Villainaissance (RECAP)
RuPaul's Drag Race S16E2 "Queens Choice Awards"
Wow! Two consistent weeks of self-motivated Substacks in a row! And they said it couldn’t be done.
There’s plenty to dissect this week: the return of the beloved TS Madison. The rise of a possible Drag Race supervillain. Adult braces. Me learning who Becky G is. It’s a whole new crop of queens and a pithy-ass recap. Let’s go:
Hershi LiqCuor-Jete
I will truly neverrr get tired of how drag queens spell their names. Substack spellcheck continues to fight for its life every goddamn day. Keep it up, girls! A Drag Race nepo sibling, a father of two, a wig glue enthusiast, Hershi is a true multi-hyphenate of the modern age. Women really can have it all! And on a personal level, Hershi is a certified sweetie pie. Sure, she isn’t super successful at volleying back and forth with Ru and TS Madison in the *checks notes* “SheMV Mini-challenge,” but she makes up for it with a can-do attitude and sunny disposition.
A true daughter of Ru, Hershi uses her first moment on TV as an opportunity to hawk her wares: “Whiplash” wig glue. According to legend, (Hershi’s number), Whiplash is a remarkably strong and toxic adhesive that Hershi discovered while on a jungle safari. Upon returning home, Hershi decided to bottle and sell this mysterious substance in Los Angeles back alleys as a wig glue for drag queens. The American dream, baby!! Seriously though, I kinda loved Hershi’s number. On every whip crack of the song, Hershi forcefully snaps her neck. And though her hair flies every which way, her wig cap doesn’t move an inch. I’m sold. She should do this number on Shark Tank. On the runway, the judges lightly read Hershi for her dress length, but overall it’s a positive first impression. Go, Hershi!
Megami
Next, “the geek chic goddess of Brooklyn and the barbie of Staten Island,” Megami. Well, I’m quite curious about the mechanics of these two titles, namely, how exactly one is apotheosized when crossing the Verrazano Bridge. But that aside, Megami failed to make too much of an impression on me this episode. Not particularly witty in the mini challenge, not particularly good in her talent show, and not particularly on-assignment for the runway. In fact, the part of her talent show performance I most appreciated is how it served as a vector for Plane Jane’s villainy (but more on that later…)
But in the interest of equality, let’s discuss the performance just a tad. Megami performs a lip sync to 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” as a tribute/protest to drag bans and anti LGBTQ legislation across the country. A couple thoughts on this: first, we need to ban holding up signs in a drag number. If your performance requires a bibliography to be understood then perhaps it’s time to retool the storytelling. Second, I do find it a little funny that over the lyric “oh my god do I pray / for a revolution” Megami chose to hold up a sign asking us all to register to vote. Queen of optimistic electoralism!! Plane Jane savagely summarizes: “Protect queer art… but is she giving us anything worth protecting? That’s the question.” That’s gotta be the meanest most out of pocket thing I’ve ever heard. (I agree.)
Mhi’ya Iman LaPaige
On to Mhi’ya Iman LaPaige, or “the queen of flips.” Now here’s a self-proclaimed title that I actually believe. I, along with the rest of the internet, have been stanning Miss LaPaige for years as she’s flipped, dipped, and flung herself off tour buses at the Palace Bar in Miami. But who’s the woman behind the acrobatics? Well… still TBD. Whether because she wanted to sit back and observe the other girls or because she simply couldn’t get a word in edgewise, Mhi’ya was a mostly silent presence this episode. Though, of course, her wallflower tendencies evaporated when it came time to perform.
In her talent number, Mhi’ya never slows for a moment. As she bucks about the stage, we see flashes of a sparkly dance costume, giant hair, and a mouth full of bright white teeth held in a neat line by silver braces. It’s like a toddler from Toddlers In Tiaras took HGH (complimentary). Her only downfall this episode is how much her reputation precedes her. We all knew exactly what the queen of flips was capable of and we’d expect no less from her. That said, I expect Mhi’ya will be surprising us in due time.
Plasma
Plasma describes herself as “a 65 year old woman inhabiting a gorgeous 24 year old’s body.” Love! No complaints here, I stan any queen who – as a young gay boy – was clearly raised by his grandmother on a steady diet of Judy Garland videos and Werther’s originals. On Drag Race this particular trope ranges from immensely successful (Jinkx Monsoon) to infamously iconic (Robbie Turner), so either way we’re in for a treat. Plasma is a sharp wit: she’s quick with the one-liners in the mini, and she’s got a rolodex full of witty rejoinders ready to go when kikiing in the Werk Room. The one issue she seems to be having? Editing.
In the talent show, Plasma attempts a hybrid performance: part-burlesque, part-cabaret singer, part impressionist, and part-comedian. It’s a tough act to pull off, and to her credit none of it flops. But to Michelle’s point, none of it soars either. So after her 60 second performance, we’re left with more questions than answers about Plasma’s drag persona. And, personally speaking, I could do without seeing another Jennifer Coolidge impression for the rest of my life. On the runway, Plasma pulls off a cute and campy tomato-themed reveal, cementing her place firmly in the middle of the pack. But hey, always leave ‘em wanting more, right? (I’m sure Plasma could tell you which old Hollywood biddie said that.)
Nymphia Wind
Of all the queens we’ve met so far Nymphia has the clearest branding by a mile. Not to mention this “Banana Buddha” seems to be an early favorite among the Drag Race internet illuminati, no doubt due to the combo of her memorable, oddball entrance line and her truly gorgeous face. The Internet loves a hot weirdo.
And so far, it seems like that early hype was not misplaced. In the span of a single episode, Nymphia manages to show us her comedy chops in the mini, her grace and dance talent in the main, and a keen aesthetic eye on the runway. Speaking of, “stages in the life cycle of a banana” is a runway story I didn’t know I needed this badly. I just know Jeremy Scott is positively quaking in his Moschino boots right now. If the votes had shaken out slightly differently, Nymphia easily could have found herself in the top two this episode… but more on that later!
Geneva “Vroom Vroom” Karr
Now for the first of our top two this week, Geneva “Vroom Vroom” Karr. The first US Drag Race queen born in Mexico, Geneva takes her responsibility to represent her culture very seriously. Or very seriously in a gorgeously stupid way, that is. She doesn’t make too much of an impression early in the ep, but when it comes to the talent show, honey, she shines.
She opens her lip sync number with an offstage call of “Vroom vroom! Somebody cleared customs!” Perfection tbh. Upon first watch, I wasn’t as enamored with her number as the judges and other queens seemed to be, but in retrospect, that number really did something to me. Geneva’s extremely simple refrain continues to rattle around my brain. The closest analogue I can give you is Ryan Gosling taking the Voight-Kampff test in BLADE RUNNER 2049, but instead of “within cells interlinked” I’m repeating “I’m Geneva / The diva mas Latina.” She claims a top two spot this episode and of course, the title of the diva who is indeed mas latina.
Plane Jane
Finally, hailing from Russia by way of Boston, it’s Plane Jane. After this episode, it’s clear to me that Plane Jane is one of the biggest bitches and one of the most profound haters this show has seen in a long, long time (complimentary.) Within seconds of walking in the door, she refers to a group she just met as “the brick squad,” and tells Mhi’ya Iman LaPaige that she’s “never seen a corset add weight to somebody.” Again, this is two business minutes into meeting a group of queens she’s locked in quarantine with for the next two months. And she doesn’t even let up when she learns the queens will be judging each other this episode.
In the modern age of Drag Race we rarely see true mean-spiritedness. Gone are the days of season 6 Gia Gunn or Season 2 Raven, when queens did not live their lives in fear of fandom reactions to their unsavory TV personas… or are they? By the end of the episode, it seems clear that the top three will be some combination of Plane Jane, Geneva, and Nymphia. But a 66% chance isn’t good enough for Plane Jane. So, after killing the crowd with her original song “Burger Fingers” (which FWIW I thought was good not great), Plane Jane executes a gambit no queen this season has yet had the balls to. She strategically ranks every queen the judges praised at the bottom, while ranking the most negatively critiqued queens at the top. And it works.
Plane Jane lands in the top two this episode with fellow original song lip syncer Geneva Karr, and they duke it out to “Shower” by Becky G. And while she doesn’t have the tricks or the flexibility of her opponent, she does have a big ass breast plate with giant areolas. And much like Sapphira last week, nip slips reign supreme. Her breast plate strategically deployed, Plane Jane does all she can to (sometimes literally) upstage Geneva, who does little to intervene. It’s no contest: Plane Jane wins the day.
But the central question remains: is Plane Jane ushering in a new era of villainy? By Drag Race metrics, her machinations were handsomely rewarded. Plane Jane leaves the episode with a challenge win and immunity under her belt (apparently to use at her discretion.) But there’s one more POV to consider before I mark this season as the beginning of a villain renaissance. How will the fandom at large react to Plane Jane’s display? While so far her jabs and plottings may fall under the laws of war, I fear Plane Jane might quickly find herself crossing a line. A line that may make for some great TV, but poor booking prospects in a post-Drag Race world. But alas, only time will tell.
For now, Plane Jane has won the battle, and next week all of our Season 16 queens will all finally be united as one. It’s all happening!! See you then.