Well, folks, it’s been a long journey. I don’t mean with Canada’s Drag Race Season 2—in fact, I think that’s been too short of one. I’m not ready to say goodbye to one of my favourite casts ever, even if I am excited to crown a winner. No, I’m talking about this being the final recap I’ll write about Drag Race in 2021. I’ve been writing about Drag Race for five years (and through my Patreon project, have now recapped every single RuPaul’s Drag Race season), and it’s safe to say this was the busiest, biggest year of Drag Race yet.
How fitting that we’re closing out the year with the finale of one of the franchise’s best seasons. Opinions may vary about what the single best season of 2021 was; I’d argue for All Stars 6, but could understand picking UK Season 2 or España. (If you say it was Down Under, I’ll pretend I did not hear your answer and ask again.) Canada’s Drag Race Season 2, however, might be the season I had the best time watching. I actively looked forward to every episode, and excitedly gabbed about it with friends even after writing my recaps and rankings.
You know it’s a great season when you walk into the finale both comfortable with any potential winner and also with a clear choice in your heart. Pythia has been a terrific competitor, and Kendall Gender’s open, generous spirit has made her easy to root for. But it was Icesis Couture who captured my attention way back in her “Meet the Queens” video, and everything she’s done since has only amplified my love. I’d be happy with any winner, but I’d be ecstatic with an Icesis victory.
But before we can find out who wins, we’ve got a whole episode to watch! The top three queens have to write and record their own verses for a… well, it’s actually not a Rumix, since it’s Brooke Lynn Hytes’ song “Queen of the North.” Shall we call it a Broomix? They’ve got Hollywood Jade choreography to learn for the performance, too, and have to show off their Coronation Couture on the runway. Who will come out on top by the time reigning queen Priyanka returns to crown her successor?
Credit: Bell Media
We actually get a lot of Priyanka in this episode, as the unofficial mini-challenge of the week is a photo shoot with the Season 1 champion. She interviews each queen briefly before they take photos, and then in a clever twist, she has them direct her. How each queen appears in their final photo actually says a lot about how they do in this episode: Kendall is the star of her photo, poised and confident as Priyanka crowns her; Pythia chooses to go fun and campy with it, goofing around with Priyanka; and Icesis finds poses that make them both look gorgeous—like two queens reigning simultaneously.
After that, the queens visit with Brooke Lynn to record their verses. I’m dubious when they first announced that BLH will be the coach, since she’s not someone I think of as a musician first and foremost. (Let’s just say her “Queens Everywhere” verse in Season 11 was not exactly memorable.) But I was wrong to doubt, as Brooke Lynn gives each queen specific, smart notes: she gets Icesis to drop the cartoonishly deep voice she used in “Bye Flop,” sharpens up Kendall’s delivery of a few lines and gets Pythia to lean in a bit more to her verse.
The results are across the board solid, but Kendall’s the clear winner. Her verse packs a punch, and it’s a radical improvement from her so-bad-it’s-camp “Bye Flop” rhymes. Icesis is a strong second, nailing the choreo but wearing a frankly bizarre final performance look. Pythia does okay, but rushes her delivery of her verse a bit to the point where it flashes by with little impact. It’s the first real sign that for as strong as she’s been all season, Pythia is not ending on her strongest note.
On the runway, things are almost completely reversed: Pythia’s Grecian column Coronation Couture is breathtaking, and so is Icesis’ wintry gown, which feels like a summation of the fashion-forward, impeccably made drag she’s served all season long. Kendall’s dress goes for the same silhouette she went for in her final ball look, and paired with her Bantu knots and braids, she’s serving up a tribute to Black women. It’s a great concept, but the dress itself undermines the thesis of her look—it’s not well-made enough to stand up to what Icesis and Pythia are wearing, as it doesn’t fit her properly.
Credit: Bell Media
After some thoughtful, heartfelt praise from our judging panel and one final mini-Untucked, it’s time to wrap up the season. The eliminated queens return for one more runway (the winners being Stephanie Prince and Kimora Amour, both in elaborate, gorgeous garments), then all three of our finalists must Lip Sync for the Crown.
The song is, delightfully, “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” by Céline Dion, which is my absolute karaoke favourite. It’s a song you can really dig into emotionally, which both Icesis and Kendall do with aplomb. Kendall goes very expressive, which works for me, but I can imagine might put off some others.The note I would give is that it’s more expressive than interpretive. Pythia, on the other hand, doesn’t do much at all, and gets lost in the shuffle. Icesis hits the ideal middle ground between the two by emotionally interpreting the song.
Then Priyanka comes back out to crown our winner, and we must pause to pick our jaws back up from the floor, because holy shit. Priyanka looks unbelievable in a crowning look that is maybe my favourite since Violet Chachki’s in Season 8. “It’s good,” she says with a smile when she first walks on the runway. I’ve missed Pri, and I’m so glad we get as much of her in this finale as we do. (Stream “Come Through” if you haven’t already!)
But now, finally, we must end the season by crowning our queen. And though it’s been close all season long, the queen who won way back in the first week has become our champion. Icesis Couture is the newest Queen of the North! I’m ecstatic with this result. Icesis has been such a dynamic, engaging presence. She dominated the runway, made us laugh in mini- and maxi-challenges and delivered a strong finish in this finale. She’s going to have an incredible reign, and make for a terrific part of this year’s winners’ circle.
Credit: Bell Media
At least anecdotally, it seems that there’s been less attention paid to Canada’s Drag Race Season 2 than other seasons this year, or even just the first season of this show. I think there are a few reasons for that, including general burnout on Drag Race, and the judging of the first season making people wary of committing to another instalment. That’s a shame, considering I think this is one of the true gems in the Drag Race crown. If I kept a ranking of all the Drag Race seasons I’ve seen (with acknowledgements that I haven’t seen some international seasons), it’d be in my top 10, and I can see it only growing on me from here.
I’d say I hope people seek it out later on, but with the Drag Race train going full steam ahead, there’s almost no time. Season 14 is just two weeks away, and there are plenty more seasons coming in 2022. This may have been the biggest year of Drag Race ever, but it’s about to be outdone. Still, in a rush to just keep up with it all, it’s worth taking time to pause, breathe and appreciate the pleasures where we find them. And from start to finish, Canada’s Drag Race Season 2 has been a true pleasure.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨Instead of showing the queens their younger selves to speak to, Brooke Lynn shows them their best shot from their shoot with Priyanka. It’s very Top Model, and I adore it. (That said, she also shows a young Brad Goreski in drag as “Alexa Diamond,” and it is delightful.)
✨Hearing Icesis’ knee fully crack as she tries to sell that her knees aren’t that bad is a perfect end to the “old knees” running joke she started way back in the premiere.
✨One very fascinating bit from Pythia: she never prepared an exit line or speech, nor a lipstick message. That’s nerve, to come in never ready to go home. And it paid off for her!
✨Let’s take a moment to judge our judges, shall we? For me, the unconditional winner of this panel has been Brad Goreski. Not only did he bring a sense of fun and some good quips, he also emotionally connected in a way the other judges of his archetype (Santino Rice, Carson Kressley, etc.) have never demonstrated themselves capable of. His conversation with Kendall about their sobriety is lovely and emotional and perfect. I would also give major kudos to “the Duchess of DVDs, Amanda Brugel,” who more than made good on her promise as a guest host last season. I would bring them both back next season, alongside—one can only hope—a returning Stacey McKenzie. This means that, yes, I’d let Traci Melchor go. While I do think she improved (and I’m obsessed with her look in this final episode), I don’t think she brings enough to the panel to justify another season. But hey, two very solid judges out of three ain’t bad!
✨I’m going to give Brooke Lynn her own bullet point, because I have more to say than I thought I would. To some extent, Brooke Lynn is always going to be judged by how well she can fill the Ru-shaped void on this show. She’s not a winner of Drag Race, and thus her claims of being “Queen of the North” are always going to come in for some ribbing. But what I think worked so effectively about her performance this season was how she didn’t try to emulate Ru. She came up with her own quirks (like her little hand movements during ‘And may the best drag queen win!’), had a friendly relationship with judges and contestants alike and served a wide variety of looks on the runway. Not everything landed, but you could see her really trying to find a niche of her own. I’d be more than happy to see her return for another season, perhaps a bit more sure of how she can be not Ru, but fully BLH.
✨Speaking of our judges, this interaction made me howl:
BROOKE LYNN: “He’s the hunk who’s covered in spunk… I mean, has spunk-”
BRAD: “Jesus.”
BROOKE LYNN: “Brad Goreski!”
✨Though I am very grateful for the break I’m about to get before RuPaul’s Drag Race comes back for Season 14, I have to admit, I’m a bit emotional about leaving Drag Race’s robust 2021 behind. As I mentioned, 2022 shows no signs of slowing down the Drag Race train, but 2021 will always have a special place in my heart. Through it all, we’ve recapped and ranked Drag Race seasons in the U.S., U.K., Canada and even Down Under for 66 different episodes, starting way back on New Year’s Day with the Season 13 premiere. Thank all of you who have remained engaged, invested readers throughout—your support genuinely means the world. I look forward to going on this wild journey with you once again in just a couple of weeks!
Drag Race is all but over for 2021—only the finale of Drag Race Italia remains—but we’ll be returning with coverage of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 in January! The premiere will debut Friday, Jan. 7, at 8 p.m. EST on VH1 in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada. Check back every Monday and Tuesday after new episodes for our recaps and power rankings, and subscribe to our drag newsletter Wig! for exclusive Drag Race content delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday afternoon.
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