RuPaul's Drag Race

[arwrestling]

S12 Finale
 

Spoiler

Just ugh.... Jaida was my least favorite of the three. In my opinon, Gigi should have won based on everything this season (minus the final lipsynch).

I thought Gigi nailed the close-up. I really disliked Jaida getting close and far from the camera the whole time, it was not great. Carson nailed it when he talked about Gigi eyelash acting throughout. Didn't think of it until he said it, but yea, that's what happened. 

I'm Like A Bird was hilarious. So creative. She nailed it and made the most of the at home version of the lip synch. 

Take On Me, could have been more exciting but I loved every minute of it. I work in costumes and Set Design and maybe that's why I was really taken by it, because that was an amazing set and costume. The jump and costume switch worked flawlessly. This was genuinely my favorite of the three... 

Jaida's lip Synch was boring in my opinion. I think she'd have nailed it doing that on the typical lipsynch set, but with the at home theme and limitless possibilities for creativity... I really felt like it exposed her biggest flaws as a performer. She's a beauty queen, there's no denying that, and she really showed how limited her skill set is beyond that with this. I thought it was messy. 

With the final lipsynch, I'll echo what was said with Gigi and agree it was really disappointing. The Dorothy thing, I didn't even get what the reveal was until my second watch (I rewatched the season with a friend who hadn't seen it). It was pretty lame, considering how she usually thrives with that kind of stuff. I'm genuinely surprised. 

Crystal I thought did well for the lipsynch, but she could have gone further for sure. Her costume and make up though was phenomenal. It's probably one of my favorite looks of the season. She looked polished and Vegas ready with that alone. Just lacked energy. 

Jaida, I will say, did pretty well with this lipsynch. Again, the reveal was a but womp womp, but the crown in her costume was a good one. 

All Stars 5, Ep 1
 

Spoiler

I think this has the potential to be a decent season. The beef with India and Derrick was ... I mean I'm surprised it's not something we'll be seeing more of this season, but yea. 

I think the judges are lost though. I did not think Shea did well at all. If you are going to do a pole dance... be good at it. She barely used the pole and didn't do much aside from spin around it. Plus, she didn't even tuck (which I'm surprised they didn't nail her on). She was near the bottom for me, easily. Same with Alexis Mateo. That was boring, the dancing wasn't great.... just very meh. She was good enough to not be in the bottom, but nowhere near the top for me.

Derrick was awful... I'm a fan of her schtick.... but I mean, you're a Britney cover. It's what you do. Own it. It's laughable that she says she's here to "prove I'm more than just Britney" and then proceeded to show up on Day 1 looking... just like Britney... and then crying that people "need to understand this is what I do...." well, then don't set up the expectation that you're more than just a Britney look-a-like and then proceed to only do Britney looks and then proceed to cry when people say she needs to do more than just Britney. Like... Girl. 

Mayhem Miller didn't do that bad in my opinion. Wasn't great, but if it werent' for the lack of pronunciation she'd be safe. I'd have put Shea in the bottom with Derrick, tbh. 

India was good. I loved that she remixed those things about the contact sport. She's right... I've no idea who she was outside of that moment; no recollection of her. But, hey own it. That was a genius move because she took it and now we automatically have something new to know her by. THAT being said, I thought Mariah (another one I've no recollection of) should have won. That was a stellar performance, and especially the timing of now when the show is airing... so poignant. I loved it. If not her, I'd say Jujube was very much up there. Those would have been my top 3. 

Interesting twist this season with brining in other queens to lip synch the winner. Yvie was amazing, and showed why she won. India phoned it in I thought. There was no way Yvie was losing. And there was no way Derrick wasn't going home. Buddy fucked up hard.

 

[arwrestling]

All Stars 5, Ep 2
 

Spoiler

Kind of a dull episode. It's a shame to see Ongina go, but she really didn't do well. 

That song they did was booooooooooring. Gawd, completely dull. I really enjoyed Shea here and I thought Blair did pretty well. Nobody else really stood out at all. I liked the idea of Shea's runway look, but I didn't feel is was executed really well. It's a look that's been done before by many celebs and performers in the past, and they've all done it better. By contrast, I thought Blair had a really great look and the most creative use of the theme on the runway yesterday... Michelle was dead wrong. 

Alyssa .... is not someone I ever viewed as a Lip Synch master by any stretch, I'm not surprised Shea won here.

 

[Katsuya]

Chi Chi has passed away 😕

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

That fucking sucks so much. She always seemed so genuine and lovely. 

[RPS]

Did anyone watch the Season 13 premiere? 

I thought it was a terrible mistake to have 6 lip syncs and to convince 7 people there one shot at fame was over in 5 minutes. But I love the batch of queens we got. 

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I haaated the premiere. My favourite part of the premier is meeting the queens and seeing how they interact with each other. We lost all of that. It's especially bad because I think it's a really good cast. I will be really pissed if someone gets voted off.

[RPS]

Anyone else feeling Drag Race fatigue? 

After UK and 13, we are getting Down Under and All Stars 6. 

I do not think I will be able to keep up.

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

Yeah, it's been a lot. I'm not sure I'll do Down Under. Maybe I'll save it for a binge at some point. 

[Gazz]

I've had one foot out the door on S13 since the totally undeserved double shantay saving Kandy. It's not even that I don't like her, I just find her one dimensional and with zero depth, see her Snatch Game character that was literally 'Kandy, but with a new hat'.

Then the latest episode, with Denali getting made up like a dog's dinner, put into a dress she couldn't move in and then being eliminated by the person who put her there, killed my interest almost completely. Anything less than a Rosé or Gottmik win, and the season is a write off.

[RPS]

10 minutes ago, Gazz said:

I've had one foot out the door on S13 since the totally undeserved double shantay saving Kandy. It's not even that I don't like her, I just find her one dimensional and with zero depth, see her Snatch Game character that was literally 'Kandy, but with a new hat'.

Then the latest episode, with Denali getting made up like a dog's dinner, put into a dress she couldn't move in and then being eliminated by the person who put her there, killed my interest almost completely. Anything less than a Rosé or Gottmik win, and the season is a write off.

It has been a rough season. I actually really enjoy Kandy, but not enough to justify her sticking around. It is far too long, so many bizarre choices on who is in the bottom. 

The next All Stars season, at least in North America, is moving to a streaming service. Which may be the death knell to me watching drag race. I am not paying $9.99 to watch drag race. 

[Skummy]

Who's everyone got?

I've never watched before this season of both US and UK, but my other half watches it with a group chat every week so I've been following it a bit. I genuinely can't see how Kandy made the final - it just seems to be that the judges enjoy her personality, but there's no way she's one of the best queens of the series. 

Rosé is fantastic, and I would be happy with a win there, but I'm Team Gottmik all the way. Just absolutely nailing every challenge, with some fantastic looks, and a great presence and energy to everything she does. 

[RPS]

2 hours ago, Skummy said:

Who's everyone got?

I've never watched before this season of both US and UK, but my other half watches it with a group chat every week so I've been following it a bit. I genuinely can't see how Kandy made the final - it just seems to be that the judges enjoy her personality, but there's no way she's one of the best queens of the series. 

Rosé is fantastic, and I would be happy with a win there, but I'm Team Gottmik all the way. Just absolutely nailing every challenge, with some fantastic looks, and a great presence and energy to everything she does. 

GotMik! 

To me, I have always thought that the make-up, the gowns, the personality, celebrity impersonation and the lip syncs are what are the most important things for a drag queen to have. GotMik has had the best make-up and gowns all season. I have enjoyed her personality the most. She is probably the worst lip syncer out of the bunch, which means she will probably end up losing because the finale will be a lip sync. 

[Mx. Canadian Destroyer]

I really want GotMik to win but I think Symone will win. 

My head says Symone -> Rose -> GotMik -> Kandy
My heart says GotMik -> Symone -> Rose -> Kandy

[RPS]

I cannot believe that Laganja Estranga won All Stars 6 without even competing. 

[Gorka]

I finally watched Season 12, only 18 months after I initially watched up to episode three!

Spoiler

Jaida Essence Hall: Honestly, completed skipped me by. I didn't really pay much attention to them and then around the middle portion of the season the started to be talked about as a potential winner - but there's nothing that I can really remember about them? Like, they're a fashion/looks queen? Seems like I am in the minority as Jaida had a lot of support online, and you know, good for the fans to have their champion win.

Crystal Methyd: From what I remember, I really liked Yvie Oddly so I found it weird that Crystal's 'out-there' drag did absolutely nothing for me. It's creative at least! and never felt like they were coasting - and bless them for having to put up with Ru's thirst for the entire season. Speaking of, there's a weird dynamic with Drag Race where's it a bit like Vince McMahon and WWE. It's the 'premier' television output of either respective industries, there this young, exciting talent all wanting to impress...but it's headed by an out-of-touch middle aged+ person who have just weird frames of references for everything.

Gigi Goode: Started very well...and then tailed off a lot. Is calling someone 'too polished' a thing? I wouldn't have been mad if they won anyway but I didn't really care they didn't in the end.

Sherry Pie: Well, producers really fucked up with that, huh? It's strange when producers are adamant that we, the audience, are just going to love someone - so to see their 'push' blow-up in their faces is pretty funny. Plus, everything we did see of Sherry Pie just made her look mean? She was a bitch to Aiden Zhane for no reason. She went over in her one-woman show and did a fake apology. How nobody pulled her to the side and said to cut her doddery, face-pulled-to-the-side old lady impression after Crystal's parental problem was mentioned, is beyond me.

Jackie Cox: Star. I really wanted them to win : ( - if you make Jeff Goldblum cry then you should win.

Heidi: Star. Hilarious. They were just what you want for reality television whether it's heart, one-liners or an underdog story. Looked rough at the beginning but really grew into the season and was hard to see them leave. Great to see someone that doesn't have the money get far too. Christ, does it really cost nearly five-figures to create outfits for Drag Race? Grim.

Widow Von'Du: Really liked them at the start, so a shame to see the season get into their head as it progressed.

Jan: Didn't get the plaudits they deserved, felt like the producers just didn't want them to succeed. I think they'll be alright anyway.

Brita: Just, why did they have to be so horrible?

Aiden Zhane: Drag Race feels like too big a stage for them, and reality television not a space for them. I'm sure they'll come on heaps and bounds with reality television money behind them. Nice to see someone else that wasn't from New York.

Nicky Doll: Charming! Wished they had more time.

Rock M. Sakura: 100% should have had more time.

Dahlia Sin: Fair play to them for continuing the Brocc-Ally schtick after their storm-off from the stage. You can't expect everyone to cope so well with an exit, glad they had a second chance.