What, another post? After a yearlong hiatus? For real real? Yes, for real real.
I really enjoyed writing blogs again, even though this is essentially unpaid labor on top of my actual paying jobs. It feels like I’m doing something that is just mine, so even if this does get a bit tiring and I’m not earning anything from it I feel good about doing it.
I really liked the first season of Drag Race France and found Nicky Doll to be a really charming host so it’s no surprise that she and the show has come back for another season. Let’s see if it’s a worth successor!
Right off the bat, I am enjoying how much the French audience seemed to have enjoyed the first season. Since I don’t know anybody from France and I haven’t ventured into the Drag Race France subreddit, I had no idea how well the show was received.
Up first is Mami Watta and can you say body? The shots from her Instagram aren’t really doing her body justice because she is snatched. Was there a lot of outfit? No, but something tells me Mami Watta is about body and with a body like that why shouldn’t she be about body?
I was initially underwhelmed by Sara Forever’s entrance look until I realized it was a freaking vulva and she confirmed it just a few seconds after walking into the Werk Room. G E N I U S.
Ginger Bitch was very pink and while the outfit photographs really well on her Instagram account I was…whelmed. It’s pretty! But Mami Watta and Sara Forever really made a splash walking in. And as it turns out I was actually nicer than Mami Watta, who described Ginger Bitch as a fat Kam Hugh. The shade of it all.
Up next is the unfortunately named Moon, because how in the world are you going to rig your Google ranking when you’re up against a literal celestial body? The first three queens don’t know her either, because as it turns out she’s actually Swiss! Future Drag Race Switzerland host? I AM KIDDING.
I am not particularly vibing with Kitty Space’s entrance look but she’s an Asian queen so all is forgiven. And she is apparently friends with Mami Watta!
And then we get Piche, who is a BEARDED QUEEN and I am curious how this is going to go. The only other bearded queen that I know of that competed in a Drag Race franchise is Madame Madness from Drag Race Holland and they ended up asking her to shave the beard off. Will that also happen this time around?
I hate to say this but Rose is a BOOT. I am no fashion expert but even I can see that it doesn’t fit her right. She is also another unfortunately named drag queen because there is apparently a bajillion drag queens with the name Rose. And then you have to compete with Rosé! She’s part of a drag duo with Punani — who is also part of this season but hasn’t entered yet as I am writing this — and shares an Instagram account. No posts about her entrance look though.
Up next is Cookie Kunty, and apparently she is a big deal because the queens immediately start screaming. The entrance look was giving blonde Bettie Page and I’m not mad at it!
Vespi is pretty but I am unable to fully appreciate it because Ginger Bitch delivers a cutting read in the confessionals by describing Vespi like so: “Thin as a stick with a big wig. Wow! It’s the first time I’ve seen a walking cotton swab.” The shade of it all.
Up next is Keiona in a glittering outfit and I’m happy that there is more than one Black queen this season. Soa de Muse was all by her lonesome in the previous season! And from the way the other queens talk about her, it seems like she is someone to be reckoned with as she is apparently a legend in the French ballroom scene.
Punani finally makes an appearance and wouldn’t you know it she and Rose have the same underwhelming entrance look. It’s a good thing that they say there’s comedy queens on their Instagram then because the fashion isn’t fashioning.
Nicky then enters the Werk Room and announces the prizes. No prize money, just like last season, but a crown and scepter, a trip to New York, and a year’s upply of Mac Cosmetics. Not bad!
The mini-challenge is a photoshoot in a garden set, which of course comes with distractions just like every episode 1 Drag Race photoshoot. And this season’s distraction is the queens being spun around on the swing which would have been even more hilarious if queens other than Kitty Space, Mami Watta, and Punani fell from it. I’M SORRY OKAY BUT PEOPLE FALLING IS FUNNY. Punani wins and gets a kiss from the Pit Crew and I am kinda miffed that she doesn’t get any other advantages. No prize money either!
In a change I did not expect, this season’s first Maxi challenge is the queens recording the Drag Race France theme song. No more Mama Ru? Two legendary French singers — Chris and Nicholas Sirkis — are the guest judges and Rose is rattled but also happy.
As the queens untuck, Moon makes the announcement that she is a trans woman. She also shares how she’s had people stop talking to her and even getting beat because of coming out as a trans person. She shares that the room is full of love though, which is why she felt comfortable enough to share.
The other queens also talk about the impact of the first season of Drag Race France. According to Keiona, it was a phenomenon, and the other queens say that it also gave them the opportunity to show the people around them what they do. This is especially true for Sara Forever and Mami Watta, whose parents don’t know that they do drag. It’s so nice to hear the impact these shows have!
The queens finally get to rehearse after getting some advice from Chris and Nicky and is it just me or have the sets gotten larger? From what I remember the Werk Room and the Main Stage were right beside each other in the previous season but it looks like they got a bigger budget this year! It’s that or French filmmaking magic!
The rehearsals start but I am distracted by the constant Keiona confessionals where she asserts how good she is. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT. It’s just that after years of watching Drag Race constantly getting confessionals like that aired usually means ill things for the queen.
Rose, however, is the one most clearly in danger because she can’t even find the beat. Girl, this is a performance challenge how are you going to dance if you can’t find the beat?
ANYWAYS. The main challenge starts and the song actually sounds good BUT there’s no translations for the French lyrics so it’s not as impactful as I would have wanted it to be. I just know some lines are funny because the judges laugh. But the song is legit good! It doesn’t seem to be on international platforms though.
Meanwhile, the theme for the first runway is Super Drag, and Mami Watta is killing it. The outfit isn’t on her Instagram but she had on what I assume is tribal wear from the Ivory Coast and she entered with a chant that just delivers.
Another look that caught my eye was Piche’s, but maybe not for a good reason? It’s essentially a well-fitting suit, so you’ve just come as a…cisgender man. Which is what you are. It didn’t feel drag enough for me!
Sara Forever wins the first challenge of the week, owing to a strong performance during the anthem and also the Super Drag outfit that the judges loved. Gotta admit, she didn’t catch my eye on both occasions, but this is why I am just a viewer and not a judge!
In the bottom are Kitty Space and Rose and the lip sync is a definite improvement over the first lip sync on Drag Race Mexico. Unfortunately, Rose has to say goodbye.
That was a great first episode and definitely lives up to the great first season! Can’t wait for the next episode!
Ron Does Stuff 
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