RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 11 Recap: An Unforced Error Dooms a Queen

Editor's note: Before you dive into episode 11, read our recap of last week's episode.

It is each queen's prerogative to use the mirror message as they see fit. Many leave a funny quip, while others pontificate in a more melancholic or inspirational mode. Instead of the queens celebrating Arrietty's time in the competition or lamenting her fresh absence, they were left wondering why she would write something so mean-spirited. There were a few attempts to rationalize her motivations and intentions, but in the end, Arrietty's farewell reduced Onya Nurve to tears. It was a bitter end to her run on the show, but on the bright side, it appeared to inspire a welcome "kumbaya" energy among the remaining competitors.

Once the dust settled, RuPaul announced the queens would act in Ross Matthews vs. the Ducks, a Drag Race spoof of Ryan Murphy's Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. In contrast to a calmer Werk Room energy, the challenge required the queens to act out fights with one another through characters inspired by reality television personalities. There was little conflict in selecting roles. In fact, it felt like the selected roles were written for specific queens and designed to pair certain competitors against one another.

Onya and Lana Ja'Rae contrasted a performance queen and lewk queen, respectively. Sam Star and Lydia Butthole Kollins, polar opposites of one another, had numerous flare-ups throughout the season. Lexi Love was forced to confront her one-sided rivalry with Suzie Toot — the duo got paired up for the first time since RDR Live! Surprisingly, the queens worked well together and gained a new appreciation for their partners.

Jewels Sparkles, on the other hand, went solo by choice. The only overlap in desired roles came from Jewels and Suzie, who both wanted the monologue scene. Suzie, a trained actor, argued she loves monologues, but the other queens cast Jewels.

Later, Suzie suggested Jewels might benefit from working in a group. It was an echo of the Rusical, when Acacia Forgot fought Suzie for the perceived lead role of Kansas Dorothy. Perhaps Jewels wanted to work alone after her emotionally trying experience last week. Or maybe she didn't want to risk being overshadowed by a strong scene partner (which happened to the bottom two queens this week).

On set, we were led to believe Onya, Sam, and Suzie were solid, while Lana, Lydia, Lexie, and Jewels struggled to varying degrees. Lana needed slight direction but easily reworked her performance. Lydia, on the other hand, failed to adjuste. The dry, deadpan delivery that made Lydia's roast so funny did not translate to the over-the-top acting style required here. Lexi struggled the most, with her inner saboteur again controlling her performance. Finally, Jewels, who waited a long time to perform, struggled to keep up her energy and mixed up her scripted lines with the monologue's inspiration.

Lexi overcame her setbacks and earned praise alongside Onya, Sam, and Suzie. Onya, in particular, stole the show with an exaggerated performance. During RDR Live!, Sam masked her southern charm behind a character voice, but in this acting challenge, she channeled her natural charisma and succeeded. Suzie, the season's trained thespian, differentiated her performance with breathy mannerisms. Lana and Lydia vastly improved upon their past acting performances but were overshadowed by strong scene partners. Ironically, Jewels floundered without the presence of a strong scene partner.

For the challenge, the black-and-white runway nodded to Truman Capote's 1966 Black and White masquerade ball. The restrained palette led to some overlap between the queens' ideas, yet everyone managed to display their unique sense of style. Sam, Lana, and Suzie embraced the graphic contrast of the colors, while Lexi utilized ombre. Sam and Lydia mixed patterns, while Onya and Jewels mostly stuck to black. The most interesting commonality was the amount of animal-inspired looks from Onya, Suzie, and Jewels.

With half the queens gone, RuPaul finally asked the season's most dramatic question, "Who should go home, and why?" Typically, this prompt stirs animosity and hurt among the queens, but reactions were tame in comparison to last week's drama. Most queens selected Suzie as the perceived frontrunner. The only pointed moment came when Sam shook her head at guest judge Sam Smith's comment that Suzie's outfit lacked charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent.

Considering no one bombed the challenge or runway, the judges nitpicked to select a winner and the bottom two. Onya earned her third victory, with Sam coming in a close second. Suzie, perhaps disappointingly, and Lexi, perhaps pleasingly, were deemed safe after working well together. Jewels had the worst showing during the challenge, but she was saved by her runway performance, which RuPaul loved. That left Lana and Lydia at the bottom, which was a shame as both finally connected with the judges last week.

Both queens went into their third lipsync for their life, but Lydia's prior win gave her a presumptive edge. The song, Sam Smith's "Unholy," was in Lydia's wheelhouse, but not necessarily in Lana's. Lydia's win seemed all but certain.

Then came one of the most unfortunate unforced errors in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory: Lydia revealed a pair of scissors and fumbled cutting herself out of her restrictive garment. Lana's clean and seductive performance easily trounced Lydia's awkward attempt at a reveal.