Are you up to speed with Episode 14 of RPDR Season 13? Let’s recap.

We’re down to the Top 4!

It’s fairly satisfying that this is a really strong Top 4 – they’ve each got distinct personas, talents, and points of view.

The Challenge

As is tradition, this week’s challenge was a performance to a RuPaul track. The track is Lucky.

We didn’t get any of the recording process for the verses that the cast would each be performing, but we did get a brief appearance from Jamal Sims. We really need more Jamal. A lot more Jamal.

The performance was presented as a music video. We didn’t get to see any of the filming process, just the finished product.

It was very Bryan Adams/Melanie C in When You’re Gone, or maybe Leona Lewis in Bleeding Love – a series of rooms that separately showcases the performers.

Everyone seemed to do a fairly solid job, but the way it was edited and produced made it difficult to watch – it felt very fragmented.

Not terrible, but I can’t see it becoming one of the iconic performances that will be referenced in years to come.

The Runway

This week’s category was Drag Excellence.

This is what we expect to finish a season on – it’s Best Drag or Eleganza Extravaganza. A big, show-stopping runway moment.

• Gottmik: This was an interesting look from Gottmik. Polka Dot dalmation diva. It was a good concept, executed with the kind of attention to detail that we’ve come to expect from Gottmik. It seemed a bit of an odd choice for this week.
• Kandy: Kandy didn’t go gown, she went 60s – flirty and fun. She looked great – it’s one of Kandy’s better runway looks. It didn’t really give me what I was looking for from Drag Excellence.
• Rosé: Rosé gave us Merida from Brave. This was good from Rosé, although I would have liked a bit more punch from it. The hair felt a bit flat on top, and the tartan doesn’t really translate on camera. I
• Symone: A royal purple gown – check. Statement sleeves bringing the drama and the fashion – check. Jewel-encrusted cornrows that anchor the look into Symone’s cultural identity – check. Skin glistening for the gods – check. Symone nailed the assignment.

The Critiques

It was just family on the panel this week – RuPaul, Michelle, Ross, and Carson.

At this point of the competition, there’s not a lot of critiquing, it’s mainly just a lot of affirmations and talking to photos of yourself.

The Lip-sync

Not unexpectedly, everyone was asked to lip-sync. We’ve seen how messy it can get with four queens all lip-syncing on stage, so this time the producers opted to have each queen lip-sync individually and then mash all the performances together in the edit.

The track was Whitney’s I Learned from the Best – the HQ2 Radio Mix.

You can see why this seemed like a sensible direction, but after the fragmentation of the Lucky music video, this was very much more of the same – and equally as unsatisfying.

Although they’re all doing the same track, because your’e chopping the edit across four different performances you don’t get a sense of what anyone is doing or how they’re connecting to the song. It’s really unsatisfying.

It’s hard to please everyone with this kind of show, but I would happily watch four full lip-sync performances. I could do with less talking, less pseudo-psychoanalysis and more of actual drag queens giving us drag excellence.

Anyway.

At the end of the day, there’s no last minute twists. We’ve still got a Top 4 and everyone moves on to the grand finale.

What happens next?

Next week, we get a Reunion episode.

I can’t seem to find confirmation of this anywhere, but we’re assuming that they’ve also filmed a studio finale, but the format of that seems to be a bit of a mystery.

We can assume that they’ve filmed all possible outcomes and will edit depending on who’s been decided as the winner.

It’s hard to believe, but the never-ending season does seem to finally be coming to an end!

#TeamSymone

The cast

Symone

Home town: Conway (it’s in Arkansas).

USP: She’s a fashion queen.

Current Ranking: Symone really has been the frontrunner since the beginning. There’s been some roller-coaster moments, but she seems to have what it takes. Symone is my pick to take the crown.

Gottmik

Home town: Los Angeles

USP: Transmasc makeup artist.

Current Ranking: Serving looks from the beginning, but as the series has progressed, Gottmik also seems to have found her confidence on stage. As the weeks have gone by, it’s made total sense for Gottmik to be in the Top 4. The acting challenge? No problem. The runway – she came prepared. Realistically, I think that Gottmik is the only possible alternative to Symone as winner. From a representation point of view, it would be huge and it would be a bit of a redemption moment for RuPaul – given his questionable track-record on Trans contestants.

Rosé

Home town: New York City

USP: She’s a singer.

Current Ranking: Rosé has been Team Talent from the beginning, and she’s high-kicked her way into the Top 4 with an acting challenge win. Rosé has everything that you need to win this competition, but my sense is that this isn’t her time and we’ll be seeing her again in All Stars.

Kandy Muse

Home town: New York City

USP: She’s Dominican.

Current Ranking: Personality with a capital P. It’s really just been a question of how far Kandy could get on her personality. The answer – Top 4, bitches!

Olivia Lux

Home town: New York City

USP: Pageant glamour.

Current Ranking: The camera loves Olivia. She doesn’t have the biggest personality, but she’s gorgeous and she can sing. Olivia made it to Episode 13, Top 5. Eliminated by Kandy in the lip-sync.

Utica

Home town: Minneapolis

USP: She’s wacky.

Current Ranking: Goofy. The personality served her well – she made it to Episode 12, eliminated by Symone.

Tina Burner

Home town: New York City

USP: She’s a comedy queen.

Current Ranking: Coming into this series, Tina seemed like one of the frontrunners – but there seemed to be something about the format of the show that didn’t enable Tina to really shine. Eliminated in Week 11 by Utica.

Denali

Home town: Chicago.

USP: Ice-skating acrobat.

Current Ranking: Denali had a bit of a rocky start but managed to really showcase some of her strengths. Denali made it to Week 10, eliminated by Olivia in the lip-sync.

Elliott with 2 Ts

Home town: Las Vegas

USP: Professional dancer.

Current Ranking: Solid work from Elliott. She’s shown us she can dance and perform. Elliott made it to Week 9, eliminated by Utica in the lip-sync.

LaLa Ri

Home town: Atlanta

USP: She’s an entertainer.

Current Ranking: LaLa Ri gave us great TV and the full LaLa Ri experience. Eliminated in Week 7, losing the lip-sync to Elliott.

Tamisha Iman

Home town: Atlanta.

USP: Old-school drag.

Current Ranking: You want a role-model? You want an inspirational queen? You don’t need to look any further than Tamisha Iman. Eliminated in Week 6 (losing a lip sync to Kandy) but Tamisha got what she came for.

Joey Jay

Home town: Phoenix

USP: Professional dancer who doesn’t wear wigs.

Current Ranking: Eliminated in Episode 5, lost the lip-sync to LaLa Ri.

Kahmora Hall

Home town: Chicago

USP: Drag excellence.

Current Ranking: Gorgeous, but not a performer. Eliminated in week 4 – lost the lip-sync to Denali. Kahmora is officially the Pork Chop of the season.

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