This week was a seminar challenge in which the queens were split into three groups and tasked to present about different topics. There was some rigging of placements this week, namely with Sapphira Cristál, but overall, the judging was fair. To pair with seminars about drag history and Drag Awareness Month, the runway was an ’80s-inspired look to reminisce about what a drag convention may have been like in the decade. My placements differ from the episode, so here are my picks for the tops and bottoms of the week.

My Top 3 of the Week:

1st place – Plane Jane – Plane Jane was so funny this week. She bounced off of Q so well, and they worked excellently together despite not being best friends. The joke with Plane showing “slides” and “clips” on the screen was so funny. Plane Jane was calm in her deliveries, which is understandable because she killed the challenge and the runway. I love how much she exaggerates her silhouette, and her outfit was very ‘80s with a dynamic fun pattern. 

2nd place – Dawn – After having to absolutely carry her struggling teammate, Dawn offered her own comedy on top of Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige’s failures. Dawn also had a gorgeous presentation outfit: that wig was amazingly beautiful. Dawn chose a unique reference of a punk rockstar for her runway this week, showing off a completely different style from the other queens. Dawn really stuck to her brand and provided a killer performance across the board.

3rd place – Sapphira Cristál – I was surprised that Sapphira did so well in the critiques this week. She had a few lines with wonky deliveries, but the judges brushed over them and made it seem that she moved on from it well. While she did, it was strange that they overlooked her flaws. However, she had one of the strongest runways of the season. Long torsos and exaggerated buttons are two references that are very ‘80s inspired, and the big hair she wore also fits the runway category well. Overall, Sapphira didn’t flop this week, but I think she should have been lower than the critiques she received.

My Bottom 3 of the Week:

5th place – Q – The delivery on many of Q’s lines went awry. This isn’t to say that Q performed horribly. In fact, she’s only in the bottom three because it’s difficult to escape the bottom with only seven queens left. The jokes she made were funny, but she didn’t say them with the best cadence. That being said, Q had the best runway of the week. She shared her story of being affected by the AIDS epidemic and served an ‘80s look by relating to that crisis with the red ribbon around her neck. Q has amazing conceptual drag, and I’m sure narrowly missing a safe position was a fluke for her.

6th place – Morphine Love Dion – The worst runway of the night and one of the worst of the season goes to Morphine this week. The dress was badly finished with awkward stitching around the bottom and a strangely arbitrary length. Furthermore, her hair was toppling over. Morphine didn’t save herself in the challenge either. She stumbled over lines often and didn’t provide much comedy. She was overshadowed by her group of Nymphia and Sapphira, so she definitely deserved to lip-sync this week.

7th place – Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige – Finally, Mhi’ya’s elimination has come. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s safe to say that she flopped this challenge on a level that she hasn’t flopped before. Mhi’ya missed lines, and the ones that she got out were delivered poorly. Her runway was also not to die for, with flowers on her shoulders serving as messy attempts to glamorize her otherwise basic bodysuit. Overall, Mhi’ya needed to go a long time ago, and it was entirely fair that this week was her downfall.

Make sure to return for the next episode of the Racer Ruview, breaking down more hot opinions on “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Season 16, Episode 12.”