The field of six doubled Friday night on season 12 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” when each of the queens was paired with a superfan in the RPDR rite of passage, the makeover challenge! This season RuPaul Charles surprised six female superfans with the chance to become part of the show as temporary drag daughters to the contestants.
Once clocked by the judges and other queens for her makeup skills, was Heidi N Closet able to translate her own look to the face of someone else? And did Jackie Cox halt her downward trajectory with a more impressive performance this week?
Below, check out our minute-by-minute “RuPaul’s Drag Race” recap of Season 12, Episode 10 to find out what happened in “Superfan Makeover.” After reading our thoughts on the episode, be sure to sound off in the comments section about the May 1st episode and who you think will ultimately join the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winners list.
8:01 p.m. – Widow Von’Du‘s emotional elimination was a reminder to the final six that “getting in your head” is the worst thing you can do in the competition because it will trip you up and make you feel insecure about your choices. Though she was also in the bottom two, Jackie found a silver lining in being able to be a voice for her community by proudly wearing her hijab during the lip synch. But that pride was clouded by the fact that the remaining contestants are made up of three multiple challenge winners and two others that have been improving with each week while her own journey has seemed to spiral downward.
8:04 p.m. – The next morning Ru got right to it by immediately introducing the queens to their next challenge and the women that would become their drag daughters. The cast was joined by six superfans that thought they’d be in the audience of the show, but instead they were surprised as actual guests of the show to be paired with the queens for the makeover challenge! As the winner of the previous maxi challenge, Jaida Essence Hall earned the right to pair each of her competitors with one of the women. To the relief of everyone, Jaida brought together pairs that made sense together and would give each of them the opportunity to succeed rather than fail.
8:15 p.m. – In order to build the best family resemblance, each of the queens did a brainstorming and get-to-know-you session with their partner. Jackie learned that he and his partner had similar energy, a love for previous seasons of the show and close relationships with their mother. Heidi bonded with his over the sense of insecurity, but recognized her need and desire to break out and find her inner diva. Crystal Methyd also had a positive experience getting to know his partner who exuded the same kind of nervous and nerdy energy that has come to define him.
8:22 p.m. – During a walkthrough, Ru learned that the other queens, Jaida, Sherry Pie and Gigi Goode were off to good starts with their partners, finding commonality that would inform the personalities of their makeshift drag families. Gigi in particular was concerned with crawling her way out of the bottom half of the competition and returning to a place of prominence as a challenge winner.
8:37 p.m. – As an added surprise, Ru also told the superfans that they’d not only be walking the main stage, but would also get the chance to lip sync for their lives against another girl. With that on the horizon, each of the pairs headed to the stage to rehearse their performance as well as get comfortable with being on stage, wearing higher heels and finding the confidence to completely own it. Crystal’s partner was the most excited fan girl of the group which allowed Crystal to feel like he could move forward with his quirky idea for the challenge. Meanwhile Jaida realized that his partner was awkward in heels and not as put together as he imagined she’d be.
8:41 p.m. – The next morning the queens began the task of completely transforming their girls through makeup application. As always this was also a chance for the cast to open up to each other about their personal lives, but this time with their partners. Jaida showed a rare vulnerable side to himself when speaking about his boyfriend and the support system that he provides him. On the other side of the room, Heidi knew that he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders this week — first needing to make his partner feel the fantasy and confidence of being in drag, but second needing to prove to everyone that his makeup skills aren’t as bad as they’ve said.
8:45 p.m. – Speaking of makeup, it quickly became apparent that Crystal’s idea for the challenge was completely bonkers. He said it’s inspired by Bert and Ernie (from Sesame Street!) and began painting his partner’s face bright yellow with what appeared to be severe clown makeup. While it was surprising, it was also very much in line with what we’ve come to know about Crystal’s out-of-the-box aesthetic.
8:53 p.m. – On the judges panel this week was Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews, as well as guest judge Daisy Ridley. First to walk the runway was Heidi and “Honey Almighty” in their disco-inspired garb that looked great independently, but wasn’t necessary tied together with a strong “family resemblance.” Jacki and “Lil’ Snacky Cox” were also in disco looks, but here their wigs and clothing were much better paired as if they came from the same closet. Jaida and “Jazz Essence Hall” were head to toe in red animal print with ultra glam hair and makeup with an uncanny resemblance to each other. Crystal and “Opal Methyd” turned the corner to reveal cartoonish, troll-like outfits that were over-accessorized and bonkers, but soooo colorful and great. Sherry came out with “Tara Misu” in 50s diner waitress looks that was not only expected, but another instance of Sherry just relying on the same thing each week. Gigi brought out “Bebe Bad” in black and white fur dresses and hats that were impeccable, but clearly a safe, easy and simple choice compared to the other queens.
9:02 p.m. – During critiques, Heidi was applauded for making her partner look great, but dinged for failing to present a family resemblance in their looks. Heidi’s excuse was that she had to borrow an outfit from another girl in order to fit her partner and that prevented her from using the same fabric. While the judges did like what Jackie did with Lil’ Snacky, there was a concern that she was still playing it safe and not really going the extra mile to truly stand out. With those concerns, both Heidi and Jackie were the clear picks for the bottom two of the week.
9:05 p.m. – On the other side of the spectrum, Jaida earned high praise for creating a sisterhood with her partner through matching outfits and makeup that managed to create a single vision despite them both being of different ethnic background. Not surprisingly, the judges took very well to Crystal’s crazy vision and were so thrilled that she knows what kind of drag she wants to present to the world and sticking to it. Between the two, Crystal failed to reach the top and earn her first win and so instead Jaida earned her second win in a row and third overall!
9:24 p.m. – Up for elimination, Heidi and Jackie dueled in the lip sync to Alex Newell‘s “Kill the Lights.” Right out of the gate, both queens brought high drag energy — Jackie turned the song into a comedy moment with theatric expression of the lyrics while Heidi went into full-on disco dance mode with complete ownership of the stage. It was the kind of raw passion that makes for the best LSFYLs in series history and so in the end Ru had no choice but to offer a “double shantay” to the girls and leave both of them in the competition for another week!
NEXT TIME: The queens are back on their own and must prove that they can stand on their own by producing their own one woman show presentation to show the judges their uniqueness and talent.
