RuPaul's Drag Race: S5, E2: Transgend-her

Let's do this.

The Drama:
The two big pieces of drama this week were Monica's Confession and Everyone Hates Serena.

Turns out that Monica is in the process of transitioning to a woman.  I really don't understand why she was worried (this is a group of drag queens, I don't think they would judge) - maybe the rules prohibit those that are in the actual process of transitioning?  I know Carmen Carrera and Sonique have both transitioned, but this is a grey area as far as the rules are concerned.  The other queens didn't seem to mind, but I can't help but wonder if maybe other queens aren't quite as okay with it.  Maybe they look at is as not being a real drag queen?  I wish we had gotten more whichever it was.

My favorite storyline, however, was the second.

Everyone Hates Serena!

I love how openly Detox told Serena that she would have preferred Penny stay.  Now, given Serena's self-delusion, this didn't have much of an effect, but it was nice to see nonetheless.

There was also the forming of a super group - Rolaskatox (Roxxxy, Alaska, and Detox).  I didn't get a screenshot of it, but I did get something better.

I think we should all appreciate how cute Ivy looks out of drag with his bowtie.

I know, Ivy, I'm incorrigible.

Mini Challenge:

So.... the mini challenge.

Lipsyncing through a hole.....

With the winner getting RuPaul's lollipop.

I love this show.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you, Ivy.  You're still my favorite thing about the show this season.

So the girls sang from behind the RuPaul not-a-glory-hole-at-all.

(Man Lineysha has really 'assumed the position' in this one, didn't she?)

And the winners (and team leaders) were Serena ChaCha (ugh), Detox (2 Mini Challenges in a row), and Ivy Winters (who I want to follow me around so I may pick up bleedover-fabulousness).

The Main Challenge:

Which led us to the main challenge:  Lipsyncing to famous Untucked moments from Seasons 2, 3, and 4 in viral videos.  The following are how I'd rank the lipsyncs.

Alaska as Phi Phi O'Hara and Detox as Sharon Needles

As far as the 'viral video' aspect, this is the hands-down winner.  While the lip-sync wasn't as strong on Alaska's part, the ending makeout session is what, to me, pushed this to the front of the pack.  However, it was the only one that really took the 'viral' half into account, and the team was prevented from winning by the albatross hanging around their collective neck in the form of Monica Beverly Hillz.

Honey Mahogany as Mystique Summers Madison and Ivy Winters as Morgan McMichaels

Nailed every last bit of the lip-sync.  Easily the tightest of all of the scenes (which is funny in that it features Morgan McMichaels) and both queens really brought it.  However, Lineysha was the worst type of irritating during the filming of it.

Vivienne Pinay as Tatianna and Lineysha Sparx as Tyra Sanchez

But she really brought it to her scene.  Vivienne had the tighter lip-sync (and really hit the Tatianna-isms) but Lineysha really performed as Tyra.  The lip-sync wasn't as tight, but damn did I feel like I was watching the actual Tyra in action.

Alyssa Edwards as Shangela, Jinkx Monsoon as Mimi Imfurst, and Roxxxy Andrews as Mariah

DAMN if Alyssa didn't nail the Shangelisms.  I realize that, as Shangela's Drag Mother, Alyssa had an edge, but she really proved her talent this challenge.  Jinkx was alright as Mimi (although a bit of a whiner during the filming) and Roxxxy kinda faded into the background as Mariah.

Monica Beverly Hillz as Jiggly Caliente and Coco Montrese as LaShauwn Beyond

Coco didn't really nail the mannerisms, but she brought the energy in a major way while also nailing the actual lip-sync.  Too bad Monica was a complete non-entity as Jiggly.  Coco probably would have been the winner had they ended up with a better performer.

Serena ChaCha as Raja and Jade Jolie as Delta Work

This was painful.  The second Serena started talking about how she viewed drag as an art (which is a perfectly valid belief, I should note) I knew this was going to be weird and terrible.  Talk about being up your own ass.  Serena's Raja was awful, and Jade didn't even try to save it with her Delta.  And I hated the lazy 'fat people eat' aspect that she used to portray Delta (Honey and Monica were also guilty of this).

The Runway:

So, then the runway happened.  I'll rank them by team, and within the team I will rank the individuals.

So, top team was easily Team Ivy, as they didn't have a Serena or Monica dragging them down.  RuPaul shared my opinion of the top team, if not the top individual.

Ivy Winters

Clear winner.  Between the tight lip-sync and the sheer showmanship of the stilts (not to mention a pretty fantastic look even without the stilts), I don't see how this went to anyone else.

 Lineysha Sparx (winner)

Really, Lineysha rocked the lip-sync challenge, but this was a boring look.  Just a swimsuit with a flow-y robe.  However, she was easily the second-best of the group as far as looks go though, so I can stomach this win.  But Ivy was way better.

Vivienne Pinay

Vivienne, I like you so far, but your looks haven't been that great.  Subtle doesn't win in drag, so you need to step that shit up.  You have talent, but you need to stand out more.

Honey Mahogany

Still, Vivienne is way better than Honey as far as runway goes.  At least the mess from the last episode stood out (albeit in a bad way).  This is boring.

I would follow Team Ivy with Team Detox.

Coco Montrese

My opinion of Coco has not improved, but I have to give credit to her for this look.  It is pretty awesome and stands out from the others on her team.  Easily would have been the winner had Team Detox come out ahead.  But I still don't like her.

Detox

Love the look, but it is kind of standard as far as drag goes.  Would prefer something a little more creative.  Still, it was a pretty good look (although I don't know where Kristen Johnston got the overconfident criticism from).

Alaska

A nice effort, but like Detox's, it doesn't really stand out that much.  She looks good, but I expect something with a bit more of her wit about it.

Monica Beverly Hillz

This is a pretty nice look, actually.  If not for her putrid performance in the lip-sync video, I would easily put her above Alaska and Detox.  But the video was there, so she deservedly ended up having to lip-sync for her life.

Bringing in the rear is Team Serena.

Jade Jolie

While she would easily have been bottom 3 based off her lip-sync performance, she turned out the best look amongst her team for the runway.  And a bit unexpected to, giving her Lisa Frank outlook on life.  But Juliette Lewis was totally on point when she said that you shouldn't being out a whip if you can't crack it.

Alyssa Edwards

This was a great look, which coupled with her lip-sync performance should have put her at the top for her team, but her exceptionally weird runway walk is a real hindrance in giving her the win.  But I still love the face.

Jinkx Monsoon

Like Detox and Alaska, this wasn't a bad look, but not terribly interesting.  The nose does look weird though.

Roxxxy Andrews

Like Jinkx, the nose looks off in some way.  And I hate the outfit (although it was nice to see Kristen tell Santino to shut up).  That said, she wasn't in any danger this week, even if she didn't have immunity.

Serena ChaCha

This actually wasn't a bad look, in a Miss Universe sort of way.  The flag was kind of stupid, but the look had a bit of wit about it.  Too bad when she walked away you saw this:

Given what happens in the Lip Sync For Your Life, I am going to call these the Granny Panties of Doom.  Seriously, Serena, what the fuck?

On the runway, Monica tearfully reveals her transgender status, but it doesn't save her from lip-syncing against Serena.  However - that was one HELL of a performance on Monica's part.

The song was Rihanna's "Only Girl (in the World)" and Monica gave quite possibly one of the best lip-sync performances ever on this show.  While Serena's was almost exactly the same as last week's, Monica channeled the song and freaking rocked it.

So Serena sashay'd away (thank God).

Seeing as how Ru didn't really do a top/bottom group, I will just give my picks.

My Top 3:  Ivy Winters, Coco Montrese, Lineysha Sparx
My Bottom 3:  Jade Jolie, Serena ChaCha, Monica Beverly Hillz

Rankings of the Remaining Girls:

1)  Detox - Has two Mini Challenge wins at this point, plus you know Ru took note of her performance in the video.

2)  Coco Montrese - Still infuriatingly competent.  In a way, Monica's terribly performance in the lip-sync challenge made her look that much better.

3)  Ivy Winters - She's been in the top for both Main Challenges so far, plus she has a Mini Challenge win to her credit.  If she can keep up the visually stunning looks, she'll go far.

4)  Lineysha Sparx - Won the Main Challenge after almost winning the last one - might we get our first Latin queen in the finals?

5)  Alaska - She has quite a bit of wit, but she still needs to step up the look and the performance if she wants to make the top 3.

6)  Roxxxy Andrews - She didn't really drop so much as others passed her.  She is obviously a contender, but it would be best not to sit back and wait for the lesser queens to eliminate themselves.  Far too many talented queens are already working it too hard.

7)  Alyssa Edwards - She convinced me that she could perform with the best of them, but can she do it consistently enough to knock off the six currently ahead of her?

8)  Jinkx Monsoon - She's already showing signs of strain.  She seems more capable of knocking out one of the top girls than Alyssa, but if she's already stressed, that doesn't bode well for her longevity.

9)  Vivienne Pinay - In certain other seasons, she would easily have been a contender.  But this season is bursting with talent, so girl needs to step it up.

10)  Jade Jolie - Like Vivienne, she needs to step it up.

11)  Honey Mahogany - She did great in the challenge, but her runway is going to be her downfall.

12)  Monica Beverly Hillz - Now that her main storyline has reached its conclusion, she seems to be on borrowed time.  Unless Ru decides to take care of Honey first.