Hey now, hey now racers: don’t dream, Drag Race is over. The end of a Drag Race season is a lot like the end of football season, except for the spikes in alcohol related violence. (That’s not a joke. Sort your shit out, het dudes.)

We too have spent months bare-barracking for our top players in a game that makes absolutely no sense to anyone who hasn’t watched it before (seriously, AFL should be called “Bouncy Big Field Three-Stick Kick-a-Lot”, it would make more sense). And, like with the World Cup, RPDR reveals that some Australians are a little bit racist and misogynist (I see your comments about The Vixen, online gays).

OK, now that contractually required SEO mention of the soccer (I hardly know her) is out of the way, let’s get into the season ten finale, or as it is now referred to in the butterfly community, “our 9/11”. 

Butter(fly) Face

Oh Asia. What a symbolic and actual tragedy. How did this happen? This year’s finale format was the same as last season, where a spinning wheel determined who will be the first queen to lip sync (Kameron, who in turn chose Asia to compete against). From a dramaturgical perspective, it made sense that Kameron went up against Asia: she wouldn’t have chosen her BFF Eureka and only a fool would choose to battle frontrunner Aquaria.

All four queens walked onstage clearly packing reveals. Aquaria was a tasty snack (literally, she looked like leftovers), Kameron was in a kimono just waiting to be torn off, Eureka was clearly in numerous layers of outfits and wigs, and Asia… well, Asia was serving up some Tank Girl realness that upon reflection belied the act of terrorism about to take place onstage. (The clues were right there!)

After last season’s I C O N I C wig reveal by Sasha Velour set a cat amongst the pigeons, all four of the queens were trying to raise the stakes and outdo last year’s queens, and this is how we ended up at Butterflygate. For you see, gentle reader, beneath numerous compartments of Asia’s outfit sat real-life butterflies waiting to be released onstage. We knew something went wrong when Asia tried to release the first of them and… nothing happened.

But still, she persisted. Soon, Asia was tearing off the comical Tank Girl tits that, it turns out, doubled as prisons for her mutinous army of unresponsive butterflies. I have written a lot of fucked up things since recapping this here television program, and I think that sentence just might take the cake.  

What was Asia imagining, we must wonder? That a dozen or so tiny butterflies would dramatically swarm around her in choreographic unison, like she was some sort of Disney princess? How did that thematically link to the iconic ‘Nasty’ by Janet “My First Name Ain’t Baby” Jackson? “Animals aren’t there for our entertainment!” we cried in unison, watching a show that literally capitalises on the trauma of queer people.

All in all it was a very sad end to Asia’s journey, and it allowed Kameron to hair flip her way into the final lip sync. It was also the end of the butterflies’ journey. From where I was sitting, it looked like Asia managed to stomp on one of those little traitors as she took her walk of shame. That’s what you get for betraying your queen. After the ep screened, Asia got right on the fail whale and spouted this heartfelt and rather sad apology:

A post shared by Asia O’Hara (@asiaoharaland) on Jun 28, 2018 at 6:51pm PDT

It was, however, too late. The butterfly memes, they are everywhere. To paraphrase the great Naomi Smalls: “Sad to think I was LIVING at the Drag Race finale while butterflies were dying”.

i’m sorry i had to pic.twitter.com/wJOibHNDS9

— Gabe Gonzalez (@gaybonez) June 29, 2018

My current mood is the butterfly being flung across the stage while Kameron Michaels does her choreography. #DragRaceFinale pic.twitter.com/h6Kn4tMDXQ

— lauren ✨ (@HelloLollyKate) June 29, 2018

Asia: Time for the reveal!
Butterflies: pic.twitter.com/7VDi6TdfZo

— Trixie Mattel (@trixiemattel) June 29, 2018

Finally, we can thank on Monique “All Stars 4” Heart and Vanessa “Vanjie glad I’ll be on season 11?” Mateo for the new hot reaction GIF.

Other Non-Butterfly Things Also Happened

This finale was all about the legacy building. Often, Drag Race finales are a chance to bring back previous winners and other fan faves to remind everyone just how much we love the show. This year’s landmark tenth season meant Ru could look back to where it all began, and did so by trotting out most of the original queens from the long-lost first season.

This was a super cute way to kick things off. Up until very recently, the only season one queens to get any play on later seasons of Drag Race was original winner (and All Star 3 outer saboteur) BeBe, and rolling punchline Victoria “Porkchop” Parker. Given this season has been largely “lost,” it was nice of Ru to bring them back and acknowledge their role in kick-starting what is now a pop culture phenomenon.

Oh what’s that? Season one has been licensed for global distribution and will soon be available on streaming platforms? Deirdre_Chambers_What_a_Coincidence.gif

Hashtag Ongina for All Stars 4 is all I’m saying.

Speaking of ancient queens who have rarely been seen out of soft lighting, Oprah “Bitch, I’m from Chicago” Winfrey took time out of her busy schedule to send a video message congratulating Ru on his success. Ru’s journey towards his own neoliberal authentic self-help find your spirit show just took one giant leap, kitty gurls.

Judi Dench also sent a hilarious video message, but she very well could have thought she was talking to trees not drag queens, and THAT’S OK. DON’T YUCK HER YUM.

Winner, Winner, White Meat Dinner

Um, what else happened. Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Aquaria won, defeating Eureka AND Kameron in a three-way lip sync battle for the crown.

Aquaria and Eureka’s initial lip sync was too close to call, so Ru saved them both. This was quite the irony after Aquaria’s tantrum earlier in the season when Ru chose to save Eureka and Kameron. You may recall that Aquaria was a little bummed that Ru used up the double shantay on those two, which meant that she might not get the chance to be saved. Well, count your lucky stars girlfriend!

No-one could have predicted that Asia would have killed all those butterflies. Still, for her to be the only queen of the top four to not make it to the final lip sync is all you need to know about the disappointing series of events that resulted in the most diverse, politically charged season of RuPaul’s Drag Race have three white queens battle for the crown.

It was no huge upset when Aquaria won: she delivered the best looks of the season, and managed to be charming, surprisingly quick-witted, and even funny (it’s rare for a runway queen to win Snatch Game, but she did that). The odds were definitely in her favour, and that doesn’t take away from her ability to turn a look and play the game.

If you haven’t already, make sure you watch the final four queens learning who took home the crown.

The end of a RPDR season is a great opportunity to reflect on where the show is heading. A few seasons ago, many of us wondered what the leap to mainstream success would do to the narrative and moral arc of show. While it reveals some uncomfortable truths about the depiction of marginalised queer people, and how our trauma is currency for content, ten seasons of RPDR also reflects an extraordinary progress. In the face of actual rising fascism in the US and here in Australia, RPDR is a reminder that we have an alternative to despair.

Let it be known, Blair Cottrell and others: we aren’t afraid of you. We will kill a motherfucking beautiful butterfly in the name of a good time. Watch your back, bitch.

See you in 2019, hunties!

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RuPaul’s Drag Race is fast-tracked from the US on Stan. Read more Drag Race recaps here.

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Nic Holas has written for The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Archer Magazine, and Hello Mr. You can find him on Twitter @nicheholas, or in his role as co-founder of HIV movement The Institute of Many.