RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 Review: Episode 1 & 2
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 Review: Episode 1 & 2. Meet the Queens!
It is time again, RuPaul’s Drag Race the US edition has premiered again. With 16 seasons and counting the Franchise is going strong, with more drag races to exist now than ever before!
To catch the viewer’s attention this season we are introduced to two batches of queens across the first two episodes. In the first one, we get to know the first seven queens: Q, Sapphira Cristal, Amanda Tori Meeting, Dawn, Mirage, Xunami Muse and Morhpine Love Dion.
The girls walk in after one another as we know it, then RuPaul announces their first mini challenge: a Photoshoot on her front porch. Love Connie is around acting as a scared neighbor to make the queen’s job a bit harder. The goal is to get a good picture and make Rupaul laugh with silly behavior. Sapphira Cristal taking the win and a cash price of $2500.
The following maxi challenge consists of a talent show, which pays tribute to the classic MTV spring break, with Derrik Berry hosting as Britney Spears. Fierce lip syncs to own songs dominate the talent show, with a performance by Q dressed as a yellow ballerina, using only her upper body with her hands as feet standing out comedy-wise.
Next, we’re in for a twist! The winner of the maxi challenge gets $5000 and immunity, which hasn’t been done since season 5! Immunity can be used to save yourself from a future elimination.
As if this isn’t enough already, we’re in for another twist! For this episode, a system called‚ Rate a queen‘ is used to judge the contestants, determine who will win and who will go home. RuPaul and his usual judging panel won’t be responsible for this, but the queens themselves have to rate each other from 1-6, with 1 being the best and 6 the worst. The question is now, are they going to play strategic, be petty or judge based on talent?
After hearing the critiques from the judges the queen rate each other backstage, and as the top two queens are determined, there’s another twist! Nobody will go home this week, instead the two top queens will lip sync for the win! The queens have voted Sapphira Cristal and Q as the top two and they lip sync to ‚Break my soul‘ by Beyonce. In the middle of the song, Sapphira’s breastplate slips out and bounces around for the rest of the song, earning lots of laughter from the judges, the other queens and gets her the win.
In the second episode we get introduced to the rest of the queens: Nymph Wind, Megami, Plane Jane, Plasma, Mhi’ya Man Le’Paige, Genevar Karr and Hershii LiqCour-Jete. As in the first episode, the first mini challenge is a photoshoot, but this time the queen’s picture gets taken for their license, with the girls waiting in line until they get called up by Rupaul and TS Maddison. Nymphia wins with her ambiguously placed bananas.
Just like in episode 1, the queens get surprised with the ‚Rate a queen‘ system where they replace Rupaul and her judges by themselves. Again, the winner receives immunity and a cash tip.
Following the first episode’s maxi challenge, the talent show continues, as the‚ Queen Choice awards‘ with Derrick Barry doing what she does best: hosting as Britney Spears. Again, we have a lot of fierce lip sync performances, but also comedic singing by Plasma and a traditional Taiwanese dance with stunning sleeve-ology by Nymphia Wind. Megami performs political lip sync by about the current drag situation in the US, which has a great message but a underwhelming delivery. She gets criticised by Plane Jane who performs her own comedy song‚ Burger Finger‘. In the end, because Plane Jane chooses to play strategic, she and Megami are the top two queens and lip sync to Becky G’s song‚ shower‘. Mid lip sync, Plane Jane slips a boob and only notices it a while later, which earns her many laughs and seemingly the win as well. Remember, if you want to win drag race, wear a big breastplate!
RuPaul’s Drag Race S16 is streaming exclusively on WOW Presents Plus in the UK every Saturday. Subscribe to WOW Presents Plus via https://uk.wowpresentsplus.com/