Race chasers! Expectations were high this week, given the tens across the board thus far this season, and the guest judge being everyone’s favourite Canadian 90s country non-k.d. lang singer, Shania Twain. Unfortunately, expectations may have been a little too high because this week’s ep… did not impress-a me much.

Your Pussy’s On Shania

This has happened before: a diva of highest order makes it to the judging panel, everyone is excited, and then… crickets.  Judging on RuPaul’s Drag Race requires skills akin to being on some sort of modern-day Borscht Belt, with non-stop schtick, puns, and banter. It also helps to be versed in the complex rules of the Drag Race universe. Hell, Shania has probably never seen the show. She was acting like she had no idea what was going on.

The comeback queen has been in career’n’heartbreak hibernation, finally releasing some music for the first time in fifteen years. So it’s no surprise that Shania’s management is getting her face out there, including some real chicken shit gigs.

“Yes hello, I’d like the most ‘white people’ thing you have. No….that’s too white.”

Anyway, Shania is still the one I run too, the one that I belong too (subcategory: country crossover stars stranded on an alkali flat, wearing head-to-toe leopard print). GaGa set the BarBar pretty high when it came to engaging diva/icon guest hosts, is all.

The Challenge & The Runway

This week’s challenge should have been a homo run: a daytime talk show improv acting challenge in which the queens riff on guest stereotypes. But just like in the last improv challenge in All Stars 3, The Bitchelor, this one had a few swings and a lot of misses.   

The problem lies in the pairings. That’s what undid a few comedy queens last time around (RIP Trixie/Milk 2020) and it definitely threw things off kilter this week. Sure, the queens should be able to work well with any partner, and great improvisers can make diamonds out of coal. But like in AS3, the results of this week were underwhelming.

Special mention should go to Monet X Change, who stalled again this week with a lacklustre performance. Her and Mayhem landed in the bottom two for so-so performances, while Monique, Miz Cracker and Eureka did well.

Drag Race challenges are marked on the bell curve. You need one or two queens to do exceptionally well, and one or two to bomb-dot-com (See: Bianca’s triumph and Laganja’s car crash during the season six stand up challenge). This week, we got a lot of middle section and not enough high hat… apart from the true star of the week, Ross Matthews.

On the runway, everyone’s country breakfast was ready thanks to a Shania-friendly “Denim and Diamonds” runway. Let’s spill some Texas tea and check out the diamond studs, and the duds…

I want to say Eureka beating Miz Cracker was an upset, but I may need to check my Eureka bias. While she did win for playing a big baby (typecasting much), this week she pivoted back to self-aware Eureka, and disclosed part of the reason why she is just. so. damn. obnoxious. This revelation came as Mayhem tried to facilitate a healing between Eureka and The Vixen — who this week proved yet again that she has a major in drag and a minor in psych, observing that the two outspoken queens are both damaged, and those damages resulted in conflict. As reality TV drama goes, this is pretty meta.

The Lip Sync & Elimination

Well, if you were to pick a pop song from the last 20 or so years that could thematically capture RuPaul’s Drag Race, ShaTwa’s ‘Man, I Feel Like a Woman’ is right up there. So thank the God of New Albums to Sell that suddenly it was available to be licensed for RPDR, because we have been waiting. (Nudge motherfucking nudge, Beyoncé.)

Here we must observe that yet again, Monet knows how to turn out a ride or die lip sync replete with reveals, perfectly timed gags, and so much face. A song about ‘feeling’ like a woman is perhaps the only time it’s appropriate to remove your outfit to reveal the complex series of levers and pulleys that go into drag transformation, and Monet went there. Also, her wig reveal happened in the opening chords of the song (genius move), and Monet even managed to do air guitar… and win!

Mayhem didn’t bring the theatre, and got sent packing. It was a bittersweet end for the queen, who has been trying to get on the show for years and has watched many of her LA sisters undergo the stratospheric career transformation that comes with getting on RPDR. Not getting past the filler queen stage has to hurt, but she walked out graceful and poised. Now Mayhem can say, “she did that”.

Who’s Taking The Crowny Mahogany

Van(jie), I feel like a woman.

Seriously, the real winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season ten is definitely Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, whose “Miss Vanjie” meme crack of the century has not only penetrated every damn corner of the internet, but has somehow managed to bubble along on the show itself  — despite none of the contestants or Ru knowing just how huge it was going to get. Ru broke into a fit of giggles AGAIN this week when Blair and Monique made “vanjie” their safe word.

Me riffing on what is now a month-old meme may seem strange, but it’s only because this week’s dud ep makes it hard to identify front runners. Snatch game is likely to be next week, and after that we will know a lot more.

Stay tuned!

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RuPaul’s Drag Race is fast-tracked from the US on Stan. Read more Drag Race recaps here.

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Nic Holas has written for The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Archer Magazine, and Hello Mr. You can find him on Twitter @nicheholas, or in his role as co-founder of HIV movement The Institute of Many.