The last three seasons of Drag Race have featured a Top 4 in the final episode, bucking the Top 3 trend of the early years. Since All Stars 2, the final challenge has felt like a showcase of why each of these queens could be America’s Next Drag Superstar. We may see them struggle with choreography or fumble some lyrics in rehearsals, but any trace of that in the final product is mostly edited out in favor of having something good enough to release on iTunes. Of course, not every final four queen is a musical genius, but that didn’t stop Roxxxy Andrews from making herstory with her iconic verse in “Read U Wrote U” in All Stars 2.
It was, frankly, no surprise that all four of the remaining Season 10 queens made it to the finale. Especially considering the new Lip Sync for the Crown format, it’s just good common sense from a production standpoint to have four queens competing. That being said, besides nailing their performances of RuPaul’s “American” in the last challenge, they each arrived at this point in the competition with a strong case for why they deserve a shot at the crown in the finale next week.
Kameron Michaels
Statistically, Kameron is the weakest of the four queens in the competition. She has only one challenge win under her belt and has been in the bottom three times. Like fellow triple lip sync survivor Coco Montrese, though, she earned the opportunity to stay each time. RuPaul loves a survivor story and has a soft spot for sensitive souls; Kameron checks both of those boxes and has been a refreshing example of quiet strength in a very loud world. While we would have loved to see Kameron open up more on the show, her shyness in the workroom meant that her dynamic runway presentations were that much more exciting to watch. Kameron may not be our top pick to win the crown, but she’s been a true dark horse all season.
Eureka O’Hara
Besides earning two challenge wins and a lip sync save from RuPaul, Eureka also has a story. Well, she has many stories—this season it seemed like every challenge had an iceberg of personal meaning for her—but in the world of Drag Race, she is a comeback queen and an example of picking yourself back up and persevering that RuPaul clearly wants to highlight. However, Eureka has also been a contentious queen all season. Besides her conflicts with The Vixen, she seemed to get away with things on the runway that the other queens couldn’t. (The judges never clocked her multiple hair loaves but practically hissed at the repeated sight of Monet X Change’s signature pussycat wig.) Regardless of that, her runway looks have been mostly high drag all season, she thrived in key challenges like Snatch Game and the makeover, and she’s given these producers as much good reality TV as she possibly can. We would not be surprised to see a crown on top of that loaf of hair at the finale.
Asia O’Hara
All season, Asia has been a Professional Drag Queen. Like Chad Michaels or Bianca Del Rio, she’s been an adult in the room, a mother figure, a truth teller and also an expert shade thrower. (Her disdain for Monet’s sponge dress is one of the funniest enduring bits from the season.) She exudes superstar charisma the moment she flashes that million dollar smile, and has backed it up with some of the season’s most exciting runway looks. From her terrific take on Tweety Bird to her brilliant ode to IKEA lighting fixtures, Asia has elevated what we can come to expect from a queen on Drag Race. Her unwavering dedication to maintaining a spirit of community and sisterhood feels refreshing and relevant right now, especially in a rising culture of rampant hate speech and trolling among the fandom. While she’d been fierce competition all season, she never seemed to forget that this was all just a game and that they were all in it together. Asia exudes the energy of a queen who already has won; we would love to see her get the added validation of the crown and the cash.
Aquaria
We admittedly went into this season decidedly not Team Aquaria. We saw a vain, 21-year-old club kid who had a lot to learn about this world, and we waited for the competition to slap some sense into her. We couldn’t be happier to have been so wrong. Aquaria has emerged as one of the most exciting queens to watch – not just this season, but any season. Despite her age, she draws from a wealth of nuanced references and has a fully realized point of view. Early conflicts with Miz Cracker and The Vixen were certainly false starts, but her kooky charm and a beguiling self-awareness quickly emerged. Plus, her expert level runway looks are rivaled only by the likes of Violet Chachki and Raja. Much like her drag mother Sharon Needles, Aquaria feels like “the future of drag,” and with three challenge wins and no lip syncs, she’s technically already the winner of Season 10. Regardless of whether or not she wins the crown, Aquaria already is America’s Next Drag Superstar.
Want to queen out each week on Season 10 with us? Alright Mary is a weekly recap podcast and deep dive into all things RuPaul’s Drag Race. We go in on the queens, behind the scenes, the larger social themes explored on the show and as much reddit T as we can get our mitts on. Subscribe on iTunes and follow us on Twitter @alrightmary!
[elfsight_youtube_gallery id=”2″]Drag Race Season 10 Episode 13 Recap: Reunited Queens Get Real With RuPaul
Last modified: December 21, 2018
