For a season packed with so much talent, it has just FLOWN by hasn’t it? Tonight is the finale ofRuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 5! What do you think of this season? The calibre of drag has been jaw dropping, but I’m pretty sure my enjoyment of the show has nothing to do withDrag Raceand everything to do with the queens. Like Jujubee literally gives me life every episode and she’s most of the reason why I watch the show. Other than the queens, though, there hasn’t been much excitement.
The “new”All Starrules are complicated and confusing. Ru spends at least five mins of the episode explaining the rules each time. And while it’s nice to see queens as lip-sync assassins, their presence doesn’t do much to change up the format, something I predictedat the beginning of the season. Even the challenges seem a little uninspired.
Nevertheless, I’ve still enjoyed watching because I talk big game but still tune in every week. Tonight’s episode will decide the winner of Season 5, and it’s between three incredibly talented queens: Miz Cracker, Jujubee, and Shea Couleé. If you’re making some bets tonight, here is my take on the odds of the outcomes of tonight’s episode. (Side note: I have no idea how odds work mathematically, so this might make no sense.Maybe I need help from Kyne.)
1. A three-way tie
This isn’t happening. Everyone would riot.0.0000001%
2. A two-way tie
Considering people’s reactions to the previous tie, I doubt that this will be an option. That being said, if there were to be a tie, I think it would be between Shea and Jujubee, since they are the clear fan favourites and have equally good reasons for taking the crown (see below). I’ll place5.2%odds on any tie, and14.39%赔率领带谢伊和护符之间。
3. Miz Cracker
Although a little slow to start, Miz Cracker has been a powerhouse in the last few episodes. Because of this, her track record of three wins and only one spot in the bottom gives her the best scorecard of all the queens in the top. HOWEVER, if Miz Cracker were to win, that would mean that all five seasons of All Stars would have crowned at least one white queen. I think that’s something that the producers are very aware of, and I think it’s the biggest reason why this won’t be Miz Cracker’s season.20.23%chance of winning.
4. Jujubee
Jujubee has proven to be a breakout star of this season. Everyone already loved her, AND she’s already been on the show twice (three times if you include Drag U). Still, she’s managed to make herself even more endearing and relevant. As aDrag Racefavourite, Juju’s track record of consistently placing third gives her an enormous advantage in this season. How many times are you gonna do that to my girl? Honestly, if it were anyone but Shea, I’d say that this was Juju’s season to grab. But…it’s not.49.9%odds of winning.
5. Shea Couleé
如上所述整个赛季,谢伊一任董事长for Season 9 until...the rose petals. That’s been a common theme this run, and a lot of the outfits and conversations that Shea has had have been about overcoming this blight on her career. She’s definitely a fan favourite, maybe even more than Juju, but what I think pushes her chances at winning slightly above is the conversation that she and Ross had last week about accepting and moving past her incident with Sasha. There’s a storyline that needs a satisfying ending, lest we forget that Drag Race is all about the narrative. And because of that, I think that Shea has an ever-so-slight edge on her competition.51.1%odds of winning.
Tonight's episode ofDrag Racewill also feature a sneak peek at RuPaul’s latest project,RuPaul’s Drag Race: Vegas Revue.The queens fromDrag Racehave had a Vegas residency since January of this year, and now it’s coming to our screens in the form of a six episode docuseries premiering on VH1 on August 21st.
There’s already a trailer out, but tonight’s preview will be an extended teaser. Which is saying something because in this short trailer, we already see Kameron Michaels macking on Miss Vanjie.
I feel like we should’ve known about this because they’ve basically been playing some of this footage at the end of every All Stars 5 episode (if anybody even sticks around long enough past the credits). Clearly, this shows that they’ve been planning some sort of video-based content for a while now. But I wonder if this docuseries is to make up for the fact that the live performances have been halted because of the pandemic. Mama Ru likes to make her coin, and maybe she doesn’t have faith that it’s going to pick up again before the residency is scheduled to end this September. Once it’s available on video, are people going to be inclined to go see it live?
If you’re keeping track, 2020 has had a full season ofRuPaul’s Drag Race,a season ofCanada’s Drag Race,All Stars 5,RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Race(shoutout to the five people who watched), a Vegas live show, and now this docuseries! That’s so much! We've only just passed the halfway point of this year! At this point, I’m wondering when Disney is going to buy out the franchise. Just kidding, we know Disney avoids gay media like the plague.
Looking at this makes me wonder if my feelings towards All Stars 5 are reflective of the show reaching its limit. With such an intense production and release schedule, there’s bound to be some creative fatigue, no? And if that’s the case, what does that say about the quality of the Vegas Revue?
Attached - Shea Couleé at a Black Lives Matter protest in June in Chicago.
