‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 3, Episode 4: Work It, Girl, Give a Twirl
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Look closely at this episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and you’ll notice not all is as it seems. Delta Work suddenly has a full head of hair. Mariah Paris Balenciaga has a mustache and goatee. How did all this hair growth happen in just days?
It didn’t. This is where the infamous filming break that both Stacy Layne Matthews and Alexis Mateo have since disclosed took place. I have some questions about how this lines up with an old rumor — that the filming break was about Ru’s health, not Mimi Imfurst and Shangela’s Untucked fight — but we won’t be able to discuss that for a couple of weeks. So let’s put that aside for now, and focus on this episode.
After a duct-tape mini-challenge that, surprise, the thinnest and fishiest girls win (Manila Luzon and Carmen Carrera), the queens are split into two teams for the maxi-challenge. They’re tasked with producing work-out tapes that both expertly parody the format and show off their own personalities. No sweat, right? Well, actually, a lot of sweat. It’s a workout tape. Duh.
To my pleasant surprise, a lot of girls do very well in this episode! I don’t have a ton of fond memories of this challenge — it fades into the wall of tasks from early seasons that have little to do with drag and are more specific parodies of things Ru loves. But nearly the entirety of Manila’s team is excellent. Stacy, picked last because of her size and underestimated throughout, does a shake weight bit complete with eating fried chicken. It’s a star turn, as is Yara Sofia’s unintelligible hurricane of charm.
Delta gets a good deal of editing focus this episode, as the Sad Delta plotline begins. Her anxieties have taken their toll on her, and she’s unsure of anything she does after landing in the bottom two. (Further evidence for the filming break: Delta’s last memory of being in the bottom two would rattle her even more if she had to sit with it for a couple of weeks.) But thanks to some strong coaching from Ru and guest judge Susan Powter, Delta really turns it out. If you listen closely, you can hear Ru fully howling off-mic at Delta’s own shake-weight bit.
Alexis impresses the most, though, with a high-energy act that leans on her Latinx identity. Drag Race gets a lot of flack for the way it only likes Black and Brown queens when they’re racial caricatures, and I think there are a lot of fair critiques to be made. But what Alexis and Yara do in this episode feels entirely born of their particular comedy styles, and they’re rewarded for it.
That said, I can’t quite make heads-or-tails of the judging in this episode. Alexis is the only one who gets across-the-board praise. Michelle Visage goes in on Yara’s dress, while Ru seems disappointed in Stacy despite her being in the top three. LaToya Jackson even wonders if she should be in the bottom two! It’s bizarre. And somehow Carmen Carrera is safe, despite a truly terrible performance in the challenge? Madness!
Ultimately, though, the bottom three comes down to Mariah — who was low-energy but probably deserved to be safe — and our lip syncers, Mimi and India Ferrah. I’m really starting to lose my patience with India (if I ever had it in the first place). She’s so clearly a bad fit for this show, and this challenge is exemplary of that. Her performance goes nowhere; writing this literally two days after watching the episode (and with extensive notes!), I can’t remember what she does. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of a more forgettable queen who got this far in a season.
Were I a conspiracy theorist, I’d wager India was supposed to go home opposite Mimi in this lip sync. Mimi is a big character, and at this point has more to offer as a villain than India ever will as … well, filler. Making all the big girls work together in the mini-challenge despite Stacy and Delta kinda hating her? Iconic! Even in critiques, she says “I try to put the B in subtle.” That’s funny, and kind of a crazy thing to say! I want to love Mimi. But as Ru notes in his critique, she’s been “teetering” throughout the season, and her high placements in challenges have seemed low in perception.
I’d say this lip sync is just as messy as you remember, but that’s a lie. It’s worse. Mimi lifting India — itself an absurd act that would instantly make this one of the trashiest lip syncs — is just the tip of the iceberg. Mimi’s an utter disaster throughout the song, struggling to get her dress off and wildly waving her arms around the stage. India only succeeds in comparison; her energy is good, but losing her wig and some frenetic movements make her look almost as desperate as Mimi. Except, you know, the picking-up-another-queen part.
Re: the lift, what more is there to say that hasn’t been said? It’s gross, over-the-line, and spoke to every bit of Mimi’s insecurity. She literally uses force to prevent a queen from getting more attention than her. Ru’s “Drag is not a contact sport!” is an iconic line, but I don’t think it goes far enough. Mimi needed to go, and she needed to get help with the anxieties that were informing her bad behavior. And I hope she did!
This, of course, would not be the end of Mimi’s Drag Race journey. But that’s a tale, and a trip to Mars, for another day.
Shake, bake, and Final Thoughts-ake:
- Post-lip sync, someone in the back fully cheers at India being declared safe, which cracks me up. Also, Ru’s “Mimi Imfurst. You will always be part of an elite group of drag queens. Remember that”? Fully the shadiest thing I’ve heard from him in a minute.
- As mentioned, LaToya Jackson seems on an entirely different planet during judging, but that’s not the worst thing I could say about her. Susan Powter is forgettable, but I’m glad they at least had a reputable coach for the challenge.
- Mimi’s idea for their tape to be called “Trans-form Yourself” is a real yikes in retrospect, huh?
- Yara debuts “Echa pa’lante!” here, and it’s every bit as delightful as I remembered. These kinds of organic catchphrases are what Drag Race used to do best, before queens walked into the workroom with a battery of them prepared.
- In keeping with the savagery of RuPaul’s critiques of safe queens, the unchosen few this episode get a dismissal dripping with irritation: “Leave the stage. Now.” I miss this Ru.
- This is Billy B’s first appearance as a substitute regular judge, a role he’d take on more heavily in season 4. As I said during that rewatch, I think Billy is underrated, but unfortunately was never around enough to make a full impression. Still, Drag Race really needs a judge who can speak to makeup on the panel.
- Absolutely thrilling news: Seasons 1–6 of Drag Race are now available to stream on Hulu! This marks additional availability to the first five seasons available on Amazon Prime. Additionally and crucially, the first five seasons of Untucked are also available on Hulu, marking their first wide availability in years. I’ll try to keep up with Untucked episodes as I recap to flag the important ones to watch.
- More news! Drag Race UK premieres this Thursday, and I’ll be covering this whole new season in a whole new country! Look out for my recaps, which I’ll be tweeting out Friday mornings, and my power rankings, which will be out Saturday mornings. I’m writing them for Xtra, as I did for All Stars 4 and season 11. Hope you all join me for this season!
- Okay, as always, SPOILER CORNER coming up for All Stars 5’s cast, don’t read the last bullet point if you want to remain unspoiled.
- There was a rumor, considering her availability changes and some cryptic Instagram posts, that Yara Sofia was originally supposed to be part of this upcoming season. If we had to have only one of Alexis or Yara, honestly, I’d have preferred the latter. While Alexis ruled this original season, Yara was far more compelling a presence in All Stars 1, one of the only queens who seemed to really thrive. I hope she comes back for a future season, because she deserves for the children to know her again.
The next Drag Race Rewind recap, covering season 3, episode 5, will be available to Patreon subscribers next Tuesday, October 8.
