Since the premiere of King of Drag, I’ve been writing about it as a drag king riff on RuPaul’s Drag Race. But this week the nascent series did something that other show never has: It actually engaged with queer history. While Drag Race has RuPaul crediting the concept of “reading” to the documentary Paris Is Burning rather than the community it imperfectly captured, this episode of King of Drag goes deep. And with that depth, establishes itself with a unique and refreshing voice.
The overarching theme this week is high school. When Perka walks on the redesigned set he says it’s triggering. This is also how I feel around anything high school related. But if there was one thing I liked about high school it was the learning! And the episode goes beyond the school aesthetic for a drag king history quiz weenie challenge hosted by drag king Mo B. Dick. The kings are split into two teams: Homework Hunks with Henlo, Mo, and Charles and Schoolboy Crush with Big D, Dick, and Perka.
Q:What male impersonator in 17th century France lit a convent on fire?
A: Mademoiselle de Maupin
Q: Drag king history begins with male impersonation in China. Who was the noteable empress during that era?
A: Empress Wu Zetian
Q: In North America who was the first known Indigenous male impersonator?
A: Gowongo Mohawk
Q: Which drag king created and taught the very first drag king workshop and what year were they born?
A: Diane Torr, 1948
Q: What drag king ran for mayor in New York City? Name the year and how many votes they got.
A: Murray Hill, 1997, 341 votes
Both teams do really well, but Homework Hunks wins by one point and goes to the lightning round. Then it gets down to Mo and Charles. And Charles wins!
Carmen Carrera shows up to introduce the beefy challenge and everyone’s reactions are GOLD. Mo is sooo bashful, Dick says hubba hubba, Perka says he thought fear week was last week because his fear is tall beautiful glamazons. Obsessed with the masc4femme version of the queens on Drag Race lusting after the pit crew. Horny but make it respectful.
Carmen asks Murray to prom because the beefy challenge this week is prom outfits! Each king has to dress up in a prom look with the theme Nautical Nights and then give a speech about why they should be prom king.
Last week, I struggled a bit with the heaviness of the episode, but this week felt perfectly balanced. Henlo talks about loving the Philly drag scene, Mo talks about high school dysphoria, and Big D talks about feeling accepted by the other kings even though he doesn’t come from the nightlife scene. (They all shout “one of us!” which is from Tod Browning’s Freaks in case you wanted some more history.) Dick then talks about growing up Southern Baptist and says The L Word saved his life. He also shares that since getting sober he’s reconnected with his estranged mom and she even attended a drag opera he co-produced. Mo also talks about family estrangement, saying that he’s come out to his mom repeatedly over the last decade and she just doesn’t see him.
Perka talks about being inspired to do drag after seeing a performance at Piedmont Pride. (He also shares that he asked the only other lesbian to prom his senior year and she said no, and as someone with my own prauma I will not get into here this made me laugh.) He says he found a community that doesn’t judge him for his sexuality, only his astrology, and then he asks everyone to share their sun sign. I don’t know if it’s the editing or what but we’re robbed of answers! All we get is Mo is a Gemini (hot), Henlo is an Aquarius, and Dick’s ex is a Gemini.
As they finish up in the man cave, Big D says he cares too much about his art to fully listen to last week’s critiques. He likes messy drag and he’s never going to betray personality for perfection.
The judges this week are Tenderoni, Sasha, Carmen, Jackie Beat, and — speaking of The L Word universe — Brian Michael Smith! Something I haven’t commented upon is Murray’s notable absence from the judging panel. It’s a choice I actually really like, because it completely changes the dynamic and allows him to play more of a mentor figure for the kings rather than a critic.
Perka starts off in a colorful mermaid suit that is very prom, very on theme, and very gay. He then gives a speech that’s sweet and full of puns and it ends with him whipping out his fish stick fish dick and putting tartar sauce on it.
Dick as a vampire squid slides around the stage and says he can’t show his last tentacle on TV. It’s fun!
Henlo’s outfit is really cool with ship hair art and coral ears and a really unique white suit. His speech is less character, more sincere than the other kings but it works.
Charles is in a white suit as a pirate and has a sign on his head that says The Black Spot. He has a green tongue and black tears, but the sign doesn’t actually assist in saying what the black spot is. I think he could’ve lost the sign and just better incorporated an explanation into his speech.
Big D comes out with a huge pipe and introduces himself as Captain AFAB. The outfit is simple but the speech is so funny and committed to character and it really makes him stand out.
Molasses closes out looking so hot as a leather daddy and he gives his speech with the ball gag still in. It is not very prom and not very nautical, but it is, once again, very hot.
During the judging, Mo explains that he wasn’t hot in high school, so looking as hot as possible is what inspired the look. Again, this is something that needed to be sold more in the speech.
Despite Big D’s defiance about changing his drag, he’s actually praised for paying more attention to detail than previous weeks. And the judges agree the speech connected the look to the prom part of the theme.
Perka is praised for everything BUT the fish stick gag and it maybe seemed a little clunky in presentation, but it worked for me! Perka had my favorite look and one of my favorite speeches so I’m not going to begrudge an extra swing that maybe didn’t totally land.
No one is safe this week, but it’s clear Big D and Henlo are the tops. Carmen says it’s a case of character vs. craftsmanship. Henlo wins! I’m not sure I agreed with this choice, but I definitely understood it — especially since a mishap last week prevented him from being praised for his equally impressive craftsmanship in the fear challenge.
The final thrust is between Charles and Mo. This might be controversial, but I agree! While Mo is the standout of the season, his work wasn’t on theme and didn’t land this week. Also this gives us a chance to see him do more as these two are tasked with making cheers. Charles’ cheer is fun, but Mo elevates the prompt doing it his own masc way. The judges unanimously decide to save Mo and he hugs Charles as Charles cries.
This was such a great episode that balanced real conversations brought up by high school trauma with a lot of humor. And just a lot of really good drag!
Showbiz! Here are some random thoughts:
+ Learn more drag king history at dragkinghistory.com.
+ Just a reminder that you can watch the best and hottest Drag Race lip sync featuring Carmen Carrera whenever you want.
+ Obsessed with Molasses being horny for Big D in the fake muscle suit.
+ Sasha is such a great judge and such a great judge for this show. I just needed to say that again.
+ King I’m rooting for: Mo and Perka
+ King I’m horniest for: Mo, specifically being bashful around Carmen Carrera
+ King I want to win at least one beefy challenge before the end: Big D
