Welcome to my review and power rankings for Drag Race España Season 3 Episode Two – “Drag Vision.” It’s a Eurovision-themed group choreography challenge to “SloMo” by Chanel where no one came out on top after the queens were thoroughly chastised for their messy performance by the judges.
They weren’t angry, just disappointed.
Seriously – you think RuPaul screaming about H&M is scary? Try watching all five España judges very calmly read their contestants for filth for their lumpy pads, ill-considered tights, clockable wig lines, and approximate dancing in the “Drag Vision” choreography challenge.
I didn’t need the disappointed judges to inform me that this was a lackluster maxi-challenge performance. It was obvious to see that nearly all of the queens were out of sync with each other and struggling with their wigs.
However, I was surprised to hear the judges reading the queens for their looks (and lumpy pads), considering all of the “Drag Vision” dance costumes were obviously supplied by the show. I suppose the message was, “every detail matters.” Supremme and the other judges don’t want the queens resting on their laurels when production hands them something to use in a challenge.
Of course, that begs the question of how much production had a hand in the outcome of an under-rehearsed dance routine and rushed dance costumes. On an American season I’d immediately assume that the drama was manufactured. On España, I’m more willing to believe it happened organically.
Between the wobbly maxi-challenge and an “España en Eurovisión” runway that invited imitation over haute couture, there’s not much to discuss about individual queen placements this week, though it did introduce some major shakeups compared to the premiere episode Power Rankings. I did correctly call our second elimination, and I suspect I have the next one right… but the rest of the ranking feels uncertain. Are a few favored queens and potential front-runners beginning to emerge?
(Want to watch Drag Race España outside of Spain? For most of the world, it’s available as part with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)
Lectores, start your engines. Y que gane la mejor drag queen!
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.
Drag Race España Season 3 – “Drag Vision” challenge & “España en Eurovisión” runway Power Rankings
Before we take a quick spin through our dozen queens and their struggle with “Drag Vision,” let’s admire Supreme de Luxe’s handsy runway (plus a workroom look that I caught a queen calling “Windows wallpaper realness.”
Something about this look is giving me Boulet Brothers realness. I think it’s the massive halo of dark-rooted hair combined with the diaphanous robes. But, also, I think the extra hands being at the waist are a bit confusing. Are they supposed to be Supremme’s own hands set on her hips? If they are really meant to be grabbing from behind as we see here, it feels like the more appropriate placement would have been over her breasts, a la Jacket Jackson on the cover of Rolling Stone.
#1. Pitita (was #3, pre-season #7)
(Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)
Pitita wasn’t the winner of this “Drag Vision” challenge, but she feels like the queen who came out of this episode wielding the most “main character” energy in the edit despite an ostensibly low placement.
It didn’t hurt that she drew an audible gasp from the judges with a runway look that could’ve easily read as a circus tent if it wasn’t crafted perfectly. Between that and getting a personal makeup tip from Supremme, I’d say this was the best possible outcome for Pitita without snagging a win.
I am getting major “Valentina living in her own French Vanilla Fantasy” from Pitita’s confessionals. That famously didn’t work out so great for Valentina, but I think in edition to living in a fantasy Pitita might also be secretly brilliant. I’m very curious to see if she breaks out with a win sometime in the next couple of weeks.
#2. Bestiah – 1 win (was #1, pre-season #3)
(Instagram (+ Art Instagram) | TikTok | Twitter)
Bestiah was one of the few adequate dancers in this “Drag Vision” challenge, she maintained high visibility in the edit with a vulnerable moment in the mirror chats, and she snuck off stage with the winning team without drawing a withering critique.
I think that means Bestiah remains one of the primary queens to beat in this competition.
I think her blonde hair and light brows popped better against her lovely red cloak of a dress rather than the rather flat silver final look. The shape of the dress seemed faithful to the original (complete with the asymmetrical cutout), but I think Bestiah needed more padding to fill it out. Also, both looks could have used some styling on her bare arms and neck. That gives me some concern for future runways, but we’ll have to wait and see.
#3. Pink Chadora (was #9, pre-season #11)
(Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter)
There’s nothing like the early episodes of a new season to take a queen from nearly worst to nearly first. That was Pink Chadora’s journey in this episode.
Pink Chadora wasn’t the best “Drag Vision” dancer and she didn’t have the best runway. What she did have was the most thorough commitment to both – inserting plenty of comedy into her failed choreography, and rocking a fully-realized rocker costume with tons of delightful details. This look is a great example of using what could easily be off-the-rack separates to create a strong look when styled well. Also, I cannot get over the brilliance of the pony-tail permanently frozen in mid-hair-whip
Pink Chadora’s choices this episode made her the most-noticeable queens in both halves of “Drag Vision.” That was enough to score her a win in the midst of shaky performances from her competitors. This feels like a totally different queen than the performer we saw perform a dull bunny dance in her talent show last week. There was a real sense of competitive, can-do energy from Pink Chadora all episode long (helped along by her prominence in confessionals).
Will this early win propel her to become a front-runner? I’m not ready to say that for certain. I think we’ve often seen an early high achievement from this archetype of “dorky rural queen” that they then struggle to repeat as the glamorous veterans get a stranglehold on top placements. It will be a good sign for Pink Chadora’s chances if she can impress in the design challenge next week with an eye for editing while staying true to her zany style.
#4. Hornella Góngora (was #4, pre-season #8)
(Apple Music | Instagram | Spotify | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)
Hornella Góngora stood out in the “Drag Vision” dance challenge and on the runway, emphasizing that she is a queen to watch on this season.
Essentially, everything that was great about Hornella in “Spain is Different” last week was great once again in “Drag Vision.” She has some of the most-transformative, most-buffed makeup in the cast, which makes her easy to pick out of a line-up of queens (as in the dance challenge). There’s also something deliciously camp about all of her choices in drag, including this absurdly exaggerated runway.
There’s no way this ruched outfit and massive bows would’ve worked with a small hair or a light hair, bu Hornella has the smarts to proportionize with a massive, dark puff of hair that anchored her look at the top, giving her a sort of “inverted triangle” shape. It was incredibly smart, and it kept the focus on another gorgeous face of makeup.
Will this eclectic stylist be able to notch her first win in next week’s design challenge? I wouldn’t be shocked, but even if she doesn’t it feels like she is one of the few queens to be surging early in the season.
#5. Visa (was #5, pre-season #2)
(Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)
Visa was one of the most secure dancers on the challenge-winning “Drag Vision” team and she had one of the strongest runway efforts with a two-in-one look where each outfit felt fully-developed. Paradoxically, on an early team challenge like this one that means she got some of the briefest screen time of everyone this episde.
Visa continues her trend of making every runway appearance a total event. Yet, there’s another trend alert that I just can’t ignore. I’m noticing that Visa has now turned in an unbroken string of somewhat plain, un-contoured makeup looks that do little to change the proportions of her out-of-drag face. There’s no rules of how to do makeup for Drag Race – particularly for España – but I fear that Visa’s makeup could hold her back from a win on a strong week in the eyes of these detail-oriented judges.
#6. Clover Bish (was #7, pre-season #9)
(Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)
It seemed as though Clover Bish almost had this win in the bag as the nominated “Chanel” soloist in her “Drag Vision” group.
Actually, I’m still a little confused about why she didn’t win. Was it purely down to the sparseness of her fringe compared to Visa’s version of the same look? Or, was rewarding Pink Chadora rather than Clover a broader message to these queens that they need to think outside of the box of just being “fierce” if they want to make it far on España.
Either way, it cost Clover Bish an early win. I doubt it will be her only high placement, as this queen came to play hard. Yet, I also wonder if perhaps she got read for more aspects of her outfit and it simply didn’t make it to air due to the general vibe of kindness on this franchise. It could be that the judges came down harder on her for “baby queen” aspects of her drag than we saw here.
So far, I think my pre-season assessment of Clover Bish holds true: she’s a powerful competitor and perhaps the best dancer in this cast, but she might be let down by a lack of experience with the fundamentals of drag as the season wears on. Good luck beating her in a lip sync, though – I’m not sure anyone but Visa could manage it.
#7. Pakita (was #2, pre-season #1)
(Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube)
After a bold showing in Week One, it felt like all of Pakita’s strengths turned to weaknesses this episode in a weak outing that almost landing her in the lip sync.
It seemed like it was a good idea to send Pakita into the “Drag Vision” choreography challenge as her team’s “Chanel” to contrast the more obvious choice of Clover Bish. Whether it was down to a lack of preparation or just plain old nerves, Pakati served a puzzling dance break of turning her back to the judges and waving at her teammates. I truly couldn’t tell if she missed a step in her choreography and froze in fear or if her plan was really that bad.
Pakita’s slinky, minimal three-in-one runway saved her from elimination. Yet, I think there is a limit to how many times she can turn to these casual “femme realness” looks on the runway. I don’t think that’s the only thing she has prepared, as we say from her wild camp take on last week’s “Spain is Different” theme, but pulling out this sort of casual look on another weaker challenge effort could spell her doom as the field tightens.
I think Pakita is safe for now, but this episode contained some worrisome signals for her ability to power through to the crown after that path seemed so incredibly obvious both in the pre-season and last week.
#8. Vania Vainilla (was #6, pre-season #4)
Vania Vainilla wound up in the bottom two by process of elimination in her “Drag Vision” group.
Pitita’s dancing was approximate but her runway was gorgeous. Pakita’s dancing was tragic but her runway was wonderfully clean, Hornella wasn’t funny enough but her runway was big enough to make a visual impact. And, Kelly Roller made up for her skating stumble in the Talent Show plus she won the guest judge jackpot.
That left Vania Vainilla stuck in the bottom two without an out, even if I liked her plain striped dress much better than Kelly’s look. Perhaps if Vania hadn’t gone barefoot it would have made the difference.
I am not willing to believe this clever queen is already in danger of elimination from a single lip sync. Let’s see if she gets her redemption in next week’s design challenge.
#9. Macarena (was #11, not revealed in the pre-season)
(Instagram | TikTok | Twitter)
Macarena successfully piloted her “Drag Vision” group to success in the choreography challenge, mostly by virtue of having chosen the more-experienced dancers who would efficiently handle a verse and chorus worth of choreography. That kept her insulated from a bottom placement for another week!
Macarena was out-shined on the runway by Hornella much larger, campier take on the same inspiration. Yet, even if Hornella wore something different, this look simply isn’t flattering on Macarena. It looks boxy due to the way the hips are exaggerated. Te tiny trail of four bows across the front isn’t enough to read as a design element, so it just looks like poor accessorizing.
Yet, her hair and makeup were pure stun here. Maybe there’s more to Macarena than I initially surmised based her limp performance in the premiere.
I’m intrigued to see how she does in next week’s design challenge. Surely a queen on her second go-round on the show will have practiced her sewing by now, right? We’ve seen a few strong indications of her style (last week’s runway) and a few weaker ones (this runway, her entrance look). I’m curious to see which way she goes.
Even if Macarena survives the design challenge, I’m left with this question: what is great about her and her drag? It could be her makeup, which is a terrific strength, but we’ve already seen she is not the best at singing or dancing. Will this queen dominate the others in acting? Snatch Game? To make a deep run on the show, you need a few talents where you can snag high placements and be in contention for a win.
#10. Kelly Roller (was #8, pre-season #6)
(Apple Music | Instagram | Spotify | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)
Kelly Roller redeemed her skating stumble from the talent show by performing this “Drag Vision” choreography challenge on roller skates. It was a wise move both from a branding perspective and in terms of proving herself. She also scored positive marks for her runway for impersonating Soraya right in front of Soraya, who was coincidentally our guest judge.
So, what do I have her in the penultimate worst spot in my ranking?
Looking closely at this post-reveal look, there are problems with it that were obscured in the judge’s comments by Soraya being flattered. The body suit isn’t nearly as detailed or stoned as Soraya’s version. Soraya’s richly-colored purple wrap skirt felt like a seamless extension of the top of her costume, and it had a tassel that united the two halves of the look and covered the high slit. Kelly’s feels like a random, garish, blue hand towel she threw on the bottom of her look, with a slit that goes up to her hip bone and is practically right over her tuck and a tassel that looks like it got shredded by a cat.
I’m not getting any kind of story from Kelly Roller in the edit other than “I wear roller skates” and “my home town is glamourous. Combine that with questionable fashions and styling and it adds up to a position you do NOT want to be in heading into a design challenge. I think she’s due for a low placement to to to shake her into the competition, and against the wrong competitor that could easily turn into a lip sync loss.
#11. Chanel Anorex (was #10, pre-season #12)
(Instagram | TikTok | Twitter)
Chanel Anorex was one of the major confessional queens of the episode, but her need to insert some ill-advised fantasy in what could have been a clean Eurovision runway drew a near-audible grimace from some of the judges.
I get that Chanel’s joke was to dress a both the singer and the song, but she took what could’ve been a clean look that won her some positive notice and covered it in leaves. Is it camp? Maybe, but the placement of the leaves feels completely random and interferes with being able to digest the lines of her actual garment.
I think this need to turn looks into ill-considered cosplay is going to bite Chanel Anorex in the ass, especially with a design challenge up next. I feel like she is the queen who has the most obvious weak spot when it comes to styling based on the few things we’ve seen from her so far.
Eliminated in 12th place: Drag Chuchi (was #12, pre-season #10)
(Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube)
I wasn’t a fan of Drag Chuchi, and on this episode it seemed the judges weren’t either.
Despite a fine (if slightly wooden) dance performance, there was no question she missed the mark on what could have been an inventive four-in-one runway. I just need to know what this dress reveal was so baggy and why it had nude sleeves with black zippers instead of just using her arms.
Drag Chuchi had a reserved personality, a penchant for splits, and a some issues with the fit of her garments. I feel even worse about her departing this early than I do or many early out queens, because it means I never had the chance to fall in love with her (at least a little bit) as I have with other queens who have tweaked my nerves I guess that means Drag Chuchi will always be my Spanish Bitch Eating Crackers.
