RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE S13E3 “Phenomenon”: The Pork Chop Queens Are Cooking With Gas

There’s an oft-forgotten saying that has surfaced on RuPaul’s Drag Race throughout its many, many seasons: “This lit a fire under my ass.” Now, queens either say it when their confidence has been shaken, failed in a challenge, and then tell RuPaul that they will do better next time. “Ru, you’ve lit a fire under my ass and I’m gonna bring it next time.” Some queens have risen above their early missteps and have even made it to the end of the competition. Pearl in season 7 notoriously stepped her game up after a cringe-inducing showdown with Ru and made it to the Top Three. But, for every Pearl, there’s a handful of queens who keep saying that they’re motivated to do better who then end up sashaying away.

With this season of Drag Race, we’re seeing what happens when half of the cast – the “Pork Chop” queens – finally show up and prove that being kicked down so low can be the best motivator. Elliott With 2 Ts, who was voted off and thus at the bottom-est of the bottom rung, blew everyone out of the water with her sensational solo verse and dance in last week’s episode, setting the foundation for this week’s revolution: do not underestimate the “Pork Chop” queens. They brought everything they had to this episode, blowing last week’s performances completely out of the water. 

“Sis, we’re on Drag Race, it’s not called Drag WALK”

This week, we get to see how Denali, Joey Jay, Kahmora Hall, Rosé, Tamisha Iman, and Utica Queen are doing after being forced to vote Elliott With 2 Ts out of the competition – or so they thought. Joey mentions that their group was given a wakeup call and that it’s an advantage for all of them, Utica talks about how cute everyone is, and they get right into their mini-challenge, which was primed for us last week as a double runway where the two categories derive from the theme “Lady and the Vamp.”

Everyone’s excited to get ready for the runway but there’s a bit of a problem – they only have an hour to do their makeup and, as we learn, Kahmora usually takes up to six hours to paint her face. What?! Six hours?! This is especially bewildering because Kahmora’s mug doesn’t necessarily look like it has a ton of makeup on it; she has very nice skin and no eyebrows to glue down so what’s the T, Christine? According to Kahmora, she’s really good at blending, it’s a spiritual transformation and process, and “beauty can’t be rushed.”

This may or may not come back to bite her in the ass, especially when the five-minute call time is given and it looks like Kahmora hasn’t even done her eyes yet. It looks like Kahmora might not even make it to the stage at all when a producer/crew member’s voice booms out that she needs to get to the stage or they’ll go on without her, with intermittent cuts to Kahmora putting on pantyhose and an empty workroom. Keep in mind, Drag Race has some really good editors, so they may have gone ham with the b-roll and the scene may be a bit exaggerated. However, as mentioned before, Kahmora’s stumbling so early in the episode does not bode well for her down the line.

For their first looks, everyone must look like a Lady, and almost everyone kills it: Denali is covered in Alaska’s state flower (she’s the show’s first-ever Alaskan queen), Rosé looks amazing in a big-sleeved pop art look, Tamisha stuns in harem pants, Utica gives a fun mod look complete with ball-pit balls, and Kahmora looks regal in a Kate Middleton-esque dress with matching fascinator. The only Lady outfit that didn’t look that great was Joey’s furry vest and boots trimmed with fuzzy balls.

As for the Vamp runway looks, Denali sets the bar really high with her look that is described as “woman leaving a burning ballroom.” This bar is reached and maybe even surpassed by Rosé’s incredible McQueen-inspired look. Utica’s gown is out there and Edwardian but reads more like a Shakespearian costume and not a runway look. Kahmora’s look is simple, Tamisha’s is basically a gown made of hair and, again, Joey Jay’s look is not that great. The first runway is miles above the second one in terms of beauty and fashion.

Look What’s Under The Microscope

There are a few scenes peppered throughout the episode where we really get to know the queens a lot better than we would have in other seasons. Not only do we learn that 49-year-old Tamisha Iman has biological children, but we also learn that her drag children of the Haus of Iman are just as legendary as she is. All of the pageant queens of the Haus of Iman have won national titles (which is a really big deal) and one of her drag daughters is one of the most infamous queens of the drag world: Tandy Iman Dupree. When everyone learns that Tandy (who passed away in 2005) was Tamisha’s daughter, they completely freak out. For those who may not know, Tandy gave arguably the greatest stage entrance at the 2001 Miss Gay Black America pageant. As Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” begins to play, Tandy’s dance partner comes out dressed as Superman, looking for her and then leaving the stage. As the lyrics kick in, Tandy, dressed as Wonder Woman, drops from the ceiling and lands on the stage in a split. Knowing that Tandy’s drag mother is in their presence, the other queens can’t help but be in awe.

Along with Tamisha’s dynasty, we learn about how Kahmora kind of hides her drag life from her longtime boyfriend, as well as her strict Vietnamese parents. We also learn out on the mainstage that Utica is very religious and a Seventh-Day Adventist, which will most likely come up again later in the season since there’s often a question of whether drag and religion can come together.

“Drag is all over the world, it’s a phe-no-me-non”

Just like last week, the queens’ maxi-challenge is a group performance of a RuPaul song (specifically the song “Phenomenon”) which is made up of individual verses and dance moves. In an effort to bring everyone’s talents to the maximum, the dancers and choreographers of the group get to talking about the dance moves before they even hit the stage, which means that they are all dead serious about doing well. The rehearsal is chaotic and a huge misdirect (as they usually are) but there’s something different about this group of queens: they are going above and beyond with the moves and working hard to make Kahmora, who doesn’t even know what an 8-count is, look good.

Most challenges where the queens must be the ones to choreograph the dance moves, they tend to keep things simple and try not to have anyone shine more than needed – but not this group. The finished product is so fabulous and everyone works together to make each other shine out on the mainstage that even the weaker performers look outstanding compared to last week’s “Condragulations” performance.

Accompanying RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Ross Mathews on the judging panel, this week’s special guest judge is comedian and actress Nicole Byer (Nailed It!, Tuca & Bertie). After the queens’ absolutely stellar work in the performance, they hit the stage in the runway category “We’re Here, We’re Sheer, Get Used To It.” Denali is the first one on the runway and she looks beautiful in what looks like a dress made of giant lavender-colored flower petals (very Georgia O’Keefe). Next is Joey, whose see-through dress is fabulous but the fact that she’s not wearing a wig knocks it down a few notches. Kahmora hits the stage in an unreal sheer nude-illusion dress, Rosé wears what looks like a shower loofahs on her arms, Tamisha shines in a handmade gown that every single one of the judges adores, and last is Utica in an homage to Stevie Nicks. 

Everyone gets positive feedback in some way – Kahmora’s taste level in the mini-challenge, Tamisha’s gown on the runway, Denali’s everything, etc. – and only a few negative critiques are given. Kahmora is told that she seems to be all look and no personality (a death sentence in Drag Race), Ross doesn’t really love Rosé’s runway look, and Tamisha is told that she’s holding back, performance-wise. Ru and Michelle absolutely love Tamisha’s dress but they question how Tamisha, the drag mother of Tandy, could not bring everything to her performance on the mainstage. Since Tamisha is recovering from cancer treatment, it makes sense for her to be a little bit slower, so hopefully, this critique doesn’t keep coming up and sends her home early.

Kahmora and Tamisha are given the worst critiques but there’s no tension at all – we already know that there’s going to be a Top Two with everyone being declared safe. But who will be in the Top Two? Or better yet, who is Denali going to lip-sync against for a $5,000 tip, because Denali undoubtedly won this week?

Bring Back My Girls

The judges deliberate and Ru makes her decision: the top queens of the week are Denali (duh) and Rosé who, despite getting mixed reviews on her runway outfit, completely soared in the “Phenomenon” performance. Their lip sync song is “If U Seek Amy” by Britney Spears and, on Drag Race, you can often tell who wins the lip-sync within the first few seconds. This lip sync is no exception. 

While Rosé takes the comedy route and does a great job with the lip sync, the camera barely cuts away from Denali who is giving it some Britney panache. The editing really is the only giveaway to the winner as there are points where Denali and Rosé do the exact same moves but it’s Denali who cinches it when she gets down into the low vogue moves and spins into a split. Denali’s win is much deserved, especially after so many people felt that she should have won her original lip sync back in the premiere. Be it on ice skates or in high heels, Denali is a contender when it comes to lip syncs.

Conclusion: “Phenomenon”

During Untucked, which is usually where the juiciest fights and biggest drama happen, the mood is one of sisterhood and humility. Even though Kahmora feels that she may be one of the bottom girls (they don’t know there’s no bottom in this episode), everyone, even the most confident queens like Denali and Rosé, are at peace with their placement in the competition as the “Pork Chop” queens because of how close they’ve become and they all know that they’ve proven themselves to the judges. 

Some of the conversations turn to how things will be when they eventually meet the “Winner Circle” queens – which the sneak peek for next week’s episode shows will FINALLY happen – and there will certainly be tension. While past seasons have shown that these separated groups will eventually integrate and section off into smaller groups and friendships, three episodes of “Us VS Them” makes it feel like these cliques will run deep, especially since the queens from this week have no idea that Elliott is still in the competition. So much potential for drama!

I must say that, while last week’s episode was good, it pales in comparison to this week. Episode 3 has the underdogs, it has the fashion, it has the best performance of the season (so far) and it has given us so much background on some of the queens. Sure, the drama that’s sure to come in the coming weeks is highly anticipated, but there’s no doubt in my mind that this episode will be a highlight of the season. The thing I’m looking forward to most is how these “Pork Chop” queens will prove themselves further because lord knows the “Winner Circle” queens will give them a hard time.

As Tina Burner says at the top of the episode, “Whenever we cross these little monsters, they’re probably going to have a lot to prove. That must be a weird place to start the competition, already a notch down, so now they’re gonna have to double-notch to get ahead of us. You gotta jump twice as high to be me, and I am a tall bitch.” Well, guess what Tina, after this episode, they clearly have.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Are you Team Pork Chop or Team Winner Circle? Let us know in the comments below!

A new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 can be seen every Friday at 8/7c on VH1.