IMHO "RuPaul's Drag Race" (1.06): Absolut Drag Ball

It's a dramatic week on the reality competition as the final four is pared down to three. This episode gives us lots of product placement, a stunning announcement and exit, and Charo!

We have all the spoilers (plus the clip for the first part of the show) here, and head over to LOGOonline for the rest of this episode.

*** Spoilers below ***

The first challenge this week was a "vogue" competition, with our four divas Bebe, Nina, Rebecca, and Shannel performing for RuPaul. Nina and Shannel tear up the dance floor, but somehow it's Nina and Rebecca who are chosen for the top two. Nina wins, thankfully, and gets first pick for the elimination challenge.

This week's show was centered on Absolut vodka which, um, coincidentally, also sponsors the show. Each of the ladies is assigned a different fruit flavor, and they have to incorporate that fruit into an evening gown, business attire, and swimsuit look. Bebe gets raspberry, Nina is mango, Rebecca is citron, and Shannel is mandarin.

As the ladies are trying to create their looks, RuPaul surprises them with a special guest star. Not just any "special guest star", but the woman for whom the words "special guest star" were created, Charo! She bounds onto the screen with the same limitless energy she had thirty years ago on the Promenade Deck of Love Boat (seriously, it's like time has stood still). She gives them a pep talk, tells a joke about "spooning turning into forking", and then disappears.

Of all the ladies, Bebe is having the hardest time with this challenge (raspberry just doesn't suit her), which makes it almost inevitable that she'll end up winning. Which she does. And which I don't understand. I didn't think there was anything special about what she wore, and in fact, I thought Nina showed the most creativity, but she came in second place.

Now we come to the hottest part of the episode, when Ru asks each lady who they think should leave this week. Rebecca says Shannel, but both Bebe and Nina say Rebecca, because she's a whiny little brat, and simply doesn't have the talent that everyone else does. When it's Shannel's turn, she rocks everyone off their heels by saying "I think I should leave, because I don't want to be here anymore".

She goes on to explain that she feels she's been judged more harshly than everyone else from day one, and doesn't think people have been able to see how beautiful she is. So she's nominating herself to leave.

The judges (who include Maria Conchito Alonso and Project Runway loser Santino Rice) confer, and Shannel is eliminated.

Now, I know that most people think Shannel was using this as a strategy, and it backfired bigtime, but I disagree. I think she was genuinely pissed that she was being criticized by Santino Rice. When he said "there's something about you that's just not connecting, I'm just not feeling it", she probably thought "excuse me, I'm being criticized by the man who brought clusterf**k dresses to the runway?" I know that's what I would have thought.

Anyway, It's now down to Nina, Bebe, and somehow, Rebecca.

I'm barely giving this episode an arrow up, because while it was entertaining and featured Charo, I can't help but feel that the best, most experienced drag queens have been tossed aside in order to keep someone young and pretty who adds drama, but little else to the mix.

What do you think?