Carrying through with the humor of some of the cold opens this season, this episode kicks off with a workout video homage, Boulet Brothers style! It’s a campy opener with some shade thrown at the remaining contestants (including a read on the drama queen of the season, James Majesty that had me rolling for a few minutes), but then the idea comes to give the girls their special day. The next challenge will be a gothic wedding, and the queens will be the brides.
The girls aren’t quite sure who may have been exterminated. They’re convinced that Victoria was safe, but where James thinks Abhora was sent home, Biqtch thinks it was Erika’s last mistake. When Abhora hits the scene, shockwaves are sent through the room. Even Abhora herself is stunned that she lived to compete another day. When the Boulets deliver the challenge for the week, which includes a lip sync performance to a song by Switchblade Symphony (spoiler alert: it’s “Gutter Glitter” and I am all the way here for this), they note that one of the girls may have been sent home too soon. Dracmorda calls for Dahli to join them on the stage, but after a few seconds of nothing, the “gotcha” moment is done, much to the relief of the fatal five. Part of the challenge is to use the hand fans provided by Dirt Squirrel, decorating them in whatever fits the theme of the performer’s outfit and show.
In the boudoir, James’ sugar skull mug is one of the first things we see, and I’m already loving what she’s bringing. The girls discuss the polygraph challenge, and while the psychology major in me is screaming “POLYGRAPHS ARE BULLSHIT AND THERE IS EVIDENCE PROVING IT,” the girls are buying it because television. James stirs the pot once again, and Abhora’s forgiveness of Biqtch Puddin is called to question. Even with the note that Biqtch believes that Abhora meant it, it seems as though the other girls think otherwise. Disasterina is understandably nervous for her performance, given the notes that the judges have given her for several weeks now.
As if this season didn’t have enough drama, Erika left a note for the remaining competitors, giving her two cents on each of the five left in the game. Victoria is Erika’s pick for winning the competition. Disasterina needs to tap into what brought her here and be true to herself. James need to humble herself, which literally everyone agrees on. Biqtch has proven she is filthy, but she needs to tap into the glamour side to really make it. And Abhora needs to let the past events and the drama light a fire under her ass and drive her to excel in the rest of the competition.
Still feeding off of the alleged Dahli martyrdom moment from week four’s extermination, Abhora feels that this challenge is do or die, that she has to win this week, or it’s all for nothing and she has failed Dahli and herself. James has had enough, and accuses Abhora of not contributing to the sisterhood of the season. This prompts discussion between all of the queens, save for Disasterina, who is over the younger queens and all of the drama they stir up. She just wants to perform and show what she can do, not butt heads with other performers or step into shit she has no business stepping into.
The floor show sees Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) and Biblegirl (dragqueenmerch.com) return to the judges table to oversee this gothic wedding performance. The performances are arranged in a slow-mo supercut over the track “Gutter Glitter.” Victoria has a massive wig, which even features a head inside of it. Disasterina has several props, like an incenser, but she throws her fan in the first verse of the song, which is going to hurt her evaluation, given that the usage and presentation of the fan is explicitly part of the score. James has a visual feast of a floor show, complete with a heart-stuffed cake and her pastel pink meets sugar skull fantasy. Biqtch has a full on undead bride moment, complete with powder all over hell’s half-acre when her veil flies up. Abhora’s look goes more Bride of Frankenstein, though she has a couple of missteps, namely her “LOVE IS A LIE!” banner ending up upside-down once unfurled.
Deliberation is divisive, in a word. Abhora’s act is super punk rock, but it was messy. Swanthula Boulet argues that it was her favorite of the night, but Dracmorda points out that even punk filth can look polished and put-together. Victoria was a fashion piece, but her lip sync was a little loose, and that loses her points. James had an awesome look and performance, but her fan was noticeably absent from the act, which could very well keep her from etching another challenge win. While Disasterina’s performance was well-done, she went too literal with her interpretation, using props that are mentioned in the song’s lyrics (personally, I only see so much problem with this, but this could be why the Boulets have a show, and I am just a bar queen). Biqtch was drama, she was a long-dead bride coming back from the grave, and it was a treat to watch.
At judgment, the judges reveal that this deliberation was the most difficult one of the series so far. No judge agreed with another judge, meaning either the girls did something right, or this was a bomb. James is read the house down for her lack of fan usage, claiming it was lost in her costume. Victoria is hailed as a goth fantasy, while Abhora’s performance divides the judges’ table right down the middle: Swanthula and Biblegirl loved the messiness, while Darren and Dracmorda thought it was that messiness that kept it from rising above. Disasterina makes a Dungeons and Dragons joke during her critique, though the props didn’t just weigh down the performance, they were the performance. Biqtch commanded the stage from the get-go, even being called “enchanting.” Disasterina and James are up for extermination, while Victoria and Biqtch are deemed safe for the week, meaning Abhora threw the hail Mary and won the challenge… though she too will face extermination, due to the divisiveness of her performance and how she does need to step things up on the whole.
For this extermination, the girls will feel what it’s like to get cold feet, as they will be put in tubs of ice barefoot for thirty minutes or until they tap out. Long story short, James doesn’t shut up the entire challenge, pretty much, though I’m not sure what else I expected from the pot-stirrer of season two. All three girls make it until time expires, though Disasterina is exterminated in a Psycho homage, complete with cone-shaped titties that look straight from a Madonna music video.
The final four is set, though only three will survive to perform in the finale. To find out who can cut the mustard, these girls will have to endure the epic Wasteland Weekend in the blistering sun. Who will stand tall? And who will wind up as a musty corpse?