RuPaul's Drag Race: WTF!: Wrestling's Trashiest Fighters First Watch

October 10, 2016 5:13 PM - Season 4, Episode 2

The dolls enter the world of ladies' wrestling as the competition moves to the ring.
posted by duffell (4 comments total)

• I loved this challenge--perfect for Drag Race, especially the "faces" and "heels."
• My immediate reaction to Phi Phi complaining about Madame LaQueer and Jiggly Caliente's "not being active" and their alleged constant complaints about "their feet hurting": fuck you, you fat-hating fuck.
• Lashawn Beyond was the Jimmy Fallon of drag wrestling during their practice. STOP BREAKING CHARACTER.
• The Princess was complaining about Jiggly Caliente being "too loud" during wrestling practice and saying she should take it down a notch. HAHA WHAT? NO. This is drag-meets-pro-wrestling! Take it up a notch! TAKE IT UP ALL THE NOTCHES, WTF
• At first, I wasn't really sure what was going on with Madame LaQueer's wrestling character. Like... The Penguin meets "Animal" from the Muppets, I guess? But as I watched, I began to think she understood the challenge better than anyone else. Her character was playing it up in the ring, but more importantly, she was playing *to the crowd.* Pro wrestling is at its most enjoyable when the wrestlers are hamming it up for the audience. I'm really glad the judges recognized Chad and LaQueer's brilliance! (FWIW, I would also have been totally happy with a Kenya/Latrice win, because they were the only other team that really understood the challenge.)
• Personally, I really liked Lashawn Beyond's runway look, lackluster hair and makeup aside. Bubble gum machine! I may never look at Tom Servo the same way again.
• That lip-sync was a study in actually emoting onstage vs. just gesticulating wildly. The Princess had it by a mile. Sorry, Tom Servo!

posted by duffell at 5:23 PM on October 10, 2016

Bless you duffell and your rewatch. I've just subscribed to a streaming service and am catching up.

I agree with you that there was way too much restraint. Wrestling is supposed to be OTT, and I was so proud of how Madam Lequeer turned it out in the ring, and how well she executed her performance given how worried she was by it.
posted by Jilder at 6:14 AM on October 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

I am surprised Chad's team won, as I thought Phi Phi and Willam's teams were more entertaining. I would have picked Latrice and Kenya to win. Latrice throwing Kenay into the ring was the highlight of everything.

I think what sent LaShawn home wasn't necessarily this task, it was doubting herself on the runway in the previous episode. RuPaul doesn't have patience for that attitude. She definitely lost the lip-synch, and her runway was very plain. For a candy theme, she should have had more balls and more color and decorated it up like a Christmas tree. But all things being equal, the last episode marked her for elimination.

I noticed several queens looked sad or shocked when LaShawn was sent home, which is unusual this early in the game. She must have been a very likeable person.

My immediate reaction to Phi Phi complaining about Madame LaQueer and Jiggly Caliente's "not being active" and their alleged constant complaints about "their feet hurting": fuck you, you fat-hating fuck.

What's odd is that she drafted Latrice in the first round. Something I noticed about PhiPhi in All Stars is that she doesn't seem to be aware how mean the things she says are. Like, she would have been oblivious to her comment being "fat-hating". It was just the first thought she had and she let it out her mouth.

Compare that to William, who is very aware of what she says.
posted by riruro at 6:29 PM on October 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think the queens may have been surprised by LaShauwn's departure because she was clearly a crazy talented costume designer. The T is apparently that at the time of the show, she didn't do drag herself as much as she made outfits for other queens, though, and her inexperience really showed in that lip sync when her shoes came right off.
posted by en forme de poire at 1:40 PM on October 22, 2016