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

So it wrapped up! Thoughts?

They had The Vivienne pegged as the winner from the start. I’d suspected it for a while - nobody else would have been praised for an outfit that looked like the Blair Witch draped in tacky crystals with only a tiny bit of blue face showing. But the editing last night really confirmed it for me. Still, it was the best series of DR I’ve seen for ages.

It was the right winner I guess. She was the most polished of the three and Ru likes that. But I had a bit more affection for DDC overall, although I think they made her win the makeover challenge just so the 3 queens would have an equal amount of badges going in the finals.

I hope I never have to hear DDC laugh ever again. That screamy fake laugh annoyed the shit out of me.

I assume one of the major aims of the show from the BBC's side was to get a new audience to engage with the BBC. The cross promotion between Drag Race and Strictly definitely felt like that ("What's our gayest show? How can we make it gayer so that gay people will actually watch it and make it cool?") with having Michelle on Strictly and then having AJ put the queens through their Latin dance paces on the finale. I don't think I'd registered just how tiny AJ is when you stand him next to a bunch of drag queens in actual heels as opposed to dance heels.

the last episode of this is always a real slog and this was no exception but the format was much better than the pre-recorded live ones

I knew The Viv was gonna win when the other two spoke about needing support/validation from other people and she spoke about finding it in herself, RuPaul/the show loves all that self-empowerment nonsense, which in the context of overcoming addiction feels almost irresponsible

Meantime, per Wikipedia at least:

The second series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK was confirmed and casting was closed on 15 November 2019

Willam mentioned some names the other week about people who should have been in the first season so I'm guessing some of them will be en route.

Am I...wrong or is All-Stars not happening soon? I seem to remember it kicking in around late December last year so maybe they're finally taking a slight break in the cycle? (Which I think would be good.)

Race Chaser podcast now well into into Season 4 (yay!) & Sharon as phone in guest for ep 4 is so meta & cool & kinda weird & i just love it

that is all

Yeah they've been on a crazy roll these last few episodes. All KIIIINDS of stories. Having this extended peek-on-the-nside, especially given Willam's healthy DGAF approach, has been amazing.

Also, just realized that Trixie has her own YT channel for the cosmetics and this was hilarious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oeklm-MsqAs

Great Katya interview from yesterday:

https://themuse.jezebel.com/drag-race-alum-katya-zamolodchikova-revels-in-the-embar-1840902410

As mentioned in the interview, Trixie and Katya now have ANOTHER series, which is an amazing sponcon effort of all things. Netflix get them on board to do a thing called I Like to Watch, where they review various offerings on their own service. Happily, they do not hold back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cznrcf5u-TY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLy3F5OdM_w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI0h288usl0

Plus these two (and the latter, well, of course)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iogEXKuYD0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1DcpANmSQg

Oh and! New season full on starts Friday Feb. 28:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2scwC2sT1a0

We got guest judges (read the whole thread)

Welcome to the Ru-nited States of America! 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇸

Pledge allegiance to the drag FRI 2/28 at 8/7c on @VH1! 👑✨#DragRace pic.twitter.com/WkI6gn4j4m

— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) February 13, 2020

I am amused to note that this is not in fact the first sitting congressperson to appear on the show -- indeed, the current second person in line of succession to the entire executive branch already did.

Also, the best Valentine's tweet

Time out, hold up. Hold up, sweetheart. Let’s get it together before you wanna read. I don't have a valentine. I've never had a valentine. If I wanted a valentine, yes, I probably can go out and get one, because I AM WHAT? SICKENING.

— Britt Stephens (@brittsteps) February 14, 2020

Alternately:

Today is the day hot gays tweet about how no one wants to be with them.

— Trixie Mattel (@trixiemattel) February 14, 2020

lol

Getting the Criterion Paris is Burning this week and watching every last thing on it was a good thing to enjoy in and of itself AND get ready for tonight.

I love all these queens already and I want them to make my clothes for me.

Great 1st episode!The main challenge was pre-finale worthy. We called the outcome, but didn't expect it to happen that way. And what an amazing lipsynch!

omg that was epic. love these queens!

Heidi giving me those ChiChi Devayne feels <3

also: this moment in untucked

skfhksdhks nicki’s face after heidi asked her question is SENDING me lmao #dragrace pic.twitter.com/WS2BKTAxJY

— sinthia (@damnitsinn) February 29, 2020

I did love that. Good start to the season, nice way to revisit the season six approach but in a way that was both a surprise and far more of a good way to get to know everyone a little better.

Are they going to make Heidi change her name?

god i hope so lol

I like the sass that Nicky Doll threw back at the producer over hummus. Also, I'm probably going to mistakenly call her Nicky/Nikki Cox at some point this season.

i love her already, she’s the coolest

I want Jackie Cox's glasses so badly.

Hmmm. Widow’s neoprene outfit was *really* badly fitting round the arse and her final runway look was terribly proportioned. Other queens have been in the bottom two for less.

Ended up not really mattering in the best-friends-race edit.

Well, we already have a queen eliminated before they even set foot in the workroom:

JUST IN: Sherry Pie has been disqualified from @RuPaulsDragRace after my story in BuzzFeed News containing allegations from five men of catfishing https://t.co/FZap9iuWu9 pic.twitter.com/YUkRHxNfzb

— David Mack (@davidmackau) March 6, 2020

Makes it sound like she actually made it pretty far in the competition tho, huh.

Insane. Cannot WAIT for next week's Race Chaser episodes about all this.

if you read the comments on the fb apology it seems like this had continued on until as recently as dec of this year

Well, seeing the new episode with all that as background, whew. This is going to be one discordant viewing experience this season. (Like this new batch otherwise, and of course Robyn = A+.)

i get that they can't edit her out of the show wholesale but i was sorta surprised to the degree with which they leaned on her confessionals, it felt off to me. maybe they'll adjust.

It's very possible they simply didn't have time to edit around her given everything that happened. Let's see where things go next week, but if she has a long run on the show, then she'll be in those segments no matter what.

idk i think i want to send all six of these queens home. i like the first group way better?

aiden’s low heels & tuck make me SO sad but i like her face
dahlia is like a bad imitation of Aja
Jada makes great clothes
jan needs to quit it w the ponytails
rockem is like a room full of ppl talking
sherry pie ... welp

VG for guest judge

I HATE YOUR HAIR AND YOUR MAKEUP

idk i think i want to send all six of these queens home. i like the first group way better?

Definitely. Maybe that's deliberate.

Sherry Pie makes those gurning, cross-eyed, drag queen faces that I hate (I get that they're part of the craft and the tradition, but I hate them anyway), so I won't be sorry to see her go. It will be interesting to see how she's written out.

i like jan

she seems headed for a break down at some point tho you can't care that much about drag race

I like Jan surprisingly as well, and Rock M and Jaida (that bone structure!).

I looked up the cast just now because for the life of me I couldn't remember Dahlia's name, and noticed that this cast is incredibly young: no one over 34, and a total of four contestants in their 30s.

Yeah, when Jan first falls short this season it's going to make a hell of a thud.

Maybe I've got too narrow a notion of what Fosse should be, but I didn't really get Fosse from a one of them. Also, what Jan was suggesting for choreo was so much closer to the mark than the cheerleader explosion she pulled out on the main stage.

Oh yeah I never want to hear "Fosse" again after that episode.

Fussy.

Anyway: no LA DragCon:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/rupauls-dragcon-la-2020-canceled-185728716.html

quote of the week

Jada:
CHILE I AM NOT GOING TO BE THIS DAMN ORANGE. NO.