RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 2 Review
This week we welcomed the second premiere episode and well, it was definitely something! It begins with the first seven girls returning from the main stage, congratulating Kornbread on her first win and also June for surviving the first lip-sync. This is shortly followed by the entrance of seven new queens. Let’s take a look!
Jorgeous walked into the werkroom as the stunning fire-cracker she’s known to be, wearing an ostrich feather ensemble with high ponytails. At first sight, she appears to be an atheistically polished queen that knows her silhouette and certainly knows what fashion style compliments her. Following Jorgeous, DeJa Skye makes a colourful entrance and proclaims herself as the ‘Pastel Princess’...will we see a running theme within her looks? The third queen to walk in is Miss Jasmine Kennedy who described her drag as ‘polished and pageantry’. Her entrance look gave exactly that, a new-age style of pageant drag with a pink feathered bodysuit/dress hybrid. This look told us exactly who Jasmine is, a pageant queen with an affinity for high kicks and backflips! Next to walk into the room was the highly anticipated Maddy Morphosis, wearing a 60s style short dress with rhinestone flames adorned all over. The look itself was quite lacklustre when compared to others who walked in, however, Maddy was able to pull it off with a cool and witty attitude. As we saw with Willow Pill last week, an entrance look can be simple yet effective, and perhaps queens nowadays are opting to go for a less is more approach, with a surprising reveal later on in the runway. This is exactly what Maddy did. The fifth queen to walk in is none other than the boujie Angeria Paris VanMichaels, showcasing a 1950s inspired polka dot dress. I loved this look! I think it exudes the right amount of polish and personality, which is a combination characterised by Angeria herself. Following Mrs VanMichaels, the British-born Lady Camden presented her spice-girls inspired look. At least I think it was that! The outfit itself slightly confused me, however, I think that is the effect that Lady Camden was going for. She appears to be a bit of a drag enigma, with a peculiar sense of style and personality. Above everything else, I loved hearing her highly British accent amongst the sea of American voices. This queen will definitely stand out! Finally, the last queen to grace the werkroom is Crystal Methyd’s drag sister (NOT drag daughter), Daya Betty! Now this queen’s energy is electric, I’ve no choice but to stan! From her entrance look to her charming personality, Daya is a queen that I instantly fell in love with. Overall, my favourite looks were from Angeria and Daya, who both managed to capture their own drag essence whilst giving the viewers a spectacle to gaze at. Unfortunately, Maddy and Lady Camden had my least favourite entrance looks. Although I was able to appreciate their drag aesthetics, compared to the other girls their outfits didn’t quite hit the mark, or at least my mark!
For the mini-challenge, RuPaul kept the iconic photoshoot and also displayed his over-the-top acting abilities. It was refreshing to see Ru deliver a little skit, although Deja might have some other views about it. The scene included a reference to the 1989 comedy drama ‘Uncle Buck’, with RuPaul shouting ‘Why do I have to do everything around here?’. If nothing else, it gave me a chuckle and Deja a fright! In terms of who did best, I really thought the win could have gone to just about anyone. Angeria kept her cool throughout the entire photoshoot, producing an elegant and sensual moment. Lady Camden provided the camp and chaotic energy. And Daya took Ru’s instructions and went for it! In the end, Angeria took the mini-challenge win, and I’m not complaining!
This week’s werkroom discussions included Daya Betty’s revelation that she’s actually Type 1 diabetic, and Maddy Morphosis being outed as straight individual by RuPaul himself. Given the fact that Maddy was pretty adamant on not highlighting her sexuality, I found it rather odd that Ru immediately brought it up, not giving Maddy the chance to speak for herself about the whole situation. However, I’m glad that the girls were very supportive of their heterosexual sister. Regardless of her sexuality, Maddy should have been given the time and space to naturally come out if she wanted to, rather than being put on the spot for the shock factor. But hey, I guess that’s television for ya!
For the main challenge we returned back to spectate the CNT’s (Charisma, Nerve and Talent Awards) and although some of the girls turned it out, I was left wanting more! I think there was too many lipsyncs for my liking, whereas last week there was definitely more variety of talent. However, I will say that, individually, I really enjoyed the performances. Jorgeous gave such an upbeat performance that didn’t feel rushed or messy. She’s definitely one to look out for. Jasmine gave an equally as impressive dance routine. So many times we see queens doing similar numbers and inevitably one does better than the other. This wasn’t the case here. Jasmine could have walked in, done one backflip into a split, and walked out...and I would have died on the spot! Despite the judge’s critiques, I loved Maddy’s performance, she really surprised me. It was perhaps the most unique number and a really nice change of pace. Angeria and Lady Camden gave great performances respectively, so I really couldn’t fault them! The only two who weren’t able to completely captivate me were Daya and Deja, which was also reflected by their judge’s critiques. As a whole, I definitely enjoyed last week’s performances more, but that’s not to say that the girls didn’t deliver! My favourite talent numbers were Jorgeous’ sexy dance routine and Maddy’s impressive guitar display.
For the runway, I absolutely adored Jorgeous’ outfit. It told us exactly what kind of queen she is, starting off with a highly fashionable gown and ripping it off to reveal the full catsuit underneath. Yes, it was a catsuit, but it was done right and looked expensive! I thought that Jorgeous’ look couldn’t be topped, and in came Deja. Wow! Talk about curvy fashion! My jaw dropped at the sight of her silhouette in what looked like something that Naomi Smalls would wear, or has worn! The look from head to toe was perfect, and I thought that Deja redeemed herself in the runway. Miss Angeria and Jasmine came out in looks that were definitely polished and represented the seasoned queens that they are! However, the gag of all gags came from Maddy Morphosis – an impeccable outfit. Like Michelle said, I had never seen anything like this done at this level of execution. Her headless lady look was drop head gorgeous! Lady Camden and Daya also served in the runway, I honestly feel like no queen did bad this week in the fashion department. My favourite overall look was Maddy Morphosis, with Jorgeous and Deja coming in as close seconds.
In terms of judging, I felt like it was fair and justified this week. No queen got unreasonable critiques and the judges really praised them for their strengths. However, I do feel like Maddy should have got a bit more recognition. The judges commented on the fact that she didn’t show her tongue when she used it to play the guitar, and although I understand where they came from, I think some things are best left for the imagination. I also didn’t live for Angeria’s performance enough to give it a win. Whilst I thought it was a solid routine, it didn’t have the impact that Jorgeous’ or Jasmine’s did. In the end, Angeria did end up victorious, so it looks like we have two beautiful black frontrunners at the start of the season! This is what we like to see, representation and competitive excellence. The bottom two queens, Daya and Deja, unfortunately deserved their placements. Their performances just didn’t rise up to what the occasion called for.
The two double D’s lip-synced to Alisha Key’s ‘Fallin’’. Overall, it was a good lip sync although it did feel incredibly one-sided. Whether it was the edit, or simply Deja’s stage presence, Daya felt incredibly tame and almost defeated before the lipsync even started. In the end, Deja was the clear winner and our stunning Daya had to sashay away. This one hurt, like a lot. I really enjoyed the short time that Daya was on the show, she came across as highly charismatic and full of potential. We can definitely tell that she is Crystal Methyd’s drag sister. I just know that Daya is the type of queen to go back, work on her craft, and smash an All Stars season! I can’t wait to see where this potential leads her! Please show our Season 14 sister some love – Daya Betty.
Favourite Performance
Maddy Morphosis
Favourite Runway
Maddy Morphosis
Final Thoughts
Despite my initial preconceptions, Maddy Morphosis appears to be a sickening drag artist, smashing the ideals of who can and can’t do drag. Despite the controversy surrounding her participation, no one can say that she isn’t talented at what she does...entertain!
Between the two premiere episodes, I did prefer the first. The talent show felt more diverse and the werkroom discussions felt slightly more natural. However, I loved seeing all the queens come together to reassure Maddy that her sexuality doesn’t hinder how she is perceived as a queen in the competition.
I think Alicia Keys was such a refreshing guest judge. She brought a cool and calm vibe to the judges table whilst clearly connecting to the art that was being showcased. In particular, I appreciated how attentive she was to Maddy’s routine, which appeared to have got the short end of the judges stick.
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!
Imagery copyright: Wow Presents Plus
