RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: You Can Call Me … Myki!

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Myki Meeks really turned things around this week! She was given a perfect opportunity – a challenge that played directly to her strengths, and surprisingly early in the season. She seized it, and it was a huge accomplishment. Anyone familiar with Drag Race knows this was a crucial moment for her. Myki delivered a strong video performance and a compelling personal story, instantly making her a serious competitor. It just goes to show how much one successful week can change everything.

I might be downplaying how quickly Myki has become a frontrunner, but that’s kind of the point of Drag Race – to build compelling stories using the queens’ talents. Sure, the way things played out felt a little forced, but Myki has proven to be a stronger competitor than I initially thought, and I’m excited to see what she does for the rest of the season. Her storyline—going from underdog to potential winner—doesn’t feel entirely authentic, but she’s committed to it and delivered a great performance in the challenge. Ultimately, that’s all I really want to see.

It’s interesting to see how Vita VonTesse Starr’s predictable journey ended with a disappointing elimination. I would have been shocked if anyone had told me at the beginning of the competition that she’d be one of the first to go, but looking back, it makes sense. While she excelled at sewing challenges, she struggled with everything else and didn’t seem to realize how much she was falling behind.

Both Myki and Vita seemed to benefit from an episode that felt less like a true competition and more like a chance for the judges to fix what they saw as mistakes from the previous ‘Rate-a-Queen’ challenge. Fans were understandably upset about Myki being in the bottom and Vita being unfairly safe all week, and honestly, my initial reaction was that the queens were being manipulated. However, it was satisfying to see the judges address those issues – issues the show itself seemed to create – and give the queens a chance to prove themselves.

Let’s review this week’s events step-by-step to see how Myki did well and where Vita struggled.

The drama really kicks off when Myki finds out how the other queens voted. It quickly becomes obvious they weren’t considering her talent or what was best for her, which, while expected, still shocks her. Vita specifically confesses to manipulating the votes, intentionally ranking Discord higher and Myki lower because she thought she could win against Ciara. Myki is understandably upset, feeling this bottom two placement unfairly tarnishes her record – and it does! The next day, she makes a statement by walking into the Werk Room wearing a shirt that simply says ‘revenge’.

Fortunately for her, this week’s challenge perfectly suits Myki’s strengths. The contestants will be working in randomly assigned pairs to create political advertisements for different platforms, presenting arguments from both perspectives. Here’s how the pairs and platforms are assigned:

  • Jane and Kenya: For and against “C for clown” being added to the LGBTQ+ acronym
  • Juicy and Mia: For and against padding on drag queens
  • Darlene and Vita: For and against social media queens
  • Athena and Myki: For and against sex with foreign men
  • Discord and Nini: For and against drag-on-drag relationships

It’s fun to watch the queens compete with their platforms, but it reminds me of a similar challenge from season eight of Drag Race. Back then, they simply had to create a political ad in pairs. The show seems overly concerned with the queens struggling now and provides more guidance, but that earlier challenge resulted in Bob the Drag Queen’s hilarious ad, which is still a fan favorite.

Juicy and Mia struggle with writing the commercials, while Vita and Nini aren’t very good at filming them. Michelle handles the filming, and they all work together on the commercials.

On the runway, the category is “see-through.”

Okay, let’s talk looks! Jane absolutely nailed it – her outfit is this amazing blend of edgy and theatrical, and her style is just on point. That mask is a stroke of genius. Kenya’s look didn’t quite hit for me; it wasn’t really the see-through effect it was going for, and honestly, she needs some volume up there! Juicy, though? Stunning. The shape of her outfit is legitimately captivating, and I’d kill to see her rock a big hair moment on the runway. Poor Mia… I love the sunglasses, but the proportions are just off. It feels unbalanced, like her hips need to be bigger to match her shoulders. Jamal pointed something similar out in his judging, but he was so vague! Just say what you mean! Darlene’s X-ray-inspired outfit was a blast, and her makeup? Seriously underrated – it’s the best I’ve seen all season. Vita’s look just didn’t work for me. The clear plastic bits were a nice idea, but slapping them onto a leotard just doesn’t cut it, and her hair was so…flat. She could have built a much better base in a few hours, honestly.

Athena’s look was playful and really shone when it reminded me of the Fairy Godmother from Shrek 2. Myki’s clear outfit was an interesting idea, but it was almost too transparent, making it difficult to see the design and appreciate her personality. Discord’s angel costume was really cool, though her slightly awkward dance to the cut music was a bit funny. Nini’s candy-themed outfit was a strong concept, and mostly well-executed, but I didn’t like the nude-colored bra paired with the pale gems.

Jane and Kenya’s video is up first, and Jane is fantastic! Her clown character is genuinely funny – the running gag about gonorrhea surprisingly worked really well and got funnier as it went on. She clearly has a well-developed character. Kenya’s writing is strong, but her delivery felt a little flat. It seemed like she might have been reading from cue cards, and you could tell she was thinking as she spoke, which distracted from the performance.

The Juicy character wasn’t very effective. While starting with a Greta Thunberg impression was a good idea, the performance lacked depth and detail. It also didn’t make sense for the character to introduce herself as Juicy. A name like “Greta Tuckberg” might have worked better. There was also concern about the suggestive nature of her performance. I thought Mia did a fantastic job; the judges were overly critical, but her character was well-developed and genuinely funny. I really enjoyed Mia’s performance.

Darlene is a strong performer – she fully embodies her character and delivers her lines convincingly. However, I didn’t find her material particularly humorous. Vita, on the other hand, really struggled. Her performance felt awkward and lacked both humor and a clear personality. It just didn’t work.

I really loved Athena’s performance. She brilliantly played a Southern woman opposing something related to “foreign trade” – it’s unclear if it was her idea, Myki’s, or a collaborative effort, but since it wasn’t mentioned in the initial briefing, I’m giving Myki the credit. Regardless, Athena was fantastic; this was her strongest performance so far. Myki was also very good, consistently delivering funny jokes, especially with the recurring “No!” bit. While her character, “Lollipop,” felt a little unconvincing, she still did a great job.

Lastly, there’s Discord and Nini. I appreciate that Discord’s videos have genuinely funny jokes – she’s a good writer, even if her delivery isn’t perfect. Her voice was a bit annoying, though. Nini, on the other hand, wasn’t very good, and I was surprised the judges acted like she was. Her design challenge look was terrible, and Athena completely overshadowed her in terms of character work. I definitely thought Nini deserved to be in the bottom three more than Mia.

So, Jane, Darlene, and Myki ended up as the top three, which I mostly agreed with, though I’d honestly swap Darlene out for Athena if I could. Myki took the win, and while I thought Jane performed with a bit more polish, Myki’s storyline was just so compelling. Unfortunately, Juicy and Vita landed in the bottom two, and had to lip-sync for their lives to Dua Lipa’s “Houdini.” Honestly, sending anyone up against Juicy in a lip-sync battle feels like a death sentence. Vita just couldn’t deliver, and Juicy absolutely crushed it with seemingly no effort. It was heartbreaking to see Vita go home – she was a front-runner in my book for a long time.

And also on Untucked…

Strong players like Jane were surprised by the recent criticism, as they expected Vita, Juicy, and Mia to make it to the finale. These kinds of episodes can shake up the competition and disrupt the strategies of the leading players.

It was great to see everyone critiqued on the runway – it shows the designers all have potential and deserve feedback.

It’s ironic that Discord was secure the week she received feedback about potentially violating its safety guidelines.

I’m really worried about Nini. When she’s not modeling, she’s becoming increasingly withdrawn and losing her personality.

This week on Trauma Makeup Corner, the contestants really dove into serious political discussions thanks to the challenge. The queens from Florida shared their experiences living there, and Myki’s story about feeling at home despite the current laws really stood out. Vita and Kenya also opened up about growing up in the South.

This week, I need to talk about the latest episode of UK vs the World (spoiler alert!). I’m really frustrated by a trend I’m seeing everywhere: contestants choosing fictional or outlandish characters – like unicorns, fairytale villains, or even ‘Hitler’s brother’ – and then just making them gay. I think Trinity the Tuck started this, and several people did it in this episode, including the German contestant who claimed to be playing ‘Hitler’s gay brother.’ It was shocking that she ended up doing better than Mariah, who deserved to win for her fantastic Jackée Harry impression. I’m enjoying Gawdland, but Michelle was right – her performance wasn’t a true Cardi B impersonation. I didn’t connect with Fontana until the very end of the episode when she broke down in relief after learning she was safe. When Jade from Little Mix said ‘Obsessed,’ I totally felt that!

The top four contestants are predicted to be Jane, Nini, Juicy, and potentially Myki, though it’s really anyone’s game after Jane.

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2026-02-14 05:56