It’s that time of year again: spring Snatch Game! Yes, the most popular Drag Race event returned, forcing the remaining 8 queens to impersonate celebrities of their choosing in a mock game show hosted by Ru. And, after last week’s entertaining Drag Con themed episode sent fan favorite Blair St Clair home, the stakes were high and all bets were off.
This week, the 90-minute runtime (once again) played to the series’ favor, as Ru got to spend a significant amount of time with each of the queens as they prepared for Snatch Game, providing feedback on their ideas and helping them choose what celebrities they should play.
This also emphasized that preparing for this segment is no easy task— many of the ideas brainstormed by the contestants fell flat at first. It also, of course, doesn’t help that the competition is fierce— reliable queens like Aquaria admitted to not being known for their comedic abilities, while contenders like Monique and The Vixen struggled to develop the characters they were dead set on playing.
The actual Snatch Game, however, was a mostly entertaining affair, and made for an amusing competition. Eureka continues to shine and, after becoming the de facto frontrunner with her back-to-back wins, continued to find her groove in Season 10 by playing Honey Boo Boo. Monet, meanwhile, had the chance to shine as Maya Angelou, redeeming that character after Chi Chi flooped in the part during All Stars 3.
The true highlight, however, was Aquaria, who killed it as Melania Trump, delivering one great line after another. It’s also worth noting that Aquaria had the best runway look of the night— the queens were tasked with creating mermaid themed dresses, and Aquaria took that style in a bold, exciting direction.
There were, however, some weak queens who, in turn, made the final third of the episode incredibly intense. The Vixen and Asia, who played Blue Ivy and Beyoncé respectively, both flopped, leading to tension between the queens. Monique, meanwhile, failed to do much while playing Congresswoman Maxine Waters. This is only a testament to how strong these Top 8 queens are, however: while these three certainly disappointed this week, they are all very strong queens on their own, and bring something fun to the table. Watching the final lip sync was a real nail biter, and fantastic reality television.
The real highlight of the week, however, was a political discussion the queens had in between Snatch Game and the runway challenge, in which they debated how they make their drag acts political back home. Drag Race really shines when the queens embrace the political nature of drag, and it was refreshing to see the queens take a break from the drama and have an in-depth discussion of queer activism in Trump’s America. It also explored the topics of intersectionality, race relations, and how the freedom a queer person might feel in America varies depending on their home state. As great as the drama and fashion might be, it is conversations like this that helps separate the show from its peers.
With only seven queens left, Drag Race is becoming more suspenseful by the week. While it may be easy for some to pick a favorite, these contestants are all formidable contenders for the crown; they survived the most popular, and possibly the most difficult challenge in Drag Race, so it’s exciting to see where they go from here.
