35 thoughts I had watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 16, episode 7: ‘This show is an absolute fever dream’

The Werk Room is getting emptier as ten queens turns to nine in RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16, episode 7, with a Rusical that’s a tribute to the one and only Julie Andrews.

Last week saw the shadiest letter of the alphabet, Q, finally snatch a doll-house based win, and Geneva Karr, owner of the weirdest track record on Drag Race ever, sashay away. There’s now only ten queens left for the season’s seventh episode – and a Rusical looms.

We get classic casting clashes between the remaining cast of season 16, a phenomenal runway showcase, a lipsync to the one and only Miley Cyrus and Plasma continues her transformation into Rachel Berry

Here are 35 thoughts I had watch RuPaul’s Drag Race, season 16, episode 7.

• La Diva Más Latina has sashayed away and I am still shocked that she lasted longer than Mirage and Amanda? Mhi’ya turned that lipsync out though.
• Dawn’s upset that she didn’t win last week. To be fair, it could have gone to her! But also, Megami calling her Buzz Lightyear is the queer art that she wanted to protect in the talent show.
• I completely forgot Sapphira used her immunity potion last episode, that was so weird.
• The next day, Ru announces that the challenge is ‘Sound of Rusic’ musical and Plasma literally begins to combust. She is so Rachel Berry.
• Dawn is kinda real for saying she hates musical theatre. Like, I don’t, but I respect her truth.
• Straight off the bat, there’s two casting clashes – Plasma and weirdly, Morphine, want the lead role, but Q and Megami also both want the villain.
• The latter pair rock-paper-scissors it out which in my opinion is not a good enough way to sort out the issue on actual Drag Race. Also, whenever there’s a clash, whoever wins the role either wins the challenge or absolutely flops – no inbetween. All eyes on Q!

• Morphine and Plasma going for the same role is so funny because those two drag queens are ever so different.
• Plasma is SOOOOO Rachel Berry! She’s ‘putting her foot down’ because she’s saying she doesn’t have another role – which as Dawn points out, does not actually mean she deserves it. Anyway, she gets the lead.
• Dawn is getting so much screen time this ep which makes me a little bit scared! She’s so funny.
• Morphine should have been Blac Chyna.
• Plane, Xunami and Q decide to practice their b*tchy character roles by prancing around the Werk Room being shady. It’s quite funny but also – I don’t think Plane’s joking.
• It’s rehearsal time – and for some reason Melissa McCarthy is there as director Adam Shankman’s assistant!!! Which is so iconic.
• Now why is Melissa handing out Babybels? This show is an absolute fever dream! After she’s done distributing cheese she gives a lovely speech about how important Drag Race – and drag – is, and how it inspired her career. Ally!
• Q, god bless her, is not a dancer. Clomp clomp stomp stomp.
• Ladies and gentlemen, Plane has her first struggle! Delightful.

• The next day the girls are getting ready and they star talking about immunity, which brings me onto a conspiracy theory that I need you to run with me on. Only Plane has her potion left – but as we saw with Sapphira, immunity has to be used before critiques, so a queen doesn’t know if they’ve done well or not. It doesn’t seem in Plane’s nature to lend her immunity to another queen – but what if uses it offensively? Like if Plane thinks she’s second best in the challenge, lends immunity to the top queen, sends her to Untucked and snatches the win? Things to consider!
• Plane also says she used to be a competitive ballrom dancer, which makes sense.
• RuPaul this outfit is not … nice? Loofah? I hardly know her!
• Rusical time! It pains me to say it because I don’t think musical theatre gays deserve nice things (I say as a musical theatre gay), but Plasma is killing it.
• At some point these Rusicals went from GCSE drama classes to full on Broadway productions. Budget, mama.
• Mhi’ya’s habit going over her face and her continuing to dance makes me laugh.
• This Rusical is ever so long. And I’m not sure I have that much to say about it? Like the girls all do well, but I’m not gagging. I sound like a hater. Oops.
• That is such a lie, I rewatched it because I wasn’t paying attention – this is so good! The finale number? Ate.

• Category is… Flowers and Sapphira Crystál is drag perfection. She’s a giant flower!
• Another insane runway from Nymphia. Q is some sort of flower creature that makes me a bit uncomf.
• This is, however, an All Stars level runway. Like, these girls did not come to play.
• Plasma, Sapphira and Q are in the top and I don’t get why the judges are obsessed with Q! I don’t think she was remarkable in the challenge
• Bottom wise, Megami, Mhi’ya and Morphine are called to the fore and all given the same sort of ‘you faded into the background’ critique
• I’m gagged that they cut to Megami in the middle of the judges’ critiques to shade Q! I swear that never happens?
• Plasma wins again. I don’t want to be shady (a lie) but if you’d told me at the beginning of the season that Plasma would be the first queen to snag two individual challenge wins I simply wouldn’t believe you. Deserved, though.
• Mhi’ya and Megami are in the bottom, so we will be saying goodbye to Megami.
• The queens are lipsyncing to newly Grammy award winning Miley Cyrus. Slay!
• Very confused as to why Mhi’ya’s taken off her shoes? VERY confused as to why Mhi’ya just penguin slid across the stage like an audition for Happy Feet? I have rewatched that moment three times.
• Megami goes home, which is sad as she seems like a lovely person. It’s quite iconic that she left saying: “I won that lipsync” because… no you didn’t.

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.