Joining me this week is Joan Waters, a young queen who's relatively new to the Chicago drag scene, but she's awesome and funny and she's John Waters' biggest stalker or something.

Chad: I'm excited to talk with you this week! If I'm not mistaken, you're quite a fan of John Waters, right Or, wait, is he your dad?

Joan: My dad actually does look like John Waters. Now I'm having a serious Oedipal or Electrical problem.

Chad: Is he half of your namesake?

Joan: Yes!My mom used to let me watch anything -- which was bad judgment on her part, because I had inherently bad taste and went straight for Pink Flamingos. I love trashy queens, and I love campy queens, and you don't get trashier or campier than John. Or Divine!

Chad: So what did you think of his involvement with this episode? What does it mean for John Waters to be on RuPaul's Drag Race?

Joan: It's a validation in part of his significance in drag history. He helped craft the original drag superstar in Divine, so it's only appropriate that he should visit to help find the Next Drag Superstar! Divine and John really moved drag in a new direction. It was always counterculture, but it was never as shocking or funny until they rubbed their filthy hands all over it.

Chad: Do you see any parallels between John Waters and Ru? Both are known for being quite transgressive in their early work, but they've both grown their respective empires in more mainstream directions.

Joan: Yes! John and Ru started as far underground as you can (six feet under or closer to the Kelly Mantle of the Earth). But both were such bright, hot commodities that it was only natural that mainstream straight culture would want a fucking piece of that action. Their points of view are unique and even their mainstream work has been badass.

Chad: Yeah, that's a fair point of view. I think they've both maintained their visibility and ensured their longevity by commercializing their creative empires like that. For better or worse, perhaps, it's a necessary evil.

Joan: John Waters exemplifies a "make it work" temperament with all of his films. He and his team would break laws and film with barely any funds, get arrested, and it was all in good fun.

Chad: So what did you think of this week's challenge? Did it capture that same spirit?

Joan: This week's challenge was exciting and frustrating for me because it was definitely a "watered" down version of his most subversive films through the lens of his more palatable and commercial films and musicals like Hairspray and Cry Baby. It was a little sweet and not as shitty as I had hoped. I just pray that the children look at his work for themselves. And honestly, the only one that was offensively bad in a John Waters way was Pearl, Violet and Fame... and they lost!