‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ episode. 15 Recap: RuPaul-a-Paruza

Look, I love watching lip syncs. You probably also like watching lip sync! That, is half the point of watching this show. This episode provided that – and nothing else. It was a good hour of TV but not particularly interesting or well-produced.

The previous lip-sync “LaLaPaRuZa” reunion served to complete the storyline for queens like Morphine, Megami, and Suzie Toot, allowing them to complete their unfinished work. In Morphin’s case, he finally got the victory he wanted. Megami must prove that she is not only a money maker, but also a fierce one. Suzie got a chance to show off her versatility and sensuality after bombing the Vegas challenge. All really good, interesting stuff. This week…Juicy gets a chance to show that she’s good at lip-synching. And I’ll be bold enough to say that I was already pretty sure Juicy was good at lip-synching. There just isn’t much.

Coincidentally, the biggest character in the reunion part turns out to be Ciara. She’s angry about how she went out, and the queens are angry and unapologetic. Jane then calls her out for the piece of clothing, which would have been much more powerful had she not actually won the challenge. Ciara can’t keep this episode on her own and, the guy who was the sole focus of most of the plot, walks out very early. the person who Needed The problem with the incomplete story is Jane, who would ideally be back with a vengeance. Unfortunately, Jen comes in admitting that she won’t win it because Jussie and Mia are there and thus she doesn’t really try that hard. Instead, we just sit with girls we know are good at it and doing well.

And, honestly, it could have been funnier, too. I’m not sure what happened to the budget this season, but for some reason, all the songs are RuPaul songs. Look, I don’t hate all Ru songs (I’m no monster who can deny the appeal of an “ASMR Lover”), but they’re too bland, too similar, and not amazing at all. Last season, we got to see Q in a wildly inappropriate outfit and have to lip-sync to Janet Jackson, or Crystal Envy had to sing Sylvester, or Mirage had to rap Nicki after messing up the words earlier in the season. That’s part of the fun. Neither of these queens are performing these songs in their regular act, which means lower stakes. Okay, enough complaining. Let’s get to the lip sync.

Ciara Mist vs. Athena Dion
The first lip sync is between two big personalities of the season. Ciara chooses Athena because she knows that Athena will choose “Born Naked”, which she does. In a look inspired by Ciara SubstanceA movie that most gay people liked more than I did. (Sue me – I celebrated when Mickey Madison won an Oscar.) Athena is looking fine. No girl sets the world on fire. I would have gone for Athena to win, but Ru chose Ciara. It’s a matter of taste amidst equally fine performances.

mia starr vs mandy mango
For some reason Mia goes against Mandy over DD or Vita who are less threatening. Mandy chose the words “just what they want”. They both know the words. Mandy does an impressively energetic dance, but Mia is a better dancer. She moves forward.

DD Fuego Vs Vita Vontesse Star
The final two of the first seeded group are DD and Vita, who lip-sync to “Main Event”. DD does more, but Vita is able to connect with the song better. Neither of these two are necessarily lip-sync killers. DD has some revelations, but she was also wearing a giant ball of tulle at the beginning, so it wasn’t shocking at all. Vita is fabulous and better dressed, and her composure wins her the lip sync.

vita vs mia
Vita, after making it to the second round through the power of her teeth, chooses Mia to go up against her in the second round, perhaps out of politeness. Mia sticks to her strategy of “wordy” songs and chooses “Call Me Mother”. Vita knows about 80 percent of the words. Mia knows all this. She wins it deservedly.

Kenya Pleasure vs Ciara
Kenya gets a chance to choose her opponent and she chooses Ciara. Ciara chose “Pretty Gang”, probably because it’s a rap song and she remembered that Kenya had a lot of trouble with words. But she probably doesn’t remember that RuPaul regularly lets Kenya win the lip sync without even knowing the words. Kenya missed a lot of words in this, but she’s also ten times more entertaining than Ciara, so they let her win anyway. is that fair? Uh… probably not, but I didn’t mind munching on sour ciara anyway.

Jen Dont vs Discord Adams
Jen and Discord are the final lip sync of the second round. For comedy, while watching Discord’s walk, Jen chooses “Sissy That Walks”. fun! Discord can’t really move forward, but she fights. Giving this song to Discord is a risk because it has the ability to go off when RuPaul says “Come on” and suddenly the room is laughing. Jane has the smarts to know that if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. She performs Discord Walk with Discord, effectively reducing her Walk ability. Also he is a better mover. This is the best lip sync ever and all credit goes to Jen.

jane vs juicy
Jane is in a tough spot in the final four. Her ball is raised, and she realizes she will either go against Kenya or against Mia on the ass-shaking song “Peanut Butter” or against Miami’s dancing doll Juicy on “Cha Cha Bitch”. Her potential path to the finale was probably through Kenya, but it certainly wasn’t guaranteed, and I don’t think Jen wanted to get her ass moved. She chooses Jussi, knowing she will lose. And she loses! Jane tries to give it a little meta humor, getting laughs by throwing money at Juicy and doing little jazz. This might have worked if Juicy wasn’t so good. Gone is the dull juiciness of last week’s lip sync against Nini. This girl is ready to fight. She turns over and reveals herself so that her dress comes off? This is amazing. Never seen anything like it. Total slam dunk.

kenya vs mia
Kenya and Mia then lip-synced to “Peanut Butter”. I think Kenya will win it. Mia does a great job, but her dancing style is so special that sometimes it seems as if she can’t keep up with the songs. Kenya is in full “peanut butter” mode, and she has lots of great ideas about ponytails. Ru disagrees and gives the victory to Mia. Don’t be angry about this! Plus it gives us a Jussie-vs.-Mia rematch, which is obviously for the best.

juicy vs mia
It relies on the girls we all knew about: Juicy and Mia lip-syncing to “Cover Girl.” They both work well! They have a little choreographed moment in which they walk down the runway together, which is so cute. Mia does a good job, especially as someone on top of her fourth Lip sync of the night. That’s madness! But the truth is that Juicy eats her lunch. Juicy is one of the best, if not the Best lip-syncer on the show so far. She vogues, she dances, she dives, she has fun and she’s making music. It’s not really a competition. Juicy wins and rightfully so. Is this surprising? Not necessary! But this is what happens when you cast Juicy Love Dion on your season: She wins the lip sync. And he’s good for it.