RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Recap, Episode6: Season 14 Shaping Up To Be the Full Package

Episode 6 of Season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race starts off, as always, down one more queen. After losing Orion (again), the gals are ready to work, with Jorgeous walking in as the newly perceived lip-sync badass and Bosco as the freshly-minted winner of last week. Side note: a major congrats to Bosco on her coming out as Trans. They took to social media to share their journey and life-affirming choice, and I love the profound Queerness of this season of RPDR.

 

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The challenge for this week is kind of an annoying one to me. To help with Michelle Visages online shopping addiction, a bunch of packages are delivered to the queens from Glamazon Prime. I’ve said in previous articles that this season felt very “brandy” from the get-go, and something about an official product placement of anything involving Amazon or Jeff Bezos just felt a little too corporate/mainstream. If this is a social commentary on consumerism, then props to the team at RPDR, but I think that might be giving them a bit too much credit.

Although I didn’t love the runway challenge philosophically, it did yield some pretty kewt lewks (“lewks” getting a redline for spellcheck is homophobic). I’m continuously surprised at how much I’m loving Willow Pill this season. I think mentally I wrote her off on the first episode because she somehow reminded me a bit of Aiden Zhane (and the flip flops). I didn’t actively dislike Aiden, but she was so raw as a Queen. I think because they are both kinda “alt-style” queens, I associated the two mentally. But she has consistently impressed and delighted me, and was once again my favorite look of the week. Jasmine, however, won the design challenge after bouncing back from some feedback telling her to simplify.

Though we have some stunning and at times dramatic looks this season, what we don’t have is any stunning drama; I’m weirdly okay with this. Do I love seeing the battles and the blowups? Of course. But forced drama by the producers does sometimes feel just that: forced and produced. As the talent pool is culled down a bit, I’m sure tensions will rise, but I expect they’ll be authentic since the competition will become a bit more cutthroat. Now, THAT drama is some drama for which I am very excited.

As in previous seasons, Season 14 has, however, had many a teary backstory—both happy and sad—though following tradition they’re mostly sad. This week, we learned a bit more about Kerri’s backstory and her bad relationship with her father. Like so many other LGBTQ+ teens, she left home at 15. Maddy also shares that they have a bad relationship with their mom, who was never really present, and that her grandmother who raised her doesn't know she does drag.

 

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Speaking of drama and Maddy, she was in the bottom two this week along with Jasmine. This is extra juicy because for those of you who are watching Untucked, the two of them got into it ever so slightly about lip-syncing after last week’s episode. Once again, Jasmine owns the stage and quickly makes it clear that even if she has some work to do to stay out of the bottom two, she clearly is ready to fight and now has a solidified rep as a lip-sync assassin. Although I personally enjoyed Jasmine’s look, Maddy’s was definitely a miss. It looks like something a VERY skilled 9 year-old may have created. But not a savant 9-year old. Just like…a great 9 year-old. But one who still doesn’t quite understand colors and textures well-enough.

I am happy Maddy was in this season, though I am not upset that he’s gone. He stayed as long as I think he deserved and this will no doubt make him a stronger drag queen, which will no doubt thrill his supportive girlfriend! It will also usher in a broader range of cis-straight drag queens, who associate with the Queer family and umbrella. Whatever comes, I am interested to see how the rest of this season pans out. The field is narrowing but the growth is broadening, and now is the time the queens will really start to shine as the competitors that they are (or aren’t as the case may be).

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