RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap: The Very First Sin Was a Woman Who Ate

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This episode was fantastic! It really captured what makes Drag Race great: compelling stories, clever challenges that felt fair, and some truly amazing performances – especially the lip sync. It was everything you could hope for from this show.

What’s really refreshing is that the show’s production is finally showing some creativity. For most of the season, the challenges felt like repeats of things we’ve seen before – things that either worked or didn’t work in the past, and weren’t really challenging the queens. The cast is incredibly talented, but it didn’t feel like the show was helping them reach their full potential. It felt like the creative team had lost control, and the queens were essentially running the season themselves.

The show had a surprise in store: the return of the “Rate-A-Queen Talent Show,” which viewers have seen in past seasons. Unlike before, when it started the season, producers timed it perfectly this time around. There are still plenty of queens left, keeping the competition lively, but tensions are rising and new alliances are forming. This week, strategy is key, and the groundwork is set for some interesting drama to unfold.

The core group driving the strategy this season is the alliance led by Dion. Athena and Juicy, with Tia Mia joining them, quickly formed the partnership everyone expected. While this benefits Juicy and Mia to some extent, Athena gains the most from it. Juicy and Mia, who were eliminated this week, weren’t truly at risk, but Athena maneuvered things so they left together, potentially costing them individual wins. This leaves Athena with two allies who will be judging the performances. Kenya, still upset about being in the bottom two last week, cleverly joins their group as well.

Another key factor this week is the “Glam” group – the queens who performed the Go-Go’s-inspired number in week two. However, it doesn’t really function as a solid alliance, but rather a loose network of friends. Unlike the “Dions” who have clear agreements about protecting each other (with Athena enforcing that), Glam is based more on feelings and chemistry. As any fan of Survivor knows, that kind of ambiguity can be dangerous, and ultimately, the leader of Glam, Ciara, is eliminated this week.

It’s ironic that Jane constantly criticizes the “Rate-A-Queen” concept, considering she willingly participates in being judged by RuPaul! She’s also quite arrogant, frequently expressing fear that the other queens will target her for elimination because she’s consistently performed well. Jane’s entire journey so far has revolved around her success, and it seems she must realize she’s potentially creating enemies. Hopefully, any missteps will happen early enough in the competition for her to recover before the finale. I have high expectations for her performance in the Snatch Game.

Honestly, when it came time to pick performance weeks, Nini Coco totally panicked. Because there were an odd number of queens, she got to choose between week one – which meant going on with Mia and Juicy right away – or week two. She went with week one, and I think that was a mistake. It’s a little concerning to see her struggle with the strategy of the competition. While queens like Athena, Jane, Vita, and even Darlene are really thinking about their stories and what the judges want to see, Nini seems lost. She’s incredibly talented, but I’m not sure she’s quite grasped how to play the game for TV yet.

The groups:

Week one: Ciara, Juicy, Nini, Vita, Darlene, Mia

Week two: Jane, Discord, Myki, Kenya, Athena

This week’s runway theme is “Not Today, Satin.” Ciara’s look wasn’t memorable, and her usual makeup felt out of place with her dress. Juicy wore a stunning floral dress that really highlighted her face. While her small wigs might become annoying, I currently enjoy the Betty Boop vibe they give her, reminiscent of Jasmine Amy Rogers. Nini’s dress was clearly not made by her, as she dislikes working with satin. It’s a blue dress covered in satin puffs, which isn’t to my taste. Vita’s outfit, featuring a nude panel over her chest, didn’t quite work. Darlene’s dress just wasn’t strong, and she needs to demonstrate more glamour to win, though I hope she does. Mia’s dress with the huge bow was fantastic, but her hairstyle didn’t suit the overall look, and she needs to refine her proportions.

Jane’s outfit, with its sun design and bird necklace, feels a bit too on-the-nose. Discord’s look isn’t working – it’s shapeless, and she still doesn’t move well on the runway. Myki, though, is having a great fashion moment! I especially love the flowing fabric above her head. It’s a shame her best look happens during a non-judged week. Kenya is wearing a coat Jane lent her since she didn’t have an outfit prepared, and it’s honestly her best look yet – her hair and makeup are perfect, and she looks adorable! Athena, unfortunately, is wearing a truly awful pink outfit clearly inspired by the movie To Wong Foo. It’s a terrible garment.

Ciara started the talent show, but honestly, when she announced she’d be performing a serious poem, I was worried – it’s just not my favorite type of drag. Despite looking fantastic, her performance didn’t really land for me. However, even I thought she deserved to stay over another queen whose performance I liked a lot more. At least Ciara’s outfit was amazing! Vita is fortunate she’s so likeable.

Juicy is fantastic! While the song itself isn’t the strongest, it’s wonderful to hear her perform it. The robot concept was clever, and she really brought a lot of character to the performance. Plus, her movement was beautiful – a truly great performance overall.

Nini performs her well-known praying mantis dance for the talent show, which some of the other queens weren’t thrilled about. I think it was a clever move, especially since her first performance wasn’t professionally filmed and she’s using a new song. Overall, it’s fantastic, but looking at the lineup for next week, I believe she made a big mistake in choosing when to perform.

Vita’s performance wasn’t good. She seemed tired and wasn’t fully comfortable with her routine, even struggling with the lyrics. Her outfit didn’t look great, and her song fell flat. Plus, wearing flats just didn’t help. It was easily the weakest performance of the night, and she probably should have been eliminated.

Darlene is getting by, performing a playful song about tools that hints at something a little risqué. It’s charming, but not particularly bold. I enjoy her stage presence, but I think she needs to take more risks and really go for it.

Mia is a real performer! She rapped a song herself, switching between two different styles, and she’s both funny and incredibly charismatic on stage. She has a really natural and confident presence. Honestly, though, her two rainbow wigs weren’t great. But despite that, I can definitely see why she made it to the top.

The judges generally make good decisions when it comes to the performers. Juicy and Mia deservedly made it to the top, though it’s disappointing for Nini, who ultimately didn’t deliver. Ciara unfortunately landed in the bottom and will have to lip-sync for her place next week. I don’t have much sympathy for Ciara, as her performance choice was a mistake. I predict Discord will be the one facing elimination next week – she really struggled with the choreography.

Next up was the lip sync performance, set to Zara Larsson’s song “Pretty Ugly.” A great lip sync can really change your opinion of a song, and that’s exactly what happened here – I didn’t like this song at all before, but now I want to hear it everywhere! Both queens absolutely nailed it. It was fantastic to see such talented performers get a song that really let them shine. Juicy did incredible, gravity-defying moves, but what really stood out was how well she connected with the song’s energy through her expressions. Mia was solid, funny, and kept the audience engaged. RuPaul surprisingly gave both queens the win, which I didn’t agree with. If this were a high-stakes competition, keeping both would make sense, but for something so low-stakes, a single winner should have been chosen. In my opinion, Juicy deserved the win.

And also, on Untucked …

The girls discussed the talent show, and Ciara shared the difficult story behind her performance. They privately agreed that her emotional struggles weren’t apparent while she was onstage.

Zara is a lot of fun and seems eager to connect with the judges. I expect we’ll hear her sing “Midnight Sun” on the show soon.

I really loved Ross’s joke about Darlene’s outfit – comparing it to G.I. Joe in a paper dress was his best comment in ages.

The Trauma Makeup Corner is located within the Untucked area because the main competition needs more room for strategic discussions.

Jesse David Fox, a co-worker, recently watched all five episodes of the new season in a single day. Here are his reactions, after we spent over a month viewing them.

I haven’t had a favorite contestant in about ten seasons who didn’t seem like a strong contender to win, but this season is different. When Kenya Pleaser shared how much Mia Starr’s laughter brightened her day, and Mia responded with a genuine, hearty laugh, I was completely captivated. Then, seeing Mia’s incredible energy translate from her personality to her performance on stage was really touching. In my eyes, she’s already a winner, regardless of whether she takes home the crown. I’m not as excited about Darlene Mitchell’s drag style, but I still find her stage presence incredibly charming. I’m leaning towards rooting for Nini Coco to win because, honestly, she’s the only queen who seems to be intentionally funny this season (and she was hilarious even when she wasn’t trying this week!). Plus, she’s only 29, which is surprisingly rare these days.

I’m starting to think Vita’s only skill is sewing, which is concerning. For fun, I’d predict Jane, Juicy, Nini, and Mia as the top four. I’d be happy to see Mia succeed, but I’m not sure her body proportions will allow it.

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2026-01-31 05:56