We’re back back back back back again! I know I’ve tuned out of the three other Drag Race franchises I’ve been watching, but I just could not. Drag Race France was okay, but I missed so many episode because of work and I just couldn’t catch up any longer. But this is Drag Race Philippines and I gotta watch. It’s the rules patriotism!
The previous season saw Maxie take home the crown, so who’s going to be her successor this year? Let’s find out!
First to enter the Werk Room is Ghulli Ghush and I already love that name. She’s giving Tomasino with that black-gold, black-white, and she tells us that she used to be a PA to the past three winners — Precious Paula Nicole, Captivating Katkat, and Maxie. She’s followed by Andy Crocker, who has on tights with cracklings on it. Tell me I’m wrong. She’s also Ghulli Ghush’s drag mother, so let’s see if this is going to replicate the Athena Dion-Juicy Love Dion storyline from season 18. A season I also did not finish watching.
Third to enter is Dixxxy Decoy, who’s bringing a little bit of Khianna with her entrance look. It’s reminiscent of this black and white outfit Khianna wore before, not exactly in construction but in vibes, if you guys get what I mean.
Merckz is the fourth queen to enter, and she says that she’s the ballroom diva. I know nothing about the Philippine ballroom scene, so I will trust that she is who she says she is. She used to coach Brigiding and Minty Fresh, so there’s a lot to live up to.
Bhorj Gum is next to enter and the Twitter drama happening between her and Yudipota is already giving viewers something to talk about even before this show aired. The revelations? Look for it on Twitter, it’s not that hard to find. ANYWAY, she’s followed by Katana, whose local government unit actually arranged a viewing party for her!
Next to enter is Maureen Biology and that name is just delicious. And then her saying this is her first time seeing Bhorj because doesn’t get booked? I am gooped. She’s followed into the Werk Room by Misua, who the whole word already knows died while this season was being filmed. I wonder how they’re going to deal with that?
Valeria is up next and she’s fish, in and out of drag. She’s then followed by Bombalicious Eklaver from the United States, so of course, none of the queens know her. She’s the older queen of the season, so let’s see if she has the same impact as Tita Baby.
The 11th queen to enter the Werk Room is Manza, and when she says she’s a drag tourist spot, she isn’t lying. It’s not just the Ru Girls who come here to visit here. I think anybody who’s seen her aerial tricks want to go here and watch her live.
The final queen to enter the Werk Room is Taylor Sheesh, who people actually already know because of her work as a Taylor Swift impersonator. I guess the challenge for her now is if she’s going to be able to do anything else other than Taylor Swift. Doing that has already gotten her massive crowds, so it’s a risk to try out something new.
There also seems to be some tension between Manza and Taylor Sheesh, but the actual star of that encounter is Merckz, who says it’s away-pangit, which is fucking funny.
The RuMail arrives to tell them that they’re going to be doing the talent show, but before that happens, Mama Pao tells them that they need to get into messy hair quick drag, which is crazy because they’re still in their entrance looks and you’re asking them to de-drag already. Some of the outfits are complicated! Taylor Sheesh does have an advantage, though, because she walked in wearing just a shirt, shorts, and slippers.
We don’t get to see the change to their messy hair drag, so I am assuming they were given enough time to get out of some of their complicated outfits. Palo sebo is going to be the first mini challenge of the season, and the winning queen gets P20,000, which is shockingly more than any queen from Drag Race France has received from a mini challenge.
Manza, Bombalicious, and Katana are the only ones who succeed at the mini challenge, with Manza being the overall winner. After that, the queens are told that they’re going to take part in T.I.T.E., the Totally Impressive Talent Extravaganza. Mama Pao also tells them that Manza is also getting n advantage since she won the mini challenge, but what the advantage is isn’t going to be revealed just yet.
The next day, as the queens are preparing for the T.I.T.E., Misua starts crying as she recalls the preparations she’s made for the show and how her family helped her out and saw that side of her. Knowing what happens to her just makes this even more heartbreaking, and I hope that when they eventually get to that point in the show, they tackle it with grace and sensitivity.
ALTHOUGH, the editing this time around isn’t as good as the previous seasons. I know I compared the editing on Drag Race Philippines more favorably to that of Drag Race Mexico, but I don’t know if I can say the same now. It feels very…severe. The sound is a little wonky, but you gotta admit that that’s kinda become the trademark of Drag Race Philippines.
We finally get to the Main Stage, and before we see the talent show, we get to see the queens in their Halo-Halo-Halo outfits. And don’t hate me for this, I was whelmed? Like there wasn’t any horrible one, but for some reason, nothing really stood out for me either. I guess maybe Katana’s? Because it’s hard to forget her six-breast reveal.
After the runway, the T.I.T.E. begins and Dixxxy Decoy is up first. And she can dance. The song is actually better than other songs that have been played in some international Drag Race versions, so this was a very good start. Unfortunately, Taylor Sheesh did not come in with what she does best — impersonate Taylor Swift — and does a routine that’s reminiscent of Coco Montrese from her All Stars season. They even had similar outfits.
After that performance, Andy Crocker would have been safe even if she just laid down on the floor. She does okay with her performance, but I honestly can’t distinguish in my mind whether it was good good or just good in comparison to Taylor Sheesh’s.
Bombalicious is up next and…well, she performed. I get the comedic potential, but maybe I just wasn’t into the execution? The queens were impressed, though, so maybe it’s a different experience live. She’s followed by Maureen Biology, who just admitted on Twitter that song was made by generative AI, so…there.
Merckz vogues and teaches the audience to vogue, and she just got shouted out and adopted by Aja herself so who am I to talk about her performance?
Ghulli Ghush is up next and…I don’t know, maybe I’m just grumpy but it was exhausting for me. Bhork is next to perform and she’s not even lip syncing? I don’t get it. I think that helped Valeria out because her performance looked better by default. And also that body. Damn.
I liked Misua’s performance because it’s something I’ve never seen before, and it’s something that references her culture. Also the funding for the set? Sometimes I wonder where the money for RuPaul’s Drag Race goes. The same goes for Katana, although her and Misua’s aesthetic couldn’t be more different. Both their performances just feel like it’s actually them, and not something they’ve put on.
Manza is the final queen to perform and honestly, her aerials are always going to be impressive. Hard to top!
After all the performances, Mama Pao springs a surprise on them — they’re doing Rate-A-Queen. The tomfoolery and the shenanigans that will happen, my goodness. We also find out Manza’s advantage — she gets an extra point because she won the mini challenge. Those queens should have taken the Palo Sebo seriously!
Backstage, I get why Misua’s emotional, because now she could possibly get another queen eliminated, which is a lot to process on your first day. Then the other queens start talking about Rate-A-Queen and the look Misua gives Taylor Sheesh after Maureen does her little speech? I giggled.
After the voting, Bhorj Gum and Taylor Sheesh end up in the bottom, and I think that’s pretty fair of the queens! I really didn’t like their performances either. The top queens are Katana and Manza, which, again, is pretty fair! I thought there would be more of a twist, but I’m glad there isn’t! And then it turns out no one’s going home anyway, which only disappointed me because Bhorj Gum just made me roll my eyes with her response to Mama Pao’s question and I kinda wanted her to leave.
Katana and Manza are going to lip sync for the win, and to be honest, I thought Katana won this! But Mama Pao says it’s a tie, so the two of them split the cash prize and both get a RuBadge.
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