Warning: the following content may contain spoilers.
I don’t know about you, but I have not recovered from the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars: Season 3, but I’m more than gagged by the premiere of RPDR Season 10. During the “Meet the Queens” promo, I found myself initially rooting for Vanessa Vanjie Mateo and Miz Cracker. However, once I witnessed the fierceness that the Season 10 queens had to offer, I immediately fell in love with a handful of them by the end of the episode.
We start out by meeting familiar faces (that is, if you viewed the “Meet the Queens” promo) meeting each other. So many of the queens come from New York, but thankfully The Vixen stepped up to represent Chicago in her proud Chicagoan-inspired runway outfit. Some say she looks like she walked straight out of a souvenir shop at O’hare airport!
Mayhem Miller has fought tooth and nail to come onto the show, and there’s no denying that she’s going to blow us away this season. We’re very proud of her.
When Monique Heart’s face fell as Miz Cracker introduces herself as “Cracker”, I completely lost it. The “Barbie on bath salts” is one of the reasons I am quaking with excitement this season.
While Aquaria is being introduced, Monet let us sip a bit of the New York City queen tea; it turns out that there is tension between Aquaria and Miz Cracker. People have compared and gotten the queens mixed up! The drama has us all shaking in our high-heels, wondering what’s to come of this beef in the remainder of season 10.
The Main Challenge
After settling in, the queens are greeted by Ru with the introduction of the first mini challenge: they must stand out from all the other queens on a runway surrounded by legendary queens from past seasons. We get to see faces like Detox, Bob the Drag Queen, and my personal all-time favorite: Adore Delano.
The queens must strut on the raised catwalk and woo the former contestants. Eureka goes first, getting to experience the chance that she didn’t have during her season, leaving due to a knee injury. “Work that knee replacement”, yelled Peppermint from the crowd.
Mayhem Miller did not come to play. She confidently lands a cartwheel in her floor-length gown as if no one was watching. Monet X Change slays hard, managing to make Trixie Mattel, the recent All-Star queen, giggle. Later, Aquaria gets much adoration from Adore, even while accidentally back-handing Jinx Monsoon. At least Jinx appreciates the air-time.
Out of Drag
There are so many gorgeous contestants this season! Admittingly, I found myself crushing on Blair St. Clair and Aquaria out of drag, while most are gushing over Kameron for the eye-blessing muscles and tattoos.
Then we have Yuhua making a fool out of herself because she can’t tell the black queens apart, which induces an instinctual eyeroll. Ru then comes in to inform us of the mini challenge winner, which is the well-deserving Monet X Change.
The Main Challenge
The Pit Crew comes in with loads of 99 cent store items to which the queens are supposed to turn into gorgeous runway looks. We cut to Kalorie, who is a tad bit delusional in regard to her dress. Monique Heart impresses us with her crafty and cute queen of hearts outfit. Then we have Aquaria, who is so convinced that Miz Cracker is stealing her eye makeup look; To which I say: get over yourself, girl.
Although Yuhua is a seamstress for icons like Peppermint and Bob the Drag Queen, she initially struggles with the design skills necessary for the challenge. During the costume-making shenanigans, we learn more about Eureka’s incident. She explains that recovery process of her knee injury was horrible. Much sympathy for her though. I just hope that she doesn’t let anything hold her back and gives it all she’s got.
Alternatively, we learn that Miz Cracker comes from a rough start. Growing up poor, she was encouraged to make magic out of NYC garbage for her costume elements. This was a challenge that probably hit home.
The Results
At one point, Ru admits that she’s inviting another queen to the competition: Farrah Moan! I was ready to rip my hair out because RPDR has been stressing me out with all these plot twists. And instead, we are greeted with the glorious and legendary Christina Aguilera, who will be a judge on this episode. Nice one, Ru.
Out of all the queens, Mayhem and Blair did the best, with edgy, priceless outfits made out of their 99 cent materials. Yes, the pun is intended. Mayhem rightfully wins the main challenge, which is an emotionally-charged moment for her.
Kalorie and Vanessa are down to the bottom two and this lip sync challenge had me biting off my nails. Their maxi-challenge looks were just devastating. That’s just my two cents on their 99 cent store looks.
Vanessa appears disheartened and it shows in her performance, getting her heels stuck in the fabric of her outfit. Meanwhile Kalorie is bringing it all that she’s got, exciting us all with the toss of fake dollar bills she pulled from her bodice and making it rain. Ultimately, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo is sent home and yet it feels like we might miss out on the potential of this queen, who has so much personality.
Reflection
There are so many loveable queens this season, many of which are delightful and entertaining. There are hardly any filler queens and I firmly believe that season 10 will go up as one of my favorites. My top three are as follows: Blair St. Clair, Miz Cracker, and Mayhem Miller. May the best queen win!
Alma Tovar
Features Reporter