Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 7

RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E07 – “Snatch Game”

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This week was a second shocker elimination this season in that a great queen went home early, but it was also one of the worst single-episode descents in Drag Race herstory. And it wasn’t even that messy! Meanwhile, the ranks are all shook up compared to last week, and not just because of Ginger’s mediocre Elvis.

#1 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
Ginger the studied Drag Race Herstorian was on display again this week, biting past inspirations in both Snatch Game and Runway. It’s getting really hard to imagine anyone else winning if she makes it into the top three. Despite my early love of Ginger, I’m growing slightly weary of her constant being-rightness, possibly because it’s paired with so much drawling cattiness. Now that we all know she can change up her silouhette, I’d like to see one truly eleganza runway. I also think getting to a solo challenge where she gets to pitch her own concept and its great will help cement her position up here at the top.

#2 Kennedy Davenport (avg 4, was #5, 3, 4, 6, 2, 2)
Oh, who the fuck knows!? Kennedy swings like a pendulum from barely getting by to slyly perfect, and I think at this point she’s probably headed for the final based on her range. It also helps that she’s a brand new archetype for the show – not quite Alyssa or Coco when it comes to pagentry but not really Latrice or Darienne when it comes to a heavy queen. But, she always seems to be the verge of getting the boot and some of her fashion is just a don’t. Anything can happen!

#3 Violet Chachki (avg 2, was #2, 4, 1, 1, 1, 1)
Violet is still my personal top girl, and this week brought an interesting story for her – she took Ru’s advice, and advanced because of it. I’ve always said the only winner’s arc for her is a “young girl shows growth” repeat of Adore but with better clothes, and here’s her big opening. She was also delightfully young and human in Untucked, being funny and even encouraging. Still, she needs another definitive win to shore up her chances – it’s been since week one. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E07 – “Snatch Game”

RuPaul’s Drag Race, S7E07 Recap: Snatch Game

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RPDRS7Previously on Drag Race: More acting challenges managed to do in Kandy Ho rather than Jaidynn or Fame.

After The Elimination

No one seems terribly distraught about Kandy leaving, though even Katya as the challenge winner looks utterly exhausted. Jaidynn swears up and down she will not be lip syncing again, while Max concedes she’ll do one non-gray look and then head right back to her wheelhouse. Violet fires back, “Bitch, if they gave me specifics I would fucking do it.”

And, she’s right – they love Max and want to see one little thing. Just do the damn thing, Max. Kennedy agrees, in interview, in her shady way. Violet has some shade to throw back! “I’m over Kennedy missing the mark with these looks. She doesn’t look dead. She doesn’t look like a woman!” Pearl adds, “Kennedy looks like whaaaaat?” Back to Violet, “She looks like Tony The Tiger on crack.”

While they speak, Violet stands around looking drop dead gorgeous, neglecting to let out her waist despite ample opportunity. That’s a long day to spend cinched!

A New Day!

Katya: “It’s a new day, it’s down to eight girls. My game plan going forward is to kill a few of the girls to make it to the top.”

Katya can never be eliminated because I don’t know what I would do without her interview segments. She’s approaching Alyssa levels of interview insanity. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race, S7E07 Recap: Snatch Game

RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E06 – “Ru Hollywood Stories”

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We’re six weeks into the competition and just a girl or two away from a field where everyone has truly come ready to slay. The ranks have shuffled since last week. With next week bringing a slightly belated Snatch Game, who is ready to shine?

#1 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
Everything is coming up Ginger for yet another week. Her runway was middling, but she’s one of the best actors in the history of the show as well as one of the all-time funniest queens – oh, and one of the best strategists, too! I’m over her cattiness in Untucked, which might be getting full of itself, but she’s a prohibitive fan favorite despite (or because!) of it. If she has her suitcase stocked she is going to cruise through to the finals. That makes her the queen to beat, and definitely the most-favored in Snatch Game.

#2 Violet Chachki (avg 2, was #4, 1, 1, 1, 1)
I am willing to accept that I might be the sole Drag Race viewer that is obsessed with Violet Chachki, and I do not care. I live for her every second of screen time. After a bit of a miss last week she was back in fine form this week with one of the best performances and runways. The judges don’t seem to get it, but I can’t understand why. Is it just the missing personality? All she needs is one little shake-up from Ru and we could have a clear and undefeatable front-runner on our hands. However, if there’s any week where someone lacking in self-awareness is at risk, it’s Snatch Game. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E06 – “Ru Hollywood Stories”

RuPaul’s Drag Race, S7E06 Recap: Ru Hollywood Stories

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RPDRS7Previously on Drag Race, Ru lost his damned mind and kept the vaguely talented Kandy Ho over the sassy Mrs. Kasha Davis.

After The Elimination

The ladies saunter in from the elimination, looking a bit exhausted. I suppose the challenges that go from performance right to judging must be extra-long. No one seems especially broken up about Kasha leaving. So much for old-lady pride, Ginger and Kennedy.

As she confronts Mrs. Kasha Davis’s mirror message, Kandy Ho opines that she has been hand-picked by Ru on high to be a lip sync assassin of older ladies. Violet’s face registers the thought we all universally shared, “Uh, sure, you go ahead and think that’s why you’ve hit the bottom twice.”

They chat about who won what DESPY award, and Violet admits to her new gal pal Fame that she was expecting the “Shadiest” award. She looks wistful about it. As much as she may come off as a mean girl to the other queens, they’re really wearing her down. “I just want you to know I’m going to be working on the way I come across,” she tells the group. Their responses range from dismissive (Katya) to mean (Pearl, flush from her win, in particular).

Fame expresses frustration both in the room and in the interview that Pearl pulled through in the DESPYs despite continuing negativity, in the latter saying, “I can’t shower positive energy on that shit – I don’t even want it near me.” For all of Fame’s failures so far – and they’ve been many – you can’t deny that she’s consistently flung herself into the competition. From bad jokes to bad dancing to bad tape on her brow, you can’t accuse her of not giving it her all. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race, S7E06 Recap: Ru Hollywood Stories

RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E05 – “The DESPY Awards”

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How do the queens stack up after five weeks and a second comedy challenge in a row? There’s one major shake-up and one tiny climb compared to last week.

#1 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #2, 2, 3, 4)
Ginger delivered another powerful week and did it without a single word of cattiness, as she seems to have realized it was an old defense mechanism booting up. Plus, her one major faux pas – her forehead – got tagged by Michelle. Can anything stop another mean-spirited, funny, older, ginger queen from taking the top-spot? Maybe just that she’d be a shorter and heavier clone of Bianca, plus her occasional non-eleganza fashion.

#2 Max (avg 4, was #3, 3, 4, 9)
Max has solidified her grasp on the top three with another team win where she coached the other girl to success and another beautiful runway. Is there anything this queen can’t do well? Maybe fend for herself, but we’ll have to see. She also needs to break out the major glamour and show some personality, to anticipate two knocks that will be coming her way soon. (I enjoy that she drinks water in Untucked – wouldn’t want liquor to get in the way of her performance!)

#3 Kennedy Davenport (avg 3, was #4, 6, 2, 2)
Kennedy remains in striking distance from the top, and I’m starting to learn to tell the difference between her occasional laziness and her frequent dry, dry, dry humor. I still say we have’t really seen all she’s supposedly capable of. Maybe a solo challenge will bring out the fighter, and there is nothing to clock about her gorgeous face and hair week after week. If she keeps it up and doesn’t commit another major act of self-defeating passive-aggression as she did with Shakesqueer, she’s going to make the top three purely on lack of errors.

#4 Violet Chachki (avg 2, was #1, 1, 1, 1)
The mighty has fallen, but not too far. Violet didn’t really miss the mark this week, but her lack of ability to edit was on display in her routine and in her exchange with Ru. Also, her lack of padding and chest was back again. If she really wants to be the polished, sassy young winner that Adore was not she needs to up the charm factor, and right now she’s up against a trio of total-package queens who are much more self-aware. But, they don’t have the suitcase she does, or the pretty face. It’s going to be a fight to the finish.

#5 Katya (avg 5, was #5, 5, 6, 6)
This should have been Katya’s breakout week, but two things got in the way. First, the punch she packs as a comedy queen can be a little over the top – and that’s a thing that can give Ru some pause. Second, her fashion is getting samey – floor-length glitter dresses with a slit. We need to see some style insanity like her week one runway compared with a performance where she is completely confident, and despite her being a prohibitive fan favorite I’m starting to fear those two stars will never align.

#6 Ms. Fame (avg 7, was #8, 8, 8, 3)
Was Fame’s blip of goofiness this week a sign that she’s going to loosen up? Will she ever not put a useless piece of tape on her brow? Was the chicken story and her crying so hard she was laughing in Untucked the sign that the real her has arrived? There are so many questions about this queen. She might be the personality I’d most like to spend time with (Katya is a little much), and it seems like it’s coming through on the runway, but how is she going to prevent herself from being Courtney Act Part Deux? (Courtney was at least legitimately slap-sticky underneath the beauty). And, when are we going to see her get truly fierce with the competition? She has in her favor that we’ve hit comedy and singing already, and she’ll be a beast in the makeover that always shows up around the 5-6 queen mark. She will just have to survive lip syncing on the week of Snatch Game (because that’s going to happen).

#7 Jaidynn Diore Fierce (avg 9, was #7, 11, 12, 10)
Poor sad Jaidynn. Here’s a queen who prepared most of the skills she would need for the competition and is hugely likeable, but just does not have a suitcase to support her run. Whether it’s lack of budget or lack of taste, she doesn’t have the runway fashion to keep her in the game. And she has another heavy queen and another black queen who are each besting her every move. Yet, she could crack the top five purely on charisma, uniqueness, nerve, talent, and lip sync, even if she keeps on being the Most-Busted Queen.

#8 Pearl (avg 8, was #10, 9, 7, 6)
Is a one week come-to-jesus enough to turn around Pearl’s sinking performance in this competition? TBD. Even if we get the silly Pearl we met tonight over and over again, she’s such a weirdo when it comes to her bustiers and her massively drawn-on boobs. What other challenge is she going to win? How is she going to knock off someone like Katya in a lip sync? I want to root for her, but I’m not sure I’m willing to give up on another queen first.

I was sad to see Kasha go this week, but with an average of nine this was her time.

#9 Kandy Ho (avg 9, was #9, 10, 11, 7)
It’s a crime that this queen didn’t get the cut this week. Unlike Pearl, who has a deep vein of influences but a subtle way of showing it, Kandy is a shallow pool. She hasn’t brought a single memorable thing to this competition yet other than her cube-hair, and she interviewed on Untucked about being “tired” and “over it.”