RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap S16E12: Bodies Bodies Bodies (BBL Remix)

I’m so sorry but it’s difficult to concentrate on Morphine’s celebratory monologue upon entering the Werkroom when we get these beautiful glimpses of Q’s rage. Anyway, we have our top 6! It’s exciting to have whittled down the competition to seeing these Queens make it this far because it feels deserving. If you’re tuning in after weeks of missing episodes, you probably will not be surprised to see Plane, Nymphia, Morphine, Sapphira, Q, and Dawn here. This was all part of Q’s vision, I’m sure.

The mini challenge finds the Queens doing an exaggerated paint to recreate the Tammy Faye shirt. Plane Jane wins her first mini challenge before Ru tells the competitors about the main challenge this week, which is to create an all inclusive bathroom. You read that correctly. The Queens are tasked with designing an all-gender-all-inclusive bathroom. I couldn’t believe my ears the first time Ru said it, I began looking out the nearest window in a desperate search for understanding as if I had a spouse I had not seen in years and expected him to show up at that very moment. Let it be known that the Queens of Drag Race season 16 have gone through more than any Survivor contestant ever has; I’ve never seen Rob Cesternino create an entire look out of scratch before! The ladies have been put into pairs, including Plane with Sapphira, Dawn with Nymphia, and Morphine with Q. When the ladies get into that one blank canvas setting that we’ve seen several times in Drag Race herstory, including the All Stars 4 challenge where they created clubs, Plane immediately starts complaining about labor, stating she simply “[doesn’t] like picking things up.” Incredible. 

Plane, presumably at the mercy of the producers, puts paint on one of Dawn and Nymphia’s walls, inciting the other ladies to do the exact same back to Plane. It goes nowhere and fizzles out immediately, feeling a bit forced in the process. The episode quickly moves past the commercial break into everyone getting ready so, as you could have probably assumed, they have a conversation about bathroom politics and gender inclusivity. Morphine offers the most in the conversation about her own personal struggles as someone who identifies as gender fluid, feeling uncomfortable no matter which bathroom she chooses. After, Plane finally starts breaking down the barriers around her and becomes more vulnerable with Sapphira about her insecurities. 

This week’s runway is Chain Reaction and the panel is joined by actress Mayan Lopez.

A quick rundown of the runway:

• Morphine’s outfit is a little basic for me but the face is incredible as always, the makeup queen of the season
• I don’t actually like Q’s look very much, especially since it only really works when she has her arms open like she’s about to take flight
• Dawn comes out in my least favorite look from her the entire season and my paranoia grows for how she’ll fare this week
• Nymphia looks incredible, the blue she’s wearing looks fabulous on her and her waist is cinched
• Plane Jane’s look is fine and doesn’t really feel original for the runway, or her
• Sapphira proves every week that she can always provide something fresh, fun, and completely in her style

It’s time to reveal the powder rooms the Queens have created. My eyes cannot be dug away from Q’s neckline and the stark contrast between the color of her face and the paleness of her chest and arms. Q and Morphine’s room, which is pretty much Hell, has a cute concept and the two are excited about it, but it doesn’t bring as many laughs as Q thinks she’s going to get with the voice she’s doing. There are funny moments, the toilet paper being just out of reach being a highlight, but there wasn’t much to consider when it was over. Nymphia and Dawn then present the F.Art Museum, where Dawn stands idly by as Nymphia delivers joke after joke. Nymphia does great in the challenge, even with a ridiculous concept that sometimes doesn’t make sense. She’s committed to the bit, even small gestures being hilarious with a perseverance for the joke. Lastly Plane and Sapphira introduce the Bootylickers Speakeasy, bringing everything to hilarious new heights as the two crack jokes and improvise their way through the time they’ve been provided. The two are magic together and easily provide the best experience with their powder room.

I won’t mince words: Dawn was never going to win a lip sync to Megan thee Stallion’s “Body,” and she surely was not going to win said lip sync against Morphine. As we know, Morphine does have a BBL, so was Dawn ever going to be able to compete? It also seems like she isn’t able to keep up with the song, so this week’s elimination comes as no surprise when she’s sent home. A top 5 is now in place, so it will be fun to see who the next Queen is to leave as the competition nears the end.

Photo: MTV