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Five episodes of high-stakes mind games and physical challenges while facing some of our biggest fears can wear anyone down, and we’re just speaking as the audience. The pressure’s been building over the past five episodes of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, and unfortunately, it gets to a Portland contestant—one of the show’s all-time strongest personalities—right before tackling many people’s biggest fear: singing live.
The ghoulies usually enter the Lab in a group, but this time they skitter in bit by bit. Asia Consent and Pi enter first, and pulse check their secret alliance and squeeze in a little scheming. Jaharia and Auntie Heroine enter next, followed by Aurora Gozmic and Yuri, each unaware of the last episode’s cliffhanger ending that saw Vivvi the Force and Grey Matter frying into fricassee on a Tesla coil. Vivvi enters first, leading the contestants to assume Grey lost. But when he enters screeching like a bat, unaware that Vivvi also survived, more questions than answers arise.
With one person still missing, a production member delivers a note to the visibly confused monsters. The note announces the sudden departure of Dragula veteran Majesty, who entered the competition set on showing their changed ways. The next scenes of Majesty tearfully quitting the contest are sad to watch, but Majesty prioritized their mental health, and that’s what matters in the end. But making two of your co-stars get electrocuted for ultimately no reason? That’s fierce.
The Boulet Brothers announce a musical-themed challenge based on Drag: The Musical, an off-Broadway musical by RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni including Alaska Thunderfuck. The challenge winner will guest star in one Drag performance in New York. Pi, Asia, Aurora and Jaharia team up as the Snake Pit, while Vivvi, Grey, Yuri and Auntie make up the Rat House. Not everyone can dance or sing, and while Asia struggles during vocal training with Alaska, who reminds everyone that this isn’t a singing show, she holds her own during the choreography run-through.
Should anyone rush out to download either song wherever fine music is served? Nah. But what Asia lacked vocally was made up for with costume and stage presence, which most drag shows need more than a live concert. Even if you’re not ophidiophobic, Asia’s snake teeth prosthetics are unnerving to say the least. The judges, including Alaska and Jawbreaker director Darren Stein, commended Asia for her palpable star quality. She doesn’t win the individual challenge, so she’s not off to off-Broadway just yet, but her team wins the chance to vote for the bottom two uglies to face extermination.
Asia exhibits serpent-like cunning as she and Pi influence their teammates to vote Auntie Heroine into the bottom two, chalking their rationale up to the top contender’s vocal flub mid-performance. The fearsome foursome conspires to throw another strong competitor under the bus. But when it comes down to it, they chicken out on their conniving plan, choosing the next-weakest player instead. They lip sync against Auntie to a Slayer song in the extermination challenge, and since this episode doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, you’ll just have to see who conquers their stage fright and who is banished back to the shadows.