RuPaul’s Drag Race Race RuCap: Snatch Game

Now that we’ve made it to “Snatch Game” things are finally starting to pick up on Season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Stakes are higher, performances are bolder, and eliminations are more shocking than ever. But before we get into yet another shocking season seven elimination, let’s rewind a bit.

The episode starts with everyone absolutely thrilled to see Kandi Ho go. I may be projecting a bit with that statement, but at the very least people seem pretty indifferent to her departure. With the Puerto Rican queen out of the picture, animosity turns on Max, whose ego is out of control, and Kennedy, who just straight up sucks. It seems that Violet’s relinquishment of her bitch title has created an out of balance workroom filled with shade and hate. It’s only time until the workroom collapses under it all, with only Katya left alive.

There is no mini challenge this week, but that’s okay because it gives the queens more time to prepare for “Snatch Game.” Tension arises when Miss Fame and Violet realize they both want to play Donatella Versace, but the situation is deescalated when Ru convinces Violet to play Alyssa Edwards instead. Kennedy takes a major gamble and decides to play Little Richard, which is unheard of in a female impersonation contest; I mean we all remember how much flack Alaska got in Season 5 for doing boy drag. Jaidynn decides to play Raven for no good reason, Ginger and Katya pick obvious choices, and Max decides to play a Disney-fied Sharon Needles because she’s most likely on drugs.

Critics of this season have complained that there hasn’t been enough humanity and depth to the queens. This episode, however, had enough of it for a season. Katya, the obvious fan favorite, bravely airs out her history of addiction and low self-esteem. She shares an extremely tender moment with Miss Fame, who helps her through a panic attack, and the two remind us that beneath the wigs and tucked balls that these queens are real people with real issues.  And it also makes me want Katya to win the crown more than I had before.

The special guest stars for this rendition of “Snatch Game” are Taymar Braxton, who Roxxxy Andrews played on the show, and Michael Urie (Ugly Betty). Here is a recap of the performances:

Miss Fame as Donatella Versace: Human skeleton made out of beef jerky with no personality

Jaidynn as Raven: *sees vision*, doesn’t see upcoming elimination.

Violet as Alyssa Edwards: promotes Alyssa’s dance studio, makes that horrendous tongue pop sound

Katya as Suze Orman: lesbian Justin Bieber

Kennedy as Little Richard: Old Greg, but a funnier version of Old Greg

Ginger as Adele: absolutely nothing like the real Adele, but fantastic nonetheless

Max as Sharon Needles: horrendously awful

Pearl as Big Ang: surprisingly funny, I LOL’ed at her Batman line.

For the runway, Ru asks our queens to serve leather and lace and almost all the looks are wonderful. Miss Fame and Violet further cement their spots as the most stylish queens of the season. Ginger and Kennedy are named this week’s winners, a joint win that has never happened in Snatch history. Jaidynn and Max end up in the bottom. And this is where things get weird. Max, possibly overwhelmed by the prospect of going home, requests to take her corset off and once she does…she weirdly starts singing? The whole thing is extremely calculated and off putting, enough that it makes me question her entire character. Out of all the queens this season, Pearl and Max have experienced the strangest edits. Pearl went from being a lackluster, moody beauty queen and Max went from being weird to weird and endearing to cold and calculating. Her behavior in this episode makes you think twice about what Ginger and Kennedy were saying about her in the last Untucked. Max also fails to impress the judges and is told to sashay away, which has created uproar on the Internet. And to an extent it’s fair; Max has outperformed Jaidynn in every aspect of the show. She’s been the queen to beat for every episode except this one.

At the end of the episode, Ru announces that she is going to bring back a dearly departed queen. One may think its Max, but that would feel anticlimactic. My best guess is that we’ll be seeing Trixie return as she’s the only queen apart from Max whose departure felt untimely. But I guess we’ll have to wait until next week to see, won’t we? (Really hope it’s Shangela)

  RANKINGS

Ginger

Ginger is the strongest contender for the crown this season, but her top dog status may alienate viewers. Bianca slayed season 6, but she managed to reveal her soft side and make herself a likable winner. Ginger, on the other hand, comes across as a funny albeit manipulative bitch. If viewers don’t like her, I’m not sure she’ll win.

 Katya

Katya is the most complex queen in the competition. She’s funny, intelligent, and truly human. She’s the queen we identify with and feel compelled to root for. I think that if Katya harnesses the positive energy and believes in herself that she can claw her way to the top.

 Pearl

Pearl has fully redeemed herself now and embraced her meme-ness. She’s funny, quick-witted, and makes LOL worthy faces at the right times. And while she may not be the most naturally expressive queen, she’s making an effort to keep up with the pack, and that’s laudable.

 Violet

Violet has yet to wow us in any of the acting challenges, but she continues to serve incredible looks. Lord knows the other queens should be nervous when the sewing challenges start rolling in because Violet will SLAY.

 Kennedy

I still don’t particularly like Kennedy but she destroyed this challenge. She took a major risk and showed us that she’s more inventive than the average showgirl. She’s funny (it isn’t always intentional) and she can dance circles around the other queens. She may not be the most likable, but she’s the biggest drag queen in the competition.

 Miss Fame

Miss Fame is not a real performer, but she tries her hardest! There’s also something endearing about her “I raised chickens and can’t shut up” persona. She’s beautiful, but odd, which makes her all the more captivating. I don’t think she’ll make the top 5, but she’s certainly making herself more likable every week.

 Max

Oh Max, what a way to go! Max flew to close to the sun and came crashing down. Her elimination is shocking, but perhaps Max wasn’t willing to truly embrace the competition. At the very least she’s now free to go home and wear her grey wigs in peace.

Jaidynn

Jaidynn, you try. You really do. The door is over there though. Goodbye. Please don’t write.