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This week, RuPaul’s Drag Race had the queens of South Florida asking the age-old question, “Am I the drama?”
As it turned out, the real drama came from Briar Blush, who managed to pull Athena Dion, Mia Starr, and Juicy Love Dion into a vortex of dysfunction. What began as a misunderstanding between Blush and the normally affable Starr snowballed into a terse discussion about boundaries that were disrespected. Athena, who has spent much of the season being antagonized by Blush, got roped in, resulting in Blush coming between Juicy and Athena. In the end, a potential melee turned into a valuable lesson about messing with drag family and South Florida.
RuPaul instructed the queens to team up with their best friend in the competition for a Red Carpet Mash-Up design challenge. A second design challenge in only four episodes did not bode well for the South Florida trifecta, as design does not seem to be the collective’s forte.
Interestingly, none of the South Florida queens partnered up. Juicy, somewhat shockingly, given the earlier events, paired up with Blush. Mia and Vita VonTesse Starr bonded over their growing friendship and shared surname. Once again, it felt like Athena was a leftover when she reunited with Darlene Mitchell.
Then, a twist: RuPaul revealed the bestie duos would face off against one another to create the best design from a mash-up of iconic red-carpet looks. It was probably a good idea that the South Florida queens stayed away from each other.
During the design process, Athena, Mia, and Juicy returned to old patterns. Athena — who prepared for the competition with sewing lessons — made a mistake, forcing her to completely redesign her look in the hotel room off-camera. Mia, paired with one of the season’s best seamstresses, accepted she wouldn’t win but carried on with a great attitude. Finally, Juicy once again relied on the kindness of fellow competitors — particularly Jane Don’t — for assistance. The design challenges tend to bring out Athena’s anxieties, Mia’s happy-go-lucky nature, and Juicy’s charismatic cluelessness. It was all riveting to watch.
Athena and Juicy won their respective face-offs, and Mia, who lost hers to the eventual winner, received praise from the judges. Then came the real drama: Blush collapsed on the mainstage following a harsh critique. The ordeal terrified Juicy, but Mia was the first of many queens to raise skepticism about the timing of the fall when she said, “That better be real.” Athena, despite being the target of Blush’s barbs, offered a more sympathetic assessment about the stress and intensity of judging, before throwing in some slight side-eye: “But who knows what the truth is?”
If it was a show, it’s a shame Blush did not make it to the acting challenge. What is certain is that she picked a fight with the South Florida syndicate at the start of the episode and ended it with a collapse before sashaying away.
