Yeah, you need to watch this.
Mikelle Street*This post contains major spoilers from RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race episode 3.
A lot of hardcore fans were bummed when RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race kicked off. Many felt that the celebrities that were chosen in the first episode— for one reason or another — weren't the best fit for the level of the show. Combine that with a fact that it was the premiere episode and people didn't have very high hopes for the rest of the four-part series. But since, the show has been knocking it out of the part with every episode.
I want to be clear about something: the first episode was not bad! Once you got past your argument of whether the contestants were actual "celebrities" or not — guys, they were — it was pretty solid television. The performances were decent, the looks were great ... it was good drag! The second episode stepped things up in every aspect. We wouldn't venture so far as to say that the Dolly Parton Rusical was the best Rusical in the history of the show, but it was certainly up there! Combine that with contestants like Vanessa Williams, Loni Love, and Tami Roman? And an episode cameo by Parton herself?! Yeah, the good stuff. This all led us to episode three.
Because of an inadvertent leak, we already knew who the show's three contestants were: Dustin Milligan, Matt Iseman, and Alex Newell. Our expectations were high as all three are pretty experienced in terms of performance with varying levels of comedic ability. Add to that the fact that the Queen Supremes were Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi, and Nina West and we were really set up for a quality roast!
And boy, did the show deliver.
In the episode, RuPaul remarked that the event was one of the best in Drag Race herstory. "That was the funniest ruoast we have ever had on this stage," she told the contestants after their runway presentations. And she was right.
Maybe it was the editing but there wasn't a wholly bad moment of all the sets. All three contestants, and all three of the Queen Supremes — who introduced them and transitioned the show — had joke after landed joke. Kim Chi's crack on RuPaul's short-lived talk show? *chef's kiss* Iseman as Betty Bordeaux doing their entire set ... ah, that's herstory!
Milligan, as Rachel McAdams Apple (someone needs to take the name Lucinda Butt which was another option he considered,) also had a pretty amazing set with a thread of continuity that had the audience reciting the key line by the end. All this with an iconic mug painted by, who we believe to be, Laila McQueen. And don't leave out Newell as Madame That Bitch. She is well experienced as a stage performer and let everyone in the cast feel a bit of the burn from her reads. And arguably, of all the contestants, she was feeling the fantasy the most — justifiably as her mug was also STAMPED, although we are unsure who to thank for it! (We are guessing Mayhem Miller.)
To make things better, it wasn't just the competition that made the episode a success. As drag does, the challenge, as well as the process of getting ready for the Main Stage, helped the three celebs address and tease out some internal conversations that were heartwarming to watch play out.
With all of this considered, it was little wonder that Ru split the prize three ways, awarding Milligan, Iseman, and Newell. And hey, if the finale is anything near to as good as this (or episode two,) you can expect us to tune in!
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