Line #82 WMG/RuPaulsDragRace


1	%%Per this ATT https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/query.php?parent_id=114200&type=att, we are troping the queens and crew as characters on a TV show, not as real people, so please do not add real names or other personal information that is not explicitly given on the show.
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3	%% This rule also means that we can't list any Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease tropes applied to the real person rather than a drag persona.
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5
6	!!WMG pages never use spoiler tagging -- so beware of [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers]]
7
8	!! The seasons are themed. Are the theme may spoil the reveal of the winning queen for those who crack it.
9	* Of course there are main themes that appear through all the series, but some are more heavy-focused on each season.
10	** For the first season the theme was variety. Many different queens for not just many different personal backgrounds, but also different ways to do drag (The Big Girl, The Beauty Face, The Bald & Boyish, the Dark Androginous Drag, The Talented Circus Entertainment etc). It was didatic to viewers not familiar with the drag world: to present different approaches to the same premise and prove the show to be worth watching. The winner, [=BeBe=] Zahara Benet was not just from Camaroon (another continent entirely) but also her acting was unique and her wardrobe was wide in versatility.
11	** The second season was all about tradition (and jump splits and spacattis). The Drag Mother theme was all over the place, and it was revealed in the Reunited to be decisive for the decision to crown Tyra Sanchez. Just look at all the Paris Is Burning quotes and references. The weight in family support or the lack of it and the point Morgan had about how in L.A. there was no padding. All the old tricks Tyra's Drag Mother taught her and the episode with the old gay dudes (one even talking about a "gay pantheon" and Oscar Wilde.
12	** Season Three was about stepping up the game, taking it to another level. All the queens were pretty diverse on their acts but all with a high-level of coherense and self-knowledge. So it's natural that Raja was the winner with her supermodel persona.
13	** Season Four had a heavy theme towards the apocalypse. so naturally "Sweet,Spooky,and Stupid" Sharron Needles took the crown that run.
14	*** Season four only used the Apocalypse theme in the first challenge. Overall the season was a step away from Season 3's focus on cliques and bullies, and instead focused on dynamics of the gay community, including acceptance from others as well as other gay people. This is why the final three made so much sense, as they represented three dynamics of gay acceptance. Chad Michaels is the mentor, she's been there through the worst of it and acts like a teacher to the others. Sharon Needles is the bullied victim, never accepted in her hometown of Pittsburg, she found acceptance in the show. And Phi Phi was the misunderstood bully, she lashed out at others, but she discovered her behavior was likely caused by insecurities brought up by her poor family life.
15
16	!! Phi Phi O'Hara faked Kenya Michael's mysterious letter on "Untucked."
17
18	* After Kenya is eliminated, she supposedly send a letter which praises Phi Phi but ruthlessly slams several of the other girls (that Phi Phi also hates and has proven willing to play mind games with, conveniently). The letter is not only in perfect English even though Kenya was previously upset about her poor grasp of the language, but it also contradicts things that she said to the girls' faces. Phi Phi pointedly reads the letter herself, never shows it to anyone else, and carries it with her for the rest of the episode so no one could pick it up. It seems suspciously like Phi Phi simply said whatever she wanted with a convenient scapegoat in Kenya, and it worked since Jiggly Caliente is visibly shaken by it and references it in later episodes.
19	** More often than not, though, foreigners have a better grip on written English than they do with spoken English. Also, some of the queens (Willam, Chad) have a view of the letter, so they'd know if Phi Phi was making it up or not. Most likely, a producer wrote the letter.
20	** A little credence to this claim could be in one of the latest Untucked episodes where the girls get a similar letter this time from Gia. To a more cynical viewer this could be the producers attempting to make the authenticity of said letter more believable. However considering Gia's [[BookDumb behavior the letter seemed a little too well thought out and written]].
21
22	!! The lipsync is sometimes meant to reflect the drama of the show
23
24	* The lipsync to "Cold Hearted" by Paula Abdul was when Alyssa and Coco finally went head to head in season 5. It's pretty self explanatory.
25
26	!! Trinity actually did have an answer for Bianca
27
28	* Bianca asked Trinity what she thought she did best. Trinity didn't seem to have an answer. Except this seems to be a case of editing to make the moment more dramatic because you'll notice that Trinity's drink suddenly changes fullness.
29	** Trinity's glass goes from almost empty to half-full. But from S3 the queens were allowed only one drink (due to some of them getting drunk previously) so while editing was obviously involved they likely just spliced footage that happened earlier in the actual conversation, to after Bianca's question to maintain conversation/story flow.
30
31	!! Laganja wanted her own VoiceClipSong
32	* When "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpOl9tld5zg Drop Dead Gorgeous]]"--featuring Alyssa Edwards--made waves online and became a beloved staple in her touring shows, Laganja saw this and wanted a video of her own. As such, she spouted quotables as often as she could in hopes that someone would put together a Youtube video for her. What she didn't realize is that it was Alyssa's natural personality that made her the EnsembleDarkhorse of Season 5. Laganja trying to purposely invoke that only succeeded in making her obnoxious.
33
34	!! The contestants are no longer provided media players to listen to the "Lip-Synch for your Life" song
35
36	* Has anyone else noticed that in the entirety of Untucked for Season 6 there was not a single queen who had headphones in her ear? I don't remember if there were any in Season 5, but I venture a guess in order for the queens to be more focused on talking and causing drama, they are no longer provided an [=iPod=] backstage to listen to the song beforehand. If this also happened in Season 5, it could also definitely explain why Penny Tration was so ill-prepared for her song. I'm sure they still get to practice the song, just no longer in the Untucked lounge, it seems.
37	** [[http://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/284wdn/how_does_lsfyl_prep_work/ci7ey8y Darienne herself jossed this]] -- the queens are still given [=iPods=] with the prepared songs, but there are also completely new songs shuffled in (including all of Ru's songs) to throw them off their game.
38	** Officially jossed in the show proper as of Season 7, during the first Untucked episode it clearly shows the girls are not only provided with the song for the upcoming Lip-Synch, but are also provided scripts so they can memorize the lyrics.
39
40	!! Bianca went easy on Adore in "Glitter Ball".
41
42	* Consider: Bianca was doing really well all season and could easily have won the puppet challenge, but she didn't. Not winning the puppet challenge seems odd for Bianca, especially considering her background as a comedy queen and an insult comic. The other queens even commented that Bianca got the easiest queen for the puppet challenge. Bianca losing the mini challenge might've been because DeLa took it up to 11 with her Bianca puppet, but it seems equally likely that Bianca knew Adore was having a rough time with the other contestants doubting her ability, so she decided to give Adore a break.
43	** This is supported later on when Bianca spends a lot of time hand-holding Adore in how to construct her garment, even though her own outfit ended up suffering. Everyone expected Bianca to really push it and make something jaw-dropping for the Glitter Ball, and instead ended up making an outfit that really she has shown capable of building in a few minutes live on stage. She was confident even her same old silhouette would be enough to keep her safe and gave someone else, maybe Adore specifically, the chance to win the challenge.
44	** Another piece of evidence to support this: In an earlier episode, Bianca loaned a waist cincher to Adore because she didn't have one and was repeatedly catching flack from the judges for not having her waist cinched on the runway. Bianca was really helpful and kind to Adore throughout the season, so it wouldn't be that much of a stretch to claim that Bianca let Adore win a challenge.
45	* Maybe Bianca just didn't wan the added responsibility of having to choreograph the dance number, which the winner of the mini challenge always ends up doing? Or the fact that Adore was so easy to do, mixed with the fact that Bianca had been cracking jokes all season made the impression less impressive than it would have otherwise been.
46	** This could also be the case, but it doesn't seem in line with how she acted during the rest of the episode. After all, if she didn't have to worry about choreographing the dance number, she could have spent more time creating a really stunning runway look, but instead she spent a lot of time helping Adore with her ensemble. Plus, considering Bianca's comedy background, she could've been hilarious in the mini challenge regardless of whether or not she got someone easy to mimic.
47
48	!! Season 8 Episode 2 : The queen Ru was talking to and will be bringing back into the competition will be:
49
50	* The Vivienne, the Drag Queen from the United Kingdom who won the title of UK Drag Ambassador and is to be flown across the pond to visit the Drag Race set. Ru already knows she can bring it since she won the smaller contest, and bringing in a UK Queen would be a fantastic way to pull in overseas fans, since we all know Ru is trying to start a UK Drag Race. Plus, just because the queens are competing for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" doesn't mean the queens ''have'' to be from America. I could even see Ru giving the queens a slight read before introducing her about how maybe its time to start looking outside of the US since so far the queens that have been competing for her haven't met her expectations.
51	* Scarlett Starlet is also a very popular guess, since many fans had already assumed she was on the show due to her sudden disappearance from the public eye during when Drag Race was taping, normally a pretty strong indicator that said queen has been sequestered for filming. Is it possible she just missed the cut for the initial cast but was put aside as a 'stand-by queen' in case someone had to drop out last minute? Is it also possible that previous seasons have had their own understudy queens for the exact same reason, in case someone needs to drop out before they start production?
52	* Luz Violeta, winner of ''The Switch Drag Race: El arte del transformismo'', the Chilean version of Drag Race. She's already shown she's a Drag Race winner in Chile, maybe Ru will want to see if she can snatch the crown in America as well.
53	** These have all been {{Jossed}} as episode 3 leaked and it's Naysha who comes back.
54
55	!! Ru purposely sought out strong minority queens for Season 8
56
57	* Season 8 is the most diverse the show has been in years. It's been theorized that Ru intentionally wanted a diverse cast after the...delicate racial issues of Season 7, where there were no Asian queens, two black queens and the Latina got the Bitch Edit which led to nasty online comments, many of the white queens had a very similar blonde Barbie aesthetic, and while fan favorite Trixie Mattel is Native American, you'd be forgiven for thinking she was white at first glance.
58
59	!! The Season 9 promo pictures include hints for who makes it far in the season
60
61	* Each queen in the Season 9 promo shoot is wearing a monochrome outfit in one color. However, some colors appear more than others - namely blue, purple, and hot pink/red. This, plus the fact that the promo shoot was after the season finished filming rather than after Episode 1/2 like usual, [[https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/60f3lv/season_9_my_color_theory/ sparked theories]] online that queens with similar colors would be eliminated early, and the last few queens would each have a distinct color for advertisement purposes.
62	** Semi-confirmed, semi-jossed. The theory holds up to final 8: each of the first six queens eliminated wore a color that was also being worn by one of the final 8, and each of the final 8 corresponded to one of the original 8 colors of the pride flag (Pink: Farrah, Red: Sasha, Orange: Shea, Yellow: Alexis, Green: Valentina, Turquoise: Peppermint, Blue: Trinity, Purple: Nina). Past this point, the theory loses strength, as Peppermint and Trinity both made it to Top 4 despite both wearing shades of blue. Additionally, some of the queens have stated they were allowed to choose their own colors for the promo, raising questions of whether the Top 8 coordination was deliberate or coincidental.
63
64	!! Who is the mysterious 10th Queen for All-Stars 3?
65
66	* Around the rumor mill, it's said the most likely candidate would be Bebe, winner of Season 1. The reveal of a past winner returning would certainly justify the secrecy.
67	** Confirmed
68	* Also possible would be a returning queen from the first season of All Stars who may deserve a second chance, such as Pandora Boxx, Yara Sofia, Latrice Royale, or even Mimi Imfurst. The fact that it would be a surprise to see a queen return for a second season of All Stars could also justify the secrecy.
69	* Another rumor that lost steam was that Ongina would be the surprise contestant. Maybe they could spin it around that they kept it a secret because she's the only Season 1 queen to return, but that seems a little weak to not just announce her with the others.
70
71	!! [=BeBe=] in All Stars 3 is a mole
72
73	* A theory [[http://instinctmagazine.com/post/brilliant-conspiracy-theory-emerges-about-rupauls-drag-race-all-stars cropped up on Facebook]] that keeping in line with the season's Series/TheHandmaidsTale theme, [=BeBe=] was actually a mole placed in the competition to skate to the top, only to reveal that she was a secret judge all along.
74	** This theory seemed to gain some steam as the season progressed, as many fans believed that [=BeBe's=] performance didn't fully warrant the praise she received throughout the season. And of course, [[spoiler:she made it to the Top 4]]. However, while some of the theorists believed that [=BeBe=] would be revealed as a mole in the "Handmaids to Kitty Girls" episode, this did not come to pass.
75	** [[https://www.reddit.com/r/rupaulsdragrace/comments/7tniis/michelles_response_to_the_bebe_mole_theory/?st=jdkfazd8&sh=d5057745 Denied by Michelle]], which for some people only added fuel to the fire, considering that she's denied fan theories before that turned out to be entirely true (namely, Reddit guessing all of the queens for Season 9 in advance, despite the fact that in general, Redditors have been shown to suss out season casts well before they're announced with near-laserlike precision).
76	** Fully Jossed... although the actual final twist of the season turned out to be somewhat similar in spirit, as when the Top 4 was determined, the ''previously eliminated'' queens returned to vote on who should be the Top 2. Ironically, they promptly voted [=BeBe=] out.
77
78	!! [=BeBe=] let [=BenDeLeCreme=] win their lipsynch.
79
80	* When [=BeBe=] lipsynched against [=BenDeLa=] in ''All Stars 3'', she took her wig off near the end of the song, which everyone knows is one of the biggest lipsynch no-no's in the series. And sure enough, Ru's smile disappeared at that moment and she awarded the victory to Ben. Considering Ben's shocking self-elimination and [=BeBe=] doing such a blatant faux pas resulting in her loss, it possible [=BeBe=] lost on purpose. Ben may have informed her of her plan, and [=BeBe=] most likely went with it because she knew she'd benefit from Ben's self-elimination in the long run. This would also explain why she was so tight-lipped about who she would have sent home if she ''had'' won. She had no intention of any of eliminating anybody and simply grabbed someone's lipstick just to film the scene, meaning she'd have to either face that queen's resentment (in a season full of sore losers) or admit that she threw the competition.
81	** The idea of [=BeBe=] being that oblivious to standard Drag Race tropes isn't entirely far-fetched though, given the fact that she had no idea who ''Ornacia'' was.
82
83	!!Ru purposely sought out pageant queens for Season 11 to improve their image
84
85	* One can't help but notice there are multiple pageant queens in Season 11 whereas there are usually only one or two. Previous seasons have made them out to be the Mean Girls of the drag world, so it looks like Ru intentionally brought on several to show that they're not just {{Alpha Bitch}}es but can have all sorts of styles and personalities.
86
87	!!Season 13 is so long because Secret Celebrity Drag Race was cancelled
88
89	* A conspiracy theory floating around is that due to the pandemic, Season 2 of Celebrity Drag Drag had to be cancelled, but World of Wonder needed to fill the episode quota they had promised to VH1 and so they added more episodes to Season 13. This would explain why Season 13 had 17 episodes (3 more than Season 12), and why some of the episode ideas felt underdeveloped (particularly the episode 1 lip sync tournament, and having a second acting challenge for the Final 5 episode).
90
91	!!Charity Kase was originally cast on Season 4 of ''Series/{{Dragula}}'', but dropped out to do Drag Race UK
92
93	* This is a rumor that made its way around the Drag Race circles. Charity herself seems to indicate that this was true in interviews and on social media. Additionally, a Reddit user [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Dragula/comments/ruk85p/if_the_charity_kase_quit_dragula_4_during_prep_to/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf noticed]] that several of her Drag Race runways lined up with the challenges on that season of Dragula.
94
95	!!Bianca Del Rio turned down the invitation to All-Stars 7 because she's no lipsyncher

Context WMG / RuPaulsDragRace