Fourteen new contestants enter the Werk Room. For the first mini-challenge, the contestants do an underwater photo shoot. Detox wins the mini-challenge.
For the main challenge, the contestants create a Hollywood realness and glamour outfit made from items found in a dumpster. On the runway, Alaska, Ivy Winters, Lineysha Sparx, and Roxxxy Andrews receive positive critiques, and Roxxxy Andrews wins the challenge. Jade Jolie, Penny Tration, and Serena ChaCha receive negative critiques, and Jade Jolie is deemed safe. Penny Tration and Serena ChaCha place in the bottom two and face off in a lip-sync to "Party in the U.S.A." (2009) by Miley Cyrus. Serena ChaCha wins the lip-sync and Penny Tration is eliminated from the competition.[1]
Production
The episode originally aired on January 28, 2013. Cyrus, whose song was used for the lip-sync, has also been a guest judge on the show.[2]
Reception
Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club gave the episode a rating of 'A-'.[3] Eric Rezsnyak of City Magazine noted how the format was similar to previous season premieres of Drag Race and wrote, "Sure, there were moments that I laughed or gasped. A few of the photos and runway outfits were impressive. But on the whole it seemed rote, uninspired."[4] In 2016, Pride.com's Buffy Flores included the lip-sync in an overview of the show's seven worst to date and said, "This is no way to start a season of Drag Race."[5] Bernardo Sim of Out magazine called the episode's lip-sync "messy" in 2023.[6]
Mariana Fernandes included Lineysha Sparx's outfit in Screen Rant's 2019 list of ten design challenge runner-ups "that should have won", and opined: "Roxxxy Andrews was the winner of the challenge, with her black dress cut up on the sides. A win that, let's be real, belonged to Lineysha Sparx's stunning pink gown. It looked more elegant and put together than Roxxxy's by a long shot!."[7] In 2020, Fernandes included the episode's lip-sync in the website's overview of the show's ten worst to date.[8] In 2021, Jessica Jalali included Alaska's outfit in Screen Rant's overview of the ten best "drag on a dime" runway looks, and wrote: "Many of the queens underestimated Alaska and her look from this dumpster diving Drag on a Dime challenge. Using items right out of California's finest trash bin, Alaska made a beautiful strapless gown that looked more couture than garbage. Alaska did a fantastic job of elevating her less than appealing materials, completely transforming the materials to suit her aesthetic." Jalali opined, "The queens' judgemental attitudes toward Alaska's fashion went massively unfounded as Alaska ended up in the Top 2 that season. This look was the beginning of viewers getting a peek at just how unique and eccentric Alaska's style was."[9]
