'...and DON'T *bleep* IT UP!' -- the RuPaul's Drag Race thread

There's only 8 contestants so maybe nobody's going to get eliminated? Unless we get an abbreviated season.

yeah that struck me as well
who the heck knows

all winners?
they finally figured out how to avoid jujubee getting involved

Haha how cruel.

Have Bianca del Rio host the Pit Stop for this and relentlessly roast them all.

Ever since I watched that video where Bussy Queen talked about their contracts and how they can be called back at any time, at risk of losing their prize money, I've felt a bit bad for queens who get brought back only for their clock to reset again. otoh, this could be the producers throwing a bone to some of the older queens who've been hard hit by COVID. In any case, it looks like it's going to be great. I am looking forward to it.

wow, that's a powerhouse selection, raja for the shade, though I think she has stopped performing, I kinda wish Tyra Sanchez could be pitted against some of these later pageant queens, in fact, I think I want a pageant season at some point, all gowns, goops and gossip.

I wish there were more original season winners instead of All Stars winners coming back for their 3rd time. Only two of these queens were crowned before 2019! Still, I'm gagging.

Well gosh

pic.twitter.com/kUyesQyJit

— Willow Pill (@WillowPillQueen) April 20, 2022

A fine top two! Glad they both got something!

yeah awesome end result

The songs seemed written with specific popstars in mind. Like Angeria was Nicky, Daya was Miley, Camden was Freddy and Willow was Lady Miss Kier. I wasn't sure who Bosco's was inspired from. Lana Del Rey? Ariana?

They listed each queen as the writer for their respective songs.

Top two were who I was rooting for probably the last couple months at this stage. To see them actually make it was truly very satisfying. The winner was very well deserved too - but I was hoping the runner up would take it. Either way, glad RuPaul finally upped the prize money ffs. About time.

I've not been watching the main seasons since roughly season 8, the sheer amount of social media/meme moments left me feeling informed without the episodic minutiae. But I've really enjoyed season 14 from start to finish, a fun and friendly cast and the top 5 were such a sweet group (even with Daya pissing on their chips). The untuckeds between this bunch have been lovely, the last untucked episode particularly, all the feels! Willow's win was so deserved, their meticulous approach was a code cracking / face cracking triumph. This season really highlighted how DragArt is expanding reach and delightfully defying definitions.

reaction video is of course lovely & feelsy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIU54znjdD0

Love the reaction video so much. My favorite won, but this was a strong Top 5 <3

I was very underwhelmed with the finale itself (fine with the winner), really the only good solo performance was Willow's.

I also will get very very dance nerd now but Camden dancing "ballet-themed" numbers in heels bothers me to no end, not least of which is that her feet/leg lines are either awful or made awful by her shoes!

^^ this, couldnt unsee it during finale

Ah but she's great still. Fun interview from a couple of years, well before being cast

https://www.sosheslays.com/featured-collabs/2020/8/30/rex

Embedded in said interview, important information

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVoMf_5BwOY

And her Whatcha Packin's fun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pTLuKKp63E

(And per all this I was tripped out to learn that her dad managed the Electric Ballroom! In, of course, Camden.)

https://electricballroom.co.uk/

this was a very strange season to watch. The cast were really likeable, really talented in a lot of ways, even the "villains" were fun, and the show managed to be self-aware and funny with it, without going too MCU. Also, RuPaul seemed engaged and excited in a way they've not been for a long time. But then you've got things like "Daytona Winds" which took a really interesting challenge with strong performances and made it into an unfunny slog. And I think Snatch Game needs to be retired - it's more often bad than good now. All the twists - chocolate bars, double saves, etc - meant it was too long and static. But I think the real weakness of the show is RuPaul - the show is so obviously subject to their whims and tastes, with judging decisions and feedback feeling arbitrary and unfair. I've felt like this show is trying to gaslight its viewers at times, using the crickets/laughter sound effects to make stuff seem really awkward when it's actually hilarious, and telling us outfits are beautiful when they're so clearly not.

Me and my boyfriend binge-watched the first five seasons when we started dating (which is quite a while ago now) and the series seems to be lacking a lot of the joy and celebratory energy it used to have, which I guess is inevitable when the prize money is now so huge and it's become a culture phenomenon etc. At this point I feel like we're following it out of obligation, it's like Gay Homework for belonging to the culture now.

It's kinda why a lot (not all) of the other competitions are more fizzy still at the moment -- would rank Holland, Spain and Thailand as my best winners there and notably all three are Ru-less.

for the first post covid live audience finale it felt strangely subdued and anticlimactic somehow. and felt really staged - maybe because it was styled as a big vegas style production but that worked against it because the queens kinda got lost in all of that? the final lip sync also felt underwhelming (we watched yvie oddly vs brooke lynn finale right after and it’s like night and day)

happy for the winner though, and it must be the first time to have a dynasty among the winners?

You do get a sense that this'll be homebase for all future finales by default, and that may or may not cut against it as you say. I wonder if there's just also a difference between LA and Vegas audiences, even though I'm sure a good chunk of the crowd would have been there either way.

And per all this I was tripped out to learn that her dad managed the Electric Ballroom! In, of course, Camden.

That's crazy. I spent so many amazing nights there when I lived in London for a year when I was 19! And her sister used to DJ there!

You were shaping her course of life without knowing it. "You will come to North America and entertain me in a TV show." "I will?"

You're all welcome.

Katya reviews the Met Gala

https://trixieandkatya.substack.com/p/met-gala-fashion-review

Okay! So the first two All Stars episodes out and they have done a VERY smart thing in terms of the format this time around, which I won't spoil yet if you haven't seen it...

I really really enjoyed these which was a pleasant surprise after my burnout on last season.

Aside from wondering about all behind scenes negotiations that maybe led to Ned’s referenced format change, (and some winners choice not to come back) think Raja’s appearance is maybe the bravest (?) as she’s spent the last few years critiquing ppl on the runway gotta feel lil scary putting yourself back out there.

Looking forward to season

jinx’s snatch game omg i was crying laughing, so in love holy shit

and raja did amazing that madame costume! and the vreeland MAKEUP!? jesus. so good.

they both really put on a clinic

Absolutely. That was such a damn treat from them both.

It's a little weird but welcome to be in a situation where like...EVERYONE is good.

yeah totally.
this is truly what I need to see right now. new queenx are great yay new queens but i need a blast of FINESSE.
all excellence, all the time, everyone pushing each other to do more than the excellent they do, just skills on skills

i’m kind of in heaven tbh

and even w all the excellence there’s still wtf. Trinity still favors dresses like a crazy person & Yvie in that bus-driver wig lmao & Jada’s Prince looool

it’s fun as hell

*dressing like a crazy person

Will also say that Drag Race España has been very great fun this season and the last two episodes in particular were crackerjack, especially last week's lip sync.

Anyway, back to All-Stars -- Shea's immediate reaction to the runway queen was *amazing.* You couldn't plan a reaction like that.

yeah that was awesome

I never, ever thought I'd say this again, but I'm like... actually really excited about this season

going into it I was like oh wow sure this roster looks great, this'll be fun I guess, but it wasn't til the first episode that I realized that everyone was going to be like relentlessly excellent at all times, PLUS the elimination twist which means everyone stick around for a while. I'm not thrilled about the whole star-kneecapping thing, but All Stars has never been about the best queen winning, it's about the most strategic queen triumphing, so like whatever

Jinkx calling Ru "Broom" had me in actual tears

Yeah this'll be a treat I figure. I think they might have played a strong card early with Snatch Game being the second episode but hell, great results.

i am excited to see how the strategy plays out given how competitive so many of them are esp Shea & Trinity & Monet … and Jinx too it seems

oh and Jinx’s callback to Dave from the makeover ep of S5 as Judy Garland was outrageous & everything i wanted. SO good

Yeah that was a deep fucking cut in the best way. (Hell I even remember hearing -- from Race Chaser I think -- how about how he was the guy in the 6th season episode where the queens were doing a roast or a comedy set in front a live audience, delivered the 'you're not funny' or 'tell a joke' comment and -- not in the final cut -- how Bianca came out and roasted Dave in response.)

some reviews were concerned the new rules will result in less drama and i find i’m too busy loving the energy and the camaraderie to care. the drag race is not just about the prize but about showcasing yourself, especially all stars, and bringing your best and not being able to show it must be soul crushing. so taking that element out somehow magically worked in show’s favor, it really feels like removing that stress made a huge difference. like everybody just letting jinx pretty much take over the snatch game because how could you not?!

on regular seasons the repeated sentiment is, don’t forget to have fun and then you’ll excel and it really shows here. although it’s not just that and everybody really is fucking amazing. like that ridiculous gown trinity wore? we were cheering and laughing our asses off at the same time. so good.

and such great song choices so far, why can’t they do it more often??

.. really nice to have such season after the disappointment that UK vs the world was

willam said on race chaser that trinity’s dress in ep1 was so crazy that she had to get dressed ~on~ the runway XD

some reviews were concerned the new rules will result in less drama and i find i’m too busy loving the energy and the camaraderie to care.

Strongly agree with all of this. It's almost as if the producers read our thread about Junior Bake Off, in which everyone agreed that it would be better not to eliminate people week by week, but just keep the same fun bunch till the end and crown a winner.

yeah that’s one of the things i liked about the school of chocolate

xp vegemitegrrl - that’s awesome/hilarious!

Raja should have been in the top
that Vanna White was ~swoon~

Just going to boot toot my own horn here:

There's only 8 contestants so maybe nobody's going to get eliminated? Unless we get an abbreviated season.

Echoing everyone ITT, eliminating ANY of this cast would've been a travesty (because notwithstanding Raja's read, there are no boogers in this cast). I mean, we all love messy drama but the effusive love and support is so beautiful, I honestly hope that the regular show takes some lessons from this somehow.

Jinkx ruled Snatch Game so hard -- I don't think she necessarily won her lipsync but anybody else getting the W that week would've looked tacky as hell. I also really liked TTT's Leslie Jordan, she showed a lot more range than I expected.

I'm such a stan for Jaida's fashion, and like Jinkx's SG, she pwned the runway so hard in the ball (she also turned out a great LS too).

I also thought that Yvie's eleganza was super strong too: cute and edgy and editorial. And I think this may be a redemptive show for her, considering how often she butted heads with other comptetitors in her original season, and how she didn't embarrass herself in SG this time around.