Heavy/RuPaul\'s Drag Race/YouTube RuPaul's Drag Race Rusical Elimination spoilers
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 16 is underway, and the 7th episode of the season airs on MTV on Friday, February 16 at 8 p.m. Eastern.
With only 10 contestants remaining, the pressure to stand out and win a maxi challenge is on as the queens prepare to sing and dance on the mainstage in this season’s Rusical, “The Sound of Rusic”. Read ahead for a live recap of the episode along with spoilers of who wins the maxi challenge, who lands in the bottom two Lip Sync For Your Life, and which queen has to sashay away.
***SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHO GETS ELIMINATED ON “RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE” SEASON 16 EPISODE 7, STOP READING NOW***
Elimination Spoilers: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 16 Episode 7 Live Recap
The episode began with the queens returning to the Werk Room after last week’s elimination and reading the lipstick message left by Geneva Karr. The queens started to compare challenge wins before getting out of drag.
The next day, RuPaul entered the Werk Room and announced this week’s maxi challenge, a Rusical performance of “The Sound of Rusic”, based on the movie musical “The Sound of Music”. The Rusical is a classic “Drag Race” challenge, and this season’s installment will require the queens to memorize lines, act, dance, and lip sync live on stage.
Ru then left the queens to distribute the roles amongst themselves. Q and Megami both fought to play the Baroness Bronn, and after a rock-paper-scissors showdown, Q landed the part. Plasma, Morphine Love Dion, and Sapphira Cristál both expressed interest in the leading role, Mariah. After Plasma stood her ground, Morphine and Sapphira backed out of the running.
After learning their lines and music, the queens joined this week’s guest judge, director and choreographer Adam Shankman, on the Main Stage to learn their steps. Shankman surprised the queens with a special guest, his “assistant” Melissa McCarthy.
McCarthy leaned into the assistant role on set to distract the queens, spilling Shankman’s coffee, filming the queens on her phone, and throwing Babybel cheese to the cast. She also gave the queens an encouraging speech about her personal connection with drag, then left them to finish learning the choreography.
After getting ready in the Werk Room, the queens headed to the Main Stage for their Rusical performances and runway presentations. Tonight’s category on the runway: I Can Buy Myself Flowers.
After the challenge and runway presentation, RuPaul declared Dawn, Nymphia Wind, Plane Jane, and Xunami Muse safe, sending them backstage.
Of the remaining queens, Plasma, Sapphira Cristál, and Q received positive critiques, while Morphine Love Dion, Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige, and Megami received negative critiques.
The judges thought Plasma’s performance as Mariah was nuanced and had the right energy, and enjoyed her “Hello Dolly”-reminiscent runway. They agreed that Sapphira stole the show in a supporting role as the Mother Superior, and Michelle Visage made special note of her floral runway, with Ross Matthews saying that her look “broke ‘Drag Race’ for a second.” The judges also liked Q’s performance and over-the-top runway, noting that she adapted her abilities to the movement she was given.
The judges felt that Morphine could have used more confidence in the Rusical. Shankman and Matthews both felt that Mhi’ya looked to be in her head during the Rusical, and RuPaul noted that she didn’t have the same high energy that she had during last week’s Lip Sync For Your Life. Visage noted that Megami tends to make a similar facial expression in all of her looks, and Shankman added that she fell out of character during the Rusical.
In the end, Ru named Plasma the winner of the challenge (her second win after episode 4’s “RDR Live!” sketch comedy challenge). Morphine was saved from the bottom three, leaving Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige and Megami to face off in the Lip Sync For Your Life to “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus.
Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige won the lip sync, making Megami the fifth contestant to Sashay Away. Megami has been eliminated from the competition.
Next week’s challenge will be the “Drag Race” classic, the Snatch Game, with actress Kyra Sedgwick appearing as guest judge.
Who is Left in the Competition Coming Into Episode 7?
Season 16, episode 7 saw the remaining queens tasked with creating a doll for their drag personas. The contestants had to design and create original outfits for themselves, along with a miniature version of the look to fit the doll. The queen and doll looks were supposed to match.
RuPaul chose Q as the winner, bringing home her first maxi challenge win of the season, while Geneva Karr was told to sashay away after a lip sync to “Control” by Janet Jackson against Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige. That leaves Q and Mhi’ya Iman Le’Paige among the top 10 queens of the season. Joining them in the top 10 are Dawn, Megami, Morphine Love Dion, Nymphia Wind, Plane Jane, Plasma, Sapphira Cristál, and Xunami Muse.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” airs Friday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern, with episodes of “Untucked” immediately following.