The Riggory of Drag Race Season 16

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Well, its over. Over the last 4 months we've been given one of the best seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race EVER. From Rate-A-Queen and immunity potion twists, to the top rated episode of all time with the eliminated queen LaLaPaRuZa, to one of the tightest top 3's of all time with Nymphia Wind, Plane Jane, and Sapphira Cristal. There is so much to go over and dissect as we break down the riggory of it all.
We'll go episode by episode talking about every challenge winner, every bottom 2 lip sync, and every elimination talking about the production decisions behind the season and just how much of this season was fair and how much was rigged. Was Nymphia Wind's win fair? Did Mhi'ya deserve all her lip sync wins? Was Plane Jane pushed by production? We'll talk about it all.
Let me know in the comments below what you think the most rigged moment of the season was!
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0:00 INTRO
6:33 EPISODE 1
13:43 EPISODE 2
16:18 EPISODE 3
22:23 EPISODE 4
28:52 EPISODE 5
34:21 EPISODE 6
40:55 EPISODE 7
46:08 EPISODE 8
51:40 EPISODE 9
56:37 EPISODE 10
59:21 EPISODE 11
1:04:10 EPISODE 12
1:09:04 EPISODE 13
1:11:23 EPISODE 14
1:14:34 EPISODES 15-16
1:20:33 FINAL THOUGHTS

[@DragDetective]

Check out Manta Sleep here: tinyurl.com/mpe9h65a and make sure to use code DRAGDETECTIVE for 10% off your order!

[@esel2297]

the code isnt working for me somehow...

[@felixhatton7334]

Mama, kudos for analysing that. For dissecting.

[@dangerdays666]

Mama, kudos for commenting that. For appreciating.

[@felixhatton7334]

@@dangerdays666 mama, kudos for replying that. For contributing.

[@moarika7378]

Mamas, kudos for communicating that. For discussing.

[@Orion_Cyanide]

Mama, kudos for speaking, for conversating-

[@AhmedIbrahim-zl2ll]

Mama, kudos for signaling that for slaying

[@itsdannyhoney]

Thank you for calling out the fandom for changing their mind about Megami so fast after one episode.

[@SocarellaDeToussaint]

The real ones have been standing for Mother Megami since the start.

[@nickinewnham2437]

@@SocarellaDeToussaint meeeee

[@firebrandr]

@@SocarellaDeToussaintong I love my geek queen

[@tzeelanoimark6049]

in this house we loved megami since day 1

[@jake.w1lliam_]

@@SocarellaDeToussaintMe lol

[@heymistercarter.]

One thing that threw me with this season is the lip-sync song choices. I mean, Flowers? Made You Look? A chipmunked vocal version of Bloody Mary instead of the original? Even the Icona Pop song they went with is just… why? They made up for it a tiny bit by using Padam Padam as the final lip-sync song, but there were MASSIVE WTF choices this time.

[@BeckywiseTheDancingClown]

Agreed it was wild

[@sionellmccubbin953]

I posted about this on Reddit!! I hated almost every single song used this season. Flowers I give a pass to because of the runway theme. For the goth runway though there were literally a million other songs they could’ve used that would’ve been SO fun. Imagine they did evanescence or paramore??? The made you look song for a political challenge?? It was so wonky

[@jerriana6727]

Bloody Mary could have been so sickening why the tik tok verson ahhhhhhh

[@YkeTolsa]

LIKE WTV WAS MADE YOU LOOK😭😭

[@demeliou3844]

even Padam Padam is not that great of a lip sync

[@JeffMoura99]

In the first moment where Q showed a little bitterness I said to my friend "they'll edge this girl and take her out in the last second" AND BABY I WAS SO RIGHT

[@romainmorin6622]

Typical Jan, Lucey Laduca edit

[@JoyD.C.]

@@romainmorin6622 Nah, the Loosey edit was a special case 😏. Seriously though, what got Q cut was that she couldn't dance and she didn't have another strong performance skill. There have been other winners that weren't great dancers, but they had another major performance talent. Her comedy chops weren't crass/over the top enough like Jimbo, or smart and sharp like Bianca, or a stand up performer like Bob. (Jinkx is their own thing, just sheer talent.) I think if Q had stood out in another area besides design they would have done a top four. She's an awesome designer, and does quirky and creative drag - like her puppet show. However, as great as her talent show was, it wouldn't fit the finale format. to the same level of the other three.

[@Globalastral5]

Plane putting Nymphia last in the ranking helped her in the finale l/s. We never saw her LS so it was all new and fresh. It’s what put Sapphira at a disadvantage

[@puddingcake39]

Omg thats so true actually!!!! No wonder I was so stunned with her LS performance

[@bunnydream3750]

this is next level theory creation omg. love it though

[@JoseSena-gs4tz]

It’s what I be saying!!! Queens like Tyra prove that and Nina Flowers. Both didn’t lipsync till the last episode so it made Queens like Raven and Bebe more nervous. Tyra and Nina saw them lipsync so they knew what they were up against. Tyra demolished Raven though.

[@sittinginacornerihaunt3764]

also she immediately handed nymphia the "robbed' storyline, which made her popularity skyrocket even more than it would have otherwise.

[@samabercrombie]

Plane and Sapphira I thought were heavily pushed throughout the process. Nymphia may have been saved after Snatch Game but I think she thoroughly deserved to win the season. Sapphira was great this season but Nymphia had that extra special something required for the crown. Congrats Nymphia!!!

[@Zyxie_Zyxie_Zyxie]

I’m sorry but the drag race fandom of all fandoms calling out people for how they behave on twitter will never not be funny to me

[@BeckywiseTheDancingClown]

Plane Jane has the most interesting arc. She went from being hated to people loving her because she can back up her words with great drag

[@rocketpit101]

Disagree

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa1aaaaaaaaaaaa1]

​@@rocketpit101congrats you're an outlier, so different, so edgy

[@natnuss98]

No Not really. I still dislike Plane. Being rude isn't justified by honestly very cookie cutter looks. Also I just hate how she is the 'russian bitchy girl' like it's tired. ​@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa1aaaaaaaaaaaa1

[@Elsith01]

Speak for yourself

[@button_mashuu]

@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa1aaaaaaaaaaaa1disagree

[@jaykknight2248]

Nymphia's was absolutely goth. The mystery is totally part of the aesthetic.

[@PureHoneyBoo]

She was literally giving Morticia Adams . How did he find Q’s goth and not Nymphia’s lol

[@audacity1970]

They were both goth 😭 sick of people trying to discredit one or the other

[@Rysiimpson]

the theme was neo goth tho..

[@lckyminer_2256]

@@PureHoneyBoo Maybe because the theme is Neo Goth. Neo means new, so maybe the judges are expecting for a new outlook/vision of goth?

[@SirenRyan]

@@Rysiimpson Ru gave them conflicting guidelines for the challenge though. When she announced the challenge to them she said word for word "Think Morticia (Adams) meets Mugler. Beetlejuice meets Balenciaga. Elvira meets St. Laurent." and that's what Nymphia made exactly lol. A high fashion couture Elvira/Moritica ensemble. I'm not sure how the queens were supposed to know what "neo goth" means either lol.

[@blackko1334]

i clicked so fast that the balloon didn't touch the roof yet

[@ciropiedra478]

FOR REAL GIRL I DID EVEN READ THE TITTLE

[@user-mz2ne4yh2t]

I clicked so fast he hasn't mentioned Mayhem yet

[@jagv4r]

I appreciate that Nymphia didn’t get an obvious winner edit, I truly didn’t know she won until rupaul said her name and thats probably the thing I look for the most in a good season

[@HeyLetsDoAThing]

Really? I prefer the winner to be the person who dominated the whole season. I like when the winner is predictable and that person ends up winning. Sasha Velour is the exception but she was my winner pick before the finale. Sapphira had the same energy as Bob, Bianca, or Sasha Colby.

[@horizonkyun7203]

this is so interesting. i don’t watch drag race, i just casually watch content like pit stop, and i was positive that nymphia would win. same with willow pill. they just have that feeling.

[@heymistercarter.]

The unexpected success of early outs like MIRAGE and Amanda Tori Meating indicates to me that they should consider doing what Hell’s Kitchen did and have a Rookies Vs. Veterans season, where it’s maybe early outs who had a lot of potential but not a full Drag Race run competing against a new cast of DA’s. It could be a cool new themed season to consider alongside the multiple All-Stars seasons.

[@JcIIIpr]

I ❤ this idea! In that same vein, I would also love to see Villains vs Sweethearts (Congeniality and fan favorites) season. 😊

[@mohdhazim8193]

sorry but what is DA’s?

[@sionellmccubbin953]

@@mohdhazim8193drag artists

[@reenybeeny]

@@mohdhazim8193 drag artists, i believe :)

[@niemand9362]

Amanda's success is people pitting her

[@SocarellaDeToussaint]

The riggory is that they did not air the episode where Megami saved Queer art from Rupaul who has revealed she is actually Mother Rooseberry from the Outlast trials and that the hilarious Ross Matthews is her drill hand puppet. Fortunately, Megami destroyed Rupaul's drag children which contained Mother Rooseberry's power and defeated her.

[@damianweav]

BUT DID GENEVA DO A SPLIT?!?!?

[@EternallyHappy29]

MAMA KUDOS FOR SPILLING, FOR THE TELLING THE TRUTH ❤️❤️❤️

[@reenybeeny]

plz this made me feel like there's a gas leak in my house LMFAO

[@SocarellaDeToussaint]

@@reenybeeny It's because of the PusHER, also known as Carson Kressley. He is a minion of Mother Rooseberry and spray his victims with hallucinogenic gas to make them have visions of the Foareskeen Man.

[@SocarellaDeToussaint]

@@reenybeeny It's because of the PusHER, also known as Carson Kressley. He is a minion of Mother Rooseberry who sprays its victims with hallucinogenic gas to make them have visions of the Foar Skeen Man.

[@saigedoesart]

When Megami called Dawn buzzlightyear 🫠

[@VestAround]

I feel like rate a queen could have been so much more when they showed the results, like show exactly how the girls voted 😭

[@VestAround]

And delulu opinion on Q being saved not being rigged

[@divorcioexxxpress3534]

They didn't because they didn't wanna risk the queens targeting Plane

[@Juanchocho14]

@@divorcioexxxpress3534I mean sure but how can you target someone in a regular season

[@JinMeowsoon]

@@Juanchocho14 And would the girls have been really been mad at her more than 10min? It was inconsequential, no one got eliminated.

[@button_mashuu]

Honestly i don’t think it’s actually true but the conspiracy theorist in me thinks they didn’t because they rigged this and had plausible deniability. I think maybe nymphia was still top or someone else was bottom and they hid it for production reasons. Idk why they’d do that on ep one but I see so much riggory in this show I don’t trust them for shit.

[@guineppe3405]

I’m still convinced that plane used her immunity on nymphia to jump start her redemption story arc. I called it from weeks prior that plane wouldn’t use the immunity for herself.

[@shanel4294]

All stars redemption arc with vulnerability here we go

[@leovivas4252]

@@shanel4294imagine they have a jury twist again 💀💀💀

[@psycane8462]

"I don't know if something fell through last minute" Sapphira has talked about how her initial concept was to be a vampire and wanted to pull out a beating heart as well as blood - The prop was difficult to get together in time and she also didn't want to spill blood all over the stage when that could make Nymphia slip. Basically, she had a concept, but just couldn't see it through, and there wasn't enough time to re-strategize. So that's why Sapphira wasn't giving as much as we normally expect from her

[@TravioliRavioli]

Damn, that … sucks (I will see myself out)

[@benedictburgess2678]

Makes sense. The only other time Sapphira struggled was in the makeover, when she had to pivot and re-strategize.

[@Marco-el2he]

And why did she decide to keep the teeth if she didn't bring the heart? I feel like some of these girls like to get home and imagine what else they could've done. and Sapphira had since august to dwell on that. Me personally I don't see her bringing that much concept or worrying that Nymphia cold slip because would there need to be so much blood that it would get on the floor? IMO she was simply overly confident on who she was up against. She wasn't worried about Plane and Nymphia hadn't lip-synced and was previously critiques for not knowing lyrics etc. She thought the teeth would be funny and enough to clear any of the other 2

[@efsunlalacksoz9862]

​@@Marco-el2he Some of you fans always need to be skeptical about her intensions while she has been so nice all the time, and on top of that you guys also love to discredit her performance skills and her entire run. Wonder why.

[@JoyD.C.]

@@Marco-el2he The idea that Sapphira thought "that would be enough" doesn't fit with her entire season on Drag Race. All of outfits were huge productions, with major concepts, so, really? In light of what we saw during the season, your explanation is illogical.

[@natjedra4350]

I got here so quick Ms.Minogue only said the first Padam.

[@rubydown3329]

I fully re-choreographed Sapphiras Padam Padam lip sync in my head, it involved her going full Dragula, eating a prop heart, covering herself in blood, and having a glowing stomach that would pulse in time to the music 😂 If i had any sort of talent, I'd make it a reality myself, but alas

[@kaym7704]

Instead of a heart…it could have been a banana. Lol…but I can’t see Sapphira using a banana over a heart since thats not her brand. Had she invested more in the vampire theme during the final lipsync, worn white over blue so we can see the blood, it would have been epic.

[@propagandaangie]

Apparently there was a bloody heart prop that got ditched at the last minute!

[@RikkuMaraschino]

Welp....you did it again....I knew you would gag when Mayhem Miller would appear as the secret queen after rate a queen. No one knew she would storm the competition winning every challenge after episode 2 Sapphira replaced Rupaul and Morphine Love Dion sent the entire cast home then won the lalaparuza and then miss congeniality with Xunami. Plasma was robbed in the emo challenge after coming out as Elvira's black rose toy.

[@DragDetective]

i have no words

[@chrisbuckley1785]

She crashed the party!!!

[@chunkymonkey356]

@@chrisbuckley1785She ended it

[@silvestresilva9390]

i’m sorry but as long as I live, i’ll never forget Plane ending her Power verse with “and if you at the polls, you can catch this box” 💀

[@bluecircle06]

Like she said "yeah blah blah blah vote yadiyadiyada but don't forget my hot, wet poosay🤩😍"

[@IanLemes-cc7yg]

This was the strongest, unique, most consistent TOP 3, since Season 3. Each one of those Queens got what It TAKES to DEVOUR This competition, and they ALL deserved ALL the love they got. #TripleCrowning

[@aliahsarchive]

the thing with nymphia is for every rigged saved that she gets, there's an equal rigged "not winning" placement so i feel like it balances out 😭

[@koji6745]

How could they not make a reunion on THIS season!

[@k____k____]

they're saving it for dragcon

[@tatehartman9857]

I feel like producers wanted Sapphira in the end game and knew she was going to make it there regardless so they kept picking other queens over her for wins. Then all of sudden they realize that there’s not many chances for her to snag a win left so they decided to on the giving her the power point win out of nowhere. It gave me Sasha winning the interview challenge vibes.

[@trekel9084]

i’d have to agree. That episode being followed by the bathroom hunties episode truly kills me. The things that sapphira gets commended for in the powerpoint episode (commandeering the stage) is a thing Q gets ragged on the bathroom episode (pulling the focus from morphine). and then the things sapphira and plane get commended for in the bathroom episode (having great charisma and working as a team) is what q and plane did very well on the powerpoint episode. if both episodes were judged the same way, then q and plane would have won the powerpoint episode and sapphira and plane would have won the bathroom episode. that would have been crazy though because plane would be the first queen with 5 wins in a regular season

[@Jamieswiftie13]

Not many can say that they’ve been unrigging with you for 3/4 years but here I am!!! So thankful for you derek you really are the full time detective of rpdr!

[@DragDetective]

THANK YOU SO MUCHHHH 😭

[@sylvain_3]

36:40 We have to take into consideration that Michelle told Dawn she was bored of the elf ears, and I think that is what made Dawn go for the alien thing.

[@Orion_Cyanide]

VERY THAT. I mean Michelle LITERALLY told Dawn NOT to do her brand right BEFORE a branding challenge- And it definitely screwed her over imo

[@Furrito_272]

Yeah… honestly Dawn got the short end of the stick a lot. She’s so amazing, and honestly I can’t wait for her inevitable all stars run

[@Orion_Cyanide]

@Furrito_272 Which she'll slay obv- I also noticed the only comedy chances she had, she was sort of ran over by her partner- And all Design challenges she was either outshined or was just not given the win (I would've given her the goth design challenges personally)

[@Furrito_272]

@@Orion_Cyanide I can see the goth point, but I’d give it to Nymphia. Dawn really is amazing though, I’d love to do her makeup tutorial sometime

[@jessicakoch2331]

I like dawn, but she needs to learn from Gottmik, who knew Michelle would get on her case for her iconic white paint look. She still did her usual makeup, but she changed it enough that no one could tell her to "stop looking like a clown". Love Gottmik, love Dawn, I look forward to seeing her grow

[@ai_ai69]

Nymphia not being saved for the Snatch Game, but Aura Mayari being saved because of her runway is true camp. We love to see it, mother.

[@maximeminassian6002]

I think it’s because he explained Aura and the twins were equally bad in his eyes, whereas here Morphine was clearly better than Nymphia.

[@ai_ai69]

@maximeminassian6002 yes, but i recall him saying that runways should not matter when it comes to picking bottom placements.

[@efsunlalacksoz9862]

​@@maximeminassian6002Morphine was the clear worst. If a picking was required, it should have been between Xunami and Nymphia. They were equally bad and undoubtedly, Nymphia's runway saved her. Rightfully.

[@maximeminassian6002]

@@efsunlalacksoz9862 I thought Morphine had a decent start, but flopped towards the end. Xunami just didn’t know what she was doing and Nymphia… god she was so bad.

[@thedallasryan]

Got my lunch and I’m SEATED!

[@user-yr8rn3el4f]

I could see SO MANY of these girls not only slaying future All-Stars seasons, but I could see multiple winners come out of them, kind of like S9 did

[@matthewberger4741]

My plane Jane immunity potion theory is that production asked her to use it on Nymphia so that she wouldn’t be on stage when they asked everyone if they were registered to vote. My guess is that Nymphia isn’t registered since she’s from Taiwan and they didn’t want her to mess up everyone saying they’re registered

[@k____k____]

just fyi: Nymphia has US citizenship as she was born in the US

[@horizonkyun7203]

nymphia was born in the US but this is such a funny theory i love it 😭

[@timo_2948]

For ep 9, I actually don’t agree : Dawn and Nymphia Wind were representing the Gothic theme the most, with Q landing on a more Punk theme. And with Nymphia’s veil covering her face, it’s a nice trick for the Wednesday theme that you were talking about : She’s the scary one you worry about, who’s an angel in reality. This is the reason why people think so much that Nymphia should have won this challenge (and I’m apart of them!)

[@dino2064]

In the middle of making my daily bagel, and couldn’t find anything to watch. Thank you for saving my breakfast drag detective!

[@DragDetective]

is it an everything bagel?

[@dxnnxxmc]

​@@DragDetective oooooooonn a baaaageeeeel

[@impossiblesoul]

i completely agree about megami her run is so underrated. her ball design look was amazing, she won me over with the girl groups and then i think she should have been high in the doll design look instead of plane. happy that she received her recognition now with the lalaparuzza but i wish people appareciated her more during her run. like she showed she could write and design and be funny her shade was amazing

[@NalleDoris2]

It always baffles me when a queen from a “losing group” wins. Like you didn’t succeed in the teamwork aspect of the challenge? Especially in the power point challenge where the win clearly could have gone to Plane and Q

[@strawberrylatte6616]

The Saphira win on the prezi challenge felt like - Ginger winning the table talk - and Juujuu winning the hotel challenge

[@paninilist4678]

tbh i think they saw nymphia as a fan favorite and someone that they wanted to go far which is why she was kept from the bottom, but tbh i don't think they wanted her to win, only because usually if theres a challenge where two-three queens do well, they'll usually give the win to the one they wanted to push further where as nymphia had at least one or two times where she could have one (not rigged she didn't) but instead they gave the win to someone else. For example if they wanted nymphia to be a viable winner they could have given the win to the gothic design challenge but they didn't. So i think they liked her but I honestly think when filming and editing this season they saw plane and sapphira as potential winners.

[@vstoneman9755]

I think they should've given her the make over challenge. She had the second best dance, and the best make up(after morphine obv) and the best outfits/concept(ties with Q)

[@user-jb8gv6gy9c]

ngl Q not winning the episode when she opened up about her HIV status was really difficult to watch. i think the production was just cruel and trying to break her down for no reason at all and i totally understand her being upset

[@danielsernarestrepo1113]

Q really deserved much more recognition. I loved his outfits. But I do think that the production wanted to break her. In the last few episodes she seemed very frustrated. (I felt a little jan, "you do very well you are very talented. You are up for elimination")

[@Zyxie_Zyxie_Zyxie]

Damn am I the ONLY one that likes emergency??? It’s such a fun draggy song lol

[@damonlamar6874]

I clicked faster than Morphine eliminating Dawn

[@hatelovebowel4571]

Plane Jane rigging the rate a queen ironically helped nymphia win the final lip sync because she didn’t lip sync the whole season

[@ryanager8029]

Preach about Megami! I honestly think she could have been third place in both the Doll Design challenge over Plane and third place in the SNL parody. (Mostly coz I was not a big fan of Q’s brick) The way her doing well was getting dismissed by other people was really weird. Like, she redeemed herself and got the win in the girl group, what do the fans want from her?

[@jjcelever]

“And she made him look like Gothy Kendoll” No but I died wtf 😭 I also kinda agree, Plane convincing that hot man to shave his body hair is why she deserves the win for that episode

[@rogelio9225]

One of my biggest problems with the season was the song choices for lip syncs lol, Shower, Bloody Mary (tik tok wendesday dance version), Made You Look, Miss Me More, i feel like we got quite a few interesting and very tame choices, maybe a lot of the song budget went to Break My Soul and Padam Padam lmao

[@feeelsx]

Been Team Plane , Sapphira & Nymphia since the premiere 🎉 Season 16 has really revived the franchise to the good. Also big shoutout to MIB for bringing the shade back.

[@StellaOfSalem]

As a goth I want to say Nymphia and Dawn's looks WERE goth. I think non goths only think of trad goth when there is so much more than that. Nymphia and Dawn's looks are great examples of romantic goth. I don't think Q's look was a good representation of any branch of goth hence why a lot of us goths think the win should have gone to Nymphia.

[@nokocchi1983]

nymphia genuinely has the worst winner edit of all time 😭 like it could have been a sickening edit but they did an absolutely abysmal job

[@jaykknight2248]

They were way too busy giving saphira 897 wins to pay attention to nymphia. Then they saw the polls on social media and went WHOOPSIE

[@ryanng-cp5rb]

@@jaykknight2248 ikr lmao nymphia's win was inevitable shes unstoppable

[@ryanng-cp5rb]

i honestly think first few eps nymphia's edit was good until half season they decided to switch and focus on sapphira and then they saw the polls and social response lolol

[@happiestplace3754]

Because obviously she wasn't going to win until she got the landslide of #team votes.

[@MrJohnnyboy754]

@@jaykknight2248What wins would Sapphira not get that she did? The only I could see was the powerpoint episode, but even then, Nymphia & Sapphira were miles funnier & natural on stage than Q & Plane were.

[@blackko1334]

this season was amazing the best part is that every queen really got to showcase a lot of their talents and thats amazing!

[@christianmartinez1091]

I think Nymphia’s edit made sense at the end of the season, and it really shows in the episodes she won, like in the ball when Q and Dawn were arguing about who was the better seamstress and then out of nowhere Nymphia ate them up in the challenge, also the storyline for her girl group was that nobody believed they could do well just to end up being the winning team, and in the last challenge when at the start of the episode she says she doesn’t not want a writing challenge just to end up doing really well and also winning, she had the weakest track record of the top 3 which made everyone not have faith on her winning just to end up having one of the best lipsync for the crown and slay the finale to snatch the crown. The edit of the season focused more on other strong contenders putting Nymphia in the sideline just for her slay them at the end, love that for her.

[@nathanieletrent3872]

I honestly thought Morphine’s “Oop - drag queen flopping!” was kinda funny 😂😂

[@MsWeirdgiraffe]

hey, queen! girl, you have done it again, constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly

[@JoseSena-gs4tz]

Nymphia, Sapphira, Morphine using Amanda’s purple mug for the Power Point will forever send me when they screamed in horror 😂😂😂😂 Nymphias accent and mannerisms was hilarious!! Idc what the judges say

[@timeep]

i think your read on plasma is wrong.. i don't think production ever planned for her to go far, they gave her 2 wins just to create a shocking elimination because they know the fandom was getting tired of the rigging and predictability. The fact we got so many design challenges was not random, they knew the bottom would be mhiya and plasma and mhiya would serve

[@heymistercarter.]

What’s funny about DAWN and Q is that they’re connected to two DA’s who were on Dragula Season 5, which aired right before this. Q is the drag sister of Cynthia Doll, and DAWN is best friends with Jay Kay. In fact, when DAWN mentioned they had a friend that they get really annoying with on the mic during performances, it was Jay they were talking about (Jay even confirmed that).

[@northsouteastwesk3435]

Speaking of dawn and jay kay, it's kind of interesting to see them both being on opposite ends of an absolute murder in a lipsync battle, with morphine demolishing dawn while jay kay demolished jarvis hammer

[@Moonbunbunn]

Jay Kay accused PJ of SA just as a PSA

[@heymistercarter.]

@@northsouteastwesk3435 I'm sure there are some songs out there DAWN would've been decent at. Body by Megan Thee Stallion is NOT one of them (especially not next to Morphine!)! And with Jay and Jarvis... I've seen Jarvis live, and he is a MUCH better performer than the show portrayed him. Apparently he was in the midst of a panic/anxiety episode when the BB's made them lip-sync practically on the spot with no preparation. And I mean, he was put in the bottom when he didn't deserve it (I mean, BlackBerri was right there), so I can tell he was off his game. But he's definitely a better performer in person.

[@JinMeowsoon]

⁠@@heymistercarter. Wait so they really just suddenly pulled a random song? I was wondering if maybe that song was on the references list the ghouls are given when they get ready for the show.

[@heymistercarter.]

@@JinMeowsoon Jarvis gave an interview with Fangoria where he said the song he and Jay lip-synced to (Worldwide Torture by Jazmin Bean) was given to them beforehand, but he (and I guess a few others) assumed it was the song they'd perform to for the Monsters Of Rock/Battle Of The Bands challenge, sorta like what the Poppy song was the season before.

[@illxyd]

me going straight from the intro to ep1

[@reenybeeny]

Soooo here for the Megami redemption*. I wasn't really a Megami *fan* per se during the season (but still liked her!!) because she wasn't given a proper chance to shine during the show and I am SOOOOOO glad that mama was finally able to show Drag Race fans what she's capable of during the Lalaparuza. *plz, she didn't need "redemption" but she def stuck it to the DR fans who wrote her off during the season

[@thomasg3387]

did we watch the same bathroom hunties challenge?? upon multiple rewatches i really don't think nymphia was consistently bulldozing dawn and talking miles a minute like you said she was lol, dawn had instances with michelle and carson there where she couldve had funny moments

[@xviolaa]

There were multiple instances where you can tell Dawn wanted to say something and kept getting cut off

[@thomasg3387]

@@xviolaa this literally only happened once at the start of the presentation... lmfao

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa1aaaaaaaaaaaa1]

They were both terrible.

[@thomasg3387]

@@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa1aaaaaaaaaaaa1 nymphia had lots of funny moments but ok werk

[@kevinolano4073]

You saved Aura just last season for an amazing look in the same challenge but not here with Nymphia? Hmm. Choices.

[@johngaudet7363]

I'm actually a little surprised Plane hadn't leaned into her Russian culture and heritage a little more during the season. Still love her a lot

[@bradparris7651]

I’m really annoyed I skipped this season since I let drag race fatigue get to me

[@indigobeaumont1246]

I'm definitely rewating it when Paramount+ adds it later this year, so maybe you could give it a try then. This is a top 5 season of the main franchise for me, definitely worth the watch

[@brayannalise5430]

straight up called me out about the teenage girls loving the quirky weird queens (i am fully 23 years old but im still there)

[@northsouteastwesk3435]

15:15 no mention of Megami wanting us to protect queer art? *Gay gasp* diva...

[@Floptinaagulara]

This video is the queer art megami wanted us to protect

[@user-tx8ts1fw4w]

The Plane Jane stan in me both destroyed by her loss but unbelievably happy that we probably have her for 2 more AS seasons in the future ❤

[@button_mashuu]

lol the shade in preemptively assuming your fave will not win all stars.

[@marypresslike]

thank god, a video to get me thru the last hour and a half of my workday

[@KieranP-wr9nl]

81 Minutes wow we are being FED!!!!!

[@citrinethecorgi]

"so what's your favorite movie?" "The riggory of drag race season 16"

[@ainsleykinney6325]

actual out-loud gasp when i saw you uploaded this. i just loveee your channel. you’re a legend thank you drag detective 🙌

[@khntou4178]

This is kinda like season 9 where the placements are not really rigged because whoever did the best and the worst is so obvious. Besides maybe some lip sync results, nothing big really changes. It's obvious the queens are getting prepared for the challenges now and the sewing abillity of these queens are really high. They should start changing up the challenge structure now.

[@TSUNAMI-MAMI]

Truly adored this cast together. So, so good.

[@idkgirlidksorry]

i’m so excited to watch this i’ve been saving it for this moment

[@cellularcrime4989]

Definitely confused with Nymphia’s track record. She slayed 3 challenges (Slideshow, Goth Ball, and Makeover) that they could’ve given the win to her but just didn’t and decided to give 2 of those challenge wins to Q and Plane, queens who it was pretty obvious would never win this season due to the win being decided by a lip sync, and that song being Padam Padam as the finale lip sync and they would’ve been against Nymphia or Sapphira. This was a confusing season but still loved the hell out of it (and I’ve been wanting for this video since episode 1!!!)

[@lckyminer_2256]

The goth ball, I can still see Q winning since it's Neo Goth. Though I love Nymphia's Morticia Adams' look and take, its nothing new. Q's look is quite contemporary for a goth outfit, which, Neo is.

[@rrrrrr-yo7sz]

@@lckyminer_2256it may be contemporary but nymphia’s just looks better lmao

[@cellularcrime4989]

@@lckyminer_2256 I know it’s Neo-Goth, I just in general liked Nymphia’s better and I don’t disagree with the decision to give Q the win. I think it would’ve made more sense for Nymphia to win storyline wise in the end and I just thought it was kinda confusing why Q was given this win when they didn’t want to keep her, cuz a lot of people were suspecting and probably would’ve been okay with a Plane and Q double save or a top two lip sync but they just didn’t want to

[@Deedj1]

Despite her edit, I do feel bad for Q. I don’t agree that the top 3 were “clearly” the best of the season. Q had SEVERAL high placements, 1 uncontested win and one that was still completely justified, was open about personal issues like her HIV Status, one win she was “robbed” of with the drag presentations challenge, and a moment of vulnerability when she lip synced before getting her win. On paper she literally had every single piece it took to get to the finals on any other season, but those pieces just never fit together. Her attitude and her survived lip sync being against an “underdog” in Amanda really soured people against her, and that sucks. This being the first time there were intentionally 3 finalists since season EIGHT just makes me feel bad for her at the end of the day.

[@tannerrussell9759]

I understand that Q technically "won" the lipsync but Amanda gave more energy, more passion, and even more dancing. Sorry but I still think Amanda won vs Q. P.S. it's a lipsync for your life, not a track record.

[@xviolaa]

Apparently Sapphira was supposed to have a beating heart prop in the final lipsync that ended up not working out (also think she may have just given up after winning Miss C because after that I think she and everyone watching knew they weren't gonna crown her)

[@jagv4r]

It’s been bugging me so much that the immunity potion expired on a non-elimination episode. Like just make it expire the next episode or the one before, it made the whole immunity potion feel like nothing (but I guess that’s how immunity potions go, i liked your point about throwing a ton of them out there until one creates a moment) hopefully we see immunity twists kinda like this one in the future that still gives power to the queens to pick (instead of default immunity for winning a challenge)

[@bobdeng8014]

@55:04 clock that tea. The fans this season showed so much hypocrisy by saying that Mirage and Plasma should have stayed despite losing their lip syncs by a mile

[@PaintingMeJosh]

The political rumix was definitely a moment of riggory and wasted potential. Why announce 2 episodes prior that this would be the last chance for Plane Jane to use her immunity potion and continuously remind her all the way up until critiques this episode, just for it to not matter in the end? I truly do believe that it would've been bottom 2 lip sync if Plane had used the potion on herself. But because she didn't do so, the producers had to scramble last minute because they didn't want to risk losing her yet. So they simultaneously saved Plane from the bottom and made the immunity potion entirely pointless. Imagine how great that payoff would've been if we got to see Plane's face crack when she realized she made a terrible decision in giving it to Nymphia.

[@JinMeowsoon]

I’m mixed on this. On one side, I get production not wanting to risk another Mirage. But on the other, Q would have been in the bottom with PJ, and it’s unlikely she could have outperformed her, and knowing what we know today, production wasn’t sure about what they wanted to do with Q and ultimately cut her before the finale.

[@emmajones6482]

YESSSSS right on time for my nightly bedrot splatoon session thank u legend!!

[@MrZzToOoFlyY]

Planes makeover partner went in as Dawn 2.0 and came out as gothy kendoll in a body suit lol 😂

[@lucastaylor3399]

Dawn’s twink death to buff gothy kendoll 😭

[@SanaKhan-do2fc]

I have been waiting for this video all season!

[@izzyjoshuadavis]

I don't know why but you saying Plane was telling people that they were ugly and talented to their faces had me cracking up.

[@yosmosonic]

Yesssss… someone else who agrees that Amanda’s bird nest look and Salina’s street lamp look aren’t _that_ bad!

[@AnRuixuan]

I totally agree with you on watching seasons unspoiled. The one and only season I watched with spoilers was Season 9, and after Maskgate happened I swore off spoilers forever because I wish I had gone into that not knowing what was about to happen.

[@roguephoenix]

yea we never got the vibe that plane and nymphia were good friends so that potion was shocking. from their appearances together and how they interact with each other outside of the show it clearly shows that they are good friends. i think she even went to taiwan with nymphia, so now the use of the potion was very understandable. they might have had to eliminate Q before the finale because they didn't have enough time to squeeze in one more lip sync because sasha was performing. could be they opted to keep sasha's performance over a second lip sync battle. sapphira was the fav from the edit of the season. i pegged her to win from episode 3 cause it was giving me sasha colby edit. there were episodes where nymphia had no spoken word at all, not in the work room and no confessionals. there's no one else in the season they did that to. did they ever do that to anyone on any season? but they probably took fan votes into account this time, unlike the disaster they had on uk vs tw 2 when they didn't.

[@Langelito637]

Love your vids… I swear I seen you at Disneyland last weekend… anyway. Finally subbed. Took long enough

[@androidpaw]

Thank you Mama. Kudos for uncovering the riggory. For investigating. work

[@koasterlover1045]

This has the runtime of a feature length film. Thank you.

[@aaronkerr7145]

36:30 Michelle told Dawn in the previous episode to lose the elf ears and give glamour

[@teabird7433]

ty for a nice long video i cooked dinner and cleaned my floors while i listened ✨

[@cuzitsnecessary]

I miss this cast so much and it's only been a week.

[@andrewflores8729]

Lady Bunny is so old she reuses her “teeth! how do you think I make so much money” Xunami it was that easy 😭

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa1aaaaaaaaaaaa1]

Stone faced. Still not funny

[@duanerichardsii9307]

I’m glad you’re going back to no spoilers. It has always been the most mind boggling part of the fandom to me lol

[@jonathancohen510]

Mama, kudos for creating amazing content. For spilling 😌

[@alexap530]

Always love these vids!

[@geebygeeb9940]

Love love love loved this season! Feel like it’s a more recent season that I’d happily go back and watch repeatedly. Thinking about Q, she really did shoot herself in the foot. I feel like producers were rubbing their hands when she was clearly upset at not winning certain challenges. Think if she could strengthen herself, perhaps, and maybe develop different comedy characters she’d be amazing for an all stars.

[@trey7502]

being a fan during the drag race down under days- it is so refreshing to hear you say “the highest reviewed episode of drag race history”

[@lyterrr]

THANK YOU FOR DEFENDING AND SPEAKING UP FOR MEGAMI!!! She deserved so much better! Justice for Megami on all stars!!!!!! ✨

[@stargazer_stacey7415]

As a Beatles fanatic…I am absofuckinlutely LIVING for your shirt 🥰😍

[@queenoftheoutlands]

Honestly, when I read that the episode 5 lipsync was Emergency I thought we were going to have an awesome Paramore moment. And then I watched the lipsync.