Warning: the following contains spoilers for DRAGULA season 2 finale.
Grotesque, obscene, and glamorous: The Boulet Brothers’ DRAGULA season 2 is filled with more drama and thrill than ever before.
On October 31, 2016, the series aired their first episode leaving viewers with chills. DRAGULA gives lovers of RuPaul’s Drag Race deja vu, only for it to shatter expectations with its shock-factor nature. Lovers of horror and drag can find themselves cozy in the adrenaline rush that the show has to offer.
The idea of the format is this: nine monstrous queens are selected from auditions, each are put to the test for one to be crowned as the best drag supermonster of that season. The winner will walk away with $10,000 prize. The show is meant to assist the winning queen launch her career as a drag queen. For those who are unfamiliar, this format is identical to RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Now watchable on Youtube, the Boulet Brothers have returned and it is finally time to watch the season finale of Season 2. Preceded by the episode “The Last Supper,” it begins comically. We are surprised and entertained by the appearance of Meatball, the drag queen, in a Scooby-Doo-inspired door-gag bit.
Later, we are reunited with the exterminated contestants of past episodes. The Boulet Brothers slowly creep past their “deceased” bodies in an eerie, abandoned basement stopping at every other queen to give them what seems like one last critique, reminding them what got them there in the first place. When Swanthula, the shortest of the Boulet Brothers, arrives at the feet of Disasterina’s lifeless body she says,
“Disasterina. Always so full of confidence. You know, a little low self-esteem, or some jealousy, some hate, something, could have made you so much more deadly. I mean, after all, if you can’t hate yourself, how in the hell are you going to hate somebody else?”
It felt as though chills crawled down my spine when I first heard this. This show truly feels as though it is the “upside-down” version of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
After all of the oozing angst, it came down to our finalists: Victoria Elizabeth Black, James Majesty, and Biqtch Puddin.
The Boulet Brothers then communicate to a crystal ball in efforts to find who the finalist is. The crystal ball insists that all three contestants die, leaving the brothers stumped. As this certainly didn’t answer their question, the final three then prepare for a classic runway challenge. Their looks on the runway must reflect the show’s true themes of “glam, filth, and horror”.
In discussion of the previous reunion episode, James Majesty thoughtfully apologizes for the malicious persona she painted herself up to be during the beginning of the competition. She hopes to have a bond with the other three contestants once the madness is over, and the supermonster queen is chosen.
Each of the final contestants have a one-on-one interview with the camera. Victoria takes the moment to thank drag as being a middle-ground haven for all of her personal interests. James promotes her opinion that DRAGULA is bound to change drag forever; she is ready to be the supermonster of this drag movement. Biqtch mentions bullying in her childhood for being feminine and turning to video games, selecting the strong women characters as a sense of self-empowerment.
Before the final challenge, the Boulet Brothers they tell victoria that she is a source of talent and has been amazing from the very beginning. They admit that in some way they wanted her to feel less appreciated to give her more drive.
Although James recites that the DRAGULA family bond is the closest thing she’s had, it leaves viewers confused because she spent much of her time slandering majority of the other queens throughout the competition. Biqtch gushes about her experience of DRAGULA as a magical one. Facing insecurities from the beginning, she takes a vow to not become a victim of conformity.
The time came for the long anticipated challenge that left us all “gagging”. Each queen was first pinned to the concept of “glam”. James slaughtered the runway with a floor-length gown with red embellishments, assisted with an urn of ashes, that even the Boulet Brothers praised as it gave her look more of a story.
The highlight of the theme of “filth” had to be Victoria. Despite her other contestants that made looks that were, well, hard to look at, Victoria was polished and rather glamorous. Dressed down as a victorian nurse carrying a fake cadaver, she cut the cadaver apart and put on a performance that even the Boulet Brothers deemed it difficult to watch, but impossible to look away.
As the final category, “horror” was the final runway theme. For all the queens, it was a collective sense of disappointment. Victoria nor James were able to completely “woo” the Boulet Brothers out of their seats. However, Biqtch managed to become a shadowy figure, having glowing eyes, and shockingly long nails. She succeeded to bring the demonic fantasy to life.
In time for the crowning moment, the Boulet Brothers had made their decision.
With Biqtch Puddin’s drive throughout the competition and her runway looks for the final runway, it was just enough to win over the judges. This resulted in the almost unsurprising crowing of Biqtch Puddin as the second drag supermonster.
Alma Tovar
Features Reporter
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