Posted in: MTV, Review, TV | Tagged: drag race, rupaul

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 E07 Review: Serious Snatch Game Shade

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 returned last week with the iconic "Snatch Game" Challenge and there was more than enough shade to go around.

It's time to play the Snatch Game, RuPaul's Drag Race season 17! I know last week was the sea-sickening ball, but after this week's snatch game and elimination, I feel seasick, mama. Let's get into it, and you better believe there's a lot to unpack with this snatch. For starters, the drag delusion is absolutely contagious and out of control this season, idk what got into these girls, but it is not cute. This season has eleven queens competing in Snatch Game all at once, and not only did people get lost in the shuffle, but there's the feeling that so much got edited out that was judged on, and we just didn't see. Release the Snatch Game Snyder cut now, RuPaul! The fabulous Alyssa Edwards is the guest for Snatch Game along with "Gay I" (an AI buttplug lamp, ala Lana from Too Hot to Handle), and the "celebrity" panel is as follows:

Acacia Forgot – Trisha Paytas. Her Snatch Game was better than Sugar, the last queen who did Trisha, but that's a bar so low satan could trip over it. It was no season 14 debacle, but there were a lot of queens that got lost in the mix, and I'm not sure if that's because they edited that way to focus on the best and worst of the week or if half the queens genuinely got glossed over. Either case, miss Forgot is blending into the background once again, though she was amusing enough this week.

Arrietty – Baby Cupid. Literally, her only answer was, "I don't know, I'm just a baby," and that immediately gets old in an improv challenge, where the directive is "yes, and." Just keep it going, say yes, and be weird and wacky, don't commit to weird baby voices and characters who know nothing and then double down on it and talk about how you pooped your diaper. That's not funny, it's offputting. What could have made this funny is doing a "grown man dressed as a baby" take – while it's not original, it's at least funny.

Though on the topic of fictional characters, we only saw our first pure fictional characters (as opposed to a character portrayed by an actor) on regular season Snatch Game last season, with Xunami Muse's Tooth Fairy (which got her eliminated, rightly so) and to a lesser extent, the realistic fictional character archetype Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige played, which worked in her favor. Snatch Game has always been about impersonations, which is a big part of drag history and a staple in bars and shows. It's not even that common on All Stars, and even then, it only works because we know the queens already and know they can challenge themselves to color within the lines.

Production needs to make a "no fictional characters" rule like it supposedly had in prior seasons. If you want creative liberty, choose a character from history we know little to nothing about, like the Mona Lisa, or Mother Mary, or Cleopatra, or the Boogeyman, or…oh, that would require that these baby queens know how to read. And clearly, they're just babies – or at least Arrietty is.

Crystal Envy – Nicole Richie. Was this perfect? Absolutely not! Was it good? Nah. Should it have landed her bottom two? Not really. And yet, here we are, especially when Lexi Love's performance was right there; this just feels extra bad. In reality, it could have been good but for whatever incredibly subjective reason (favoritism), RuPaul just wasn't having anything Crystal was serving this challenge. Which is a shame because her runway was kooky and delightful.

Jewels Sparkles – Miss Bigfeet (aka Bigfoot). Obviously, this is a fictional character and not a celebrity, which gives the queen creative freedom to do whatever they want to make the character funny. Now, some of the funniest Snatch Game characters have been fictional (like Trinity the Tuck's Satan), but it does feel like a bit of a cop-out, especially when you know this is coming, and the spirit of the challenge is a Hollywood Squares type of panel show with current and lasting pop culture references. Nonetheless, it was a funny character that earned her a top placement this week.

Kori King – Big Ang. For those playing along at home, this is the second time we've seen Big Ang (from Mob Wives) done on the show, with the first being Pearl on season 7. It was funny; the judges are clearly overlooking her, but to be fair, she's not doing much to really stand out in a good way. The nail runway was a little tragic – most of her runways have been a bit lacking, but hopefully, she proves me wrong because her personality and sass are fantastic commentary.

Lana Ja'Rae – Rosa Parks. Mama, production has got to start vetting queens better. After last week's lip sync, you'd think she'd step it up, but no – Miss Thing brings out Rosa Parks and then does absolutely nothing with the character. At all. I don't even think she knows anything about Ms. Parks aside from the fact she didn't give up her seat on the bus. Seriously, she said she slept in her car. It was a tragic performance, and it was borderline offensive.

I started a new paragraph because we have to talk about her runway. It's literally the same design Violet Chachki wore (and wore better) to the Life Ball in 2018, based on an old design by art deco designer Erté. To be honest, of the two, Lana's look doesn't quite read as well. This isn't because of the quality; it's something else – perhaps it's in the confidence thing with modeling the judges mentioned last week, or it could be the glove's color choice or the addition of nails to the design to match the runway theme. I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus (that is still running); both designers who made the looks are AMAZING, but Lana looks like she got the Temu version (Temu couture?) of this glove gown, and spoiler: it's not a good look.

Lexi Love – Gilbert Gottfried. It's a good thing a lot of queens chose celebs who are no longer with us because they would have been offended at how truly awful these portrayals were. The level of sheer delusion to think she could get away with not having anything prepared, especially not the voice, which Gilbert Gottfried is known for and built a career on – what on Earth was Lexi thinking? And worse yet, the judges PRAISED her for it. That's right – she completely blew Snatch Game, got in her head, didn't nail anything, and just muttered that she was fucking up the whole time, and the judges ATE IT UP. Stop the planet; I want to get off; this is terrible. It's getting so incredibly old to watch a production favorite do no wrong, especially when they're so irritating, derivative, and just straight-up boring.

Lydia B Kollins – David Lynch. Was it particularly David Lynch? Not really, but it was amusing in the surrealist, weird Lynch-ian type of way that the weird kids appreciate. Nonetheless, it's a solid, safe performance from Butthole this week.

Onya Nurve – Eddie Murphy. This felt correct, like a classic Snatch Game character, though it felt like a bit of a cop-out. He has so many iconic lines, and it's easy to do an over-the-top impersonation and get a giggle, at least, but that's just a smart choice of character, I suppose. RuPaul does play favorites, and it's no secret that Onya is one of his favorites this season – in Snatch Game, favorites usually get the best/easiest jokes pitched to them; all they have to do is swing at the nice, easy, slow ball. Onya played into this and made smart choices – it's not her fault she's a production favorite, though it did feel like it was somehow a bit too easy, both comedy and character wise. Her runway ate the house down – she left NO crumbs (no, I am not going to make "piggy" happen; it's not going to happen). It's giving 90s hair show, nail salon, a little West Philadelphia born and raised, and it's phenomenal. Well-deserved win for Onya this week.

Sam Star – Kim Gravel, aka Kim of Queens (and QVC). This felt like Sam playing herself in 30 years, but it was good and amusing, and honestly, in this competition, the name of the game (especially Snatch Game) is to make RuPaul laugh, and she sure did here. Her runway was a commonly done theme (plastic surgery) but her nails were literal syringes, and it felt unique to her. Michelle gave the critique that she's too polished, and they don't get to see who she really is personality-wise, which I get, but I also see it as a bit of a lame-duck critique. However, the judges don't see the confessionals and quips that we do, so she'll just have to choke them with personality and charm in a challenge.

Suzie Toot – Ellen Greene, aka the original "Aubrey" in the Little Shop of Horrors movie. Yeah, that's a deep cut that feels expected, but what doesn't feel expected is her absolute flop here. Miss Suzie made the classic Snatch Game mistake of doing an impression and forgetting to make it funny, yet somehow still not even nailing the impression. It was a confusing choice that, done successfully, could have been like Jinkx's Little Edie, but instead, it was just a confusing bit about not being able to pronounce the word "scissors." Her runway was to die for, though; I mean, who else comes out dressed like an iron maiden for a "nailed it" runway? Strongly safe this week, and boy, was she pissed about it.

With Lana in the bottom yet again, one can imagine after that lip sync performance that she'd be going home, especially against Crystal – but no. Yet again, production is smoking crack and rigging it for rage bait, which is getting really freaking old, older than RuPaul herself. In one of the worst surprises of the season, Lana is saved, and Crystal is sent packing, despite Lana literally losing her wig, nips out, and just vaguely loitering on stage, giving a tenth of what Crystal brought to that lip sync.

I suppose it goes to prove that if you stay one of RuPaul's favorites, you don't have to become one of her favorites? I'm not sure, but this feels bad. Lana has nothing going for her aside from whiny storylines that just make me want to ask, "What do you do successfully?" because clearly, it's not acting, sewing, comedy, or impressions. And even her looks feel like something we've seen on that runway before, a lot, from queens with a lot more personality than Lana, who shows the personality of a toddler constantly having a meltdown when things don't go their way. Let's at least stop pretending this is a fair fight and just be for real – RuPaul's Drag Race isn't looking for America's Next Drag Superstar, and they haven't in a long time, arguably ever. They're looking for the next focus group, market researched RuPaul approved WOW cash cow.

And honestly? I'm not even sure RuPaul cares at this point – it's Drag Race Season 17 – as long as the checks clear, he'll crown a literal ostrich if it makes for good TV and puts them in contention for another Emmy. Please welcome to the stage Leggy Betty (who is a literal ostrich…and wins by default after eating everyone else's wigs).

Next week is the Rusical, and it's Wicked-themed (of course, without encroaching on any copyrights). Now, this cast doesn't have American (or Australian) Idol winners, Broadway stars, or even Got Talent girl group members, and we haven't had a dance challenge yet, so it should be interesting to see who excels and who fails next week.

RuPaul's Drag Race season 17 airs on MTV on Friday nights.

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