RuPaul's Drag Race season 10 ends with a flutter
Saturday, June 30, 2018 at 3:30PM by Nathaniel R
Months on end of turning looks and stunting pretty have now ended with Season 10's queen crowned. So why lead with a picture of Season 9's winner Sasha Velour? It's not just that she served the season finale's best look, but that her appearance was hardly necessary. Her long shadow was already blocking out all the light on this particular finale...
This was most evident in the closing night looks and lipsyncs which all clearly indicated the flopsweat of "reveal" pressure in the wake of Sasha Velour. The Season 9 winner's rose petal cascade was an instantly legendary gag and 'So Emotional,' too, pun intended. But to chase Sasha's success at in-performance shocks was a fool's game as "reveals" only stun to that extent when you don't quite see them coming (like Roxxy's wig underneath a wig some seasons ago). With the element of surprise gone the reveals had to settle for being merely amusing/cute (Eureka stepping out of the giant poof of her skirt or her "Big Girl / Wins" text), or being obvious loud fun (Aquaria's confetti launchers), or, sadly, epic fails (Asia's "live" butterflies release). Kameron Michaels, crowned (informally) " Most Underestimated" wisely stuck to just performing. It was something of a relief to watch her, all told, as she was merely dancing/lipsynching/hair-twirling rather then trying to work through a "bit".
Worst of all was the ill-advised tie in round one which led to a three-way lipsynch finale that was utter chaos to watch -- what to even look at? Things weren't any better in the calmer "interview" section of the Beauty Pageant finale when the sit down conversations were anemic and soundbitey at best.
The Win
Aquaria had been building considerable momentum going in. She was the only contestant, really, whose looks / performances didn't feel frontloaded in the season (she improved throughout) and she took the crown. We knew she would, though, since the judges had already shown extreme generosity labelling even her minor triumphs as major. Aquaria was the best on finale night (which can and should count for something) so why did the win feel second hand? Was it our personal feeling that she's just Violet Chachki round two or that her speech felt cribbed from her competition. Surely that "second chances" acceptance speech was lifted while rifling through Eureka's ample drawers? Eureka had entered the season in phoenix gear, given a literal second chance. But, as it turns out, "second chance" inspirational speeches feel hollow when coming from a super young queen who was an assumed heavy-hitter from the very beginning and never had any losses to come back from.
Such a strange acceptance speech choice!
A talented queen won. And in the end that's good (there's usually more than one deserving winner) even though the season had already run out of air. It's fitting, somehow, that a season that proved to be so frontloaded with joy would end with a cacophony of familiar sounds all cancelling each other out. Season 10 closed with less a whisper, than a dying flutter.
Gif as Episode Grade:
Predictions and preferences chart
This includes shifting from the finale and the reunion special so it's our final ranking. Until Season 11 or All Stars Season 4!
| ACTUAL: HOW IT PLAYED OUT WITH THE JUDGING | PERSONAL RANKING. MOST DELIGHTED / ENTERTAINED / GAGGED BY AND SUCH... |
 |
 |
| Subject to change as we get to know them | |
| 1. 🔺Aquaria WINNER |
1. Eureka |
| 2. [tie] Eureka RUNNER-UP | 2. Monét X Change MISS CONGENIALITY. Yaaaas! |
| 2. [tie] Kameron Michael RUNNER-UP | 3. Monique Heart |
| 4. 🔻 Asia O'Hara | 4. 🔺Aquaria (consistent improvement and she'll be a good reigning queen. CONGRATS) |
| 5. Miz Cracker | 5. Asia O'Hara |
| 6. Monét X Change | 6. Miz Cracker |
| 7. The Vixen | 7. 🔻Kameron Michaels (giving off shady vibes at the reunion - where'd that come from?) |
| 8. Monique Heart | 8. Dusty Ray Bottoms |
| 9. Blair St Clair | 9. The Vixen |
| 10. Mayhem Miller | 10. Yuhua Hamasaki |
| 11. Dusty Ray Bottoms | 11. 🔺 Vanessa Vanjie Mateo |
| 12. Yuhua Hamasaki | 12. Blair St Clair |
| 13. Kalorie Karbdashian Williams | 13. Mayhem Miller |
| 14. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo | 14. Kalorie Karbdashian Williams |
What were your finale feelings?
Reader Comments (26)
I hate this format. I hated it last year, but this year really brought a new level of pure 1-800-HOT-MESS and a whole lotta no, ma'am's being thrown in my house. Like with Sasha and Trixie, Aquaria will always have that little "but" next to her win. She deserved it, BUT she should've been eliminated after round one.
Monique Heart is the real winner of season 10. Facts are facts, America!
Like my queen, I was #TeamAnyoneBlackandAquaria at the end. So given Asia's self-inflicted elimination, I'm happy with this outcome.
Eureka and Cracker were both victims of their own self-mythologizing. The lesson from Monique and other memorable personalities is "show, don't tell."
Aquaria deserved it and should have won round 1 over Eureka instead of a double save. Eureka was all reveal, splits and high kicks in round 1 and nothing more.
Sasha's reveals worked so well not only because of the element of surprise, but because they helped her tell a story. The reveals from this year felt like a mess because they didn't really deepen the emotional impact of the songs. Moreover, I didn't really like any of these songs for lip sync finale songs. They lent themselves to frenzied dancing and reveals without any emotional connection beneath them. Why don't they make them lip sync to Broadway songs for the finale? The Man That Got Away by Judy Garland? Don't Rain On My Parade? Cabaret? There's a treasure trove of songs that would make for great lip syncs, and all we're getting is hair flips and splits to top pop/dance songs. Over it!
I am totally fine with Aquaria winning, and Trixie for that matter. Aquaria is a real artist. Condragulations.
I liked this way more than last season's finale, and I think the right queen won.
If you told me in the beginning I'd wind up rooting for Aquaria, I'd be like "uhh, 'scuse me?" but she really rose to every occasion and exceeded expectations (despite already having a huge reputation going into the show) in a way no other queen did, in my opinion. Yes, I think she should've been in the bottom at least once, but I can't begrudge her this win. She also performed the best in the finale for sure. I wouldn't have been upset at a Eureka win--very talented, though annoying at times, but she would've hit a bunch of fan backlash. These drag race fans are ruthless.
What you didn't see, from someone who was there: Aquaria fell during her first lip sync, then was frazzled for the rest of her performance. I ended with a chant of "EUREKA" that shook the theater, no kidding. I think Ru was being careful not to let Kameron take the crown with that supposed tie, to be honest.
It was hard to watch all three the final round - too much activity - but Aquaria did appear to come out on top. Her fans eagerly responded with a loud chant when it ended but it morphed into Eureka as well, so it was clear the room was divided. Round 1 was edited heavily though and no question, Eureka won there if you believed the audience.
Sorry - IT ended in a chant, as in the dance
Euro -- interesting. I do wonder with the edits what we're missing from each performance yet somehow they seem to at least catch all the big reveals.
I am so glad AQUARIA WON! At least it's not EureKKKa and her basic ass reveals or Kameron with those same boring moves.
I feel so sad for Asia and her butterflies still.
Forever Team Vixen and Cracker!
yay, you finally moved miss vanjie up your chart!
monet x change winning miss congeniality was the real highlight of the night [although there's a video out there of the queens voting and she only won by a vote in a very spread field]
loved seeing the season one queens without a vaseline lens
after asia's butterflop there was only one deserving winner in the final three and and thank ru she won
running all stars 3 and season 10 back to back was a huge mistake. guuurl, i don't want to see another split jump for at least six months...
The rebellion and ultimate death of the butterflies was cruel and tragic.
Sharon, Alaska now Aquaria.... aspiring queens should be sending in their applications to the House of Haunt if they want to learn how to win Drag Race. :0
When Sasha Velour came on-stage to crown the next winner, my instant first thought was 'Let's scrap it altogether, and keep our reigning queen.' Everyone who accused Sasha Velour of winning just because of a gimmick should consider apologizing now. Asia's utter downfall proves that just having a gimmick won't help. Even the best of all possible outcomes (i.e. one that didn't involve mass insecticide) would have been utterly puzzling: How does releasing butterflies work with 'Nasty'? (It wouldn't have worked with 'If', either.) Asia obviously prepared that stunt before knowing what she would be lip-synching to and was intent on using it no matter what, whereas Sasha Velour decided on rose petals specifically for 'So Emotional' (and apparently also had a different idea had it been 'Stronger').
Also, when the four queens came on stage before lipsynching, I felt like turning off the TV. I love reveals as much as anyone, but if what you are wearing is obviously just built for a reveal (as all four outfits were, but especially Aquaria's), it's a reveal as dull as wearing a coat and taking it off. Watch Peppermint lip-synching to 'Stronger' last year to see a reveal that really works, because the look before the reveal actually is a look, as well, and the reveal is not expected.
Still: Aquaria won me over. I disliked her strongly in the first few episodes, and it took a while for her to grow on me, but she feels like a deserving winner (as all four would have felt, in a way - it was a season of uniformly strong queens without a clear frontrunner).
I strongly believe Ru put both Eureka and Aquaria through because (well, firstly, she loves Aquaria, but also because) she didn't want to the final two to be Kameron and one other person lest she be unable to justify giving it to the other person. Like, imagine if Kameron won. Kameron was a great lip syncer but not a great Drag Race contestant. I'm glad Eureka didn't win, though. Ugh. Not a fan of her and especially not of the faint whiff of racism she always lets off.
Poor Asia, it was so tragic watching her lip sync and have her plans fail. BUT, she deserved what she got after thinking that was appropriate. Also, the songs are FIERCE, they are not the sort of songs you do a butterfly theme to. Such a strange, baffling choice. I'm glad she's come out and admitted to how bad it was and donating her time to community service as an animal cruelty penance.
Congrats to Aquaria, a deserving winner (as most are). Agree with everyone about reveal looks being groan-inducing, etc. Props to Asia for trying something big —and in true drag tradition this will be the moment that lives on from the finale (I expect Halloween costumes, parodies in shows, etc.). Even (or especially) a major flub can be iconic. (Hi Valentina). That said, my heart goes out to the butterflies.
I really feel for Monique, Asia, and Vixen who have been most impacted (Monét seems not so much apart from twitter feuds) by the racism debates. If black (wo)men are the ones who have to answer/suffer for discussions of racism then DUH CLEARLY WE HAVE A PROBLEM! They have each seemed so broken and I wish them the best.
The biggest surprise of the night was being reminded that Yuhua went home 3rd. Wow, really?! She’s remained a powerful presence from Cracker’s Marie Antoinette look to her “the ring” girl look at the reunion. I really hope she gets another chance someway somehow.
I think this also proved that Cracker needs to maintain originality at all times. I don’t know if the reunion or the finale was filmed first but after seeing Cracker enter the finale in an elaborate black widow dress, after Vanjie had just worn something similar on the reunion, I groaned. And then she referenced her own drag on a dime performance with her performance. NOT good. Even her “you’re not good enough” deep voice used in the workroom during the inner saboteur episode and at least one other time is a rip-off of Katya. I don’t mean to hate on her—I read some of her writing and it’s insightful and nuanced. She even has moments of greatness in review with a jew. But there has been a disconnect between potential/spontaneous Cracker and the Cracker we end up seeing—which often feels forced or “borrowed.”
Also why is no one talking about Dusty’s major stink face when Monét won congeniality?! Dusty has emerged as the silent downer for me this season—-she got mad at Aquaria for not being besties with her on the show and then at Kameron for the same reason at the reunion. Now this reaction to Monét... something’s going on there! And as much as I love her looks most of the time I think the dots look good but (agreeing with Visage) when colored in or surrounded by color they look diseased.
Side note: respect to Dusty, Blair, Asia and Monique for sharing some major personal hurdles this season which takes guts. But I will note that the tone of the reunion was very much “poor Blair and Dusty and let’s praise them for being so brave... now let’s talk about what a bitch Vixen is because she needs to learn how to get over her problems” which, just no. It’s everything (double standards, unrealistic expectations) Vixen, Asia have been speaking against.
Ultimately I will rewatch early episodes of this will glee. (Too bad that Yuhua was not around for the ball because she would have killed it!)
My preference list (whose show I’d see or who I’d like to see return)
1. Monét
2. Aquaria
3. Yuhua
4. Monique
5. Vixen
6. Asia
7. Eureka
8. Cracker
9. Vanjie
10. Kameron (no denying the talent—I just feel I’ve seen what she can do)
11. Blair
12. Dusty
13. Mayhem (I could be wrong here about her actual show but she gave me little on drag race)
14. Kalorie
Another thing: Having the queens rather than the fans vote for Miss Congeniality seems like a no-brainer, especially after last year's fan favorite debate. Interestingly enough, though the vote was all over the place, with Monét winning with a mere 3 votes.
Full break.down of who got voted for by who:
Monét: 3 votes (Aquaria, Asia, Eureka)
Cracker: 2 votes (Kameron, Yuhua)
Dusty: 2 votes (Blair, Monique)
Eureka: 2 votes (Mayhem, Vanjie)
Monique: 2 votes (Dusty, Monét)
Asia: 1 vote (Kalorie)
Vanjie: 1 vote (Vixen)
Vixen: 1 vote (Cracker)
The only mutual admiration society in the entire bunch consists of Dusty and Monique.
@catbasket
Fyi, The finale was taped Jun 8, before the reunion was taped. So Cracker came up w tt Black Widow garb first.
I like the idea tt the Queens voted among themselves cos who else wld b a betta position to kno who's the most deserving Miss C! Juz wonder if Cracker or Monique get ano vote, wld they give out a tie for Miss Congeniality?
They shld totally hav two cat: one Fan Fav voted online by fans n one Miz C voted by fellow queens!
Eureka is so dull and derivative (a multiple outfit reveal does not make a good lip sync), how she made it to the top 4 I will never understand and I have to say she almost ruined the second half of the season for me.
Aquaria may be a look queen but I feel like she showed more performance skills in her season (she won Snatch Game) than Violet ever did, whose looks saved her from the bottom on more than one occasion.
Hopefully next season we will get another format for the finale or the emphasis will be on performance again rather the reveals.
Par - they are shooting AS-4 after season 11, so we will be getting back to back seasons again next winter. Eugh.
The real shock of the finale was Rebecca Glasscock pulling off a better reveal than the finalists. Your favorite could never.
One has to wonder what Asia was thinking. She tried her first butterfly reveal. It failed miserably. She tried a second - still failing. Then a third - still failing. Maybe I'm just Monday morning quarterbacking, but I feel like after that second fail I would have moved on and just tried to entertain on my own. She did a little leg movement during the "Nastyyyyy" line, but that was literally it. She deserved to lose for failing to work on the fly.
And finally - I have never seen a show whose fans were so rabidly supportive yet so entitled and willing to b-tch about every little thing that the producers decide. For example, no offense to Rami above, but people complaining that we're getting back-to-back seasons? Pshaw! The producers have given so much joy to the gay community - let them get double the ad revenue if they want it. And if you don't want to see two seasons in a row, don't watch the second season!
It just makes me think: when this show finally comes to its end, I suspect it will be with a firestorm of squabbling in the fandom.
Evan -- i totally agree. It's the single saddest thing to me about the show/phenomenon. For the most part, the show brings me unqualified joy on the regular despite an off episode here or there. I am routinely dismayed at how much hate fans show the queens that aren't their favorites. And I'm not even talking about the typical squabbles about racism (thought that's a portion of it), but just the sheer bile people spit at queens they dont personally prefer and the elaborate often stretching justifications they make for why they have deemed that queen hateful/hideous/untalented/worthy-of-constant-outrage, etcetera.
I see it here in the comments all the time and I understand why Chris gave up the recapping of the series (which is why I did it this season) because it's thankless / depressing because no matter what you write and what you're watching (and especially if you follow along on social media) it's a negative feedback loop. People are so eager to hate SOMEONE and that target can move around but whatever. Whoever it's directed at it's uncalled for and gross -- unless of course that person is spreading propaganda, committing human rights violations, oppressing or killing people or doing the promotion of those things (you know like government officials in the US of late) in which case HATE is entirely justified and should be harnessed for making those people's lives miserable.
But drag queens? I'm sorry NONE of them deserve the bile spewn at them. No matter how polarizing a queen is on any given season (Vixen and Eureka this go around but it'll be one to three others next season), in the end they're all just entertainers trying to make a living, loosen up society's hangups about gender, and brighten up people's lives along the way.
Well put, Nathaniel. I'm a relatively recent viewer of RPDR (have only watched the last 3 seasons) and yeah, I learned right away not to read fan boards, etc., as they apparently have a sizable amount of uncalled-for bile for whoever is unpopular (or popular) at the moment, as well as some awful racism, etc. So I watch and enjoy (and sure, criticize here and there - but within reason) and stay out of the internet discussions.
Except for here! I like the recaps and hope they continue. Thanks, as ever!
Evan. I’m a massive fan of the show and love it so much. And as a fan I would like to see it prosper and having an AS4 so soon to me means over-saturation and devalues the brand. The last all stars season had some issues mainly because the cast was around 50% queens who I like but never registered as stars of their season. Compare that to the casts of As1 and As2 which each had 4 regular seasons each in between shooting. To me all stars should be the best of the best. That said I will watch the show religiously (I always do). If I wanna watch and be wary of the direction the show is taking that is my (and each audience members ) prerogative and doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what the show has done and achieved for the community. Much love. :))))
Bless, this final was very meh, but Aquaria is the most deserving for sure.
<3 season 1 girls intro
Oh Asia... Bless
About the reunion
I really don't get this thing of Kameron Michaels being shady! Like, did we see the same reunion episode?
Like, they try to shame The Vixen for expressing too many opinions and Kameron for being quiet and not showing his opinions. Wtf. I think these complaining queens are relying a bit too much on their charisma. Monique and Dusty came out too much like bitter queens, Monique talk the talk but don't walk the walk, Like girl, why didn't you stone the dress while listening to the damn lipsync music, stoning with hot glue is not a demanding task, learn the words. And Dusty readings, like, ok the library didn't seem to close.
:O
Rooted for Eureka and sad that she lost, but whatever. Asia's stunt fail was horrific. Kameron was just there, as usual. Aquaria was never one of my favs, and she overdid it for all of her lip syncs. But congratulations? Violet Chachki, round two is entirely accurate. Already ready for AS4.