Bon retour, mes chers lecteurs, dans plus de classements! Drag Race Belgique Season 2 Episode 7 was Paquets Cadeaux, a makeover challenge of the loved ones of our Top 4. It is also the final power ranking of the season prior to next week’s grande finale!
Late season makeover challenges like Paquets Cadeaux seem to exist solely to give the Drag Race judges the freedom to assign top and bottom placements as they please. The idea of “resemblance” is often subjective, which helps them eliminate unwanted queens and make the standings more even for the impending finale.
That was abetted by this final four, three of whom seemed to passionately resist the directive that they have a mother/daughter relationship with their makeover partners. All three brought high-concept costumes (moon & stars, pirates, and rats) and seemed to actively resist Rita’s advice in the workroom to do more to make their relationship clear.
It was a letdown to see three of these artists refuse to accept the prompt, but it was a delight to see Rita Baga attempt to convince them. Rita was perhaps at her most charming from both seasons of the show during her workroom walkaround. It gave me the sense that while she is a willing and able judge, she would likely be more at home hosting a talk show or a variety series. I actually rewound several times just to appreciate her silliness and banter with the queens and their loved ones.
In this end, this makeover challenge came with an unexpected twist: the judges DID NOT use it to cut an obvious fourth-place contestant from the finale! Instead, they boldly risked their front-runner in a lip sync clearly earmarked as a “double shantay.”
I think it was the right move. It gave a seemingly flawless finalist a small sense of vulnerability (even though that was entirely manufactured). And, it brought along a wildcard to the finale who can actually dance – which will be useful, since the episode will feature Beyoncé’s choreographer!
Despite all of that turbulence, our Power Rankings haven’t changed at all since last week’s “Le Crime du Drag Express” acting challenge! A late-game surge from one competitor wasn’t enough to unseat our obvious potential-winner, and another bottom performance wasn’t enough for a third-place queen to sink beneath our wild card. I’ll be back with one final post next week to congratulate our winner.
(Want to watch Drag Race Belgique outside of Belgium? For most of the world, it’s available with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)
Lecteurs, start your engines. Et, que la meilleure Drag Queen gagne!
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 am obsessed with drag and the people who create it.
Drag Race Belgique Season 2 Episode 7 – Paquets Cadeaux makeover challenge Power Rankings
Before we get to our final Power Rankings, let’s appreciate a pair of perfectly odd Rita Baga fashions.
I loved her oversize red overcoat in the workroom! At points I wished it was belted tightly to give Rita more of a waist to let is volume be cinched and then poof out. Yet, even hanging loose it was quite chic. I absolutely love her boots, which you can see in the walkaround photo above. I’ve got rose-covered boots a lot like them!
On the runway Rita Baggy was serving pale pink Tweety bird realness. To borrow the name of another cartoon duck, there was something a bit daffy about this look that I really enjoyed – like how the entire skirt was outlined in curved feathers! Ultimately I wish there was a little more separation between Rita’s head and the giant shoulder plumes, Also, I really dislike those wispy bottom lashes.
#1 – Alvilda – 2 wins, 1 lip sync (was #2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1)
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Alvilda delivered the most-interesting and fashionable outfits in this Paquets Cadeaux makeover challenge. She also delivered the nearest resemblance in makeup, perfectly transferring her beautiful airbrushed makeup look onto her real-life partner.
Despite that confident performance, the judges marked this pairing down because they couldn’t shake their romantic connection with their pantomime on the runway.
I can see where they were coming from, but I think Alvilda’s success in the mechanics of this makeover were more important than her acting on the runway. There’s an obvious resemblance here and it was clear that Alvilda was the one in charge during the runway presentation. I believe the judges were grasping at straws just so we would have a reason to see Alvilda lip sync for her life one time.
I think there is no question that Alvilda will walk away with the crown next week. She has been not only the most-dominant presence in this season, but also the most-interesting character. She is an able dancer and singer, so I doubt she will collapse when faced with choreography, and I am certain she will have packed a stellar final glam look.
#2 – La Veuve, 3 wins, 1 lip sync (was #1, 4, 7, 4, 4, 2)
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La Veuve bounced back with a second win in a row in Paquets Cadeaux, giving her some real momentum as a credible challenger to the crown headed into the finale.
I loved La Veuve’s tender relationship with her straight brother. I wasn’t as impressed with their lumpy, frumpy runway fashions – but, there is no denying that they nailed the mother/daughter relationship. I was slightly puzzled about La Veuve forcing her brother to shave, since a family resemblance might have been even easier if they were both bearded.
Yet, I think it helped to youthen her brother to be clean shaved with a tiny applied beard. And, he really went for his bratty kid character on the runway. I think it was his zeal and humor that sealed this win for La Veuve.
Does La Veuve have a real shot at snatching the crown from Alvilda next week? I don’t see it for her. La Veuve’s main draw this season has been that she is a terrific actress, but she hasn’t been consistent enough in other areas. Plus, she’s not much of a dancer. Also, at the meta-game level, I don’t think La Veuve’s character has been very well-developed in the edit compared to Alvilda and Loulou Velvet. She still feels somewhat opaque to me, which would make her a surprising winner despite her solid track record.
#3 – Loulou Velvet – 1 win, 3 lip syncs (was #3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3)
Loulou Velvet presented a pair of stripped-down Paquets Cadeaux makeover costumes. They were clean, but plain – and, it’s hard to sell a mother/daughter relationship when you are insistent on presenting yourselves as the moon and a star.
I think Loulou was rightfully send to the bottom for this look. Not only were the costumes quite plain for this stage in the competition, but I don’t think Loulou created enough of a resemblance in her partner. Despite similar makeup techniques, I don’t really see an overall resemblance here. I think if Loulou went for more of a typical burlesque look with her bold red lips the resemblance would have been more obvious.
Earlier in the season I pegged Loulou Velvet as a quiet, careful perfectionist. Now, I’m not so certain I read her character correctly. Loulou has had a lot of character development this season as an artist who is sometimes swallowed up by her depression. With that knowledge, I now see the quiet quality of Loulou’s drag different. There is something sombre yet celebratory in it. Every moment she is in drag is a moment she is alive, a moment she has devoted to beauty and strength.
It’s not about being a perfectionist – I don’t think Loulou is one. I think she simply has no reason to hurry – no impetus to grandstand. Her drag moves at whatever pace and volume pleases her.
That doesn’t make for a winning archetype on Drag Race, but it makes for a sympathetic and highly enjoyable drag queen. I was briefly heartbroken when I thought Loulou would be sent home from the lip sync. I shed genuine tears of joy when she heard she would get to continue to the finale.
I don’t think Loulou Velvet has a chance at taking the crown next week. And, if an international All Stars season comes calling, I suspect it will be La Veuve or Gabanna who would be tapped. Yet, I think I have come away from this season with Loulou Velvet as my personal favorite. There is a depth to her and her drag that pulls me in.
#4 – Gabanna, 2 lip syncs (was #9, 5, 5, 3, 5, 4)
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Gabanna could have made easy work of this Paquets Cadeaux makeover challenge, especially with a handsome best friend with experience in fashion design. Instead, she chose this week to deliver her most downright weird runway of the entire season.
I thought this sendup of Mickey & Minnie Mouse as despicable rats was far too weird and not nearly polished enough. To me, it felt like Gabanna throwing in the towel on this challenge with the assumption she was the obvious sacrificial queen in this semi-final. However, Rita and the judges saw things differently! They enjoyed a more edgy choice from Gabanna that pivoted to a masculine look after a season of high femme drag.
That produced one of the few real shocks of this season for me, as Gabanna was called safe from the lip sync! It was shocking, but not upsetting. I’ve really come to adore Gabanna and her catty humor. I think if she had waited a year or two more to come on the show she might have been an undefeated frontrunner!
Alas, who knows if we’ll even get a Drag Race Belgique Season 3. Even if Gabanna won’t come close to snatching the crown next week, she has made the most of her run on the show after almost being the first-out in week one. I really hope she is tapped for a Vs. The World season in the future (especially since it seemed on this episode she fluently understands English).
5th Place – Chloe Clarke, 1 win, 3 lip syncs (was #8, 8, 3, 6, 3)
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6th Place – Star, 1 lip sync (was #4, 3, 4, 5)
7th Place (Quit) – Morphae (was #5, 6, 6)
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