35 thoughts I had watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 16, episode 6: ‘A very strange decision’

Drag Race season 16, episode 6 sends a (literal) doll to the house as Drag Race continues to whittle down its crop of queens with more drama, more mind games, and Law Roach.

After last week’s girl group challenge aired the second gagworthy elimination of a queen in a row, the queens of season 16 are serving looks and drama with a doll-inspired design/ branding challenge, not unlike season nine’s fairy princess challenge (RIP, Stanky the Starfish).

We also get what looks like the start of a rudemption storyline for Plane – the very thought of which makes my skin crawl – a rare stumble from frontrunner Sapphira Crístal, and more nonsense from Nymphia Banana Queen Wind, the icon that she is.

Here are 35 thoughts I had watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 16, episode 6.

• As Dawn says, Amanda is gone. I’d like to start this recap off my reminding you, dear reader, that Amanda did not lose last week’s lip sync. A robbery of the highest order.
  
• Geneva, Mhi’ya, Megami and Nymphia all won last week and that still seems strange to me, because aside from Nymphia, I feel this team has had the least impact on the competition.
  
• Q and Xunami had a little scrap in Untucked that they discuss after Q said Xunami should go home, but the main point of order is who Plane is going to pick on now Amanda’s gone. For her part, Plane says that she’s turning over a new leaf, but as Dawn says: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” That would be such a weird turnaround for her.
  
• LAW ROACH AS GUEST JUDGE OH HONEY MY BODY IS READY.
  
• Case in point to my above thought, Plane compliments everyone at the table in the Werk Room the next day and it just feels wrong. Like watching Santa punch a child in the face. Very out of character!
  
• Charo is here for the mini challenge, which is a flamenco dance off. Cuchi-cuchi! She also tells Ru: “Every time I hear your name, I get bumps all over my goose”??? Ok. This show is a fever dream sometimes.
  
• A mini challenge being sponsored by the actual Tourism Board of the whole country of Spain is just so funny to me.
  
• These girls flamenco dancing is funny, but they’ll never be Jasmine Masters with a loaf of bread.
  
• The Maxi-challenge is part design/ part branding/ part storytelling challenge and features the girls creating an identical look for them – and a doll of them. Trixie Mattel is gagged.

• If Q doesn’t win this design challenge she’s going to murder someone.
  
• Plane is not convinced with the fabric she has and decides to try and convince slash manipulate Geneva into giving her fabric. And to be honest, Geneva kinda gathered her?
  
• Plane is evil, sorry. She just stole half of Plasma’s fabric! The thing is, if she was likeable, we’d all be living for it. But famously, she is not.
  
• Oh nooooo, Sapphira is helping Mhi’ya a lot, and I’m not seeing Sapphira work on her own doll that much.
  
• Nymphia is once again pretending that she’s struggling in a challenge that she’s very good at and that, to me, is comedy.
  
• For the first time, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, I’m stressed about Sapphira! She’s trying to do too much.
  
• Hilariously, Geneva hasn’t ended up using the fabric she took from Plane. It’s also insane that Plane goes by ‘Plane’ and not Jane.
  
• Do we think it might be time for Sapphira to use her immunity potion?

• This judging panel – Ru, Michelle, Law and Ts Madison, is elite.
  
• The trousers that Xunami has made are incredible – but the rest of it looks a little unfinished.
  
• Sapphira’s voiceover is great, but admittedly the gown is a little simple.
  
• If Law Roach looked at me the way that he just looked at Plasma’s runway, I’d never leave the house again.
  
• If I never hear the phrase ‘Burger Finger’ again, it’ll be too soon.
  
• Morphine’s doll coming with a “suspiciously long fingernail” is genius.
  
• Mhi’ya telling the world how energetic she is when we’ve seen her exhibit all the energy of Sleeping Beauty always gets me.
  
• A lot of these outfits are fairly unremarkable, I write as someone who’s never made an item of clothing in his life.
  
• Apart from Dawn’s, who’s outfit is soooo good. And so is her voiceover.
  
• OK, Q has absolutely demolished this.
  
• Why on earth has Sapphira used her immunity potion! I go back to my point – the fact that they have to choose whether to do so or not before critiques is so stupid, because it means she’s wasted it, and all the judges look gooped. A very strange decision.

• They semi-live for Plasma, and they fully live for Plane, which is so weird! Although, I guess they’re not seeing Werk Room Plane.
  
• Mhi’ya says that she made the whole outfit herself apart from the zipper, which is simply untrue. Dawn is ready to clock her.
  
• Law tells Geneva she has Danny Devito’s legs. I’d quit drag.
  
• Dawn gets fantastic critiques, which is so good to see. And even better is seeing Q’s eye twitch whenever another queen receives positive critiques.
  
• Q finally gets her win, which is good, because she was about to commit homicide (homo-cide)?
  
• Plasma is safe, meaning Mhi’ya and Geneva are in the bottom, so Geneva will be going home. Lol.
  
• As it turns out, Mhi’ya is, indeed, the queen of flips! That’s a performer! As expected, Geneva is sent to the house. This episode really did feel lacking in mandatory meetings, didn’t it.

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16 continues on Friday on MTV in the US and on Saturday on WOW Presents Plus internationally. You can read last week’s ‘thoughts’ recap here.

• TV
• Dec 16 2023

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