Exciting Developments in RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17, Episode 13
The latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17, airing on March 28, brought some electrifying moments as the remaining five contestants—Jewels Sparkles, Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, Sam Star, and Suzie Toot—dazzled the judges with their performances. However, both Jewels and Onya struggled to achieve the expected level of excellence, ultimately leading to a nail-biting lip sync battle.
“Tonight, the love vibrations are too strong. Shantay, you both stay,”RuPaul proclaimed, much to the surprise of the contestants and the audience alike.
This unexpected turn delighted both Onya and Jewels, as well as the panel of judges including Michelle Visage, Law Roach, and special guest June Diane Raphael, who expressed their enthusiasm for the queens’ reactions.
Bonds Strengthened in the Werk Room
In a heartwarming twist, this episode featured a unique challenge where each drag queen invited a parent into the Werk Room to embrace their drag heritage. Onya’s father, Andre, and Jewels’ father, Douglas, participated, adding a familial touch to the competition. Despite their efforts to impress, neither queen could outshine their peers, which led to the previously mentioned tie-breaking lip sync performance to “1 Thing”by Amerie.
Despite the tension of potential elimination, RuPaul made a bold decision, choosing to keep both contestants in the race for another week. Fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race expressed their excitement for this outcome on X (formerly Twitter), although some critiques surfaced regarding the necessity of saving both queens.
“onya and jewels double shantay…… THIS IS A DREAM COME TRUE,”a fan wrote.
“The way that Onya and Jewels embraced each other after the double shantay??? Oh, my heart,”another commented.
“Jewels ate her UP. Glad it’s a double shantay because I would not have handled any of these two going home,”a netizen tweeted.
Mixed Reactions to RuPaul’s Decision
While a substantial number of fans celebrated the double shantay, stating both queens deserved their continued spot in the competition, a vocal minority expressed disapproval.
“ru literally gives random double shantays like a piece of candy but she didn’t give it to marcia and anetra when they deserved it the most,”one user remarked.
“wrong winner … didn’t need to be a double shantay … this episode was a chop,”another user added.
Drag Family Resemblance Challenge
In the highly-anticipated Spill the T mini-challenge, contestants speculated that Jewels Sparkles was the most vulnerable to elimination. Interestingly, Onya and Jewels both admitted they wished to see each other exit, a remarkable twist of competitive spirit. Ultimately, Onya triumphed with the most correct answers and captured the title of mini-challenge winner.
For the main challenge, dubbed Drag Family Resemblance, the queens transformed their parents into drag family members. Jewels’ father had a prior drag transformation from Jewels herself and opted for an iconic “60s snow bunny”look. Notably, Onya’s father agreed to shave his beard, expressing his eagerness to feel fabulous.
Jewels’ father, donned in a lavender ensemble dubbed Salchincha Sparkles, garnered praise as the standout performer of the night; however, some critics deemed his outfit somewhat lacking in creativity. Comparatively, Onya’s creation for her father, Nunya Bidness, also faced similar critiques.
As both contestants entered the lip sync showdown, Jewels expressed the pressure to excel, given Onya’s impressive track record of wins this season. In a thrilling twist, neither was sent home, thanks to RuPaul’s decision to extend both queens’ journeys with a double shantay.
New episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 air every Friday at 8 PM ET exclusively on MTV, promising more drama and excitement in the weeks ahead.