We Need To Talk About Plane Jane (RECAP)
RuPaul’s Drag Race S16 E2: “Queen Choice Awards”
Another week of Drag Race has come and gone, and this batch of seven new queens brought us a bounty of things to discuss. Like group one, it seems like a talented bunch who all bring something unique to the table (Geneva Karr leg hair TikTok I see you and understand you). I had originally planned on weigh up how group 2 compares to group one and what that could mean for the competition moving forward, but I fear I can’t do that. I would love to talk about the return of Ts Madison, Mhi'Ya Iman Le'Paige telling RuPaul she taught herself how to flip because she was just out “flipping with her cousins”, or Nymphia Wind’s campy banana wig. But all I can think about is one thing — villainy is back on Drag Race.
Last week I went on the record as someone who wanted the show to regain a sense of evil, and this week one queen sauntered into the Werk Room prepared to make that wish come true. Plane Jane, the 24 year old from Boston, entered the competition looking like a slutty Fran Drescher and immediately started calling people ugly. One of the first things she said about one of her competitors (out loud, not even in her confessional) was, “I’ve never seen a corset add weight to someone.” My jaw hit the floor of the Amtrak Northeast Regional where I was watching the episode. She was on a mission to make my dream come true.
When the cast for the season was announced, Plane Jane wasn’t high on my radar. I was more interested in queens like Sapphira Cristál or Nymphia Wind and didn’t pay much mind to her in her promo. Well, last night she got my attention. I’ve been desperate for Drag Race to have a good villain again; Daya Betty came close during Season 14, and I’m not of the opinion that queens like Luxx Noir London and Mistress Isabelle Brooks were villains last season (just geniuses who make good TV). I waited with baited breath to see if my hopes that Plane Jane was up to the task would be realized, and in an eerie moment of foresight on my end, they were.
In my previous recap, I mentioned how I wanted someone to use this season’s twist (Rate-A-Queen) to “probably ruin someone’s life”. And while I think it’s too early for those kinds of ruinous decisions, Plane Jane played the game exactly how a villain would. After a wild bag of a talent show, the queens stepped up to the board to rank their competitors and declare a Top 2. In my mind, there was a clear winner of the week — Nymphia Wind. Her talent show was stunning and unique, and her runway was campy deliciousness. It seemed as if many of the queens agreed she should take the top spot, including Plane Jane…so she put Nymphia dead last in the ranking.
Earlier on after a discussion of how they would determine tops and bottoms in the ranking, everyone was pretty much unanimous in the decision that they would place people based on who clearly demonstrated the best and worst performances of the week. That’s the only ethical way to do things of course. Everyone was on the same page, but some, like Hershii LiqCour-Jeté, were wary that Plane Jane would switch up when the moment came. And turns out, her intuition was right! We can’t know for sure that it was Plane Jane’s strategy that knocked Nymphia out of the top, but that’s certainly what the show wanted us to think! I didn’t even like Plane Jane’s talent show OR runway that much, but the fact that she shit talked every single one of her opponents, ranked from worst to best, and managed to not only place Top 2 but also steal the win? I fear we have an evil genius on our hands.
There has already been discussions at great length about whether she’s too mean, or if Drag Race is a TV show where villains are necessary, but to them I say remember your history. What would Drag Race be without queens like Raven, or cliques like the Heathers or Rolaskatox? Jinkx Monsoon has one of the greatest Drag Race arcs of all time after defeating the latter. I have little doubt that we’re in for a riveting season, and can’t wait to see if Plane Jane can stick the landing and usher in a new era of Drag Race villains.
See you next week!