Episode three starts with the Boulets in the kitchen in the mood for food… and rock! Dracmorda phones a pizza joint ordering a twelve-inch Italian (and all the double entendres which follow). After making a meal out of the delivery boy, the opening sequence plays. Last week shook up the standings, and so the Boulets divide the field of eight into two teams of four, with standout Victoria leading one group, and the faltering Biqtch Puddin leading the other. Each group will create a look paying tribute to shock rock and heavy metal, then perform a song as a group in a one-song concert for the floor show.
The boudoir segment starts off with some highlights and battle scars from the paintball extermination last week. Erika Klash scored a nut shot on Disasterina in their duel, while Biqtch did what many on the cast wanted to do, and hit Monikkie Shame in the mouth in theirs. Dahli has a clear edge to offer her group, given that she was a touring musician (she has gone on record saying she hates talking about those times, so out of respect, I will leave her previous act out of this review, but hey, there’s Google). In a shocker, Dahli talks about her HIV status and how it brought the end of her touring life, which was already hellish to begin with.
Erika and Biqtch have a bit of a tiff, but they find a common enemy in Kendra Onixxx when she calls the two of them “look queens.” In a pot, meet kettle moment, Kendra is gluing rhinestones onto her outfit as she makes this accusation, so take her words with a grain of salt, I suppose. Meanwhile, Disasterina acknowledges her outside looking in status when it comes to drag, being that she is a more seasoned performer who wishes not to get tied up in all the gaga. Her father would not have understood her art, were he still alive, and her mother is in a nursing home and on the decline. The low moment turns right back around when Disasterina suggests that the cast just fuck backstage and then go out and perform, in true rock and roll fashion, and this is almost a good idea, until it comes out that Erika is the only bottom of the group.
The floor show features Magnus Hastings, the legendary photographer of drag performers the world over, and Michael Schmidt, the creator of New York’s Squeezebox, as guest judges. The runway portion of the challenge starts off with Biqtch’s 80s rock goddess, with a slight steampunk edge and all sorts of glamour. Disasterina is a metal demon with horns and hooch, and it’s excess personified. Dahli has a punk rock edge with spikes and a mohawk, a far cry from her time in [BAND NAME REDACTED]. Kendra has a spider queen moment, and it doesn’t read rock and roll, but it looks cool nevertheless. Erika has a cutesy harajuku look that looks like BABYMETAL meets New Years’ Day’s Ash Costello. Abhora is walking on stilts with a pinstripe black and white look that is visually striking. Victoria goes for a Marilyn Manson moment with an androgynous, almost genderfuck look. James Majesty has a wicked hairpiece and a chainsawed disco ball, and I’m here for it.
Both band performances are to the song “Pissed Away” by Suckerpunch. Band one is THE FAKE, made up of Victoria Elizabeth Black, James Majesty, Abhora, and Kendra Onixxx. The act feels less of a band and more of four stars trying to come together, but ultimately all trying to outshine one another. Abhora’s stilt stunt, where the rest of the band enters the stage through her would-be circus tent was a nice starter, but when Abhora stayed on stilts, it brought all of the attention to her, and took away from the act as a whole. The rock and roll moments, including Kendra taking a subwoofer to the head and James’ fake tongue being ripped out, were fun gimmicks, but it didn’t save the performance at large.
The second act, PMS, is made up of Biqtch Puddin, Disasterina, Erika Klash, and Dahli. The neon yellow motif works on so many levels, not the least of which being that the song is called “Pissed Away.” The lyrics during the chorus displayed on the big board behind the band works on a showmanship level, and made the act feel more like one you would buy a ticket to go see. It added that feeling of being at an actual concert, and that added to the act overall. Partway through, the band starts trading instruments, almost like Iron Maiden did on “Top of the Pops” back in the day, and it adds to the rock and roll allure of the act. It was head and shoulders above the previous act in every sense.
In deliberation, the judges rave for PMS’s performance, and take the piss (sorry, had to) out of THE FAKE. Abhora and Kendra are clocked for their costumes not fitting the theme. Dracmorda calls Victoria’s look 90s mall goth, which is almost as heavy-handed as her coming down on Felony’s club kid shoes from episode one. Dahli and Biqtch were favorites among the judges, with the nod from Biqtch to Pete Burns, the androgynous singer from Dead or Alive, not going unnoticed. Disasterina and Erika are accused of not going all the way, while James is noted as being rather simple in her execution, but that’s not to say it didn’t work.
Judgment comes to the bands, and PMS is given the nod as the clear winner between the two. Biqtch wins for the week with her sexually-charged costume and the aforementioned nod to Pete Burns, though everyone in her band had the chance to shine, without taking away from the sum of the parts. When THE FAKE is called out for their performance, the rest of the band throws Kendra under the bus, accusing her of blowing off practice. Kendra says she wasn’t worried about the performance aspect of the show, and as such didn’t feel like she needed to practice. Amidst the drama, James and Abhora are deemed safe from extermination, meaning Kendra and Victoria will be facing the needle.
The extermination challenge comes in the form of the trashy tattoo. The trashier and weirder, the better. For someone who has never gotten a tattoo before, Victoria handles her session rather well, whereas Kendra is hooting and hollering the whole time. Victoria ends up with “SLUT DRAGULA” on her ass, while Kendra gets the DRAGULA logo on her upper thigh, with something above it. No matter how many times I freeze-framed the video, I could not make out what was above Kendra’s logo tattoo.
Whatever it was wasn’t enough to save her, as she is exterminated via anthrax in a greeting card, left on her car windshield after the gig. Kendra was one of the more polished performers, but her ego and her affinity for stirring the shit brought her down. Seven queens remain, and the next episode threatens to be out of this world.