RuPaul's Drag Race Episode 7: Is It Time to Retire Snatch Game?

Editor's note: Before you dive into episode 7, read our recap of last week's episode.

Snatch Game fills queens with either excitement or trepidation. It remains the ultimate crucible to determine the strength of each contestant's charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent. This week, an 11-queen panel held promise for playful interactions (or at least potential chaos), but in practice, it was rather tame and dull.

There was a palpable lack of preparedness and imagination from most of the queens, and it felt like several were content fading into the crowd. Fortunately, with such a large cast, the camera couldn't linger too long on any one performance. Unfortunately, even the better performers were unable to find a rhythm under such a condensed edit. No one is denying the difficulty of Snatch Game, but if it doesn't work anymore — and it has not for the past few seasons — maybe it's time to cut it.

Acacia Forgot's Trisha Paytas was as forgettable as her surname. A crisis of confidence sabotaged Lexi Love's Gilbert Gottfried. Sam Star's Kim Carvel felt studied, at least, if not superb. Lana Ja'Rae's Rosa Parks was a good concept, but it fell apart during her first interaction with RuPaul.

Onya Nurve's particularly gay take on Eddie Murphy was passionate and committed, but where were the jokes? Arrietty's one-dimensional Baby Cupid had nothing to build upon. Lydia Butthole Kollins' David Lynch was inspired and unintentionally timely, but the decision to play him without his signature charm or idiosyncrasies was puzzling. An equally oddball but more successful choice came from Jewels Sparkles' Miss Big Feet. Her big swing connected, but time was up before she really got into a groove. Crystal Envy made the hilarious Nicole Richie lifeless, while Kori King's Big Ang delivered the best moment of the night ("I'm Black, too!"). But the visual felt lazy — Pearl delivered a better Big Ang a decade ago.

Then there was Suzie Toot. Snatch Game should have been perfect for her — she has the required intelligence, wit, and performance skills, but her Ellen Greene fell flat. There was little doubt Suzie would be terrific in Little Shop of Horrors, but the character simply did not translate to Snatch Game. Her "scissors" bit felt like Gretchen Wieners' "fetch" — she tried to make it happen, but it was never going to happen.

It was Suzie's first real stumble in the competition. It's a shame she didn't do a little better (or even a little worse), as her Iron Maiden runway was the best of the week. It would have been great to hear the judges discuss her fashion-forward look capturing her love for historical references.

For the other queens, the "Nailed It" runway was absolutely essential to remain safe. Jewels' look, attached to a compelling personal story, was edged out by Onya's branded nail-tech ensemble. Removing Jewels' voiceover from the look would have revealed a bit of a disconnect, whereas Onya's look perfectly captured her season-long exploration of exceptional Blackness on the runway. She snatched her second victory and tied Suzie for the lead.

The runway also separated the bottom three to determine the lip-sync pair. Arrietty, Lana, and Crystal gave the worst Snatch Game performances but delivered three solid looks. The runway became the tiebreaker.

Crystal infused Selena Gomez's "Hands to Myself" with emotion, while Lana's slow-seduction approach sometimes bordered on lackadaisical. As she showed last week, Lana has a penchant for intentionally blocking her opponent. It's a little unbecoming and shows a lack of confidence. Her delusion showed when she got annoyed at Crystal's choice to lip sync between her long legs. Granted, Crystal cartwheeled in front of and later bumped into her, but both instances appeared accidental — Crystal might not be the most spatially aware queen on stage.

It should be noted that the screener provided to New Times did not reveal the winner of the lip sync. Regardless, the real elimination here should be the Snatch Game itself. If the judges are putting queens in the top for simply being prepared (as in Sam's case) or flopping in a funny way (Lexi), then what's the point?

The bar has been noticeably lowered over recent seasons. Fewer and fewer queens are coming up with compelling characters or constructing funny jokes. Jewels and Onya did well, but where do they rank in the pantheon of the best Snatch Game performances? Do they match the likes of Adore Delano's Anna Nicole Smith, Thorgy Thor's Michael Jackson, or Monet X Change's Maya Angelou? Maybe Snatch Game is oversaturated — too tight, or something. Perhaps a break for a season or two would give it the refresh it so desperately needs.