RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE S14E2 “Big Opening No. 2”: Don’t Be A Drag, Just Be A Queen

After last week’s tremendous first half of the split premiere, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14’s second episode is a bit of a snoozer in comparison. Sure, the queens have great looks and the talent show went a (tiny) bit better, but there’s just not a lot going on. The episode picks up where we left off last week with June Jamabalaya cleaning the mirror message that Orion Story had left and the queens speculating over what the next seven contestants will be like, with Willow Pill saying that she hopes they’re all ugly. Theme song rolls, and it’s the next day in the workroom with the queens making their entrances. We’re introduced to:

• Jorgeous, from Nashville, Tennessee.
• DeJa Skye, from Fresno, California
• Jasmine Kennedie, from New York, New York
• Maddy Morphasis, from Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Angeria Paris VanMichaels, from Atlanta, Georgia
• Lady Camden, from Sacramento, California
• Daya Betty, from Springfield, Missouri

There’s a lot of good humor and pleasantness as these seven queens get to know each other, with some fantastic entrance looks (Jorgeous and Angeria) and some not-so-great looks (DeJa and Maddy, who wears white tights under a Guy Fieri-inspired dress! No!!). The biggest revelation during these introductions is that Daya is in the same drag family as season 12’s Crystal Methyd, which is completely obvious as they have the same exact voice and similar eye makeup; another revelation is that Maddy is the first-ever cisgender, heterosexual man to compete on the show. Maddy’s inclusion on the show was fairly controversial when the cast was first revealed but, as the show has conveyed time and time again over the years, drag is an art form that’s for everyone.

For now, though, Maddy wants to keep his sexuality on the down-low so that the queens will judge him based on “the content of his drag” and not on their expectations of him as a cis-het man. It’s honestly a bit surreal and funny that the straight man is closeting himself but hey, after 14 seasons RuPaul needs to shake things up some way, and having this subversion is a bit interesting. I’m just glad that Maddy joined the cast after we had our first trans man in season 13 with Gottmik and the (long overdue) intentional inclusion of trans women on a regular season, who are currently gracing this season (Kerri and Kornbread, who we will see again next week).

There have been many trans women who have competed on RuPaul’s Drag Race in the past but, according to a 2016 interview, for the longest time, Ru wouldn’t allow a post-transition trans woman to compete on the show. After an enormous backlash and an apology, RuPaul and RuPaul’s Drag Race changed their tune, and various queens who came out as trans either during or after their respective seasons were able to return to RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars. Allowing room on Drag Race for Maddy is a good thing but I am so glad that we were introduced to Kerri and Kornbread first because the very last thing we need is for a cis-het man to take the spotlight away from two Black trans women.

So When Did You Decide To Be Straight?

Just like in episode 1, the queens get to do a photoshoot with a piece from the Drag Race canon: an enormous bowl of orange Tic Tacs, a callback to the Top Three in past seasons having a “Tic Tac Lunch” with RuPaul since Ru hates watching people eat and loves to glamorize starving oneself. Eh, it makes for a great photoshoot, actually a better photoshoot than the last episode, but I don’t care for the Tic Tac memories. Angeria, who’s one of the most compelling and hilarious queens in this episode, wins the Mini Challenge and the sweet cash prize of $2,500. And just like last week, RuPaul goes right into the Maxi Challenge, which is, unfortunately, a talent show.

As everyone gets ready for the CNTs (The Charisma, Nerve, and Talent show), Ru does one-on-one walkthroughs with each other queens and we learn a bit more about each of them. Jorgeous, Jasmine, and Lady Camden are all dancers, with Camden being specifically wanting to do ballet for her talent (something Ru warns could quickly turn boring), Daya Betty’s name comes from her having Type A Diabetes, and RuPaul OUTS Maddy to everyone in the room. Yes, Maddy gets outed as straight in a room full of queer folks who seem to be equal parts confused and intrigued (except for Daya though, as she knows Maddy from the clubs back home).

When the queens are getting into drag on Elimination Day, the topic of Maddy being straight comes up again. Everyone talks about how they, along with Maddy, have never met another straight (cis) man who does drag and the conversation becomes centered around toxic masculinity and how really refreshing it is for there to be a straight man who defines masculinity his own way. Judging by how the scene ends, it’s evident that Maddy is a part of the sisterhood.

Get This Party Started

The talent show begins and joining RuPaul on the judging panel are Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and extra special guest Alicia Keys, who actually got to meet the queens earlier in the episode to give them some encouragement. The talent show kicks off with Jorgeous performing a loose lip sync and dance to “Last Dance” by Dua Lipa followed immediately by Jasmine, who also does a dance and lip sync but to the song “I’m In Love With The Monsters” by Fifth Harmony. Next is yet another lip sync by Day to P!nk‘s “Get This Party Started” and a really showstopping, “ballet number” to Jamiroquai‘s “Canned Heat” by Lady Camden, who ditches the pointe shoes for high heels and give a fun ballet/disco fusion performance. Then it’s DeJa who, just like Orion last week, attempts a comedy skit by trying to teach a cheerleading dance routine. It’s pretty rough. After DeJa, we get Maddy on the electric guitar, which is ironic considering Alyssa had said she was going to play guitar during her talent last week but just ended up pretending to play it while she danced. Now, this is tough because Maddy is clearly a very talented guitar player but it seems that only Alicia Keys is feeling her blues playing while everyone else looks underwhelmed. Which they should be.

There is literally nothing cooler in this universe than a female guitarist and the fact that Maddy thought it was enough to show slight emotion while playing and then using her tongue to play a few bars (we get it! You’re actually a straight man! Enough!) makes me so agitated because, seriously how cool would it have been to play guitar like Lita Ford, St. Vincent or even Orianthi and give tribute to the great women of rock n roll? It would be like nothing we’ve seen on Drag Race and it wouldn’t have made me (and the judges) beg for just even the slightest semblance of theatricality and drag. Is it too much to ask for drag in a drag competition show?

Thankfully, Angeria came through with a high-production original song and dance that gets everybody moving and singing along. The song is fun and as she finishes it with a dip (or death drop as the show often calls it), RuPaul repeats one of the lyrics back at Angeria: “Get your life, bitch!”

Next is the runway, where the category is “Sickening Signature Drag” and just about everyone brings their actual A-game. The best looks are undoubtedly Maddy’s campy beheaded Marie Antionette look, Angeria’s unbelievable pageant gown, and Lady Camden’s super-fun peac*ck raver look. As the judges go through the critiques, the writing is on the wall for who’s at the Top and who’s in the Bottom. As soon as Alicia Keys starts fangirling for Angeria and Angeria confesses that Alicia is essentially her singing inspiration, it is signed, sealed, delivered: Angeria has won this episode. And when Ru calls her name, Angeria gets to add the $5,ooo cash tip to the $2,500 prize she won for the Mini Challenge. Lady Camden, Jorgeous, Jasmine, and finally Maddy are declared safe, which means that it’s Daya with her boring lip-sync and ripped dress and DeJa with her disappointing cheerleading skit in the Bottom Two.

The Lip Sync For Your Life Song is “Fallin'” by Alicia Keys (very fitting) and, like last week, it was easy to see which way the wind would blow with this one. The two queens give their all out on the stage, really feeling Alicia‘s vocals and lyrics, but it’s DeJa whose dancing gives her the edge. DeJa gets the Shantay You Stay from Ru and Daya is asked to Sashay Away. It’s sad to see her go especially since she really did seem like more than just a carbon copy of her drag mother but, there’s got to be someone who goes home first..or is it second? These split premieres are so confusing.

CONCLUSION: “BIG OPENING NO. 2″

I am still not at all a fan of a talent show being featured in a regular season of Drag Race but I will say that episode 2’s talent show offered far better results than in episode 1. There were no huge surprises but overall the quality of the performances was better. That being said, I think that this was a below-average episode, especially when compared to how fun and jarring last week’s episode was. It may be because we actually got to learn more about who last week’s queens are, with fun anecdotes and kikis with ease, instead of just kind of hints at different personalities. Maybe it was the emphasis on Maddy being cis-het, or maybe it was just because I felt I connected better with the queens from last week. Either way, I’m even more excited to put this episode behind me and get to next week, where both groups will come together. How will the 1st episode queens react to Maddy? When will the drama begin? Who is next to go home? I cannot wait!

What did you think of the second premiere? Whose talent was best overall? Let us know in the comments below!

A new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 can be seen every Friday at 8/7c on VH1.