Canada's Drag Race - Season 5, Episode 7: The recap.
Are you up to speed?
We're into the business-end of Season 5 of Canada's Drag Race. Are you up to speed?
Full disclosure: Minhi Wang is one of the cast members this season and this is a Minhi Wang stan account. She is one of my closest friends in the entire world and I'm beyond excited to be able to watch her shine on this platform.
The mini challenge
This was a quick-drag improv challenge with Brooke Lynn channelling Miranda Priestly and interviewing for a new assistant.
It seemed like everyone did a pretty reasonable job at this - picking a character and just trying to be present in the scene.
Minhi was declared the winner. Deserved.
The maxi challenge
Loved this challenge but it was a tough one to throw at the queens.
It was a design challenge but the queens had to create a runway-worthy look for Brooke Lynn, that she would then model on the runway.
This is a classic Project Runway challenge and - these days - not a skill that most drag queens have or would expect to be tested on in this franchise.
As a fan of Project Runway, I love to see it.
The queens had the benefit of a range of fabrics and accessories to choose from - thank you, Mood! - and the advice and guidance of Suki Doll. An alum of Drag Race Canada, Suki Doll is an accomplished designer in the world of drag and has made countless looks for many of the contestants that have appeared on the show, including Brooke Lynn.
We got to see the results on the runway, with Brooke Lynn doing her best to sell each of the looks like she was Coco Rocha.
The stronger looks were clearly Minhi, Helena, and Makayla. Perla's look was also very good but had fallen apart at the back so Brooke Lynn's underwear was unintentionally on show. Virgo had construction issues. Xana's design was ambitious but unsuccessful.
My favourite look was Minhi's, although Makayla's look also felt very clean and presented well on the runway. For me, Helena's look felt a little unbalanced but the concept was strong.
The run-way
The queens also had to serve a look on the runway - the category was Wardrobe Malfunction.
- Minhi gave us an upside down dress moment, which was cute and character-driven.
- Helena gave us a prom queen dress falling off and also a wig scalping. It was a lot but successfully executed and delivered with confidence.
- Perla gave us a drunk girl who has spilled wine on her dress. This was a strong concept and all looked good but didn't have the surprise element that I feel that this category calls for. It's stronger if the malfunction happens on stage so that the audience sees it happen.
- Virgo gave us a gown where the lacing at the back wasn't done up, exposing her ass. It was a strong look but didn't exactly read as a malfunction.
- Xana gave us an air hostess with a dissolving outfit. This was a good concept but relied on Xana effectively removing the outfit piece by piece in a burlesque vibe, which isn't really how this category works.
- Makayla gave us a butterfly catcher with a ripped dress. I was a bit confused by what Makayla had intended to do, as she said that the dress ripped literally by accident so she just went with it.
The judging
We got some juicy drama in Untucked. Xana was projecting her insecurities onto Makayla and Makayla snapped. It's clear that everyone is getting tired as the competition gets closer to the finish line and the tension is showing. Still, it was an engaging TV moment.
Back on the main-stage, Minhi was declared the winner. Deserved.
Helena, Makayla, and Perla were all safe.
That left us with a Bottom 2 of Virgo versus Xana.
The Lip-sync
The track was Taking Chances by Celine Dion.
Not my favourite Celine track but it's got drama, emotion, and range.
Xana did a solid job but Virgo nailed this - able to use her gown to really accentuate her performance. She felt connected to the track and was able to make the most out of it.
It was a clear win to Virgo, sending Xana home.
Episode 7, done!
The Cast
Minhi Wang
Obsessed. Adore. Love everything about her. Next week is a chat-show - that's a format that Minhi should excel in.
Makayla Couture
Makayla has the energy of a contender but it's been a roller-coaster in terms of her performance in these challenges. She's still in the game and next week's chat-show should enable her to shine.
Perla
A roller-coaster of a start to this competition for Perla but things to be on a bit more of a stable footing now. She serves looks and is a strong performer - that will take you a long way in this competition. Perla is funny but next week's chat-show could stretch her as her sense of humour may not translate in that format.
The Virgo Queen
She won the first episode and you can't get a better start to the competition than that. While she has sustained momentum for most of the season, she's now had to lip-sync twice in a row - that's going to shake her confidence. Next week's chat-show may also be tough for her.
Helena Poison
Helena she seems to have a clear brand and is making smart choices.
Eliminated Queens
Xana
Xana gave herself the Mean Girls storyline in this series but the difficulty was that she wasn't really able to back it up with strong performances in the challenges. The Snatch Game win was an unexpected positive, but the sewing challenge of Episode 7 was her downfall - beaten in the lip-sync by Virgo.
Uma Gahd
Uma is an experienced queen who did a reasonable job of adapting her talent to the challenges. She was expected to shine in the comedy side of things but Snatch Game was her undoing - beaten in the lip sync by Virgo and Makayla.
Jaylene Tyme
Jaylene quickly established her presence in this competition and gave us a lot of emotional moments. Unsurprisingly, the Girl Group challenge of Episode 5 was her undoing - beaten in the lip-sync by Xana.
Sanjina DaBish Queen
Although eliminated relatively early - Episode 4, beaten in the lip-sync by Uma - this has been a great season for Sanjina. While she seemed a little less prepared than the rest of the cast, she brought a lot of heart and emotion to everything she did and established herself as likeable, passionate, and bringing energy to everything she tackles.
Tiffany Ann Co.
I really like Tiffany - good energy, vibrant personality, gave good TV. However she was never able to catch a break in this competition and you can only land in the bottom so many times before it's game-over. Eliminated in Episode 3, beaten in the lip-sync by Perla.
Tara Nova
The Pork Chop of the competition, it feels like Tara got a bit of a raw-deal in this competition. She leant into the storyline of an underdog rural queen from a small town, and then they eliminated her first - beaten in the lip-sync by Tiffany. That's not quite how that storyline is supposed to go.
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Canada?
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Canada?Let’s take a look at some of the key equality indicators.
Is homosexuality legal in Canada?
Yes, same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1969.
Are there anti-discrimination protections in place for LGBTQ people in Canada?
Yes, a decision by the Supreme Court in 1995 confirmed that discrimination on the basis of sexuality was prohibited.
Is there Marriage Equality in Canada?
Yes, Marriage Equality came into effect in 2005.
What’s life like for LGBTQ people in Canada?
In general, things are pretty good for LGBTQ people in Canada – it’s a country that is seen as welcoming and accepting.
Canada also has a strong record in accepting LGBTQ refugees who are fleeing persecution.
Conversion therapy has recently been banned by the government.
The night that the police raided the bathhouses of Toronto
In terms of Toronto’s queer history, the police raids of the city’s bathhouses is a pretty major deal.
In 1981, on 5 February, the police raided four Toronto bathhouses and arrested about 300 men on public indecency charges.
It wasn’t the first time that Toronto’s bathhouses had been raided, and it wasn’t the last, but it was a watershed moment for Canada’s LGBTQ community.
The police called the raids Operation Soap – it was part of an ongoing campaign to ‘clean up’ Toronto and shut down sex-positive businesses such as bathhouses.
In the wake of the raids, Toronto’s LGBTQ community took to the streets and began protesting.
The protests culminated in a Freedom Rally in early March – generally seen as the first Toronto Pride event.
The legacy of the bathhouse raids goes beyond the emergence of the Pride movement in Toronto. It did help to highlight that queer venues such as bathhouses are important to the LGBTQ community. It also illustrates why there’s an ongoing discussion around the participation of the police in Toronto’s Pride events.
The relationship between the police and Canada's queer community remains problematic - particularly in Toronto.
In 2016, Toronto police conducted a six week campaign targeting a popular cruising spot in the city. Undercover officers arrested 75 men during the crackdown. This caused enormous concern within the LGBTQ community.
In 2018, a man was arrested in Toronto and charged with murdering at least eight gay men. The police received a lot of criticism for their handling of this case – the community felt that the police had ignored their concerns and warnings that gay men were being targeted by a serial killer.
