Deja Ru (RECAP)

RuPaul's Drag Race S16E9 "See You Next Wednesday"

We’re back this week with the third design challenge of the season. I don’t mind this in theory. Some savvy producerial-minded twink in Video Village noticed that we have between two and four queens churning out atelier-quality garments week after week, and said “you know what? I think we have some extra black and white fabric in the back…” Smart! In practice, however, this episode is not my favorite. Let’s play a game, shall we? I’ll describe a challenge and you have to tell me which episode it belongs to:

Plane and Sapphira each make something good, Dawn makes something great, but Nymphia and Q each make something excellent. In the Werk Room, Sapphira – mother that she is – helps Mhi’ya make something mid (much to the chagrin of the rest of the cast) but it still doesn’t save her from the bottom two. Oh, and Plane and Plasma get into a tiff about potentially using the same fabric. 

Getting the picture? We already watched this damn episode three weeks ago! While this goth runway is clearly meant to evoke Netflix’s Wednesday, in reality it’s more like watching Groundhog Day. (Zing!!!)

“Repetitive” doesn’t mean “bad” though. When I say Nymphia and Q created some excellent garments I meant it. But who’s surprised? At this point, it’s clear that they’re two of the best craftswomen Drag Race have ever seen: two prodigious seamstresses with two wildly different processes. Nymphia’s is a free-flowing chaos. She wanders the Werk Room yapping, rolling on the floor, doing silly voices, but all the while absorbing inspiration and letting aspects of her materials tickle her creativity. In this case, inspiration comes in the form of a feathered veil which gives way to a stunningly well-tailored lace funeral gown. Q, on the other hand, is all business. She’s not shy in showing the girls the concept she’s sketched in her notebook: a poofy-sleeved, Victorian-esque garment that’s half-cape and half-train. And why should she be? She knows that no one in that room – save Nymphia – is matching her level of craft and vision. The result is wholly impressive. The amount of details would imply weeks of work of planning, yet somehow Q has turned it out in one day. Blocking textiles in the Werk Room and blocking hapless twinks on Twitter… who’s doing it like her? She takes yet another win this week.

In a (distant) third place, is our mischievous elf princess, Dawn. Dawn is hungry for a design challenge win, both this episode and generally, but unfortunately she’s going to have to explore other avenues for sustenance. Nymphia and Q are eating these sewing challenges right up and leaving her not one scrap. That’s not to say Dawn wasn’t good. Great, even! Her upside down chandelier dress is a feat of design and engineering. (A field in which Dawn has a lot of academic expertise, apparently.) The styling doesn’t disappoint, either. The headpiece, the makeup… it’s all very chic. But like last time, it’s just not holding a candle to Qymphia. Deja vu. So what’s Dawn to do? Take it out on Plasma apparently. She slyly suggests to her bestie that the judges will want to see her versatility. “Nooo, sister… Don’t make a classic Old-Hollywood trumpet gown that perfectly suits your body and drag aesthetic! Dress like 2002 Christina Aguilera picking out a last minute outfit to attend the VMAs instead! They’ll surely love it.” Judas!!! When Plane suggests the exact same thing minutes earlier, Plasma sees the intimidation for what it is and shoots it down. But when the same advice is delivered in ethereal Dawn’s disarming little twink tenor, suddenly it’s the voice of reason? inch resting!

Down at the “good” end of the spectrum we have Sapphira, Morphine, and Plane. Plane follows a similar strategy as she did the last design go-round: embellishing the fuck out of a simple silhouette she knows she looks good in. (Plasma could stand to take a cue here.) Morphine’s look is solid as well. A sleek gown that fits her well with, as usual, a lovely little mug of makeup to match. Sapphira, though also middle of the pack, stands a head above the rest of the safe girls (though still a head below the top three.) Yes, she still wastes precious sewing minutes guiding Mhi’ya through how to move a tape measure around a dress pattern, but she makes sure to walk the runway in a finished product executed to her vision, proving she’s wisened up since the Dollhouse challenge. And thank goodness for that — there’s no immunity potion for her to toss back this time. She further cements her High Safe™️ placement with her embodiment of a jaded, matronly goth character on the runway, elevating her presentation from relatively straightforward to highly specific. That’s some seasoned queen shit right there.

The same can’t be said for Sapphira’s hapless mentee, Mhi’ya. In a word, I’d describe Mhi’ya’s performance this episode as “crazy.”

Getting one of the season’s better seamstresses to help you execute your vision and that vision being Vivacious’ episode-losing Game of Thrones gown in season 6? Crazy.

Doing a wig reveal into a beanie? Crazy.

Doing a lip sync wigless as your follow up to doing your last lip sync shoeless? Crazy.

Winning those lip syncs wigless, shoeless (and panty-less??) CRAZY. 

But you know what? It absolutely do take nerve. The lip sync song (with the equally-crazy looking Plasma) is the sped-up TikTok version (?) of Lady Gaga’s Bloody Mary. Don’t piss me off. Typically by unofficial Drag Race standards, it’s third strike you’re out, even for seasoned assassins. But Mhi’ya proves to be an exception to that rule: stepping over the body of yet another New York queen in her bumpy pathway to Top 7. Crazy!

READING RUNDOWN

“Just the same old, haggard Plasma aesthetic that we’ve come to know and hate.” — Plane Jane

I honestly hope Plane never changes. This country was founded on the right to be a huge bitch to your coworkers behind their backs. It’s in the constitution. (I assume! Haven’t read.)