Briar Blush feels faint

It seems like that now. This episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race has it all: beautiful gowns, hideous jumpsuits, fights, crying, fainting, accusations of faking fainting, and Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford singing about boobs. It’s only been four episodes since the season started, and there have already been some notable ups and downs, but here’s hoping things keep going.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two of this season’s best episodes (this one and the premiere) were sewing challenges. There, the producers didn’t interfere with the girls and just let them become drag queens. To be clear, this isn’t a great episode because it’s a complex and uncomfortable challenge. It also appears to have been designed because the producers were worried about the karmic retribution they would face by depriving Vita of her first episode victory. It’s a great episode because the cast is really great and it’s really fun to watch their interactions. Girl group songs were terrible. RDR Live! The script stinks. This challenge is strange. The success of this season rests on the girls, not the twists. If the producers don’t screw up, I think we’ll have a fun rest of the season.

This episode begins with the first legitimately dramatic mirror message session that I can remember. Usually, this show tries to stir up scandal with some clever sound effects, but this week Briar, Mia, and Athena are in for a real fight. As we know, Briar didn’t respect Athena’s boundaries and clashed with South Florida, hoping that Mia would understand their unspoken boundaries regarding their previous relationship. Additionally, Mia thinks Mandy should have stayed in the competition with Briar. Additionally, it turns out Briar has been acting shady towards Athena off-camera, causing a bit of drama between her and her drag girl Juicy.

A lot of the drama this week, especially here, centers on things we didn’t see the first time around. It wasn’t depicted last week that Mia’s joke with Briar was the reason her relationship didn’t work out. Briar tells Mia that the line was crossed off camera. Briar was backstage joking about Juicy and Athena’s relationship. Drag Race is famous for having strict rules about contestants’ whereabouts, and from what I’ve heard they usually put contestants on ice (reality TV parlance for “shut up”) backstage. Obviously, that’s no longer the case. Because this is the second time BTS drama has unfolded between these queens, following Globegate at the premiere.

To be honest, I’m fine with this. Because of their reputation, queens don’t get into serious drama in front of the cameras anymore, but they’re drag queens, so there’s always drama. That doesn’t happen when the camera is on. If a good on-screen storyline requires scandal to be stirred up off-screen, so be it. Make sure the situation is clearly explained.

This week’s challenge begins by having the girls pair up with a friend. They will then play against each other in a “who wears it best” contest. If I remember correctly, this idea was taken from Drag Race UK Season 2, which gave birth to Tia Coffey’s immortal line, “We give you the right dress with clingy material.” It’s a good challenge! It’s messy, but not in the way a top-dressed person would go home, even if they didn’t win over their partner. Plus, as a result, the challenge is shorter (just walking the runway) and they use the extra air time to critique all the girls. I think this is an act of genius. All contestants will be developing their stories with the judges next week.

The sewing challenge asks each girl to combine two randomly chosen red carpet looks. Unfortunately, this was filmed last summer when it still made sense to include Nicki Minaj content on this show. The combination and appearance are as follows.

➼ Briar & Juicy: Lil Nas X’s pink cowboy suit and Rihanna’s Guo Pei Met Gala coat

➼ Discord & Jane: Cher’s Oscar black two-piece and Sarah Paulson’s green Prada spikes

➼ Mike and Nini: J. Lo’s green Versace dress and Nicki Minaj’s leopard print Grammys look (the only outfits I wasn’t familiar with)

➼ Ciara & Kenya: Lady Gaga’s meat dress and Britney Spears’ all-denim dress

➼ Mia and Vita: Boobs dangling from Katy Perry’s Met Gala chandelier and Lil’ Kim’s purple VMA outfit

➼ Darlene and Athena: Kim K.’s Flower Extravaganza and Zendaya’s Mugler Robot

In the workroom, Briar cried to her partner Juicy about the fight and how she felt attacked. This is not surprising. It’s worth noting that there are queens under the age of 29 in the cast, especially since Juicy has Florida girls on its side. The underlying word in all of Briar’s actions is “immaturity.” Otherwise, all of the Werk Room stuff is fun but unimportant. I’m really starting to fall in love with Mia, who knows she can’t beat Vita but tries so hard and never loses her energy. Jane and Discord respect each other. Because they both think they look like queens. Juicy still needs help. Vita revealed that she literally makes replicas of celebrity costumes at home. Seriously, they probably just designed this challenge with her in mind. (That’s fine. She should win.)

On the runway, it’s time to see some showdowns. Juicy and Briar came first. I love Juicy’s outfit. Who would have thought she would be able to do this after a disastrous first week? It has a fun hood and faux fur lining. The judges got a little scolded about the thin fur, but I don’t mind it because it’s difficult to sew. Briar looks really bad. The combination of words “neon yellow bodysuit” makes no sense. Also, if you’re doing a true female fantasy drag with a glamorous face and big hips, ignoring the breasts makes no sense to me. Clothes are proportionally meaningless. I don’t think her head was involved in the game this week.

Next up is Discord and Jane. I don’t like the look of Discord at all. She wears “high fashion” clothing that makes her figure look larger, but sits so low that she looks like, in Lo’s words, “a man in a dress.” It’s not pretty, like her green fur-lined skirt that drapes from her bodice. And his face was too stern. I still walk poorly. Jane definitely looks better, but I’m not totally down with it like the judges are. The length is also odd and the dress has nothing to do with the original look other than the color. What did Auntie Mame think of Cher and Sarah’s looks? And the length is strange. She’s still the frontrunner, but this isn’t my favorite week for her.

Myki and Nini have the hardest time combining two fabrics (leopard and green jungle), making them probably my least favorite looks of the week overall. Maiki’s Hollywood glam ensemble is truly over-accessorized. It’s not horrible, just completely forgettable. This queen needs to step on the gas. Nini’s expression was disappointing for her. The leopard print bodysuit with the green sash is well made, but just…ugly.

Ciara Myst did the best job I’ve ever seen in this contest. She makes a fleshy-looking bodysuit and wears a denim cocktail dress over it, binding her body like a Christmas ham. This is what I was waiting for her. It feels really weird and creepy, but also a departure from the plasticky Halloween aesthetic that has defined her appeal up until now. I’m really into it. Kenya definitely improved on the design look of the first challenge, creating a red and denim mermaid dress, but it wasn’t interesting and didn’t mesh well enough with the meat dress.

The judges love Mia’s plunging dress, but I think that’s fine. She certainly did what she was asked to do, but the random purple fabric that snaked around her dress was ugly. I don’t understand the passion for this. However, the Vita’s exterior is stunningly beautiful. It’s one of the best gowns I’ve seen made at a show. This is better than many queens’ ultimate finale gowns. It’s a wonderful piece of work. It’s a well-deserved victory.

Last but not least are Darlene and Athena. This is the only decision I completely disagree with. Darling’s outfit suits her very well! It helps that she’s 8 feet tall and has a model-like temperament, but she looks stunningly beautiful with the fit of a space-age cowboy. Totally Darlene and very fashionable. The judges are criticizing her shoes, but I think she makes up for it with innovation. Athena’s look is a dress with a cape that I don’t like at all. You see, the name of the game with her is “well-expressed but basic drag,” and that’s never going to light a fire in me. I’ve seen this a billion times, both on and off the show.

During the critique, Briar receives her harshest review yet, and just as Lou is about to declare Juicy the winner over her, she passes out. It was a shocking moment and one I will remember for a long time. A particularly symbolic grace note is the exposure of her crotch hole as she tumbles to the ground. The door opened by Rebecca in ANTM Cycle 4. The girls immediately start guessing whether it’s real or fake. That’s crazy! The Vita has been completely denied as being a fake. The other girls are less keen on doing it in front of the camera, but they seem suspicious. I wasn’t there so I can’t say anything about that. But this speculation is definitely mean (and fun to watch, too).

Jane, Vita and Ciara are declared the top three overall. I think they could have replaced Jane with Juicy or Darlene. Vita, who should have won three weeks ago, won. I’m glad to see her at the top where she should be. The bottom three are Kenya, Discord, and Briar, and the bottom two are Kenya and Briar. Sorry, but I think Discord should be under Briar. Even though it was well made, it didn’t give that look at all. The song is Kylie Minogue’s late song “Lights Camera Action” and it’s…this show is the same as ever. Neither girl has an amazing understanding of the language, but Kenya is about 300 times more interesting. She ends up staying, and Briar is sent home just hours after passing out on the main stage. (Or, as the Vita puts it, you might just get lost in the fun.)

• The girls spend most of their time on Untucked worrying about whether Briar will get permission to come back and if not, who will accidentally replace her in the bottom two. I loved watching them all do the Discord walk. It’s an utter joy. Again, I’m having fun with this cast, and if the show can play to their strengths well, we could be in for a really good season.

• “I don’t want to take this opportunity to fight” is very funny.

• Trauma Makeup Corner: Briar and Mia use this time to repair their relationship by sharing some of their traumas. The tearful talk was good because it was based on the story, but it also felt a little forced. Both stories were highly emotional, but the entire segment feels like it was produced, either by the production, editing, or by the queen herself.

• Predicted top 4: Jane, Juicy, Vita, and Nini are solid. But Nini needs a storyline that pops and is real soon, as the other three front-runners are catching up with her week by week. “Underestimating” only happens when the person underestimating you is Discord.