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

I mean today’s Pit Stop had her again, I’m sure she’ll do next week — pretaped and all. Let her have her break!

the finale was strangely low key. there were season opening episodes that had more excitement than that.
it was great to have a Kamala cameo though, i wonder when they filmed that!

the result is also not wholly surprising other than Roxy losing her 1st lipsync

yeah it felt like half the episode was boring mirror chat rmde

love the winner <3

the bob & katya pitstop for this ep is hilariously unhinged

bob and katya should just have their own show already

anjeria’s park & bark song was so fucking great & fun! so many of the queens songs are v unmemorable these days

it was great! everybody did pretty well though - feels like they chose the winners based on who they thought would do well in the lipsync

Shannel's runway deserves a special shut out, so great

*shout

yeah that was an incredible look

the bob & katya pitstop for this ep is hilariously unhinged

Truly glorious. A great way to wrap things up!

I won't say Plastique was robbed or anything but if we were talking solely runway looks alone for the whole season then...

Angeria is more of the kind of drag queen that Ru wants. Her performance in the acting challenge w Ru proved that she’s The One

Plastique is huge on Insta and has incredible runways but Ru’s angle is “yes but can she host a drag show in Pacoima”

Oh yeah I have zero problem with Angeria! And her absolutely gobsmacked reaction to realizing she won is amazing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wayqQ74cEZ4

Vanjie being in the top 3 was v good also, her leotard song was v funny

i loved the non-event of Nina getting double badges or whatever the fuck.

Watching Vanjie's segment in the variety show, though, I realised that her dancing (or stomping, or whatever that particular style is called) doesn't really go anywhere. She keeps signalling that she's going to ramp it up, that a trick is coming any second now, and then she just carries on doing the exact same thing as before, which is somewhere between dancing and walking. I mean, I absolutely love her, but maybe that's why she's just not winning as much as she should be.

I would've given the talent show win to Plastique instead of Vanjie. It was theatrical and epic in such a short amount of time and brought something new until the end. Shannel was also great, but it was hard to get past that outfit and that wig.
Congratulations to Angeria !

love angeria, love vanjie, and so glad roxy lost again <3

Hahah this was actually my fave time with Roxxxy. It may have had something to do with the confessional leather jacket.

time for All Stars Multiple Time Loser Edition
Jujuebee, Roxxxy etc

"this time one of them will finally win!"

Apparently Ginger Minj is coming back in the next All Stars, which is completely ridiculous. It feels like Drag U at this point.

from wikipedia:

As of 2024, Jujubee, Alexis Mateo, and Eureka O'Hara have appeared more than any other contestants on Drag Race, competing on four different seasons each. Several other queens have competed on three seasons, including Shangela (the first to do so), Gia Gunn, Latrice Royale, Manila Luzon, Ginger Minj, Pandora Boxx, Yara Sofia, Mo Heart, Monét X Change, Shea Couleé, Trinity the Tuck, Ra'Jah O'Hara, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Jimbo, Mayhem Miller, Scarlet Envy, Pakita, Roxxxy Andrews, Shannel, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Cheryl Hole, Kennedy Davenport, and Lemon.

i'm fine with Jujubee and Trinity being invited to every season tbh but yeah it's not like they don't have a large pool to choose from

At least Alexis, Jujube and Eureka were on international seasons. Ginger would be on her third regular All Stars.

in recent seasons it has gotten a little Rupaul's Drag Race: Some Stars so i'm not surprised they're inviting people back who have already competed

At least we have Global All-Stars in a couple of weeks (and Philippines back later this week)

Queens worthy of All Stars who have never returned: Victoria Porkchop, Ivy Winters, April Carrion, Kelly Mantle, Miss Fame, Kim Chi, Peppermint, Nina Bonina Brown, Acid Betty, Kameron Michaels, Asia O'Hara, Shuga Cain, Crystal Methyd, Gigi Goode, Jackie Cox, Widow Von Du, Rosé, Denali, Lady Camden, Bosco, Daya Betty, Maddy Morphosis, Kornbread Jeté, Anetra, Luxx Noir London, Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Loosey LaDuca, Irene Dubois. They have a lot to work with.

That's not counting the "banned" queens like Pearl, Max, Courtney Act, The Vixen, Willam, Carmen Carrera, and Delta Work.

Was Pearl actually persona non grata or did she just bow out and retreat to the hills outside LA with her guy? (I mean, worse ways to go.)

She's unwanted since that interview where she talked about Ru saying "Nothing you say matters unless that camera's rolling".

Ha! Well, blaze of glory, then. (Demi-relatedly Race Chasers finally started their long overdue All Stars Season 2 look back and things are definitely said!)

Hey Ned, as the only person I know who keeps up with all the franchises any thoughts on the Global All Stars queens?

Know Alyssa, Kween Kong from Down Under, & Kitty from UK, (I watched Canada but don’t really remember Pythia)

So, thoughts, handicaps?

Sorry for the delay, catching up with other things!

In terms of down the line thoughts, I'm not going to get totally exhaustive but it's a good overall bunch (though Willam on Race Chasers has been saying this wasn't the originally planned lineup and that a restart was done at some point, though it sounds like it was to get Alyssa in, perhaps). The introductions (for a non-WOW Presents Plus audience) for each of them across the two opening episodes helped me as a 'oh yeah, that queen' reminder, especially with the confessional looks. If I had to say who else to keep an eye out on (the ones you named all have distinct strengths), then definitely Miranda Lebrão, Gala Varo, Eve La Queen and particularly Soa de Muse, with Vanity Vain bubbling under (the talent show/lip sync moves alone in the second episode shows that much!). That said they're all good -- nearly everyone made to the finals of their individual seasons, so it's not like they're busted or anything -- but since it's essentially a big reset putting a bunch of people together without much direct history and each with some experience already under their belt with the format, it's almost anyone's game aside from Alyssa pretty obviously being everybody's on-set icon, especially from the younger queens.

see, Ned, this is why i'm hesitant to trust your Kamala prediction :)

Roffle. A fair take! :-D

Queens announced for season 17 (17! Crazy.) the other week, now we got the guest judges:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWrR5IMpVsY

I will be watching. After the disappointment that was Global, I took a break and skipped UK. I'm watching and enjoying Canada atm.

Canada's been good, Thailand too, very much waiting on Spain's final (first live-in-a-theater one!)

I really liked the latest seasons of France and Canada. Nicky Doll and Brooklyn Heights look stunning and their hosting has been on point.

Yeah the emergence of various former competitive queens on the main show as hosts has been kinda great -- Brooklyn and Canada started roughly, honestly, but by now everything's much more polished (though the runway judge intro/interactions still feel a little too obviously stilted even for the DR model). Nicky just KILLS it. (And had a fun one-off turn on the current Thailand season.) Between her and Rita Baga for Belgium the French speakers know how to do it.

Yes, Nicky improved immensely from the first season. She's a real pro now ! I still have to watch season 2 of Belgique. I've been on a Dragula binge lately. Season 666 was incredible and made me want to rewatch the old seasons.

I took a break and skipped UK.

UK is my favourite one, I think. Maybe just because it's closer to home and the references are more familiar to me. The BBC also have a new sitcom about drag queens in Middlesborough, called Smoggie Queens, and I am really enjoying that too, even if it is ninety percent laughing at accents and badly drawn eyebrows.

UK was fun this season because right up to the very last minute I wasn't sure who would have it and I honestly thought for a couple of seconds it would be a tie.

Same, a tie would have been a good call.

I loved Queen of the Universe Season 1. I will have to watch season 2.

We're almost back!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP2okfO48Uk

Kicked off the season well, I think. (The weak spot was Katy Perry, obv. -- rather PERFORMATIVE guest judge moves, however much she can draw on her Voice stint, and crosspromoting her failed comeback single was a bad gamble.)

Even more importantly, Monet back as Pit Stop host!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3DlnZg8X2w

That was a fun episode. Lots of great queens and I always like when they bring back Lil Pound Cake.
The talent show was more diverse than recent ones.
Nina Bonina's daughter really stood out to me. I thought she could've been in the top.
Miss Suzie Toot has got to have the weirdest make-up since Tammy Brown, but she's a cutie as a boy.

Yeah Suzie is all "I am so a 1920s cartoon!" and I'm thinking "Well...you don't HAVE to be."

I always like when they bring back Lil Pound Cake.

For once a pop culture reference lands exactly when something is currently happening! (My guess is they did that fairly recently and they asked the season 17 queens to come back with their opening looks for it, since otherwise them all 'meeting' each other in the werk room right after makes even less sense when they're all right there!)

Oh and

Nina Bonina's daughter really stood out to me.

Yeah, Lucky Starzzz definitely has fascinating chops -- and they're already hyping up the backstory (terrible what happened to her stepdad, man!) so I'm guessing a long run.

(My guess is they did that fairly recently and they asked the season 17 queens to come back with their opening looks for it, since otherwise them all 'meeting' each other in the werk room right after makes even less sense when they're all right there!)

Sounds right !

The Vivienne died :( cause unknown

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gw1v51yezo

Holy shit!

32, so young. awful :(

Rotten enough when Cherry Valentine passed but this compounds it.

yeah this fucking sucks. what a talent she was