We’ve reached the end of what has been an undoubtedly fantastic season, full of drama, high fashion, romance, and a redemption arc for many. Our final four arrive in the werkroom one final time, and they rejoice about making it all the way to the end. While little emotion goes towards Scarlett Envy’s elimination, Hannah Conda can now rejoice in finally winning her first badge. Tia Kofi reveals that she too had chosen to send home Scarlett had she won, making a point to not send home the strongest, i.e., Marina Summers, as she wants to compete amongst the best.
This week’s episode is getting a shakeup with a good old-fashioned reunion with the eliminated queens. Each queen returns to the stage, hosted by Michelle Visage; it’s not so much of a catty claws-out affair as a tame chat amongst civilised queens. However, Mayhem Miller expressed that eliminating the best in order to get closer to the crown is a strategy she would have relied on. A sentiment echoed by Michelle as perhaps an American thing, Scarlett does disagree after learning from La Grande Dame a valid point and lesson: if you want to beat the best, you have to believe you are the best. Beating the strongest is the only way to know you truly beat the best in the competition, instead of taking the easy way out.
There are some hurt feelings that are discussed by Jonbers Blonde, who was eliminated third and became the first UK queen to leave. But, like a sophisticated adult, she’s let it go and made peace with it. But the best bit came down to Miss Congeniality; the queens have voted, and their winner is Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha. Seeing the pure happiness on her face as well as the teary thank you has my little heart jumping for joy. Without a doubt, she was a queen who deserved to stay a little longer for the world to see her shine brighter.
With the reunion done and dusted, it’s time for the main stage, where, as usual, the guests are just family, with Alan Carr and Graham Noron on the panel. The final category is, as always, Finale Eleganza Extravaganza. Each queen brought something unique to the runway, infusing their own personality and charm.
I love the finale, but what I’m always suspicious of is a lip sync smackdown. As we’ve seen in past seasons, this hasn’t panned out well. Notably, many assumed Shea Coulee would win in Season 9, and it resulted in that moment with Sasha Velour. This season, of course, has a strong cast of queens, and to me, they should all be crowned. But Arantxa Castilla-La Mancha has the honour of spinning the wheel to determine who is to compete in the first lip sync, and it’s Marina versus Hannah who will battle it out to I’m Outta Love by Anastasia. This is the reason I’m not a fan of these concepts for a finale; both were great, but Hannah is chosen to advance to the next round. Round two sees Tia and La Grande Dame battle it out next.
It’s a shame that when it comes down to this format, the fans tend to overreact to a concept like this. We have to remember that it’s a TV show, and it takes away from the winner. Leaving the final smackdown between Tia and Hannah, in which they give such stellar, fun, and intertwined lipsync having a great time together, which is what we have to remember the show is about—fun and lighthearted entertainment! The current reigning queen, Blu Hydrangea, is back to hand over the sceptre, and the recipient of that cash prize and crown is Tia Kofi! A well-deserved winner, someone who has had such a wonderful glow up from Baroness Basic in season two, and now the winner of Rupaul’s Drag Race U.K. vs. the World.
