Who will take home the crown and become Canada’s first drag superstar?…
Well you guys… we’ve finally made it to the end. After nine episodes, countless challenges, backstage drama, dozens of unfair/out of pocket critiques, hundreds of Canadian puns, a couple of guest hosts, and 12 incredible queens. After tonight’s episode we will finally find out who Canada’s first drag superstar is. We are left with our top three, Ottawa’s Scarlett Bobo, Montreal’s Rita Baga, and Toronto’s own Priyanka. All three of these queens are beyond talented, and absolutely deserve to be competing in the finale. This season has had its ups and downs, but overall, it was an incredible first attempt at our very own premiere drag competition, and I for one am very excited to see how much it develops for the next season (fingers crossed).
We start our final episode as we always do, in the werk room following Jimbo’s elimination last week. The top three queens walk in the werk room, say their goodbyes to Jimbo’s mirror message, and kiki over on the gold couch. They congratulate Scarlett on her first win of the season, and Priyanka does a séance on her construction paper skirt. Rita tells the other queens she thinks she might be a witch re: an earlier challenge. The queens talk stats (this sounds like too much math for me so I zoned out I won’t lie), but the queens state that all of their wins and loses combined makes them pretty much even? Sure… let’s go with that.
The next day in the werk room, the queens gather on the table, and talk about their journey to the top of the competition. All of them agree this is the fiercest the competition has been all season, and it is still very much anybody’s game. Ru interrupts with her final video message, and Brooke Lynn enters the room to introduce the final maxi challenge of the season. It’s a finale, so it is of course the iconic song writing challenge. Each of the queens will write, record, and perform their own verses to RuPaul’s You Wear it Well. The queens will also get to sit down with Jeffrey and Tracey for individual interviews, and one final runway. The queens get to work on their lyrics, and Priyanka and Scarlett are nervous to go up against Rita’s singing.
Rita is up first, and aside from some pronunciation issues with the word “alien”, she does a pretty good job. At the same time, Scarlett sits down for an interview with Jeffrey and Tracey. Scarlett talks about attaching herself to other queens in the competition, and her special bond with her mother. Priyanka is up next recording, and her verse sounds like it’s going to be amazing. Rita chats with Jeffery and Tracey about growing up in two different homes, and how she felt intimidated by the fact that most of the queens from this season were from Toronto. Last to record their verse is Scarlett, who’s a bit pitchy, but the lyrics are there. Hey… not everybody is a singer, and that’s ok. Finally, Priyanka is the last one to have their interview with Jeffrey and Tracey. Priyanka spoke about growing through the competition, and how she used to be living a double life, but on Drag Race, Mark and Priyanka can exist in the same place at the same time. Following their recording sessions/interviews the queens have to learn the choreography for the song! The dance rehearsals always make me (a rhythmless person) very nervous, but the queens usually pull it together for the performance.
It’s coronation day! The queens gather around the table for one last time and talk about how hard getting the dance down was. While the queens get ready, they go over their favourite moments, their least favourite looks, and the performances they’d love to forget. Out on the runway our judges are looking fabulous in their finale looks, and Squirrel Friend Tracey is our last guest host of the season. The queens perform their verses, and all of them do a stellar job. Each verse fits each queen so well, and as expected, all of them got their dances down perfectly.
On the runway, the final category is Coronation Eleganza. The queens are presenting their very best drag. Rita is first on the runway giving us Elphaba alien drag realness… and it works for her. Scarlett is serving punk rock queen of the north, perfectly Bobo. Priyanka looks absolutely stunning in a traditional lenga, with so much significance behind every aspect of her look.
It’s time for the final critiques of the season. The judges loved Rita’s verse, and performance in the number, as well as her final alien queen look. Scarlett brought great energy to the performance, and hit every dance move perfectly. The judges also loved her elegance with an edge. Priyanka also got highest praise for her performance in the song, and they loved all the symbolism behind her gorgeous final look. Before the judge’s final deliberation, they ask the queens why each of them should be crowned as the winner. Rita states she has won the most maxi challenges, and as the queen with the most experience, she should win. Scarlett thinks that her alternative edge has carried her authentically through the whole competition, and vows to be a voice to the LGBTQ+ community all across Canada. Priyanka simply states that she is a superstar, in every sense of the word. She wants to entertain, and be a voice for people, and lift them up.
While the queens head back to the werk room to untuck before the coronation, they are met with a few blasts from the past. All of the eliminated queens are hanging out, ready to spill the tea on all of the happenings of the season. After catching up, Priyanka asks Kyne whether she was a bitch for tv, or if she’s just a bitch in real life, to which Kyne replies she didn’t feel like she was bitchy. The queens all praise each other and offer a toast to the top three. Cheers!
Following the judge’s deliberations all of the queens from this season make their way onto the runway in their best drag looks, as well as our top three. The judges decide that they would like to see all of the top queens lip sync for the crown. The top three lip sync to Love Inc.’s You’re a Superstar. After a passionate, and showstopping lip sync, the judges announce that the first ever winner of Canada’s Drag Race is…. Priyanka!! Condragulations Pri! We can’t see what you do during your inaugural reign!
Thanks for reading our recaps this season, and if anyone on the creative team of the show is reading this… I would love to be a guest judge/host next season. Seriously, I’m not joking.
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