But first – purse first! After, of course, a brief shady recap of Thorgy’s exit in the last episode.
It’s time to dive into the glory hole (Ru doesn’t say it this year, for some reason) and pick out a puppet.
Kim Chi gets Chi Chi
Chi Chi gets Bob
Derrick Barry gets Naomi Smalls
Naomi gets Derrick Barry
Bob gets Kim Chi
Naomi and Derrick are not having each other & it makes for a bit of an uncomfortable puppet show.
Naomi’s not having it.
Derrick’s not having it.
And Chi Chi’s Bob was exactly like Ben DeLaCreme’s Bianca del Rio puppet. I’m from New York! I work all the time! I’m loud! But since Chi Chi just sticks with funny & not uncomfortable come-for-me reads, she wins.
Even Bob’s puppet is purse first!
The queens have to write the stories of their lives in a Book Ball. The categories are:
- Baby Drag Realness
- That’s My Mama Realness
- Autobiographical Eleganza Extravaganza (made entirely out of books)
So essentially they have to create:
- Bad drag
- Real older woman drag
- Drag made out of books
When we get the Ru work-around, things go fairly normally, but when Ru gets to Bob, Ru does the whole “what scares you” question. His mom has a rare form of pneumonia called boop. Cue the water works! It’s in the confessional & not the workroom, but Bob has his breakdown moment. Kim Chi also has an emotional moment talking about his mom with Ru. We’re reminded that his mom doesn’t know that he does drag. Well she probably does now. Although maybe not because her mom’s pictures were pixelated out.
It’s after the heartfelt workroom walk-around that the queens learn that they have to create a 4th look – a Jerri Blank inspired look for their Strangers with Candy musical opener. No pressure! I hope they got more than one day for this challenge. Not that we ever know that. As the mini-challenge winner, Chi Chi gets the “honor” of choreographing the musical number.
As usual, Kim Chi can’t dance. Naomi wants to model all the time and she has no idea who Jerri Blank is or what Strangers with Candy is. Child needs a history lesson. Derrick is possibly going too far to the ugly. And Bob’s doing ok.
Unsurprisingly Naomi the beauty queen thinks beauty is an important aspect of a Drag Race winner. Chi Chi thinks the winner has to have a certain talent, whatever that might be. Kim Chi thinks makeup is an important element to a Drag Race winner. Bob thinks performance is the most important strength of a Drag Race winner.
And then Naomi & Derrick go for round 2. The library is open! You glue down your brows! You glue down your lacefront! Derrick thinks he can’t do drag makeup because he’s doing female impersonation. Never mind that Chad’s Cher makeup was pretty darn draggy.
“If I have to change my face to be myself, then I’m not really being myself.” — Derrick Barry
So beautiful.
While getting their makeup on, Naomi decides that she wasn’t very nice to Derrick the day before. So Naomi decides to offer any sort of advice to Derrick if he wants it. Derrick didn’t have a good coming out with his mom.
OMG! Ross! You see Derrick trying harder than anyone else? Really? Is this RuPaul’s Trying Race? WTH! She looks perpetually surprised. I may not know if it’s beauty, performance talent, or makeup skills the judges are looking for, but I do know that the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race should know how to freaking paint an eyebrow.
Back on the mainstage, Chi Chi is declared safe and Kim Chi is declared the winner of the book ball. Naomi Smalls is safe.
That means in the LSFYL, it’s Bob vs Derrick Barry. Bob vs Derrick. Let that sink in. They’re lip syncing to You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real). I have no idea what Derrick’s dance is. Or I’m just getting distracted by those crazy eyebrows. Bob has the judges attention from the get-go.
So that lip sync, along with Derrick’s crazy eyebrows, is the final straw that sends Derrick Barry home. I wonder if Ross will send him a trophy for trying. What did you guys think? We’re up to the final 4! Who’s going home next week? Let’s speculate wildly below!
Untucked update:
