Embark on an immersive journey through the fourth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16, where the Werk Room transformed into a battleground of emotions, friendships, and shocking revelations during the intense RDR Live! main challenge.
There was also a shocking elimination with a lip-sync battle between Mirage and Geneva Karr, unfortunately, the queens weren’t too sure about the lyrics of the song, with Geneva managing to lip-sync the most to the song, while Mirage clearly didn’t know half the lyrics. Regardless, she put on a show, but it wasn’t enough to save her—it is a lip-sync for your life, after all, with $200,000 on the line.
Mirage was set to become a lip-sync assassin, especially with her killer dance moves and her awesome stage presence! All Stars better watch out, she’s sure to slay the competition in a future season, and she will certainly make sure she knows every single lyric to every single song, just in case.
Table of Contents
The Drama Unveiled: Inside the Elimination Dynamics:
As the queens faced the first elimination of the season coupled with the pressure of a group challenge, the Werk Room turned into a stage for unforgettable drama. Delusions, paranoia, and mind games take centre stage as Plane Jane attempts to resolve her shocking comments to Amanda Tori Meating during Untucked, but the damage was clearly done and we see more tension between the pair, later on.
We soon find out that there will be a live sketch comedy main challenge and it is up to the queens to decide on the roles. Plane and Morphine Love Dion engaged in a drag-sister rivalry with the former commenting that she didn’t want to outshine Morphine, Sapphira Cristál and Mirage clashed over the coveted host role, and Dawn and Plasma navigated the comedic tension surrounding character choices with the latter not wanting to tackle Barbara Streisand as she has a lot of respect for the star and didn’t want to do an injustice.
Sketch Comedy Challenges: Navigating the Labyrinth of Laughter:
Peeling back the layers of the queens’ comedic talents, the episode revealed the intricate dynamics of the sketch comedy challenges. Plane’s subtle encouragement to Morphine, Mirage’s conviction of a master plan against her, and the impeccable performance of Plane and Megami in the deck sketch highlighted the queens’ ability to navigate the complexities of Drag and make RuPaul laugh—which is definitely one of the most important factors of Drag Race.
Serious Conversations Amid Laughter: Exploring Identity and Representation:
Beyond the comedic chaos, the queens engaged in serious and poignant conversations about identity and representation. Mirage shared her transformative journey of incorporating her Mexican and Indigenous heritage into her drag, adding depth to the episode’s narrative. The Werk Room discussion also delved into the unpredictable lives of Dreamers, with Geneva and Xunami Muse revealing their status. The unexpected hilarity ensued as Amanda’s day job as a ghostwriter for female OnlyFans creators became a source of laughter among the queens.
RDR Live! Performances Unveiled: On the Stage of Creativity:
RDR Live! brought forth a mix of sketches ranging from mid-to-slightly funny, testing the queens’ skills in live comedy. The challenge was clearly inspired directly from Saturday Night Live! Comparisons to All Stars 8’s comedy sketch show which was also called RDR Live! is undeniably apparent, could this become a regular challenge?
From an apocalyptic New Year’s Eve countdown to a Drag Race version of Weekend Update, the queens showcased their creativity. Plane delivers brilliant sketch comedy in the deck sketch, but it doesn’t help her with the comparisons she’s been getting to All Stars 8 winner, Jimbo, and while we don’t agree with comparisons as all drag is valid and clown drag has been going for centuries and Jimbo certainly isn’t the first and only clown drag queen in the world, this sketch show was too similar to All Stars 8, and it didn’t help that Plane ended up in the exact same role which Jimbo played.
On top of the incredible sketch scenes, we also got a flawless performance from RuPaul, who sang her song “Lady Cowboy (Giddy Up Remix)” complete with cowboy pit crew dancers and saloon-style double doors from which she enters. She’s wearing an incredible gold cowboy-inspired jumpsuit accessorised with a gold cowboy hat. The song is taken from her latest album “Essential, Vol. 3”.
While there were a few ups and downs in the RDR Live! we have to admit that Q being the first brick that was allegedly thrown during the Stonewall riots was brilliant in more ways thanone. Her comedic timing was fresh and hilarious, set to become an iconic moment in Drag Race herstory.
Yet, overshadowing them all is Plasma with her iconic impersonation of Barbara Streisand, which is completely flawless and grabs our attention from the get-go. Her worries and anxiety about taking such a role seemed more like her inner saboteur trying to grab ahold of her, but instead, she knocked it out of the park.
The Main Stage Runway: Sarah Michelle Geller Shows Why She’s Mother!
Joining the panel this week is legendary Mother, Sarah Michelle Geller, who is probably best known for playing Buffy Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s gone on to have an illustrious career including Daphne in the live-action movie Scooby-Doo and, more recently, as Kristin Ramsey in Paramount+’s 2023 TV series titled Wolf Pack. She joins mainstay judges RuPaul and Michelle Visage, as well as alternating judge Ross Matthews.
At the end of the critiques, Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a comment that makes RuPaul howl in laughter as she declares, “I’m a mere Prinze”, a play on the word “Prince” due to her being married to Freddie Prinze Jr. and being on a show filled with drag queens, and so she is a mere prince in comparison (well “Prinze”). She declares that she’s had that joke for years and has been trying to find the perfect situation to use it. She later repeats the joke for the queens in Untucked. She may well be a mere Prinze, but she’s totally Mother in our books!
The runway, celebrating Cher’s iconic looks over her lengthy career, added a glamorous touch to the episode, with standout runway looks from Nymphia Wind, Sapphira, Plane, and Q. With RuPaul being such a huge fan of Cher, some of her comments could’ve been considered harsh, especially when she mentioned to Mirage that she finds it funny how the younger queens are mixing up decades when it comes to the wigs as Mirage apparently was wearing a ’60s wig with a ’70s outfit.
Once again, we guess it comes down to preparation. If you’re going to do a look from the past of one of the world’s pop icons—especially one that RuPaul is obsessed with, then you need to make sure you get the look completely right. We all remember RuPaul’s feelings when it comes to H&M-off-the-rack looks on the main stage!
Lip-Sync Drama: The Shocking Exit of Mirage:
As tensions reached a boiling point, Geneva and Mirage faced a lip-sync for their lives to Cher’s “Dark Lady”. Mirage’s initially mesmerising performance overshadowed Geneva, but a closer look revealed a shocking revelation—Mirage didn’t know the lyrics. Michelle Visage even expresses her disappointment at the end of the lip-sync by stating, “Not one word”. Soon enough, this leads to Mirage’s unexpected exit, leaving the competition and the audience in shock.
Race Analysis: Navigating the Competitive Landscape with Precision:
With Mirage’s departure, the competition’s intensity has certainly risen. Geneva faces elimination if she doesn’t get her act together, Mhi’ya Iman LePaige strived to maintain the judges’ favour—her Cher impression is going to live on for years, and Morphine needed to translate her Werk Room star power to the main stage. The queens continue navigating a race filled with surprises, challenges, and twists, ensuring viewers remain on the edge of their seats.
Next Week: The Girl Group Challenge
One of our favourite challenges take place next week, the girl group challenge. Set to bring some unforgettable music that we’re sure to be streaming, we cannot wait for next week. Oh, and Swedish synth-pop duo, Icona Pop, are the guest judges for this week, alongside alternating judge TS Madison.
As Season 16 unfolds, viewers can anticipate a rollercoaster of emotions, with range, shade, and unforeseen twists shaping the narrative. Armed with talent and determination, the queens are set to deliver a fierce competition, both on and off the stage. Buckle up for another thrilling lap of Drag Race as surprises and challenges await in the episodes to come.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 airs every Friday at 8 p.m. on MTV in the US and Latin America, while the rest of the world are able to watch on WOW Presents Plus.
Airing straight after the main show is RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked—make sure you watch this show as well, otherwise, you’re only getting half the story.
You can easily and quickly follow all your favourite queens from this new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race across all social media by checking out our article here.