Drag Race Season 18’s Mykee Meeks and Juicy Love Dion.
MTV photo
RDR Live, RuPaul’s Drag Race’s take on Saturday Night Live, returned for mild laughs on the third episode of Season 18. The show-within-a-show cast the queens in comedic sketches, with only one chance to nail the bit. The South Florida trifecta of Athena Dion, Mia Starr, and Juicy Love Dion managed to host, open, and close the show. Later, they delivered on one of the season’s best runways so far, with each queen embodying her favorite animal.
Shaken from last week’s bottom-three placement, Athena appeared to be in her head most of the episode. Her antagonist, Briar Blush, pounced on her vulnerability when it came to picking parts. In the end, Athena was convinced by the other queens to play the host over the part she really wanted. It turned out to be a safe choice, one that may help her find her footing again. As host, she was serviceable, if a little stiff. Her opening monologue, featuring Blush as the inner saboteur, lacked humor, but that fell more on Blush’s poor performance. In fact, Athena’s natural abilities were on display shortly thereafter, when she provided an introduction to the Lipstick Lesbian sketch. Her opulent owl look was the episode’s high point, though she likely enjoyed seeing her outer-saboteur, Blush, lip sync for her life even more.
As one of the announcers of the first skit, Starr was slightly overshadowed by the butter-churning physical comedy. However, she perfectly understood the power of getting the last laugh when she received the Drag Race equivalent of a pie-in-the-face to close the scene. Combined with her hip-hop-tinged pink poodle runway, the performance earned her a safe placement. At this point in the competition, Starr’s real concern is being destined for Miss Congeniality instead of the Season 18 winner.
After Juicy’s choreographic success last week, she seemed destined to return to struggling. “I don’t act. I don’t do comedy,” she said — both bode poorly for a comedy challenge. Despite the initial negativity, she should be commended for her willingness to learn new skills. She found an apt partner in Mykee Meeks, who did some serious coaching. In the end, Juicy delivered a Meryl Streep-esque character study as Jean, a sage to a young Michelle Visage. From the pitch-perfect accent to the fluency with double entendres, she gave one of the best RDR Live performances to date. Neck and neck with Jane Don’t, Juicy’s pangolin-inspired ensemble was a superb blend of fashion and zoology. It was an unforgettable look strengthened by Juicy’s endearing interest in veterinarian medicine.
The night was a well-deserved victory for Juicy and the first win awarded to a South Florida queen this season. Early into the season, Juicy is finding her stride, Starr is coasting along, and Athena still needs to recapture the confidence she had entering the Werkroom on the very first day. And speaking of needs, this season also needs to show us more interaction between the local syndicate. Some teamwork and strategy between Athena, Starr, and Juicy could add some needed drama to the season.