Recap: You’re a G-O-D-D-E-S-S, Baby!
'RPDR' is in its Golden Globes era
The Yearning Rating: ✰✰✰
This recap contains spoilers for RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15.
Written by Ali Romig
All hail Sasha Colby! Last Friday, Sasha became the latest reigning Queen in a long line of drag superstars. Only instead of feeling like a reward for a competition well fought, it felt more like a confirmation of what we all knew from the jump. Sasha is the Queen. I’ll go ahead and say it up top: she was the only right choice to take home the crown. If you disagree, bring your best arguments to the comments, but you’ll be hard-pressed to convince me otherwise.
I may be coming on strong here, but I have my reasons for drawing such a hard line in the sand on this. Sasha came onto the show with the most to lose. A living legend in her own right, her reputation preceded her. Even if this season was your introduction to Sasha Colby as a performer, you most likely had at least heard of her prior to the premiere. Coming onto the show with that kind of clout is a risk—what if you don’t meet expectations? Not only did Sasha nail the competition, she proved that she deserved all the praise-baggage she walked into the Werkroom with. One of the best things about RPDR is how it introduces the world to lesser known drag performers—“local girls”, if I may—and gives their art a giant platform. But as the casts of recent seasons have begun trending younger and younger3, it's also nice to see RPDR honor a legitimate icon—someone who is a legend within the drag universe, not just the RPDR universe. Rather than launching her, this crown will be the cherry on top of Sasha’s already illustrious career. And I think that’s delectable.
Before we get to our reigning Queen’s crowning moment, let’s take a look back at everything that happened in the finale: the good, the bad, and the all-out ugly!
Promenade of the Eliminated Queens
As with all RPDR finales, the episode began with a pageant walk of all the eliminated queens. I love this part, if only because it helps me remember who was even in the season. Especially this year, which saw the largest number of contestants to date. Princess Poppy who? (no offense 😇). Okay, queens: this is your last chance to impress us and save yourself from irrelevancy.
In all seriousness, this offers the contestants a great opportunity to let the people know how they’ve developed since their time on the show (and what kind of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent they can serve with more $$$). Aside from the top four, I wasn’t really blown away by any of the looks. But my least favorite was probably Princess Poppy’s (I am not trying to pick on her, I promise!). This feels like a look we’ve seen done a number of ways already on Drag Race, and the Mean Girls prom-in-a-back-brace getup was far less satisfying than her Rebecca Glascock reference in the reunion episode. Bring jeans back to the Main Stage!
In terms of the best look, it really did feel like there was a stark and almost wicked difference between the top four and the rest of the group. Maybe I am being harsh but that’s my opinion!! Anetra, Luxx, Mistress, and Sasha all looked polished from head to toe. And though it’s been said a million times, I would just like to point out that this really is one of the most talented top fours we’ve had in a while. And that talent is reflected in how jaw-dropping their drag is. That being said, I have to give best dressed—winning by a literal wig hair’s width—to Mistress. That face! Breathtaking, really.
Now before I move away from our lovely fourth through fifteenth alternates, I want to mention our new Miss Congeniality: Malaysia Babydoll Foxx! I really didn’t know who was going to take the title this year, and Malaysia wouldn’t have been my first guess, but if that’s who the queens chose, then that’s who deserves the title. And that’s all I have to say about that…
Original Songstresses
RuPaul’s Drag Race has seen its fair share of finale formats over the years. From straight up reunions, to Lip Sync Smackdowns for the Crown, to original song performances—which is what viewers were treated to this year—it’s never guaranteed what you're going to get in an RPDR finale. The original song was first introduced in Season 7, before being replaced (infamously) with a Lip Sync Smackdown in Season 9. It then returned in Season 14, where a smackdown would’ve been impossible, given there was a top FIVE. Honestly, I’m still confused by this choice, but I digress.
I’m not sure if I was necessarily happy to see the format come back. I don’t dislike it, but it does feel a little bit anticlimactic and overproduced. Maybe it’s simply that there is less room for spontaneity…and that’s likely the point. The format gives Ru a certain amount of power that can’t be taken away by an undeniable lip sync performance. The Sasha Velour of it all. Typically all of the original songs range from fine to good, so any of the queens could be named a top two contender with little to no drama. I have a sneaking suspicion that Ru knew the top two would be Anetra and Sasha before anyone so much as stepped on stage. In fact, if you told me Ru was backstage, reminiscing about the Interior Illusions Lounge and drinking a Bubly Sparkling Water while the queens performed, I would say, “Sure.”
Still, we must pretend that these performances had some bearing on the final two and discuss them.
Up first, Anetra. She performs a song called “Lotus” and honestly? It’s probably my least favorite of the group. (Sorry Anetra, I still adore you!). The song is giving earnest girl boss pop-ballad; the kind you might hear at a DNC convention. I wanted more in the dancing department, especially since we know that Anetra is unparalleled when it comes to high-energy hits. It felt like the wrong choice for an otherwise outstanding performer. A shame.
Next up is Luxx’s “It’s Giving Fashion”, and here I feel like we’re served the exact opposite of what we just witnessed happen to Anetra. While Anetra’s song choice hindered her, Luxx’s elevates her. It’s no secret that Luxx’s dancing isn’t as crisp or tight as Anetra’s, and there are certainly sloppier moments in the performance, but the song caters to Luxx’s strengths: she camps it up and lip syncs lines like “Thread count. Hemlines. Pain. It’s giving fashion,” with a practiced attitude. All in all, a job well done.
Mistress is third, and her song is titled “Delusion”. I think her song might be the most fun of all of them, blending different styles and calling back to her time on the show. I thought she looked absolutely incredible, even if I wanted more from her outfit reveal. Unfortunately, while the song is high energy, the performance itself does end up being just a little bit forgettable.
Finally we have Sasha. There is no denying it: her song, aptly called “Goddess”, is by far the best, and her performance is on another level. The song starts with the line: “She’s not trying to impress, she’s just being honest.” Truly, that is the energy Sasha brings to the entire performance (and to the entire competition). She is so in control of both herself and the stage. It looks effortless—like for her, this isn’t the biggest number of her career, it’s just another performance and she’s going to give you everything you came for. If you weren’t convinced of her star power before this moment, I think it would be difficult to deny it afterwards.
Unsurprisingly, Anetra and Sasha are named the top two.
Other Headliners
Before we get to the final lip sync and crowning4, we must—as the show did—take a moment to celebrate and reflect on the past. For the first time ever, RuPaul presents an “It’s Giving Lifetime Achievement Award” to designer and first-ever RPDR guest host Bob Mackie. This is a fun moment, and makes me wonder who might receive the award in the future? Elvira for next year!
Season 14 winner, Willow Pill, looks stunning when she comes out in a pink number that harkens back to a “willow tree.” Willow hasn’t been shy about the fact that this year has been particularly hard for her, and that the pressure that comes with winning doesn’t necessarily bode well for the champions. I always appreciate Willow’s candor (something that seems more present in many of the younger queens) and thought she had a nice message to viewers and fellow queens alike about being gentle with yourself and others.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our Queen of All Queens, Jinkx Monsoon, who was given the time to perform “When You’re Good to Mama” from her star turn as Matron “Mama” Morton in Broadway’s Chicago. She does a knock-out job (as my girlfriend texted after Jinkx hit the final note, “stomping cheering”). Is it just me or does the song also fit the Mama Ru narrative pretty well? While it may have felt a little gratuitous to some, I am glad the show afforded Jinkx this time during the finale—she is someone who this show has undeniably launched into genuine stardom and I couldn’t be happier for her. Also, the All Star finales blow, pomp-and-circumstance-wise.
Between the lifetime achievement award, the Broadway show performance, and the multiple speeches, this year’s finale did have a certain…awards show aspect to it, didn’t it? It was giving Golden Globes.
May the Best Drag Queen Win!
And now, what we’ve all been waiting for! It comes down to this: the final lip sync between Anetra and Sasha. We got a preview of what this might look like when the two performed “I’m In Love with a Monster” during the mid-season Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza; but now the stakes are much, much higher. The song is “Knock on Wood” by Amii Stewart, an adequate, if slightly perplexing choice. Both Anetra and Sasha bring out all the stops, with outfit reveals and tricks up their sleeves (or in their bosoms). Anetra’s performance becomes slightly more emphatic by the song's conclusion, while Sasha seems to stay cool and collected throughout. I do feel that this difference in attitude says a lot: Anetra fights until the final note, while Sasha basks in the moment, self-assured. Is it the best lip sync of the season? No. That title still sits squarely with Anetra and Marcia x3. But it’s a damn good show, which makes the subsequent crowning all the more tense.
In the end, the crown goes to Sasha! As I said up top, I think this is not only the right choice, but the only choice. Anetra would’ve been an outstanding winner, no question. But having Sasha in the Hall of Fame feels not only correct but necessary. It took 15 seasons for her to grace us with her presence on this show. While some girls are clamoring for a spot, she was intentional about her participation, patient and waiting for the right moment. Well Sasha, this is your moment. Have it!
Drag isn’t a crime…but we still shouldn’t invite the cops
For the past few months, Meg and I have been including a section in our newsletters where we offer weekly recaps on RPDR. The reason we named this section “The Elephant in the Werkroom” is because we understand that, while Drag Race is revolutionary in other ways, it isn’t necessarily politically revolutionary. Knowing that, I was still saddened to see the inclusion of the police in an otherwise nice “Drag Fans” tribute to the joy and necessity of drag during this truly terrifying time in the US.
I think we can acknowledge both the good the show has done while being cognizant of the missteps. With that in mind, I’d like to end this post by highlighting the ACLU Drag Defense Fund, which was also mentioned on the show. If you love RPDR and drag in general, please consider donating. You can also donate to the Trans Justice Funding Project. In the words of our reigning Queen Sasha Colby, her win is for “every trans person past, present, and future”. The trans community is not going anywhere.
You like me, you really, really like [my posts on Substack to help us reach more readers]!
Seeing double? Next week on The Yearning, Meg will review Amazon Prime’s Rachel Weisz vehicle, Dead Ringers.
I mean, Sasha Colby.
See above.
Sasha is 38, so NOT old. But compared to a 20-year-old who’s been doing drag for 8-months…
I am choosing not to discuss the performance of Wigloose, for obvious reasons.
Our home was full of loud cheers for our Queen of all Queens, too!