Five became the final four on RuPaul’s Drag Race last night. Are the remaining queens still vying for the crown the most deserving? As RuPaul famously said: “Meh”.
Vanessa Vanjie Mateo was eliminated Thursday for two reasons in my opinion: her poor showing in the final challenge and her overall performance this season. It must suck for her to come back with all this momentum and go the entire season not winning one maxi-challenge. Her exit, just like last time, was amazing and honestly the best thing she’s done in s11. I love Vanessa, just like many of us do, but I still think that she wasn’t ready for this show.
Now we have four queens left that have had varying degrees of successes and failures this season. This is also the first season since s7 that a contestant from New York City isn’t in the end. We’ve won four out of the past five (native New Yorker here) so it will be nice to see another city get some love as we’ve been hogging it with so much talent hennies!
I’m going to break down who should win the least all the way up to who I think should ultimately get the crown. I have gone back and forth over this for weeks, however the girls I have in my top two are the ones that I’ve consistently thought could win pretty much since the beginning. One of those, however, gets my vote for the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 11.
Strap on a wig, tighten your tuck and get ready. Because I’m about to read each of these contestants from suits to hidden nuts.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwpSip6BwFy/
Silky Nutmeg Ganache. Silky deserves to win just as much as Frankie Grande deserves to be famous. The controversy she’s created, both on and off the show, is way more negative than positive and I think it would hurt the brand if Ru decides to crown her in two weeks.
Is she talented? Yes. Funny? Sure. Fashionable? No. Messy as hell? Yes, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Silky has been nothing but combative, over the top, rude, and very mean to some of her fellow contestants without ever taking in any constructive criticism. How anyone expects to be crowned after acting like a selfish brat like that is beyond me.
Her best move this season was when she walked in, posed and ate a cookie. It was all downhill after that. Her final four spot should be reserved for Columbus, Ohio’s very own Nina West. If this show FINALLY wants a big girl to win, give it to Nina. Not the girl who hoisted Miley Cyrus up and gave her a ride I’m sure she’s still having nightmares over.
A’Keria C. Davenport. Just as a disclaimer: I’m fine with anyone besides Silky winning, A’Keria included.
A’Keria surprised me and turned me into a fan after I legit slept on her during the first couple of episodes this season. She was only ever used for shady confessional commentary in the beginning amid bigger personalities (no pun intended) like Silky taking all the screen time.
Then she emerged and became a power player in several challenges like LADP (the funniest sketch performance I’ve seen in years) and when they did those dance routines.
I’ve also really enjoyed her fashions, especially the red and yellow looks that she made with Honey Davenport last week. A’Keria has had a decent story arc this season but not as big as the two I have yet to speak about. It’s why I have her placed this low, strictly due to impact, however I would be happy for her to take the crown as I think she will do a lot of good with it for the Drag Race fan base.
Brooke Lynn Hytes. I have a bit of a love affair going on with Brooke. There are so many likable things about this Canadian-born queen that it’s hard to find anything negative to say about her.
She’s killed it fashion wise every episode, including her ballerina look last night that was weirdly panned by the judges. Yes, her Celine Dion impression was awful during Snatch Game, but she did a complete 180 in the LADP challenge after that and quieted all her naysayers.
Her comedy has excelled in other challenges, like the magic one, and she’s been thrilling to see amid all the craziness going around her. She’s never lost her cool when the epic battles were happening behind the scenes, has been a wonderful support system for Vanessa and many others and has not been on an ego trip like Silky has this entire time. These are all great reasons why Brooke deserves to win, but not enough for the one I think should ultimately get it in the end.
Yvie Oddly. The Sharon Needles of season 11.
What a deliciously wonderful story arc she’s had. My only negative to say about Yvie was that she was a bit too combative in situations that could’ve been dialed back a bit.
Other than that, she’s been a delight to watch this entire time. She never shied away from being who she truly was in her aesthetics and character. Every runway lewk was incredible, especially the last one that showed off a more glamorous side to Yvie but kept it “odd” with various forms of three all over her body.
Also, her performance in the music video stood out from all the others. She was my winner from the beginning, and I’m elated to see that she’s made it to finale night. Her story resonates with so many of us and I think she would make a huge impact as the winner of this show, especially with the younger viewers. She’s proof that you can be your authentic weird self and not give a f**k what others think through and through. All of this to me equals a true RuPaul’s Drag Race winner.
Who do you think should win RuPaul’s Drag Race? Let us know in the comments section.
This is the opinion of one contributing writer and not that of Instinct Magazine or other contributing writers.
I understand the hype around Yvie because not only is she very unique and amazing at what she does but she also has this way of conveying her story without opening her mouth.
However, Brooke might be a love affair, upon closer evaluation of her overall presence and her untucked footage, one can clearly make out that she is always hyper aware of what her impression will be with the other contestants and the viewers. There are moments where I have found myself cringing at her pure lack of empathy for her fellow contestants and the way she has been so shady. Silky may of been deliberately F*Ed over by her in the makeover challenge and let’s be honest, anyone would of suffered if they had Soju. (all T no shade to Soju)
Brooke for me is no where near the top and I do think it is about time a Pageant queen was in the running to win this show again.
We bashing so hard on the ideal that you have to be super unique to really have the win in the bag but Akeria demonstrates exactly how this show sets out to promote the LGBTQIA+ community in general. She is a confessional goddess with her on point honesty and criticism, she has evolved over the season (she was always in people’s rear view mirrors), she has not used the platform as a stage to self wollow over her perceived issues (if any) and she is a strong capable person who we learnt this past episode is an adoptive father. So I am here to make the case the she should be your number 2 because if you looking at story, she is not dissimilar from your number 1.