Since season nine, the top four has meant the end of the competition, but RuPaul pulls the wig off the queens by calling it a "semifinal." As the queens react, it suggests an actual elimination before the finale. Before it gets too serious, RuPaul breaks out one last ridiculous and slightly arbitrary mini-challenge, forcing the queens to lip-synch underwater. Judging such a competition feels highly dubious, but Sapphira's swim cap reveal feels as good as any reason to be the winner.
Read You, Wrote You
Nymphia's worst nightmares are confirmed when RuPaul announces this week's challenge is about writing and promoting a book. The antithesis of Morphine last week shows great confidence about a makeover challenge, and Nymphia's insecurity about writing becomes the narrative arch of the episode. The queens must write their own book (what does that exactly mean?), come up with a catchy title, pose for a cover photo shoot, and be interviewed by podcaster and actor Matt Rogers.The queens seem divided between two approaches: humor versus depth. Q and Sapphira want to go more serious with stories of their challenges and perseverance, whereas Plane Jane wants to keep it light. Nymphia, despite her concerns about writing, mostly makes fart noises. The episode's biggest question is how much they are writing here. Clearly, it is not an entire book. Is it a chapter? Is it an outline? Without seeing the actual product, it's hard for the audience to determine quality.
Moving to the photo shoot, it becomes clear that this challenge is less about writing or storytelling ability and more about marketing and branding. RuPaul is shockingly hands-on and active during the photoshoot. Seeing RuPaul so keyed in after 16 seasons was a little strange. He instructed them all on posing and even styled them. Each queen also reveals their title. It's abundantly clear that RuPaul has two favorites this challenge. He is very into Nymphia and Sapphira. In particular, it feels like RuPaul and Sapphira have been longtime friends. When she changed her drag daughter's name last week, Sapphira earned brownie points by taking RuPaul's lead and calling her book Slue Foot. RuPaul is much more hostile to the ideas and looks of Q and Plane Jane.
The final part of the challenge comes in the form of a podcast interview to promote the book. Similar to the interviews with RuPaul and Michelle at the end of a season, this is a chance for the queens to reflect on the competition and reveal themselves. Plane Jane is first and seems to struggle with both parts of the assignment — her desire to keep things funny and surface-level works to her detriment. Sapphira totally understands the assignment as she talks about overcoming family drama and embracing her faults through self-acceptance. It is the kind of self-help speak that RuPaul loves — all about overcoming an inner saboteur or paying bitches no mind. Similar to Q's awkward photoshoot interactions with RuPaul, she seems the least settled in the interview. She has revealing stories to tell and a serious tone, but two things are working against her: she doesn't narrativize it into a digestible package like Sapphira, and unfortunately, Q is rehashing stories she's already told throughout the season. It felt like she revealed nothing new. Nymphia strikes a balance between humor and heart and, most importantly, reveals the root cause of her insecurities, which have been a focus of the last few episodes.
Fandango
After reminiscing, reading, and Sapphira's realization that there will not be a top four, the queens hit the runway for "Fandango." Perhaps it's because only four queens are left, but this was one of the more underwhelming runways. The producers should have used this category earlier in the season. Q's orange outfit, which was the only one to use fans in its actual construction, looked eerily like Sapphira's last week. Maybe it is the high expectations Q has set out for her looks, but this fell flat. Back to her signature blue, Sapphira's ensemble celebrates her heritage with a single fan. It feels too simple until a perfectly timed reveal of two fans on the side of her dress is executed perfectly. Nymphia's Asian Marie Antoinette concept is good on paper but failed to translate in real life. Her use of fans, even with fan nails, felt undercooked. It feels like a missed opportunity for someone named Nymphia Wind not to do something more with a fan prompt. Finally, Plane Jane comes out in the night's best-looking gown, but where is the fandango? She has a gold fan and a pleated cape, but it doesn't really embrace the category. Hopefully, everyone is saving something more spectacular for the finale.A Clear Divide
As critiques get underway, there is a clear top two and bottom two. Q stumbled in both the challenge and the runway, and Plane Jane's decision to play it cool left the judges cold. The winner ends up being Nymphia, but it's a little questionable. The breakthrough the judges seemed to see with Nymphia this week did not feel as dramatic as they made it out to be. Considering all aspects of the challenge, it's hard not to see Sapphira as the clear winner. It seems plausible that giving Sapphira a fifth win right before the finale would make for a less-than-suspenseful conclusion to the season. A Nymphia win levels the playing field.Tina on the Stage
The sibling rivalry discussed at the start of the episode sets up this lip-synch for your life matchup. Both have lip-synched for the win, but Q is the only one with experience in the bottom two. Like last week, it seems improbable that someone with four wins will be eliminated right before the finale. The song choice, Tina Turner's "Better Be Good To Me," feels like a relatively evenly matched lip-synch, considering neither is a gifted dancer. The mid-tempo pace, sparse lyrics, and almost spoken-word delivery lend themselves to various interpretations. This is where the winner is decided. Q's performance feels like every one of Q's other performances.On the other hand, Plane Jane feels more in control after a questionable striptease. Her facial expressions and body movements communicate precisely what she wants, earning laughs from RuPaul. The camera time allotted to Plane Jane is confirmed when she is announced the winner, and Q exits so close to the crown.
