Aloha, Uglies! We open this week’s episode at a far-out, fangs-out midnight beach party, Boulet style. Moon Screen and men galore, we even get to see the Boulet’s let loose atypical to their usual style, including a silly little dance moment by Swan that genuinely had me laughing out loud. But which unwelcome outsider lurks in the caverns of the Nosferatu Beach Party? Stay tuned to find out!
The Challenge: The Boulet’s announce the Beach Party to their creepy little crustaceans, in which they must serve a beachy vampiric lewk and perform a 60s-tailored lip-sync duet. The sinister fun continues when it’s announced that upon the death of one monster, another has arisen, and fierce Season 2 and Resurrection competitor Dahli is joining Season 4. Astrud, being their drag daughter, is overjoyed, while everyone else is thinking the same thing: “Fuck”. Zavaleta then claws her way back into the competition by winning a scrumptiously awful Fright Feat involving blood and garlic, and chooses the duet partners as her prize. Can Koco and Merrie overcome their differences and choreograph a groovy routine? Will Astrud and Sigourney make sacrifices to their drag to perform more cohesively? Stay tuned to find out!
The Drama: Merrie, leeching off Zavaleta’s personality before she has a chance to return to the boudoir, gets into it with both Astrud and Sigourney. The former, she says, is lucky the judges didn’t see her outfit falling apart, and the latter, well, she just doesn’t like. Astrud defends their DIY drag against Merrie while comically stripping her of her title as “The Drag Queen of Brooklyn,” downgrading her to simply a queen in Brooklyn. The jury is out on Sigourney, though, who seems to be playing the shade game par for the course – a sport they’re all proficient at. Maybe it’s her catchphrases. Respect and admiration don’t come “for free.”
Floor Show & Judgment: Following a Boulet entrance edit inspired by Instagram Layout and the introduction of guest judge Vannessa Hudgens, a very campy floor show ensues. It is pure chaos, but a few outstanding looks and flourishes by the queens turn it into a spoopy ol’ time at the beach. Merrie is singled out as the Boulet’s attempt to instill a sense of self that seems to have escaped her, but her life is spared for now. Zavaleta’s tenacity and her “Nosferatu-toenails” are praised, as is Hoso’s lifeguard outfit and its multi-layered reveals. The winner of the sandiest party you’ll ever die at is the high fashion latex bat with floaties, Saint. This leaves Betty, Koco, and Astrud (!) dropping into the bottom. Betty once again underwhelmed, and despite Koco’s fanged stripper lewk, she was upstaged by her partner, Merrie.
Now, remember when Astrud cut down her outfit’s gaggery galore for the sake of compromise? Yeah, that didn’t pan out, and what follows is a temper tantrum that rivals Maddelynn Hatter’s from Season 3. She follows in Formelda’s footsteps and commits a cardinal sin of the show: interrupting Drac during critiques. Backstage, she continues to rant, cry, insult, and protest in a simply embarrassing manner. From high highs to low lows, Aurelia has fallen, and Betty joins her for Extermination.
Extermination: This week, the exterminees must submerge their limbs in leech-infested waters. The lack of general excitement is heightened with some intensely horrific close-ups of their bloodied bodies. In the end, we find that the winner of the first challenge, Astrud Aurelia, is the outsider lurking in the caverns of the Nosferatu Beach Party, and the Boulets smash her with a boulder like a pesky crab. A talent killed perhaps too soon and a missed opportunity for drag family drama, Astrud was crushed under the weight of her hubris.
Quote of the Episode: “I’m so into blood right now.” -Vanessa Hudgens
Honorable Mention: Dahli’s mating of Black Lagoon and a clown fit in wonderfully with the buffoonery of the floor show.
Rating: A campy good time is upended by an unhinged meltdown, and we love to see it. (8/10 Bottles of Moon Screen)