‘Drag Race’ Season 15 Episode 12 Recap: Who Should Go Home And Why

There are certain Drag Race staples that fans anxiously await every season: Snatch Game, the reading challenge, the Rusical and, of course, the moment RuPaul forces each queen to publicly announce who they would eliminate.

Remember how crushed Miz Cracker was when Asia O’Hara accused her of not being a star? Or when Bianca Del Rio snapped at BenDeLaCreme for insinuating that she was merely “sailing” in the competition? And who could forget Rebecca Glasscock’s iconic answer: “Do we just get to pick one?”

The long-awaited question was finally posed to the remaining Season 15 contestants on Friday, and one queen went above and beyond to make it a moment.

Luxx Noir London went queen by queen, highlighting each of their admirable qualities: the “unique perspective” Salina EsTitties brings to her art, Mistress Isabelle Brooks’ boundary-breaking fearlessness, Anetra’s unpredictability, and the fact that Sasha Colby is basically doing drag on a whole other level from everyone else. Then she got to Loosey LaDuca.

“Loosey does what she does exceptionally well,” Luxx said. “However, Loosey’s drag — I would have to say, for lack of a better word — is a little on the more generic side.” That’s right, instead of simply saying Loosey’s name and allowing the next queen to have her turn, Luxx made sure to eviscerate Loosey by elevating everyone else before dismissing her drag as “generic.” Generic! The shade.

We’re used to seeing Loosey catch her fellow queens’ ire, hence me referring to her as the season’s official punching bag a few weeks ago, but it hit differently this time. When Loosey explained that hearing Mistress laugh whenever she opens her mouth takes her back to her days of being bullied as a kid, the whole gag stopped being funny. It’s like we’ve been led to believe that Loosey is at least partially in on the joke, only to learn that she’s absolutely not.

As for this week’s results, I was a little surprised that Anetra snagged the win. She did well, but her moment was just that — a moment. To me, this week’s clear winner was Mistress, who overcame her lack of musical theater experience to put on a funny, fierce, nuanced performance that stood out from the pack.

On the flip side, I wasn’t surprised to see Loosey and Salina in the bottom, lip syncing to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.” They both brought the drama, with Salina even telling a little story (I think?) about shedding her giant hands, but if I’m being real… it was a double sashay for me. Neither queen is destined for the finale, so why not just cut them both at once and save everyone some time?

But these decisions are not mine to make. Following the lackluster lip sync, Ru declared Loosey the winner, sending Salina sashaying away.

How did you feel about this week’s extra-tense Drag Race? Vote for the queen you would choose to go home in our poll below, then drop a comment with your predictions for the rest of Season 15.