RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 Episode 2: Recap & Best Moments

Welcome back, girl groups! Oh, how I missed you. Except maybe not this version of girl groups, filled with dated references that most of the girls don’t fully understand. Okay, let me back up a little.

Last season on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the show eschewed girl groups entirely, and it was a mistake. I thought it was weird. Suzie Toot told me it was weird when I interviewed her. And fans thought it was weird. We all like girl groups! Watching the girls struggle to put together a number reflects what they actually do at home, and the ones who are good at performing can use that to their advantage on tour and online. It’s the single challenge that most accurately reflects these girls’ ability to work as a drag queen in 2026. In the U.K., it’s become an incredibly standard challenge, spurred on by that country’s love of girl groups like Spice Girls, Little Mix, Girls Aloud, and others.

But for some reason, American Drag Race refuses to let the girls just do modern girl-group drag. In season 14, they had to do doo-wop songs based on girl groups that the girls clearly did not know the differences between. In season 15, they literally had to become old ladies for some reason. The high-water mark for girl-group challenges in recent years is season 16, which got out of the girls’ way and just let them slay. (Remember how Nymphia ate that? Oh, those were the days.) Maybe this difference is because we have a messier history with girl groups in America, especially during the show’s heyday in the 2010s, when the only American girl group of note was Fifth Harmony, who were a mess.

But in 2026, girl groups are huge again — specifically K-pop groups like Le Sserafim, Blackpink, and the globally based Katseye, which even includes some American members. So I was excited when I heard they were going to do “Q-pop” groups. Until, that is, RuPaul revealed the songs’ genres were all just ’60s–’80s pastiche. Look, I believe drag queens need a Rolodex of pop culture that extends beyond their years. The problem is that the show refuses to update its Rolodex. You’re telling me that Leland couldn’t work up a serviceable “Gnarly” parody that the girls could do something with? Instead, we have to sit through critiques about how Mandy Mango could not accurately evoke Sylvester. These girl groups need to get with the times.

Still, it’s a pretty solid episode. There’s drama and hurt feelings, with some queens managing to stand out as performers and other queens managing to stand out as characters. Chief among that latter camp is Athena Dion, who, it turns out, is not a “Sasha Colby.” No, no … She’s a “Shannel.” Specifically, she’s a season-one Shannel: a classic drag queen who is utterly sour when things don’t go her way. In other words, she’s a perfect shit-stirrer for reality TV.

The episode starts with Ru announcing the challenge: Form a “Q-pop” group and perform a song in one of three genres — doo-wop pop (à la Wham), disco (à la Sylvester), or punk (à la the Runaways). Then, Ru lets Nini Coco and Vita VonTesse Starr, as the top two from last week, pick the teams, with the four unchosen queens forming the final group of “leftovers.” They end up as such:

Team Nini: Nini, Mia Starr, Ciara Myst, Myki Meeks, and Kenya Pleaser

Team Vita: Vita, Briar Blush, Juicy Love Dion, Discord Addams, and Jane Don’t

Team Leftovers: Athena Dion, Darlene Mitchell, Mandy Mango, and DD Fuego

Athena is obviously pissed not to be chosen and promptly becomes a sourpuss for the entire episode because of it (immediately proving Nini and Vita right for not choosing her).

When it comes time to pick the song, every single team wants disco and nobody wants punk, which is obviously a mistake. Punk requires the least dancing, so it’s helpful if you have any only-okay or even bad dancers, which every group has. Plus, it’s easily parody-able and visually interesting. And why on earth do these queens want disco? It’s Ru’s favorite genre, and she’s obviously going to be pedantic about their interpretations of it. Anyone who doesn’t have a backlog of references about disco should avoid it at all costs. The pop song is totally fine, but ultimately, it’s hard to break through on a restrained, chipper track. Athena and Vita go at it until the ungainly Discord, who literally performs in a rock band, manages to convince her team that punk is the way to go (she’s right). And Athena, who keeps referring to disco as “her era,” gets the genre she wants.

During choreography, Nini’s pop team is filled with at-least-competent movers along with Mia Starr, who is a professional dancer, so it goes swimmingly. The punk team has to deal with Discord, who cannot move, as proven on last week’s runway, but otherwise seems fine with Juicy taking the lead. And the disco team has no clear leadership except a pissed-off Athena, and they are also saddled with Darlene, who is awful at choreo.

The vocal recordings with Michelle go well enough for everyone except Nini, who has lost her voice. It’s definitely sad to see her struggle, but for all her freak-outs, I was confident that the judges wouldn’t hold it against her. That’s one level of unfair too far for even RuPaul.

When the performances begin, Team Disco goes first. They are … not good. Athena starts the number off and performs exactly the kind of Drag Race verse that people like to make fun of. She has the most basic of rhythms, and sings lines like, “Pay no mind to what they say / This is your journey, lead the way.” It’s tough to watch. And the choreo, which she spearheaded, is the most basic drag choreo imaginable. Athena is a classic drag queen, but her lack of innovation is immediately hurting her. Darlene can’t dance, but she creates a fully realized ditzy character and includes a Sylvester-y high-note bit that Ru loves. She knows how to play the game. Mandy is overenergetic and performs by-the-book drag choreo, with an uncharismatic vocal performance on her verse. DD isn’t bad so much as she is boring.

The doo-wop team is definitely better than the disco team, but I wouldn’t say they kill it. Mostly, that’s because the song sucks. Mia Starr fares the best, largely because she turns it into a Meghan Trainor track. She performs it very well, has a good voice, and has innate musicality. I hate her costume, though. Kenya does pretty well, with a cute verse. She does lose her face a little bit when she kicks her leg in the air. On TV and on Drag Race, you need to be “on” all the time. Ciara Myst really leans into the “inspirational” idea in her lyrics, which I’ll cop to finding a bit grating. Her verse isn’t bad, but it plays like Ms. Rachel for tenderqueers. Also, her costume is too busy. Nini is in the unfortunate situation of not being able to perform to her vocal recording. There’s definitely a mismatch between her big performance and her meek voice on the track, but it’s unavoidable. She definitely deserves her safe placement. Myki sounds good and looks a lot like guest judge Dove Cameron. I was impressed that this comedy queen could hold a tune and dance pretty well. Excited to see what she does next week in RDR Live! when she’s finally in her element.

Finally, it’s the punk group. One huge advantage they have is that their song’s chorus is the only one without faux-inspirational lyrics for them to write to. Instead, they all get to be hot, badass sluts. It makes for much better drag. Discord is first. She is very lucky to be on the punk team, because I think she’d go home on either of the other teams. She mostly just stands still and performs her verse with fear in her eyes. I don’t think she’s long for this world. Vita has a little bit of the Athena problem, where her musicality is very basic, but she makes up for it with a balls-to-the-wall performance. Briar surprises me! I think she is one of the clear standouts in her group, and her look is sexy and fun. Jane goes next, and she’s great. She has a clear idea, playing a woman possessed by the devil who is vacillating between a demonic voice and her normal, more meek one. It’s very funny, very well executed, and totally inventive. Clear winner. Juicy is great throughout the number, but I wouldn’t say punk is her natural habitat. The judges end up choosing just two tops. I think if there were a third, it would be her, but I get why her pirouettes didn’t inspire much love in the rocker-chick song.

The runway is “favorite body part” — always a great one and vague enough that it gives the queens a lot of space to have fun interpreting it. Athena goes first, showcasing her back with a … backless dress! She looks good in her ever-classic drag. Next is Darlene, doing “skin” with a trashy sunburnt look. It’s great. Her boobs are hamburgers! There are roaches in her hair! Darlene is one to watch. Mandy showcases her face by going as her grandmother’s side table with a photo of her on it. The wood-table base does not read. DD immediately made me laugh when she came out as a cloud with legs to show off her legs, but then she stood up and was wearing an ill-fitting pink leotard. Not great!

Mia Starr wore a full-body dress that just showed off her neck, her back, her pussy, and her crack, with the reveals of each built in. It’s clever, but not pretty, and the zipper on the back isn’t pretty. Kenya shows off her “everything” in a stoned bodysuit. I get it, but also … do the damn challenge. Ciara turns my favorite look of hers so far, featuring her eyes, with eyes on her head and her boobs. It looks cute! She looks like Carol Burnett. Nini stuns on the runway, wearing a 3-D-printed brain hat and a gorgeous pink look. This is the first Nini look that has blown me away, but it’s looking like she really is the runway queen of the season. This rocks. Myki wears a leotard with a billboard advertising her legs over the top of it. Totally fine for a week where you’re guaranteed safe.

Discord also wears a backless dress. It’s an ugly mishmash of black and gold. She continues to walk like Tina Belcher, and her lace is a completely different color from her face. She is very, very lucky that the disco team was bad this week. Vita shows off her butt. It’s a black leather leotard with belts that looks great and does, in fact, show off her butt. But I would prefer to see a little more wit. Briar wears an all-covering black-widow outfit, with just one finger poking out. It’s funny! Very Testament of Ann Lee (go see that movie). Jane shows off her mouth with a “Wendy Williams on Masked Singer”–esque outfit featuring a giant red mouth. It’s very visually striking. She knows how to deliver impact. Finally, Juicy shows off her “left leg” with a dress that features just one leg poking out. It’s cute but not jaw-dropping.

The disco team is put in the bottom as a group, while Ru declares Jane and Mia tops. That makes sense to me, and it gives the judges a chance to express how much they like Darlene and Athena’s general drag, even as they tsk-tsk them for their challenge performances. Ultimately, Jane wins the challenge, and Mandy and DD are made the bottom two. I think that’s mostly right if you’re taking future performance into account, but I do think Athena did the most “wrong” this week. The lip-sync song is Dove Cameron’s “Too Much,” which is exactly the kind of anonymous pop track that you’d find playing at drag shows across America on any Tuesday night. In other words: It’s a clean slate and a completely fair fight. Mandy throws the table off of her and then performs an unremarkable but totally energetic version of the track, with lots of stunts but not a ton of musicality. DD just kind of walks. And so DD Fuego becomes our first out! I’m definitely disappointed to see New York out of the competition so early this year, but I can’t really argue with the results.

• Nobody gets into a huge fight, and the girls seem mostly happy with the tops and the bottoms this week. Juicy worries about Athena. All in all, a totally fine 22 minutes of time.

• An edit I loved this week: Pre–lip sync, the two comedy queens of the season, Myki and Jane, double-teaming a description of the queens facing off. Very funny!

• A joke I loved this week: When the girls ask how much Athena paid DD to claim she’s a team player, DD says, “A trip to Mykonos!”

• Last week, I claimed that Malaysia was the first queen from Florida. That was obviously wrong, and she instead was the first queen from Miami, and I got confused. Either way, the show’s recent overindexing on FL stands.

• Trauma Makeup Corner: DD gets to talk about growing up in Monterrey, Mexico, but she doesn’t cry about it. Discord talks about being in a punk band and standing up for queer rights. Later on the runway, Darlene cries about missing performing as a queer person while being a bedroom queen after getting sober. Jane and Darlene have both cried on the runway recently. I think both were completely natural, and, at the same time, I do think enterprising queens would be smart to save their tears for when they’re in front of RuPaul, who loves vulnerability.

• Gay thoughts from gay people: This week, Michelle Visage sent me her new perfume, Wednesday. It smells a little minty and a little like leather. It’s honestly very nice. Thank you, Michelle!

• Predicted top four: Jane, Vita, Nini, and a wild card. Darlene?