RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 10 Recap: A Cutthroat Villains Roast

Editor's note: Before you dive into episode 9, read our recap of last week's episode.

The roast challenge turned out to be Season 17's most heated to date. This was a memorable episode, less so for the jokes told onstage than for the drama behind the scenes. The queens breathed new life into this perennial challenge with unexpected successes and a cutthroat competition bordering on criminal.

Before the drama, the queens did the usual salute to their eliminated sister and reviewed their track records. With two wins each, Onya Nurve, Sam Star, and South Florida's Suzie Toot seem destined for the top four. Jewels Sparkles and Lexi Love, on the other hand, appear to be battling over the last spot with just one win each. Arrietty, who also has a win, might need the remaining episodes to be design challenges so she can make it to the end. Meanwhile, Lydia Butthole Kollins and Lana Ja'Rae still need to connect with the judges to eke out a win.

With the stakes laid out, it was time to move on to this week's amusing, if meaningless, mini-challenge, which brought back the Badonka Dunk Tank to soak all the queens. Jewels made the most of the moment by languidly lingering in the liquid. After getting her revenge, Michelle Visage announced the Villains Roast, featuring Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Plane Jane, and Kandy Muse, the "villains" of their respective seasons. Jewels, last week's victor, picked the lineup order. The exercise spiraled into hurt feelings, accusations, and sabotage.

The queens workshopped their material at a table read with Michelle and special guest judge Whitney Cummings. In a welcome refresh, the new format allowed the queens to see how their material stacked up against their competition. Onya, Jewels, Suzie, Sam, and Lexi all amused the judges, but the remaining trio had something to prove. Lydia's yawn put her on her back foot as she struggled to showcase her "cynical" and "rotted" sense of humor. Lana claimed to be silly, and Michelle challenged her to show that to the judges. Finally, Arrietty, obsessed over her placement in Jewels' lineup, appeared to shut down. In the confessional, she diabolically vowed to steal Jewels' jokes.

Arrietty and Lexi attempted to make Jewels the villain of the roast. The lineup order mutated into some sort of bizarre social experiment fueled by delusions of sabotage and accusations of Machiavellian machinations. Both queens felt targeted by Jewels' actions despite it being well within her power to place the queens wherever she wanted. The Werk Room was filled with awkward silences before louder arguments erupted.

At the actual roast, the guest "villains" were great sports and much more congenial than many of the competitors. As she was during episode 5's RDR Live!, Onya proved to be an engaging host despite the weak material. Suzie and Sam earned laughs as expected, but the real and very welcome surprises came from Lydia and Lana. The former finally channeled her offbeat humor into a challenge, and the latter showcased a newfound confidence. But Lexi, the night's closer, succumbed to her inner demons and fixated on Suzie to her own detriment.

As she did during episode 7's Snatch Game, Lexi gave in too early. Arrietty landed one perfect joke but was otherwise flustered and awkward. Even worse? She stole that one good joke from Jewels. The plagiarism successfully rattled Jewels, who made the poor decision to keep the joke in her roast instead of pivoting.

The "Who Wears Short Shorts?" runway delivered good looks all around, but the queens were judged on performance this week. Sam delivered a sharp performance, but Lydia's deadpan delivery and comedic timing snatched the win. Lexi, propelled by her inner saboteur, managed just enough funny moments to stay out of the bottom two. Considering the buildup of the episode, the showdown between Arrietty and Jewels felt preordained.

Despite a well-deflected fall and a wig fighting its host at every turn, Jewels' fluid movements trumped Arrietty's more rigid and rote steps. But there was a sense that this match-up never should have made it to a lipsync in the first place.

RuPaul once said, "Drag is not a contact sport," and season four's Lashauwn Beyond famously quipped, "This isn't RuPaul's Best Friend Race." So one wonders: What exactly is the code of conduct for Drag Race competitors? Is there a red line? In a season with unsanctioned stones, errant spray paint, and disputed trim, what does it mean that a contestant can blatantly and proudly steal someone else's work? There have been two disqualifications in Drag Race herstory (Willam and Sherry Pie), and Arrietty's actions fall somewhere between those past transgressions.