After Heidi N Closet left the competition in the middle of episode 5, Jessica Wild and Kahanna Monstrese talk about remaining in the competition despite being in the bottom two. Kahanna takes out the lipstick votes from the voting box to reveal that Kahanna received five votes to go home and Jessica only received one vote while Jimbo reveals that she chose Kahanna as well if she had won the lip sync. Kahanna doesn’t seem too upset but actually is optimistic about still being in the competition.
The following scene is a little weird. Jimbo just won her third challenge but goes on about not doing well in another lip sync and feels embarrassed. But she won three challenges so I’m not sure why she would be embarrassed. Trixie Mattel won All Stars 3 and never won a lip sync on that season as well as on season 7. Jimbo proceeds to cry and I’m surprised the queens didn’t eye roll and stop Jimbo from hogging screen time. Also, Jimbo says that Heidi leaving shook her up.
The queens then comment on how surprised they were that Heidi actually left but Kandy Muse does what she does best: makes the moment dramatic. Kandy says she hopes Heidi didn’t plant seeds in peoples heads that are going to grow as the competition moves forward.
Kandy then says she doesn’t have to hide anything. She continues, “If I feel some type of way, I will say it to you right there and then. If I was gonna send you home, I would tell you, bitch, you’re competition. I’m gonna send you home.” Why didn’t Kandy say this when the whole Heidi fiasco was going down earlier that day! Kandy is openly saying to all the queens that she would’ve sent home the biggest competition, Jimbo, even before her third win, especially since Jimbo was already the front runner when the whole Heidi drama took place. Here, Kandy is finally saying to all the queens that if you’re competition, meaning if you’re Jimbo, she’ll send you home. So strange. In Jimbo’s confessional, she says she’s still going to hold up her end of her alliance with Kandy.
Kandy says, again, that what Heidi pulled last week won’t get in her way of the competition. Well Kandy, you are kind of responsible for Heidi leaving the competition because you’re the one who started the “Gang Up on Heidi Association” last week.
The next day in the Werk Room, the queens notice that the pictures of RuPaul that normally cover the walls have been replaced by pictures of Joan Crawford. Ru walks in to announce that this week’s maxi challenge is “Joan! The Unauthoried Rusical.” The queens will play Joan at a different stage in her career and record solos with composer Leland as well as work with director Adam Shankman. Also, Ru announces that the runway category will be “Night of 1,000 Grace Joneses.”
Between all us girls, I know this will be a rude side comment, but now that Heidi is gone, I do not care about this season as much anymore.
Kandy feels triggered because she was eliminated on season 13 and then immediately saved on a rusical episode. The queens then choose their roles. Jaymes Mansfield gets the “Mommie Dearest” role; Lala Ri gets “Let’s Go, Joan” which includes voguing; Jimbo gets “Hag Superstar Joan;” Kahanna gets “MGM Queen;” and Jessica asks who wants the country one because it’s fast and Alexis Michelle decides to take the challenging role.
Kandy and Jessica both want the “No Wire Hangers” role and of course Kandy immediately says she doesn’t have another option. She does have another option, she’s just being a brat. Alexis makes sense for the first time this whole season saying, “What do you mean you don’t have another option? Like, you don’t just get to say, this is mine and I don’t have another option.” The queens then do an audition for the role and they both do a shit job. Somehow Kandy gets the role even though she sounds like a talentless fifth grade bully yell-singing as her lacky’s say you sound good girl. Jessica then says she is happy anyways with the “Bring Me The Ax” role.
The queens then record their solos for the ruscial. They say Jaymes does a great job; Lala Ri also gets good critiques; Kahanna is terrible but at least she knows it; Kandy sounds like Kandy; Jessica can’t pronounce “ax” so she keeps saying “ass;” Jimbo is barely shown doing anything; and Alexis sounds like the ultimate theater kid and does a great job because she has the voice for it.
Afterwards, the queens do choreography with Hairspray director Adam Shankman. Adam is the highlight of this entire choreography scene. He’s the only one truly shining in front of these queens. Kahanna doesn’t do too well; Lala does a fantastic job; Jaymes experiences Adam’s subtle shade; Jessica also does a fantastic job and when Adam asks her if she’s a dancer Jessica responds with “I think;” Alexis is corny; Jimbo dances like a dad; and they show Kandy looking a little shook but Adam is very encouraging.
The next day when the queens get ready for the maxi challenge, Jimbo talks about liking her role in the rusical yet she is a little nervous because she went home on a ruscial episode on UK vs the World. Lala talks about how when she was a kid she’d dance and sing in her mom’s backyard to try to emulate Grace Jones because she was the only dark person that she saw on TV and Grace inspired Lala to think she could be famous one day too.
On the runway, Ru is wearing a light blue dress with gold jewelry on her hips as well as gold necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, and forehead band that makes her look like she came out of Atlantis. With TS Madison and Adam Shankman on the judges panel, the queens lip sync live. Kahanna does well; Jaymes lacks pazazz and is a little lackluster; Kandy’s dancing is good and someone did a lot of editing on her voice; Jessica’s voice and dancing is amazing and very impressive, I thought she did the best in this challenge; Lala’s voguing number is kind of random but she does a great job; Alexis’ county number is even more random; and Jimbo does all right as the hag and almost sounds like a ‘90s synth singer?
The queens then walk the runway in their “Night of 1,000 Grace Joneses” looks:
- Kahanna Monstrese lightly references a Grace Jones look from one of her tours. Kahanna has a red rose-like head piece on, a red and black leotard, and a floor length skirt on her left leg with big red petals over a red sequin fabric.
- Jaymes Mansfield is wearing a recreation of one of Grace’s looks with rhinestone shiny burgundy leggings, fox tail cape that covers her midsection, red boots, and a beige shiny hood.
- Kandy Muse is in one of Grace’s origami looks with uniquely folded red, blue, yellow, and silver pieces of a structured fabric that covers most of the black minidress underneath. She also has a triangle shaped hat with a massive “K” on it.
- Jessica Wild is in a classic Grace Jones look but it’s a little too draggified. She has on a long sleeve purple Alaia inspired dress with shoulder pads and a sort of stitching effect on her right leg, and the short curly black hair underneath the hood is a nice touch.
- Lala Ri does what looks like the only spot on recreation this evening. At first she covers her face with this abstract face on a curved piece of bended white plastic to then reveal her face with bold blush, black sunglasses with red tape covering the corners, a big black bow on the back of her dome headpiece, and a black vinyl kimono-like mindress with black vinyl thigh high boots.
- Alexis Michelle also does a spot on look from Grace’s 1983 Grammys Issey Miyake look with another kimono inspired outfit. She has massive black ribbed fabric shoulder pads that also cover most of her torso, black gloves, a black shawl that’s connected to the black vinyl skirt with a red trim on it, and a caged kasa hat on top.
- Jimbo is in a black, caged, corseted mini dress and sleeves with black hand gloves and a big black sun hat made out of hair.
Alexis and Jimbo are deemed safe as the rest of the queens are critiqued. Kahanna gets good critiques for her dancing and her look but lacked energy in her face; Jaymes also got good critiques but her look was a little loose and the proportions are off; Kandy is praised for her performance and runway look; Jessica also receives overall amazing critiques; and Lala is very well received for everything she did in the challenge but her runway look was a little toned down. Kandy Muse is deemed the winner of this week’s challenge along with a $5,000 cash prize. Jessica and Lala are safe while Kahanna and Jaymes are in the bottom two.
Kandy is in a simple black bodysuit cut so high on the sides that we see her waist. The lip sync assassin is Angeria Paris VanMicheals who is in a neon green bodysuit with pointy hip accents, neon chocker and bracelets, and black vinyl thigh high boots topped off with a massive black afro wig. They lip sync to “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You)” by Grace Jones and this isn’t the best lip sync song but Kandy does a fantastic job while Angeria does a more toned down performance. Kandy Muse wins the lip sync as well as $30,000 and sends home Jaymes Mansfield…who was only in the bottom two once. Clearly Ru was surprised and Jaymes let out a little “Okay” as she exited the main stage.