Two hours is a lot of time to spend sitting and talking with any large group—a class, a book club, a Bible study. But it is especially a long time for a RuPaul’s Drag Race reunion. Yet for not the first time, we get two full hours of reunion this week, and these queens are here to … rehash? Recap? Certainly not move forward, to say the least. Whatever pretty dramas dominated the season are largely fully intact, even after a year since filming this season.
I’ve written previously about this, but it feels like the show has never quite learned the right lesson from the über-successful Season 9 reunion. During that reunion, there was plenty of new material to discuss, mostly surrounding Valentina and her off-camera antics. Remember Shea Couleé reading Valentina for paying much closer attention to social media than she claimed to? Remember Farrah Moan dramatically accusing Valentina of not loving her? Remember Aja starting a counter-campaign against Valentina’s Miss Congeniality win, insisting that she is instead just “Fan Favourite”?
That reunion was so excellent because it pushed the show forward. This reunion, by contrast, is all about reliving what we just saw over the past 14 episodes—this despite an incredibly vocal cast on social media. Really only Irene Dubois’s spicy tweets are referenced, and quite generically. Otherwise, it’s all about the text of the show, and trying fruitlessly to come to any kind of resolution for year-old conflicts.
However, this reunion is not without its pleasures. This is a fun group to hang out with, and there are plenty of laughs despite the rather staid material. Yes, the segments you expect to be here are all represented: a segment on Mistress Isabelle Brooks stealing everything, one on “eras” and one on the terrific lip syncs of the season (Ru asking Anetra and Sasha Colby how long they’ll be able to keep up their stunts, and Anetra responding, “Like … 10 more minutes?”). There’s a segment on the viral success of “Let Loose,” and one on the various “-gate” controversies throughout the season. These are, again, of varying actual entertainment value, but what we do get largely comes from this incredibly game cast cutting up with each other and with Ru.
Credit: Courtesy MTV
One consistent thread throughout the reunion—and I’ll give Drag Race major props for this—is repeated reminders to donate to the ACLU’s Drag Defense Fund. Not only does Ru mention it at the top of the show (after Drag Race previously made its own donation to the fund), but the QR code to scan to donate comes up multiple times. Including when Aura Mayari announces she’s getting married! The Nashville queen, who speaks from the heart about her experiences since the hideous and certainly unconstitutional drag ban bill was passed in Tennessee. (Notably, on the day this reunion likely filmed, a federal judge temporarily prevented the bill from going into effect.) In lieu of gifts for her reunion, Aura asks for donations to the fund.
Drag Race has previously struggled to find any kind of coherent political message, even in dire times like the Donald Trump years, beyond “register to vote.” Certainly, voting is crucial—as Ru once again reminds us in this episode—but the lack of specific advice on how to vote, much less how to move in the world when voting doesn’t go your way, has frustrated fans. But after some initial prodding to speak out, both RuPaul and his show have been taking multiple opportunities to drill down on the dangers of these bills. I’m glad the reunion makes time to discuss it, and Irene makes the point that these bills are not-so-secretly targeting the trans community (which Sasha then speaks to as both a trans woman and a drag queen).
I hope Drag Race keeps beating the drum on this, and doesn’t revert to familiar patterns when it comes to their political positions. This show is the biggest regular platform for LGBTQ2S+ artists on television, and has effectively created an entire new economy for drag artists off the show, with touring, TV series and more. Whether or not it was RuPaul or World of Wonder’s intent, Drag Race is the standard-bearer for this community. And while one would never want the show to lose its sense of joy to despair—we need that joy more than ever—I believe production can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can emphasize the importance of fighting back against transphobia and bills that target the LGBTQ2S+ community while still getting our usual Drag Race antics week after week; the Rusical this season really proved that to be true.
Credit: Courtesy MTV
Speaking of antics: we get a couple of fun segments that break the norm. At one point, Ru fields questions from queens’ moms, with Robin Fierce’s mom coming for Mistress and Aura’s mom coming for Spice. It’s super cute! Also cute are some of the unaired runways, which the show takes some time to put on display. I’ll always have my doubts about just how true to their original plans these “unused runways” are (Irene herself actually admitted her makeover looks she posted were not what she brought to Drag Race), but it’s nice to give the eliminated queens a moment in the sun for fashion the viewing audience largely didn’t get to see.
Maddy Morphosis shows up to give out this season’s Golden Boot award, and it’s pretty obvious when the nominees are announced who will be joining Maddy and LaLa Ri in the Hall of Shame. It’s Salina EsTitties’s street signs look. Listen: is this actually the worst look of the season? Probably not. I don’t even think it’s Salina’s worst look (that goes to her Money Ball runway). But it’s the most memorably bad, and that encapsulates the spirit of the Golden Boot. Salina, for her part, is thrilled to receive it, having finally won something on this show.
After Mistress dominates most of the reunion (as she should!), the back quarter of the show really shifts Loosey LaDuca into the spotlight. She takes point after a message from the lieutenant governor of Connecticut (!) praising her, Jax, Robin and Amethyst for their contributions on the show. Robin jokes that this season was “Connecticut vs The World,” and Jax looks a little horrified throughout the presentation—her reaction shots are wild!—but it’s Loosey who really speaks up as feeling seen by the message. She notes that as a small place where she didn’t feel comfortable growing up as herself, being part of anything that could make it easier for other kids means a lot to her.
Then, of course, we rehash the most significant drama of the season: Luxx Noir London’s “Who Should Go Home Tonight and Why?” speech. While Ru calls the speech “entertaining” (and he’s right), Loosey notes that it hurt her, more than just calling Loosey “generic” would have. She says she believes Luxx’s speech was premeditated, and takes a swipe at Luxx for wearing Mistress’s Kelly Rowland puppet wig on the runway as she delivered that monologue. “You seemed to take joy in doing that,” Loosey says of the speech.
Credit: Courtesy MTV
While I don’t think Luxx did anything maliciously, I do appreciate how she acknowledges that it felt like a pile-on. My feeling on this conflict has been that Loosey is not as bad as her haters claim, but she’s often gotten in her own way in defending herself. Luxx acknowledging how rough the situation became for Loosey without bending over backward into an apology feels like exactly the right approach to me. Her speech was iconic, and it’s okay for things to get shady on Drag Race. But in the context of what was happening with Loosey, it probably did go a little far.
We end the show with profile segments on each member of our top four, with footage of one of their standout performances and some unaired critiques from the judges. Ru is absolutely still obsessed with Anetra’s talent show act, and thinks it’ll make her a millionaire. Anetra admits that “walk that fucking duck” has made her “a pretty penny,” if not quite millions yet. Ru also heaps praise on Mistress’s Daytona Wind performance, as well as Luxx’s design challenge garment.
But this all pales in comparison to what we see Ru say about Sasha. Praising her performance in the Rumix video, Ru says, “I’m the motherfucking queen of drag—I’m amazed by you.” This is, bar none, the most definitive sign I’ve seen yet that Sasha is taking this all home. Ru typically confers praise from on high; the infamous “you were born to do drag” compliment is given from a mother figure to her daughter, validating what they’re doing. What Ru says to Sasha here? This is peer to peer. Ru is acknowledging that, despite his vast experience, he is blown away by this legend. And that is exactly the kind of praise I’ve been waiting to see for Sasha all season long.
The finale could still upend things, but for the first time this season, it feels like the obvious frontrunner has been acknowledged as such by the show. Sasha Colby has dominated this season, and makes for an obvious choice for America’s Next Drag Superstar. But it won’t be because she cakewalked there, or because her reputation got her there—it will be because RuPaul is “amazed” by her. And that’s exactly the way it should be.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨ The reunion begins with Real Housewives-style taglines from the queens. A few favourites: from Irene, “I may have gone home first, but I’m also a bitch!” From Marcia: “If you come for me, I will apologize immediately!” And from Princess Poppy, dressed up in Season 1 queen Rebecca Glasscock’s infamously casual entrance look: “I’m quitting drag! You’re welcome.”
✨ There are a couple of references in the outfit choices this week, including Poppy’s Rebecca Glasscock moment. Winning the award for perhaps the most expected (but still quite cute!) are Sugar and Spice, who come as Lizzie McGuire and Isabella Parigi from The Lizzie McGuire Movie. The twins getting one more chance for a dual costume reference? This truly is what dreams are made of.
✨ We get a substantial segment on the queens’ fixation on being in second place this season, with Ru litigating a few different battles between the queens over exact spots. (After two battles in particular, Sasha gets a beautiful shot in: “Let’s talk about both those challenges and who was number one, though …”) Mistress points out that, considering fans come up with their own points systems to track records throughout the season, these distinctions do matter—but it’s worth noting that most don’t differentiate between high-scoring placements to that degree.
✨ The only new celebrity message we get in this reunion—which likely means they’re saving most of them for the finale—is from Kevin Bacon. The actor had previously tweeted in reply to her and posted on his Instagram story about her performance as “Heaven Bacon” in Wigloose!, but he repeats his praise in a video message to her. It’s a nice moment!
✨ For a “fan questions” segment, Ru tosses to the queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! in Las Vegas, including Coco Montrese, Asia O’Hara, Aquaria, Derrick Barry and most important of all, DEJA SKYE! My frequent-flyer membership for the DeJa Skyes remains fully intact, and I’m thrilled she’s getting her coin in the Vegas show.
✨ Sugar and Spice’s brand of nonsense-speak is especially strong in this reunion, with Sugar going on all sorts of tangents and Spice stringing words together faster than her mind can move. Ru even asks at one point, “So, Spice: are you speaking English?”
✨ There aren’t a lot of great reads in the segment with unaired Reading Is Fundamental takes, but I do enjoy Salina calling Marcia “Blair St. Clair” and “Blu Hydrangea.”
✨ Ariana Grande jokes to the queens that she runs the spoiler subreddit. Ariana, get your spoilers for the vs The World seasons in order!
✨ Over at Roscoe’s viewing party in Chicago, Carson Kressley reveals that he was absent from the back half of the season because of a positive COVID diagnosis. He was supposed to be in the finale, but production wrapped up faster than expected. Good to know the reason why, and that he’s doing okay now!
✨ Quick update on the fan vote: with over 200,000 likes, Anetra has broken Crystal Methyd’s record for most likes on her “#Team” Instagram post. She’s joined in the top five most-liked #Team posts on a regular season by Sasha, as well as Season 13 finalists Symone and Gottmik. (If you include All Stars, Kylie Sonique Love rounds out the top three with Anetra and Crystal.) How much will the fan vote actually matter, though? Honestly, maybe more than I’ve been giving it credit for recently. We’ll take a deep dive into the herstory of the fan votes in this week’s edition of Wig!—subscribe to the newsletter if you haven’t already!
The reunion episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race will air Friday, April 6, at 8 p.m. EDT on MTV in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada. Check back every Monday 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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