RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 3 Review
A Pair of Balls
Another week, another drag race episode! Now make yourself a cup of tea and get ready to digest possibly one of the most overwhelming challenges in recent Drag Race herstory, for both contestant and viewer. Episode 3 featured the return of both eliminated queens, the new chocolate bar system and the biggest ball in the shows herstory. 14 queens walked down the runway each presenting 3 different drag looks, for a total of 42 runways. For the sake of time, I won’t be commenting on every single look, but rather highlighting my favourites and the ones that didn’t quite hit the mark!
The new episode starts with the merging of the queens, where 7 become 14 and all the personalities are squeezed into one frame, this definitely makes for some good, albeit quite overwhelming, television. Straight off the bat, Kornbread seems to be a reality TV natural, securing the attention of the camera and maintaining it throughout. It was great to see all the queens together, laughing and kiki-ing with each other. This set of queens seem to get along really well and I’m unclear on who will get a villain edit this season. It’s very refreshing!
The first gag of the episode is when Orion Story and Daya Betty walk back into the wekroom as if nothing had happened. They appear energised and ready to make the most out of their second chances. Honestly, due to the large number of queens this season I do feel like it’s nice for Orion and Daya to be given more airtime. I am fascinated by Orion’s drag and felt like the talent show got the better of them, and Daya just exudes star power! It’s a win-win situation.
The second gag of the episode is when RuPaul announces a new chocolate bar system. Each queen is asked to choose a wrapped chocolate bar which they must hold on to, then if they find themselves in the bottom two and happen to lose the lip-sync they will be able to unwrap the bar of chocolate. If it is indeed just plain chocolate, they must sashay away. However, if they have a golden bar, they will be saved. Most importantly, there is only 1 golden bar so there is only one chance to be saved from elimination. This adds a new sense of uncertainty into the drag race dynamics, where queens won’t truly know their fate up until after the lip-sync winner is announced. However, I do wonder if it would be better having the saved queen swap places with the lip-sync winner, for an unfair and unlucky gag...perhaps I’m just too cruel! Like it or not, it would give us fans something to talk about.
Moving onto the main challenge of the episode, RuPaul announces that the queens will be participating in a ball...that’s right, first episode with 14 queens and 2 separate themed balls. Let the mania begin! I’ll be discussing each ball and category separately to attempt to make such an overwhelming experience discussable.
Hide n’ Chic: Zebra Print Resort
First of all, I’m in love with this category. I feel like we don’t get enough of good quality zebra print couture on the runway, and these queens definitely turned it out!
My favourite zebra print fantasy came from Kerri Colby! It was a close call between her or Bosco but the contrast between Kerri’s tights and zebra outfit really did it for me. Kerri’s look was well thought out and came across as very high fashion. She incorporated elements of colour blocking which really elevated the otherwise simplistic design of the outfit. However, the star of the show was her immaculate human hair wig, which had a gorgeous zebra print essence to it. Miss Colby, keep doing what you are doing girl!
Very honourable mentions to Bosco and Alyssa Hunter – their looks were really conceptual and strong! I’m very impressed with their fashion so far!
I was surprised when Orion Story came out, despite not having my favourite look she served Heathers realness and I was here for it. It was an improvement from Week 1 which made me happy to have her back representing her drag in different forms.
The look that had me most torn was June Jumbalaya’s CEO zebra print set. In theory, it should have worked and although I didn’t hate the look, it didn’t excite me. I think we’ve seen too much of the rich woman runway that unless a queen serves something distinctly different or expensive-looking, it just falls flat.
Unfortunately, Kornbread and Willow Pill had my least favourite looks of this runway. They felt very...pedestrian. And although a runway look doesn’t have to necessary look expensive, it should give the audience something to think about. This was not the case with both of these looks, which I almost instantly forgot about.
Hide n’ Chic: Leopard Evening Wear
This category had my favourite look of the night thanks to Alyssa Hunters mugler-inspired silhouette. What can I say, I’m a sucker for Thierry Mugler! This look had me audibly gasp and I was obsessed from the moment she stepped on stage to the moment she left. She looked elegant, rich and on top of the world! I’m in awe of Alyssa Hunter!
I definitely feel like Kerri’s outfit needs to be talked about by itself. Again, we see a Dominique Deveraux inspired moment, and boy did she deliver. Kerri elevated the concept of a fashionable fascinator by incorporating movement in it – when she rotated her hat I gagged. She is a master at branding herself, making sure that all her looks are reflected of who she is as an aesthetic fantasy.
The honourable mentions must be given to Willow Pill and Bosco. Willow really stepped outside of her box here and gave us something rather unexpected. I wasn’t the biggest fan of her zebra print outfit but she definitely redeemed herself in her black leopard print gown. Bosco delivered a safe and predictable silhouette, I love her niche when it comes to style but I also want her to explore different designs and inspirations!
My least favourite looks came from Orion Story and June Jumbalaya. The problem with Orion’s look was that it was verging on costume-y and we’ve definitely seen something like her outfit done at a higher level of execution. June’s lapel fantasy was also problematic, it definitely wore her and disabled her from having a killer stage presence. Lapel works really well with movement, but Miss Jumbalaya didn’t have the motion of the ocean.
Hide n’ Chic: Animal Print Bridal Couture
Now for the constructed looks!
My top two favourite outfits came from Kerri and Alyssa. Kerri continues to brand herself as a fashion forward, editorial visual masterpiece. She did not disappoint in this category. Although she definitely isn’t a seamstress, she created a coherent look that conveyed a clear message...she is a sexy woman! Alyssa’s look was just immaculately constructed and her presentation was the definition of polished!
Bosco and Orion Story should be commended for the amazing silhouettes that they highlighted, both outfits being equally as well constructed and form fitting. I am very excited to see more from Bosco and Orion in weeks to come!
Perhaps a controversial opinion, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of Willow’s look. I disliked Willow’s first look, loved her second and now we’re stuck in the middle. The outfit doesn’t read bridal and the outfit does seem to be wearing her. However, she did construct it very well so credit to her for that!
Unfortunately, Kornbread and June Jumbalaya produced underwhelming looks that didn’t sit right with me. June did not sell her outfit enough on the main stage and Kornbread’s snake patterns looked badly mismatched...not a fan of these looks!
Red, White and Blue Ball: Red Hot Resort
In the first category of the Red, White and Blue Ball, jasmine Kennedy came out victorious for me. Her look resembled a vintage pool party ensemble with a very camp twist. The reveal to the crab claw gloves was so seamless and unexpected which I very much appreciated. This is the perfect example of giving the audience something to think of and turning a very basic look into something that we haven’t seen before.
The honourable mentions in this category go to Jorgeous and Daya Betty. Jorgeous stayed true to her name and came out in a mini dress with a plunging neckline, its safe to say that she looked beautiful, but is this all we’re going to get? Daya totally redeemed herself in my opinion, not that her episode 2 look was terrible in the first place. She came to the stage with a quirky and fun attitude which matched the aesthetic of what she was presenting. She was fully committed to the runway and I love that!
The three looks that I was on the fence about were Angeria, Lady Camden and Deja’s. Once again, the looks weren’t terrible, but they didn’t excite me compared to other runways. Angeria’s felt very safe in my opinion, and Lady Camden perhaps could’ve sold it a little bit more in her walk. Deja looked incredible but her outfit and delivery felt rather uninspired.
However, my least favourite look came from Maddy Morphosis which is quite disappointing considering how high I placed her last week. Maddy just presented pedestrian drag to the nth power! There was nothing exciting about the look and I really feel she did herself a disservice by not putting in more effort into the runway.
Red, White and Blue Ball: Evening Wear, Why It Gotta Be White?
This was perhaps my least favourite category, as the looks weren’t as strong as I thought they were going to be. My favourites were Jorgeous and Lady Camden. Perhaps the simplest of looks, but they were executed extremely well. Jorgeous epitomised chic and elegance, looking eerily like Ariana Grande! Lady Camden incorporated 3D structures to her outfit which was so cool to see on the runway.
I must give Jasmine Kennedy an honourable mention, her cocktail dress looked very expensive and moved flawlessly. However, I feel like her outfits are becoming a little too predictable for my liking. There’s no doubt that she’s gorgeous and her figure is to die for, but come on girl, give us more!
Contrary to what the judges said, I wasn’t too fond of Angeria’s white suit moment. I agree that she always looks so polished and professional, but I’ve seen similar looks done and we’re on the 14th season of drag race. We’ve got to start seeing new looks, or at least old ones done better! Deja’s look was largely unmemorable and unfortunately got lost in the sea of white outfits.
The two outfits that I couldn’t really get behind came from Maddy and Daya. Maddy’s outfit felt extremely costume-y and I couldn’t really understand what she was trying to go for. The headpiece was cool but not cool enough to save the rest of the look. I’m really trying hard to root for Daya, but this outfit just screamed ‘not tailored’. It seemed rather ill-fitted and paled in comparison to other looks presented on the same runway.
Red, White and Blue Ball: Bridal Couture
At last, we reach the last runway of the night. I was thoroughly impressed!
The two queens that stood out were Lady Camden and Jasmine Kennedy. Lady Camden incorporated more of the 3D structuring in her gown and it was gorgeous, she balanced the right amount of elegance and craftiness to create quite a captivating image! Jasmine’s bridal couture was tailored to perfection and encapsulated the theme 100%.
I was really impressed by Daya Betty, her look was a reinvention of the ugly bridesmaid dress aesthetic and it worked very well in drag. She really did redeem herself from her previous runway.
Deja and Angeria both produced very polished and clean gowns, and for that they definitely deserve the honourable mentions. However, they did feel rather uninspired and lacking in some pizazz!
My two least favourite bridal looks were from Jorgeous and Maddy. I was not expecting Jorgeous to be so low in my rankings but pretty can only get you so far. I wanted her to push herself and come out with an inspiring silhouette, rather than just relying on that body. With regards to Maddy Morphosis, the look was just basic and her presentation on the runway didn’t captivate me. I love all these queens and I really want to see them thrive on the runway!
As a whole, the episode was jam-packed with not only looks, but werkroom conversation. I couldn’t believe how the camera managed to fit in so many queens in one episode, as well as include personal stories about specific individuals. Kerri was extremely brave to let us in and tell us more about her past, as well as Kornbread for showing her vulnerable side. I’m glad that Willow continues to talk about her struggles with her chronic illness as this increases disability awareness. Lastly, I was shocked to hear that Orion Story’s mum sadly took her own life. Orion is such an amazing visual artist and I know that their mum would be incredibly proud of everything they are achieving. Keep on pushing Orion!
As for the judging and elimination, I did feel like Kerri and Alyssa deserved to be top 2 this week. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Willow Pill, but I feel like Kerri delivered such strong aesthetics and Alyssa was polished beyond belief! Nevertheless, Willow Pill took the win and I’m so happy to see her thriving.
I agree with June Jumbalaya’s placement but feel as though Kornbread should have been lower in the rankings. Perhaps it should have been between Maddy, June and Kornbread, saving Orion from a low placement. However, the bottom two queens were indeed Maddy Morphosis and June Jumbalaya. They lip-synced to Kylie Minogue’s hit ‘I love it’...I certainly did not ‘love’ this lip-sync. I very much felt as though Maddy only beat June because of a wardrobe malfunction. June’s outfit was literally decaying in front of us whilst Maddy gave a subpar lip-sync to what is a very upbeat disco song! In the end, Maddy stayed and June, who didn’t have the golden chocolate bar, had to sashay away.
Favourite Individual Runway Look
Alyssa Hunter – Leopard Evening Wear
Favourite Overall Runway
Kerri Colby
Final Thoughts
I love how many personalities we’re being introduced to this season. I just hope that the editing allows the queens to have meaningful moments caught on screen.
I’m super happy about Willow Pill’s win – her reaction was everything!
I’m excited to see who gets the golden chocolate bar!
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