won the ball maxi-challenge. My favorite look: Lady Camden’s red pinup style. Simple. Elegant. Stunning. Least favorite look: Jorgeous’ weirdly confederate look. Hm.

Maddy and June were bottom two and lip-synced to Kylie Minogue’s, “I Love It.” June gave us some wardrobe malfunctions (after tripping earlier to Carson Kressley’s obvious dismay) and a lackluster wig reveal. Unfortunately, she just didn’t bring her A-game to the lip-sync. But wait…the chocolate bar! Could June’s padded ass be saved? Will she get to slay another day away?! Will she play a flute with Oompa Loompas or some other weird shit? Alas. Just chocolate. June sashayed away, Maddy lived to wear another backwards ballcap simply by doing the assignment and not fucking up, and his GF will get to see another day of her man doing her thing.

This week also sent us deeper into the gravity that comes with every season to varying degrees. Kornbread and Willow’s bond becomes even stronger when Kornbread helps Willow out with the construction of her look. Willow’s health issues prove to be a slight hindrance this week, but the kind of support and chosen-family-love Kornbread shows is 100% the shit we want to always see. Love it. We also learn more about Orion’s story. We hear about his mom’s battles with bipolar disorder and how she died by suicide. His looks are an homage to her, and we love creating beauty out of tragedy. I’m glad Orion is back.

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This season is proving itself to be a fun and ultimately silly season of Drag Race. I think my fears of the constant “branding” have been mostly calmed for now, and I’m excited for what the rest of the season brings!

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