We’ve reached the top four. While many seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” end in a finale with four contestants, Season 16 had an elimination this week to result in a top three. In this week’s branding challenge, the queens were tasked to create titles, covers and press interviews for their prospective memoirs. My placements differ slightly from the episode with some extra opinions to spice it up. Without further ado, here are my placements for the week.
1st place – Nymphia Wind – For the entire season, I’ve been waiting for Nymphia to open up about herself and to ditch the banana bit for a second. Don’t get me wrong; her banana branding works well, but I absolutely loved to see Nymphia’s sensitive and honest self this week. She has been my favorite for this entire competition, and all I was missing was the truth in her story. Now that she has opened up, she is prepared to be a true winner, and I’m extremely hopeful that she will take the crown. Beyond her success in the challenge, Nymphia’s runway this week was stellar. I love how she always uses a variety of references to compile an intricate garment. I absolutely adore Nymphia, and I’m so glad that this episode felt like a conclusion to her season-long storyline of struggling to open up and be a contender for writing-based challenges.
2nd place – Plane Jane – This episode was also a storyline conclusion for Plane Jane. While she was placed in the bottom for it, I feel like Plane’s press interview made so much sense for what her character arc has been this season. By being shady during the interview, the plot shows that although Plane Jane has shown so much growth by being nicer as the season progresses, she still has a long way to go. The reason why I’m saving her from the bottom is because her runway was amazing. I absolutely loved everything about her look, but the flowy cape was a particular highlight that brought the entire look together. All in all, Plane Jane was thrown in the bottom unjustly, and I’m glad she survived the lip sync.
3rd place – Sapphira Cristál – By no means was Sapphira bad in the challenge, but I feel that she was outclassed by Nymphia. The problem with Sapphira is that she does so well every week that it is not exciting to watch her succeed anymore. This made Nymphia’s victory feel so much more satisfying to watch. However, the challenge is far from the reason that Sapphira is at the bottom. Her runway was horrible. By placing large circles below her hips, Sapphira distracts from her figure. The outfit further fails to accentuate her shape when she places her held fan in front of her torso. This takes away the entire effect of her corset and makes an otherwise underwhelming look a hot mess. While she crushed the entire competition, Sapphira stumbled this week as she heads towards the finale.
4th place – Q – This was a rough week for Q. She had the best runway, but she was far off with her memoir. In her press interview, I feel like Q missed the mark in her deliveries, branding and memoir promotion. Furthermore, both her title of “Alphabet Soup” and her cover photoshoot were underwhelming in comparison to her opponents. She didn’t flop, but with one of the strongest top fours we’ve ever seen, she fell too far behind for the runway to save her, despite the fact that it was amazing. The skirt’s shape, the exaggerated hair and her movements on the runway were stunning as always. However, it wasn’t enough. For these reasons, Q deserved to go home before the finale.
Make sure to return for the next episode of the Racer Ru-view for more hot opinions on “RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16”.
