RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17, Episode 9
"Heavens to Betsey!"
Director: Nick Murray
Cast: Arrietty, Jewels Sparkles, Kori King, Lana Ja'Rae, Lexi Love, Lydia Butthole Kollins, Onya Nurve, Sam Star, Suzie Toot
Let's just peek behind the curtain — I mean, we just did a Wizard of Oz Rusical, so it's on brand. Writing RuPaul's Drag Race recaps is tough. It's tough figuring out what you include, what you don't. Since you're likely watching the episode in a vacuum, you really have to rely on your own gut instincts. You can't regurgitate what a YouTuber said or adjust your takes to fit what's trending. It's just you and the episode, baby! And when you're trying to recap a show while also being the editor-in-chief of a website, as well as the site's entire graphic design and social media teams, uh ... it's a lot. Please consider subscribing and helping us keep going. Please. Oh my god.
Anyway. As I've rambled about before, I'm trying to find a format for these Drag Race recaps that really get in and get the job done. There are a million recaps online, so why are you reading this one? I think that this week, after a few weeks of writing epic posts tracking the episodes beat by beat, I'm going to try a new format called Did the Right One Win?
That's the only question y'all want answered, right? That's the thing we all argue about, right? Did the right queen snatch a win, and were the bottom queens the worst of the week? Was the elimination just or the work of Mr. Rigor Morris? Well?
So — let's talk about RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17, Episode 9, "Heavens to Betsey!" In this episode, the N-I-N-E remaining queens were broken up into three groups and tasked with creating lewks inspired by three different Betsey Johnson collections: Punk Grunge Flappers (Suzie Toot, Lydia Butthole Kollins, Jewels Sparkles); Betsey's Prom (Lana Ja'Rae, Kori King, Onya Nurve); and Prenup (Lexi Love, Arrietty, Sam Star).
But first — did the right queen win the Reading Challenge? I gotta say, after what feels like years of mid to disastrous Reading Challenges all across the globe, it was life-giving to finally have a group of girls actually be able to read. All of them succeeded, at least in the edit. But like, that means they all had at least one read that landed. No gal was gotten by production here. The worst of the bunch was Arrietty, but it was more a problem of delivery. The bitch has comedic instincts, but she doesn't know how to execute them.
Did the right queen win the Reading Challenge? No! Suzie Toot did well, but her win was either due to her reads being funnier in the room (they seemed to be more inside joke-y) and/or production knowing that Suzie doing well in anything is agitation for everyone else. The real winner of the Reading Challenge was Jewels Sparkles, who landed three solid — and original! — reads that felt custom-made for their targets:
- "Arrietty: The judges have said that you should be in Cats the Musical because of your makeup. I disagree. I don't think that's fair ... to Cats the Musical."
- "Kori King: I heard you had to start identifying as they/them, but it's not because you're non-binary. It's because you're the size of a group of people."
- "Oh Lydia, Lydia Lydia: You know, I always say there's no 'I' in 'team,' but there is a 'D' in 'Lydia,' and it's Kori's."
Just call Jewels Porky Pig, because she's a piggy that told all the bitches "that's all, folks."
On to the main challenge: Did the right queen win the Betsey Johnson design challenge? Our winner of the week was Jewels Sparkles, who gave Cruella the punk flapper, with a slinky number adorned with all kinds of mismatched furs and a few handfuls of studs. I'm gonna be agreeable and say yes, Jewels earned this win — and there wasn't much competition.
That being said: Lexi Love absolutely crushed this challenge with her oversized veil, delivering a completely unique silhouette and story on the runway. Considering that she spent the days leading up to the runway in a tear-filled frenzy, this comeuppance felt great. When Jewels was announced as the winner, I felt Lexi's face-crack in my bones.
However — it's like every single queen has forgotten that Lexi has a win. The show seems to have forgotten, too. Jewels, however, has come close to the win three times now (Talent Show, Snatch Game, Rusical). And since the show loves spreading out the wins, giving Jewels a victory is the story to tell at this moment.
Now for the more controversial question: did the right queen go home? Our bottom two ended up being Lydia and Kori, a fate that was inevitable from the instant they locked eyes in the Werk Room on Day One. It's a fate that absolutely could have (should have?) played out after last week's Rusical, but Lydia skated by. This week, though, Lydia's unique styling decisions finally caught up with her — and no protective headgear could protect her from that concussion. Seriously, Lydia, why is your head always covered in scaffolding?
Oh — of course Kori was in the bottom. No brainer. That unfinished, haphazard, micro-mini prom dress was one of the worst design challenge looks in Drag Race herstory. Lydia's look was a look, at least, and it was executed ... not executed well, but it was executed. There was a lot of execution as seen in the draping, the wrapping, the bunching, the fastening, and the tangled web of hanging faux fox tails. Lydia somehow does too much with her designs and the result is never enough.
But yeah, the correct two were in the bottom this week, and Lydia beating Kori in the lipsync felt correct. Really, all Lydia had to do was not fall flat on her face (apparently losing a wig is fine nowadays). It's clear that Kori's story has been told, and it's clear that RuPaul loves saying "butthole" every week. The outcome was decided before the track even played. And now Kori King, the queen with a lot to say and not much to back anything up, is gone.
Next week we get the roast challenge, and if ever there was a time for a double elimination, it's right there. For some reason, having 8 queens in the running in Episode 10 feels like a lot, but that is [checks Wikipedia] actually the norm since Season 13 (aside from Season 16, where there were 7 queens in Episode 10). Still, I don't see how Lana and Arrietty are going to escape a roast without getting burned.
Next: RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 Episode 10 Recap: CHAOS REIGNS
