RPDR Season 9: Episode 3 “Draggily Ever After” Review | Spoiler Alert
Hey queens…or should I say, princesses? Or should I say, sewage goddesses?
On our third episode of the 9th season of Drag Race, the queens are challenged to come up with their own princess franchises complete with homemade garment, storyline and animated sidekick. Honestly, I wasn’t very excited for this challenge just because the theme felt very…for lack of a better word, basic. Not basic as in Ugg boots and Abercrombie zip-ups, but basic as in it should have been a challenge covered in Season 1, not Season 9 if you catch my drift. But either way, it does prove to be challenging for some of the girls to come up with an original princess concepts.
Also, this week the queens take a moment to speak about the tragic Pulse Orlando shooting, a truly horrific and unforgettable incident that shook the LGBT community this past year. And considering Drag Race is filmed in the summertime, it’s likely that this conversation was filmed while the incident was extremely recent. Some of the queens have a history with Pulse or personally know people directly affected by the attack. This segment gives us a better understanding of the queens as individuals and showcases the bond in the community that keeps everyone going at the most trying times. (More details below of the queens’ individual Pulse stories)
On a side note, check out the judges above. Ru looking like a good witch, Michelle looking like she’s about to murder us to become fairest of them all, Carson Kressley and Todrick Hall in the outfits they wear to the grocery store I’m sure, and Cheyenne Jackson looking like a gorgeous prince charming who doesn’t want to be there. Ok, NOW let’s get to judging.
Aja
The Look
Honestly, I’m not sure why the judges hated on this so much. I can guarantee that if a comedy queen (like an Alaska type) came up with this concept, they would have had more of an open mind. Sure someone like Alaska would have it funnier in execution, but I thought her being so harshly critiqued was a bit ridiculous. I mean look at that outfit. It at least looks like something you’d buy from a costume store. I actually like the concept of those pants. Was it great? No. Was the makeup awful? Yes. However, I have seen people get away with absolute fashion murder, so I don’t get ALL the hate. BOOT though.
Let’s Get Personal
This week on Untucked, we get our first temper tantrum of the season. Aja randomly got on Valentina’s case about how much the judges love every single thing she does. While I do agree that Valentina has the personality and looks to get away with anything on this show (and believe me, I’ve worked with people who get only praise and never are held accountable for their downfalls because they’re charismatic) but complaining or calling out Valentina is not the way to go. At the end of the day, she is playing the game, (just like people I’ve met in real life) and it’s working for her. You cannot blame her. And you only strengthen someone like that by letting her know she threatens you. If you think someone is getting away with too much, you do what Trinity did and beat her at her own game of pleasing the judges (or the boss) instead of pumping up her wig by looking bitter.
The Lipsync
This is one of the best Lip Syncs we have seen in awhile. In the last few seasons of Drag Race, we haven’t had a ton of game-changing lipsyncs. In fact the only gag I recall from Season 8 was Chi Chi in “And I Am Telling You.” So it’s good to see such a passionate lipsync performance. And not just to any song, but to the classic “I Need a Hero.” Especially with the fact that when every drag fanatic thinks of that song, they think of Tandi Iman Dupree’s iconic 2001 Miss Gay Black America performance and have a hard time accepting other lip-sync renditions. But Aja did a great job and made the performance her own. I have seen her perform live in Manhattan at The Ritz before, and I remember her really casting a spell on the entire audience. So this did not surprise me. But I hope that she steps up her game in the future, because I do like her and I do want her to succeed. Although, even if she does end up in the bottom two, at least we can enjoy some good lip-syncs. Just hope she doesn’t ride the lip-syncs to the top a la Coco and Darienne.
Alexis Michelle
The Look
I expected a bit more from Alexis, like a more dramatic or ambitious dress design, but at least it was polished. This sidekick was a great idea in my opinion, as it stood out from the others in how modern and douchey it was. And the idea of having a douchey sea eel and a hashtag-loving princess was very appropriate. Just not sure how the underwater theme fits. TOOT
Charlie Hides
The Look
I liked this dress. She definitely looked like royalty and definitely looks like she tells people what to do on a daily. Fun Fact: Charlie brought a ton of those stars floating above her head to the competition, and loaned some to Peppermint for her Statue of Liberty costume during the first week. Kind of wish she either had not loaned them to Peppermint or not used them now. Not good to have the same accessories as others on a runway like this. But good for her for being generous. That’s our Charlie. And I liked this sidekick. Knowing both the princess and sidekick would both be human, Charlie made them far in age from each other, therefore creating separate identities of two human characters played by the same person. TOOT
Cynthia Lee Fontaine
The Look
Girl, if you’re going to be cucu princess, you better show off that booty. We all know Cynthia has a gorgeous pumped plump booty that she’s spent a lot of money on… So why she didn’t construct a garment that better showed it off, when her princess’ theme was that she was a big booty Judy, I’ll never understand. BOOT(y)
Let’s Get Personal
This week, we learn that Cynthia was originally scheduled to perform at Pulse Night Club on the night of the attack, being rescheduled last minute. And that a friend of hers who mistakenly showed up to the club to see her was killed that night. But even through an event like this and liver cancer, Cynthia is such a graceful and grateful individual who is great to have on television. She’s a good example of someone we can all learn from and challenge ourselves to be more like. And I’m glad she has the chance to showcase her heart to the world again.
Eureka O’Hara
The Look
I think Eureka looks incredible. I love the bug on her face, I love the silhouette, I love the chains hanging off of her and I love the concept of a sewage queen. She could have given me a dirtier look, as sometimes I forgot what the concept was because she looked so beautiful. But overall, this was a total TOOT
Farrah Moan
The Princess
Girl how you gonna come to RuPaul’s Drag Race and not know how to sew?! It’s season 9. But she does look beautiful and at least she had a concept that all went together and was cohesive…Problem is that Disney already came up with this exact princess concept back in the 80s. She looks beautiful, but I’m going to unfortunately have to BOOT my fair Farrah.
Kimora Blac
The Princess
Honestly, Kimora looks damn good here. Her hair fits the challenge great, her outfit is flattering and sexy and even the paper bananas look pretty good. But I see why she was in the bottom. Look at that monkey. With how unenthusiastic she was with having a monkey character and how she mentioned at the end that what she could have done better was learn how to play a monkey, it makes me wonder if these concepts were all chosen for the queens way in advance by producers, or if they all had to fight over pre-conceived sidekick animations. And maybe that’s why some people sewed their own stuffed animal heads like Farrah and Trinity. I wonder. I’m going to give the monkey and her attitude a huge BOOT, but I have to give this outfit a TOOT. She looks hot and matches her concept of the challenge well enough.
Nina Bo’Nina Brown
The Princess
How many space queens are we going to have to see on this show?! I have been over the outer space platinum bodysuits since Season 3. And yeah Nina could never have known last summer what incredible outer space looks Detox and Phi Phi O’Hara were going to bring to the All Stars stage, that we would of course compare her to. But I just thought this was something I’d seen even before then. And since Nina’s skill is in painting and embodying characters, and not necessarily in fashion, I worry her skills won’t be showcased properly on a show like Drag Race where you have a minute and thirty seconds to get ready. I did laugh though at the bouncy boobs on her robot sidekick. But I will have to give this outfit as a whole a BOOT.
Also, check out this shady video I’m in love with where it shows how little camera time Nina got in this episode. Shows you just how little you’re covered if you’re not in the top or bottom. But maybe this means we’ll see much more of her next episode. Sure hope so!
Peppermint
The Princess
I’m surprised that Peppermint got so little screen time (in my opinion) considering she placed high this week. I loved this outfit and thought it was very complete and theatrical. She is so pretty and her makeup and costume really framed her face in a way that made me happy. When she stepped out, she may have been the first queen on the runway, but I remember thinking “Wow. I can already tell it is going to be so hard to top this.” TOOT
Sasha Velour
The Princess
This garment was not well executed; however, the cage on her head and her accessories were. I am just worried that her makeup routine is so limited that she won’t end up diversifying her look enough in this competition. I did like her concept though. I thought she really had a storyline that stood out and was complete, so I wish she had given me a garment to match that. And wish she had really transformed herself into a different person using makeup when it came to the princess…because she did such a great job of it with the troll! The choice to make her sidekick a male in this challenge is brilliant because one can take advantage of the fact that they are biologically men, so they can play up the differences between the two characters. Her characters looked like two completely different people and that was so successful. Just wishing she had given me more with the garment. TOOT for the sidekick and concept, but for the outfit, BOOT.
Shea Coulee
The Princess
She didn’t really look like a princess to me, more like a beautiful woman going to the Oscars. But this was so well constructed and very close to belonging in the Top 3 for me. And her animated fairy looked pretty good. TOOT
Valentina
The Princess
I know I usually do these reviews of the queens in alphabetical order by their first names. But I wanted to end my review on Trinity, so up next is Valentina. Valentina is beautiful as usual, and looks different this week than she has before. What I like about this look is that RuPaul asked her in the workroom if she’s ever thought to – in real life – shave off her boy brows entirely, and that now she has a very subdued brow look in the challenge. Very clever. And while the garment isn’t the most exciting and isn’t really 2nd place material to me, she looked like a gorgeous ice skater, which fit the ice theme. My only problem with it was that even though her sidekick was funny, it also looked like a firefly version of the princess. They didn’t seem like two different characters. But oh, well. I’m going to have to TOOT this regardless.
Trinity Taylor
The Princess
Trinity made me so ridiculously happy this week. My boyfriend Steven and I talk all the time about how she never looks the same as the episode before. It is shocking that she is a pageant queen seeing that she is so open to different looks. In addition to her beauty and polished look, she is willing to give you camp, humor and edge. We have said since the beginning she was one to beat, and she showed that off in this challenge. The accessories in this garment were so stunning and perfect in creating a very original underwater princess look. And again, choosing to make her sidekick male made her unrecognizable and made the two characters so different that you thought they could be two different people. I almost wondered if she got someone else to play the starfish. That’s how convincing it was. This is so perfect and I can’t wait to watch her the rest of this season. TOOT
Let’s Get Personal
During the Pulse discussion, Trinity is asked about her relationship with the venue and how she was affected by the attacks. She explains that being from Orlando, she has in the past won at a Pulse pageant. And that while no one she directly knew was harmed, that she saw the impact of it on the people around her, including a friend of hers whose daughter passed away that night. With All Stars – starring Pulse regular Roxxxy Andrews – having been filmed before the attack, we haven’t had a chance to hear queens talk about this topic on the show until now. And I am grateful to hear the stories. It is such a scary and disheartening thing to hear how one heartless person can greatly affect and instill fear in an entire community of people. But it is important to show on mainstream television (VH1 at that,) the fact that even when they compete with each other or don’t get along, that the community is better when they stick together, and that they will continue to regardless of what the future brings…which we all can only hope, is peace.
Thanks so much for reading. I hope you all enjoyed this review and what I had to say about this episode!
Check out Raja and Raven’s corresponding Fashion Photo RuView episode below to see if these bitches agree or disagree with me. And be sure to Please give me a like on Facebook and subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more of my reviews as the season progresses!
