Hello and welcome to another post recapping the latest spin off of the hit reality TV competition RuPaul’s Drag Race. The show has headed north to assess the Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent of the very best of Canadian drag in the debut season of Canada’s Drag Race. Across ten weeks, twelve drag performers will battle it out to win $100,000 and the title of “Canada’s First Drag Superstar”. We are into the closing laps of this season’s Drag Race, with just four left in the competition.
*Warning: This recap contains spoilers of the outcome of this episode*
Last week, the queens were paired with individuals from the inspirational LGBTQ+ charity Rainbow Railroad and tasked with turning them into their drag sisters. Priyanka bounced back from a disappointing past few weeks to win her second challenge of the season. At the other end, frontrunner Rita Baga found herself in the bottom two for the first time in this competition, but she turned the lip-sync out. This meant that Lemon sadly became the eighth to leave Canada’s Drag Race, but leaves with one of the best placements in the history of the show of those who were in the bottom two in the first week.
After a typically sassy introduction where the top four broke down their track record in the competition and threw a lot of shade in the confessionals, all of them now feel that they have a shot at winning the $100,000 cash prize, especially Jimbo, who seems very confident. Regular judge Stacey McKenzie (who has been a ray of light for many fans critical of the judging decision this season) introduces the mini-challenge, a screen-test directed by comedy writer Sabrina Jalees. The winning queen will have to perform a hilarious rendition of the Canadian national anthem using the direction of Jalees. Basically this means they have to sing in a range of emotions and there were some funny moments. Rita Baga wins, which is mainly down to falling asleep and snoring during the slowest rendition of the anthem ever.
The maxi challenge will test the Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent of the final four to the full, as they compete in three categories in the Snow Ball. The first category promises CE-hO in Executive Holiday Party Realness, the second asks for the four to create a look for the apres-Ski Icy Walk of Shame and the final requires the help of the pit crew, who lug a dumpster full of material for Ice Queen Eleganza, which they will have to make from scratch. This isn’t a challenge Scarlett BoBo is relishing, as she does not know how to sew. Jimbo is trying to help but her direction is falling on slightly deaf ears. In a slightly concerning move, Priyanka is mainly using hot glue as she is basing her final category around a corset.
When Stacey McKenzie re-enters the room to get an update on the queens, Rita Baga reveals that she has risked being perceived as quiet in the competition by being focused on the prize. Priyanka wants to win to be an inspiration to other POCs, especially from working two jobs at once in the past. Scarlett talks about using her status as a queen to give back to the wider LGBTQ+ community and trying to provide opportunities to individuals of non-cis genders and other queer people, which is pretty inspirational. Jimbo comes across as confident in their one-on-one with Stacey, and also discusses how they are the character and would rather surprise people than plan things out, which has gone well for them in this competition. Stacey drops a bombshell before leaving; the extra special guest host for this episode is none other than Michelle Visage, which is a huge deal to these queens.
While getting ready for the Ball, Rita Baga openly and warmly talks about the relationship they have with their father, who is the CEO of a construction company yet is their biggest fan and comes to their major shows. Scarlett states that they want to win this competition so they can look after their mother, who has been through a lot with abusive partners yet always made sure her children mattered. I am glad that these queens had people rooting for them, no matter who they were. There is also a nice moment where the four reflect on the ballroom culture, where queer individuals of all cultures and ethnicities dressed in categories like Executive Realness because they couldn’t get into those positions in reality due to their skin colour.
It is now time for the Snow Ball, hosted by Michelle Visage. Highlights of the first two categories include a Christmas-obsessed CEO from Priyanka and Scarlett coming home on her icy walk of shame with icicles hanging from her. Here is what the queens pulled out for their Ice Queen Eleganza looks:
| Jimbo |  |
| Rita Baga |  |
| Priyanka |  |
| Scarlett BoBo |  |
In the judges critiques, Jimbo was praised for their first two looks being very drag, but their Eleganza look came under fire for having pieces that kept having to be adjusted and for inconsistent makeup. Rita Baga was praised for their over-acting in their Icy Walk of Shame, but their Eleganza look looked tough to walk in and not flattering from certain angles, and the Executive look was seen as too simple. Priyanka was praised heavily for the comedic Christmas CEO and again for giving a different type of comedy in the Icy Walk of Shame, but her Eleganza look came under fire for essentially being a bodysuit with ornaments stuck to it. Scarlett BoBo was praised for all three of her looks and was told by Brooke Lynn Hytes that she should be praised for her work in the competition. Before they leave the stage, the four have a moment speaking to their childhood selves, in which they all give beautiful and heartfelt advice and reflect on their development, despite their difficulties in life.
Backstage, Scarlett is not getting her hopes up, even though I think it is clear she has finally won a challenge. Priyanka ends up getting wasted on cocktails, so much so that the producer speaks up that they are being cut off. As expected, Scarlett finally wins her first challenge of the season with a great performance across all categories. Priyanka scrapes through despite a below-par final look, meaning Jimbo and Rita Baga have to lip-sync to make the final of Canada’s Drag Race, to Tegan & Sara’s “Closer”. Armed with a pair of scissors, Rita goes for the jugular of comedy, cutting her skirt up and making lewd movements. Jimbo on the other hand seems more concerned with holding her headpiece on the head instead of ripping it off. That means that it is Jimbo who is eliminated right before the finale, but has one of the most iconic exits of all time when they scream to their knees, collapse to the floor and swear at the judges as they slide on their belly off stage. Jimbo has won a lot of fans in their run to fourth place, and I don’t think this will be the last we have seen of them.
Next week is the season finale of Canada’s Drag Race and will test Scarlett BoBo, Rita Baga and Priyanka, by making them record lyrics and perform choreography to a new remix of RuPaul’s single “You Wear It Well”. But who will be Canada’s Next Drag Superstar? You can read my recap of Episode 10 very soon!
Do you think the right person was eliminated? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. If you want to keep up to date with the latest posts, subscribe to the blog to receive email notifications when new posts are published, and don’t forget to like this post. See you all next week for the finale of Canada’s Drag Race.
The Blogging DJ 