RECAP: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 15, Episode 3: The Great Queerafter

SPOILER ALERT: This article includes details of the most recent episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

In last week’s supersized premiere last week, we saw Anetra “walk that f*cking duck”  to victory for the first win of season 15 while alien queen Irene Dubois was told to sashay away. In episode 3 we are starting to see the queens unravel under the pressure… and we are so here for it.

A brief wrap up of last week: the queens thought it was a split premiere, but it was a split premiere within the same 2-hour debut – and it all started with Irene Dubois shading Luxx Noir London for her alleged 40-inch wig.

We were introduced to all 16 queens and it seemed like it was a never ending roster. The queens were just flowing out into the work room like fabulous lava. The queens of the first MTV season of the Emmy award-winning reality competition include  Amethyst, Anetra, Aura Mayari, Irene Dubois, Jax, Loosey LaDuca, Luxx Noir London, Malaysia Babydoll Foxx, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Princess Poppy, Robin Fierce, Salina EsTitties, Sasha Colby, Sugar, and Spice.

Half of the queens were introduced separately with the first group doing an homage to the very first car wash challenge from season 1. The queens try their best to hoe it up with the Pit Crew while hosing off an automobile. Funny enough, Irene DuBois ends up winning the mini-challenge.

Group one learns about the maxi-challenge which is titled “One Night Only” (a la Dreamgirls I’m guessing). True to form, it’s a talent show but the gag is that they have to choreograph a group number in the beginning and we are already see a battle of the choreopgrahpers with Aura Mayari (the self-proclaimed trade of the season) and  Marcia Marcia Marcia (she’s giving BTQ – big theater queen – energy).

Little they know, while they are choreographing the other queens were being introduced in the Werk Room – and they eventually meet face to face out of drag! The other gag is all 16 of them have to work together for the talent show opening number. It’s decent and, as we know Anetra wins while Irene Dubois is in the bottom with Amethyst. The LSFYL song is guest judge Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings” and Amethyst sends Irene Dubois home.

That brings us to episode 3 where Irene Dubois’s lipstick message on the mirror states that she left poop in one of the queens’ station. Luxx and her alleged 40-inch wig is glad that she has left.

The queens have a debrief after the first elimination and they immediately bring up Amethyst and Robin Fierce’s dating past, which seems like a story that will grow into something else in the future.

As one of the many Connecticut queens this season Loosey LaDuca was in the bottom last week and now has a fire underneath her. During her talking head interview, Loosey is full of passion to do better. She is so passionate that she is getting angry She-Hulk style – and you don’t want to see her angry.

The queens enter the Werk Room for a new day and RuPaul Charles informs them that this week it’s an acting challenge. The queens must split up into groups and create an infomercial for what they think heaven looks like – hence the name of the episode: “All Queens Go To Heaven.”

Since Anetra was last week’s winner and Amethyst survived the LSFYL, they get to be team captains and choose their teams. Whichever queens do not get picked make up the “Leftovers Team.” In the great tradition of Drag Race, this is a key moment in every season because people get all up in their feelings about not being picked, thus giving us the key we need to open the door to endless iterations of drag queen drama. In addition to that, calling those who didn’t get picked for a team the “Leftovers” will bruise plenty of egos and bruised egos love to drag others down with them.

Team Anetra includes Luxx, Sasha, Salina EsTitties, and Marcia Marcia Marcia. Team Amethyst consists of Loosey, Aura, Spice and Poppy while the Leftovers team includes Sugar, Jax, Malaysia, Mistress and Robin.

Oh no! The twins are split up! Also it should be noted that when Poppy was the last one chosen for Team Amethyst and while walking away from the leftover queens, she turned around and said “Sorry losers!” As Ru noted, she may regret saying that later.

From the jump, we already know that Team Leftovers is the bottom team – and not in a good bottom way. The vibe is all wrong and Sugar whimpers in the corner like a sad puppy after Jax regulates her to the sidelines. Sugar may be hyperactively saccharine, but the team lost the opportunity to use her TikTok talents.

During rehearsals, it isn’t clear who is doing a good job – they all struggle a little bit. Sasha from Team Anetra is a bit nervous and forgets lines.  Team Amethyst seems to be all over the place with their version of heaven as Michelle Visage looks on with zero laughter – and this worries the team captain because she was in the bottom last week.

Then there’s the Leftovers team…oof. Who knows what was happening there. I don’t even think they knew what was happening.

It’s runway day and in the Werk Room, Jax brings up the subject of religion and we get our first “bonding trauma cry with a half beat face” moment when Mistress and Malaysia share their stories about their rocky relationship with religion and choosing their own family. Honestly, it’s a beautiful moment.

On the mainstage, Ru, looking like a golden confection of glamour, greets judges Michelle Visage, TS Madison and country singer Maren Morris. She announces this week’s category which is “Metallica” and the queens delivered… for the most part. Here’s a breakdown of their lewks:

• Anetra: She’s giving Brooke Lynn Hytes and Detox energy with a gorgeous puffy shouldered silver coat that makes her look like a “lesbian baked potato”, according to RuPaul.
• Sasha: A mirrored Vegas bird of prey. It looks expensive and she serves like the legend she is.
• EsTitties: She is serving some serious drag with streetlamp realness. Seriously, she dressed up as a streetlamp.
• Luxx: From the top of her head to the tips of her pointy fingernails, she was dripping with gold.
• Marcia Marcia Marcia: If Tin Man and Dorthy had a child, she would look like this.
• Amethyst: She came out looking like the Goddess of Perms.
• Poppy: She said it herself: it’s giving slutty R2D2.
• Spice: She looks like a futuristic Ariana Grande but in Bratz doll form.
• Aura: It’s like she was auditioning for the role of Rita Repulsa in the next Power Rangers movie but in Mugler.
• Loosey: She definitely stepped her pussy up this week looking like She-Ra Warrior Princess.
• Jax: She was serving some Mortal Combat trade.
• Robin: A gorgeous outfit that was giving high fashion Dore Milaje energy.
• Mistress: Honestly, all I remember was the big gold chain she was swinging around.
• Sugar: She looked like Mickey Mouse Club era Christina Aguilera but in the year 2178.
• Malaysia: A white gown dripping in diamond chains.

After the runway presentation, we watch the teams’ queerafter infomercials. Team Anetra starts things off strong. It’s funny, clever and has a point of view as we see God (Sasha) give EsTitties a tour of a utopian drag queen heaven. Team Amethyst is off with its comedic timing while it’s crystal clear – but is saved by Loosey’s Dolly Parton impersonation while Team Leftovers goes down in flames with TS Madison saying she didn’t want to go to that heaven.

Although it was a team maxi-challenge, they will be judged individually. Sasha, Luxx and Loosey are the top three while Amethyst finds herself in the bottom once again with Poppy and Jax.

Sasha is praised for her performance of a wldly unbothered, neck snapping God. Michelle says she doesn’t expect anything less, which puts her as a frontrunner for the crown. Not far behind is Luxx who is also being praised for her performance as a therapist consoling Marcia Marcia Marcia about her makeup skills. Luxx shouldn’t be underestimated. Her performance as a therapist was giving some incredible “Relax, Relate, Release” energy a la Debbie Allen in A Different World.

If you remember, Loosey was determined at the very beginning of the episode – and it paid off. As Ru points out, she knew she could do a good impression of Dolly Parton so she used it to her advantage in the challenge. She was the only one who exceled on Team Amethyst – which surprisingly had more team members in the bottom than team leftovers. Amethyst gets some pointers on how to contour her nose while Poppy gets criticized for not standing out in the infomercial and for her basic metallic look which resembled a slightly elevated version of Alexis Michelle’s makeover look from season 9 – which also landed her in the bottom.

Jax tries to explain why Team Leftovers’ infomercial was so bad and as the sole member from the team in the bottom, it’s not looking good for her. She also got dragged for her makeup and no padding in the infomercial. Yikes.

Sasha wins this week’s challenge and Loosey, Luxx, and Jax are safe. Poppy and Amethyst are in the bottom two who have to lip sync for their lives. The song is Diana Ross’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and as we know, Diana Ross is Ru’s idol.

At first, it seems like Amethyst has the advantage. She’s lip synced before and her huge hair and billowing golden cloak is reminiscent of Miss Ross. Poppy takes a different approach. She starts  off modestly and then it grows into quite a comedic performance that the judges are eating up.

When all is said and done, Poppy is asked to sashay away and Amethyst, once again, lives to slay another day.

The girls are going to be talking about this elimination, for sure.

This season is already shaping up to be quite an adventure – and next week’s episode is going to be even better because it’s a super-sized version of The Snatch Game! I can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Watch GLAAD’s interviews with the queens below