Jinkx is definitely the most satisfying winner. In retrospect, i kinda wish they kept more of Jinkx cattiness and her supposedly talking back to Roxxy but at that moment it would be impossible to push a comedy queen for the win without the audience absolutely adoring them.
@@exlesoes i dont think it was a no no. The producers just saw a season long story arc an just decided to amp up to 1000%. They wanted to have a clear hero victim and clear villain and i dont think it was much more than that. Today i think they would show Jinkx clapping back tho.
It’s very minor, but the comments made by the judges in season 1 when the queens were going down the runway weren’t just ham fisted puns or pop culture references. At one point Ru says in an episode “I love the colour” to something someone was wearing, and idk, it just feels way more genuine than literally anything she or the other judges would say these days.
Something that always has stuck with me was how much Ru genuinely adored Shuga’s eggplant gown on S11. The candid comments really make an outfit feel special
@@JackFedYT exactly, it also appreciates and commends the queens for their work as well, which is obviously good for their morale and overall makes them feel like they’re doing a better job
They NEED to have previous Queens as guest judges. The have done the competition, know the stress of it and can offer practical advice. I hope we see it soon
Yeah, I can't stand having multiple nepobabies on the panel and oddities like a SINGER as a judge on the design challenge??? All the other franchises without RuPaul already did it
@@RNCHFND well i guess singers make sense when the lipsync is one of their songs. i was so mad when they invited tove lo on a dolly parton episode (AS7), like girl she has some GREAT music for drag race!
And then season 5 was all yellows and oranges with pink and it was really weird imo it gave a mood to it. All stars 2 had REALLY annoying lighting imo.
@@goodbaron10 they definitely tried something between season 4 and 6. The colour was just, weird? It definitely looked darker than other seasons. And then in season 6 the brightness was to the max lol
I think also the reason why 8 was short was because they were going for 100. The first episode of season 8 was the 100th episode. Derrick was the last one to walk in and she was the 100th queen to walk in. So I think they wanted the cast to cap off for exactly 100 contestants, which resulted in a smaller cast at 12 queens
Episode 100 wasn’t actually the 100th episode at the time as before this time they counted the episodes on AS1 as regular drag race episodes! Fun weird fact
The ting that always gets me about season 7's Young Queens Vs. Old Queens shtick is that Ginger Minj is the same age as Miss Fame, who were both 29 at the time of filming, which isn't "old" at all
To be fair, that storyline was sort of coined by Ginger herself when she dubbed their group the “old lady brigade”. A more accurate reading would be old school drag vs new school drag or pageant vs fashion.
I think it's less about age and more about the kind of drag they presented. Ginger was old drag while miss fame had a more fresh and young approach to drag both valid but caused a lot of clashes between each other
@lucasamm but older drag queens tend to focus on a more parody like or comedic version of that aestethic. queens like max, violet and fame focused more on the fashion and subtle femininity of those eras
Another thing about season 7 that no one talks about, it's how they prioritiza whiteness, it was really violet, trixxie, pearl, katya and miss fame vs ginger, kennedy, jasmin, jadyn and kasha, it was white skinny young girls vs the others, when i look back and i see the group challenges they gave me orange is the new black vibe
Season 12 is still in my opinion the only season that felt like it was produced by those youtube drag race meme accounts and I absolutely love it for that. The shade noise anytime jan pressed the shade button in untucked was funny as hell
i wish they would allow drag race alumni to judge the show alongside Ru and Michelle instead of the HILARIOUS Ross Mathews and the true arbitor of talent Carson Kressley, just to give a fresh perspective if nothing else 🤷🏻
Carson’s fine, he actually gives constructive criticism(minus the occasional “You were bad, but I don’t care because I love you”). Ross could get replaced and not much would change
And it would make SO much sense! They already have alumni running international seasons, I don’t see why some winners or well known queens (either of the Sashas, Bianca, Bob, Naomi maybe, etc.) can’t dip in once in a while
My biggest frustration with 15 is that I feel like it screwed so many early outs because NO one anticipated it being cut to 40 mins, which means that the show was never produced for such a limited airtime, which means that SO many things got left on the cutting room floor. I honestly need 15 to get a rudemption edit where they re-edit the early episodes to 60 minutes so that we can get the intended experience. I stopped watching it because the pacing was just so off.
And the fact that the reason we got that edit is because of gays of weho, a show absolutely everyone hated when it was announced and nobody remembers to this day
i believe there was info that all those episodes were 60 minutes ready already, so i don't understand why WOW wouldn't just put them up on streaming. i guess it's their contract with MTV that prohibits that? either way, they could've at the very least uploaded bonus clips (just like logo used to) as standalones and give the gays what they wanted.
I'm rewatching it because I have up twice during the original run. Man they give mistress a lot of screentime! I thought all these girls were giant toxic bi**** but it's just Isabelle planting seeds, gossiping, "joking" about other people's insecurities etc. And to think that awfull person is staying till the end! 😳 The rest of the cast got done so dirty! Really cool new queens in there!
The part about season 5-7 trying to define drag a certain way is one of the reasons why I always disliked Santino as a judge. It always felt like if you didn’t hit what he felt was “drag” then he didn’t like it (like his critiques to Shannel being too showgirl and not really getting the campiness of some queens, etc)
I never liked Santino as a judge I’m glad they have a good consistent panel now some people may disagree but I truly love having Carson and Ross always also TS Madison has been awesome too
I feel Michelle has an even narrower view of what is acceptable drag to her- though she has learned a bit over the years I don't see her as innovative or exciting as a judge.
I never understood why he was a judge in the first place. What does he know about drag, any drag? Look how he tore Pandora apart in S2, if she were on seasons 6+ she'd be top 4 no question
The thing you said about the format of the show being great from the start is so true. I think what I especially love is the concept of the lip-synchs. Whenever I watch another show that has a competition other than drag race, I always hate seeing the contestants leave without a last chance to stay. The lip-synch format is perfect for that, and gives us really iconic and legendary moments !
@@rinina it's funny that you mention it because I was thinking of glow up when writing the comment, I think it might be the only other show that comes to mind with this sort of last chance stand off, which i always appreciate!
@@nekrosmos7135 tbh I find it funny you talking about this being notable, cause it's made me realise - I've grown up watching UK reality TV and I think it's given me quite different expectations of what's ordinary for a reality show. The idea of a final showdown between the bottom two contestants to decide who goes home is a pretty baked-in staple of UK reality shows! It's on loads of the ones I've watched ever since I was a kid, with Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor probably being the most notable (I know there's a US version of the X Factor but my impression was that it made less of an impact over there?). And I hadn't realised until today that there might be a difference between this in the UK, and what's typical for US reality contests.
@@AMinibot I'm not surprised to hear that UK reality TV might be different in that regard honestly! I'm french so I grew up watching french reality TV and I do recall that last chance challenges being more of a common thing than with US reality TV as well. It just feels normal to have it and feels weird to see contestants go without a last chance !
I was SO WORRIED you were gonna say the Jinkx storyline was the worst part of s5. I don't give a flying fuck if it was staged, I first saw s5 as a bullied Autistic kid and the "underdog triumphs over adversity" story meant THE WORLD to me. 💜
omg - as another bullied autistic kid i got so attached to jinkx that season and it’s still my absolute favourite season because of how much it inspired me, i’m so glad to see i wasn’t the only one!!!
I think the thing I love most about Season 15 is the immense talent, I could see almost every single queen making it to the finale (Irene, Poppy, Aura, Spice, Malaysia, Marcia etc...) as they all seemed to have a clear sense of their own drag style and there really wasn't anyone who felt unprepared for the season unlike Jaymes' edit in Season 9 or Adore in AS2.
I agree I think some of the queens were really able to still shine despite the short episode format I do think though if they had been longer we would have got some really good moments that weren’t aired though
I loved how season 15 were all catty but no one was really portrayed as a villain by the edit. Also from the Anetra Marcia lipsync on, every elimination felt unnecessary because everyone was just so strong.
I genuinely like Season 12 but there was a lot wrong with it even in the final edit. The treatment of Brita by production during the show and during the online drama was awful. Gigi was saved so many times from that bottom. Jaida was barely given screen time compared to Jackie Gigi and Crystal and this was her winning season. The first seven episodes were great (culminating in the fantastic Rusical) but from then it just hit a slow decline. The debate was good but the branding, stand up and makeover were very meh. I’m glad they brought back the puppets mini challenge but they haven’t had it again since. Usually the worst part of a season, especially since Season 9 has been production meddling, pushing certain queens, manufacturing storylines and never letting the audience pick up on things themselves, basically shoving their message down our throats.
I really thought they'd bring Jackie back after the Pies disqualification and put her in the top 4 finale just because she was portrayed to have such a good chance to end up in the top with a wonderful (redemption) edit. Still kinda sad they didn't. Would've loved to see what she'd do with the finale prompts.
@lucasamm sherry pie also received plenty of favouritism. And Gigi just put her makeover partner in an opposite colour balloon outfit. Gigi gave Miss Fame vibes for those last few episodes.
Ive never had a sugar daddy ive never wanted a sugar daddy if i wanted a sugar daddy i could probably go out and get one because i am WHAT? SICKENING. You could never have a sugar daddh because you are not. That. Type. Of. Girl. Everything ive had ive got myself i built myself from the ground up BITCH 🍹 💦”
I understand why people are complaining with the amount of bloat, but I think have a split premier with no one going home is a fantastic idea that I hope they stick with. It’s a HUGE deal to get on the show, and I think every queen deserves at least one chance to shine without being in danger to getting eliminated.
I didn’t mind it in some seasons but I do feel like it can drag it on too much like season 13 I really struggled getting through for that reason it has a good cast but just at some point I was like give us a winner!🤣
I like the split premiere but cap it at 12 queens per season. Nobody goes home first two episodes (split premieres) and maybe even the next episode too, so the queens can showcase more. Quality time over quantity.
7:50 You're right, we really HAVEN'T gotten an underdog come-from-behind storyline since 5. Yvie and Willow were oddball alt queens with few wins, but BOTH of them felt like winner material for their entire seasons. Sasha Velour and Jaida were maybe not the betting odds FAVORITES to win in the finales, but they both had extremely solid runs and were destined to make the finale. And every other winner since, seasons 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, and 15, the winner was obvious for basically the whole season lol. The closest I can think of is actually Bimini Bon Boulash in UK2... but she didn't win lol.
uhm jaida? she was clearly an underdog compared to gigi and sh*rr*, and i would assume that's in every edit there is of the show. she literally had production actively trying to push others in her expense. bimini wasn't an underdog, they were clearly at the top of the game post-lockdown.
Violet was obvious the whole season??? From what? All the challenges she sucked at? That whole season looked like a Pearl win due to favoritism, or a Ginger win due to performance. If we would've gotten an Underdog, then Katya was the one highlighted as that. Violet was just a snarky bitch with a few good looks.
S12 finale might be my favorite part of that season. Traditional media was struggling HARD during lock-down, and RPDR said hold my bubbly. Delivering a super-entertaining show even if they couldn't do a big stage again. I do actually really like S13, I just really like the cast. I also much MUCH prefer a queen save after the fact to an unearned double Shantay (the 2 times a double Shantay was actually earned of course being the most preferable) Like, the competition of course still matters, but when they do a double Shantay you can tell that it's production meddling, but in a "shadowy-figure" type of way. While a save after the fact is a clear signal from production/Rupaul that they made a decision we don't have to speculate on. Like, put that meddling next to the palm reader pairing the queens together. I much prefer the "We made a decision, we're keeping Kandy" approach than the "what meddling? they got paired by their auras being read"
I think being saved after the fact just tries to say "You lost the lipsync, but we think you did good enough that you deserve a second chance. Still, take it as a warning tho"
I would love if you could do a video on major front runners like Sasha or Carmen Farala and how to edit/ not edit a front runner. IE: the rush to establish a second front runner or the elimination of ever other competitor on Espana 3
I wish the show got rid of Ross and Carson and brought drag queens to judge. Alyssa - dance Bianca - roast/stand up routine Jinks - snatch game DeLa - acting Violet - ball Raja - design Adore - singing
My less favorite thing of S3 is heard the queens with their views about “trans” in the competition. However that is like a fossil of how much the competition has evolved
s10 is so funny for me bc i never remember right away any of the cast or the winner so always take me a minute to go like "aaaaahhh... the aquaria one"
I feel like season 14 has some of the highest highs and lowest lows. It has ,to me, the most well rounded cast throughout. Some seasons are far too too heavy in the story telling (4,5,13 and 15 especially) and it is the season where the group dynamic and individual relationships are best established. However it had by far the worst pacing and some of the messiest production of all time.
Season 5's cast is kinda like the culmination of really strong queens that watched the show for 4 years and understood what needed to be brought, I feel like that's why 5 is one of the strongest standing seasons
S12 was, for me, the perfect season. even with all the (necessary) editing, BTS drama, and the pandemic coming in and changing everything, I feel like this season had the most “real” cast members who weren’t trying too hard to hard to produce their narratives and were so damn likeable! the casting (save one obvious exception…) was OUTSTANDING, and it was honestly the last regular season in which I genuinely felt engaged with the show. I haven’t enjoyed or looked forward to watching a season as much as this one.
My first season of Drag Race was S7 and I love it for the drama of it all. But my comfort season is S8. Bob, Naomi, Kim Chi they were all just kind of vibing, doing their thing. Even the 'drama' wirh Acid Betty and Derrick Berry is so mild and kind in comparison to everything else.
Season 7: They did the opposite of Season 3 by pushing a lot of acting challenges (which weren't well written), and a lot of designing and craftswomanship that went into the runways (Born Naked, Half-Half, Conjoined Queens, etc.) wasn't shown in the episode in favour of meaningless bitching. This didn't really highlight the creative talent that the cast had.
YES THANK YOU FOR THE VAGUE RUNWAYS MENTION istg some runways just weren’t mentioned, but also i, at the same time, hate underdog stories because it erases Roxxxy’s talent because she was SO talented for her runways but doesn’t get the appreciation like Raja because she was seen only as a villain even though it was only in the second half of the season, sttarting with Coco and Alyssa until Alyssa got eliminated
Amazing video, really enjoyed all your thoughts. Slightly sad that S15 was essentially reduced to “short episodes/drama/Sasha Colby”. Obviously it makes sense, but it was such an incredibly entertaining season to me and I don’t think it got enough love as it was airing. While S14 felt immensely long, tedious, boring (you even mentioned this with the chocolate bar aspect), with not many memorable moments, S15 shined and was extremely memorable DESPITE the short episodes due to its stellar cast who weren’t afraid of taking risks. S14 felt risk-free and safe in many ways, apart from a couple specific queens. Still, can understand your POV and appreciate the effort you take to express yourself. ❤
I didn't like S15 as it seemed to just focus on the queens with popularity and you could tell from episode 1 they wanted Sasha as the winner. Even with AS7 and AS8, the pushing of Jinkx and Jimbo was super obvious. I miss the seasons where you couldn't tell who was going to win. Lately we haven't had that.
Honestly, hot take, but one of my favorite things in seasons 2 and 3 are some of the older challenges that ended up getting retired (notably the whole pole-dancing challenge, and the two singing challenges) and I genuinely kinda wish they ended up being staples. I love those sort of group choreo challenges, and after what we got in Season 11, I only wished it would stay more. But I get the risk of injury factor. And as for the singing, I just love how it’s a nice individual performance for the queens, and we rarely ever get to see a big solo number by the queens apart from the talent show and in some ways the roast, and there are certainly ways to win something like the singing challenge without actually being good at singing (comedy, a dance, a reveal, cool lyrics, etc)
Loved so many of your opinions! Too many to mention but I loved your take on seasons 12 and 13.The chocolate bars were the worst. It felt like just a way for Ru to 'save' someone who had been organised to get to the final when/if they slipped up. Like an insurance policy.
S1 should be untouchable. Yes it has flaws, it's not perfect. But it's good, it's raw, it's genuine. It has heart. Ru was so genuine in this and Santino's spiciness and Merle's sweetness complements with her. The judges are more connected/devoted and genuinely having fun. And of course, the queens. Everyone has a different personality and they are obviously carefully-selected. Yes, even Victoria. I don't see her as the winner but she's just got unfortunate to be eliminated first. But the queens are all good and gave good TV. So I believe S1 should be spared with all this rankings and opinions, okay? Without S1, the rest of the seasons won't be here.
I agree with most of your points except for Season 7 - Season 7's worst point was too many acting/comedy challenges with a cast that was not really setup to handle it. I think if Season 3 and Season 7 had swapped some acting and some design/ball challenges between them, we'd have a more balanced set-up of challenges that would showcase the talents of the queens more. Like it''s a hatecrime how stacked Season 3 is comedy wise yet it has one acting challenge and one and a half comedy challenges?
Could you do a top 20 looks and bottom 20 looks? I love the runways and hearing what people loved about them and also the cattiness of a bottom placement.
I absolutely HATE how queens are just kept in the show for their personalities only. Like sorry but Kandy for example looked so busted on the main stage at times but they still saved her and even kept her from going home... Why exactly? Cause Ru wasn't ready to let her go...? Like you said the competition makes no sense at that point. And nowdays the critiques are like "you didn't know any of the words but it doesn't matter to me cause you are always such a presence on stage" "your outfit is ill-fitting and it's the same thing we have seen countless times but I love it cause you make it work" I also hate double shanty's. Almost none of them are deserved
Im surpsied you didnt mention s13 lipsyncs. Yeah the premier was traumatizing but beyond that, the lip sync song choices as well as lipsync performances were great. I mean come on, Fascinated when they had a fascinator runway. That was everything
I recently rewatched season 10 just a couple weeks ago, and I think I can pinpoint the issues with it. Up to that point, the production interference has mostly been fairly minor or generally undetectable throughout most of any given season. Sure, there might have been some moments that felt crafted, but never just ham-fisted. This is the first season where some of the production interference was just overtly obvious, sometimes to the point of them not even trying to hide it or smooth it into the episode so that it would feel more naturally occurring (often to the detriment of a good few of the episodes). Something about that switch over to VH1 just made them decide to make it more processed and less natural with progression, so shocking moments never felt all that shocking. This particular season gives off a vibe of being the start of a new era that didn't allow the contestants to be completely themselves, but rather whatever production wanted them to be and drove that home. That's the interpretation I gleaned from it.
For me one of the most decent things from s13 (besides the runways) were definitively the lipsyncs: Denali vs Kahmora, Lala vs Elliott, Utica vs Tina, Kandy vs Tamisha, Lala vs Joey, Tamisha vs Symone, Lala vs Denali, Utica vs Elliott were all incredible, i think the only ones who're really bad are the finale lipsyncs
One thing I really don't like about Seasons 14 and 15 is actually the colour grading. 12 and 13 were bright and saturated, but it still seemed natural enough, there was dimension. Then, 14 added that really obnoxious, warm yellow colour filter. It might just be me, but I think it makes the show look really flat, overproduced and fake.
I want Michelle to leave, I feel like she’s the main reason for a push back in newer drag styles in the early season, but always loved Sharon (even though she did want to see versatility) but what experience does she have? Her hating green too is SUCH a weird reason to downgrade a person’s outfit too when it applies to nothing. Idc how long she’s been around drag queens, because obviously winners like Raja and Violet didn’t like how she was and it didn’t allow many queens to be appreciated on the show. Especially the case with Dusty Ray Bottoms and her dots, like bitch it’s her brand, but Vanjie will get saved the millionth time in S11 wearing a leotard, makes zero sense.
For myself I like when they give female illusion . I don't really like the boy body and nip slip outfits! To me those cheapen the look! Some of my favorite seasons are season 8, 9 and 11 and season 1 and 5 and 6
i find it so interesting that you dont like season 3 having so many design challenges because thats why its one of my favourites and i feel like a lot of modern seasons dont have enough
I kind of wish someone would do something like this for America’s Next Top Model. Except good luck with the number of cycles that one’s got just for the US iteration! I have never watched an episode of RuPaul start to finish but I get the impression that this show especially in moments like season 4 shows a lot more of the contestant’s individuality where ANTM can be a bit paint by number after a while. Also it seems like the challenges are more focused on assessing talent than ANTM where spectacle started to take a front seat after a while.
I agree with you and I think that season 10 was kind of a let down, but I don't know why. I've watched it recently and I realized that I don't think nothing in this season was ICONIC. Not that I that is bad, but at least I can't quote as much things as I do with another seasons, or I don't usually bring up the looks. The only thing I quote from season 10 are Monique catchphrases, and MAYBE Aquaria's Snatch Game
An important thing to remember about s10 is that people were already getting wary of the franchise since it premiered so soon after the shitshow that was the as3 finale. A lot of us felt the promos for s10 were trying to sweep production’s then-recent bad choices under the rug.
Jinkx is definitely the most satisfying winner. In retrospect, i kinda wish they kept more of Jinkx cattiness and her supposedly talking back to Roxxy but at that moment it would be impossible to push a comedy queen for the win without the audience absolutely adoring them.
Why was "talking back to Roxxy" such a big thing as in a no no? Makes no sense considering personalities involved.. and R annoyed me at times
@@exlesoes i dont think it was a no no. The producers just saw a season long story arc an just decided to amp up to 1000%. They wanted to have a clear hero victim and clear villain and i dont think it was much more than that. Today i think they would show Jinkx clapping back tho.
If they released like a "lost episodes" or "extended cut" of S5 that kept all that in people, myself included, would shower them with money
It’s very minor, but the comments made by the judges in season 1 when the queens were going down the runway weren’t just ham fisted puns or pop culture references. At one point Ru says in an episode “I love the colour” to something someone was wearing, and idk, it just feels way more genuine than literally anything she or the other judges would say these days.
Something that always has stuck with me was how much Ru genuinely adored Shuga’s eggplant gown on S11. The candid comments really make an outfit feel special
@@JackFedYT exactly, it also appreciates and commends the queens for their work as well, which is obviously good for their morale and overall makes them feel like they’re doing a better job
@@JackFedYTunfortunately it's now turned into a trope. It feels like each season has Ru say "this is one of the best looks ever on the show.".
I was rewatching Season 4 recently and that kind of thing happened there too, it does seem super genuine.
@@JackFedYT we got a slight look at that with Jessica Wilds most recent design challenge! It was really heart warming
They NEED to have previous Queens as guest judges. The have done the competition, know the stress of it and can offer practical advice. I hope we see it soon
Yeah, I can't stand having multiple nepobabies on the panel and oddities like a SINGER as a judge on the design challenge??? All the other franchises without RuPaul already did it
@@RNCHFND well i guess singers make sense when the lipsync is one of their songs. i was so mad when they invited tove lo on a dolly parton episode (AS7), like girl she has some GREAT music for drag race!
Literally Dragula has had Trixie who would NEVER do that style but can obviously give good insight on look and makeup, so strange imo
I don’t think Ru wants any other drag queens at the judges table 👀 that’s just some gossip I’ve heard through the grapevine.
@@laincoubert7236 They literally just invited that Incubus singer for a design episode and didn't use his songs
Dishonorable mention to the season 9 runway… that pink lighting was a choice.
Choices. 🙂
Seasons 7 - 9 were SO PINK! actually kinda hurts my eyes to watch those seasons
I... liked it?
And then season 5 was all yellows and oranges with pink and it was really weird imo it gave a mood to it. All stars 2 had REALLY annoying lighting imo.
@@goodbaron10 they definitely tried something between season 4 and 6. The colour was just, weird? It definitely looked darker than other seasons. And then in season 6 the brightness was to the max lol
I think also the reason why 8 was short was because they were going for 100. The first episode of season 8 was the 100th episode. Derrick was the last one to walk in and she was the 100th queen to walk in. So I think they wanted the cast to cap off for exactly 100 contestants, which resulted in a smaller cast at 12 queens
True!
It’s also likely bc of All Stars 2 and having to budget for both seasons x
It was the budget
I think it’s fair to say all these variables factored into how Season 8 and All Stars 2 came to be.
Episode 100 wasn’t actually the 100th episode at the time as before this time they counted the episodes on AS1 as regular drag race episodes! Fun weird fact
The ting that always gets me about season 7's Young Queens Vs. Old Queens shtick is that Ginger Minj is the same age as Miss Fame, who were both 29 at the time of filming, which isn't "old" at all
To be fair, that storyline was sort of coined by Ginger herself when she dubbed their group the “old lady brigade”. A more accurate reading would be old school drag vs new school drag or pageant vs fashion.
I think it's less about age and more about the kind of drag they presented. Ginger was old drag while miss fame had a more fresh and young approach to drag both valid but caused a lot of clashes between each other
@lucasamm but older drag queens tend to focus on a more parody like or comedic version of that aestethic. queens like max, violet and fame focused more on the fashion and subtle femininity of those eras
Another thing about season 7 that no one talks about, it's how they prioritiza whiteness, it was really violet, trixxie, pearl, katya and miss fame vs ginger, kennedy, jasmin, jadyn and kasha, it was white skinny young girls vs the others, when i look back and i see the group challenges they gave me orange is the new black vibe
@lucasamm I mean, Kennedy being cut off
Also pearl track record is actually better than she was actually doing
Season 12 is still in my opinion the only season that felt like it was produced by those youtube drag race meme accounts and I absolutely love it for that. The shade noise anytime jan pressed the shade button in untucked was funny as hell
Season 1 filters make the show look like a dream sequence in a movie.
That’s what that whole season felt like
i wish they would allow drag race alumni to judge the show alongside Ru and Michelle instead of the HILARIOUS Ross Mathews and the true arbitor of talent Carson Kressley, just to give a fresh perspective if nothing else 🤷🏻
Carson’s fine, he actually gives constructive criticism(minus the occasional “You were bad, but I don’t care because I love you”). Ross could get replaced and not much would change
@@styles2535agreed, the HILARIOUS Ross Mathews is just pointless
or at least other drag queens judging drag
And it would make SO much sense! They already have alumni running international seasons, I don’t see why some winners or well known queens (either of the Sashas, Bianca, Bob, Naomi maybe, etc.) can’t dip in once in a while
Like, Bob for snatch game,
bianca for roast,
Trinity,jaida,raja Or rajah for design
divina for acting 😀..
Shea for remixes
Trixie for makeovers
My biggest frustration with 15 is that I feel like it screwed so many early outs because NO one anticipated it being cut to 40 mins, which means that the show was never produced for such a limited airtime, which means that SO many things got left on the cutting room floor.
I honestly need 15 to get a rudemption edit where they re-edit the early episodes to 60 minutes so that we can get the intended experience. I stopped watching it because the pacing was just so off.
And the fact that the reason we got that edit is because of gays of weho, a show absolutely everyone hated when it was announced and nobody remembers to this day
@@davidkonevky7372Pls put trigger warnings before saying the title of that show. The flashbacks petrifying 💀
i believe there was info that all those episodes were 60 minutes ready already, so i don't understand why WOW wouldn't just put them up on streaming. i guess it's their contract with MTV that prohibits that? either way, they could've at the very least uploaded bonus clips (just like logo used to) as standalones and give the gays what they wanted.
I'm rewatching it because I have up twice during the original run.
Man they give mistress a lot of screentime! I thought all these girls were giant toxic bi**** but it's just Isabelle planting seeds, gossiping, "joking" about other people's insecurities etc. And to think that awfull person is staying till the end! 😳
The rest of the cast got done so dirty! Really cool new queens in there!
Yess we NEED it!
Katya said it best about S7. It was a lot of great queens with not great challenges. They had way too many acting and comedy challenges.
The part about season 5-7 trying to define drag a certain way is one of the reasons why I always disliked Santino as a judge. It always felt like if you didn’t hit what he felt was “drag” then he didn’t like it (like his critiques to Shannel being too showgirl and not really getting the campiness of some queens, etc)
I never liked Santino as a judge I’m glad they have a good consistent panel now some people may disagree but I truly love having Carson and Ross always also TS Madison has been awesome too
I feel Michelle has an even narrower view of what is acceptable drag to her- though she has learned a bit over the years I don't see her as innovative or exciting as a judge.
I always thought Santino was skeevy and creepy, easily the worst contribution to the vibe of the early seasons and he is not missed one bit.
I never understood why he was a judge in the first place. What does he know about drag, any drag? Look how he tore Pandora apart in S2, if she were on seasons 6+ she'd be top 4 no question
@@chelseagirl30 True but you can tell she genuinely cares for the girls as the season goes on and she is FINALLY loosening up
The thing you said about the format of the show being great from the start is so true. I think what I especially love is the concept of the lip-synchs. Whenever I watch another show that has a competition other than drag race, I always hate seeing the contestants leave without a last chance to stay. The lip-synch format is perfect for that, and gives us really iconic and legendary moments !
Omg yes. I feel like netflix's glow up has something similar with the bottom 2 having to do a basic makeup application to stay
@@rinina it's funny that you mention it because I was thinking of glow up when writing the comment, I think it might be the only other show that comes to mind with this sort of last chance stand off, which i always appreciate!
@@nekrosmos7135 tbh I find it funny you talking about this being notable, cause it's made me realise - I've grown up watching UK reality TV and I think it's given me quite different expectations of what's ordinary for a reality show.
The idea of a final showdown between the bottom two contestants to decide who goes home is a pretty baked-in staple of UK reality shows! It's on loads of the ones I've watched ever since I was a kid, with Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor probably being the most notable (I know there's a US version of the X Factor but my impression was that it made less of an impact over there?). And I hadn't realised until today that there might be a difference between this in the UK, and what's typical for US reality contests.
@@AMinibot I'm not surprised to hear that UK reality TV might be different in that regard honestly! I'm french so I grew up watching french reality TV and I do recall that last chance challenges being more of a common thing than with US reality TV as well.
It just feels normal to have it and feels weird to see contestants go without a last chance !
Elektra Shock would’ve had the same Jinkx underdog storyline IF THEY ACTUALLY JUDGED IT CORRECTLY.
Kita, Anita, and Elektra shouldve been the final 3.
Elektra wasn't winner material though. Elektra is positioned perfectly for an all stars storyline.
Jinkx story arc was epic 😂😭 i can't i'm crying *dab dab
Omg yes they did elektra dirty
Best part of season 8: Chi Chi❤(RIP)
I miss ChiChi.❤
Yes!!! 💗
I was SO WORRIED you were gonna say the Jinkx storyline was the worst part of s5. I don't give a flying fuck if it was staged, I first saw s5 as a bullied Autistic kid and the "underdog triumphs over adversity" story meant THE WORLD to me. 💜
omg - as another bullied autistic kid i got so attached to jinkx that season and it’s still my absolute favourite season because of how much it inspired me, i’m so glad to see i wasn’t the only one!!!
“Season 9 had ‘Macho Man’ and ‘Music’”, both being Peppermint lipsyncs, feels right 🫶🏻
I think the thing I love most about Season 15 is the immense talent, I could see almost every single queen making it to the finale (Irene, Poppy, Aura, Spice, Malaysia, Marcia etc...) as they all seemed to have a clear sense of their own drag style and there really wasn't anyone who felt unprepared for the season unlike Jaymes' edit in Season 9 or Adore in AS2.
I agree I think some of the queens were really able to still shine despite the short episode format I do think though if they had been longer we would have got some really good moments that weren’t aired though
I loved how season 15 were all catty but no one was really portrayed as a villain by the edit. Also from the Anetra Marcia lipsync on, every elimination felt unnecessary because everyone was just so strong.
Season 4 “built on a foundation of negligence” spilled 🫢
I genuinely like Season 12 but there was a lot wrong with it even in the final edit. The treatment of Brita by production during the show and during the online drama was awful. Gigi was saved so many times from that bottom. Jaida was barely given screen time compared to Jackie Gigi and Crystal and this was her winning season. The first seven episodes were great (culminating in the fantastic Rusical) but from then it just hit a slow decline. The debate was good but the branding, stand up and makeover were very meh. I’m glad they brought back the puppets mini challenge but they haven’t had it again since. Usually the worst part of a season, especially since Season 9 has been production meddling, pushing certain queens, manufacturing storylines and never letting the audience pick up on things themselves, basically shoving their message down our throats.
I really thought they'd bring Jackie back after the Pies disqualification and put her in the top 4 finale just because she was portrayed to have such a good chance to end up in the top with a wonderful (redemption) edit. Still kinda sad they didn't. Would've loved to see what she'd do with the finale prompts.
@lucasamm Gigi's makeover should have put her in the bottom. That's three times she could have been but was saved.
@lucasamm sherry pie also received plenty of favouritism. And Gigi just put her makeover partner in an opposite colour balloon outfit. Gigi gave Miss Fame vibes for those last few episodes.
I disagree I think the season remained great at the end
Yvie was a very big underdog for her season we can’t forget
i feel like s3 drama was hands down amazing especially in untucked
same! much more entertaining than s2 imo
Ive never had a sugar daddy ive never wanted a sugar daddy if i wanted a sugar daddy i could probably go out and get one because i am WHAT? SICKENING. You could never have a sugar daddh because you are not. That. Type. Of. Girl. Everything ive had ive got myself i built myself from the ground up BITCH 🍹 💦”
I understand why people are complaining with the amount of bloat, but I think have a split premier with no one going home is a fantastic idea that I hope they stick with.
It’s a HUGE deal to get on the show, and I think every queen deserves at least one chance to shine without being in danger to getting eliminated.
I didn’t mind it in some seasons but I do feel like it can drag it on too much like season 13 I really struggled getting through for that reason it has a good cast but just at some point I was like give us a winner!🤣
I like the split premiere but cap it at 12 queens per season. Nobody goes home first two episodes (split premieres) and maybe even the next episode too, so the queens can showcase more. Quality time over quantity.
7:50 You're right, we really HAVEN'T gotten an underdog come-from-behind storyline since 5. Yvie and Willow were oddball alt queens with few wins, but BOTH of them felt like winner material for their entire seasons. Sasha Velour and Jaida were maybe not the betting odds FAVORITES to win in the finales, but they both had extremely solid runs and were destined to make the finale. And every other winner since, seasons 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, and 15, the winner was obvious for basically the whole season lol. The closest I can think of is actually Bimini Bon Boulash in UK2... but she didn't win lol.
This is revisionist history. Yvie was hard underdog when the season aired.
uhm jaida? she was clearly an underdog compared to gigi and sh*rr*, and i would assume that's in every edit there is of the show. she literally had production actively trying to push others in her expense. bimini wasn't an underdog, they were clearly at the top of the game post-lockdown.
Violet was obvious the whole season???
From what? All the challenges she sucked at?
That whole season looked like a Pearl win due to favoritism, or a Ginger win due to performance. If we would've gotten an Underdog, then Katya was the one highlighted as that.
Violet was just a snarky bitch with a few good looks.
Okay but the best part about season 15 being Sasha Colby is such a valid reason 😭
S12 finale might be my favorite part of that season. Traditional media was struggling HARD during lock-down, and RPDR said hold my bubbly. Delivering a super-entertaining show even if they couldn't do a big stage again.
I do actually really like S13, I just really like the cast. I also much MUCH prefer a queen save after the fact to an unearned double Shantay (the 2 times a double Shantay was actually earned of course being the most preferable) Like, the competition of course still matters, but when they do a double Shantay you can tell that it's production meddling, but in a "shadowy-figure" type of way. While a save after the fact is a clear signal from production/Rupaul that they made a decision we don't have to speculate on.
Like, put that meddling next to the palm reader pairing the queens together. I much prefer the "We made a decision, we're keeping Kandy" approach than the "what meddling? they got paired by their auras being read"
I think being saved after the fact just tries to say "You lost the lipsync, but we think you did good enough that you deserve a second chance. Still, take it as a warning tho"
I would love if you could do a video on major front runners like Sasha or Carmen Farala and how to edit/ not edit a front runner. IE: the rush to establish a second front runner or the elimination of ever other competitor on Espana 3
Kandy muse's runways either miss hard, or hit so insanely well
The Worst Trait of Season 1 (and 2) was the Judging; kind of surprised you didn’t talk about that.
I wish the show got rid of Ross and Carson and brought drag queens to judge.
Alyssa - dance
Bianca - roast/stand up routine
Jinks - snatch game
DeLa - acting
Violet - ball
Raja - design
Adore - singing
That would be a great idea!
Trixie - Branding
My less favorite thing of S3 is heard the queens with their views about “trans” in the competition. However that is like a fossil of how much the competition has evolved
s10 is so funny for me bc i never remember right away any of the cast or the winner so always take me a minute to go like "aaaaahhh... the aquaria one"
s2's best trait is shangela starting the lipstick messages on the mirrors for me
Awesome video! Yessss gives us part 2 on all stars and international ones!
I'm here for All stars and International too.
Seasons 11-15 Casts have all been incredible but their seasons are full of Production medling
You’re content is so good! Thank you for making it
YOUR****
its SOOOOOOO nice to see u do this i missed ur videos sm!1 i hope u do an all stars version of this video id love that!!
I feel like season 14 has some of the highest highs and lowest lows. It has ,to me, the most well rounded cast throughout. Some seasons are far too too heavy in the story telling (4,5,13 and 15 especially) and it is the season where the group dynamic and individual relationships are best established. However it had by far the worst pacing and some of the messiest production of all time.
S15, the only thing i dislike about it is how predictable it is, we all knew that mother Sasha is gonna eat everyone up and she absolutely did.
Season 5's cast is kinda like the culmination of really strong queens that watched the show for 4 years and understood what needed to be brought, I feel like that's why 5 is one of the strongest standing seasons
Omg yess! jinx winning is one of my favourite things in the entire franchise.
Love the video btw
S12 was, for me, the perfect season. even with all the (necessary) editing, BTS drama, and the pandemic coming in and changing everything, I feel like this season had the most “real” cast members who weren’t trying too hard to hard to produce their narratives and were so damn likeable! the casting (save one obvious exception…) was OUTSTANDING, and it was honestly the last regular season in which I genuinely felt engaged with the show.
I haven’t enjoyed or looked forward to watching a season as much as this one.
My first season of Drag Race was S7 and I love it for the drama of it all.
But my comfort season is S8. Bob, Naomi, Kim Chi they were all just kind of vibing, doing their thing. Even the 'drama' wirh Acid Betty and Derrick Berry is so mild and kind in comparison to everything else.
Season 12 coming out as great as it did despite....everything.....is a real miracle.
I am so glad someone else admitted that they don't love Season 10! Least fav season by a lot!
Season 7: They did the opposite of Season 3 by pushing a lot of acting challenges (which weren't well written), and a lot of designing and craftswomanship that went into the runways (Born Naked, Half-Half, Conjoined Queens, etc.) wasn't shown in the episode in favour of meaningless bitching. This didn't really highlight the creative talent that the cast had.
YES THANK YOU FOR THE VAGUE RUNWAYS MENTION istg some runways just weren’t mentioned, but also i, at the same time, hate underdog stories because it erases Roxxxy’s talent because she was SO talented for her runways but doesn’t get the appreciation like Raja because she was seen only as a villain even though it was only in the second half of the season, sttarting with Coco and Alyssa until Alyssa got eliminated
Amazing video, really enjoyed all your thoughts. Slightly sad that S15 was essentially reduced to “short episodes/drama/Sasha Colby”. Obviously it makes sense, but it was such an incredibly entertaining season to me and I don’t think it got enough love as it was airing. While S14 felt immensely long, tedious, boring (you even mentioned this with the chocolate bar aspect), with not many memorable moments, S15 shined and was extremely memorable DESPITE the short episodes due to its stellar cast who weren’t afraid of taking risks. S14 felt risk-free and safe in many ways, apart from a couple specific queens. Still, can understand your POV and appreciate the effort you take to express yourself. ❤
No one can convince me that runways matter.
The best part of season 15 is definitely the top 4, every storyline was around at least one of them
Not Luxxx. She was trash.
Yeah but it was still obvious who were going to be on the top 2
Love the concept of the vid- watching now!
I didn't like S15 as it seemed to just focus on the queens with popularity and you could tell from episode 1 they wanted Sasha as the winner. Even with AS7 and AS8, the pushing of Jinkx and Jimbo was super obvious.
I miss the seasons where you couldn't tell who was going to win. Lately we haven't had that.
shanel juggling down the runway 😍
I love JackFed's videos. I could watch them for hours.
Honestly, hot take, but one of my favorite things in seasons 2 and 3 are some of the older challenges that ended up getting retired (notably the whole pole-dancing challenge, and the two singing challenges) and I genuinely kinda wish they ended up being staples. I love those sort of group choreo challenges, and after what we got in Season 11, I only wished it would stay more. But I get the risk of injury factor. And as for the singing, I just love how it’s a nice individual performance for the queens, and we rarely ever get to see a big solo number by the queens apart from the talent show and in some ways the roast, and there are certainly ways to win something like the singing challenge without actually being good at singing (comedy, a dance, a reveal, cool lyrics, etc)
Honorable mention to the lineup of guest judges on season 12
Not Jack forgetting Utica... How dare you lmao
Just like the drag race producers
@@fezco.is.superior6086 unfortunately yeah...
AWESOMESAUCED IDEA! I agree, please do the rest of All Stars and Internationals you’ve watched ❤❤❤❤
Yes please! A video on All Stars and International seasons are definitely needed.
I love your Drag Race videos!
Honestly my fave videos from you are just you telling us your opinions and then justifying them lol I could listen to you talk all day
Loved so many of your opinions! Too many to mention but I loved your take on seasons 12 and 13.The chocolate bars were the worst. It felt like just a way for Ru to 'save' someone who had been organised to get to the final when/if they slipped up. Like an insurance policy.
S1 should be untouchable. Yes it has flaws, it's not perfect. But it's good, it's raw, it's genuine. It has heart. Ru was so genuine in this and Santino's spiciness and Merle's sweetness complements with her. The judges are more connected/devoted and genuinely having fun. And of course, the queens. Everyone has a different personality and they are obviously carefully-selected. Yes, even Victoria. I don't see her as the winner but she's just got unfortunate to be eliminated first. But the queens are all good and gave good TV.
So I believe S1 should be spared with all this rankings and opinions, okay? Without S1, the rest of the seasons won't be here.
I agree with most of your points except for Season 7 - Season 7's worst point was too many acting/comedy challenges with a cast that was not really setup to handle it. I think if Season 3 and Season 7 had swapped some acting and some design/ball challenges between them, we'd have a more balanced set-up of challenges that would showcase the talents of the queens more. Like it''s a hatecrime how stacked Season 3 is comedy wise yet it has one acting challenge and one and a half comedy challenges?
Also, shoutout to Roloskatox for giving us a sympathetic set of villains to root for. They were like the Heathers, but done right.
Could you do a top 20 looks and bottom 20 looks? I love the runways and hearing what people loved about them and also the cattiness of a bottom placement.
please do it for all stars and international!! i love this idea
The worst part of Season 1 was Rebecca winning the makeover challenge, making top 3 and sending Jade home
please do this for all stars/ international seasons this was so fun to watch
I absolutely HATE how queens are just kept in the show for their personalities only. Like sorry but Kandy for example looked so busted on the main stage at times but they still saved her and even kept her from going home... Why exactly? Cause Ru wasn't ready to let her go...? Like you said the competition makes no sense at that point.
And nowdays the critiques are like "you didn't know any of the words but it doesn't matter to me cause you are always such a presence on stage"
"your outfit is ill-fitting and it's the same thing we have seen countless times but I love it cause you make it work"
I also hate double shanty's. Almost none of them are deserved
Im surpsied you didnt mention s13 lipsyncs. Yeah the premier was traumatizing but beyond that, the lip sync song choices as well as lipsync performances were great. I mean come on, Fascinated when they had a fascinator runway. That was everything
Yes but then the finale happened. Three of the worst lip syncs of the season back to back.
6:52 violet chachki? on season 5?
👏🏼BRING PAST WINNERS TO THE JUDGING PANEL👏🏼
For a first-time watcher, what season do you recommend ?
Season 1 : the Vaseline covering on the camera
I recently rewatched season 10 just a couple weeks ago, and I think I can pinpoint the issues with it. Up to that point, the production interference has mostly been fairly minor or generally undetectable throughout most of any given season. Sure, there might have been some moments that felt crafted, but never just ham-fisted. This is the first season where some of the production interference was just overtly obvious, sometimes to the point of them not even trying to hide it or smooth it into the episode so that it would feel more naturally occurring (often to the detriment of a good few of the episodes). Something about that switch over to VH1 just made them decide to make it more processed and less natural with progression, so shocking moments never felt all that shocking. This particular season gives off a vibe of being the start of a new era that didn't allow the contestants to be completely themselves, but rather whatever production wanted them to be and drove that home. That's the interpretation I gleaned from it.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see the Season One cast have a showcase of their talents with today's set and tools??????
For me one of the most decent things from s13 (besides the runways) were definitively the lipsyncs: Denali vs Kahmora, Lala vs Elliott, Utica vs Tina, Kandy vs Tamisha, Lala vs Joey, Tamisha vs Symone, Lala vs Denali, Utica vs Elliott were all incredible, i think the only ones who're really bad are the finale lipsyncs
My least favorite thing of season 9 is easily the LIGHTING
One thing I really don't like about Seasons 14 and 15 is actually the colour grading. 12 and 13 were bright and saturated, but it still seemed natural enough, there was dimension.
Then, 14 added that really obnoxious, warm yellow colour filter. It might just be me, but I think it makes the show look really flat, overproduced and fake.
S15 has this awful orange filter the whole time that makes it look like it was shot in mexico and as8 doesn't have it for some reason
S15 just felt really warm in like the worst way possible. Maybe someone forgot to turn the AC in there
1:10 "Butt in hindsight" 🍑🤭
i giggled
The best thing about S5 is the untucked! They were nasty and so vicious that even their makeover partners started having beef with each other 💀💀
I want Michelle to leave, I feel like she’s the main reason for a push back in newer drag styles in the early season, but always loved Sharon (even though she did want to see versatility) but what experience does she have? Her hating green too is SUCH a weird reason to downgrade a person’s outfit too when it applies to nothing. Idc how long she’s been around drag queens, because obviously winners like Raja and Violet didn’t like how she was and it didn’t allow many queens to be appreciated on the show. Especially the case with Dusty Ray Bottoms and her dots, like bitch it’s her brand, but Vanjie will get saved the millionth time in S11 wearing a leotard, makes zero sense.
YES please do the international seasons! I enjoy them do much more than recent US seasons
For myself I like when they give female illusion . I don't really like the boy body and nip slip outfits! To me those cheapen the look! Some of my favorite seasons are season 8, 9 and 11 and season 1 and 5 and 6
i find it so interesting that you dont like season 3 having so many design challenges because thats why its one of my favourites and i feel like a lot of modern seasons dont have enough
My least favorite thing about season 15 is how so much of it is just bashing the younger queens.
my favourite thing about s15 was luxx she made those episodes enjoyable
babe wake up new jackfed just dropppped 🗣🗣🗣
Season 15 is getting the redemption it needed, 90 minute episodes are coming!!!
All Stars, thank you !
I kind of wish someone would do something like this for America’s Next Top Model. Except good luck with the number of cycles that one’s got just for the US iteration! I have never watched an episode of RuPaul start to finish but I get the impression that this show especially in moments like season 4 shows a lot more of the contestant’s individuality where ANTM can be a bit paint by number after a while. Also it seems like the challenges are more focused on assessing talent than ANTM where spectacle started to take a front seat after a while.
Wasnt season 3 filmed during a writers strike? Isnt that the same reason why i think season 16 had also more design challenges?
I love the filter on S1
idk why s15 is so unbearable to rewatch for me, even though sooo many of the queens are so talented and charismatic
I agree with you and I think that season 10 was kind of a let down, but I don't know why. I've watched it recently and I realized that I don't think nothing in this season was ICONIC. Not that I that is bad, but at least I can't quote as much things as I do with another seasons, or I don't usually bring up the looks.
The only thing I quote from season 10 are Monique catchphrases, and MAYBE Aquaria's Snatch Game
What was the hero-villain story excluded from S12??
An important thing to remember about s10 is that people were already getting wary of the franchise since it premiered so soon after the shitshow that was the as3 finale. A lot of us felt the promos for s10 were trying to sweep production’s then-recent bad choices under the rug.
season 7 gave us Jasmine, so i can ignore all their negatives because of that
pt 2 pleaaase❤