This week brought RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5’s most emotionally charged moment yet when, during Untucked, Alyssa’s father finally admitted to being proud of her. Meanwhile, the main challenge had the queens recording a charity single together in the spirit of U.S.A. for Africa, complete with ’80s drag, to impress guest judges La Toya Jackson and The Pointer Sisters — which proved difficult for the less in-tune queens. But, as always, the most important factor was charisma, and the girls who excelled were the ones who wouldn’t let anything stand in their way.
Inside Out: Coco Montrese
After Detox paired her Alyssa, who she’s been known to have beef with (even though both ladies are slowly patching things up), Coco became convinced that Detox was trying to sabotage her and showed her displeasure by wearing a grumpy pout throughout the video shoot. On the runway, she wore an outfit that depicted her insides coming out — an appropriate ensemble for a girl who has been struggling with putting her emotions on the back burner and just narrowly avoiding sashaying away for good.
Friend in Doubt: Alaska
As a member of Rolaskatox, along with Roxxy and Detox, Alaska has started to worry that her alliance with the other two queens will cost her the crown if she doesn’t stand out. The judges may have agreed, telling Alaska that she’s been hiding her vulnerability and needs to show more if she wants to make the final cut.
All Trouble, No Edge: Detox
Detox made a questionable call pairing Coco and Alyssa for the challenge and then having them open the song as well. She ended up bickering with Coco and causing a bit of a stir. In the end Detox was causing too much drama behind the scenes and not enough while onstage, as the judges warned her that she needs to show them something new in the upcoming weeks.
Flawless Self-Image: Ivy Winters
Ivy reigned supreme this week, as she could both sing and perform, and her runway outfit (which looked a lot like Leslie Knope’s wedding dress in Parks and Recreation) consisted entirely of photos of herself. Ivy ultimately climbed to the top because of her unwaveringly high self-esteem, something that might just earn her the crown in the end.
Hiding Behind Talent: Roxxxy Andrews
Roxxxy Andrews can’t really sing, or, apparently, say “sequin dress” (she insisted on “sequins dress” because there’s more than one sequin.) Yet her outfits (both in the shoot and on the runway) proved that she takes herself seriously, but can also take a joke. More than ever, the judges realize that Roxxxy has the ability to use her loud personality to compensate for a lack of other skills.
Skill Under Her Belt: Jinkx Monsoon
While still struggling to be glamorous on the runway (her look was a mash-up of at least three different decades), Jinkx has some serious pipes and belted a note for longer than anyone else by far. If she could just clean up her look, she could easily snatch that winning tiara.
Dreamgirl: Alyssa Edwards
Like Roxxxy, Alyssa can’t really sing, but she did her absolute best and won over the judges. She also supported her recent arch enemy-turned-ally Coco when she was upset that the two were paired together. Alyssa has grown a lot this season, and — like her father, who will do anything to have her back in his life — everyone should be proud of her.
Raising Hairs: Jade Jolie
Jade Jolie ended up going home this week because her performance lacked energy and her runway outfit was a mess of neon wigs sewn all over the place. She also seemed to be rubbing all her fellow competitors the wrong way, as they seemed to agree that she should have made a bigger effort overall. Still, Jade had the kind of sugary sweetness that the show will definitely miss.