The first time I clicked on Rupaul’s Drag Race, I was confused. I was ten years old and I didn’t know what drag was. I was flipping through the channels and I ended up on Logo. When I saw the word “Race,” I thought it was going to be about cars, which I had no interest in, but it also had the word “Drag” in it, renewing my interest. I am very grateful that there was nothing on TV that day because I easily became obsessed with this show. The show has educated me on the drag community and the gay community which made it stand out to me amongst all the other reality shows that have lots of fights, but no lessons. Though I love the show to death, I’ve noticed some changes that did not bother me at first, but after finishing season 9, I’ve been starting to miss some of the classic aspects of RPDR.
1. The Original Untucked Lounge
I have to mention the legendary untucked lounge. The cocktails, the couches, but, most importantly the T, all added up to make the most memorable moments in drag race history or herstory in drag race terminology. It has been replaced with three couches and a makeup station, all placed directly behind the stage. There is still cocktails and T, but the atmosphere is not the same. Though it probably won’t be brought back, a girl can dream.
2. The Reruns
In the past, before the new episode would show, previous episodes would be aired all day leading up to the new one. Also, in case you missed the new episode, it would show a second time. Or, it would be on the website, but for some reason that wasn’t the case for season 9 once it got put on Vh1. I was at college at the time with no television and not being able to watch it was killing me! I was dodging spoilers like they were assignments. Anyways, for All Stars 3, I hope there are more reruns and that it gets put back on the Logo website.
3. Mini-challenges
I understand that by making the main challenges longer in season 9, the mini challenges either have to be cut or shortened. However, the mini challenges to me were like little warm ups for the queens that would let them be silly and relaxed before the main challenge. I really enjoyed the dancing mini-challenges and the ones that had the queens come up with some kind of look or character.
4. The Original Reunion(mixed feelings)
I liked the very first kind of reunion because the queens got to sit down with each other and resolve their issues. On the other hand, I do like the grand finale where the audience can watch the queens lip sync. It gives the audience a chance to interact with the queens more.
A combination of both is great which is what season 9 did and I thought I would love it but…
Throughout the first part of the reunion, I felt like each queen didn’t get a fair amount of attention, For example, James Mansfield read someone and that was about it. Kimora Blac had a small moment when she was arguing with Nina Bo’nina Brown. Cynthia gave the Miss Congeniality to Valentina after she won it. That’s really the only thing that she did which was funny to me because her return to the show was such a big deal. It would have been interesting if they were to touch upon that.
Most of the attention went to the drama evolving around Valentina, which makes for good television so it makes sense, still, I wish the other queens would have gotten more recognition since they work so hard. The producers could have given out their Instagram’s when the camera panned over their face, something! If they were going to rush through the first part of the reunion, they should have just stuck with the live one.
5. Unpredictability
In the earlier seasons of RPDR, there were a lot of times when I was shook because the twist was so unexpected. In most recent seasons, I find myself predicting and being correct about what the twist is going to be. For example, when the lip sync is over and there is a long pause, I can tell that a queen is either coming back or both queens that were lip syncing are staying or going home. I have no problem with both queens staying if they both slayed the lip sync, however, when it comes to returning queens, I no longer see the point in it. Most queens that returned during the middle of the competition, have went home on that same challenge.
Then on All Stars 2, all the eliminated queens came back which made me happy since I live for Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna, but it also felt like an act to extend the season. The whole season seemed to be a setup to be “Rupaul’s Best Friend Race,” so it was not shocking to me when Roxxy Andrews, Detox and Alaska were in the top with Katya. I just want the show to have twists that are reasonable and not set up to rig the show, making the winner obvious. If I wanted to know who the winner was, I would watch those videos on YouTube that "predict" which queens are going home before the show even airs.
For more information: Watch RPDR!
