Following an homage to Plan 9 From Outer Space, the show starts with the surviving queens gathering onstage. Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of drama or shade in this segment, but Victoria’s full alien prosthesis is a thing of beauty, and further shows her skills as a craftsman and makeup artist.
The Boulets deliver the challenge, which threatens to boldly go where no challenge has ever gone before. Each queen will have to create a science fiction look for the runway walk. In addition, they will have to create and deliver an alien spawn based on their character. No eggs here, either, as these will be live births, complete with a UFO delivery room. Given the state of the competition, as well as the prize package from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics which is at stake this time around, the scrutiny and nitpicking over details is only getting stronger from here on out.
In the boudoir, much to the surprise of no one, James Majesty is stirring the shit pot as only she can. When James bumps Dahli’s shoulder, she freaks out on James, which is not something we’re used to seeing from Dahli. When Biqtch Puddin talks about her challenge-winning look from last week, James calls it cheap, to which Biqtch has the perfect reply: “It was glam rock! What was supposed to be expensive?” It seems as though James is picking up the shit-talking slack in the wake of Kendra’s elimination. Add to this the further accusations by James of something going on between Dahli and Victoria, and James is the very definition of this season’s problematic fave.
Erika is asked to play mediator between Biqtch and Abhora, and it is the latter who comes clean about her transgressions. To make a long story short, Abhora’s boyfriend has landed in some trouble as of late, and while Abhora is separated from him, she feels guilty leaving him to handle things on his own. As such, she has had these events eating away at her, and it affected her already strained relationship with Biqtch. Abhora apologizes, and it seems as though the major feud of season two has come to a close.
The floor show sees Heklina (Mother) and Alaska Thunderfuck ("RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars" Season 2 champion) joining the Boulets at the judges’ table. Dahli walks the runway first looking blinged out and bedazzled, while still looking otherworldly. Abhora literally lays an egg in her chicken creature get-up that still has me questioning it as I write this very review. Erika brings a metalloid alien creature with her own set of dialogue. Biqtch’s space mom was kooky and captivating. Disasterina had a mouthful about her character who was searching for essence, in the Dr. Strangelove sort of manner. James kicks the sexuality into hyperdrive with her disc drive orifice comedy act. Victoria’s look, still using that alien mask, reminds me of a color swapped version of the Sectoids from the XCOM franchise, and I was here for it.
The birthing scenes get a Star Wars crawling narration introduction before the madness ensues. James uses binary code in her act to great comedic effect. Dahli goes full on banshee scream queen. Abhora is… just what the fuck. That’s about all I can say there. Victoria has a wicked alien tongue, and her devouring of her newborn is a truly horrific image in an already visceral challenge. Erika makes a video game reference, because well, who would Erika Klash be without that? Disasterina wasn’t good, wasn’t bad, she was just weird and uncanny. Biqtch went full camp with her performance, carrying out the space mom narrative to its fullest potential.
In deliberation, Abhora and Dahli are clocked for being behind the curve. Abhora’s concept wasn’t up to snuff with everyone else’s, while Dahli was pretty and not much else. James and Erika had great character work, though Erika needs to tap into the darker side of her work if she’s going to win the title of Dragula. Biqtch may have had a pretty, high femme character, but the character herself was ugly and disgusting, and it worked on that front. Victoria’s presentation shocked Heklina, glowing stomach and all, and while her character wasn’t as drag as it maybe should have been for a drag competition, it was still a sight to see. Disasterina, unfortunately, failed to edit her act down as she’s been asked previously.
When brought in front of the judges, Disasterina is deemed safe, though she is reminded that she needs to reel it in a bit with her act and her myriad ideas. For the lack of drag styling in her work, Victoria is deemed safe as well. Biqtch ranked high among the pack, but the win ultimately goes to James Majesty and her sexually-charged performance. She kept it on brand, while executing the directive to the highest order.
The bottom three for the week are Abhora, Erika, and Dahli, and they get to enjoy a three-course meal full of weird cuisine for this week’s extermination challenge. The first course is live squid, which Erika gags on almost immediately. Abhora goes in on it, while Dahli goes for the knife and fork approach that had me utterly confused. Course two is a pig’s feet and anchovy milkshake, which goes by mostly without a hitch. The main event is a mystery meatloaf with a spicy heat to it. Erika has a hard time keeping much of anything down, but Dahli doesn’t seem to be touching much of her plate by this point.
This lack of appetite costs Dahli dearly, as she is killed off with a whack! of a frying pan before being stuffed head first into an oven. It was a shame to see Dahli go, especially as her performance in the challenge was one of my favorites of the group. The show must go on, though, and the remaining six queens will soon find themselves as stars in their own slashers.