This is a recap of Rupaul’s Drag Race episode 1408. Spoilers below.
There’s a new leader of the pack! We’re about halfway through the season which means our resident villain, Daya Betty, is thriving. We’re fourteen seasons in and the Drag Race arc is hitting its beats.
One queen who is none too impressed is now out trans woman Jasmine Kennedie. She thinks Lady Camden deserved her win, but Daya did not deserve to share the top spot. On the more serious side, she’s also worried about her dad’s reaction to her coming out.
It’s a new day in the workroom and the competition is heating up! Tensions have been high which means it’s a perfect time to open The Library. I thought the queens were really funny! Most of the jokes are good-natured, except Jasmine says Daya should be a Gemini because she’s two-faced. Come on, Jasmine, study your astrology — of course the most emotional queen is a water sign!
Also, if she was a Gemini, she might’ve had sharper jokes — like mini challenge winner, Gemini and love of my life Bosco. Bosco’s jokes include telling Jasmine she puts the bottom in lobotomy and overall she was just having a great time.
The maxi challenge — sponsored by Sweet Tart Ropes! — is a 1960s Girl Group performance. They’re going to split themselves into three teams to perform three songs, each queen writing their own verse. We’ve got the Ru-Nettes, the Shang-Ru-Las, and the Ru-Premes.
Picking the groups is chaos. Everyone but Jasmine wants to be in the Ru-Premes or the Shang-Ru-Las. Someone suggests they do Rock Paper Scissors and Daya flat-out refuses. DeJa gives in and says she’ll do the Ru-Nettes and then Daya insults her during her confessional for playing it safe?? This episode caused me to do a 180 on Daya — or, rather a 90 — I still don’t like her, but she does make for a good villain.
The groups are Daya, Willow, and Bosco (the Shang-Ru-Las); Angeria, Kerri, and Camden (the Ru-Premes,); and Jasmine, DeJa, and Jorgeous (the Ru-Nettes). During the recording, Kerri and Jasmine struggle the most. Jorgeous also is struggling in the sense that she cannot sing, but she at least has a good energy.
DeJa takes on choreographer role for her group, but she’s usually a cheer coach for kids and Jasmine and Jorgeous aren’t exactly responding to her teaching methods. Willow is choreographer for her group — a talent she’d kept secret — revealing to all that she really is a threat. And Lady Camden choreographs for her group, which is forced to be pretty simple because Kerri and Angeria may be all-around talents but, in this case, all-around does not include dancing.
As the queens get ready on elimination day, there’s some chatter about Lady Camden finding solace from bullying in the Spice Girls and her childhood girl friends. Kerri talks about growing up not being allowed to listen to secular music and how she latched onto Destiny’s Child when she heard their music at the mall.
Daya brings up Bosco winning the reading challenge just to ask Jasmine why she called her two-faced. There’s a bit of bickering and it’s fun. #TeamJasmine.
The performances are really good! The Shang-Ru-Las are easily the best. They riff on the bad boy song by describing a truly gross man and it feels very in-line with Bosco and Willow. Daya also does a good job. I will admit that. Better than her groupmates? No. But a good job.
The other two groups are also fun, if a bit less memorable. DeJa is the best in her group, with Jorgeous making the wise choice to talk her lines. And in the other group Angeria is the obvious standout with possibly the best voice in the cast.
Alec Mapa is the guest judge and the runway is Heart On. Willow’s entire outfit is made of thongs with her nipples covered only by pasties. Daya looks like the Disney Channel version of punk. Bosco is in an all-white vampiric look, holding a heart, and when she turns around she reveals her bare ass! DeJa is doing an anime superhero look and Jasmine is inspired by Aphoridite in Hercules — both are meh. Jorgeous looks like a Victoria’s Secret model with heart wings. Angeria is in a 60s mod look with a very silly Sia wig and an even sillier reveal. Lady Camden is dressed as cupid or as someone shot by cupid — unclear. Oh and Kerri Colby is fucking hot. She has an outfit made to look like ventricles and she’s wearing a breastplate over her breasts.
Okay I’m going to need some help parsing out the judging because I know I’m biased. But I felt like The Shang-Ru-Las should’ve won as a team?? And if one person were to be singled out it shouldn’t have been Daya? Am I wrong?? Angeria and DeJa were the best of their groups so I’m okay with their top spots. Jorgeous joins Bosco and Willow as safe. This puts Camden, Kerri, and Jasmine in the bottom.
It’s tough because this cast is so strong. I’m honestly not sure how else this could’ve shaken out. I do think the judging was way too lenient on some runways and way too harsh on others. All three safe queens had better runways than the tops.
Daya wins, rewarding her bad behavior and promising more future drama. Camden is safe, placing Jasmine and Kerri in the bottom. You know I would love to say that RuPaul just couldn’t handle this many trans women in one room, but the truth is these queens probably deserved to be lip syncing. And their messy performances to Toni Braxton’s “UnBreak My Heart” didn’t convince me otherwise.
I love Kerri. If the queens were judged by their confessionals, she’d be the top every week. I’m genuinely so bummed to see her go. And I do think she probably should’ve stayed, even if Jasmine did slightly better in the lip sync. But this cast is just too strong! So it’s goodbye to Kerri Colby — the face that launched a thousand dolls.
Teleport Us to Mars!! Here Are Some Random Thoughts:
+ Before anyone accuses Jasmine of Gemini slander, she’s a Gemini. And Geminis are the best.
+ More trans talk in Untucked! Willow says that she goes between she and they, and that for her gender is tied to medical stuff. She says she’s felt a distance from her body and as she gets older she’s trying to figure things out. It’s so great to hear this discussion of gender and disability! And it’s great to hear someone talk about being in a place where they just aren’t sure about their identity yet.
+ Bosco admits to being a horse girl. Her boyfriend has two horses. I love this for Bosco.
+ When they’re writing their song Daya forgets the word for cruising and she asks for the word for when people walk through the woods. Gay people she clarifies, and Willow says hiking. Lesbian icon Willow Pill.
+ I watched this with Gaby and Mal. Gaby said they did a 180 on Jasmine, and Mal said that’s because someone coming out as trans is like a “save the cat” moment for us which I’m… obsessed with.
+ Mal was also concerned about Bosco’s bare ass being on the Untucked couch, but I don’t know why anyone would mind Bosco’s bare ass being anywhere.
+ And speaking of Bosco and being horny on main, in her note to Kerri, Bosco says that she should come to Seattle to meet her boyfriend. I’m sorry that feels very looking for a unicorn to me !!!!!
+ Queen I’m rooting for: Willow, Bosco, and Angeria
+ Queen I have the biggest crush on: Bosco and Kerri and Bosco’s boyfriend in Seattle
+ Queen I want to sashay: I’m still rooting against Daya I don’t care
