RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: Honey, This Is How You Throw a Party in Mykonos, Bitch

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Athena Dion is easily the star of the season – the numbers on Reddit prove it! She’s the best performer on the show, and it’s clear why people are so drawn to her. She’s fiercely devoted to her family, delightfully mischievous, and doesn’t let go of a grudge easily. Athena is a strategic player, mastering the game of Drag Race in a way the other queens can only wish for, and she’s not afraid to use any tool at her disposal to succeed. Beyond that, she’s a fantastic storyteller – she’s open about her goals, speaks with energy and clarity, and genuinely seems thrilled to be on the show. She has strong connections with more than half the cast – Mia, Juicy, Darlene, Jane, Kenya, Vita, Nini, and Briar, to name a few – far more than anyone else. From a producer’s perspective, Athena is an invaluable asset, and it’s obvious the show recognizes that.

Honestly, I don’t believe she’s performed exceptionally well on any challenge this season, even the one she just won. She’s been solid, but never truly outstanding.

Athena isn’t failing on RuPaul’s Drag Race; she’s just consistently… average. Her looks, humor, and performances are fine, but the show needs her to be a real threat to stay interesting. That means she needs to win, and this week felt like the right time. Athena won the “Rate-a-Queen” challenge not because she was the most talented, but because she’s a strong reality TV personality – a different kind of skill. The challenge played to her strengths: a solid performance combined with skillful maneuvering behind the scenes. Interestingly, the queens who had the most ‘okay’ performances ended up both at the top and bottom, based on their competitive spirit beyond the actual talent portion. Athena actively campaigned for votes, while Myki didn’t. The show gave Athena a chance to use her particular skills to win, and she delivered. And while her lip-sync win to a punk song felt a little strange, considering her performance style, it fit the storyline perfectly.

Okay, backing up, let’s run through the episode with everybody else in mind, too.

The episode starts with Juicy and Mia absolutely basking in their win – and rightfully so! You can just feel they know they’ve created a truly iconic moment in Drag Race history, the kind that seriously boosts your career. I’m already picturing when the Dion’s tour hits the road, Juicy and Mia have to be part of it, performing that number. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were each making around $8 million a night from it – it’s that good.

Meanwhile, the second group quickly began preparing for the talent show. While the other girls worried and stressed, the first group held meetings, with Ciara trying to get everyone to vote Discord to the bottom. Although Ciara’s constant strategizing frustrated the performers, it became clear her plan wouldn’t work. She didn’t have enough influence within the group to get Discord eliminated. In fact, her efforts seemed to backfire, rallying support for Discord as Vita and Juicy stepped in to protect her.

The main focus of this episode is Jane’s frustration with the challenge itself. She’s confident RuPaul and the judges will appreciate her performance style, but she fears the other queens won’t understand it. While I understand her concern, it seems like Jane unintentionally created a situation where she was likely to lose the lip sync. It’s ironic that the other queens put her in a good position, only for RuPaul – someone she believes gets her – to ultimately send her home.

This week on Drag Race, Kenya faces some drama. Michelle Visage confronts the queens, and specifically calls out Kenya for struggling with the lyrics during her previous lip sync against Briar. This criticism really throws Kenya off balance, and some viewers feel it’s unfair to do so right before a performance. However, Drag Race is known for putting queens under pressure, and several contestants experience tough moments this week. It’s part of the competition to be challenged and bounce back, even if it feels unfair.

Myki, the final performer, doesn’t get much time on screen. She’s hilarious talking about her talent show and playfully comparing her resemblance to Björk with Jane. (Personally, I think a Björk-themed lip sync on Drag Race would be amazing with songs like “I Miss You,” “Bachelorette,” and “Pagan Poetry,” though they’d likely just use “It’s Oh So Quiet.”) It feels like Myki hasn’t quite grasped that she’s on a television show.

The runway challenge focuses on outfits that flow with movement. Myki’s look is a cute, colorful, and slightly plastic fantasy – her hair, makeup, and boots are fantastic, but the bikini is just average. Athena delivers a flawlessly polished sapphire and evil-eye themed look, which isn’t personally my style, but it’s well-executed. Kenya’s butterfly-inspired look isn’t overly flashy, but it’s her best hair and makeup yet. Jane’s outfit is truly striking, with a wonderful use of color – she makes even muted blues and greens look amazing! Discord’s outfit is meant to be a statement about CEOs. She looks good, but choosing a very masculine style might be risky given her walk.

Mia’s outfit is cute, but it’s barely a complete look, and she could use a bigger wig to balance her proportions. Darlene’s look is over-the-top and I absolutely love it – it feels more edgy and raw than polished. Vita’s Whitney Houston-inspired look doesn’t really stand out. Nini, however, looks fantastic! The neon colors work really well together, the overall shape is creative, and her makeup is playful. I’m not a fan of the headpiece, though. Juicy’s look is too close to Sasha Colby’s iconic chicken costume from last season, and Sasha executed it much better. Ciara’s look unfortunately doesn’t work. It’s risky for a performer known for spooky looks to try glamour, and here it feels flat. For a high-fashion, feminine look, padding is essential, and she barely has a waist. The bare legs and scraped knees are distracting, and her lip makeup doesn’t quite fit the rest of the outfit.

Myki was the first performer, and she did a pretty good job! She performed a darkly playful burlesque routine as the Bride of Frankenstein. While it had a strong start – the moment where she pulled off a fake finger with her teeth was a standout – the performance didn’t quite reach its full potential and felt a little underwhelming towards the end. The finale wasn’t very big, but overall it was still one of my top two favorite performances of the night.

Let’s talk about Athena. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. Her music, as seen in the “Q-Pop Girl Groups” segment, lacks complexity and relies on very simple beats. The lyrics are often incredibly basic – at one point, she literally raps, “Athena. Goddess. Olympus. Wow.” Paired with a visually over-the-top and cheap aesthetic, she reads more like a performer for kids than a polished drag queen. Despite this, her friends – Juicy, Mia, and Darlene – don’t think her placement near the top is a mistake, and that’s really all she needed to achieve.

Kenya’s performance isn’t very strong. She frequently misses the timing with the song, despite Michelle’s warnings. It lacks refinement, and the flag spinning isn’t particularly exciting. Her hairstyle also feels too understated for television – it might work better in a club setting where the energy is different.

Okay, so Jane absolutely killed it on stage. Her first bit was a little predictable, kind of a standard opening, but then she really leaned into it. She started super clean and gradually got way dirtier with her jokes, and honestly, that contrast made it hilarious. It reminded me of this amazing, unexpected energy – like taking the classic, slightly shocking humor of someone like Mae West and building a whole performance around it. Seriously, she’s a powerhouse when it comes to the performance challenges on Drag Race. She really understands how to work a crowd.

Discord’s performance was a pop-punk take on the usual Drag Race musical numbers. While the concept worked well with Elle Vosque on Drag Race U.K., this version was just okay. It was a bit odd that they pretended she was playing the instruments live. Still, it had the most memorable tune of anything we heard across both weeks, and that’s a plus.

The queens were judged, and Jane and Athena emerged as the winners. It felt inevitable. They performed to “Jerkin’” by Amy Taylor’s band, Amyl and the Sniffers. I couldn’t believe the show tried to claim Athena won the lip sync; her performance was jerky and unnatural, though strangely energetic. While Jane wasn’t groundbreaking, she had a better feel for the music and truly connected with the song. The numerous interview segments praising Athena felt like the show was deliberately misleading viewers. Still, it was probably good for Jane to face some pressure after consistently being a frontrunner, and it’s beneficial for Athena to finally get a win, making her a stronger contender for the top five.

Ciara and Myki landed in the bottom two, and honestly, Myki being there didn’t make much sense. This week had a lot of questionable decisions, which was kind of the point of the competition. Still, it was a chance for Myki to prove herself when facing elimination. Did she rise to the occasion? Not really. Myki did okay in the lip sync to Britney Spears’s “Toxic” – she won, actually! She had some good spins and looked great, but it wasn’t a show-stopping performance. Honestly, Ciara just didn’t appeal to my taste. She was eliminated, which is sad because she brought a lot of personality to the show and clearly connected with many viewers.

And also on Untucked …

The first group of girls spent a lot of time planning their moves, which frustrated the second group. In the end, everyone wanted to keep Myki in the competition except for Vita, who was looking out for her friend, Discord. Myki lost because she didn’t generate enough excitement and needs to build stronger alliances and make a bigger impact.

• Loved guest judge Amy Taylor. When she called Kenya’s outfit “relaxing” I laughed out loud.

Nini was arguably the biggest disappointment this week, and likely should have been eliminated during the talent show.

It’s surprising that the decision not to include Athena in the girl groups is still being discussed. It just proves how good she is at playing the reality TV game.

This week in trauma makeup, the main event was the dramatic look created on Kenya, courtesy of Michelle.

I asked my colleague Rebecca Alter what she thought of Jane Don’t, who’s currently the favorite to win, and whether she believed Jane actually lost the lip sync challenge. Rebecca found it satisfying to see Jane’s confidence shaken by not winning. She wants to support Jane, but felt Jane didn’t perform well enough in the lip sync. Jane had the potential to easily win, but lacked the energy, creativity, and rebellious spirit needed to compete with Athena’s chaotic performance. Rebecca also didn’t think Jane’s recent live performance was impressive, even though Sarah Sherman praised it. She believes Hormona Lisa would have delivered a better performance, even while wearing a bob haircut.

I think Jane, Juicy, and Nini are currently the frontrunners and likely to stay in the competition. Vita’s performance is declining, but she still has a chance. Athena is probably not going to make it to the top, and the show’s producers seem to want either Juicy or Mia to eliminate her. Mia sometimes struggles with her designs, but it hasn’t been noticed yet. Kenya and Discord don’t seem to have a realistic path forward. If Myki or Darlene can improve, they could still contend, which is why I’m pushing Myki to do better. Right now, though, I’d say Mia is the most likely to be eliminated next.

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2026-02-07 05:57