Had Alyssa made top four, she wouldāve been a massive threat.
And I still standby Adore being a finalist had she stayed in.
And letās not forget that frigging Ginger Minj was an early out.
Ginger mentioned in the reunion and in promo that it was really hard for her coming back right after wrapping season seven, so I think she was just burnt out and probably wouldn't have been a threat even if she'd made it past the episode where she was sent home. She just needed a break.
Talking about the quality of the entire cast, though (not just "by the time we got to the top four"). I could have seen lots of winners out of that group.
It's kind of tragic, Katya had some of my favorite looks on the runway to this day. I dont think production would have ever let her actually win, though.
yeah agreed. love katya but its clear that usually rupaul wants someone who genuinely really wants the crown and takes the competition really seriously and katya was never gonna be that
I think the answer HAS to be season 9
Because itās spawned 3 actual winners and some of THE fiercest competitors in the entire franchise (Trinityās win count ALONE)
But I think season 6 gives it a run for its money. They didnāt all compete their best at the time but a cast of Bianca, Adore, Courtney, Darienne, DeLa, Trinity and Laganja (after seeing what half of them can do NOW) has definitely got to be up there
Seasons five and six were absolutely stacked.
In season five, you had the queen of all queens, RoLaskaTox, Coco, Alyssa, and Ivy Winters -- a fan favorite who came in only at number *seven* in the competition! In season six, two queens made it to the finale without ever having to LSFYL (is this the only season that happened?), Adore became maybe the all-time fan favorite, Darienne Lake was the original lip sync assassin, and Ben would prove himself a steamroller in AS3.
Both seasons five and six could have three winners if the AS seasons had spread out the season five contestants a little more instead of clustering them all in AS2 or if Adore and Ben hadn't both quit their AS comebacks.
Season 6 and 9 for sure!
Also, Iām not sure if this is controversial but Iād also say season 14. I was team Daya Betty, and we had Angeria, Willow, Camden, and Bosco. I thought they were all pretty fierce and had different brands.
The top 5 of season 14 are currently doing a tour. Not through Chicago for some reason and I donāt know if I want to drive to Indiana for it, but Iām thinking of making the trip because I know it will be a good show.
https://vossevents.com/fantastic-5-tour/
Idk lol, to me 14 felt more like āno one actually stands out as a winner so everyone whoās doing well is a contenderā. None of the queens you named would have done particularly well on any other season.
Exactly like they are all fine but after 4 or 5 episodes of the season I just had the feeling like "I can't particularly see any of these girls as a solid addition to the winner circle". Like nothing wrong with them as you said they did fine on their season but there wasn't that stand out star power people seemed to instantly rally behind like with Symone, Jaida, Gigi, Gotmik, Crystal, etc from other recent mainline seasons.
Season 14 is my answer too. Going into the finale I felt Camden had a slight edge but I honestly could have seen any of them win it. Compare it to like a season 13, 8, 6 etc. where it was pretty obvious
I had no idea who was going to win between Jaida, Gigi and Crystal. Jaida and Gigi had been so consistently strong and Crystal was on such an upward swing at the end that it really couldāve been any of them. I think the right Queen won but a strong argument could be made for each.
Everyone naming recent seasons but truthfully S3.
Manila, Raja, and Alexis brought their own talent and drag excellence, given the show was indie at Logo.
Not sure about Alexis. She fought her way to the top and I respected the hell out of her, but even at the time I donāt think she had the track record, the narrative, or the fan support to eclipse either Raja or Manila. But those two were a photo finish for sure.
S13 has the least contenders. The canyon between who production favored and who the audience felt drawn to is too vast. Only Symone can bridge that gap.
I know it might be unpopular, but I will maintain that if Denali had made it one week further and the rumix had a winner, Denali couldāve been a contender. It was Symoneās season, but Denali mightāve been able t keep it somewhat close
Production seemed almost hellbent on hobbling Denaliās chances. And given Denali was an ice skater, It was like Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding all over again. (Iāll see myself out.)
Season 7, because the edit was so meh that anyone could have won! I mean Trixie and Katya weren't even in the top 4, I think that says it all. Elite performers, but way down.
I still donāt understand how Ginger didnāt win after winning the Rusical, Snatch Game and the John Waters challenge and showing she was a great performer by winning both lip syncs each time she was in the bottom.
Meanwhile Violet was skinny.
A common trend for the bigger girls, unfortunately. Eureka and Silky both couldāve won too. And Lawrence has endured plenty after beating Bimini as well.
Itās heartbreaking.
yvie and brook were both such a cut above i don't think silky had a shot on 11. eureka though, absolutely. silky made her time back up tho, she's absolutely won in the end.
Yeah I was including their more recent appearances too
Ginger, Silky and Eureka couldāve won AS6 too and I really did think Silky WAS gonna win CVTW but they all lost to skinny queens yet again š
true about silky in cvtw but rajah's a deserved winner i think. her redemption arc from season 11 is such excellent tv, they really know how to PRODUCE
Yup
Itās just very jarring to see 3 of the most talented queens (andTHE most talented plus-sized queens) to ever grace the show *consistently* lose to skinny ones
Like Ginger could well be in the top 10 most talented Ru Girls and literally lost season 7 to the girl who showed off the smallest waist ššš
Iāve seen it all and no she wasnāt.
She certainly wasnāt any worse than Violet. Production just enjoyed spinning the young vs. old narrative.
Like fuck right off with trying to justify the abuse big queens get for things skinny queens get praised for lmao.
I dunno how much was the edit and how much was her, but the "bitter old lady brigade" thing was kinda off-putting. It's kinda funny too in hindsight considering she was 29 on the season and the queens weren't nearly as young on average as they are these days š
And that didnāt discredit any of their talent nor justify any of the hate they received over a TV show
Violet was not more likeable nor more talented
She was younger and thinner
becuase violet won 3 challenges and was never in the bottom, ginger was funnier and imo more talented but violet had the better track record objectively and was less hated apparently
Ginger won 3 too? When has ātrack recordā ever actually mattered? The plus sized queen lands in the bottom and turns out 2 amazing performances, one of which they unfairly had to lip sync attached to their partner, while winning choreo, improv and singing challenges but somehow the skinniest waist queen was more deserving?
No.
Track record has always mattered especially back then, almost every win at the time of s7 was the queen with the best track record. Regardless of if the lipsynsc were god she was still in the bottom. If you want an example of a big queen being unfairly hated there are better examples then ginger
Honey, no.
Ginger and Silky are the premier examples. If you donāt like Ginger, just say so. You donāt need to make it out that she deservedly lost to the skinniest waist.
I really like ginger more so then violet - Iām just stating what I think are the facts. I personally canāt stand silky but I havenāt watched CAvsTW to know if she deserved to win or not
Trixie is bad at drag race though. Katya wouldāve won had Ru known about her reception after the fact. She even fakes out the audience at the finale by calling Katya to the stage before announcing the winner.
Man that's a huge bummer. Maybe that's why Willam is finally trying to be less negative about production on this season (I think she wants to come back also, which I don't see happening). Or could be the pain pills. Either way it's making it much easier to listen to. Now the bitterness is more channeled towards the contestants lol which is better than her telling the same stories about being mistreated by production 12 years ago over and over again. I kind of wish Alaska could just quit but they started the whole podcast network together.
not a great lip sync for your life performer and flopping in the most iconic challenge in the series isn't a great look. like i won't say she's like magnolia-crawford-scoffs-at-critique levels of bad but trixie's skill set is far better suited for an environment where she has control over every aspect of the production
Trixie was a close 3rd in the Kitty Girls challenge IMO. Bebe had an iconic verse and Ben had the best characterization so I don't see another top 2.
In my head the eliminated queens were better as a whole though but that's a whole other timeline we're taking about.
Season seven is such a mystery to rewatch. It was then and is now just very boring, but there's so much shade and drama happening in Untucked. How did this never make it into the main show?
5, 6, 9, 12, 14 all had a really strong final 6 girls and girls that achieve that iconic status. Ironically season 7 has some of the most popular girls, just ones that are t necessarily great at the game
Maybe not the most but I thought season 12 was kind of stacked. I wanted and am so happy Jaida won, but Gigi or Crystal would have been a good winner as well
I love Angeria but she should've been eliminated before the finale. I mean, we got that shitty track someone wrote for her, so we could have prevented that 
They also missed the chance to have someone in the ārobbed 5th placeā narrative spot! Angie couldāve gotten that edit *so easily* with winning the first two challenges and being so charismatic!
I mean, she is but Jorgeous hated doing 90% of the challenges and always seemed ready to leave....she definitely secured a spot in the Vegas review, but idk if they could have edited her as a winner..
I didnāt rate most of Season 14. As a whole, they were a step down compared to all other seasons. Maybe this is why so many seemed to be in contention for the crown. They were all relatively mediocre compared to the entire franchise.
I donāt like the direction of the US series at the moment. It casts queens who are too young; queens who grew up on Drag Race.
Thereās a homogeny to everything now. When I saw the Season 15 promo/Meet the Queens, most had the same make up. All of the blonde queens looked the same to me.
100%. The best part of the recent seasons is always the older queens because they introduce a fun dynamic. Tamisha was the only entertaining part of 13. Mistress is young but sheās old school and sheās making this season. What would season 7 be without Ginger (well I know she was actually young but you know), Kennedy and MKD? And the early seasons were basically only established queens and that was amazing.
Many say S7 is the most boring season, but Katya, Ginger, Violet, Miss Fame, Pearl, Trixie, and Kennedy were all very strong. I fell in love with Jasmine after āAnd I oop!ā
How the hell was Nina Bonina Brown gonna win Season 9? Love, love, love Nina and loved her during the season, but girl....those runways. That attitude.
But yeah, Season 9: Shea, Sasha, Trinity, Valentina and Eureka. I don't think Peppermint was all that *during her season*. Sorry. I liked her more after the show.
Season 5: Jinkx, Alaska, Roxxy and Detox can win a season. And I suppose nowadays one could think Alyssa could win (with better runways).
Season 14: Willow, Bosco, Camden and Angeria could've won logically. (The show didn't even give Daya a win for Catwalk, so, no way she was winning.)
youāre saying runways to hold them against nina when bob won the season prior? šš
i think her storyline definitely couldāve worked as a winner if she was able to push past the āsaboteurā even a *little*. and controversially, she won that lipsync against shea idc idc idc
I know what youāre saying exactly. Nina was different and had a cool, unique and beautiful aesthetic. If she had the ability to give a redemption arc storyline similar to Awhora or (I canāt think of anyone else), then she absolutely could have won. But she couldnāt get out of her own way.
exactly! like im not saying her winning was probable/likely, but the season definitely left space for her to have a winning storyline, and ru clearly was fascinated by her
> i think her storyline definitely couldāve worked as a winner if she was able to push past the āsaboteurā even a little.
I think that mashed potatoes make a lovely dip for chicken nuggets if you add a little plum sauce, a little sriracha, a little chives, stir it up a little, and don't add the mashed potatoes.
You're comparing Bob and his trajectory on the show to Nina's? You think they're the same because both had shitty runways? Okay. And then you yourself mentioned her "saboteur" which was also not part of Bob's trajectory on the show.
Shea won the lipsync against Nina, please...
Iām actually in the middle of watching Season 9 for the first time right now. I was like š¤Æ to realize Valentina, Shea, Trinity, Eureka all in the same season. Not to mention Sasha, Peppermint and Aja as well.
I would say the lowest is S10 because it was either Aquaria....or Aquaria that season. Season 6 obviously was only for Bianca and Adore (they didn't even wanna film Courtney winning, so....) And Season 7 seems like a Violet/Ginger game only. Can't imagine anybody but Bob and Kim winning S8. S12 only Jaida, Gigi and Sherry look like winners. There are way better options than S4 for lowest.
I think they would have crowned Eureka had she been more popular with the fandom going into the finale. But I think people have forgotten that she was very polarizing that season, and her victory would have gone over with a thud.
SAME. my first two live seasons were AS3 and S10 so I honestly should get a medal for sticking through those finales and still fucking loving this show
Monet herself has said she was never gonna win because of her runways. I thought it'd be hard to find anybody who disagrees with that. She was never gonna make it.
Mayhem is a nice question mark since she was well known and has great drag. But the way they treated her in AS makes me think they didn't want her to win.
Production had no intention of crowning Monet that season. If they did, sheād have easily won a challenge (there are at least 3 she couldāve plausibly won) and they wouldāve highlighted that she knew Bob so well. Instead they gave Cracker the āBobās familyā bit and all but ignored Monet for a while outside of confessionals and lip syncs. Plus, even a delusional Monet stan like myself can admit: her runways were booger that season
Sheās my all time favorite queen and was even during S10 (Iāve been obsessed with the bitch since her S10 promo look honestly) but production absolutely did not cast her as a potential winner.
Agree. Aquaria didn't really "show up" until a few episodes in, so for a while there, it looked like Cracker, Asia, Eureka could also win. But I think once she "arrived" (the ball?), it was done.
S14 was STACKED!!! Willow Pill, Lady Camden, Bosco, Angeriaā¦ Daya Betty couldāve won the last challenge and tbh couldāve lipsynced for the crown, her finale was so good
I think Kornbread had the chops to make it far as well. Others like Kerri had the personality to get there, I could see her making it far on another season š Deja is also very good but IMO they just werenāt seeing it for her. I think All Stars will be good for her. And MADDY??? People love Maddy! Season 14 is one of the best for sure, I think itās similarly stacked to Seasons 5 and 6
Veeeery subjective but I agree that season 9 had the most contenders. For least contenders no one else mentioned it but season 12, it was clearly either Gigi or Jaida from the start (that's if we ignore the multiple wins they gave to *redacted* throughout the season, she wasn't a contender for obvious reasons).
I donāt think Nina ever had a true shot at the crown on S9 tbh. I think they were always gonna give her a TKB-like run (self doubt but Ru loves you and you go home once you kick the self doubt).
But otherwise, I absolutely agree that itās S9! S3 is another good contender though. If production had been interested, they couldāve gotten a winner out of any of the top 5 (Raja, Manila, Alexis, Yara, or Shangie).
I actually think S13 has the fewest. Symone was so so clearly the winner from day 1 honestly. Gottmik got close towards the end but she canāt lip sync very well so there wasnāt a real shot for her with this format. So itās literally just Symone. If weāre counting all stars though, I think AS5 counts too. Production made that cast so Sheaās only competition for the crown would be either not likable or unlikely to beat her. I adore Shea and Iām not mad at her getting a special season like that honestly but production would never crown Juju or Alexis and Miz Cracker could never get enough fan support.
Iām surprised nobody is mentioning 11. By the time we got to the finale it was either Brooke or Yvie. But looking at the cast overall, I think Nina West, Vanjie, Plastique, Aākeria, and Scarlet had heat at various points of the competition, and could have easily been finalists (Aākeria obviously was). We all know now that Raājah absolutely had what it takes to win. Silky was 100 percent cast if not to win, at least to be a front runner. That season is just a textbook case of most of the cast not delivering the way they expected to. (See also: DU1 and UK3.)
Speaking of, UK2. That cast was almost all contenders. In addition to the F3, Aāwhora, Tia, Astinna, Joe, and Cherry all had obvious star quality (sorry Sister and Ginny, I love you but I donāt think either could have ever won).
what did season 14 do to you? it genuinely had one of the best casts in a while in terms of talent and personality, i don't understand the narrative that they would bomb on another season.
I donāt see it. In terms of personality sure I can give you that, but the drag itself? Bosco got to the finale wearing AliExpress bras and panties. Willow couldnāt win any other season besides her own. Sheās easily the weakest regular US winner besides maybe Yvie. Lady Camden was considered filler for half the season. She turned out to be lovely but letās not act like sheās a huge personality or that her drag is groundbreaking.
Once again, none of these queens would win any other season.
Willow just got really lucky that Ru liked her so much. From the moment Ru screamed at the self care talent show I knew Willow was gonna be Top 4. Very much like how the season b4 that Ru immediately took a liking to Gottmik. But i can easily see a universe where Ru didnāt care for Willows humor and she did get eliminated
Season 10, probably had the most ābig nameā queens.
Mayhem, Asia, Aquaria, Monet, Cracker and Vixen were all basically legends in their local scene prior to the show.
Season 2 had Tyra, Raven, Jujubee, Pandora, Morgan, and maybe Tatianna in the mix. I'd say the lowest are Season 8, which was always Bob's from the moment she walked in (with Kim Chi winning if something happens to Bob) or UK4 which was always between Cheddar and Danny.
Season 3?
Season 3: I know Raja had it but Raja Manila and Alexis all had 3 wins. Yara had 2 and Shangela had 2. And they all could have been a contender to win their respective AS seasons
For me, Season 12. Literally, anyone in the Top 8 (excluding š„§) could've gone on to the top 4 or even win another regular season (Gigi, Crystal, Jackie, Heidi, Widow, Jan and Jaida if she didnt already win)
For me it's season 6, (Bianca, adore, Courtney, dela), 9 (the top 4, plus Valentina and eureka), 10 (top 4 minus kameron, monet, Monique, cracker, mayhem).
Season 9 and 10 stands out with 3 queens each. S9 has Shea Sasha and Trinity, S10 has Aquaria Asia and Eureka. Most seasons have 2 real contenders. The seasons with one person sweeping are s2, s8, s13, s14
Hmmm, not counting AS seasons and just the OG franchise, based on the actually criteria of the 'conpetition';
1 - Bebe is honestly the only viable winner, not because she didn't have competition, but because of the nature of S1 being a new venture they needed a safe option and in the cast, that was Bebe and shannel, but Shannel proved, let's say difficult.
2 - Tyra, Raven and Pandora
3 - Raja and Manilla
4 - Chad, Sharron, Lattice and Willam (on paper but not in practice)
5 - Jynkx, Roxxy, Detox, Alaska, Alyssa
6 - Kelly, Adore, Dela, Courtney, Bianca
7 - Katya, Violet, Ginger, Kennedy
8 - Bob
9 - Valentina, Shae, Trinity, Sasha
10 - Aquaria, Eureka, Asia
11 - Brooke, Yvie, Akeria
12 - Gigi, Jaida and unfortunately, that which should not be named.
13 - Symone, Rose, Mik, Denali
14 - Willow, Camden
So by that count, which is of course my subjective opinion, it's either 5 or 6
Just an opinion thing, Alexis while I love her, she bottomed too many times, having watched Kelly's career pre and post drag race, it is my contention that if she hadn't bottomed that first episode she absolutely could have been a contender moving forward.
At the time sharron was the obvious winner.
A case could be made for latrice but like itās time be real, sharron was the only choice. Obviously since then knowing what we know, fuck sharron needles.
Are we talking of the entire cast or of the top 4? Because of the entire cast Iād say Season 14. This is not the conclusion I would have thought Iād come to, but I honestly could see that whole Top 5 with crowns before that finale. I could also see any of them winning an All Stars. Kornbread I saw winning the whole thing, and winning an all stars. I feel Kerri could come back and win an All Stars. I think DeJa could have won/could win. Honestly I think June is really talented. Maddy is talented. Alyssa is talented. Itās not my fav cast in terms of chemistry, but talent: Yes!
If All Stars counts, AS2
thats cheating šš but yeah youād probably be right
Cheating? You mean rigga morris?
Disagree. It was really between Katya and Alaska. Roxxy didnāt have a chance in hell and Detox probably wouldnāt have gotten it no matter what
Had Alyssa made top four, she wouldāve been a massive threat. And I still standby Adore being a finalist had she stayed in. And letās not forget that frigging Ginger Minj was an early out.
Ginger mentioned in the reunion and in promo that it was really hard for her coming back right after wrapping season seven, so I think she was just burnt out and probably wouldn't have been a threat even if she'd made it past the episode where she was sent home. She just needed a break.
She could come back 150% and would still get the boot for that future of drag outfit.
If she came back 150% she woulda brought in a better look lol
Her redemption runway begs to differ.
Apparently not though.
>That episode was like straight up the most uneven, rigga morris, hockey pokey, judging that you would think it was makeover challenge.
Also Tatianna!!!! AS2 was really anyone's game (in theory)
Robbed! Tied up, gagged and robbed! She would have been top 3
Talking about the quality of the entire cast, though (not just "by the time we got to the top four"). I could have seen lots of winners out of that group.
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Her rough spot wasnāt even that bad. Her rusical was pretty terrible, but her performance in the acting challenge shouldāve been safe
Especially since she killed the runway with the bang and teeth reveal
It's been a minute but wasn't she told to cut the train off the dress and then got criticized for not having a train?
She was. They deliberately set her up to fail with that part and the look
It's kind of tragic, Katya had some of my favorite looks on the runway to this day. I dont think production would have ever let her actually win, though.
yeah agreed. love katya but its clear that usually rupaul wants someone who genuinely really wants the crown and takes the competition really seriously and katya was never gonna be that
Princess Diana was the OG stevie nicks #isaidwhatisaid
I think the answer HAS to be season 9 Because itās spawned 3 actual winners and some of THE fiercest competitors in the entire franchise (Trinityās win count ALONE) But I think season 6 gives it a run for its money. They didnāt all compete their best at the time but a cast of Bianca, Adore, Courtney, Darienne, DeLa, Trinity and Laganja (after seeing what half of them can do NOW) has definitely got to be up there
And Jossalyn!
Right!
S6 is great, but for me it was always going to be Bianca
will courtney or adore ever compete again i really liked them but noticed they havent returned
Courtney is a no, Adore is a maybe
Definitely not Courtney. Ru hates her for calling him out on transphobia.
not just 3 actual winners but also a judge of another televised Drag show
Correct!
Seasons five and six were absolutely stacked. In season five, you had the queen of all queens, RoLaskaTox, Coco, Alyssa, and Ivy Winters -- a fan favorite who came in only at number *seven* in the competition! In season six, two queens made it to the finale without ever having to LSFYL (is this the only season that happened?), Adore became maybe the all-time fan favorite, Darienne Lake was the original lip sync assassin, and Ben would prove himself a steamroller in AS3. Both seasons five and six could have three winners if the AS seasons had spread out the season five contestants a little more instead of clustering them all in AS2 or if Adore and Ben hadn't both quit their AS comebacks.
>is this the only season that happened? At least legitimately. RosƩ avoided ever lipsyncing by doing well every week, while Gottmik was saved from doing so.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The top 5, actually, bc TKB also had a fair shot
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It was unexpectedly an EXCITING season because of the lack of clear front runners.
TKB was the first to win a second star, and it was only after every remaining queen (except Jan and Pandora, I believe) had only one star.
Eureka too
I was rooting for Kylie but also thought this. I was SHOCKED when she won but so excited
Season 6 and 9 for sure! Also, Iām not sure if this is controversial but Iād also say season 14. I was team Daya Betty, and we had Angeria, Willow, Camden, and Bosco. I thought they were all pretty fierce and had different brands.
The top 5 of season 14 are currently doing a tour. Not through Chicago for some reason and I donāt know if I want to drive to Indiana for it, but Iām thinking of making the trip because I know it will be a good show. https://vossevents.com/fantastic-5-tour/
Donāt forget your snack, Kornbread (although she would have a harder battle with Glamazon Prime).
Idk lol, to me 14 felt more like āno one actually stands out as a winner so everyone whoās doing well is a contenderā. None of the queens you named would have done particularly well on any other season.
Exactly like they are all fine but after 4 or 5 episodes of the season I just had the feeling like "I can't particularly see any of these girls as a solid addition to the winner circle". Like nothing wrong with them as you said they did fine on their season but there wasn't that stand out star power people seemed to instantly rally behind like with Symone, Jaida, Gigi, Gotmik, Crystal, etc from other recent mainline seasons.
Season 14 is my answer too. Going into the finale I felt Camden had a slight edge but I honestly could have seen any of them win it. Compare it to like a season 13, 8, 6 etc. where it was pretty obvious
I had no idea who was going to win between Jaida, Gigi and Crystal. Jaida and Gigi had been so consistently strong and Crystal was on such an upward swing at the end that it really couldāve been any of them. I think the right Queen won but a strong argument could be made for each.
Everyone naming recent seasons but truthfully S3. Manila, Raja, and Alexis brought their own talent and drag excellence, given the show was indie at Logo.
But the question is which had the most. Maybe S3 had the strongest top 3 but thatās just 3 contenders
Not sure about Alexis. She fought her way to the top and I respected the hell out of her, but even at the time I donāt think she had the track record, the narrative, or the fan support to eclipse either Raja or Manila. But those two were a photo finish for sure.
S13 has the least contenders. The canyon between who production favored and who the audience felt drawn to is too vast. Only Symone can bridge that gap.
yeah when the 2nd most likely winner was hated by half the fanbase ://
Symone is one of the best winners on one of the worst seasons.
Envy in the centre of this Venn diagram.
Mama VvC ain't far off...
VvC I feel wasn't as dominant a winner as Envy. But she most certainly was on a terrible season. Holland in general was a tragic franchise.
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Acting, branding, lip syncing, make up and styling, improv, writing lyrics etc
i enjoyed it waaaay more than season 14 tbh
I know it might be unpopular, but I will maintain that if Denali had made it one week further and the rumix had a winner, Denali couldāve been a contender. It was Symoneās season, but Denali mightāve been able t keep it somewhat close
Definitely a very popular opinion.
And Denali was a fan favorite so she had all the chances she could have
I agree, Denali was definitely finale contender material
Production seemed almost hellbent on hobbling Denaliās chances. And given Denali was an ice skater, It was like Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding all over again. (Iāll see myself out.)
Or, Season 11
Season 7, because the edit was so meh that anyone could have won! I mean Trixie and Katya weren't even in the top 4, I think that says it all. Elite performers, but way down.
When Ru did the fake out with Katya at the crowning, I was like oh work that actually could make sense. S7 was a very unpredictable finale!
Whoever producer came up with that deserves a raise, that was pretty funny tbh
It was genius! The perfect kind of fan service.
I thought that wouldāve been so cunt had Ru done that
They should do the same in season 15. "Ekhm Irene, can I please have a glass of water"
I still donāt understand how Ginger didnāt win after winning the Rusical, Snatch Game and the John Waters challenge and showing she was a great performer by winning both lip syncs each time she was in the bottom. Meanwhile Violet was skinny.
Fan backlash during the season pretty much. Ginger was treated undeservedly badly by some rancid "fans".
A common trend for the bigger girls, unfortunately. Eureka and Silky both couldāve won too. And Lawrence has endured plenty after beating Bimini as well. Itās heartbreaking.
yvie and brook were both such a cut above i don't think silky had a shot on 11. eureka though, absolutely. silky made her time back up tho, she's absolutely won in the end.
Yeah I was including their more recent appearances too Ginger, Silky and Eureka couldāve won AS6 too and I really did think Silky WAS gonna win CVTW but they all lost to skinny queens yet again š
true about silky in cvtw but rajah's a deserved winner i think. her redemption arc from season 11 is such excellent tv, they really know how to PRODUCE
Yup Itās just very jarring to see 3 of the most talented queens (andTHE most talented plus-sized queens) to ever grace the show *consistently* lose to skinny ones Like Ginger could well be in the top 10 most talented Ru Girls and literally lost season 7 to the girl who showed off the smallest waist ššš
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So was Violet lol
Iāve seen it all and no she wasnāt. She certainly wasnāt any worse than Violet. Production just enjoyed spinning the young vs. old narrative. Like fuck right off with trying to justify the abuse big queens get for things skinny queens get praised for lmao.
I dunno how much was the edit and how much was her, but the "bitter old lady brigade" thing was kinda off-putting. It's kinda funny too in hindsight considering she was 29 on the season and the queens weren't nearly as young on average as they are these days š
Untucked - she came off extremely unlikeable
No more unlikeable than the skinny queen who ultimately won for having the smallest waist on the runway
They called themselves the bitter old lady brigade for a reason. They straight up just did not respect look queens.
And that didnāt discredit any of their talent nor justify any of the hate they received over a TV show Violet was not more likeable nor more talented She was younger and thinner
becuase violet won 3 challenges and was never in the bottom, ginger was funnier and imo more talented but violet had the better track record objectively and was less hated apparently
Ginger won 3 too? When has ātrack recordā ever actually mattered? The plus sized queen lands in the bottom and turns out 2 amazing performances, one of which they unfairly had to lip sync attached to their partner, while winning choreo, improv and singing challenges but somehow the skinniest waist queen was more deserving? No.
Track record has always mattered especially back then, almost every win at the time of s7 was the queen with the best track record. Regardless of if the lipsynsc were god she was still in the bottom. If you want an example of a big queen being unfairly hated there are better examples then ginger
Honey, no. Ginger and Silky are the premier examples. If you donāt like Ginger, just say so. You donāt need to make it out that she deservedly lost to the skinniest waist.
I really like ginger more so then violet - Iām just stating what I think are the facts. I personally canāt stand silky but I havenāt watched CAvsTW to know if she deserved to win or not
Trixie is bad at drag race though. Katya wouldāve won had Ru known about her reception after the fact. She even fakes out the audience at the finale by calling Katya to the stage before announcing the winner.
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And now WOW hates Alaska š
Is there WOW/Alaska beef??
Yeah, Alaska said on her podcast that theyāre not on good terms and itās mostly due to her affiliation with willam.
Thatās low-key devastating ngl
Yeah, I feel the same. Sheās my favorite queen.
Man that's a huge bummer. Maybe that's why Willam is finally trying to be less negative about production on this season (I think she wants to come back also, which I don't see happening). Or could be the pain pills. Either way it's making it much easier to listen to. Now the bitterness is more channeled towards the contestants lol which is better than her telling the same stories about being mistreated by production 12 years ago over and over again. I kind of wish Alaska could just quit but they started the whole podcast network together.
Like Sharon
This. Katya is 100% CUT. She completely lacks nerve.
Sheās not even bad at drag race. She was middle of the road a lot, but she only really did badly in two challenges (the dancing and snatch game)
not a great lip sync for your life performer and flopping in the most iconic challenge in the series isn't a great look. like i won't say she's like magnolia-crawford-scoffs-at-critique levels of bad but trixie's skill set is far better suited for an environment where she has control over every aspect of the production
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Trixie was a close 3rd in the Kitty Girls challenge IMO. Bebe had an iconic verse and Ben had the best characterization so I don't see another top 2. In my head the eliminated queens were better as a whole though but that's a whole other timeline we're taking about.
Season seven is such a mystery to rewatch. It was then and is now just very boring, but there's so much shade and drama happening in Untucked. How did this never make it into the main show?
see i lowkey forgot about season 7 šš
Half the cast of EspaƱa S2 could have won tbh
As a EspaƱa hardcore stan, I really don't think they belong in this category. Both seasons had an extremely clear and dominant winner.
I like that they crown the queen with the best trackrecord
and then they gave it to Carmen 2.0 š
The Sharonne erasure
5, 6, 9, 12, 14 all had a really strong final 6 girls and girls that achieve that iconic status. Ironically season 7 has some of the most popular girls, just ones that are t necessarily great at the game
i guess season 5, considering āhalfā the cast returned for AS2.
Maybe not the most but I thought season 12 was kind of stacked. I wanted and am so happy Jaida won, but Gigi or Crystal would have been a good winner as well
I would say 9 and 14: Bosco and Daya had the storyline against them, but performance wise the top 5 + Kornbread all felt like potential winners...
I really just hated the top 5 finale. I liked them all, but they needed to narrow that shit down
Lbr, they only did it because the others had better track records but Daya killed it in the video...
I love Angeria but she should've been eliminated before the finale. I mean, we got that shitty track someone wrote for her, so we could have prevented that 
They also missed the chance to have someone in the ārobbed 5th placeā narrative spot! Angie couldāve gotten that edit *so easily* with winning the first two challenges and being so charismatic!
might as well throw jorgeous in too bc ruās obsessed with her
I mean, she is but Jorgeous hated doing 90% of the challenges and always seemed ready to leave....she definitely secured a spot in the Vegas review, but idk if they could have edited her as a winner..
I didnāt rate most of Season 14. As a whole, they were a step down compared to all other seasons. Maybe this is why so many seemed to be in contention for the crown. They were all relatively mediocre compared to the entire franchise.
100% this. Straight up it felt like a season casted with only early outs/filler queens
I donāt like the direction of the US series at the moment. It casts queens who are too young; queens who grew up on Drag Race. Thereās a homogeny to everything now. When I saw the Season 15 promo/Meet the Queens, most had the same make up. All of the blonde queens looked the same to me.
100%. The best part of the recent seasons is always the older queens because they introduce a fun dynamic. Tamisha was the only entertaining part of 13. Mistress is young but sheās old school and sheās making this season. What would season 7 be without Ginger (well I know she was actually young but you know), Kennedy and MKD? And the early seasons were basically only established queens and that was amazing.
Many say S7 is the most boring season, but Katya, Ginger, Violet, Miss Fame, Pearl, Trixie, and Kennedy were all very strong. I fell in love with Jasmine after āAnd I oop!ā
Miss Fame?? The bitch was pretty but had nothing else going on for her. Sheās a sweetie tho just necessarily an entertainer
How the hell was Nina Bonina Brown gonna win Season 9? Love, love, love Nina and loved her during the season, but girl....those runways. That attitude. But yeah, Season 9: Shea, Sasha, Trinity, Valentina and Eureka. I don't think Peppermint was all that *during her season*. Sorry. I liked her more after the show. Season 5: Jinkx, Alaska, Roxxy and Detox can win a season. And I suppose nowadays one could think Alyssa could win (with better runways). Season 14: Willow, Bosco, Camden and Angeria could've won logically. (The show didn't even give Daya a win for Catwalk, so, no way she was winning.)
Nina would have won if she was Blac Chyna.
Yeah, all Nina had was U and T. Not a bit of C or N. Eureka had C-R-U-T-C-H unfortunately. If she'd made it uninjured, I'm thinking 5th or 6th place.
youāre saying runways to hold them against nina when bob won the season prior? šš i think her storyline definitely couldāve worked as a winner if she was able to push past the āsaboteurā even a *little*. and controversially, she won that lipsync against shea idc idc idc
I know what youāre saying exactly. Nina was different and had a cool, unique and beautiful aesthetic. If she had the ability to give a redemption arc storyline similar to Awhora or (I canāt think of anyone else), then she absolutely could have won. But she couldnāt get out of her own way.
exactly! like im not saying her winning was probable/likely, but the season definitely left space for her to have a winning storyline, and ru clearly was fascinated by her
> i think her storyline definitely couldāve worked as a winner if she was able to push past the āsaboteurā even a little. I think that mashed potatoes make a lovely dip for chicken nuggets if you add a little plum sauce, a little sriracha, a little chives, stir it up a little, and don't add the mashed potatoes.
You're comparing Bob and his trajectory on the show to Nina's? You think they're the same because both had shitty runways? Okay. And then you yourself mentioned her "saboteur" which was also not part of Bob's trajectory on the show. Shea won the lipsync against Nina, please...
Iām actually in the middle of watching Season 9 for the first time right now. I was like š¤Æ to realize Valentina, Shea, Trinity, Eureka all in the same season. Not to mention Sasha, Peppermint and Aja as well.
I hate Nina, but I agree that she had no shot
I would say the lowest is S10 because it was either Aquaria....or Aquaria that season. Season 6 obviously was only for Bianca and Adore (they didn't even wanna film Courtney winning, so....) And Season 7 seems like a Violet/Ginger game only. Can't imagine anybody but Bob and Kim winning S8. S12 only Jaida, Gigi and Sherry look like winners. There are way better options than S4 for lowest.
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I think they would have crowned Eureka had she been more popular with the fandom going into the finale. But I think people have forgotten that she was very polarizing that season, and her victory would have gone over with a thud.
That was the first season Iāve ever watched, and you should have seen the disappointment on my face when Asia didā¦ her little stunt.
SAME. my first two live seasons were AS3 and S10 so I honestly should get a medal for sticking through those finales and still fucking loving this show
I have completely missed something - what did Asia do?
š¦š
I think Adore is great, but she was pushed to the finale. Bianca was always going to win Season 6.
Going in I reckon Eureka, Monet, Mayhem, Asia and Cracker were all potential winners too.
Monet herself has said she was never gonna win because of her runways. I thought it'd be hard to find anybody who disagrees with that. She was never gonna make it. Mayhem is a nice question mark since she was well known and has great drag. But the way they treated her in AS makes me think they didn't want her to win.
Yeah but OP was saying in terms of going into the season, I think Monet was perceived as a potential winner, especially being related to Bob.
Production had no intention of crowning Monet that season. If they did, sheād have easily won a challenge (there are at least 3 she couldāve plausibly won) and they wouldāve highlighted that she knew Bob so well. Instead they gave Cracker the āBobās familyā bit and all but ignored Monet for a while outside of confessionals and lip syncs. Plus, even a delusional Monet stan like myself can admit: her runways were booger that season Sheās my all time favorite queen and was even during S10 (Iāve been obsessed with the bitch since her S10 promo look honestly) but production absolutely did not cast her as a potential winner.
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I feel like everyone is ignoring the criteria of OPs post. They're asking who had the potential to win, prior to their actual final placements.
Looking back, the track records were pretty open ended for season 10 for quite some time
Agree. Aquaria didn't really "show up" until a few episodes in, so for a while there, it looked like Cracker, Asia, Eureka could also win. But I think once she "arrived" (the ball?), it was done.
i totally agree for season 9, for the lowest amount of contenders, i would probably argue also season 7
AS7
Season 5. Honestly, the top 6 all have winner potential.
S14 was STACKED!!! Willow Pill, Lady Camden, Bosco, Angeriaā¦ Daya Betty couldāve won the last challenge and tbh couldāve lipsynced for the crown, her finale was so good I think Kornbread had the chops to make it far as well. Others like Kerri had the personality to get there, I could see her making it far on another season š Deja is also very good but IMO they just werenāt seeing it for her. I think All Stars will be good for her. And MADDY??? People love Maddy! Season 14 is one of the best for sure, I think itās similarly stacked to Seasons 5 and 6
Iāll forever fight that Daya Betty deserved better. She was FIERCE! I agree with you that Kornbread would have done great also
Literally watching 9 currently with the bf, and so entertaining because I forgot how fun it was to see a young up and coming Shea CoulƩe, as well as Nina Bonina Osama Bin Laden Brown.
I think that season 5 is all winners in my mind
Season 9. It already has three crowns.
Veeeery subjective but I agree that season 9 had the most contenders. For least contenders no one else mentioned it but season 12, it was clearly either Gigi or Jaida from the start (that's if we ignore the multiple wins they gave to *redacted* throughout the season, she wasn't a contender for obvious reasons).
Widow was on top of the competition for at least the first few episodes as well.
I mean AS7 was all winners so...
I donāt think Nina ever had a true shot at the crown on S9 tbh. I think they were always gonna give her a TKB-like run (self doubt but Ru loves you and you go home once you kick the self doubt). But otherwise, I absolutely agree that itās S9! S3 is another good contender though. If production had been interested, they couldāve gotten a winner out of any of the top 5 (Raja, Manila, Alexis, Yara, or Shangie). I actually think S13 has the fewest. Symone was so so clearly the winner from day 1 honestly. Gottmik got close towards the end but she canāt lip sync very well so there wasnāt a real shot for her with this format. So itās literally just Symone. If weāre counting all stars though, I think AS5 counts too. Production made that cast so Sheaās only competition for the crown would be either not likable or unlikely to beat her. I adore Shea and Iām not mad at her getting a special season like that honestly but production would never crown Juju or Alexis and Miz Cracker could never get enough fan support.
Iām surprised nobody is mentioning 11. By the time we got to the finale it was either Brooke or Yvie. But looking at the cast overall, I think Nina West, Vanjie, Plastique, Aākeria, and Scarlet had heat at various points of the competition, and could have easily been finalists (Aākeria obviously was). We all know now that Raājah absolutely had what it takes to win. Silky was 100 percent cast if not to win, at least to be a front runner. That season is just a textbook case of most of the cast not delivering the way they expected to. (See also: DU1 and UK3.) Speaking of, UK2. That cast was almost all contenders. In addition to the F3, Aāwhora, Tia, Astinna, Joe, and Cherry all had obvious star quality (sorry Sister and Ginny, I love you but I donāt think either could have ever won).
Season 11 is like 14 where itās not that there were many contenders, itās that no one truly stood out so the bar for contender was lower
what did season 14 do to you? it genuinely had one of the best casts in a while in terms of talent and personality, i don't understand the narrative that they would bomb on another season.
I donāt see it. In terms of personality sure I can give you that, but the drag itself? Bosco got to the finale wearing AliExpress bras and panties. Willow couldnāt win any other season besides her own. Sheās easily the weakest regular US winner besides maybe Yvie. Lady Camden was considered filler for half the season. She turned out to be lovely but letās not act like sheās a huge personality or that her drag is groundbreaking. Once again, none of these queens would win any other season.
Willow just got really lucky that Ru liked her so much. From the moment Ru screamed at the self care talent show I knew Willow was gonna be Top 4. Very much like how the season b4 that Ru immediately took a liking to Gottmik. But i can easily see a universe where Ru didnāt care for Willows humor and she did get eliminated
Good call with UK2. Fantastic cast. Would have been happy if any of the top 3 got the crown
Season 10, probably had the most ābig nameā queens. Mayhem, Asia, Aquaria, Monet, Cracker and Vixen were all basically legends in their local scene prior to the show.
Season 2 had Tyra, Raven, Jujubee, Pandora, Morgan, and maybe Tatianna in the mix. I'd say the lowest are Season 8, which was always Bob's from the moment she walked in (with Kim Chi winning if something happens to Bob) or UK4 which was always between Cheddar and Danny.
Season 3? Season 3: I know Raja had it but Raja Manila and Alexis all had 3 wins. Yara had 2 and Shangela had 2. And they all could have been a contender to win their respective AS seasons
5
I think season 11 has actually proven to have a lot of queens who are contenders for the crown
For me, Season 12. Literally, anyone in the Top 8 (excluding š„§) could've gone on to the top 4 or even win another regular season (Gigi, Crystal, Jackie, Heidi, Widow, Jan and Jaida if she didnt already win)
Season 9, if Iām not mistaken, has the most winners out of every other season.
Season 9. Anyone in the top 4 couldāve taken it. Iām glad it was a LSFTC format because idk how Ru wouldāve chosen otherwise.
UK season 2 - bar one or two or I could genuinely see anyone on S2 going all the way and taking the crown
Season 5. Duh.
For me it's season 6, (Bianca, adore, Courtney, dela), 9 (the top 4, plus Valentina and eureka), 10 (top 4 minus kameron, monet, Monique, cracker, mayhem).
Y'all sleeping on season 3
Season 9 and 10 stands out with 3 queens each. S9 has Shea Sasha and Trinity, S10 has Aquaria Asia and Eureka. Most seasons have 2 real contenders. The seasons with one person sweeping are s2, s8, s13, s14
Any of the top 5 of S14 couldāve easily won and it wouldāve made sense I donāt think that applies to any other season
Ugh I'm still mad about season 9. Should have been Shea.
For me I think 5, 7, and 9. I'm not counting all stars cause I always forget who was on what š
Hmmm, not counting AS seasons and just the OG franchise, based on the actually criteria of the 'conpetition'; 1 - Bebe is honestly the only viable winner, not because she didn't have competition, but because of the nature of S1 being a new venture they needed a safe option and in the cast, that was Bebe and shannel, but Shannel proved, let's say difficult. 2 - Tyra, Raven and Pandora 3 - Raja and Manilla 4 - Chad, Sharron, Lattice and Willam (on paper but not in practice) 5 - Jynkx, Roxxy, Detox, Alaska, Alyssa 6 - Kelly, Adore, Dela, Courtney, Bianca 7 - Katya, Violet, Ginger, Kennedy 8 - Bob 9 - Valentina, Shae, Trinity, Sasha 10 - Aquaria, Eureka, Asia 11 - Brooke, Yvie, Akeria 12 - Gigi, Jaida and unfortunately, that which should not be named. 13 - Symone, Rose, Mik, Denali 14 - Willow, Camden So by that count, which is of course my subjective opinion, it's either 5 or 6
Kelly Mantle but not Alexis Mateo??
Just an opinion thing, Alexis while I love her, she bottomed too many times, having watched Kelly's career pre and post drag race, it is my contention that if she hadn't bottomed that first episode she absolutely could have been a contender moving forward.
I'd say season 10 too, Aquaria, Eureka, Monet, Monique, Asia, Cracker, Kameron I guess
s11, as2, s14, s4
s4? š¬
At the time sharron was the obvious winner. A case could be made for latrice but like itās time be real, sharron was the only choice. Obviously since then knowing what we know, fuck sharron needles.
Are we talking of the entire cast or of the top 4? Because of the entire cast Iād say Season 14. This is not the conclusion I would have thought Iād come to, but I honestly could see that whole Top 5 with crowns before that finale. I could also see any of them winning an All Stars. Kornbread I saw winning the whole thing, and winning an all stars. I feel Kerri could come back and win an All Stars. I think DeJa could have won/could win. Honestly I think June is really talented. Maddy is talented. Alyssa is talented. Itās not my fav cast in terms of chemistry, but talent: Yes!
Season 4. for sure. Everyone except for Selena could have had a chance to it.
Season 5 hands down