RuPaul: Reinas del drag

I'm ashamed to say I was late joining this Fandom. I don't really watch competition/reality TV, I find most of it ridiculous. BUT... My son asked me to watch Drag Race with him at some point during covid. We binged...well...all of it. And I'm a forever fan.

I always liked RuPaul...now I LOVE RuPaul. This show, all the queens... it's helped me connect with and relate to my son in a way we might not have been able to do otherwise.

2 thumbs up.

This show is truly ground breaking. This show allows all of America to see a bit of what gay culture is. Not to mention that its funny and the competition is fierce. IT makes people look at how talented and funny drag queens are. Drag is truly an art and it takes skill experience and talent. This show has guest judges apart from the standard judges which are Rupaul, Michelle Visage, and Santino Rice. The guest judges have included actors,singers and TV personalities. The challenges are design to test the queens and to allow them to show America why it is they should win. Acting, singing, rapping, comedy, dancing, impersonation, have all been bases for challenges. Anyone who is obsessed with pop culture should watch this show.

Overall review: The show is totally untraditional, original and unique, it's very addictive and has taken the art of drag to a different level. The show is also wallbreaking considering that it boosts the LGBT community while also being very popular and accepted around the world. However, the show has demostrated to have flaws that we can see in the edition, foreign queens struggling with the language, some storylines and mostly in the judging of the show, which is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) problems. Some fan-beloved queens (or others?) had been saved off eliminations and runway tragedies over other great competitors (i won't point on any queens here, but if you watched the show you know who these are) and the judgement has poor consistency when some queens are judged off some problems that other queens have and are being ignored and praised for it. But overall the show is good, and that is why i give it 8 stars. Now ranking all seasons:

Season 1: 7/10. Very good season, just ignored by fans for several reasons. Now on the good side, this season gave some great queens such as Ongina, Bebe Zahara Benet and Nina Flowers. The show just got started and we weren't familiar with "robbed queens" or "drama", it was just pure competition and the queens didn't clash (very strongly) throughout all season. It was an entertaining season and a very talented winner and runner up. The filter was rough and the season had no snatch game (a popular comedy challenge in the show), and the runways were not so evolved as we can appreciate in later seasons, but back to the initial point, good season overall, with an awful aging.

Season 2: 8/10. Great season. In my opinion one of the most forgettable of them all, but the season was refueled from, what some fans consider (me not included), one of the worst seasons of drag race. This particular season had some of the most iconic and adorable queens, say Tatianna, Jessica Wild, Pandora Boxx, or Jujubee. Enjoyable snatch game, several unforgettable moments for big fans of the show, greater runways and better challenges than last season. Overall, enjoyable season, with a bad aging.

Season 3: 9,5/10. Fantastic season in general. Hilarious and iconic moments, improved lipsyncs (some of them), very talented queens, solid storylines and to wrap it up this season had a lot of surprises. Questionable snatch game, but great stand-up comedy challenges to back that up, some of the most iconic runway looks and some of the biggest names of drag race (Manila Luzon, Shangela, Alexis Mateo, Raja). Good aging.

Season 4: 6/10: Average season. The runway on this season was pretty bad, i won't lie, some of the queens were obviously several steps above others, there were not a lot of surprises or controversial moments (except for one that gagged tf out of everyone), and i guess we can say some queens were very beloved by fans. We also had the first real villain on the show that received a very malicious editing. Very mediocre season, i think.

Season 5: 10/10. Great in every sense and way. A lot of surprises, a great snatch game, a notoriously improved runway and the ultimate fan favourite Alyssa Edwards, with the biggest rivalry in the show ever, with Coco Montrese, which are at the same time two of the biggest names on this show so far. The season aged very well and in my personal opinion the winner was very deserving. Great lipsyncs and comedy challenges, and the first roast ever which was hilarious. Flawless season and probably in my top 2 of favourite seasons.

Season 6: 9/10. So far the most deserving top 3 of the whole show, and a lot of fan-favorite queens. We had some of the best lipsyncs EVER, and a hysterical snatch game. Runways were great and we had a lot of funny moments from the queens. The judging on some parts was controversial, and so was the editing, but overall it was a great season.

Season 7: 4,5/10. Now... The judging on this season was absolutely terrible, and the season contained comedy challenge after comedy challenge, which was a struggle for most queens. The runways were very good since we had a lot of fashionable queens (Some of them modern, some of them not so modern), but most decisions were controversial and problematic. Very bipolar snatch game. The editing left several queens in a very bad position and some of them were straight up impossible to love, and they literally edited one queen out of the season.

Season 8: 9/10. Good season. The queens that couldn't make it on the runway made it in the challenge and vice versa. Some eliminations were shocking, but not unfair, and we had some of memorable runway looks and lipsyncs. I only wish this season was longer. A few desicions were a little stupid, but nothing that could hurt the season too bad.

Season 9: 10/10. Fabulous season. Some of the greatest lipsyncs ever and some of the best runway looks ever too, a great snatch game (that might be an unpopular opinion but i really enjoyed the jasmine masters, liza minelli and marlene dietrich impersonations). We got gaga on the show finally, and the Kardashian Rusical / 9021-HO challenge were some of my favourite challenges ever.

Season 10: 10/10. My favourite season ever. I'm a big fan of great runways and comedy challenges, so i feel like this season was right made for me. Runways were better than ever and overall the season was very fashionable. Not one but two hilarious rusicals and a very bipolar but funny snatch game. A lot of good storylines and a decent judging.

Season 11: 7/10: A very good season with a great cast, but sadly the judge was non-sense in most episodes, refering to a lot of favouritism for a specific queen and a lot of weird eliminations. The snatch game was... cough. But happily the fashion and lipsyncs were very good on this season, and generally we can say it was an enjoyable-to-watch season.

I just watched the 1st season of Repual's Drag Race and because of the positive energy this show implements; I attend to watch more Repaul's seasons. First of all, for those who compare this show to American Next Top Model and other shows of the same genre; you are wrong in so many levels since the core, for starters, of both shows are totally different. Rupaul's show focus on testing drag's surviving skills in the preforming business. Papering self make-up & hair, sewing unique outfits, dancing & lip-syncing, are some of the jobs assigned for the contestants in Rupaul's Drag Race because these queens are exposed to them every time they want to channel their drag persona on stage and more importantly, to themselves. In terms of human quality and productivity, Rupaul's Drag Race has a lot to offer. Being drag is not easy or safe even in our time. Drag Queens and cross-dressers has had it the hardest among the gay community considering that the majority of drag queens are gay. They put literally themselves out there for the world to judge and there are some, even among gay guys, who try to segregate themselves from them and feel repulsed by them so a drag lady has to be really courageous and develops an unbeatable character to feel strong & stable against all criticism about her life. This is another value that the show is trying to bring through the course of the race. In terms of other reality TV shows, I feel that Rupaul's Drag Race is the most genuine of them all although, ironically, the concept of the show is based on men dressing as women which is should not be up-normal anymore. Rupaul is trying to deliver a positive message in his show about loving oneself which is lacking in many competition shows. I have seen a dance competition show where the majority of the contestants below 20 and the judges are emitting real sociopath behavior when it comes to evaluating the young contestants outcome, all for the sake of the shock value to improve the network ratings. Others might find problem with the tune of the show and how it represent drag in stereotypical image which is incorrect. Drag queens are flamboyant by nature and these individuals have to channel their femininity while they are in the dress and make-up so the only question is if the viewer is comfortable about which 45 min of drag and what does it represent or if the viewer really know the difference between drag queens, transvestites, transsexuals, gays, etc. As the first show of its kind, I find that the creators and the producers of the show have done a great job and if there is a little bit of shallowness, it should be with tolerable amount especially comparing to other reality shows and computation shows which are now quantity with no quality.

This is a great show. One of the best reality shows I've ever seen. Those interested in fashion, makeup and pop-culture will find it instantly interesting, but beyond the obvious, you'll find a show that makes you think about life, about parenting, about friendship and about love. It is truly wonderful to see these amazingly talented people that went through hard times, but are still able to find joy and beauty in life.

They say Drag is the art of illusion. And isn't illusion a fantastic subject? Films like "Pan's Labyrinth" and "You Will meet a tall dark stranger" make me think so. For me, this kind of art can be appreciated on many levels, and watching this show, just makes me like I could feel/be fabulous too.

(I'm married, with three kids, just saying!)