Ron Does Stuff

Season finale! Let’s go!

We still have four queens after the previous episode, but we don’t get to see how they reacted to that twist since this new episode starts with the return of the eliminated queens for the grand finale.

Okay, from their outfits, the only ones I didn’t like were Madam Yoko’s and Sum Ting Wong’s. I am so sorry! Those two outfits just didn’t work for me. We then get a cultural number — this is still a Filipino show, after all — and since this is Drag Race Philippines, we also get crappy sound from Mama Pao’s voiceover. This better be fixed by the next season of Drag Race Philippines, my goodness.

After the opening credits, we get Mama Pao in a stunning gown delivering an emotional goodbye to Jiggly Caliente. We are then told that the queens will serve three Grand Finale looks on the runway and perform in the Grand Totally Impressive Talent Extravaganza, or T.I.T.E.

The first look is themed “Defying Gravity” and the queens will be suspended from mid-air. THE FUCK. I thought they would be suspended in mid-air from the very start of the runway, but it looks like they were suspended in mid-air at some point during filming.

Arizona Brandy is up first and…I don’t know, kinda underwhelming. But it worked well in mid-air so maybe I’m just someone with no taste! Actually, I thought all the Filipino queens’ outfits were underwhelming, and it was only Suki Doll who came with something interesting, even without being on the swing thing.

The next theme is “Yellow, Yellow, Yellow”, and honestly, Viñas was the standout outfit for me. I kinda liked Brigiding’s as well, but the explanation was a little too much for me. I’m sorry!

The final runway theme is “Come In Your Best Drag” and again, Viñas was my top pick, with Suki Doll second. Brigiding is just doing too much with these explanations and I don’t know why it’s turning me off.

Before we get to the T.I.T.E., Mama Pao hands out the Miss Congee-niality award to Suki Doll. Deserved, I say, at least from what we’ve seen in the competition. I don’t know if this means she won’t be winning, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Arizona is up first in the talent show, and while I don’t think it’s going to win technical dance awards, it was fucking hilarious. Which is perfectly in line with Arizona’s branding. We also get the requisite emotional moments and the people who know me know this about me — I don’t really like this, whatever the franchise. Sorry!

Brigiding is up next and while it was a better dance performance than Arizona’s, I didn’t really feel it until the Super Sireyna part. I can’t explain it, but it just felt…rehearsed? Again, the experience might be different when you’re watching it in person, but whatever it was they were getting in the studio didn’t transmit effectively onscreen, at least for me.

Suki’s performance was the most interesting to me, because it’s something that I’ve actually never seen before. I actually thought it was Thai at first, but I hope I’m given grace because Cambodia and Thailand are close enough for some cross-cultural pollination and stuff.

Viñas is the last performer and I really do not want to sound so jaded but…it’s exactly the performance we expect? It’s not that it’s bad. It’s good! It’s just…not hitting the way I thought it would?

And as expected from a finale episode, all the queens are given both negative and positive critiques. We then get the “What would you say to your x-year-old self?” and I just do not like it in the American show and I don’t like it here either.

Mama Pao then reveals the top two and it is…Brigiding and Viñas. Well. I mean, they’ve been building up to this confrontation anyway, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. They lip sync to Marina’s “Born To Do Drag” and I thought Viñas had the upper hand, even with all of Brigiding’s props! I do think that Viñas is going to be clocked because of her bracelets that fell off, as well as with the meh-ness of her blood schtick.

And Brigdiging wins! Congrats!

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