Review: Canada's Drag Race, S1 E8 - Welcome to the Family

Each week Toronto based comedian Chris Middleton will review the latest episode of Canada’s Drag Race. The Canadian version of the worldwide phenomenon RuPaul’s Drag Race premiered July 2 on Crave. The main judges and mentors are Stacey McKenzie, Brooke Lynn Hytes, and Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman.

Eka and Rainer, Rainbow Railroad newcomers

Grab a tissue box and get ready everyone, cause this one had me in tears of happiness. Scarlett FINALLY won something, the show shared important stories about queer refugees escaping homophobic countries, and Lemon went home. Honestly, what’s not to love?

For the Everybody Loves Puppets mini challenge this week, I was not loving the puppets, because the only thing that truly excited me was the Pit Crew in those plaid boxers. Stand out jokes were Jimbo stuffing Bobo’s cheeks up, and Rita EXPOSING Jimbo’s comments about Jeffrey RIGHT to his face. Overall, not the best puppet challenge. Though it’s interesting when Scarlett’s mediocre, she wins a challenge. What a precedent they’ve set.

This week is the makeover episode which, unlike others, wasn’t just about taking a shot every time someone says “family resemblance” and dying of alcohol poisoning. They made it extra special by having the queens make over refugees who’ve been helped by Rainbow Railroad, a charity helping LGBTQI(A+) people escape countries where being gay is criminalized. It was such an inspiring addition to the challenge and . . . was obviously a trap to make me less mean in my recap. And it’s not not going to work!

Priyanka and her new drag daughter Elektra hit the runway with a cute look. Simple gets you far in these challenges, and she pulled it off well. And Elektra wouldn’t be Priyanka’s daughter without a Beetlejuician summoning.

Lemon left her partner Lime looking hard and shrivelled. She was supposed to make her a sister, not take her grandma to the 1920s inspired prom. Her put downs of the judges were off putting. Sorry girl, don’t be sour now. You’ve gotten away with worse.

Scarlett and Violet Bobo had a LOT of fun. Scarlett’s got makeup skills, and Violet’s vibrant spirit and leaning into her butch runway walk helped keep her out of the bottom.

Rita and Tari Baga went from monochrome to full colour, but the look was primary. At this point, I’ve exhausted my clown jokes from all the clown looks. They have to stop IT (by Stephen King)! With seven children, Rita’s really doing her part as a good Catholic Quebecois.

Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Amanda Brugel, Brooke Lynn Hytes, and Stacey McKenzie

To quote Amanda Brugel (and the rest of Twitter) “Jimbo is my favourite!”. Jimbo and Bimbo looked like the Matrix red pill came . . . to life. Jimbo was the only one who constructed pads, tailored his look, and did amazing makeup. Which means…

Priyanka wins the challenge. I’m not upset about this win, she did a great job and I felt the episode going there. Sorry Jimbo, maybe solve the Rubik's cube of what the judges are asking of you!

This puts Rita and Lemon in the bottom, and it’s a battle of age vs youth. Rita gave us a consistent controlled emotional performance while Lemon was too disconnected. Though I’m not impressed by splits, I was impressed by Lemon’s handstand that dropped into splits. It just wasn’t enough to ground her performance (just her bum). Lemon lost this lip sync, and I’m not bitter about it. Much like every other New York queen, she’ll be fine and do well on American Drag Race eventually.

Next week is the Ball challenge, and I’m not just talking about Jeffrey’s head turning into a disco ball. We also get Michelle Visage as a guest judge, so we can finally see what a real drag queen looks like!

THE SPOILERS:

Mini Challenge: Puppet Play
Pit Crew: * Scarlett Bobo’s sloppy handjob noise *
Mini Challenge winner: Scarlett Bobo
Maxi Challenge: Family Makeover Challenge
Winner: Priyanka
Extra Special Guest Host: Amanda Brugel
Lip Sync: Rita Baga vs Lemon to "You Oughta Know" by Alanis Morissette
Eliminated: Lemon