Dragula Season 4 Episode 4 Review (TV Series, 2021)
content warning: blood, drug use, sexual content, flashing lights, foul language, grieving
Editorial note: these Dragula reviews will feature spoilers.
In the opening sketch, season two champion Biqtch Puddin reprises her Filth floor show performance as the custodian who really likes their dirty mop. The Boulet Brothers are visiting a male strip club. A dancer spills a drink on Swanthula and is promptly taken care of as part of the evening’s entertainment.
There’s only one challenge in Dragula that would feature that sketch to that music and it’s the Monsters of Rock challenge. This staple of the series started in season two. The remaining contestants are split into two teams to form their own extravagant rock bands. The winning team is praised, and the losing team will fill up the Extermination.
The remaining contestants discuss the Extermination from last week. Riding a mechanical bull is no joke and a few of the contestants are sore or even injured. Bitter Betty is still convinced that she wasn’t actually in the top for the challenge because the judges had harsher critiques for her than the other top contestants. Everyone is split on whether Saint or Koko should go home. Some think Koko is too in her head to thrive, while others think Koko has more to offer as a performer than Saint. Saint returns and gets razzed for not being able to stay dead on Dragula.
Like always, the Monsters of Rock challenge features two parts. First, the contestants have to deliver a rock look in the Floor Show. Second, the contestants perform in their battle of the bands. The performances are supposed to be staged and cohesive, including matching costumes. The song this year is Poppy’s “Bite Your Teeth,” and she’ll be on set to judge the performances.
Costuming is just as important as performance in this challenge. Both contestants eliminated on this challenge in this past only landed in the Extermination because the Boulet Brothers didn’t like their solo costume. They need to scream metal extravagance, and the Boulets tend to favor the glam rock/hair metal looks as really fulfilling the assignment.
The teams are always chosen to push contestants’ buttons and see how they handle tension. One team is Sigourney Beaver (lead singer), Jade Jolie, Bitter Betty, and Merrie Cherry. The other team is Dahli (lead singer), Saint, La Zavaleta, and Hoso Terra Toma. While I haven’t been addressing the recurring drama on the series so far, I will say that Sigourney Beaver is with Merrie Cherry because Merrie Cherry keeps reading Sigourney for existing in the contest. Jade also got into it with Merrie last episode. The other team is a bit more peaceful, but La Zavaleta shoots from the hip and doesn’t shy away from sharing their opinions.
Jade Jolie gets to talk about her experience on Drag Race…I mean, “that other show.” In a confession that should shock no one at this point, Jade admits that she is questioning every decision she makes after going through the ringer on that show. Drag Race fans are vicious if you’re not the favorite and the show does next to nothing to protect their contestants from that toxicity. It’s heartbreaking to see Jade express those feelings, especially the need to rebrand so people stop assuming she’s an eternal 25 year old fighting people on a reality show. There’s a reason why I stopped writing about certain shows and make it a point to remind y’all to be kind when watching reality TV.
Sigourney’s team is fighting and Dahli’s team is calm. I said in the first episode that this season was going to be full of drama and the contestants have delivered.
The judges this week are Poppy and Rachel True from The Craft. Poppy is the performer of the song and just a wonderful alternative artist in her own right. Rachel True is a returning judge on the show. Side bar: if you haven’t watched the Horror Noire documentary, True is a wonderful presence in it. She knows horror and really drives home the perspective of a black actor working in the genre.
The Floor Show looks are first. Standouts for me are La Zavaleta, Bitter Betty, and Jade Jolie. La Zavaleta is in full on punk territory, with a shiny pleather outfit featuring a lot of patches and an upside down cross. Bitter Betty has the best hair metal look, with a wig as large as some of the contestants on the show. Jade Jolie’s outfit is very pretty and pink for the challenge, but I appreciated her girly girl does metal performance; she pauses to touch up her lip gloss and take a bump before breaking a bedazzled guitar.
The band performances are edited together this year. Dragula has been very kind in its edits, trying to give everyone great footage for their reels while revealing mishaps afterwards if necessary. Dahli’s team looks like a band onstage and has a choreographed performance; Sigourney’s team looks like they’re sharing a stage. This season’s cast is filled with great performers, so the show is entertaining. One team just clearly worked better together.
The Boulet Brothers have their private discussion. Dracmorda is underwhelmed by the performances, but Swanthula loves their individual costumes. The edit was very kind based on their reactions and the outtakes shown. Jade and Merrie really dropped the ball. Sigourney’s leadership is questioned, but she so dominated the solo performances that they’re kind of looking away from that.
The judges loved Dahli’s band and how well they worked together. They really liked Dahli’s Nu Metal look and performance. Saint is complimented for stepping up their performance and having a unique perspective onstage. The judges actually liked Hoso Terra Toma’s look, calling it a scene-take on the challenge; would that that grace had been extended to prior contestants who didn’t stick to the Western idea of rock fashion on this challenge. La Zavaleta is praised for bringing punk energy onstage.
The judges let Sigourney’s team critique themselves first; even they’re underwhelmed with their performance. Their team wasn’t cohesive and missed some of the nuance of the song. The judges loved Sigourney’s outfit and solo performance. Bitter Betty is praised for their excellent performance onstage and transforming their look week to week. Jade Jolie is warned that they’re self-editing on the show and the judges don’t want that. Merrie Cherry is praised for her solo look, but read for her shoes in the band performance and for holding back this week. To be fair, those black sneakers, possibly even slippers, did not look great onstage.
Dahli’s team wins the challenge and Dahli is declared the winner. This was a huge part of their storyline on season two, as they fought so hard to win the inaugural Monsters of Rock challenge and came up short against comeback kid Biqtch Puddin. Their prize is being featured in an original comic for Heavy Metal magazine. Sigourney is also called out for being the clear winner if her team had won.
The judges ask the contestants who should be exterminated tonight. Everyone chooses Merrie to go home because she didn’t prepare for the challenge and Sigourney made her costume for the performance. Merrie is overwhelmed and can’t even name someone else to go home.
There is a new Extermination this time and Sigourney’s whole team gets to try it out. Each member of the team is strapped into a machine with a control board. They push a button to vote on who should be shocked as punishment. In a result that should surprise no one, pretty much everyone gets shocked every round. This team really did not get along.
Ultimately, Merrie Cherry is Exterminated. She did not thrive in this contest, but she is still a great performer. Merrie is the only contestant from this season I’ve seen perform live and she puts on a great show. It’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic changes on the show without her there just because so many of the remaining contestants are so…quiet.
***
