Our queens were assigned a specific dating show contestant stereotype to act out. The challenge this week combined two elements you actually can’t believe the show hadn’t done before: a spoof of The Bachelor and a focus on improv (queens have had to improv many times before, but never has the talent been so specifically highlighted). The issue was dropped, and the pair didn’t come into direct conflict for the rest of the episode (because, as Kennedy claims, Milk won’t even talk to her, let alone apologize), but from there the two queens took two divergent paths, and ultimately converged in a dramatic moment at the end. This shocked Kennedy, who was under the impression that all the time she’s worked with Milk on the post-Drag Race club circuit meant that they had a solid relationship. Kennedy, of course, was not sent home, and was actually in the room at the time. The lines were drawn at the top of the episode with the queens fresh after Shangela’s decision from the previous episode to send Thorgy home over Kennedy, a move most in the room seemed to agree with until Milk, still under the impression her hyper-specific take on Celine Dion was slept on by the judges, broke the peace by claiming, actually, she would have sent Kennedy home instead. On the other, you have Milk, a statuesque Manhattan club kid and current darling of the New York fashion world with a unique aesthetic that breaks past traditional drag. On one side, you have Kennedy Davenport whose Texas via South Florida drag upbringing and cautious interactions with other queens often lends itself to letting some fans stereotype her as a bitter pageant queen. Tonight’s episode offered itself up as a study in contrast of two queens who are both polar opposites in the world of drag, and as people. Embracing the range of drag has not only helped to dispel tired stereotypes about the art form, but has also delivered a hefty amount of juicy drama over the years. “Future of Drag” saga of the fourth season. It was a lesson producers learned with the game-changing arrival of Raja in Season 3, and was really solidified by Phi Phi and Sharon’s now near-mythological “Tired Ass Showgirl” vs. RuPaul’s Drag Race didn’t quite find its footing as a television program until it stopped pretending that all drag queens are basically the same and learned to embrace the differences inherent in the drag world.
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