S14.E9: Menzeses

[Blakeston]

The queens must lead Drag Con panel discussions about the multi-faceted world of menz: dating, fatherhood, and toxic masculinity; comedian Nicole Byer guest judges.

Airdate: March 4, 2022

 

[CraftyHazel]

Another non-elimination episode, and a Golden Ticket still in play.  This season feels so long!

[Ms.Lulu]

This episode confirmed to me that we still have 2-3 filler queens to get through.  This was the 9th episode and we have only eliminated 5 queens.  

I thought that Willow was the best in the panels.  Bosco and Deja also did well.  On the runway I thought it was a miss across the board.  Deja followed the brief but it looked cheaply made.  Willow looked great but didn't follow the brief.  Bosco's looked cheap and not quite there.  I would have given the win to Willow, or given it to no one.

Maybe if there weren't so many filler queens and filler episodes we would see better runways.

Edited March 7, 2022 by Ms.Lulu

[theatremouse]

I didn't think Bosco was bad exactly, but nowhere near as amazing as the judges seemed to be saying. Also I was surprised they said she sounded so natural. I thought she sounded the most scripted. A fine script, mind you, but definitely scripted. Like, Bosco was fine, but all that born to host business struck me as super over the top.

[bobbyjoe]

Since Snatch Game isn’t until next week, it was obvious from the start that there wasn’t going to be an elimination since they need eight queens.  So what did we watch?  A ninety minute commercial for DragCon?*  The LSFYL was good but if anybody told me that under the circumstances  both queens didn’t know in advance that there wasn’t going to be an elimination, I wouldn’t believe them.

* I’d love to go to DragCon but I’ve never been.  But I’m guessing that the panels are a little more than just a bunch of queens sitting around comparing their family past and coming out stories?  Like, Ru seems to think that this is the only thing to talk about, but I’d love to see one of these panel competitions where they instead share stories about the art of drag and interesting things that have happened in their careers.

[zenithwit]

15 minutes ago, bobbyjoe said:

Since Snatch Game isn’t until next week, it was obvious from the start that there wasn’t going to be an elimination since they need eight queens.  So what did we watch?  A ninety minute commercial for DragCon?*  The LSFYL was good but if anybody told me that under the circumstances  both queens didn’t know in advance that there wasn’t going to be an elimination, I wouldn’t believe them.

* I’d love to go to DragCon but I’ve never been.  But I’m guessing that the panels are a little more than just a bunch of queens sitting around comparing their family past and coming out stories?  Like, Ru seems to think that this is the only thing to talk about, but I’d love to see one of these panel competitions where they instead share stories about the art of drag and interesting things that have happened in their careers.

The first time the show did the panels challenge was back in season 10 I believe (with Eureka's "Portionizing!").  I remember in that season that the panels were done in front of an audience and included a Q&A section.  Also, the topics in season 10 were more directly related to the skillset that a drag queen needs (wigs, make up and "portionizing!") and included a small demo.  So the setup was more similar to a real-world panel (I haven't been to Drag Con but I have been to Comic Con-like events).  I guess it's not too surprising that there wasn't an audience here but I'm not sure why the judges/other queens couldn't have asked a question or two.  Without the Q&A, it feels more like a sketch than a discussion.  Also, I'm not sure such an ambiguous topic like "men" would actually be a real-word panel topic.

Overall, I actually really like the concept behind the panels challenge.  It mirrors the type of work that the queens will do after the show and it gives Ru a good idea how the queens will represent her at a big event like Drag Con.  However, I don't think the show has really executed this challenge well yet.  Maybe it's because these panel discussions are really more of an "in person" experience and that might be difficult to translate to a tv show.

[Mahfouz]

Can't say that after seeing these Dragcon panels on the show I am in any hurry to attend any in real life. 

What is the point of keeping Jorgeous and Jasmine Kennedy around for another week. Neither of them (especially Jorgeous) have any real chance of winning. I'd lay good money down that Jorgeous implodes on Snatch game next week. She just doesn't seem all that talented and I predict she will do some little-known Latina "celeb". 

I really feel like sometimes Rupaul pushes the contestants a bit too far to open up about really traumatic stuff and she basically said it out loud this episode:  You have a better chance of winning if you really open up emotionally. Seems unnecessarily exploitative. 

[Kaboom 2.0]

So does no elimination in this ep mean a double elimination next ep? I hope so.  Jorgeous & Kennedie are ok but for me they're not on as high a tier as some of the others at this point. 

I've never been to any Con but would like to especially if I can see some if my fave queens. I think panels may annoy me, I hear the words but my mind immediately registers it as infomercial. 

[30 Helens]

14 hours ago, Mahfouz said:

What is the point of keeping Jorgeous and Jasmine Kennedy around for another week. Neither of them (especially Jorgeous) have any real chance of winning. 

I don’t know, Ru seems quite taken with Jorgeous.

I’ve just binged all of this season’s episodes in the last week or so, but this year’s contestants seem rather middle-tier to me. I don’t really hate anyone (except when Daya goes into a prolonged Untucked pout), but I don’t really love anyone either.

Except Willow. I’d be quite happy with a Willow win. Except for the part in the finale where Ru would say something like “It’s a Wiwwow win! It’s not a big win, it’s a wiwwow win!” Every time he makes a variation on that stupid joke I just want to slap him. Because maybe when someone has possibly been teased about their size their whole life, and it’s because of a disease no less, maybe it’s not so amusing to that person? And maybe Ru should STFU about it? Just saying.

[Wonderlad71]

I still think this season is better than the last (Season 13) and while there are few superstars they are mostly quite endearing. And the tasks have been better planned/written overall. Which is why I didn't mind the double save (again) - although IMHO Jasmine did win (just a bit more expressive than Jorgeous).

Edited March 8, 2022 by Wonderlad71

[Christine]

I love this season.  Been very amused by the teasers, the wind, and a number of other episodes.  Willow is my fave.

I'm not understanding, however, why Bosco won when two of her team were in the bottom.  Bosco is probably my second fave after Willow, with Angeria and Lady Camden rounding out my top 4.

And has anyone else noticed that Rupaul said in this episode that she has consulted with the judges but the final decision is hers to make?  She normally says that when announcing the actual winner, not who wins the lip sync on a regular episode.  I don't think I've heard her say that on any other normal episode either, and I watch a LOT of Drag Race.

[TVbitch]

It was a bit jarring to hear poor Willow say her medical condition makes having a partner difficult and she's never had sex, and then they skipped right on to hot guys or whatever topic was next. She is able to have a sense of humor about it, but I still wanted to give her a hug. She is so cute, smart and funny. Maybe being on the show will facilitate her meeting someone who is patient and compassionate enough to deal with her challenges.

I hope Willow wins it all, but also enjoy Lady Camden, Angeria and Bosco. 

[Lethallyfab]

So is this season just going to be 20 episodes long or will Ru finally decide to actually start eliminating queens?

I can see the lip-syncs called as a tie, but Jorgeous was *considerably* worse at the challenge, IMO.

And we have ANOTHER potential non-elimination coming with the stupid candy wrapper gimmick.

I’ve said it previously in this thread, but the whole Bring Back a Queen/Double Save/etc. games should be capped at one per season.

[djlynch]

49 minutes ago, Lethallyfab said:

And we have ANOTHER potential non-elimination coming with the stupid candy wrapper gimmick.

I’ve said it previously in this thread, but the whole Bring Back a Queen/Double Save/etc. games should be capped at one per season.

My theory is that one of the non-eliminations was to make up for Kornbread dropping out, and the other is because Ru and the producers know who has the golden ticket (the way everything was neatly arranged and done in plain sight is probably to facilitate that) and decided that she's good enough to go ahead and guarantee her a spot in the finals no matter how badly she does in the remaining challenges. If there's a week where one of the frontrunners really stumbles but seems weirdly bulletproof, we'll know who it is.

[SemiCharmedLife]

It seems I'm in the minority here, but I find it so difficult when queens are eliminated, even "filler queens."  So I am loving this long season with many weeks for the queens to impress us.  I don't have any of the special streaming services, so this is my only viewing of the Drag Race variations (though I go online to watch "Watcha Packing," "Fashion Photo Ruview," and "Pit Stop."  Maybe that's why I love the long season!  I am, however, thinking of purchasing a streaming service so I can watch the international versions.  (I've seen the Philippines Season 1 and 2 online).  Does anyone have a suggestion about which service would be best?

[30 Helens]

2 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

 I am, however, thinking of purchasing a streaming service so I can watch the international versions.  (I've seen the Philippines Season 1 and 2 online).  Does anyone have a suggestion about which service would be best?

Paramount has seasons 1-12 of Drag Race, all 6 seasons of All Stars, and season 1 of Queen of the Universe (which I have not seen). I think the only platform for international versions (and possibly other related content) is WOW. I don’t have that one so I’m not sure what’s on it.

[Mahfouz]

Also, watching the next episode reminded me that Jorgeous's runway look looked like it was on backwards. Why have the opening in the middle if there is nothing there to show off? 

[Sbeetle]

On 3/8/2022 at 1:26 PM, TVbitch said:

It was a bit jarring to hear poor Willow say her medical condition makes having a partner difficult and she's never had sex

Willow’s joke was, “I’ve never had sex … except anal.”