RuPaul's Drag Race: Whatcha Unpackin?

March 1, 2019 1:07 PM - Season 11, Episode 1

Miley Cyrus goes undercover in the workroom to spy on the new cast of queens competing for $100,000; the first test is to create signature looks from materials belonging to former Drag Race legends.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero (20 comments total)

Silky is metagaming a bit too much, huh? Especially in Untucked.

Bummer about Soju. Knowing nothing about her and just from watching the promo material I thought she'd make a mid-to-deep run.

Miley Cyrus was a good judge.

I wonder if this was filmed while Katya was taking a break from drag last year. I'd love to see her as a returning alumna.
posted by supercres at 5:28 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

I was shocked to see Adore Delano there.
posted by Automocar at 6:00 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

That was odd. I didn’t think Soju’s outfit was bad, and certainly thought the queen in the lazy blue body suit (I can’t even remember her name) would be lipsynching. I don’t get it.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 7:01 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

When Ru put Bianca’s picture facedown, was that a funny read? Or a sign of bad blood?

I was impressed at how quick Silky recognized Miley.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:30 PM on March 1, 2019

I wasn’t shocked to see Adore. I think she really likes Drag Race (she’s been in many of the WoW properties surrounding it), just not the critical and competitive aspects. Or maybe just once she got to know the judges she couldn’t handle their criticism? Something like that. (I’m rewatching S6 and she’s obviously doing well and more stable than AS3.)
posted by supercres at 7:39 PM on March 1, 2019 [1 favorite]

Totally couldn't believe that Soju was eliminated on the first episode! I thought for sure that for ratings she'd be around for awhile.
posted by urbanlenny at 7:57 PM on March 1, 2019

I was hoping for more Soju too -- I liked her geeky, almost cosplay style. But I definitely see why she went home; the back of that dress was a horror. I could see the knotting working, but not the way she did it. Also, someone says it every year, but how are you going on season 11 and don't know how to design and sew a basic dress. NOTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW IS A SHOCK.

Miley was adorable despite the worst boy drag ever. I loved seeing the past queens come back for the shoots - Adore and Yvie were truly perfect together. Silky is so far my recipient of the Eureka Memorial You Are Turned Up To 12 And I Need You At 4 Award.

I thought it was interesting that a couple of people were clearly overwhelmed by what it meant to be on the show, and deal with the show's legacy. I don't remember quite so many people in that space before.
posted by kalimac at 9:56 PM on March 1, 2019 [2 favorites]

Is it always this many queens to start? I feel like there's more, and the background noise in the workroom shots is crazy-making.

I read in another recap (Tom and Lorenzo?) that Soju is highly critical of Drag Race in her YouTube series and perhaps bringing her on to dismiss her immediately was the plan all along. In any case, she should have had a plan to lip sync in that awful outfit.
posted by donnagirl at 6:11 AM on March 2, 2019

I’m sorry, it’s mandatory to be happy for Brooke Lynn Heights because I went to ballet school with her. I don’t make the rules ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by sixswitch at 6:35 AM on March 2, 2019 [8 favorites]

Yvie was my preseason favorite, and that hasn’t changed. (Not necessarily favorite to win, just favorite in that I like her so much.)
posted by ocherdraco at 6:45 AM on March 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

I just read that after Soju went home, Vanjie sent her a letter to encourage her and say, “Girl, I know what it’s like to go through this.” That just makes me like Vanjie more.
posted by ocherdraco at 7:16 AM on March 2, 2019 [9 favorites]

Is it always this many queens to start? I feel like there's more, and the background noise in the workroom shots is crazy-making.

In DailyXtra's critique of the show lately they talk about how the pre-set order for a number of episodes takes the surprise out of it when there is a double save or double elimination because it is clear how many episodes the show must fill and that something that they did to try to counteract that this season is having one more queen than usual:

Season 11 does seem to have remedied this problem in one way, casting an additional 15th queen for the season. But when we already have two seasons a year, it seems like the solution should be fewer episodes, not more. Good things come in small doses; we don’t need to OD on Drag Race.
posted by urbanlenny at 8:21 AM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also, in Tom and Lorenzo's recap this week they mention that the reason why this season is so jarring in terms of looks and polish is because we're all just coming off of All Stars where the queens have a lot more money and specific game plans. So true. I would really like them to stop making All Stars seasons every year but it would also be great if they switched the order of the shows so All Stars came later.
posted by urbanlenny at 8:27 AM on March 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Soju’s Whatcha Packin’ with Michelle was good. Michelle definitely mentions the bit about the most successful queens being the ones who don’t try to create their own narratives.
posted by supercres at 12:19 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

Not at all shocked to see Miss Vanjie back. Her gifability is clearly not a one-off! (Side note, my 2-year-old occasionally exits the room saying MISS VANJIE!)

Really eclectic set of queens... age-wise, style-wise, experience-wise, look-wise. Lots of promise here, and definitely some cannon-fodder too. We'll see how this goes.

Is Yvie Oddly's remote-control boa the new Ornacia? Hah. I like Yvie. She's *my* kind of weird, I think.

Apparently Nina West has skill, given her awards and such, but when someone introduces themselves by talking about how hilarious they are... then follows up with a bitter, unfunny, and entirely unnecessary takedown of a fellow queen they just met, 2 seconds later? Girl you just look insecure. MEH.

I rarely dislike Ru's runway outfits. I disliked this runway outfit.

Ra’Jah D. O’Hara had my favorite runway outfit by far (I was shocked when she was "safe"), but yeah, there were a lot of great looks out there! Soju's was... not one of them.
posted by duffell at 9:01 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]

I maybe the only one who loved Scarlet Envy's runway lewk (those padded shoulder rolls!) but apart from that, I'm falling in line with the general fandom consensus. Silky clearly got set up with that edit, but I wonder if there's a bigger narrative there... or if the producers heard the phrase "spin-off" and decided to cut her down?

But so happy that DR is back! UK Netflix doesn't have All-Stars so I'm very ready for a new series.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 1:53 PM on March 3, 2019

DVR alert: "Drag Me Down the Aisle", new TLC wedding show featuring four Drag Race alums.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 3:10 PM on March 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Can I just say that I've enjoyed the first episode and the second's preview clip SO MUCH. After the riggory of AS4, so great to see people coming in fresh.

Scarlet's been excellently deluded so far, looking forward to more. Her perception of herself = Violet. Other queens' perception of her = love child of Max and Nicole Paige Brooks F.A.G.

Will Silky give other people some air? She was much more willing to concede space on Untucked, so maybe she's not just an 100-miles-an-hour girl. Interesting to see if this is part of her story arc.

OMG Soju. When you're relying on a cyst for longevity in fans' memories, um, wow.

Vangie... Vangie... Vangie. Yes! Her readmittance is correct. Quick and hilarious. Can't wait to see how she does with comedy challenges.

Brooke is giving me Chad Michaels-esque legendary perfection vibes, though I also feel like Brooke and Plastique might be those perfect queens that seem to irritate the producers. I hope they have suitable tales of woe up their sleeves otherwise they could get the lack of vulnerability / we don't know who you are edits.

A'keria. OOOOH. She's magical. That's charisma. Expecting her to go deep.

Yvie is so, so charming. I'm worried she'll get picked apart for her messy aesthetic though. Or they'll try to pigeon-hole her too soon and it'll end in tears.

Suga has series narrator down already. So sharp. And not afraid to stir the pot in Untucked.

Nina West has been shaky and underwhelming so far. Feeling the weight of expectation. Yup, agreed on her misjudged comments in the first few minutes... Hope she can get into her groove before she gets sent home.

Is it bad to say I'm excited to see Honey Davenport land in the bottom? Apparently her lip synching is epic.

Ra'jah's drag seems a little rickety, but the runway she made was ok. Better minus the rainbow ribbon belt, perhaps?

Is Ariel Versace going for the villain edit? I really really hope so!

Kahanna - more delusion. Amazing performance to rescue herself but that runway look was one of the worst ever.

Mercedes - so beautiful, but am wondering if she's one of those queens who's ace off the show but not really cut out for jockeying on a TV reality show.
posted by doornoise at 5:33 AM on March 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

So, some friends are friends of Nina.... apparently a viewing party, Nina reported that what she actually said was that she HERSELF was "more like a Buick" and the shady editing made it sound like Nina said Mercedes was a Buick. Take that as you will....
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:56 AM on March 5, 2019 [4 favorites]

When Ru put Bianca’s picture facedown, was that a funny read? Or a sign of bad blood?

Joke I think, like when they had a clown show up to take Bianca's place in the Winner's picture in the 100th episode.
posted by Julnyes at 10:11 AM on March 13, 2019