The first queen to walk into the Werk Room is Q from Kansas City and she’s wearing a whole lot of green. She has on a green and black rhinestone wavy print corset, neck piece, and shoes in the same pattern, green glitter panty and bra, and a shawl with two tones of lighter and darker green as well as a chain purse with a little cartoon frog on it. I think she looks so much like Björk with her space buns, and I love it. She’s known for her fashion and everything is made by Q herself.
Xunami Muse walks in saying “Yerrr!” bringing New York City in the house. She’s wearing a Cinderella-blue satin bodice with massive, puffed sleeves that drag on the ground and underneath she’s wearing a silver glitter catsuit and her makeup looks great. Kandy Muse is her drag mom and Xunami describes herself as more gracious than Kandy. She originally came from Panama and she’s a model signed to an agency in NYC. She then says she hopes to not see TikTokers because they can’t perform and she adds that she’s a mix of Beyoncé and Celia Cruz.
Next is Amanda Tori Meating from Los Angeles in a cropped blazer and mini skirt in a triangle patterned shiny blue fabric. The blazers lapel is neon green matching her shoes and she’s wearing blue mesh gloves with green nails on them. Her breast plate is front and center, but it wrinkles on the neck which looks bad and her makeup is all right. In her interview box she says she’s that girl who thinks she’s getting in trouble at work but then gets a big fat promotion as she jokingly wipes her lip. Q thinks her drag is interesting. When Amanda says she does good drag Xunami jokingly says “You sure?” But Amanda jokingly responds saying that Xunami won’t be in the competition for long.
Next is Morphine Love Dion in a pink bolero and bra with ruffles bordered with red, she’s also wearing a red shirt, and a stamped mug. She says she’s the absolute pera and she’s from Miami. She got a BBL on her ass and apparently Xunami and Morphine are good friends. She dances, she’s a mug queen and she reads Amanda immediately saying “I love the double A cups,” then in her confessional she comments on the visible neckline of the breastplate but then says she doesn’t judge but judges anyway.
The next queen starts laughing and then moans like a ghost before even entering the Werk Room until Sapphira Cristál comes in saying she thinks this place is haunted. She is wearing an Alexander McQueen inspired sapphire blue corset, bodice, and top entirely covered in feathers with jutted out exaggerated hips and shoulders. She’s also wearing crocodile print blue thigh high boots and forearm pieces and her mug is stamped. Sapphira is from Philadelphia, PA and believes bigger is better. You can tell she’s a professional even from her confessional look in a sapphire blue blazer and brimmed hat and a canary yellow turtleneck. She’s sings jazz, opera, and R&B and she can basically do anything, and I believe it and so does Xunami Muse who says she’s going to be competition.
Next up is Mirage from Las Vegas, NV and she looks as if the 2000’s exploded on her in a colorful chaotic look that I love. She’s wearing a yellow to blue to pink gradient mini dress with pink flames on the bottom, a mini bolero in hot pink and what looks like black and white eyes on them. She also has on yellow mesh long sleeves, her wrists are covered in bracelets that she made (when she said “Thanks, I made them” it was so adorable), blue glovelettes, one thigh high stocking in purple with pink and yellow ribboning and the other leg is pink with blue ribboning. She has on simple stripper pleasers, and a black and white bag and her hair has colorful clips in them and she kind of has messy space buns. It’s so much to look at but I love it. She says her drag is as if a stripper shops at Claire’s. Perfection. She tells Morphine and Xunami that she follows them and she seems a little shy and awkward, but her adorableness overshadows any of that.
Up next is Dawn from Brooklyn, NY who says, “Rise and shine motherfuckers, it’s Dawn.” She is wearing a brown leather corset with white ruffles under the corset, a little black fabric as a bra or is that shapewear?, ruffles around her neck as well, a full body catsuit under everything in a crimson, burgundy red with white lines bordering her shoulders and the front of her legs. She also has on a big quaffed in the front and big, curly hair in the back wig with a bow matching the catsuit. I deeply love this look, it’s so cool and unique and her makeup! Her eyes and lips are huge with this massive amount of blush on her nose, and she looks like if an elf combined with some fantastical animal. She calls herself the ethereal elf goddess of Brooklyn and that’s correct. She then says, “I feel so pussy!” She says she makes her looks and wigs and she recognizes Q. Her confessional look is also awesome in a ‘90s dad sweater with overalls and a key as her earring on her left ear. So cool.
RuPaul walks into the Werk Room in a train conductor look. That was a choice. Ru announces that the winner of this season will get a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills makeup and $200,000. For their first mini challenge they’ll be doing a photoshoot where the queens must go on Ru’s porch to pose. Dawn knows it’s not just going to be a simple photoshoot and that Ru has something up her sleeve. This is a Ring sponsorship as the queens have to go up to a Ring camera and talk to Ru through that device. Strange.
First up is Amanda who seems confused at first because there’s nothing there but a set of a front porch and lawn. Then Ru starts talking through the Ring camera and views the queens behind the door through what looks like an iPad. What a stupid sponsorship. She poses and is quite funny and campy and tries being sexy. Then Love Connie shows up saying she’s making a citizen’s arrest, random but okay. Q is next and easily looks good because of her outfit but she’s still funny. Xunami is also shocked and to no surprise she poses very well. Dawn is up next and already knows the assignment with an awkward walk to the door and asking if Ru wants vegan bacon and that animals should have the right to vote but shouldn’t vote for RuPaul. Ru is basically cracking up the whole time and Dawn chases Connie. Morphine is naturally able to pose her nails and BBL ass. Mirage is a little awkward about this and was caught off guard but then does well with the hula-hoop. Sapphiria makes jokes about the lighting and easily looks amazing.
After the photoshoot and as the queens get out of drag, Sapphiria is probably chosen by producers to say that the queens are attractive out of drag, always funny how someone has to say it every season. Dawn says Amanda has great bone structure, but you can’t really see it with her makeup on. Morphine then asks if there’s a challenge anyone is worried about and Amanda says only for a challenge she knows she would be good at.
Ru enters the Werk Room again to announce that Sapphira won the mini challenge as well as $2,500. Then Ru announces that for this week’s maxi challenge they’ll be paying tribute to MTV’s Spring Break and then shows a short clip of Ru on Spring Break in 1993. But it’s basically just a regular talent show. Xunami is grateful to be a part of this legacy. Then Ru announces the winner of the challenge will not only win $5,000 but also immunity, which we haven’t seen since season 5. Ru also adds that he won’t be judging but the queens will be using Rate-A-Queen to rate each other.
The next day the queens try to figure out how they will be voting or rating and Sapphira says “Good is good” which I love the simple yet direct response. Then Sapphira asks who’s been to the doctor and Amanda says she’s got Botox and Morphine asks “Where?” and in her confessional Morphine says the wrinkles are still there and Amanda should get her money back. Morphine shares that she’s got a BBL done on her ass, but Sapphira has a naturally larger booty and twerks next to Morphine. Randomly, a doorbell rings and none other than Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron walks into the Werk Room in a short black mesh Dior dress and black gloves and booties, and she baked the queens some treats. She’s very engaging and is very comfortable talking to the queens and asking them how they’re doing. Charlize says given the climate in the US and that the energy that’s being put toward the LGBTQ+ community in hopes to make our community not exist comes from a place of fear because they fear the beauty and truth of drag and what the queer communities mean.
After Charlize leaves, Sapphira asks who is from a small town and Q says she grew up in Kansas and that it was worse before coming out because of being asked if she was gay while acting straight at the same time. Morphine then says she had multiple girlfriends to cover up the fact that they’re gay. She then says she’s actually hiding that she does drag from her family even when she lives with her parents. But she wants to be herself and live her life and not worry if her parents catch her anymore.
Ru walks the mainstage in a pink, orange, and yellow gradient tulle dress that shows enough peaks of “body” underneath. Michelle Visage and Carson Kressley are present as well as thee Charlize Theron so let’s get to this talent show. Derrick Barry is hosting the show meaning Britney Spears is hosting the show and this Spring Break theme is still so random.
Morphine is up first lip syncing to “A Palé” by Rosalía initially wearing a long-hooded reveal gown with massively draped sleeves until she rips it off and is wearing a beautiful red stoned gown with two slits exposing both oiled up legs, gold and red beaded fringe on the collar of the dress, and she has a rhinestone tipped finger wave wig in the front and a pony tail in the back. After dancing like a pro and blowing powder to her competitors, she reveals into a nude illusion body suit with red appliques and draped beads and ends her performance slowly dropping into a split while holding her ponytail up.
Next is Amanda Torey Meating in a long sleeve purple and pink bodysuit with pink cat eyes on her breasts, what is supposed to be black whiskers but placed on her belly button area which is also attached to the hot pink ostrich feathers on her hips, a blue lapel, and pink and iridescent shoulder pieces and a chocker. She gives a very high energy performance to her original song, which is about introducing someone to her kitty then she needs to find her kitty and even whips out the big pink furry box which she puts on her head. There are splits and floor work, so the overall performance is okay given the interesting outfit.
Dawn comes out plopped on the floor wearing a zebra print poncho and takes it off to reveal into an entirely ruched pink body suit, a hat, along with her signature elf ears with a bunch of hoop earrings on them. She white girl raps about being strange and slowly reveals into black thigh high boots, a black miniskirt with a gold trim on the top and bottom, her top matches the skirt, and she has on zebra print leggings with huge alien like yet phallic antennas on her head. The Pit Crew grabs her ruched gloves and pull until the sleeves come off revealing into armpit length black gloves, zebra print on her shoulders, and one hand with huge elongated pink fingers.
Q is doing a puppet trick where she stands behind a blacked-out stage and uses her hands as her fictional feet and does a ballet number. She’s wearing a yellow dancer costume with ruffled white tulle on her wrists and skirt, a deep V neck with gold lame underneath, and German-like blond braids with yellow bows on them. The talent is mostly in her face and her hands moving like crazy while she has this tiny torso. It is kind of funny.
Mirage is wearing a black bodysuit with slashes on it to expose neon green underneath, matching glove-sleeves, a neon green belt, neon green fishnet stockings and a neon green and black ponytail. She lip syncs to her own song “She’s Such a Bitch” and twirls, does cartwheels, heel clacks on the floor, kicking her legs in the air with her back on the floor. This is what you want to see at a drag show.
Xunami Muse is next and she is lip syncing to an original song of hers. She is wearing a dark maroon catsuit with a cage-like square cut out above her midsection and straps on her chest that kind of give Versace, I guess. She’s also wearing gloves with a great straight black wig. Her performance kind of starts off strong and she can dance, but when performing to your own song, you need to do more than pose and walk. At least Ru was dancing a little.
Sapphira Cristál finishes the talent show wearing a beautiful metallic purple-pink opera gown with draped sleeves and the fabric is gathering all over the floor. She also has a massive gold drag necklace and earrings on, her face is beat and her blonde hair looks great. She sings opera live to a rather suggestive song called “O mio babbino caro” and makes it about yearning for sex. She even does a slow split while hitting a long note. Ru asks why she was pointing at her when singing, “My beloved father,” and Sapphira says, “You know why,” and leaves Ru cracking up.
Finally, after all of that is the runway and the category is “RuVeal Yourself.”
- Up first is Morphine Love Dion wearing a towel wrapped around her body and as well as a turban along with some sunglasses, earrings, and cha-cha heels. She takes the end of the towel and throws it on the floor and twirls until revealing into a blue bathing suit with white and red flowers on it with an asymmetrical strap on her left shoulder, and she takes off the turban to expose a long straight beach blond wig with a yellow flower in her hair.
- Dawn comes out as a drag yeti, with a white fur mermaid gown with huge baggy sleeves and a head structure with eyes and fake teeth with red glass bead fringe dangling from them to imitate blood. She then takes off the head, which is just a hood, and let’s go of her sleeves for them to drop to the floor. Underneath she’s wearing an interesting catsuit with a black midsection that morphs into a thong print moment and the legs are just pants and she has on a purple poodle wig.
- Amanda Torey Meating comes out and does a twirl and her wig flies off. On a second try, she’s wearing a very Leigh Bowery inspired look with a full body catsuit covering her face in this uncomfortable fabric. The fabric is painted so it looks like she’s wearing makeup and below there is a strange doll-like dress with an orange, pink, and yellow flower print and a pink gingham ruffle on the neck and shoulders and bottom. She then throws off the wig and unzips the skin suit at the top of her head to expose this alien look. Her face is painted purple and she has a flat green short wig on, tentacles coming out of her hips, three breasts on a shiny purple body with blotches of green and blue, well except her forearms and most of her legs are still in the skin suit color. It’s a cool look and idea, the execution just could have been better.
- Xunami Muse is in a gorgeous short, red sequin trench coat with what looks like a red fuzzy turtleneck underneath. At the end of the runway the coat comes off from the back to expose a short all red dancer look with a skirt covered in ostrich feathers and the top fits well with stones on her breasts. Then this comes off into a tight, red leathery dress that makes her look like a dominatrix with a small bit of ribboning on her ass.
- Q comes out in a massive black sequined gown that pools on the floor. On the top there are four feather structures coming out of her, two in the front and two in the back, that reach almost as high as the feathers on her headpiece that add so much depth to this look. She also has on a black fishnet fabric on her shoulders and shiny black gloves, which is a great way to show detail with the color black by creating depth with textures. At the end of the runway, she lifts the sides of her dress to expose butterfly wings underneath with abstract shapes in all kinds of colors and these colors clash with the black beautifully. She then detaches the cape to reveal a bodysuit with lace and fishnets on her legs and a patent leather panty. Gorgeous.
- Mirage is in a cornucopia. She’s wearing a feather structure surrounding her top half with a row of orange ostrich feathers on top and blue ostrich feathers on the bottom along with a simple blue skirt with a giant slit on her left hip. She then moves the structure to use it as a skirt and the top is now a breast plate with blue sleeves. Then the skirt comes off along with the cone structure and she wears it on her right shoulder and has on a pink nude bodysuit underneath.
- Sapphira Cristál is in another opera gown but in a rich sapphire blue with a beautiful blonde wig that reminds me of Ru’s gold look from season 7 episode 5. She takes off the gown to reveal a purple body suit with a blue collar and still has long drapey fabric dragging behind her. She then takes that off to reveal into a leotard with white in the center, purple in the middle, and blue on the sides, and then the breast cover comes off to reveal a tiny breast plate with showgirl pasties.
Ru tells the queens that the judges and her will be giving critiques, but the queens will be rating each other. Morphine gets good feedback for her charisma in her talent number and the towel look but the bathing suit was a little simple; Dawn also gets great critiques for being weird and very Brooklyn and Carson says she gives Lucille Ball energy and is really entertaining; for Amanda, the reveal was crazy cool but the makeup needs help by bringing the eyes outward instead of inwards and the wig was too small but her talent number was smart, energetic, and comedic and Ru said it was like she was busting out of her body; Xunami’s critiques focused on her performance starting as high energy then falling flat and her reveals were cute and Charlize says she has an amazing walk; the judges loved Q’s talent show because it was hilarious and Charlize was gagged that Q made the whole look and Q even gets emotional getting this praise; the judges liked Mirage’s reveals and they liked her talent number but I disagree with Michelle’s critique that she needs to be weary of getting messy; and Sapphira is praised for two of her three looks yet the boobs were small and they loved the talent number.
During the Rate-A-Queen, most queens vote for Sapphira and Q in first place while Amanda and Xunami were voted a couple of times for being in the bottom.
Ru reveals that no one is going home this episode and Sapphira and Q are the top two queens of the week, and they have to lip sync for the win to Beyonce’s “Break My Soul.” The winner will also get immunity. Q cannot dance really whatsoever, she starts out very loud but isn’t really dancing well, while Sapphira paces the performance by getting increasingly more energetic. The highlight of the lip sync is when Sapphira does a split and bounces on the ground and her breast plate bounces up and down on the ground and almost slaps her in the face. Sapphira is deemed the winner of this week’s challenge and wins $5,000 as well as immunity.