RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 13 - "Teacher Makeovers" Review & Power Ranking

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the thirteenth episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 – “Teacher Makeovers,” a makeover challenge with a quintet of local women teachers who are members of or allies to the LGBTQA* community.

Let’s be honest about Makeover Challenges on Drag Race: it’s often a “free play” week that allows the show to create whatever narrative works best for the remainder of the season.

Few queens utterly fail at the makeover (though we had one tonight!) and even when they do they can be sent to lip sync with just about anyone else in the cast to ensure the desired result. And, good makeovers tend to be similar in their strength, which means picking a winner can come down to arbitrary details. It’s rare to see a total blowout in either direction.

This has lead to many questionable Makeover episode placements over the years, from Divina winning while Cheryl went home in UK Season 1 to Trinity The Tuck not being in the top for the All Stars Season 4 make-over in favor of Monét. Heck, even Canada does it, putting Icesis in the bottom for a spectacular makeover on Season 2 just for not using matching colors on obviously similar dresses.

That’s why the makeover challenge tends to come late in the season (along with other challenges with extremely subjective measures of success). You can hand out a questionable win in a makeover to much less scrutiny from the cast and the fans than you can for Snatch Game.

That can make for a somewhat miserable episode for the queens, who are usually exhausted by this point in the season. A little bit of rigger morris goes a long long way to cracking competitors who are already on the verge of a breakdown.

The positive that comes along with this is that Makeover Challenges bring outside influences into the workroom. That can shake up tense dynamics within the cast and bring new stories to light. This episode’s makeover focused on five women teachers from around the Los Angeles area, each with their own connection to Drag Race and the LGBTQA* community. These women are already champions, from a mom of queer children to an art teacher on her own coming out journey to a kindergarten teacher who emphasizes that “love is love” to her youngsters.

All five teachers were willing to put in an A+ effort for their queens, but one queen wasn’t in the mood to match her partner’s enthusiasm for group work. That lead to an obvious bottom placement and a preordained lip sync. What it didn’t do is shake up the power rankings at all from last week’s Rusical rankings. Production has made some deliberate storytelling choices heading into next week’s semi-final. We’ll see if they all pay off.

Readers, start your engines. And, may the best drag queen win!

Reminders: I consistently refer to Drag Race artists with their drag names and with she/her pronouns even when they are not in drag, which is the convention of the show. Some performers may have different personal pronouns. Drag is inherently brave, political, and artistic, and all drag is valid. It’s also hard to do. Every drag artist in the world deserves endless essays dedicated to their talents and life stories. I’m commenting on drag artistry in how it fits the established expectations of this specific television program, but the reason I’m commenting at all is because I celebrate all drag and the people who create it.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 13: Teacher Makeovers Power Rankings

Before we get to our five Teacher Makeovers, let’s appreciate RuPaul’s runway look. It’s an obvious homage to Cher’s plaid look in Clueless. I love that Ru punked it up a bit with fingerless leather gloves, but I would’ve liked it more with a hair color with some warmth to it.

#1. Anetra – 3 Wins, 2 lip syncs (3.00 avg; was #1, 5, 3, 3, 2, 3, 5, 6, 3, 3, 1, Pre-Season #2)

Anetra scored a win here that could’ve easily been handed to another queen, which solidified her narrative as the late-season front-runner. This queen is going to the finale even if she gets a migraine next week, misses the challenge, and lip syncs in sweatpants.

Anetra delivered a strong makeover. She has an established look, both in her makeup and her bodysuit styling (trend alert: arm foreskin) She executed that look perfectly on her partner Alektra, creating a mini-me on the the runway. It helped that Alektra’ kindergarten teacher energy is infectious, which made her a joy to watch both in the workroom and on the runway.

Was Anetra an obvious, objective winner of this Teacher Makeoveras challenge? Meh. The bodysuits were well-executed – especially due to the way they married two different fabrics on the chest, but they weren’t the most exciting looks. Also, Anetra’s ying/yang vibe was hard to read because she chose such tiny stones to represent the dots of contrasting color.

While I don’t dispute this win, it could have easily gone to Sasha (if there was any point to giving her more of a boost), Mistress Isabelle Brooks (if the show cared about evening the odds across all of the cast), or Loosey LaDuca (if production cared about bringing her to the finale).

However, Anetra required this win for her legitimacy as a competitor, since all of her high points thus far have come from lip sync performances. Even if her Rusical win was all about showing softness and vulnerability in a performance, her score card was still too one-note heading into this episode. Diversifying her track record with a makeover win gives her a stronger standing.

That means Anetra has been anointed as the one queen who can put a stop to the Sasha Colby juggernaut in the finale. That storyline has exhausted some longtime fans of the show, who feel like Anetra has been propped up as a lip syncer all because she walked that fucking duck in week one. However, I’ve felt she has an undeniable steely star power ever since seeing her Meet The Queens. Sasha and Anetra were my Pre-Season Top Two, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit to see them neck-and-neck heading into the finale.

Despite Anetra’s front-runner status, it’s still possible for her to lip syncs next week in the semi-final. She’s a queen who can reliably dismiss either Luxx or Mistress Isabelle from the competition and the show gets another meme-able lip sync in the process. Since Luxx has more experience as a songwriter, my suspicion is that we’ll see either Sasha or Anetra face off against Mistress Isabelle Brooks next week.

#2. Sasha Colby – 3 Wins (1.67 avg; was #2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 5, Pre-Season #1)

Sasha Colby turned in one of her best makeup looks of the season on herself and her Teacher Makeovers partner Ferocity Colby. If the show needed to remind us she is a frontrunner they could’ve easily given her a win, but at this point the focus isn’t on building Sasha up in the competition – it’s on making things seem actually competitive.

Sasha Colby’s makeover was spectacular. There was an obvious likeness between her and Ferocity Colby. Beyond that, Ferocity Colby looked really, really good. Granted, she started out with natural beauty that was obvious from the moment she walked into the workroom. However, that takes nothing away from Sasha’s makeover accomplishment.

Feminine beauty doesn’t always guarantee a solid makeover result… but, it doesn’t hurt when your partner starts out looking like your cousin and she names “Wonder Woman of Vogue” Leiomy as her runway inspiration.

(Maybe we could say that Sasha and Ferocity’s padding was slightly boxy, but that was a subtle problem and the show was never going to slam the padding of a paid sponsor.)

Even if Sasha was best in show this week, the show gained nothing from handing her a fourth win. She is already the queen everyone assumes will win the season. Building up her momentum even more just makes the finale seem like will have a predetermined result. Drag Race desires high drama, and the best way to make the climax of the season seem dramatic is to downplay Sasha as the obvious frontrunner for the crown.

That why I strongly suspect we could see Sasha lip sync next week if it’s only possible to throw one of Luxx Noir London or Mistress Isabelle Brooks into the bottom two. it’s not as though Sasha’s chances will be diminished by seeing her in the bottom next week, but there’s no way the show blows another Sasha/Anetra lip sync before the finale. Having her dispatch Luxx or MIB is a low-risk way to get another performance out of her.

Of course, it’s also possible that Sasha Colby delivers a phenomenal RuMix and sails through to the finale. Even if she isn’t the songwriter that Luxx is, Sasha has by-far the most on camera experience out of every queen this season. She is going to deliver 110% in a music video shoot because that is her actual job in real life. And, given how hard she crushed the old lady Girl Groups challenge, she knows her way around a verse.

#3. Luxx Noir London – 2 Wins, 1 Lip Sync (3.33 avg; was #3, 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 3, 3, 5, 2, 6, Pre-Season #3)

Luxx Noir London delivered a shock by putting in low effort into this Teacher Makovers challenge when it could have easily been a critical third win for her. Or… was it all part of her strategy?

There’s no question that Luxx Noir London failed this Teacher Makeovers test. Even if her partner Asia Azul looked pretty (and was a dead ringer for Jennifer Coolidge), there was zero facial likeness. All Luxx had to do was deliver her signature nose!

Also, their runway was deeply awkward – it felt like Asia Azul had no idea of what the plan was and Luxx was tugging her back and forth. Finally, it felt as though Luxx gave up on her runway outfits, which was unusual since we saw her do exceptionally well with design challenges. Her partner’s two-tone outfit was lovely, so why wouldn’t she line her own skirt with the same contrasting blue?

I think part of that answer comes from how pressed Luxx was over Loosey not giving her the single black partner available for the makeover. Despite what Michelle Visage might suggest, queens are often at a disadvantage when they have to make over someone with different skin color. That’s because the literal foundation of their drag look isn’t going to work the same on their partner, which could yield an entirely different face. I takes experience as a make-up artist to avoid that fate.

When Luxx was handed this obvious obstruction it felt as though she immediately tuned out of the challenge. She was cold to her delightful makeover partner, not even learning the story of her own LGBTQA* connection until it was nearly time for the runway. She also was missing the typical Luxx Noir London effervescence on the runway and in the judge’s critiques.

That all made Luxx an obvious bottom placement for this episode. Luxx had to know this as a studied Drag Race superfan who has come as close to anyone to “cracking the code” of the show with her challenge choices and her Ru tributes on the runway.

That brings up the question of how much Luxx was actually self-producing here. If she felt like she was at risk for a lip sync, there’s no way she wanted to go up against the juggernauts of Sasha or Anetra. However, a showdown against Loosey was entirely winnable and fed into their contentious narrative coming out of the Rusical and its “Who should go home?” runway question.

Am I saying Luxx purposefully threw the results of the episode in a way that would make Loosey her obvious opponent? Not necessarily, but I am saying that once Luxx saw that fate in the cards for her she wasn’t exactly disappointed to let it play out.

Why don’t I have Luxx Noir London ranked last heading into the semi-final if she’s coming out of a lip sync? At this point, ranking is all about storyline. Right now Luxx has the “drag ingénue” narrative to Sasha’s “veteran” archetype and Anetra’s “upstart lip sync assassin” storyline. She’s also an accomplished songwriter who has no reason to fear a RuMix episode. I think that puts her in an obvious position to do well next week and she has the better narrative to round out a final three. If for some reason Luxx Noir London lip syncs next week, it will be a guaranteed double shanté.

#4. Mistress Isabelle Brooks – 1 Win (3.25 avg; was #4, 4, 4, 2, 4, 1, 2, 4, 4, 4, 2, Pre-Season #6)

Mistress Isabelle Brooks had one of the best Teacher Makeovers connections in the cast and really delivered in the likeness department. That gave production an excellent chance to even up the odds by handing her a second win. Passing up that opportunity is a clear signal that Mistress Isabelle will be lip syncing next week… and she may not be joining us for the finale.

Mistress Isabelle Brooks delivered a fine Teacher Makeover on Madam Thang. Even if she put her in a too plain black stretch dress (which was reportedly made in the workroom by Loosey!), Madam Thang’s facial likeness sold their connection as much as their similar energy on the runway.

MIB could have easily been handed a win her to even things up or sent to lip sync against Luxx for a heartbreaking faceoff between friends. The fact that production passed up this obvious chance tells me two things.

First, we’re going to see Mistress Isabelle Brooks lip sync next week. She’s not going to be allowed to head to the finale with a perfect record that matches Sasha’s because the show doesn’t see her as competition for Sasha. If that was the case, she would have earned the subjective win this episode.

Second, Mistress Isabelle Brooks cannot win this season. Despite her classic drag style and her flawless runway package, if she was meant to be the queen who could snatch victory from Sasha’s grasp we would’ve seen a more-obvious narrative for her in this episode. With Anetra getting another episode of storyline to herself, it’s obvious MIB is out of the running for the crown.

Now the interesting question becomes who Mistress Isabelle will lip sync against next week and what the outcome will be. Will Sasha get a single bottom two placement so she has to fight her way into the finale? Will Anetra be given one more lip sync just to make some good TV? Or, will MIB and Luxx have to face off in a heartbreaking battle between friends?

Of those three possibilities, I think the only one Mistress Isabelle Brooks has a chance of winning outright is a fight against Luxx. If either of the other two occur, her only hope of making the finale is delivering a memorable enough lip sync that she hears “shanté you both stay” at the end of the song.

Eliminated in 5th Place: Loosey LaDuca – 2 Wins, 2 lip syncs (5.18 avg; was #5, 3, 5, 6, 7, 4, 4, 2, 2, 5, 14, Pre-Season #8)

(Instagram | Merch | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)

Loosey LaDuca delivered what objectively seemed like the best of the Teacher Makeovers likenesses and the prettiest pair of outfits, but her bottom placement was still no surprise. Loosey had the misfortune of having conflict with the two queens who are not our major frontrunners, which meant that the climax of her narrative had to happen in this episode rather than in the semi-final.

I’ve been both high and low on Loosey over the course of the season. I feel like her edit counted her out of contention for the crown more than her performances or behavior.

Sure. she was a sour, slightly-pressed queen – but if the show had a vested interest in making her a contender for the crown we would’ve seen less of that in the edit. Production had the power to make Loosey look more like a victim of a group of Heathers and less like a victim of her own delusion. Remember, Jinkx has said many times that she fought back against Rolaskatox much, much more than was shown in the edit – but she was made out to be innocent, easy prey for the sake of her ingénue narrative.

Honestly, I think production made a mistake there… even if there was no way for them to have advance knowledge of how much of a meme “Let Loose” would become as the season pressed on.

Loosey’s story as a hardworking professional queen who exists in the butch world of concrete-pouring for construction off the show was hardly referenced all season long. How could they pass up such a terrific made-for-TV story! The show also had a golden opportunity to pass her through to the “RuMix” semi-final challenge to give her another chance to redeem her initial Talent Show performance. (That’s doubly true for the very “meta” reason that the RuMix is on Ru’s song “Blame it on the Edit,” a perfect anthem for Loosey this season.)

That would’ve made sense if the show had portrayed Loosey as a counterpoint to Sasha at any point in the season. However, Loosey’s potential “drag veteran with a classic look” narrative got handed to the much younger and less-experienced Mistress Isabelle Brooks. That left Loosey with just one remaining storyline – her enmity with Luxx and MIB.

Since that story didn’t involve Sasha or Anetra, it was never going to merit a “Jinkx performs ‘Malambo’ against Dextox” semi-final showdown. Despite her pair of wins and a strong showing across the season, Loosey was sacrificed to Luxx in a lip sync with an obvious outcome.

I’m happy to see that Loosey LaDuca’s somewhat negative edit has already been mostly-erased for fans who’ve latched onto her “Let Loose” mantra. Every queen deserves that kind of redemption before the end of their season, even if it’s usually only the thin white queens who get it. Even if Loosey wasn’t rapturously received by the young club crowds who could boost her bookings in the immediate future, I think she made her mark as a drag professional in a way that will give her longevity in both touring and media opportunities. And, as a queen who was somewhat “robbed” on her season, it’s on a matter of time before All Stars casting directors come knocking on her door.

(Whether or not Loosey should answer that knock is another question entirely.)

6th Place: Salina EsTitties – 4 lip syncs (7.40 avg; was #6, 7, 5, 8, 11, 8, 8, 7, Pre-Season #12)

7th Place: Marcia Marcia Marcia – 1 lip sync (6.56 avg; was #7, 5, 6, 7, 9, 8, 6, 7, 4, Pre-Season #10)

8th Place: Malaysia Babydoll Foxx – 1 lip sync (8.38 avg; was #8, 8, 6, 10, 5, 9, 12, 9, Pre-Season #5)

(Instagram | Merch | Twitter | YouTube)

9th place: Spice – 2 lip syncs (9.0 avg; was #9, 12, 12, 6, 8, Pre-Season #11)

10th place: Jax – 3 lip syncs (8.67 avg; was #11, 10, 7, 11, 3, Pre-Season #4)

11th Place: Aura Mayari – 1 Win, 1 lip sync (11.0 avg; was #6, 9, 13, 14, 13, Pre-Season #9)

12th Place: Robin Fierce, 1 lip sync (9.25 avg; was #7, 11, 9, 10, Pre-Season #7)

13th Place: Amethyst, 3 lip syncs (12.67 avg; was #10, 13, 15, Pre-Season #13)

(Instagram | Merch | TikTok)

14th: Sugar, 1 lip sync (11 avg; was #10, 12, Pre-Season #16)

15th Place: Princess Poppy, 1 lip sync (11 avg; was #11, Pre-Season #15)

16th Place: Irene Dubois, 1 lip sync (was Pre-Season #14)

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