S13.E17: Grand Finale

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

It’s time to crown our winner, baby! The top 4 queens compete in a finale lip sync smackdown in the race to crown “America’s Next Drag Superstar.” The queens also pick a Miss Congeniality.

Original air date: 4/23/21

[AntManBee]

A great ending can save a meh season!

[Michichick]

3 minutes ago, AntManBee said:

A great ending can save a meh season!

This seems to indicate Kandi didn’t win so I guess I’ll be able to watch this episode after all!

[Ohiopirate02]

The right queen won, but Kandi did not deserve to be in the final lipsync.   

[rlc]

I wish they had kept the camera on Olivia’s face when Lala was named Miss Congeniality. I bet it rivaled Jan’s face in the Michelle Visage challenge.

[Ananayel]

While the final result was acceptable, this entire season was just nonstop stupid fuckery in service of some agenda other than finding and rewarding the best drag performers. Rose out first? Kandy Fucking Ganache in the F2? Oh hell naw. The only redeeming parts of this shitfest were the tribute to Chi Chi and the actual winner. I may be out after this. Congrats, Ru, you took my favorite show and spewed crap all over it. I can't even get all worked up about All-Stars being streaming only, since it will likely be another annoying shitfest. 

With that said, Symone is a deserving and talented winner, but should never have been put in the position of even entertaining the notion that Fucking Kandy could beat her. And given Kandy's inexplicable propping-up all season, and Ru's unfathomable devotion, it was a real possibility.

[Koalagirl]

I was pulling for anyone but Kandi to win so I’m happy with the result.

I thought Rose’s face looked wonky - kind of swollen and one eye looked half closed.

In general I found the finale kind of boring. I think last year was better considering it was also held during quarantine. 

 

[phoenix780]

I think this season was about creating possible all stars. Gottmik, Rose, Denali, Utica, Elliott, Lala, Tamisha- lots of good. They overwhelmed it with the mediocre, mean Kandy (they're brilliant editors, couldn't show off her talent even once really) and a racist recurring guest judge but overall...lots of people I'd watch again. 

[Dewey Decimate]

All hail Symone - a strong, sexy, funny, creative, gorgeous queen! Thoroughly pleased that she won, though what a bizarrely anticlimactic final lip synch. Obviously this stuff is all set up, so why would they have Rose vs. Kandy as the first round? Did the magnets on the back of the carnival wheel fail?

I think both of Kandy's lip synchs AND her outfits were better than she's done all season. Still under par compared to the other finalists, but *shrug* I'll throw her a bone. Why did she look petrified/dazed for the entire show,  other than during her "interview"? Which must appear in quotes since it was really just a disturbing cackle-fest on Ru's inevitable road to dementia. (She seems to be just a step or two away from Baby Jane territory. )

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

Why did she look petrified/dazed for the entire show,  other than during her "interview"? Which must appear in quotes since it was really just a disturbing cackle-fest on Ru's inevitable road to dementia. (She seems to be just a step or two away from Baby Jane territory. )

My husband said during the Kandy interview that if Ru forced those laughs any harder she’d fall right off the stage.

Even though it’s a relief that Symone beat Kandy, it’s still a lame season when the person everybody predicted would win the season way back on the first couple of episodes ends up being the person who wins the season.  
 

This season worked extra hard to drain out all the suspense.  Pretty much every single producer-driven decision was misguided, and that includes tonight’s incredibly dull finale.  The final two lip-syncing gave audiences a choice of either seeing the most predictable person winning or else a person whose win would be such an outrageously bad decision a lot of people would stop watching the show.  That’s not good tv.

Since last season was so good and this season was so bad, next season has to be good, right?

[roctavia]

Can't complain about the winner, but man, the execution left something to be desired!! The drive in thing was a cool way to still sort of have some audience, but other than that, it was kind of a snoozefest. The opening was fun with all the different outfits, but then my FFwd button got a lot of action through most of the interviews and other stuff. The memorial for Chichi was really nice, so I'm glad that was part of this.... 

But those lip syncs.... Did Rose say she hurt her leg during her interview? Her moves seemed pretty lackluster for her being a dancer, so in some ways I wasn't totally surprised Kandy was the winner, but still... if anything Gottmik vs Symone was a much better "finale" lipsync.  With Kandy and Symone it was just going through the motions. 

I'm not usually a big fan of the finales anyway (though that's a trend with most of these competition shows I watch) I like the challenges and having to get creative and do other things besides lip sync and look good.... 

[Blissfool]

Why did I not know before today that Rosé's boy name is Ross? Duh!

Does the show ever mention their boy names? The only one I think I knew was Reggie.

Kandy winning over Rosé was blasphemous and I don't even hate Kandy. 

[30 Helens]

One good thing happened this episode: Symone won. 

The rest of it? A rotation of: Meh. Snooze. FFS. 

I know this is all predetermined and what we see is just pageantry before Ru does what Ru’s gonna do, but Kandy achieving second place, beating out BOTH Rosé and Gottmik, felt like a big FU to the fans. And anyone with taste. Also, I know everything was scaled down due to the pandemic, but was there no budget left to create a decent looking stage? My husband commented that the beaded curtain backdrop looked like it had been chewed by squirrels. (On second thought, maybe it was just designed by Kandy.)

Congrats to Symone. Hope to see Rosé again in an All Stars season. 

[lyric]

I haven't laughed as hard in weeks as when those things came shooting out of Symone's hair. Glad she won - was pulling for her or Rosé. For such an uneven season, I think there were some strong queens - all stars 7(?)) will be stacked. The problem this year wasn't the queens, it was Production / Ru.

Symone is easily one of my favorite winners.

[akr]

Did Kandy Muse mean to do something else with her outfit for the second lip synch? I was expecting yet another reveal (beyond the flag), because the white jumpsuit just wasn't that flattering. The rest of her outfits tonight were really good, though. Maybe there was a reference I didn't get.

Congrats to Symone, and La La Ri! Two of my favorites from the get-go. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by akr

[Vermicious Knid]

Rosé's family for the win!

And she absolutely should have won over Kandy. Final should have been Rosé vs Symone. Kandy did not deserve to be saved way back on episode 6. Or 7. Whichever it was. All Stars will probably be much better but since it will not be broadcast I won't be watching.

[stormy weather]

I only have three things to say (apart from the fact I'm very happy and relieved Symone won, she truly deserved it and had been my favorite all along):

1. if that's really Kandy Muse's mom, wow girl. How old was she when she had Kandy? Minus 10 years old? She looks like a teenager!

2. I can't help but think the spinning wheel was rigged, because the only way to make sure Kandy would be in the final two was to have her lipsync against Rosé. Gottmik wasn't exactly my favorite, but she deserved a spot in the final lipsync more than Kandy, who IMO didn't even deserve to be in the final 4 (or in the final 10, for that matter). 

3. I loved Denali's cactus outfit, and I think she's the queen this season did the greatest disservice to. She deserved more. Also great outfits were Utica's and Heidi n' Closet's rose dress. She looked so beautiful!

[PhoneCop]

5 hours ago, Blissfool said:

Does the show ever mention their boy names? The only one I think I knew was Reggie.

Other than family videos (sometimes), we usually get this exchange when they bring out the finalists' baby photos:

Ru: Do you have anything to say to little [boy name]?

Finalist: It gets better/Be yourself at all costs/You are beautiful no matter what they say, words can't bring you down.

[Blakeston]

While I'm no fan of Kandy's by any means, I thought she genuinely deserved to win the lip sync with Rosé.

Rosé was completely lackluster - she might as well have just pulled up a chair and started knitting or something. I really thought she'd have cooked up something more clever than those pitiful Ruveals.

My reaction to the wheel was that the producers were probably pissed off about the results. I think they wanted a Symone/Gottmik final 2, which was the only matchup with any dramatic tension about who would win.

Goodbye to this season, which IMO was easily the worst of the 13 seasons. Hopefully Ru will learn from this, and make next season shorter, and not go so overboard hyping an untalented contestant just because they're a shit-stirrer.

[RoxiP]

Rose did say she was in an accident and badly sprained her ankle.

[AntManBee]

3 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Rose did say she was in an accident and badly sprained her ankle.

While Rose did have a sprained ankle, that shouldn’t have affected her lackluster, and rather flat looking, bodysuit reveal.

[violet and green]

I thoroughly enjoyed that. I had to keep pausing and rewinding the stream to catch something in greater detail. Some rotter spoiled me about Rosé going out first, so I had low expectations and kind of geared myself up to being okay with a Gottmik win. Her outfits really were amazing in the finale. The tribute to Chi Chi was really moving, and I wished we'd had more moments like that of queens being real in this season.

As soon as that damn wheel started spinning, I said aloud, it will be Rosé. I think maybe Kandy did beat her in the lip sync - but then Kandy should never have made it to the finale. Eh...

Given I picked Symone to win from a picture of the cast pre-season, it felt - while right, and a relief after all this season put me through - kind of anti-climactic and obvious. All that lengthy bullshit, to end up there. Why not show us relationships, conversations, realness, and more of the makeup application, some design challenges as per other seasons, and less drama from polarising contestants like the Moose. Who seemed kind of cowed in that finale... 

Other random thoughts: Were Gottmik's jaw implants even larger?! Made her look very squared off in her makeup...

Rosé did look a bit puffy... I was worried about her ankle in those high-heeled boots, having had a bad high ankle sprain that took many months to recover from myself.

What was with Kandy standing still with her back to the camera for what seemed a lot of song and then flourishing a flag, in that final lip sync? Couldn't be bothered to pause that more than twice to figure out what the hell had happened...

Simone's a great winner. I just wish we didn't have to get tortured so much to get to the end result.

[Blissfool]

 

27 minutes ago, violet and green said:

Other random thoughts: Were Gottmik's jaw implants even larger?! Made her look very squared off in her makeup...

I thought so too. I didn't think I t was flattering. 

27 minutes ago, violet and green said:

Rosé did look a bit puffy.

 

Yes she did. 

And I thought her struts down the runway were awkward.

27 minutes ago, violet and green said:

What was with Kandy standing still with her back to the camera for what seemed a lot of song and then flourishing a flag, in that final lip sync? 

Yes!

[belligerent]

8 hours ago, Glade said:

I'm really sad that Gottmik didn't win; that would have been something great for the transgender community today, and instead we got Caitlyn Jenner running for governor.  Anyway, her looks were amazing tonight. 

I'm personally kind of glad she didn't win, in a way. If the first (and probably only, unfortunately) trans man on Drag Race won, there'd be an unspoken asterisk next to that win for a large percentage of cis people who think that for some bizarre reason, things are easier if you're trans because they believe people want to give things to you undeserved. I don't know if there are a lot of trans men doing drag with the kind of resume that Gottmik has, though, so I would be really surprised to see another get as far. Sometimes I entertain the idea of doing drag, but I'd have to shave off my beard and learn how to walk in heels to have any chance at a non-delusional drag race audition, lol.

Symone winning is probably the best possible outcome of this season, imo. I don't feel like it was much of a surprise, but I got really nervous at the end of Symone vs. Kandy that Ru was about to do something stupid.

I couldn't really pay attention to the Bette Midler number because it made me cry. I'm glad they did a tribute to Chi Chi, too, although it made me cry harder.

I also love LaLa as Miss Congeniality.

[phoenix780]

3 hours ago, Blakeston said:

My reaction to the wheel was that the producers were probably pissed off about the results. I think they wanted a Symone/Gottmik final 2, which was the only matchup with any dramatic tension about who would win.

I disagree, because I think they brought Kandy there specifically to make sure whoever was their chosen winner would win clearly. They saw them all lip sync week one, they saw Kandy specifically, what, three more times. Hell, didn't she and Symone even face off before?

Symone's lip syncs all have a similar vibe to me. Entertaining but not as big as a finale performance might demand against someone as creative as Gottmik. Kandy, though...not a dancer, never really had a stunt or reveal... beatable. They knew that. I think they got what they wanted. 

Plus, Kandy in the final two, possibly winning, was all the dramatic tension they needed. Even if you aren't into Symone, you might feel relieved it's not Kandy winning because of her edit, and so you'll be a happy ish viewer in the end. 

Side note, as much as I don't like Kandy the character on RuPaul, they did Kandy the person dirty with the edit (and with the unwarranted praise, if she really is as arrogant as shown). 

This definitely is the first season in a while where production is the star. 

[rlc]

More thoughts on the finale: the right queen won, and I have no issues with that, but the finale (and pretty much every finale since Sasha Velour’s win) lacked joy. The lip syncs are stunted and limited by everyone trying to top each other with a reveal. The costumes are no longer as clever (Symone excluded) they are often breathtaking, but merely a display of who is best financed. Let’s be honest. The decision about the winner has been made long ago. Don’t put them through their paces during the finale. Just celebrate the queens and the season, and crown whoever Ru and production decided was the winner months ago.

Edited April 24, 2021 by rlc

[Ms.Lulu]

This morning I watched last year's finale and realized I liked it so much better.  

Jaida, Crystal and Gigi were more likable and authentic and I knew I would be happy with any of them winning.  This year I felt that the finale, like the season, was too long.  And there was a chance I would be disappointed in the winner.

That said, I was happy for the Chi Chi tribute.  And I liked the call out to Lawrence Chaney and Ellie Diamond in the Rose interview.

I am looking forward to Drag Race Down Under and Allstars.

Edited April 24, 2021 by PDXlulu

[Ohiopirate02]

1 hour ago, rlc said:

More thoughts on the finale: the right queen won, and I have no issues with that, but the finale (and pretty much every finale since Sasha Velour’s win) lacked joy. The lip syncs are stunted and limited by everyone trying to top each other with a reveal. The costumes are no longer as clever (Symone excluded) they are often breathtaking, but merely a display of who is best financed. Let’s be honest. The decision about the winner has been made long ago. Don’t put them through their paces during the finale. Just celebrate the queens and the season, and crown whoever Ru and production decided was the winner months ago.

With regards to the best financed, I wish the show would put a cap on how much a queen can spend.  It's obvious over the course of the season and by her finale looks that Gottmik had much deeper pockets than a lot of the girls.  If you told me that Gottmik's eleganza look cost as much as Kandy spent on all of her finale outfits, I would believe you.  While Kandy was my least favorite queen this season, and I question the editing because what I saw did not match Ru's and Ross's reactions to her, I do feel bad that she does not have the same reserves as her competition.  Rose also has some deeper pockets or was able to cash in some favors for her looks.  

[Keywestclubkid]

Congrats Simone

Edited April 24, 2021 by Keywestclubkid

[Ananayel]

27 minutes ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

With regards to the best financed, I wish the show would put a cap on how much a queen can spend.  It's obvious over the course of the season and by her finale looks that Gottmik had much deeper pockets than a lot of the girls.  If you told me that Gottmik's eleganza look cost as much as Kandy spent on all of her finale outfits, I would believe you.  While Kandy was my least favorite queen this season, and I question the editing because what I saw did not match Ru's and Ross's reactions to her, I do feel bad that she does not have the same reserves as her competition.  Rose also has some deeper pockets or was able to cash in some favors for her looks.  

Make more looks in the workroom, and have the show provide X dollar amount to each contestant to make the specialty things they are supposed to bring (it may mean more lead time.) They have to provide receipts and documentation for anything other than wigs, shoes, makeup and undergarments. Some queens will still have a leg up, like a Bianca or a Gigi with the costume designer mother, but it will stop one queen from showing up with $30K worth of stuff and another showing up with $3K worth, only to get read by Michelle that you don't need money. Seasoned queens also have far more already in their closets than a queen who's been doing it for a couple of years or less.

[Adeejay]

Ho hum! Glad Simone won.  Kandi had no business in the final four let alone final two.  Thought Olivia was a lock for Miss Congeniality.  Saw a post by Miss Kandi saying, "see you on All Stars".  Hope not, but who am I kidding.  

[Glade]

5 hours ago, belligerent said:

I'm personally kind of glad she didn't win, in a way. If the first (and probably only, unfortunately) trans man on Drag Race won, there'd be an unspoken asterisk next to that win for a large percentage of cis people who think that for some bizarre reason, things are easier if you're trans because they believe people want to give things to you undeserved.

It definitely would have been a deserved win, regardless of what some transphobic fans said, and I'd say let them cry it out, it would have been an inspiring win either way. 

[7-Zark-7]

I think it would help if the ball challenge had some effect on the outcome. Perhaps there should have been a winner declared for that part, let's say Gottmik, and then instead of spinning a wheel to see who lip syncs against whom, Gottmik would be able to chose the queen to lip sync against. Or the person who wins the ball challenge immediately advances to the final, the queen who comes in last in the challenge sashays away, and the middle two have to lip sync against each other to get to the final. I don't know. Just spitballing. But it seems odd to have such amazing (and expensive) looks come down the runway with no advantage for the contestants. It's like WoW is saying "Hey queens, wouldn't it be cool for you to spend an additional $10k-$20k of your money just for kicks?"

Whatever, I'm glad Symone won, but that finale needed Denali.  Most of the lip syncs were tepid and she would have breathed some life into it by tearing up the stage on "Work Bitch".

Edited April 24, 2021 by 7-Zark-7

[kicotan]

6 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

I think they brought Kandy there specifically to make sure whoever was their chosen winner would win clearly.

Bingo!!! She was clearly outshined by Symone.

1 hour ago, Glade said:

It definitely would have been a deserved win, regardless of what some transphobic fans said, and I'd say let them cry it out, it would have been an inspiring win either way. 

Not everyone who is critical of GottMik’s participation is transphobic or identifies as cis and I think it does a disservice to critiques of Gottmik’s performance to suggest that.  There are folks who, regardless of orientation or sociological level of acceptance, will read Ru as trying to make amends for past trans-gressions by handing a crown to someone who, arguably, presented the same makeup and costuming on every runway.  Portraying Paris Hilton for Snatch Game was no stretch either, the vocal fry and mannerisms are already the same in every talking head interview.  Gottmik can’t dance, either.

6 hours ago, rlc said:

The decision about the winner has been made long ago. Don’t put them through their paces during the finale. Just celebrate the queens and the season, and crown whoever Ru and production decided was the winner months ago.

Exactly.

If they all had to show up with just toiletries and pajamas and everything else had to be sourced from the sponsors trunk of treasures...well now THAT would make for an interesting season!!!  Not likely, but one can hope!!!
 

[Gracie123]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I kept wanting to yell at Rose during her lipsync, "DO SOMETHING!  DO ANYTHING!"

Ridiculously happy that Symone took it.

 

Team: Anynone but Kandy.

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

Saw a post by Miss Kandi saying, "see you on All Stars".  Hope not, but who am I kidding.

It’s inevitable, and for those who think this season of the regular show was rigged, you ain’t seen anything like the way they rig All Stars.  She’ll probably win. 😬

[violet and green]

1 hour ago, Gracie123 said:

I kept wanting to yell at Rose during her lipsync, "DO SOMETHING!  DO ANYTHING!"

Read elsewhere that Rosé fainted before her lipsync. I would expect, from pain.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Is there a reason why the finale isn't available  to stream on VH1? I didn't watch it live and it doesn't appear to be available as every previous episode has been the day after airing.

[Blakeston]

17 hours ago, phoenix780 said:

I disagree, because I think they brought Kandy there specifically to make sure whoever was their chosen winner would win clearly. They saw them all lip sync week one, they saw Kandy specifically, what, three more times. Hell, didn't she and Symone even face off before?

If the goal was to protect Symone, why would they put her up against her biggest competition (Gottmik) in round 1, giving Symone the worst chance of making it to the final 2?

9 hours ago, bobbyjoe said:

It’s inevitable, and for those who think this season of the regular show was rigged, you ain’t seen anything like the way they rig All Stars.  She’ll probably win. 😬

As much as Ru's decisions are infuriating, I think she knows better than to give the crown to a despised queen. The last time she crowned someone who was widely disliked by the audience, it was season 2 (Tyra).

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ru was really phoning it in during that silver and gold performance. I liked the costume though.

I was surprised that we breezed through the finalists in three different runway looks by the six minute mark. Then I thought oh crap, does this mean we're in for an hour and 24 minutes of filler?

Kandy stuck out like a sore thumb during the runways and not in a good way. As usual, her outfits looked so cheap compared to everyone else's. The only one that looked finale worthy was her peacock eleganza ballgown. Her red look was an improvement from most of her runway looks during the season but it still looked like something from the mall that she embellished with stuff from the craft store.

On the other end of the spectrum, Symone killed all three looks. And wow, she went for it with the hair! I loved that even with that huge black and white gown, she incorporated the bandana print. The red nail look made me laugh. From a distance, her red dress just looked sparkly so I loved that it was covered in red nails. The hair with the hands holding up her ponytails was so fun. The white goddess warrior look with the Medusa hair was very dramatic.

I wasn't crazy about Rosé's red look, but I give her props for wearing something with a very fitted silhouette and not a ruffle in sight (the headdress was beautiful though). Loved her My Fair Lady look! I don't know what she did differently with her makeup but it looked different and better than her runway makeup during the runways from the rest of the season. I liked her eleganza look. I liked the cool color palette and the big bustle/train. She looked amazing in that.

For me, Gottmik's black and white Pinhead look was forgettable but her other two looks were good. Her red Keith Haring look was very bold and graphic and I liked that it was a different look for her. Her eleganza look was goth but more elevated than some of the goth looks from earlier in the season. This was very polished and sophisticated. It was a like goth version of the wicked stepmother from Snow White.

Rosé and Symone were by far the best in the Friends lip sync. Rosé was the only one who was good in the boy section.

Loved the Chi Chi tribute and hearing what all the queens had to say about her. Poor Kim Chi seemed on the verge of tears.

I wish Ru would ban wardrobe reveals from the finale LSFYLs. They're not as dramatic as the queens think and they're such a waste of time. On top of that, it means they all start out with weird lumpy outfits to cover the costumes underneath. I give credit to Symone though. Both of her outer costumes looked like real outfits which is more than the other queens can really say. Of all the LSFYL reveals that happened in this finale, the only good one was Symone opening that black coat to reveal her gold dress. Sometimes simple is better, people.

Between Kandy and Rosé, I didn't like either outfit. But it didn't matter. Rosé could have had the most amazing costume and the best LSFYL of her life. There's no way that Ru was going to choose her over her season long pet Kandy. On a shallow note, Rosé's makeup looked like it reverted back to her usual look from earlier in the season. Her foundation looked like it was about four shades too light.

Gottmik had the bad luck to be wearing a red outfit with red hair in front of a red backdrop. She went with a much more choreographed lip sync, but Symone easily won that LSFYL. She is such a natural performer and her facial expressions are so great.

Of all the eliminated queens, my favorite looks were Denali, Olivia, Tanisha, La La Ri, and Utica. Denali's cactus look was fun. Olivia's orange costume looked like she probably just wrapped a piece of fabric around herself but she still looked gorgeous. Tanisha looked so glam. La La Ri's was bold and colorful. Utica's black fitted gown was such a departure from her wacky looks. Awww, congratulations to LaLa Ri for winning Miss Congeniality!

In the final LSFYL, Kandy's white bodysuit was so boring. I think it was also a mistake to wear a wig with bangs so long that we could barely see her eyes. Loved Symone's black leather looking outfit at the beginning. It was giving me Rhythm Nation vibes. The gold dress underneath was simple but she looked like a fucking supermodel in it.

THANK FUCK Symone won! It would have been an absolute travesty if Kandy had been crowned America's next drag superstar.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Symone & Kandy lip sync to Till the World Ends

Top 4 watch the finale live

Pit Stop: Trixie Mattel & Katya

 

[phoenix780]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

If the goal was to protect Symone, why would they put her up against her biggest competition (Gottmik) in round 1, giving Symone the worst chance of making it to the final 2?

Gottmik isn't a strong lip syncer, but she's creative and smart. She wouldn't out dance Symone. She could have a better reveal, but as production you'd know what it is in advance. You can kill it if you want, or just kill the impact in the way you edit the performance, but it's not likely she'd pull out the big guns in round one anyway so that's probably not necessary. Even if she had, she'd also have a secure victory against Kandy giving a lot of viewers a positive experience in the end. So, if I'm producing I'd make them battle first too. Low risk to Symone, but either outcome nets me happy fans when we wrap. 

When I get annoyed with a show I think too much about how I'd put it together. Bit of a conspiracy theory but...reality television is all fake stories packaged as true. It is a conspiracy, to entertain (well, for ad rates). 

21 hours ago, Ananayel said:

It's obvious over the course of the season and by her finale looks that Gottmik had much deeper pockets than a lot of the girls.

I'm not sure how that's unfair, because from what I know of Gottmik she earned her deeper pockets through her makeup skills. 

I'm conflicted about the impact of cash on this show. On the one hand I reflexively think it's unfair. But when I think about it, to me they'll all have different advantages, and they're judged by the judges to different standards. Maybe that all balances out somehow? 

I think the bigger advantage all of the final four had, arguably, are connections to the show through relationships with former contestants. They all had access to a ton of knowledge that some of the others wouldn't. Deep pockets will help impress viewers trained to think good drag requires high polish. Won't save you from not understanding editing, or how to work on a tv set. 

[ladle]

Is Rupaul recovering from back surgery or something?  That opening performance was... wooden.

This was a bullshit season, but at least the right person won.

[Dandesun]

21 hours ago, ladle said:

Is Rupaul recovering from back surgery or something?  That opening performance was... wooden.

This was a bullshit season, but at least the right person won.

I was just thinking 'Well, RuPaul IS over 60...' Looks great but the bones are old.

The right person did win. At least there was that.

[Blakeston]

On 4/25/2021 at 10:59 AM, phoenix780 said:

Gottmik isn't a strong lip syncer, but she's creative and smart. She wouldn't out dance Symone. She could have a better reveal, but as production you'd know what it is in advance. You can kill it if you want, or just kill the impact in the way you edit the performance, but it's not likely she'd pull out the big guns in round one anyway so that's probably not necessary. Even if she had, she'd also have a secure victory against Kandy giving a lot of viewers a positive experience in the end. So, if I'm producing I'd make them battle first too. Low risk to Symone, but either outcome nets me happy fans when we wrap. 

But if Gottmik wasn't a threat to Symone, who would be? Rosé with her injury, who wasn't very good in her lip sync against Olivia? Or Kandy, who was destroyed by Symone the first time they lip synced?

Personally, the only way I would have questioned whether Symone would win the final lip sync is if she was up against Mik, who was predicted by many to win the season. Ru was never going to make Kandy or Rosé the big winner.

[BarneySays]

On 4/25/2021 at 10:59 AM, phoenix780 said:

I'm not sure how that's unfair, because from what I know of Gottmik she earned her deeper pockets through her makeup skills. 

why would the source of one's wealth matter?  The issue is how money affects the playing field.  I find the emphasis on expensive rags to be dull, but there's really no way to rectify the problem.

This ending was befitting the dumpster fire of a season this was.  

[30 Helens]

34 minutes ago, BarneySays said:

  I find the emphasis on expensive rags to be dull, but there's really no way to rectify the problem.

They could set a spending limit per garment (which would be hard to enforce) or require them to make all garments on site (which would be very time consuming as well as discriminatory against those who lack sewing skills). So yeah, probably no good way to fix it. Besides, many viewers tune in for the looks, and if the looks lose their “wow” factor, ratings could decline. If anything, I believe the show will encourage contestants to spend more.

[Ohiopirate02]

This article on Vice was published before the finale 

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3dmav/what-does-it-cost-to-go-on-rupauls-drag-race

I hope that the season 13 queens did not take out outrageous loans for the competition.  The lingering pandemic makes it harder for them to turn their appearance into the coins necessary to pay back any loans.  

 

 

[Kaboom 2.0]

Y'all I teared up during the in memoriam to Chi Chi, the tears actually came by the time  Kim Chi appeared. 

I was underwhelmed by everything else except Symone, her looks and her win; everything Mother (Tamisha) said and did; and of course La La named Miss Congeniality. Rose deserved better.

I can't believe I will most likely end up getting sucked into watching the next All Stars. I have so many other streaming stuff, should I get the WOW plus service or whatever its called so I can watch the non-US versions of Drag Race?? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

30 minutes ago, Kaboom 2.0 said:

should I get the WOW plus service or whatever its called so I can watch the non-US versions of Drag Race?? 

Now that there are so many other non-US versions, it's worth the money if you love Drag Race. There are 2 seasons for the UK (plus 1 season of God Shave the Queens showing the S1 girls on tour which was super fun), 1 for Canada, 1 for the Netherlands, and 2 seasons for Thailand, all of which have already aired. The two new shows coming up are Spain and Australia. You also get access to Werq the World, which follows the queens on the official tour.

Edited April 29, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo