Tuesday, April 21, 2015

"RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 7, Episode 8: Conjoined Queens

Posted By on Tue, Apr 21, 2015 at 4:00 AM

We knew it was happening. We knew someone was coming back. I was taking bets all week that it was Trixie -- I think many Drag Race viewers were thinking that. It would be her chance for redemption. She was the obvious choice. It clearly wasn't going to be Kandy Ho; as Katya said, "She can't lip-sync four times." We were all wrong, guys. We were all wrong.

RuPaul came out to announce the mini-challenge and announced she had a special guest. Is this it? Do we find out now? Out walked Latrice Royale, Season 4 alum, dressed in a prison guard's uniform, for the mini-challenge, Orange is the New Drag. Each queen was given a prison uniform to "drag up" and could only use items from the commissary for the Tuckahoe Prison Fashion Show. Drag queen walkin'!  

Chola makeup and tampon earrings were all the rage for this fashion show. Katya definitely will visit me in my nightmares at some point this season with her tiger-printed face mask and colored teeth. Kennedy Davenport was announced the winner with a fierce side ponytail.

It was time, you guys: Someone was back. A door opened. And it was Trixie! Another door opened: it was Tempest DuJour! Another door opened: it was Kandy Ho! Kandy Ho? What was happening? How many doors were in this room? The eliminated queens kept coming out until EVERYONE WAS BACK.

RuPaul announced the maxi-challenge: Each contestant would be paired with an eliminated queen and had to make her over as her twin ... her conjoined twin. #ConjoinedQueens. Because Kennedy won the mini-challenge, she got to pick her eliminated queen first and she got to pair up everyone else. The eliminated queen in the pair that won the maxi-challenge got to stay. Kennedy picked Jasmine Masters (duh) and then paired up everyone else. The teams were:

Ginger Minj and Sasha Belle (Oh God. Do you remember her?)

Pearl and Trixie Mattel

Miss Fame and Kandy Ho

Katya and Mrs. Kasha Davis

Violet Chachki and Max

Jaidynn Diore Fierce and Tempest DuJour

Ginger was not happy with her partner and it stressed her out for most of the episode. First off, neither of them had strong sewing skills so making their outfits was a challenge, and second, Sasha just wandered around the workroom talking to people the entire time, leaving Ginger to do most of the work. Ginger was frustrated; I was frustrated; we were all frustrated.

Pearl and Trixie were happy with their partnership and Trixie was ready to go for the gold with the funny. Katya and Mrs. Kasha Davis decided they were going to be aging hookers from Atlantic City that were joined at the vagina and I nearly wept from happiness.

We learned more about the contestant's backgrounds while they were doing each other's make-up for the challenge. Tempest DuJour revealed to the group that he went through conversion therapy to please his devout Mormon mother -- but it didn't take. Trixie talked about her abusive step-father that would call her a "trixie" anytime she acted effeminate, so she decided to embrace the name, use it as her drag name, and turn it into something positive. *Tears*

Runway time! The judges for the night were Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews, Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette from "True Blood," I love him!) and LeAnn Rimes (was everyone else busy?)

Miss Fame and Kandy Ho came out as surgical sisters, sewn together via plastic surgery. Jaidynn and Tempest were disco divas joined at Jaidynn's back and Tempest's front. Kennedy and Jasmine were pageant queens joined at the ... thigh? (I couldn't tell.) Pearl and Trixie were contestants in a beauty pageant, with Pearl being the pretty one and Trixie being the "special one." Violet and Max served carnival realness, joined at the corset. Sasha and Ginger came out joined at the breast in hot pink spandex. Last, but certainly not least, Katya and Kasha came out leather skinned, spiky haired, and joined at the vag.

The judges weren't impressed with Miss Fame and Kandy Ho. Michelle thought it was uncreative and RuPaul thought it was safe. Jaidynn and Tempest were not a favorite either: Ross thought they just didn't stack up compared to the others. Michelle thought Kennedy and Jasmine's concept was predictable because they both were fashion queens; she wanted them to go over the top.

Nelsan thought Pearl and Trixie were stunning, and Ross added that he thought they were the best storytellers. Everyone was cracking up. Everyone agreed that Violet and Max were gorgeous. Michelle loved the idea behind Ginger and Sasha's joined-at-the-breast costume, but she was not crazy about the execution. There was glue showing on the outfit and LeAnn wanted the breasts to look more realistic. Everyone loved Katya and Kasha -- including me.

Would it be Pearl and Trixie or Katya and Kasha?

Pearl was the winner, which meant that Trixie stayed!

Katya, Kennedy, Violet and Miss Fame were safe, but Jaidynn and Ginger were up for elimination. And they would have to lip-sync with the other person attached to them to "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany. (It's too bad that I wasn't a consultant on this show or I could have taught them the coordinated dance moves to this song that I used to do on my porch as a child ... and as an adult.)

The lip-sync was absolutely entertaining. Ginger went for it: She ripped off her clothes and fake breasts and rolled around on the floor. And everyone on the panel was laughing hysterically.

Ginger Minj stayed, Jaidynn sashayed away.

Next week: Trixie is back as a contestant!

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