RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 episode 13: Recap and more details explored

RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 released episode 13 on Friday, March 29, marking the elimination of one more queen. In the previous installment, viewers saw contestants compete in a design contest to create custom powder rooms. They were tested on their designing, comedy, hosting, and concept-building skills.

Sapphira Cristál and Plane Jane’s team was declared the winner. Meanwhile, Dawn was sent packing after landing in the bottom spot and facing defeat at the hands of Morphine Love Dion in the lip-sync battle.

Episode 13 of RuPaul's Drag Race, titled Drag Race Vegas LIVE! Makeovers, saw the return of the remaining five queens to compete in yet another challenge. Just like the last two episodes, the task was all about teamwork. However, this time, the queens were paired with special guests outside the competition.

Country pop singer Kelsea Ballerini, who is a four-time Grammy nominee and the creator of hit tracks, including Love Me Like You Mean It, Peter Pan, and Legends, among others, graced the Emmy-winning competition series as a guest judge. Meanwhile, Michelle Visage and Ts Madison joined RuPaul on the panel.

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What happened on RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 episode 13?

In the werk room, RuPaul introduced queens with hunky male Pit Crew dancers from RuPaul's Drag Race LIVE! show in Las Vegas. For the maxi-challenge, contestants were tasked to give the bulging frames of the male dancers a drag queen makeover. Each queen was paired with a stranger, and the central theme of the challenge was to convert their partner into a member of their drag family.

Besides representing a strong family resemblance, the queens were also asked to present a dance number. The contestants quickly got to know their partners, and a light-hearted moment arrived when Plane Jame revealed her partner’s drag name as Lazy Susan, which left RuPaul in complete splits.

A segment showed the mothers and their freshly transformed colleagues rehearsing their choreography on the stage. Sapphira realised her costume was extremely heavy to walk on the runway. Viewers witnessed Nymphia Wind opening up about her vulnerable personality, which made her walk on a fine thread between self-confidence and self-doubt. Nymphia voiced being insecure in a conversation with her drag daughter Juanita.

In another bonding moment, Plane Jane and Lazy Susan celebrated their queerness, recalling tough experiences.

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The runway segment of RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 episode 13

Last week, the runway segment’s concept was "Chain Reactions," wherein the queens were tasked to whip out looks with chain-detailing as the centrepiece of their ensemble. This week, the primary judging criteria was "drag family resemblance."

Q and her drag daughter Luna’s white faces serving as black canvases concept amassed positive critiques. Morphine and LaTina aced the makeup game, but their outfits seem to have apparently lacked lustre.

Meanwhile, Nymphia and Juanita’s feathered ensemble stole the limelight, but the judges advised Nymphia to try something different from her obsession with yellow. Sapphira and Shakira made a mellow presentation but hearts were won by Plane Jane and Lazy Susan.

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Who was eliminated on RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 episode 13?

Following the judges’ critiques, Plane Jane and her drag daughter Lazy Susan were announced as the winners. It was Sapphira and Morphine who fell to the bottom and faced each other in a lip-sync battle for survival.

The queen performed on guest judge Kelsea Ballerini’s hit track Miss Me More. After deliberation among the judges, RuPaul asked Morphine to sashay away, thereby marking her finish in fifth place in RuPaul's Drag Race season 16.

After Morphine’s exit, only four queens remain behind: Q, Sapphira, Nymphia, and Plane Jane.

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RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 will return with episode 14 on Friday, April 5, exclusively on MTV.