I did a quick interview just before last week’s drag show broadcast, which we had to end before the RPDR episode on Friday as the interviewee was a big Drag Race fan. Asking him who he liked for a possible winner and listening to his response, his enthusiasm for the show convinced me to give this season another try.
So with the little nudge to watch again, I ingested last week’s Episode 8 of Season 13. The maxi challenge was to do a Rusical based on different types of social media. The concept was great, the creativity was present and the performances were all pretty good! But still, there were some emotional downs and ups and ups and downs.
Denali –
Denali reminds me of someone that unfortunately has buffered emotions. There are many that have this same fate. She has her emotions, she owns them, and she expresses them but the volume is biologically limited to 6. We all know people that cannot explode or convey as much as we want them to and I think Denali has been put down by many for her inability to do so, but they just do not know how to word it. We all also know a screamer and a loud mouth and someone that can just truly express themselves beyond the sound barrier. I think Denali is just limited to staying within the sound barriers of her small frame and level 6 is the max. This is not a dig or a chance for you all to come at me, it is an observation and it is why I feel the other girls feel Denali is limited in her emotional (not talent) range.
It was so middle school to see some of the other girls snicker at Denali when she was stating her case for why she wanted the role that she and Rosé both desired. The camera and editing was done just right to fit the drama formula to show the division of girls and what they really thought of Denali or what editing wants us to think they think of Denali. Their snickers and the eye rolls and the giggles, Jesus. And these were coming from a few girls that themselves lack their own self-confidence.
But wow, did Denali eat up the advice that was given to the group by Anne Hathaway to take the smaller undesired role, make it your own, and steal the show. Gottmik, thank you for working your magic there as well as on the stage to first lift up and then shine with Denali. DAMMIT! That is what should be happening in this show every week. Even if it is a competition, growth is always recognized and desired. And the Hathaway advice to own the small role and blow it out of the water? That should have come from the other girls as I was already saying it to the tv screen before Anne came on.
Anne Hathaway –
Since I wasn’t paying attention to any promos, I was not sure if other people knew about Hathaway’s presence on the show, but I was so excited when she appeared! I loved her enthusiasm for the interactions with the queens, answering their questions. Her smile was as big as the contestants as the all seemed genuine with their excitement to see her. Here’s what happened…
That was the highlight of the show for me, seeing Anne. That and seeing Denali turn her frown upside down and do very well in her performance.
The Winner and the … Elimination –
Overall, the musical was pretty good. The sound quality of the songs was not the best as the music seemed to drown out some of the performers’ voices. Rosé rocked it as the Rusical was hers to lose from day 1. We knew of her talent before she arrived. Bravo Rosé for making good on your resumé.
If you did not see the lip sync between Symone and Kandy …
Kandy Muse AND Symone SLAY this Lipsync Battle, Lipsync for your Life – 1 of 2 (Second clip below) ⬇️#DragRace #DanceBattle pic.twitter.com/H71H7SFAWD
— GreenBottle (@gr33nbottle) February 20, 2021
And now for the elimination …
So, yeah, that “elimination”. You just knew what was going to happen. Even though Kandy did not do as well as her competition Symone, Ru thought so. Needed to fill in the schedule and have a double save? That guy was not happy.
I was more, meh, it was expected, and I should have watched WandaVision, which I did instead of unTucked. I think I will put RuPaul on pause for another season. Even though I would like to see who does well, I think I might just wait and see what writer may do a review of this Friday’s episode and learn from that.
Intincters – Did you agree with the guy in the video above? Or did you think both performances were so close that it called for a double save?
Why did I previously stop watching drag race earlier this season? The choice was made to pause my consumption of the race to the crown after the small storm that brewed around Episode 5 which Instinct covered with “‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 13, Episode 5 Recap: Sour Kandy?” The fact that many were asking the same questions that were in my head, reassured me that this was drama, and drama that may or may not be fabricated, but it was drama that I did not need to watch to better my life or my tv viewing experience. I’m not a fan of bad personalities or editing that makes it look like there are bad personalities present. If drag is meant to be a celebration, then when it goes off course, Mama Ru should correct that and not exploit it. But it is tv, ratings, etc and so on and on and on. And I guess her fix this time around was for her to use a double save. A better fix might be a rotation of judges in the unTucked room so they can give more guidance and not just judgment on the runway. And even allow your special guest judges to do so. How good was it when Christina Aguilera went back there and had a chit chat. Leslie Jones did it, too, and I am sure there were others, but I’m blanking right now, and I have not watched every episode or every season.
Disagree with me? That is okay and very adult to have a disagreement. And as with any piece on Instinct that is heavy with a writer’s opinion, we all place the statement present at the end of this post. Opinions about news, entertainment, drag, politics, music, and everything else on the planet, they are shared by different writers depending on the day. And since I have been here, since 2014, we have not let a writer go because of their opinion or coverage of news, entertainment, or a scandal, no matter what anyone has said to make themselves feel better, and they should stop saying that. It’s not icing on the cake, but it’s close.
This review contains this writer’s opinions and may not reflect the opinions of other writers or those of the magazine.