RuPaul's Drag Race: You gotta be on your game!

DILFs: Dad's I'd like to Frock

Last week, a very political challenge exposed the weakness in Dida Ritz (that weakness being her lack of style and boringsauce personality). Sharon Needles won the challenge for her frighteningly accurate portrayal of some recent female political candidates. Also last week, Ru announced that one of the departed queens would be coming back into the competition. It turns out that Michelle and Santino selected the incomprehensible Kenya Michaels to return. This seems like as good a choice as any, because at least she brings a professional look. 

The mini-challenge this week has the girls dragging out some stuffed teddy bears, and it is hilariously weird. Chad Michaels' bear looks a lot like Jiggly Caliente, and Ru even asks if he "may call her Jiggly". It is cute. Sadly, Kenya Michaels wins the challenge, and then says something incoherent. Classic Kenya. Ru brings in some real-life fathers who the girls will be frocking out. Kenya gets to choose which dudes go with which ladies, and the process isn't too exciting. The other part of the challenge is that they also have to give their Dad's baby bumps. It seems like an unnecessary complication, and none of the queens are too excited about it. Another aspect of the challenge is that the pairings will perform a striptease on the stage before they come out in the maternity finest. This episode ask the girls to do a bunch of different things, although that is kind of par for the course.  

Leland and Latrice: Leland is a fun large black man who seems game for the challenge here. He certainly doesn't complain like some of the others. I guess having 6 kids makes a man able to cope with craziness. 

Rick and Kenya: Kenya picks the prettiest man, but as is always the case with those who bring the face, he is a diva. He doesn't like walking in the painful heels, and clearly thinks Kenya is insane. Don't we all?

James and Chad: Chad's daddy doll really wants to be involved with everything to do with the design of the outfits. He rubs Chad the wrong way, but mostly because Chad is such a perfectionist and needs to control everything. 

Mike and Sharon: Sharon has drawn the short straw as it pertains to partners, as Mike is apparently insane. He is also really beefy, and has the "brickest face in the bunch" as Sharon says. He spends the first day in the workroom stroking his fake boobs. He also doesn't seem to be able to grasp even simple choreography, and Sharon is at her wits end with it. In the workroom, Mike strangely picks a fight with Chad and they sort of having a shouting match about it. The next day, Mike says it was all a joke, and meant to manufacture drama, but he just comes of as crazy, again. 

Chris and Phi Phi: We don't see very much of these two in the workroom. It does seem like they are getting along well and that Phi Phi has a plan to make them look like funny pregnant ladies. 

Mainstage

Ms. Ru looks (sigh) fabulous tonight. We are talking a striking red/orange structured dress with huge bow embellishment. She is joined by guest judges Jesse Tyler Ferguson (one of my very favourite guest judges from the last season of So You Think You Can Dance) and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Our standards, Michelle Visage and Santino Rice also join the panel. 

Sharelle and Latrice Royale: The runway look for these two is ok. Latrice is wearing a fun tight dress with a circles print, but Sharelle doesn't look great. Her baby bump is lumpy and her dress isn't very nice. It is a one sleeved number and the sleeve in question is a different fabric than the rest of the dress. 

Gi Gi and Phi Phi O'Hara: I am not in love with how Phi Phi has dressed Gi Gi up. Both of them are in short bubbly dresses in offensive bright pink and teal. Gi Gi is just a really burly dude, too, so that doesn't help. 

Lil' Mama and Kenya Michaels: Kenya and Rick have these weird sad looks on their faces as they work the runway, and it is strange. One of the judges calls them "macabre" which is an apt descriptor. The outfits are also just boring. 

Robin Mansions and Sharon Needles: Sharon does a great job of turning her weird DILF into a Sharoned-up version of himself. The have coordinating eyepatches (notch), and sleek black gowns. Robin's baby bump looks like a huge square, but other than that, the look is solid. 

Lady Samantha and Chad Michaels: Chad's looks are both very polished, as we would expect, but her baby bump is horrible. It is like a body pillow stuffed down her dress…just a huge, long rectangle. Also, the dresses she has chosen are not really pretty either. 

Judging: Phi Phi has a weird dumb breakdown about how she wishes her Dad was more like Chris. It seems pre-planned, as with everything Phi Phi. The judges call Latrice out for not making his Dad look more like a sister. They also didn't like Kenya Michael's weird choice to make their runway so sad. Phi Phi wins the challenge, which is annoying. I really don't like her to win things. Unsurprisingly, Kenya and Latrice are tossed into the bottom two, and will have to lip sync…for their liiiiiiiiiives. They are syncing to "(You Make me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. Home field advantage goes to Ms. Latrice here, and for the second week in a row. She rocks it out while Kenya flies around her (like a tiny moon orbiting the planet Latrice). Kenya's weirdly energetic routine doesn't fit with the song at all, and Latrice easily takes the win. 

Hidden Gems

• Ru did a really funny old lady voice when introducing the challenge. I can't really do it justice here, but it is worth paying attention to. 
  
  
• "I'm working with a DILK. Dad I'd Like to Kill".
  
  
• Ru also had a great interaction with Phi Phi, where he calls her out for just saying "it will be fine, I'll get it done", but then she totally doesn't make it work. Again, I feel like I am not doing it justice here (and I do realize it is my one job). Ru says "You say you are all good, and then it isn't", but he like mumbles the last part there as if it is too shameful to speak of. It is great stuff! 
  
  
• This episode gives us a really great montage of some of our gals explaining to their Dads about tucking. It is a fascinating process, and Kenya Michaels even does some hands-on work with her dad. No wonder he looked so sad on the runway. 
  
  
• I think I have a guess as to why they through the "look pregnant" part onto this episode. In past seasons, when the dragtestants have had to frock out a straight guy, quite often the problem is that they are just too muscly and thick around the middle to make it believable. Perhaps the producers thought that giving the girls the mask of a pregnant belly would help even the playing field? I may be off here, but it just doesn't seem like there is another reason for it. 
  
  
• This week gave us perhaps the most enjoyable judging panel to date. The laughs were often and hearty. A few gems are below.
  
  
• "I'm not seeing the family resemblance. It is more like friends in a Tyler Perry movie"  -JTF
  
  
• Sharon Needles: "Nothing makes a girl feel prettier than standing next to this one over here" (with funny inflection, of course).
  Ru: "Well that's why I hang out with Michelle Visage!"
  
  
• Last word goes to our faithful Peanut Gallery, "You gotta be on your game. You can't come back and make the same mistakes again". 

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