RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 3: A Fateful Week for One South Florida Queen

Editor's note: Before you dive into episode 3, read our recap of last week's episode.

The shock of last week’s dunk tank surprise lingered over the start of Episode 3. Instead of celebrating Lexi Love’s victory, the other queens fixated on Hormona Lisa’s continued presence in the competition. RuPaul diabolically ratcheted up the tension by dropping the Rate-a-Queen dossier for the queens to peruse.

The queens' rankings remained anonymous last season, but this time around, the reveal exposed alliances and fueled confrontations. Arrietty and Lana Ja'Rae came off as either strategic or dishonest, depending on which queen the producers asked.

Before the big reveal, RuPaul led a rather pointless and prolonged Monopoly-themed "game" in which the queens earned a little money and were assigned colors — it was a baffling and poorly incorporated attempt at product placement. Where was the RuPaul’s Drag Race Monopoly edition with Bob the Drag Queen Boulevard, Sasha Colby Court, or, at the very least, a Go-to-Jail card for lying about your Uber crash at the Robbie Turner Crossing? Despite the missed opportunities, the scheme led to a design challenge in which the queens were tasked with creating monochromatic Monopulence looks.

The standard walkthrough discussion exposed the divide between queens who can sew — Jewels, Sam, Hormona — and those who cannot — Joella, Onya, and Lucky Starzzz. Design-forward queens Arrietty and Lana were excited, while Suzie was nervous and Kori King simply aimed to stay safe.

Compounding the tension were a couple of queens who bent or broke some established norms within the challenge. Lexi objected to Hormona's use of supplies that were not part of the provided materials, forcing Hormona to remove the unsanctioned stones by hand.

A dispute also broke out between Jewels and Onya. Jewels aided Onya as they created their green outfits and at some point, Onya grabbed the bejeweled trimming Jewels had secured. The two got into a heated argument while putting on their makeup, with Jewels suggesting the trim was taken without permission.

It's possible that Hormona and Jewels’ missing embellishments prevented both from reaching the top. In the end, Arietty, Sam, and Onya made the top three while Kori, Joella, and Lucky were in the bottom.

As for the South Florida queens: Suzie took a backseat this episode. Though she appeared out of her element, she created a strikingly opulent red devil look that evoked Katharine Hepburn’s moth gown in Christopher Strong.

But it was a gut-wrenching week for Lucky. Despite her challenges as a seamstress, she valiantly tried to showcase something outside her comfort zone. Unfortunately, she failed to approach the task as a design challenge rather than a sewing challenge. In her effort to give the judges something conventional, she dimmed her charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. It’s not hard to imagine Lucky winning a design challenge utilizing the kind of unconventional materials that might have appeared in earlier seasons of Drag Race. Just think about what she might have crafted if there had been a few dozen Monopoly boards at her disposal to construct something opulently outrageous.

It should be noted that her look was not nearly as bad as the edit suggested. It's also possible that if she'd come out looking less defeated by the experience, she might have convinced the judges with confidence. The desire to win, or at least to go further in the competition, crippled her performance in both the challenge and the lip sync. Joella, who seemed less burdened by her placement at the bottom, stuck to the song and etched out a win.

While Lucky received the customary chance to save herself by dunking Michelle, everyone in that room, Lucky, and the viewers all knew there was no way the producers would use the same twist twice in a row only three episodes in.

As many former contestants know, the real race starts after the show. During her short time on Drag Race, Lucky became an early fan favorite, gave a wonderfully chaotic talent show performance, and showcased her unique take on drag. Her early exit is a disservice to the season, but South Florida and the rest of the world will eagerly watch what she does next.