RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 14 Review
Oh my goodness, we’ve made it to the top 5! Finally! Children have been born and grown up to adult s in the time it’s taken us to get here, but what a ride it’s been! For the last maxi challenge, the top 5 are tasked to feature in a musical video to RuPaul’s song, ‘Catwalk’. The queens have to design outfits and captivate the judges through their performance in order to secure a spot at the finale! Let’s dive in!
The episode starts with the queens comparing their wins in an attempt to figure out who might be progressing to the final four. At this point, it is safe to say that no competitor is safe and one slip up, especially in such an important challenge, could result in elimination. As we’ve seen in the past, queens have made it all the way and have been crowned with as little as one win and a few bottom placements. It’s really anyone’s game!
When RuPaul announces the main challenge, some of the competitors come across as weary and perhaps slightly nervous, particularly Angeria. We know that she’s a captivating performer but she has struggled with choreography and stage presence in the past. Bosco seems to be this episode’s narrator, providing commentary on Willow’s choreo competency and opening up more about where her own drag comes from. I loved getting to hear more from Bosco and the edit definitely seems to be favouring her as a possible winner! I’ve got my eyes on her and Willow for the crown!
Firstly, I’m going to be ranking the outfits and performances, then I’ll rank the individual runways!
My favourite performance was Daya Betty’s, who also happened to have my favourite outfit in the music video. She excelled where Angeria declined, in the stage presence department. Her energy was immaculate and her lyricism was truly something else. The way she sassily sang and also gave floor choreography was EVERYTHING to me. Well done Ms Betty!
Coming at second place was Lady Camden, who had an incredibly unique outfit that added another dimension to her performance. Her lyrics were solid, her choreography was tight and her overall stage performance was fully there. Lady Camden proved once again why she is in the top 5 and deserves a space in the finale.
Bosco this week felt very middle of the pack, her initial outfit design got me very excited but the end result was...something. I think even Bosco wasn’t too happy with how the look turned out. I felt she was aiming with something sexy and structured, but instead got funky intergalactic catsuit. Her stage presence was lacking and her lyrics didn’t necessarily stand out to me. I don’t think she did particularly bad but this definitely wasn’t her strongest week.
Unfortunately, Willow Pill felt very underwhelming this week. Her music video outfit was not my cup of tea and the actual performance was rather disjointed. Her body movements didn’t match her facial expressions and her lyrics paled in comparison to Daya’s and Lady Camden’s.
I hate to say it but Angeria is at the bottom of the barrel this week, with the worst outfit and performance in my opinion. She designed a bodysuit, which already shows a lack of creativity, and her lyrics were largely unmemorable. I think she did dance well, but the choreography wasn’t fully realised. I love this queen, but with such a high level of competition, someone has to be at the bottom!
Now for the runway, which was themed ‘You’re A Winner Baby!’
My absolute favourite by a mile this week was Lady Camden. OMG. SPECTACULAR. STUNNING. PERFECTION. From the structure of the gown to the fabric colouring itself, everything was absolutely perfect and sitting the way it should have been. The hair choice was correct for Camden, the makeup was flawless and I could honestly go on for days. Lady Camden has served us truly breathtakingly moments on the runway which makes me excited at the possibility of her being in the finale!
Next up is Daya Betty because she has fully blossomed into her own, not only in the main challenges, but also in the runway. She chose an unconventional presentation of a gown, knowing full well that some of the other queens were going to serve conventional glamour. The burnt element of the outfit made it stand out and the unique asymmetrical shape of the garment gave it so much character.
My honourable mention is Bosco, who incorporated the trans flag colours in a look that was aesthetically pleasing to glance upon. Although the bustier/corset portion of the outfit didn’t quite fit her perfectly, she delivered an amazing runway and presented her garment in an angelic manner. Bosco can do no wrong, and I’m just glad she didn’t come out in another corset and bra!
Surprisingly, I didn’t enjoy Willow’s runway as much as I wanted to. I absolutely understood the whole idea of rat royalty, turning something socially seen as ugly and portraying it in a beautiful fashion. However, I think the actual fit of the garment was off, the bust section seemed a bit too low for me and the fabric looked rather basic. I think Willow could have pushed herself a bit more given the level of her previous runways.
Angeria places lowest again purely out of the fact that she came out in a simple black dress. The other queens had conceptualised looks and near-perfect execution, but Angeria’s felt safe and...dare I say it...boring! I love her so much, but this runway was just not a bit of me!
The judges’ critiqued aligned nicely with my views, and what I specifically enjoyed about this episode is that they still gave constructive criticism rather than sticking to the traditional structure of simply praising the final 5. Lady Camden came out victorious with her third win and although I would have given the glory to Daya, Camden was very deserving of it. The bottom two queens were Angeria and Willow, who lipsynced to the iconic anthem ‘Telephone’ by Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce. I wish I could say I enjoyed this lip-sync but GURL...where were the moves! To be fair, I thought it was an odd choice given that both queens were in full length gowns and they both struggled to really move about and encapsulate the song. I do think that Angeria did better than Willow, purely down to character and passion. RuPaul asks Angeria to shantay and...in yet another twist...Willow also stays! There has been so many saves this season! Mama Ru doesn’t want to send anyone home! This means that there will be a top fantastic five which hasn’t happened yet! How exciting!
What team are you? Let us know!
Catch RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 exclusively in the UK via the streamer of all things drag, WOW Presents Plus every Saturday, subscribe now here!
