In episode 3 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 14, RuPaul Charles switched things up by bringing Orion Story and Daya Betty back into the competition after they were eliminated in the two-part season premieres. As Ru explained, their re-entry into the game did not come with strings, but rather with chocolate. Each of the queens chose a chocolate bar to hold on to throughout the competition, only to be opened upon their elimination for one last chance to be saved by the drag gods. After 42 looks walked the runway in a “pair of balls,” June Jambalaya fell to the bottom, lost the lipsync to Maddy Morphosis and opened the first bar. “It’s chocolate,” she said, and was sent home.
This week, the remaining 13 queens divide into two groups to write and act in super teaser trailers to promote their own upcoming season. Read below for our recap of episode 4 to catch all the tears and fights that ensue in “She’s a Super Tease.”
The 13 remaining queens are: Alyssa Hunter, Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Bosco, Daya Betty, DeJa Skye, Jasmine Kennedie, Jorgeous, Kerri Colby, Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté, Lady Camden, Maddy Morphosis, Orion Story and Willow Pill.
Returning to the Werk Room from their first fashion ball, Jasmine spoke to herself in front of the other queens about the reasons why she thought she should have been better than “safe.” She even shed a few tears over the expectation she had that she would have won the ball of her season. The sense from the other girls’ reactions was that Jasmine’s focus on her own performance was self-centered in an off-putting way.
The next day, Jasmine was still the center of attention, but this time coming under fire from Kerri and Kornbread for her constant talking and speaking over people. Kornbread explained to Jasmine that there are a lot of them that talk a lot, but the difference is that Jasmine doesn’t leave space for conversations that are two-sided. Even as Kornbread was trying to explain her point of view, Jasmine kept cutting her off to defend herself, deepening the divide. Luckily Ru popped in to cut the tension with the announcement of their next maxi challenge.
Ru explained that the lesson in this week’s challenge would be “the art of the tease.” In two groups they’d create attention-grabbing super teasers to promote season 14, directed by Michelle Visage and Carson Kressley. As the winners of last week’s maxi and lipsync challenges, Willow and Maddy became automatic group leaders and got to choose their teams. Willow selected Kornbread, Camden, Bosco, Kerri, and Jorgeous. Maddy picked up DeJa, Daya, Angie, Alyssa, and Orion. Jasmine was the last (un)picked and got to choose her own group. She joined Willow’s team, explaining that she hadn’t worked with most of those girls yet and wanted to. The decision confused both Kornbread and Willow who questioned why she would want to work with someone she just had tension with.
During the brainstorming phase, Jasmine offered to her group a promise that she’d sit back and listen, taking notes to circle back at the end with her point of view. It was her attempt to take what Kornbread said to heart, but ultimately it created an energy among the group that she wasn’t actively listening to them. Despite the growing tension, they were able to decide as a group on a vision that they’d each play exaggerated versions of themselves in heightened situations. Maddy’s group was vibing much more easily, largely due to Maddy’s creativity and ability to narrate the girls through the idea session. Right away Alyssa became the outlier in the group, throwing out ideas that the other girls didn’t find funny enough to follow through with.
Later that day, Michelle and Carson came by the Werk Room to direct them through the filming of their teasers. Willow’s tea got off to a good start when shooting a scene of Jasmine talking too much and over both Kornbread and Kerry — Kornbread was even able to acknowledge that she was working really well with Jasmine in the challenge. In more physically demanding scenes, Angie, Kornbread and Willow all stood out with their comedy antics. Jorgeous and Kerri both struggled the most on set, not finding a way to balance out their nerves and unwilling to step far outside of their comfort zone.
The next day, while getting ready for the “Night of 1,000 JLo’s” runway, the queens were alarmed by the Ru siren, signaling a possible twist in the competition. But instead of a twist it was a treat — a special video message from Jennifer Lopez! She told them it’s an honor that they’ll be wearing some of her favorite looks from the past and asked them to be loud, proud and fierce with it.
Ru was joined on the main stage by Michelle, Ross Mathews, and returning guest judge Loni Love. Before the unveiling of the super teasers, the queens took to the catwalk in their JLo-inspired looks. First to walk was Willow in a Grammys look from 1998, followed by Kornbread in an interpretation of the 2018 Met Gala gown, Camden in the 2019 CFDA Awards look, Bosco in the gold 2009 Golden Globes dress, Kerri in the famous 2020 Versace redemption dress, Jorgeous in one of the Super Bowl looks, Jasmine in the 2015 VMAs dress, Maddy in the 2021 Inauguration pantsuit, DeJa in an interpretation of the 2019 VMAs performance look, Daya in another Super Bowl look, Angie in the 2019 Met Gala look, Alyssa in the 2019 Billboard Awards suit look, and Orion in the 2019 HRC dinner gown.
In the super teasers, both teams succeeded in getting rolling laughter from the judges’ panel. All the girls took on exaggerated personalities to act out spoof-versions of iconic drag race moments from the past, as well as common scenes like personal stories in the mirror and fights during “Untucked.” For judging, Ru told them they’d be evaluated as individuals, first giving safety to Camden, Bosco, Jorgeous, Jasmine, Maddy, Daya and Orion. That left Willow, Kornbread, Kerri, DeJa, Angie and Alyssa to hear critiques.
Loni thought that Willow went “all in” and made her laugh out loud, noting her commitment to a character. Willow told them she picked the JLo look from the 90s because it was ugly, which they appreciated. With Kornbread, Michelle thought that she was immediately too intense instead of showing different levels. Loni gave her the advice to not always rely on the food jokes and to know she can be more than her vulnerable parts. They obviously loved Kerri’s look, learning that she was wearing the actual dress JLo wore on the Versace revival runway, but Michelle advised her to “just get ugly” and not rely on being pretty because she’s more than that. DeJa got high praise for both her comedic elements in the teaser and for making a JLo look work for her own body. Ru wanted to know when Angie learned to act because she was such a natural and they all thought she looked great in the silver on the runway. The judges did appreciate Alyssa’s willingness to go all in for the challenge, but that she remained in one obvious note was a problem.
After further deliberation, Ru announced safety for DeJa and Willow, leaving Angie to claim this week’s win, her second overall. From the bottom three, Kornbread was given safety, which meant that Kerri and Alyssa would go head-to-head in the lipsync. During their battle to JLo’s “Play,” Kerri was reserved in her movements and relied heavily on face, nervous to ruin an important and likely borrowed dress. Alyssa was much more engaged with the high energy of a JLo song, dancing about the stage and tearing away parts of her look, but when her prepared gag of a money gun flopped her efforts lost a bit of credibility. In the end, Ru delivered the “shantay you stay” to Kerri and asked Alyssa to reveal the contents of her chocolate bar. Unwrapped, Alyssa only found chocolate inside and so it was indeed her time to “sashay away.”
NEXT WEEK: Former contestants Tempest DuJour, Jaymes Mansfield and Kahmora Hall return as inspiration for the “Save a Queen” organization that the competing queens must create a PSA for.
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