HomeTVrupaul's drag race season 13 episode 9 recap

rupaul’s drag race season 13 episode 9 recap

Welcome to our weekly look at what has been going on in the Werk Room and Main Stage of Rupaul’s Drag Race stateside.

If you want to avoid spoilers for Rupaul’s Drag Race, stop reading now.

Last week, here in the UK, we were left with a Rupaul Drag Race sized hole in our schedules as the Lockdown Special didn’t air on Netflix UK. Thank Ru for Drag Race UK being on air still! To make up for that though, Episode 9 of season 13 brings us the infamous Snatch Game challenge. Who will make a good impression and who will be a bad copy? Let’s dive in…

As usual the episode started with the remaining queens heading to the Werk Room to read the lipstick message left by the eliminated queen, except you’ll remember there was a double save last time so no one went home.

This week the mini challenge was all about bringing out your inner punk, in tribute to Rupaul’s humble beginnings in punk outfit Wee Wee Hole. It was Tina Burner and her bouncing buttocks that were victorious.

https://twitter.com/WorldOfWonder/status/1368006369337438210?s=19

Then it was time for the queens to get ready for The Snatch Game and as usual some of their choices were lost on me! However, as Ru chatted to a couple of the girls in the Werk Room it was clear that Olivia’s choice to play an instagram vegan that Ru had never heard of was risky. Same was to be said for Utica (as hypnotic painter Bob Ross) and Elliott (who was doing Rupaul favourite Rue McClanahan from Golden Girls). Ru gave each of them a warning and none of them changed their character choice; it would be sink or swim.

As we joined Raven and Porkchop as the guest contestants on Snatch Game it was a strong start for Symone as the historical political activist Harriet Tubman (although didn’t really keep it up) but it was Gottmik who came to slay as Paris Hilton. She even used a deeper voice initally and when Ru told her she was on air she changed to the familiar higher-pitched lazy drawl…it was hot! Two other queens delivered strong performances; Denali as Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and Rosé as Mary Queen of Scots. The former gave us hair-flipping fabulousness with the latter modernising the queen as a potty mouthed Scot (Lawrence Chaney eat your heart out!).

https://twitter.com/WorldOfWonder/status/1368018026658897923?s=19
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Unfortunately the three queens that were prewarned by Ru all came up short. Utica’s Bob Ross was just plain weird and included her eating spray paint.

https://twitter.com/WorldOfWonder/status/1368022656386097154?s=19

Elliott’s Ru was very one dimensional and all about her liking men but without really amping it up and delivering the one-liners.

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For the runway, guest judge TS Madison returned to watch the queens strut down the runway in their fascinating fascinators. Symone carried on her political statement by wearing an all white outfit that revealed bullet wounds and had ‘Say their names’ emblazoned in red sequins. Denali was cute as a diner waitress with coffee pouring into a cup on her head; Rosé looked elegant covered in roses complete with a giant rose on her head; Kandy and Elliott used feathers for their headdresses; Olivia had a liquid metal/mad scientists look; Tina went horsey and Gottmik served a giant safety pin through her head.

https://twitter.com/WorldOfWonder/status/1368033088672911362

After the runway presentation Ru asked Symone, Tina and Kandy to step forward and told them they were safe. That left Rosé, Denali, Gottmik, Utica, Olivia and Elliott as the tops and bottoms of the week. It was pretty obvious which three were which as the critiques were given; the first three listed were the tops and the remaining three the bottoms. Gottmik was rightly awarded the win – another stellar week for her. I was unsure which way the bottom two was going to go. Olivia was the worst in Snatch Game and probably deserved to lip-sync but Ru clearly has a soft spot for her as she saved her. That left Utica in her quirky picnic basket ensemble and Elliott as a flamingo to battle it out.

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Utica suprised me and I think Elliott too, as he long legs covered every inch of the runway and outshone the professional dancer Elliott. Ru agreed and saved Utica, leaving Elliott to sashay away.

Next week the queens are paired off and have to do each other’s make-up. Bagsy I get professional make-up artist Gottmik!

Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 13 is available on Netflix in the UK with new episodes added every Saturday.

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Gary James

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