RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 15 Episode 13: ‘Teacher Makeovers’ Recap

Last week’s Drag Race brought us ‘Wigloose!‘, one of the series’ best musical challenges and saw the inevitable departure of Salina EsTitties, following countless weeks in the bottom and multiple lip sync numbers. As the competition narrows, the race gets tighter — and following the answers to the dreaded ‘who should go home’ question, the queens start this week’s episode off reading Salina’s very jaded message: “Guess I got what I deserved.”

Seeing how Salina put Ross Matthews on blast during a live show recently and called him a “sequined sweater jacket ass little bitch,” it doesn’t seem like much has changed about her attitude since filming. The queens still in the competition sat down and discussed their reasonings for their answers, with Salina’s bottom two partner, Loosey LaDuca, being fired up as well.

Loosey, who started out as one of the series’ top performers, saw her performance take a dip and since then has came very close to winning challenges — something she’s been visibly infuriated by as Drag Race does its best to give her a villain edit like they’re doing for Mistress. The difference is Mistress is openly shady and cunning in her confessionals — making for enjoyable TV that lets the viewer in on her scheming; Loosey on the other hand, is getting the villain treatment from the show’s editing with its shady sound effects as well as the other queens, who have been delighting in pushing her buttons.

It’s a new day in the werk room, and RuPaul arrives with a mini challenge: Spill the T with Anastasia Beverly Hills president, Norvina. The queens get asked a question by RuPaul and cast their votes for who among the remaining queens they believe fits the question, and if their answer matches the majority, they get a point. (A similar challenge was recently played on All Stars.)

The queens vote Mistress as the queen who makes them laugh the hardest. For the question “which queen thinks she’s the smartest,” everyone but Anetra picks Loosey. “I know I’m the smartest. I just got the point!” Loosey quips.

For shadiest queens, the queens unanimously pick Mistress — very fitting. Hairiest queen also goes to Mistress (and Mistress hilariously voted for Sasha?!). “Most likely to steal your cosmetics” also goes unanimously to Mistress. “Shady, hairy and a thief,” RuPaul jokes.

Most likely to steal your man goes to Sasha, while most likely to have a sugar daddy goes to Luxx. The last question, worth 5 points is a repeat of last week’s drama-filled question: Who is going home next? All of the queens — even Loosey herself — pick Loosey. “Did you pick yourself too?” “Yes, I know you hoes!”

Loosey played the game smart, and won the challenge, winning $5,000 of makeup and the right to flex some serious power in this week’s main challenge: teacher makeovers! Loosey gets to pair the queens with the teachers, much to the horror of her teammates.

Luckily for the other queens, Loosey does a pretty fair job of matching the teachers to their most similar queen. Luxx feels slighted by Loosey giving the only black teacher to Sasha and goes on a confessional tirade about how it’s payback for Luxx saying she should go home last week.

The queens bond with their teachers, and all of the queens are excited to take the teachers and turn them out into fabulous queens. Mistress applauds her teacher for being an openly queer teacher and providing a safe place for her students.

Luxx remains hyperfocused on the challenge, foregoing any bonding experience with her teacher to immediately start making the garments. Meanwhile, the other teachers have fun, participating in a ‘walk off’ to see who has the fiercest strut, trying on wigs and paddings, and enjoying themselves.

Before the makeover runways, RuPaul challenges the queens to also choreograph a lip sync for your life battle with their teacher partners. Anetra tries to teach her daughter how to duck walk and realizes quickly not everyone is gifted with her flexibility and agility.

Luxx gives her drag daughter no preparation and then the show cuts to another irate tirade as her daughter dances awkwardly with no direction. It really didn’t take much this week to cause Luxx to feel the pressure — ironically, something that Loosey’s detractors in the competition have accused her of.

When it comes time to paint their drag daughters, Luxx struggles to paint on a paler complexion, while the other queens tease strikingly accurate recreations of their own faces.

Down the runway, RuPaul meets with the judges, including guest judge Hayley Kiyoko. Sasha Colby and her daughter Ferocity head down the runway first in matching Hawaiian inspired garments. Sasha smartly gave them each matching nude illusions down the chest of the dresses, and while Ferocity’s makeup isn’t a 1:1 match to Sasha’s, the two look similar enough to be related.

Loosey LaDuca and Lala LaDuca strut the runway next, and while the family resemblance is spot on, Loosey’s daughter’s outfit looks plain and uninspired compared to Loosey’s. The two are wearing matching patterns, but Loosey’s choice to save the all-over red fabric for her jacket and accentuate it with the pattern from her dress just looks better than the inverse, with Lala wearing a very plain dress paired with a loud jacket. Loosey even ends up ditching the jacket down the runway, something Lala can’t do — without her jacket, the two outfits wouldn’t feel very similar at all.

Mistress Isabelle Brooks and her daughter, Madam Thang, come down in exquisite tulle boas, big hair and oozing glamor. Madam Thang looks like a dead ringer for Mistress, and the fact that Mistress made both of the outfits in such a short time is even more impressive.

When it comes to Luxx Noir London and Asia Azul, it’s not just the drag names that give a hint of no family connection. Neither the outfits nor the styling look similar, with Luxx showing plenty of body in a peachy pink number, while Asia is more covered in a long blue dress that has a slightly different shade of peach pink lining its cape. Even if Luxx were to have had any blue in her outfit, it would be a stretch to find a resemblance.

Anetra and her daughter Alektra strut the runway in matching pink and black outfits. Anetra really managed to capture her drag style with these outfits and hair; the outfits are instantly recognizable as something Anetra would wear and perform in, and Alektra looks delighted to be strutting the runway alongside her.

After the runway, the judge’s critiques commence, with Sasha getting high remarks for the padding and chemistry she and her sister embodied. Loosey’s stage presence is critiqued, with Michelle wanting more chemistry between her and her sister, while Ross reminds them that the competition is coming down to splitting hairs.

Mistress and her daughter are praised for chemistry and choreography, with Madame Thang’s attitude being a particular highlight. The judges praise Asia, Luxx’s daughter, for her commitment, but are quick to knock Luxx for there being minimal family resemblance — and tying Asia’s blue garment to Luxx’s blue eyeshadow just wasn’t enough.

Anetra and Alektra also receive high praise for the matching outfit and family resemblance capturing the essence of being similar and related without being identical. Before the queens leave, RuPaul tasks them with their lip sync battle to “Champion” in splits of two and three.

All fives teachers have a blast with the lip sync challenge, with Asia in particular working every inch of the stage and getting everyone clapping their hands. They all then head backstage to untuck, while the judges have a private deliberation.

The judges echoed their sentiments from when the queens were on the stage, with Ru remarking that while Loosey did a good job, other girls just did better, while Ross and Michelle critiqued the stiff choreography and poorly matching shoes. Things got harsher for Luxx’s critiques, too, with Michelle noting: “Luxx’s outfit was approximately three pieces of fabric in five knots. She could’ve taken the blue fabric and done the same knotted look, and that’s all they would’ve needed for the family resemblance.”

With the queens back on the main stage, RuPaul announces Anetra the winner (for the second week in a row), sending Loosey and Luxx to battle it out in a lip sync battle. There was such a huge gap in the quality of the makeovers, with Mistress, Anetra and Sasha doing so well, Loosey doing all right, and Luxx completely fumbling it, that it only makes sense for these two to be in the bottom.

The real wild card decision will come down to the lip sync and the fact that Luxx has yet to fall in the bottom, while Loosey was lip syncing last week. Will Luxx’s track record keep her, despite the worst makeover? The two lip sync to “For the Girls” by Hayley Kiyoko to try and save themselves.

Luxx immediately starts delivering a high energy twirling performance all over the stage, while Loosey takes until the song’s chorus to pick up her speed. Luxx dances circles around Loosey, who delivers a Mo Hart-esque cartwheel in the somewhat awkard performance. In the end, Ru saves Luxx and sends Loosey home.

Next week’s episode teases a Season 15 remix music video of RuPaul’s “Blame it on the Edit” ahead of the top three being announced for the show’s finale.