RuPaul’s Drag Race Recap S16E4: “You Can See Her Nefer-Titties”

“Whiplash! Love, Hershii,” reads the lipstick on the mirror when the Queens return to the Werkroom. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if one of the Queens, just once, wrote “WHORE” in lipstick in an astute reference to Black Swan? It would work even better if the winner of the lip sync scrubbed it off quickly before mirroring Natalie Portman’s regressive voice saying, “he picked me, mommy,” right into the camera. The Queens take to the couches to gab about the first elimination and the first Untucked featuring the entire cast. It will come as a surprise to no one that they immediately discuss Plane Jane’s comments to Amanda about her drag – which were not shady, but rude – but Amanda is ready to throw it back at her now. Plane attempts to tell her she hopes down the road they’ll be able to have more fun, to which Amanda retorts, “well, I hope you stay around long enough to do so!” Keep it coming, Amanda. Very fascinating to see Plane have so much to say while missing at least three nails! 

The next day in the Werkroom, the Queens find out they’ll be on RDR Live!, a sketch comedy show in the style of Saturday Night Live where they will have one take to get their scenes down. Before they can begin getting ready, they have to divvy up the roles. It’s a time-honored Drag Race tradition for there to be friction while the girls are deciding roles for the acting challenges. They can’t just get along and fairly distribute the roles, of course, so they must argue about who will bring the most to the role when, really, it’s about who won’t back down. Mirage and Sapphira both stake a claim in hosting duties, but Sapphira gives in pretty easily and decides on another part, which I respect. There’s no reason to sit here all day arguing with these ladies when you know you can excel at more than one part in this! Mirage is visibly surprised at this and almost seems unsure about what she’s been given. The next issue that arises is Plasma’s attachment to News Anchor #2: Dawn and Amanda want to be the News Anchors together and agree that Plasma should turn her sights to the Barbara Streisand-esque role that seems perfect for her. I can understand Plasma’s initial reservations taking this one, but this is the perfect time in the competition to start pulling ahead if you can. Plasma then goes on a confessional tangent about her love for Streisand, cutting back to her speaking to Nymphia and Sapphira about… her love for Streisand. She’s a musical theatre gay, you guys, what did you expect?

Later, the Hilarious Ross Mathews comes in with Ru to speak to the girls for last minute advice. The first group they chat with consists of Mhi’ya, Geneva, Morphine, and Xunami. Ross asks the group if they’ve ever done sketch comedy, to which they all respond in the negative (it would have been a surprise otherwise), but it’s Ross and Ru’s reaction to this that changed the course of my year. The shock on their faces is significant enough, you’d think they’d just ask this question to applicants of the Upright Citizens Brigade. “This will be fun,” they both conclude. The next group of ladies to speak to the judges is Mirage, Sapphira, Nymphia, and Plasma. Ross learns of Plasma’s aversion to being typecast and tells her she needs to embrace what she’s good at! Shocker! They move on to how the roles were decided, which ends up being Sapphira saying she gave Mirage the part, which Mirage somehow has an issue with… even though that is exactly what happened. After all the ladies have their quick chats with the judges, Ru informs them the runway will be Night of 1000 Chers.

A new day in the Werkroom means it’s time to paint while having personal conversations. Tonight’s conversation is a truly special one as Xunami and Geneva talk about being DREAMers and being DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipients. Drag Race is known for these types of great conversations happening while the Queens do their makeup for the runway. There’s a certain comfort in hearing queer people talk to each other about their individual struggles and find even more community with one another. It’s a beautiful moment hearing these two discuss their lives with one another, made better by the confessionals educating Drag Race audiences on a topic they might not have known much about otherwise. We then find out that Amanda’s day job is a ghost writer for Only Fans. Work! That’s an incredible way to make money and pass the time, so Amanda only rises ranks in my book. 

And live from the Main Stage, it’s RDR Live! Sarah Michelle Gellar is the guest judge this week, the Slayer herself on the panel to tell these ladies like it is. Morphine, Xunami, Mhi’ya, and Geneva start off the challenge. Mhi’ya manages to shake off the shy persona the judges have been accusing her of having for the past couple of episodes, while Geneva looks like Guy Fieri’s New Jersey housewife twin sister. Mirage takes the stage for her hosting gig, shakily making it through a monologue that could have used more work. She wanted this part! It upsets me so much when a Queen decides to go for something, but falls short. And now the RuPaul performance can begin. Coming out in an all-gold western outfit complete with a golden cowboy hat that would make Kyle Richards smile, Ru gives a quick performance to her song, “Lady Cowboy,” before we return to the comedy. Amanda and Dawn are now doing their news anchor bit that Dawn was so keen on, yet I am fully distracted by the random piece of straightened hair coming from the back of this curly wig? I can’t stop looking at it no matter what she says, but they still do fine. Q comes out and does well at being the Brick at Stonewall, the sketch ending not long after her arrival. Plasma, Nymphia, and Sapphira come out and, although they all do wonderfully, Plasma manages to keep all eyes on her. She should have never doubted herself! I think it’s also of note that Sapphira looks incredible. After a quick sign-off from Mirage, it’s time to move to Night of 1000 Chers.

A rundown of the runway:

• Xunami’s legs look great in her outfit, though I’m almost never a fan of a nude illusion
• Every time Morphine hits the stage, her face looks perfectly beat
• Mhi’ya’s wig doesn’t look big enough to wear to a hometown bar, much less the Main Stage
• Geneva looks great with all the red on her
• Mirage’s looks okay but her hair doesn’t match the decade of the outfit she chose
• My favorite part of Megami’s look is the hair
• Plane Jane looks incredible
• Not to be outdone by her sinister sister Plane, Amanda Tori Meating comes out looking divine in purple
• I really enjoyed Dawn’s look but the reveal to the “slut waist” worked really well for me
• Q’s look is a highlight of the runway
• Plasma has become reliable pretty early on for the runway, but I would love her to take it to the next level, which she could very well do in the coming weeks
• Nymphia is the fashion Queen of the season and has done nothing but blow me away with her runways so far
• Sapphira looks regal. My god! Beautiful.

When the judging commences, Ru gets the best impression of Cher possible out of Mhi’ya, who does it not once, but twice, the second with a hair flip that has the entire panel doubled over. Sarah Michelle Gellar provides insightful critiques to the Queens, marking another great guest judge for the season so far. Plasma is announced the winner, which makes sense given how good she was and how the episode’s narrative unfolded. Geneva finds herself in the bottom again, this time with Mirage. When this was announced, I was hoping for something great, but my expectations were humbled quickly. It doesn’t take long into “Dark Lady” by Cher to realize that Mirage doesn’t know the lyrics, to the point where the judging panel is truly confused. Geneva knows every word, however, and doesn’t miss a single one as she gives Mirage her send off. It’s disappointing to see a Queen go out this way, but perhaps she’ll learn her lesson before All Stars 12 begins in a few years.

Photo: MTV