Commercial Cuties
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 6 — Episode 8 – Results, Recap, Video
After the judging, everyone is very sad to lose their daily requirement of Milk. Adore is congratulated on her first win, and Joslyn gets props for cracking the Top Three. The editors make sure we catch Laganja’s bitchface at Adore’s win.
Note: I’m switching to Dela (instead of Ben) because in her “Ask Dela” youtube, Dela mentioned that Ben is her boy form and Dela is the girl. So, Dela it is.
Anyway, this scene takes great pains to set up the story lines this week. Dela is feeling cocky, and Darienne is sick of her big head. Bianca is delivering tough love to all the new queens, especially Trinity. Laganja and Adore are both sisters and rivals. Courtney finds Joslyn’s adoration awkward and is pissed off that RuPaul scolded her for “resting on pretty.”
I’m pretty sure this is all going to be important later in the episode.
The next day, the queens enter with no annoying catchphrases from Laganja. She makes up for it by wearing a super-annoying sweater.
The She-Mail is full of cosmetic puns, and the mini-challenge involves hand modeling. In support of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program, the queens decorate and apply long fingernails. Then they model various phallic fruits and vegetables. Laganja wins with some sickening black-and-white nails.
Now for the main challenge! RuPaul explains that he’s partnered with Color Evolution to produce a line of make-up: RuPaul’s Glamazon. The queens are going to work in teams of two to create 30-second commercials for the line, each targeted to a different demographic. Laganja’s prize for winning is that her team will get extra time on the set.
RuPaul then pairs up each team. Laganja and Adore are together, so are Dela and Darienne, Bianca and Trinity, and Courtney and Joslyn. Why, those are the very pairs who seem to have created drama between themselves! How bizarre, curious, strange! And what a coincidence!
After some planning time, RuPaul makes the rounds. Dela and Darienne are marketing their commercial towards “cougars.” RuPaul tries to stir the pot by asking Darienne about Dela, but the meanest thing Darienne can come up with is, “Opposites attract.” Dela, not realizing that they are deadly rivals, is just confused.
At team Bianca/Trinity, RuPaul confronts Trinity about her lack of confidence. Which you would think is counter-productive. However, RuPaul strikes a chord when he reminds Trinity how fierce she is lip-synching. He urges her to bring that attitude to other parts of the competition. “Exactly!” exclaims Mama Bianca.
The next thing we see is Laganja and Adore filming their “mean girls” commercial. Laganja admits that Adore really shines, and she just hopes RuPaul will notice that she is special and unique, too. I’m starting to feel a little sympathy for Laganja. Adore is outshining her, effortlessly, and there’s really nothing Laganja can do about that. The harder she tries, the more desperate she seems.
Joslyn and Courtney come prepared with many props for their “hot mamas” commercial. They are less prepared when it’s time for Pit Crew Simon to deliver the “hot package” of Glamazon cosmetics. Courtney, however, interviews that they “nailed it.”
On seeing Darienne and Dela, RuPaul quips that they look like Jennifer Coolidge and Jennifer Tilly. Spot on! It’s hard to figure out what they are doing, but I don’t like what I see. It seems meanspirited and insulting to their potential customers.
Bianca is perfect as a “working girl” CEO. Trinity is a “working girl” hooker. She gets stopped by Michelle because her pronunciation of “car doors” sounds like “condos.” But Bianca cheers her from the sidelines, and Trinity channels her “inner Bianca” to deliver the lines with sass. This commercial looks great. I can’t wait to see it!
Laganja’s new catchphrase is “It’s time to get black and white!” Oh, wait. That’s just the runway theme. Laganja has prepared a black-and-white boy look to wear before she changes into her black-and-white girl look. This is what I mean by trying too hard.
Meanwhile, Courtney has been shading Joslyn hard all episode. I guess “stop resting on pretty” translates in Australian to “be snide toward the person who most admires you.” She even calls Joslyn a “second-rate Courtney Act.”
We get more shade from Darienne towards Dela, and a little scene with Bianca and Trinity, indicating that they are getting along now.
On the runway, RuPaul’s gown this week mimics the colors of her Glamazon package. I always admire RuPaul’s marketing ethic. No product placement is too much! Lainie Kazan and Leah Remini are the guest judges. Lainie is sweet and Leah is loud, but neither of them seems to know what show they are on.
Laganja comes out looking like David Bowie’s offspring. She calls it “Lizard Laganja.” Adore wears a pretty, sparkly cocktail dress. Bianca is a perfect Disney princess mix of Cruella DeVille and Belle. Trinity has the most gorgeous gown, with a black overskirt and domino-patterned underskirt. Dela is an evil queen, as envisioned by Dr. Seuss. Darienne has her usual neckline, but a longer skirt and puffy sleeves. Courtney serves some rainbow trout along with Klaus Nomi realness. And Joslyn (as described by Darienne Lake) is a little “New Year’s baby.” If the New Year’s baby were into fetishism.
As I suspected, Bianca and Trinity’s commercial is hilarious. I would have given them the win. However, it’s Adore and Laganja who triumph, winning skin care products from Lanvin, while Dela and Darienne go to the lip-synch. Michelle makes an especially harsh criticism that Dela is “hiding behind the costume.”
Dela and Darienne lip-synch to “Point of No Return” (Exposé). Darienne seems to be killing in the early part of the song. Dela starts stripping, which is hard, given the gown that she’s in. But she pulls off the gloves and collar and, during an instrumental break, gets down to a black corset. Meanwhile, Darienne shakes her formidable breasts at the judges. It’s at about that time I wonder how they keep their wigs (which are high and, in Dela’s case, rather precarious) on. Then I notice Darienne’s hairline showing, so her wig nearly did slip off.
RuPaul declares Darienne safe. Dela is nearly in tears. She does lose it when RuPaul, after a moment of suspense, declares her safe as well! There is a cheer from the back wall, and both Joslyn and Courtney give Dela big hugs.
Untucked
It’s an odd Untucked, because Trinity isn’t lip-synching. Dela is still in shock from her critique. She interviews that her drag comes from a very personal place, and that Dela is a character she’s grown and protected. It’s hard to hear that Michelle thinks it’s defensive or false.
Bianca tries to translate Michelle’s words for Dela. She says that the judges like what they see, they just want to see more of her. We get a flashback when Michelle reminds Dela that the judges only see what’s on the runway — and so they don’t get to connect with the backstage self, unless it comes through in the challenges and runway.
Laganja sympathizes with Dela, which prompts a series of reaction shots from the others. It is kind of odd. But maybe, in the absence of her own drama, Laganja is attracted to Dela’s like a moth to a flame. Bianca notes that Laganja does the same character shield that Dela does. Laganja responds with a clucking sound and something pointless and annoying in a confessional.
Joslyn has her own drama. The judges didn’t like her outfit, or that it was essentially the same outfit she wore the previous week — just in a different color. She explains that it represents her style. She builds her look by layering things. Courtney agrees with the judges and says Joslyn is not as polished as the other queens. This is a stab in the heart to Joslyn, especially coming from Courtney.
Trinity complains that nobody congratulated her on being safe. Well, look who wants to be the topic of conversation this week! I have to say, Trinity looks amazing. But her runways have always been amazing. Seriously, this queen would have slayed Season Two. On Season Three, she would have been a Heather. Bianca raises a glass to Trinity’s “nasty ass,” and nearly falls off her chair with laughter. She looks so proud.
It’s Big Pink Fuzzy Box time! The video is Alyssa Edwards, looking like a hot librarian. With much clucking and pointing, she advises them to be yourself and be sickening. Drag daughter Laganja keeps raising her gospel hand. Those dance classes Alyssa runs must just be exhausting. What is all the clucking, and “Yes, Gawd”ing and gospel waving that goes on.
Laganja tells how she became Alyssa’s drag daughter. After High School, she asked Alyssa for a job at her dance studio. She was an instant hit, and after two years, she asked Alyssa to help her get started in drag. At first, Alyssa told her she was too talented and amazing to be limited to drag, but finally she agreed.
During this tale, there’s an extraordinary moment where Adore and Courtney just look at each other smile. Maybe it’s because Laganja is being so ridiculous, but it’s very warm and sweet. I wish I knew what they were really smiling about.
Then the queens are separated. One-half of each team goes to a different lounge (presumably so they can dish about each other). Joslyn does dish on Courtney. She realizes that Courtney isn’t the idol she worshipped. She’s mean, arrogant, and complacent.
Adore and Bianca commiserate on how weird Laganja is. Adore keeps saying she’s very different in the competition from the person she knew outside of it. Bianca tells the story about Laganja freaking out after watching her parents’ video. Like everybody else in America, Bianca did the math and realized that Laganja wasn’t waiting twenty-four years to reconcile with her parents. It was two.
Back in the Silver Lounge, Laganja does an impromptu product placement for Glamazon, by RuPaul. They all spray the perfume on for protection against critiques.
Then Trinity, of all people, starts giving pep talks. She tells Joslyn not to let Courtney wear her down, but to be herself. She tells Dela to stay positive and bubbly. “Don’t let them crack you.” We don’t see her pep talk to Laganja, so I’m going to assume she tells her she’s sickening and doesn’t need to be such a psycho all the time to stand out.
Episode 7
Episode 7 Untucked