The most highly anticipated Maxi challenge is upon us. The Snatch Game on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” can be hit or miss depending on the type of cast we get. It’s not my favorite challenge, because of how painfully cringe it can be to see queens flop hard (and flop some of them did), but season 18’s Snatch Game was actually watchable!
Surviving Snatch Game
This season’s Snatch Game had a twist that’s usually reserved for All-Star seasons; instead of its usual formula, it was a Snatch Game … of Love. The Love Island edition! My hopes were not high for this at all, but almost everyone did shockingly well.
Let’s break down the best parts of episode eight.
The Drama
The drama was pretty thin this episode, but that didn’t mean it was a boring episode. The most interesting bit of tea was Juicy Love Dion spiraling over the twist and how she’d have to pivot from her “Ugly Betty” America Ferreira character. Jane Don’t is listening to her vent, but is basically fed up at this point with helping her. Finally, FINALLY, someone is calling this out.
I love Juicy with my whole heart, but she’s been propped up a lot in this competition, by her family and her newly made sisters. It’s a smart idea to utilize your community and drag family to help you build stronger performances and looks, but at some point you’re going to have to stand on your own two feet in this competition (and in life).
The Looks
Category is: ‘80s Ladies and again not my favorite runway, not because the queens did poorly but because I really dislike most fashion from the 1980s. Athena Dion was gold and bold as Joan Collins, one of the better looks. Jane Don’t ate dressed as Kate Pearson from The B52s. Mia Starr’s “Purple Rain” Prince was actually pretty good. I wasn’t as astounded and stunned by Nini Coco’s Cyndi Lauper as the judges were, but I can appreciate her commitment to the cosplay.
Darlene Mitchell was absolutely perfect as Dolly Parton; there’s really no one else that she could’ve been given her aesthetic. Once again, Kenya Pleaser pissed me off in an episode. Her Chaka Khan was so basic and terrible. That’s what you decided to bring for CHAKA MOTHERFUCKING KHAN? Someone who has so much to choose from? Myki Meeks’ Olivia Newton John look was just fine. Juicy did Celia Cruz right, it was the best look on the runway by far. Discord Addams’ makeup for Reba McEntire was pretty accurate but very uncanny valley, it was unsettling.
The Talent
Let’s get into Snatch Game of Love: Island Edition. It was one of the better Snatch Games we’ve had in years. The last couple of years there’s been a couple of good standouts but season 18 showcases a roster of almost perfect impressionists. The obvious bottoms were obvious from the start: Kenya doing whatever the fuck as Lizzo, Mia making me laugh with how awkward and unplanned her Bloody Mary character was, and Juicy’s painful-to-watch JoJo Siwa.
However the highs were in the fucking stratosphere. Myki’s Drew Barrymore was easily the most I laughed the entire episode. Jane, of course, killed it as a very raunchy Truman Capote and Nini’s David Attenborough was surprisingly hilarious. Other highlights include Athena killing it as some rich Greek lady whose name I don’t remember and who I’m unsure actually exists, Darlene breaking constantly with her slutty Mrs. Claus look, and Discord’s gay as fuck Pope character.
All in all, a really impressive showing for the season 18 queens. As I’ve previously said, Snatch Game is not my favorite challenge because, more often than not, it’s not that funny. A huge shout-out to the queens this season for giving a good show. Even Mia, who could not get it together and it had me in shambles. I love Mia Starr.
The Guest
BROOKE SHIELDS. With emphasis! She’s such a warm, comfy, beautiful, shining presence on this panel. Her anecdotal critiques were some of the best; letting Jane know her Capote impression was spot on. She also walked the runway and showed off that body-ody-ody. Bring her back for more judging.
The Winner and Loser
Nini wins! I think any of the top queens could’ve won to be honest, but Nini really wowed the judges with her Snatch Game performance and Lauper runway. The bottoms were obvious from the first two minutes of Snatch Game, with Kenya and Mia lip syncing against each other. Although, Juicy ended up safe, she got one of the harshest critiques RuPaul can give a girl: who the fuck are you? Ru has no idea who Juicy is as a drag queen, which is a red flag this far in the competition. Maybe if Juicy could stand on her own feet without help from other queens, we’d get a better sense of that. We’ll see what happens to our tiny Florida stunt queen.
Mia killed in the lip sync, but Kenya made Ru laugh with her antics and got to stay. It’s a shocker because Kenya appeared to not even know a lot of the lyrics. I’m gutted that Mia is gone. “FUCK YOU, BLOODY MARY!”
Final Thoughts
This season’s Snatch Game surprised me in a good way. The competition really is getting tighter and it’s becoming more obvious who is heading to the finale. Jane, Nini, and Myki are blasting through their competitors, while half the cast seems to be worried about propping Juicy up.
Season 18 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs weekly on Fridays at 5/8 p.m. PT/ET on MTV.
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Writer and editor