In the electrifying penultimate episode of Canada’s Drag Race Season 4, the stakes were sky-high as the top five queens embarked on a heartwarming and challenging journey. The episode kicked off with the aftermath of Kiki Coe’s departure, leaving the werk room tingling with anticipation and determination.
RuPaul’s video message, emphasising the presence of special guests for the queens, heralded an emotional rollercoaster. Loved ones flooded the werk room, offering emotional support and becoming muses for a makeover challenge. The emotional highs peaked when Aurora Matrix received a touching letter from her parents, leaving not a dry eye in the room.
Brad Goreski’s surprise mini challenge, involving the queens’ loved ones transforming the queens into photoshoot-ready quick drag, added an endearing touch to the episode – well, perhaps a comedic touch to the episode, depending on your take on the quick drag. Melinda Verga and her partner, Scott, triumphed, winning the mini-challenge.
The main challenge required the queens to create red carpet looks from scratch for their loved ones, unleashing their creativity and bonding further. With guidance from guest judge Sarain Fox, the queens worked diligently on their designs, receiving encouragement and heartfelt stories from their guests.
As elimination day comes around, the queens start working hard on finishing their looks and painting their mugs as well as their loved ones’ mugs. The make-up scenes always lead to incredible and empowering mirror talks – many of which have been showcased awesomely during this season, we’ll never forget The Girlfriend Experience introducing the world to the term hyper-queen as well as her trans chat which Denim joined in with. This time around the mirror talk hit us hard, with Venus asking how Nearah Nuff met her partner, and how Melinda met Scott.
This then leads to an endearing chat with the parents in the room, as Venus’ mom talks about when they were younger and what Venus was like. Denim’s mom then opens up mentioning how she has always supported Denim through his life and his transition and how much it hurt to see Denim having to go through so many hoops to get the treatment he needed as a trans-man and how inspiring it also was to see him jump through those hurdles to live authentically himself (we’re specifically talking about Denim out of drag, hence the pronoun change).
We completely agree with Melinda’s statement that the world is a better place with parents like Denim’s mom in it and we wish that all trans people had a mom like her – in fact, we wish all queer people would have parents like Denim and Venus’ parents.
The runway presentations were nothing short of spectacular. Each queen and their loved one strutted down the catwalk in awe-inspiring ensembles, showcasing a fusion of style and emotional connection. The judges, comprising Brad, Traci Melchor, Brooke Lynn Hytes, and the exceptional Sarain Fox, dissected the looks and performances with constructive feedback and admiration.
While some received glowing critiques for their impeccable execution, others faced scrutiny over presentation and connectivity. Denim and her mother stunned the viewers and the judges with gorgeous blue-to-white ombre outfits, going on to clinch the challenge win with their impeccable ensemble and runway performance.
As the tension mounted, the elimination loomed over Melinda and Nearah as the bottom two. Their impassioned lip sync to Carly Rae Jepsen’s iconic “I Didn’t Just Come Here to Dance” brought the stage to life, but alas, only one could stay. Nearah emerged victorious, securing her spot in the grand finale, signalling the end of Melinda’s memorable journey.
The grand finale teases an enthralling solo challenge, featuring Canadian pop icon Nelly Furtado, and the highly anticipated crowning of the ultimate Canadian drag superstar. Stay tuned for the grand finale of Canada’s Drag Race Season 4, where the final four queens will battle it out for the crown!
New episodes of Canada’s Drag Race Season 4 are dropped every Thursday night on Crave in Canada, BBC Three and iPlayer in the UK, and WOW Presents Plus in the US and the rest of the world.
You can follow all your favourite queens from this new season of Canada’s Drag Race across all social media by checking out our article here.
