Slaysian Persuasian S2: Drag Race Philippines S4 Ep 2 Review

Mm-hmm. On the runway tonight, I am serving futuristic fashion zown in this custom metallic vinyl corset by Daniel Mindiola. Baby, she is shining like a supernova, brightest of them all. Come and take a ride with me through the galaxy. She is iridescent, she is holographic, and she is the futuristic fantasy of your dreams.

In 3026, the world has drastically changed into one where pandemic is the norm, but you still have to go to a ball and look fabulous. This is Virginia, please, and this dystopian futuristic gown is my original creation. Hello and welcome back to... Persuasion Season 2! Yes!

Where we'll be recapping Season 4 of Drag Race Philippines. I am Calypso.

I am Virginia, please.

And let's get on with the episode.

Yes, no, before we do that.

Yes, please.

No more green screen!

Yes, oh my gosh. We got rid of the green screen. We can finally turn. I can turn my head without my nose being cut off and my head being cut off.

I just wanna say, you know, we have some fans out there. Should we call them fans?

Oh, they're fans. They're watching, they're commenting.

Yes, we just need you to be patient with us. We queens, we go through a lot. We get into our drag and there's a lot of setup that happens. And we also have our day jobs that we need to maintain.

And gigs. And gigs. Don't look too closely at my makeup. I've gone through a very humid, hot day doing a brunch gig.

So I guess what I'm trying to get into is that in our last episode, we were not trying to disrespect Miss Hua because of the subtitles. No one's trying to disrespect anyone. In fact, we wanted to honor Miss Hua. as much as we can, but there's just things that we can't attend to anymore because of the situation. We don't have an excuse, but we're trying. I think what I'm trying to say is we're doing our best, and I hope you appreciate our efforts.

Of course, absolutely. There's no malice when we have a spelling mistake on auto-generated captions, right?

I promise that I will take care of it from moving on, moving forward.

Yes, as Asian people, we know when things get misspelled and names get misspelled, so I think we can— we'll make sure that we correct those.

Exactly. But girl, look at us, we look fabulous today!

So I was inspired by the the runway because, you know, when we were discussing what looks we wanted to do, I said, Virginia, do you want to do girl groups or futuristic? And she was like, futuristic!

I made it specifically because I auditioned and I knew— I didn't know, but I had an inkling that I might be able to use it.

Yeah, absolutely!

My dystopian gown, a gown that you will use even if there is a pandemic in the future and you need to attend a ball. And your gown is made by a popular designer.

Yes, I am wearing a Daniel Mindiola original He is a designer based out of Mexico. He's done lots of looks that you've seen on Drag Race. He did like all of Jaida Hudson's All Stars Canada 2, I mean, All Stars Canada package, a bunch of looks on Drag Race Mexico Latina Royale. Incredible designer. I love vinyl. I love futuristic fashion. Very inspired by it. There's actually another designer who I was thinking about wearing as well, Abraham Levy.

Yeah.

He unfortunately passed away. He was a designer based out of New York. But I just love the, futuristic look of these kinds of fashion. So I had to like bring it up. It's very on brand for Calypso to be in metallic vinyl.

I love it. I love it on you, girl. You look amazing.

Likewise. I specifically love the light. There's light-up elements in this look that were just incredible. The way that you manufactured this with the detailing, incredible.

Thank you so much. Yeah, it's very Virginia, please.

Very, yes.

I'm wearing my own sculpture right now.

Literally, you are a walking sculpture. I was just gonna say, if you're familiar with Virginia's sculptural work, there's a lot of of reclaimed jewelry pieces that are included. And I think it's, you know, you become living art. Fabulous.

Well? Yeah, well, this episode is very, very emotional. And we'll try our best not to cry and ruin our makeups. Yes.

My makeup is already ruined, so that's not gonna be an issue. I think I wanna just start off. I saw so many comments of people saying things like, oh, this episode is too sad. I don't know if I wanna watch this. I don't think I can watch this. I saw, in fact, I pulled up a Reddit comment that I wanted to read. Because I was like, you know, this really beautifully describes what we saw. Someone was saying, I'm feeling so depressed watching Philippines Season 4. I don't know if I can watch the rest of this episode. And then a comment— I wanted to read this comment.

Okay.

And it said, you're allowed to feel depressed and not watch the show, but I'm not in the same boat as you. Seeing how the queens honored Miswa with every performance that episode after experiencing the grief in real time makes you want to watch more. There is an amazing beauty in seeing their love for Miss Wa and talent to translate emotions into a captivating human experience come together in a way that transcends bickering clowns in wigs on TV. And I think that really encapsulates it because, you know, at the end of the day, this is a reality competition show for entertainment. But it is, you know, RuPaul always says it's a microcosm of the human experience. And that's what this episode really was.

And I just realized something. 2 deaths have happened already, like, while the show is going on with Drag Race Philippines.

Yes.

And, um, it's amazing how the team has handled this. Absolutely.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. There's a lot of strength that require— and it both happened while they were actively filming. You know, one obviously much closer to home, one which was, you know, when Jiggly passed during the filming of Slaysian, they were at least removed from it. They knew that she wasn't going to be there, but obviously a very emotional time for the cast and crew of Drag Race Philippines.

And kudos to Mama Pao for, you know, keeping it together and Still showing vulnerability despite of what happened or what's happening right in front of them. Everyone was so emotional, but you know, Mama Pao just showing leadership and that you know that giving everyone hope and that they are able to get through the show.

Yeah, absolutely. I think one of the things that I enjoy the most about Mama Pao is her ability to be. She's so personable, and she really interacts with the contestants. I was gonna mention during the mini challenge when. When— who was picked last? Taylor Sheesh was picked last, I think. No, who was picked last?

Taylor Sheesh.

Whoever was picked last, like the way that she was like grabbing her shoulders and like, ah, like imagine RuPaul doing that. Girl, RuPaul is not getting within 2 feet of these queens. Yeah, I just think it's like— and then the way that she like jokes, like she reminds me a lot of like, um, these, uh, comedians that I grew up watching. Like she's so like personal and charming, and I think that comes with hosting a very popular television show.

Yes.

Right?

You know, I must say that's actually a very Filipino trait. We have This thing called kapwa, it basically means that you are one of us. It speaks to the interconnectivity of all human beings and of everything as well. And I think in that instance, Mama Pao showed that, that I feel you because you're one of us.

Yeah, it never feels like she's— she can be grand when she needs to be grand, but when she's in the workroom, it feels so like she's just with the girls.

Yes, yes.

She's just with the girls, kiki-ing. Yeah. I love that. I love that. Even on the judging panel too, sometimes she gets really, you know, she can be that mother type figure. But this time she can keep it, she can kiki and cut up.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

But you know, shall we get on with the rest of the episode?

We'll get on with it, yes.

So we are coming back from the double win of Katana and Monza.

Monza, yes.

Who both turned out a great lip sync.

I still think that Katana should have won that.

I agree. I think What I liked was there was more restraint in Katana's performance. Like, she pulled back a little bit, while Monza was just balls to the wall. We are giving you everything.

Yeah.

And, you know, people said, what is she going to do after the first episode?

Yes.

I think this episode she proved that she can still be a fierce competitor and performer. So, uh, but yes, they're coming back in. Um, they're all getting ready to gear up for the next day. And, um, yeah, I think there's nothing really that happened during the fallout from the first episode.

Yes.

They kind of just went into it.

Yeah.

So then the very next day, they start a new day in the workroom. When they arrive to the table, at the pink table, they see the results from Rate-A-Queen. I will say, these results were so difficult for me to— like, when they were all talking about it, there were so many side conversations happening, it was hard for me to keep up with exactly what was happening.

It definitely was very political, in my opinion. Yeah.

You think so? Because they were, like, reading it, they were like, I needed the photos. I think what I liked about Drag Race US, they take like, they show the camera each page. So you can like go back and like take screenshots and like do the math and like all the Excel sheets.

What would you have done if I were to ask you? Would you have been political as well? Like all the, some of the queens.

You know, like the way that I would have ranked?

Yeah.

I think when it comes to ranking, I think I would have played strategy as well. If I want to make sure that my— like if I don't want a girl to be in the top, then you should purposely rank her in the bottom. Like let's say—

That's exactly what happened.

Right. Like if somebody doesn't want Monza or Katana in the top, they should put them them 10th and 11th, or like 11th and 12th, and put them, you know, put there someone who thinks—

it's really hard to play the game and still be genuine and authentic towards the other girls.

True.

Yeah, I don't know how to do that.

And, you know, to be honest, they didn't know what the outcome was going to be. Yeah, they didn't know if it was going to be a top 2, it was going to be a top 2 and a bottom 2. Yeah, if someone was going to win. And, you know, so, you know, at that point, how do you, how do you play it? Yes, you play it.

And as expected, because Maureen had an attitude a lot of the girls didn't.

They were like, we're not feeling it. I know, literally. I'm like, girl, you're not doing yourself any favors if you walk into Untucked saying, well, I'm just, you know.

I'm gonna judge you, but I'm not gonna judge you in person.

Exactly. I'm like, Maureen, baby, baby, Maureen. But yeah, so some of the highlights were that Katana and Merx were feeling very sideswept that Borgegum ranked them both so low. And that kind of plays into the girl group. But again, It was really hard for me to decipher where everybody went, 'cause the way that they were all talking and like getting into their feelings. Also, I feel like if I won the challenge, I wouldn't be that pressed that a girl ranked me low. I mean, like, girl, it didn't work.

Yeah.

Katana was a little pressed. Katana was like, how dare she?

Yeah.

You know? So.

But it was very strategic of Borge to choose all the dancers that were available.

Put them on the bottom, like, girl. Right, so before we pick the dancers, we have a very silly mini challenge where everybody has to pop balloons. What did they call this mini challenge? I forgot the name of it.

I forgot as well.

But they were like pushing it like, oh my goodness.

I was like, nobody was a top, clearly.

I know, the way that it took so many of them multiple tries to get those balloons popped.

I think only Valeria was a top in there. Just kidding.

And she— and you know what? And they got the job done.

Yeah, hey, Jade's always a top, so. Top the Bratzie. Power top the Bratzie. Exactly.

So at the end of the challenge, we find out that the winner is Manza and and well, Borjgam didn't win. Borjgam was the other team captain because she was ranked the least. The mini challenge was called "Iputok Mosalabas." Do you want?

Do you want?

No, tell me. Tell me what does that mean?

Do you want the NSFU? No, tell me.

Tell me what that means. Iputok Mosalabas.

It literally means. Outside.

Oh my gosh! So they were instructed to pop balloons.

Explode outside.

That's the literal word. Explode outside. Okay. Well, a lot of exploding was happening. A lot of it was outside. So the mini let's cut that out. The mini challenge winner was marine biology. So it wasn't it wasn't like I said before. It was marine biology, and she wins twenty thousand pesos. And then the challenge is girl groups. And the 2 leaders are Marine and Borgegum. And Borgegum got that leadership role because she was ranked the bottom. Do you think that's right? Because some of the girls were like, how come she gets to be a team captain?

Well, these challenges are just— these challenges are known for that. This is not an isolated case.

Right.

They're having similar situations already in different franchises.

They're trying to make up the— they're trying to get the drama up. So immediately they split off into 2 teams. And, uh, they— Team 1 is composed of, uh, Golly Gosh, Katana, Misoix, Merckx, and Valeria. And the team captain is Marine Biology. Team 2 is led by Borge Gum with Andy Crocker, Bumbalicious, Dixie, Manza, and Taylor. Okay, which team would you have wanted to pick?

Would I wanted to be?

No, yeah, which team would you wanted to be in? Team 1, Marine Biology's team, or Team 2, Borge Gum's team?

Huh. Team 1 came out better, so I'm gonna go with them.

Wait, okay, Team 1 did come out better, but I liked Team— wait, hold on. Team 2 won the challenge, but Team 1 was better, you'd say?

Wait, hold on.

Hold on, no, no, no, because Team 1 was orange, Team 2 was teal.

Yes.

So which team would you want to be in?

Orange, Team 1.

But they didn't win.

They didn't win?

No, girl, it was Katana and Mercs who were in the top. Hold on, Katana and yeah, it was Katana.

No, they weren't. They were judged individually.

Bro, I'm reading the mini challenge teams.

My God.

Sorry, let me. Can I get an M.A. girl group? So the hashtag M.A. is Andy Crocker, Vorge Gum, Bombalicious, Katana, Merks, and Taylor Sheaves. Okay, that's hashtag M.A. Okay, M.A. Las Chicas is Dixie Decoy, Gully Gush, Manza, Marine Biology, Miswa, and Valeria. Which team would you have wanted to be in?

The orange team.

The orange team. So that would have been Miswa's team, which was Emelachicas. Why would— but the thing is, they didn't win. So why, why, why? They didn't win, girl. I thought they were better. And Mercs, who got the top 2.

No, but they were judged individually, not as a group.

You're right. Yeah, that's why I'm asking you, which team do you think was better?

I thought as a group the orange team was better.

Okay, I agree. Yeah, I would have wanted to be on Marine Biology because I think Monza and Marine and like Valeria, I think they would have helped and really gotten us together. I would have preferred to be on theirs.

They work really well together. Yes.

Yeah, I also think it's because, uh, Miss Wa's tribute stays in my mind so much that I think I rewatched the orange team's performance more. Yeah, so I think it stays in my mind.

And they were cleaner as well in terms of execution. And, you know, um, Merx herself said, you know, this is the death of me as a choreographer, and she, she led the teal team.

Yes. Oh my gosh. 'Cause imagine getting Taylor Sheesh to do anything.

Girl, there was— okay, we're gonna talk about the girl group now, okay? But there was just this scene while they were dancing and Taylor Sheesh turned around and her panties showed and she looked like she was wearing a diaper!

Girl, is it when they were in drag and they were doing it or were they practicing?

They were dancing already.

Were they practicing or just—

No, they were performing already.

They were performing. Girl, I will say sometimes it is hard to get that right padding look. Like sometimes it just looks like a full diaper for someone.

Yes, yes, yes.

And if you don't proportionize or the tights slip down, I've been there. If you don't cover that shit, it's gonna show. Oh wow. Pun intended. Diaper. Exactly. So we split into these 2 groups and they record their songs with a very special guest judge. The judge is Maki. Do you know who this is?

No, but like, no, I'm not so good. I'm not so updated with pop culture in the Philippines anymore.

He seems cool. I looked him up. He seems like a cool—

so he's like a solo Independent recording artist.

Yeah, right.

Yeah, and he has songs that with titles that are colors like yellow.

Oh, is that like his brand?

Yeah, that that's his thing.

Yeah, because the what is the name of the song for this one?

Dilao, Dilao, Dilao, which means yellow.

Dilao means yellow.

Yeah, which is the favorite color of Miss Wa. Right. Yeah.

How how coincidental?

How poignant?

Oh my goodness! It was like there's some there's some invisible string going through this season so far.

Yeah.

Um, but okay, so we get into go. How do you think you'd fare in a girl group challenge?

Girl, I would have crushed the recording.

That's just one part. The entire challenge, you think the recording would have been right?

I was part of a boy band.

You were? This is some lore that we found out during Slaytion Persuasion season 1.

Yeah.

Tell us about that experience. How do you— what do you think makes a good group?

A good group, really, it takes a while to develop the the team dynamics.

Mhm.

Yeah. And it takes a lot of trust with each other, and, and, and that will carry you as a group, uh, in any situation. Because if someone fucks up, then the other knows what to do. You know, it takes a lot of trust. But if you don't trust each other at the get-go, it's not gonna go well. And I think that's what happened to Teal's team, in my opinion, because there was already an issue with Borge. And the other teammates, there were times where they looked messy.

You think there wasn't the same kind of synergy that the orange team had? So synergy is very important in a group. Okay, so well, let's go into the recording. So we're getting feedback and some of the girls take several many tries to get their lyrics and the cadence and the right kind of thing.

Yes.

It took so long for that last line for that girl to say.

Yeah, Manza and Taylor Shish.

Manza, it was like, it. She couldn't say the it.

Yeah, the timing. Yeah, I which I could kind of relate because sometimes I have a problem with timing. Although Ibanza is a really good dancer, so timing shouldn't be an issue with her. But apparently dancing timing and singing timing is a totally different skill.

You know, it's so different. I've I'm like very curious. I've never sang. I've never like done a recording anything, but I'm very curious to try because I think it just sounds fun. Have you released any music recently?

Yes, I have. Ah. I have a song called Putang Ina.

I know what that means.

Yeah, it was my commentary on what was happening politically in the Philippines with the flood control. And it goes, Putang Ina.

Baby, it was all over Instagram. I remember when it came out. I was, yes, I remember.

Yeah.

So you have experience. So like, how do you find inspiration to write lyrics? Where do you find, how do you find that process to go for you?

Yes. Oh, I write songs really, really fast.

Really?

Yes. So I'm gonna tell you a story. I had— we had— when my bandmate was— he was washing dishes, and I thought, oh, I can write a song about dishwashing. And I wrote a song in 5 minutes about labor and how dignified dishwashing is. And a lot of people actually have that as a job. So I was like, I like to do it manually. This old thing called integrity. Yeah, so I started like that.

Wow, there we go. It's that easy. I've heard that Sia has a very similar process. She can just bang out a song very quickly. Like, yeah, as soon as she hears a word, she can just make a song for it.

Yeah, and I reference my exes. I reference my current relationships. I reference other people's relationships that are very toxic. It can be anything, actually.

Yeah, okay, work! Well, if that— well, I might need to hit you up to write me a verse.

For sure, yeah. Well, you know, the pop culture verses, that I'm not very good at. Like, you know, these like— The kaka kaka kaka? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a different story.

I think it's very easy to get lost in the cadence of, I'm here to snatch the crown and I'm gonna win, you girls are gonna go down. Like, you know, like very like— it's like, how can you differentiate yourself without going to the cliché? Like, I'm a winner, I'm gonna win, I'm gonna let you— you know, like very that.

Remember in our last season, I had a verse that I prepared for season 4.

Oh, really?

Remember that?

Yes, I remember. Well, do you want to give them a little—

I can't remember what I wrote anymore.

Oh no, okay.

Maybe later on I will.

Because it's like, you have to— for this one, it's kind of a unique situation. You can't just sing about anything. You have to sing about yourself. So a lot of it is very much like branding, like what you're known for. You know, like, so I would think about like, when I— what would I have to write if I had to write a verse? Like, what would that be like? You know, you have to think about things that describe you and like, you know, all that kind of stuff. So your brand, it's a reflection of your brand.

It was my brand. It was, uh, being a political and an old queen. Don't— something like, don't underestimate this old queen because something like that. I, I might actually have it in my notes. I will do it for you later.

Oh, please. I'm sure our audience would love to hear it too. But yes, so we have— so they go through the recording process. Pretty much everybody gets through it easy without— besides Taylor's audition.

Borch was surprisingly good.

Yeah!

And Katana was amazing.

Oh yeah, Katana is like built for this. Katana is like built for this. I'm very impressed with Katana.

But none of them were like pop star quality like Maxi was before.

Oh girl, I mean Maxi came in as like an established pop star. She was just like a pop star who just did drag. Yes. So I mean, come on. Yeah. Um, what did you think about this song? Can I get an Emmy?

I loved it. I love it. It's like a reprise of the very first one.

Yes, I think they have such good production, uh, with, uh, the name Moof.

Moof. Moof.

Yeah, he is so good. He's done all the songs.

He's also really cute.

Oh my God, it's so hot! Hi Moof!

Hi! Hey!

I'm tagging, bro. When you post, you better tag these girls. They need to see what we're talking about them because I'm like, I want them to like, I want them to see what we're saying. I want them to respond. I want to go back and forth.

Yeah. If I make a collaborator, can you tag them yourself? I always oh yeah yeah yeah put put me put me as a collaborator and I'll tag them.

I'll tag them. I'm like baby, let's I want y'all to see what we're saying about you guys. Um, so it's it's convenient because we have all the verses right here, so we can go through. Shall we just get started?

Yeah.

So they do the choreography. Oh, let's talk about choreography first. How are you with choreography?

So I used to dance with a boy band, and you know, once you don't practice dancing, you kind of lose it a little bit.

Yes.

So I just need 3 months of practicing and I'll be competitive again.

Okay, well, let's see.

I feel like I sound so boastful right now.

No, I mean, come on. I think I can move.

Yeah.

I think it takes me a while to learn choreo though. I can move if I see like a reference video. You know, the thing that I learned when I go to like— I've taken like dance classes here and there just for fun and stuff. It's hard for me to go step by step by step. If I see the whole thing, I can get the picture in my mind and then I can hit the beats. I think the main thing is I also need to know the song.

Yeah.

I think the better I know the song, the better I know the beats, then I can go from there.

That was the hardest thing that I had to learn. Like every drag queen needs to go through this process. learning the song is one, and then learning the choreography is another, and then combining the two is the most difficult part.

Yes, absolutely. Because you need to— I think the main thing is like, even if you can't dance, you should have musicality as a performer. I think that's what I always look for when I see a drag artist.

Yeah.

And I think that differentiates the people who are starting out, because like, I think especially when like, you know, baby queens or like people who are just starting drag ask for advice, I'm always like, you're asking me, girl? I feel like I'm still figuring it out myself. But I always say like, You have to be comfortable in drag. And if you— and that is like, being in drag is one thing because your balance is thrown off, your sense of self is gone, your eyes are being covered by these big lashes, you know. So you have to be comfortable, and then from there you have to learn how to move and still be comfortable.

That was my struggle. Even now I still struggle because, you know, I've learned to become very masculine, and I become so conscious when I'm in drag. Do I look too masculine right now? Like, I try to consciously act feminine, it doesn't look natural. And that's why even now I still have these feelings, but I'm more comfortable now. It takes performing and performing and performing. It doesn't— well, for some people it's very natural because they're already like that outside of drag.

Oh, I see what you mean. Especially when you have to kind of live with those two identities.

For example, if you're a voguer, then you will be a good candidate for drag.

Absolutely, because you know how to move. And I think it's also like, I'm never afraid to be masculine in drag because I'm like, This is gender. Like, we're playing with gender. We're playing in the face of gender. So it's like, who cares if I do something more masculine? Yeah. One time my little sister saw a photo of me, or like somebody— she saw a video of me. She's like, you dance like a frat bro. I'm like, damn. But I was like, well, why not? Why not?

Yeah, I guess for me, you know, as a person who identifies as non-binary, the genders are not stopping points for me. So for me, I need to act out that gender. I don't know if that makes sense. Sure. Yeah. And so because I'm so used to acting masculine, and that's not necessarily who I am, yeah, um, becoming, uh, feminine again is something for me to learn.

Yeah.

But not really who I am.

Yeah.

Yeah. Does that make sense?

Oh, that, that is very poignant.

Yeah.

It's like, uh, no, maybe not point— I, yeah, I don't know if I use that word. Um, yeah, I think it's like you're living in between. I think it also depends on the song.

Yes. You know? Yeah. I think I, I love—

I would I want to see more drag queens perform male vocals.

That's my hot take.

I like— I think it's— I think it's a cool intersection to see. But yeah, onwards. Well, let's get on with these versions, shall we? So we have up first, we have Dixie Decoy. Um, I love this outfit, girl. If—

if this was it, then she— I— for me, she— they should have won already.

Really?

With this performance.

This was so good, right? Like, look at her.

Oh my God, she's moving so well. Yes.

Her outfit looks crazy. The movement, like the kicks. I think the musicality and everything was very well done too. I wish the neck part was a little tighter. So that it just snatched straight up at the neck. But I think this outfit is super cool. It reminds me of VSS Designs, I think.

Look at that.

Car wheels, everything. Mama, all the boys want to eat me up.

I'm so excited for her to get some more years. Because I think she will be the top, top, top drag queen.

She's so young, right? She's like, I think she's like probably the youngest in the cast almost.

Yeah.

Yeah. Like I said, she is my favorite. And I said she looks different every single time we see her. She looks like a totally different person now too. Like I said, but I love that girl. Be the chameleon, Dixie. You are fierce and I'm such a fan. So yeah, very good. Let's go next. We have, oh, let me, let me go in order of the things.

So we have Gully Gush. Gully Gush.

So Gully Gush, Cavite's baddie queen.

I was so afraid that they were going to bring Break one of their bones.

Break one of their bones?

Yes, girl.

I mean, yeah, they're really going all over the place.

I don't— look at the lifting part.

Yeah, when they like slightly lift her and she rips her skirt off. Oh my God.

Oh, I thought— oh my God, I'm so scared. When she hit that split.

The way that her pad became like a square. Oh my gosh, that's so silly.

This is such a bad read, but tell me. No, no, because we're— we are critiquing her for something that she can't change.

That's true. I mean, come on, girl. Come on. I mean, girl, you can change your padding. You can change your padding. Okay, okay. What is going on here? I'm like, that's not, that's not, that's not. It can't be body shaming if it's a fake body. Maybe you can control that body. Anyways, she's, you still look great. I'm just saying, I just think it's funny when, because you know, we have this here and it doesn't move like a body should move.

I must say that they really did their best. You know, I expect, I expect lesser because of what I've previously, previously said about her, but they're doing really Their best, in my opinion.

She looks gorgeous in this hair too. I really like it.

It's just that she's competing with others who are very established queens.

Shall we take a look at Monza?

Yes.

Ooh. So, PH Drag Tourist Spot, just doing all her stunts. You know, I'm not getting tired. I know that we were talking about if you do all of it, you'll get tired, but she finds a way to be captivating. The speed in which she hit that cartwheel into a split into the— That's exciting to me. I think it's not just relying on stunts, it's also being a performer.

This is her thing. I mean, she dances with group performances in O Bar. I mean, she didn't quite do well in the recording, but this is her thing.

Right, exactly, exactly. Up next we have Valeria. I love this look with the caution tape with her name on it. Very Gaga. Love the orange hair.

I must say, I was really surprised because When I see her in Obar, yes, she's good, but she's not as good as what I'm seeing right now.

Really? Yeah. You know, maybe when you're in a pressure, like pressure setting like this, you really like wake it up and you really go harder. Yeah. I think she did a great job.

I felt like, oh my God, I'm gonna root for this girl from here on.

Yeah.

Valeria, go, go, go, go, go! Yes!

Come on, Valeria! Listen, I've been with it since her talent show. I've been captivated by the beauty of the doll. But like, you know, I think a lot of the verses— none of the verses have really gone past like, I'm so sickening, I'm so beautiful, I'm gonna snatch the crown, you know?

Yes.

But— and then next, let's talk about the most poignant moment of the episode when I— it's like, how do you honor someone?

Yes.

This is the way to do it.

This is the way to do it.

This was so like— I got goosebumps when I watched this part. Like, I wasn't very emotionally— like, I wasn't like, you know, I know some people had a lot of big emotional reactions. Seeing this gave me my biggest emotional reaction. The fact that we could hear her voice, she was— it's like she was ready to show the world the beauty that she had, the talent that she had, and what a way to honor her. So just seeing this yellow dragon on the dark stage just lighting up as we hear her voice, that was probably one of the most beautiful things I think Drag Race has ever produced.

Yeah, I agree, I agree, I agree. This has never happened before. Yeah, yeah.

And it's like, how do you— and the way that the entire cast and crew in Queens handled this is remarkable. I tip my wig to all of them. My God.

How do you—

just no words. Really so beautiful the way that they did this tribute. Because they were learning the choreo together. At the very end of the episode, you could see Miss Hwa practicing her choreo and what she would have done for her verse. And just the fact that Manza's here beautifully spinning this yellow dragon. Mm-hmm.

I, you know, when I was in the Philippines, I really wondered like, how are they going to handle this? I just can't imagine. And if I was a contestant and I was there, I don't know if I could perform. I don't— it's going to be really, really heavy and very, very challenging. And, you know, and the production crew even, and Mama Pao, like I said, you know, Mama Pao really handled it really perfectly. Yes. Yeah. And it's such a beautiful tribute. So thank you so much, Drag Race Philippines, for honoring one of one of us, you know, one of us queens. And, uh, like I said, you know, I became very emotional in this episode because I felt like that's one of us. Like, one of us died, and, um, um, it's like a part of you also, you know, died with that person.

Yeah, I, I think I always think about, like, what you leave as your legacy and what you have as your impact, and I rest Easy knowing that people were able to see the star that she was, and they were able to experience her and all her beauty and her drag family, her family, her friends—they're all carrying on her legacy and showcasing all the things that she wanted. So I think there—it's so tragic, and it's incredibly tragic. But the pain is eased a little bit knowing the way that they've handled it and the way that it's being moved forward. I agree. So you know, shout out to you, Miss Wa. What a what a star!

What a star! What a star! Yeah. I was looking at some of her videos. I'm like, yeah, she had it. She had it.

I think we should talk about this later too. When Merckx, when you talked about like not going on, like Merckx, I think was really going through it. Yeah. I heard the rumor that she almost wanted to quit when she found out that she said so.

Yeah. Yeah. I think I saw a video of her saying that. Yeah.

She was very— yeah, I was like, I know that she kind of alluded to it on the show, but I was reading comments saying that like she was ready to like, you know, Just go home and like not do this. And she said that in the in the episode, I believe she said that she's like, I will still continue. Oh my god! Let me. I'm like, I think I'm like moving back. She's like, I I will continue to like honor her legacy and like be here. But you know, you have to go on. Yeah. Yeah. You have to go on. That's what she would have wanted. That's what Michelle would have wanted.

Yeah. I was also moving back because if we're not aligned, the focus will like. I know. I was like, wait a minute.

I'm like, I think I've been one of us will be out of focus.

We're not.

You know what, honestly, with the makeup that I have today, I do not mind. My brow is just gone, but that's okay.

If I'm out of focus, then good.

Um, shall we go on to Marine Biology? Um, I think it was funny how she rhymed 4 with 4. Page 4, I'm gonna win season 4. Girl, you rhymed 4 with 4, but I'm like—

I wasn't impressed with her verse actually, but they were impressed. I don't know why.

Well, she wasn't in the top. You know, so I think it was like, it was decent.

And also one comment, and the Filipinos will know this reference. She looked like the older version of Melanie Marquez.

Okay, I'll look her up.

Melanie Marquez is a supermodel, winner of Miss International during the '70s.

Okay.

She worked with everyone like Naomi Campbell, name it.

Oh wow, okay, like a supermodel from the '70s.

Yes, yeah, '70s and '80s. And she wears hair like that. As well.

I love that big dancing hair.

And she was so skinny, just like that. But Marine Biology looked like the old version of—

Damn, the old version of an old model.

That aged her a lot.

Yeah, I think, you know, I think I'm always so partial to human hair. Yeah, I love the way human hair moves, but I think every now and then a styled wig, the right styled wig, can really just take it there. Yeah. And I think there should— there could be— there could have been some adjustments here. I think when it comes to big dancing hair that's teased up like this There's a line, and I think this is just a little too. It's not. It's not girl groupy. Yeah, it's a little too huge. It's like pageant hair. It is. It's like pageant hair.

Wrong choice, Maria. Wrong choice. Sorry.

I think I would have made like a slight edit to it, but I don't know. She looks sickening. I love the outfit. How does that work? Did they all bring orange and teal outfits? I think they're told.

They're told bring orange and teal so you can pick one of the other.

Yeah, right. You're right. Okay. I would have been like, what if my what if what if I wanted to do teal? I don't know. I did read on that, and I said that I think Brigading said something like. She brought both, and like she was running out of lip sync outfits for Slaysian, so she just started wearing the the backups that she was bringing for other other things. So I guess they just take they bring two outfits. Shall we go on to the next group? Yeah. The next group's name is hashtag M A.

What do you think about them?

M A means what does M A mean?

M A is just just joking or I just want to say something. I just want to contribute. It's like a filler word.

Yeah. Okay, got it, got it, got it. Okay.

Embe is like you say something— so like what I was trying to tell you before, yeah, Filipinos say something serious but they put embe so that, um, it's not being taken seriously. Yeah. Okay. I feel like a lot of Filipinos don't feel like they have the authority to say something serious or that they'd be taken seriously.

It's keeping that air of unseriousness.

Yes.

Okay, got it, got it, got it.

So shall we go into the next clip?

So hashtag MA. So up first we have Bomba. Let's see Bomba. Girl, they all— girl, the way that like Taylor and— Taylor, Bomba, and Merckx looked like they were in the exact same outfit. They all had— they look like triplets. I mean, I get being in the same color, but look, like, look at these thumbnails. They look like the same person. Like, who is who? Girl, let's start with Bomba. I love this outfit on Bomba. I love a name necklace with your name. I'm gagging that she can do dips at that age.

Girl. you see Bomba perform live.

Come to San Francisco, Bomba! Bring her over here!

She will cut you on the dance floor, girl!

And I'd love to see it.

Yeah, it just didn't show much here. I mean, she did a dip, but it's not the same Bomba live.

Okay, you know, I think you're also limited on time.

Yes.

You only get like, what, less than 30 seconds?

I also think that within the sea, she looked like she was trapped in that type of choreography. She couldn't move because there's 2 hands in front of her.

Yeah, I think they kind of like I think it's hard when you're on the spot and you're like, well, what do you want to do for your segment? It's one to do choreography as a group, but then when you get to your own thing, yeah, I think that's when I say the orange team did way better as a group. Well, individually there were some good performances in the blue group, but Bomba, good job, girl. Yeah, good job. So up next we have Borge Gum. Um, Creation by Me is a masterpiece. I think she's still very much leaning on the alien thing. Her proportions look a lot better here. I agree. You know, I was saying like I had issues with her proportions in the previous thing. Yeah. Um, but she looked polished here. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. As you know, girl, you know me and a structured corset, baby. I like it. Um, but again, I think it was the, the lyrics were just like she was just saying whatever. She was just saying whatever. Yeah.

Like, let me perform really well though in the recording.

Oh yeah, the recording was great. I'm just thinking about the lyrics. Yeah, you know. Yep. But all right, it's all right. Uh, let's go to Taylor Sheesh.

The diaper girl. Girl, girl. She at least would appreciate that.

That I know. If anybody would like like silly commentary, I feel like it would be Taylor. She is so funny. She's literally just like a joke a minute, a joke a minute. I also love this kind of belt bra situation. Again, I think the bottom leaves me wanting more. Yeah. But I think overall, overall, it looks very nice. That platinum blonde and teal, like half the other girls. Um, but yeah, I'm just— she's the fantasy.

She did her best considering she's a comedy queen.

Yeah, she looks glamorous. Again, I see what you mean. She just needed to pull her tights up, I think, just like another 2 inches up, and I think it would have been all right.

There's a part there when she turns around, you can see the diaper in the back.

The diaper in the back is diabolical. I see it! I see it! I told you! She has white panties on. It's like she has white panties on under the costume panties. Girl. Well, it's all right. Katana, baby, burn this wig. Burn this wig. This wig is ridiculous. She looks so good otherwise. Baby, this wig— Katana, what is going on with this wig?

I think she's relying on her brand too much. That whatever crazy wig she wears, she's going to look fierce. She does, but it's just not fitting properly.

It looks— I just— why this hair? I mean, she looks good. She looks good. I mean, it's a pretty simple outfit otherwise. But I don't know if I love the exposed— it almost looks like exposed control top. Not control top, what do you call that? It's like shapewear she's wearing. I don't love how the shapewear is exposed.

Oh, the black one.

Yeah, I don't know, because it looks— it seems like she wanted it to look deliberate with the bra and then the jacket, but I don't like the exposed shapewear. But I think otherwise she looks— I mean, performance was great, lyrics were great. We saw it in the talent show, she can obviously like keep it, you know.

She's the girl to beat in my opinion.

Yes. Yep, absolutely. Up next we have Andy. Girl, Andy is kind of flying under the radar for me. I'm just like, Andy, what is going on? What's— what are you— what are you— what's— what's her tea?

It's their family branding. I'm so sorry.

Remind me who's in her family again. Her, Gully Gush, and then— oh, is it just those 2? She doesn't have any other children who have been on previously?

I'm not so sure. Oh God, I'm not so sure. But you know who she reminds me of? This very popular comedian guy in the Philippines, Michael V. I'm sorry, Andy Crocker.

I mean, no, her name is Andy Crocker. I don't think she'd take offense to that. And why did she say avisala at the end? Doesn't that mean hello?

Could probably mean goodbye as well.

Oh, well, okay, okay. I was like, all right, all right, all right. She kind of looks like— people said that she kind of looks like DeJa Skye from Drag Race Season 15.

A little bit, but she more looks like Michael V, the comedian. Oh, okay, for sure, for sure, for sure.

Obviously. I mean, look was all right.

That's a compliment. Compliment though, Michael B.

All right, I'll tag her and let her be the judge. Okay, Andy, Andy, you tell Virginia if that was a compliment or not. And then up next we have Merckx.

What can I say? Uh, I feel like she— like she's above this girl group. She looked so good voguing, shoulder popping. My God.

And what I liked was, uh, Mackie kind of like gave her the right critique. Yes. Remember when they were recording, she said He said to her, like, do it like a Vogue commentator. I think that gave— he actually was a really good guest judge in the sense that he was meeting the girls where they were at and giving them really good advice. Voguing diva, I want you— you know, it's great. She's so fluid. Show 'em. I really like Merx.

Merx needs to go international. I think she has potential to go around the world, do shows, not even join Drag Race, but just what Marina is doing. Yeah, absolutely.

She's a star. There's lots of stars on this cast. Yes. Very great stuff. Okay, well, now that we've seen all the girl groups, let's go on to the runway. Yes. So the runway was— okay, explain the wordplay in the title because I know that there was some wordplay happening, right? Yeah. It was— the runway theme was Biotique Manila 3026: Pot Cyborg. So biot is like— it's a slang word. Queer, gay. So queer, got it. So biotique is like biotic. Yeah. And now we're going from— yeah. It's a play of words. Manila 3026, so like a thousand years into the future.

Two thousand years. No, no, a thousand. You're right, you're right.

So a thousand years into the future, what does Manila look like? And then pot cyborg. Yeah. What does pot? What is that wordplay there?

Cyborg. Pasiborg. Pasabog. Pasiborg. What does that mean? Pasabog is bomba, like explosion. Oh, okay.

So it's like another like oh I see.

Yeah. Pasiborg. Pasabog. Biotic Manila 2026.

Okay, I get it now. Okay, so it's like, it's like a movie title.

Yeah, I really like how some of them went, uh, in terms of their ideas because, you know, they, they reference what's happening now and what could— because of what's happening now, what's Philippines gonna look like? And, and a lot of them are saying if you don't vote wisely, we're gonna drown. And thus Katana is on stealth You know what I mean? And I thought that was really, really wise. And in the same way that I made this gown myself, like, I envisioned a pandemic-torn world where we have to wear helmets when we need to go to a ball gown. I mean, to a ball. So I really, I really love that direction. I didn't like the others, how plain the others took it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You didn't like— I think There's ways to interpret when you see futuristic. You could think of something just like, yes, yes, robots, you know, very that. Like, a lot of queens had metallic elements, they had things like stained glass. I think that we're touching on that a little bit, the religious undertones.

Yes, yes.

That's a big part of Filipino culture, just having that religion on the undertones, right? So Maureen had the cathedral with the stained glass. I loved— I think the most poignant runway for me was definitely Mercx because it was just like Technology can replace so much, but it can't replace the mother of motherboards.

I love it because the materials were also very simple, I thought, but the way it was constructed and all the, you know, the motherboards that were incorporated.

Beyond just construction, it was telling the story.

Yes.

Because like whatever maybe shortcomings there might have been in the overall design, she told the story. And I think sometimes the impact of the story does way more than the other. Were there any highlights? We can just go through the highlights of the runway.

Yeah, well, I said Dixie Decoy. I didn't get it.

Oh, sorry, these are the runways. Okay, got it.

I didn't get it. The chain was a mess.

Yeah, it was kind of all over the place.

Yeah, Gully Gush, I'm like, okay, okay, we've seen that. You know, it was a normal take of it. Manza, I thought the LED was cute on top.

I don't think the effect was giving. I think there was something wrong with the lights where it wasn't like red the right way.

It was a cute attempt, I think.

Lazy Susan did that on season 4 of Down Under.

Yeah, it was so good.

And she did it really well.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think I'm just comparing it to that. I don't think pink and gold matches, do you? I don't think so.

I think sometimes it could depending on the shades, but I think most of all no.

Valeria, I loved it! My God, Valeria. Yeah, I loved it. I love it. I was so surprised. It was a usual take, but I thought that the construction was really nice.

Yeah, absolutely. I think she, she just— there's something about these girls, they just get it. They get it. Yeah, yeah, for sure.

Marine Biology, I know I appreciated the spirituality and the cyborg, um, combination. I know you're not spiritual, but I think reading from it, just because I know how Filipinos are and the way she combined that too, I thought it was creative.

Okay, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Bomba underwhelms you? I really like Bomba's look. I love a sleek— it was so fashion forward to me. I would wear it. Bomba, I don't think we're the same size, but let me know who designed that.

Yeah, and I understand why Bomba couldn't— she could have gone to that reference as well, you know, the flood control and all the The political-ish, but you want more for her because that's your friend. You want more from her. I want more from her because not only she's my friend, she has a lot of money.

Ah, well, maybe let's put it to use. All right, Borge. A miss.

Okay, it was a miss. It's more fairy than futuristic.

Yeah, give us the give us the fantasy. Maybe that's one you know in a thousand years who knows? But when the biotic and cyborg is in the thing, like come on, give us that. Yep. This reminded me of a runway theme. Like overall, the runway theme on Drag Race Thailand Season Three, they did a Thai futuristic runway. Do you remember that? Yeah.

Loved all those looks.

Yes. That would have— Frankie Wanga's look would have been— it inspired me a lot.

It's crazy.

I would have done something like that where it's like, take the mythology, the deity. What would that deity look like? Same thing, Angele Anang did a Sita look in season 2's finale for Thailand. Robot, half robot. That's what I think I would have done. Like, how can we imagine the past as something new? You know? But yeah, Taylor, she had a smoke effect. What did you think?

Okay, smoke effect.

Yeah, come on.

I love that. I love it. I love it.

Engineering.

Engineering. I guess this is where Taylor is really Trying to fight back because she can't do the other skills.

I think let Taylor cook. Let Taylor cook. She's gonna get there. Okay, okay, okay. Katana gag. I gagged. I'm like, come on, stilts.

Oh my God. Come on, stilts. If you use your brain, if you use your brain and her body, and you can achieve something that hasn't been done before. Yeah. And that's what Katana did. Yeah. Girl. Yes. You are my queen. Yes. And then we have Andy. Impressed.

Cyborg hot gown. You liked it?

Yeah.

I mean, it's usual as well, but I think it was typical.

I'm like, this is what I would have expected from them.

Yeah. And then Mercx, of course, loved— hats off to Mercx. Loved that look.

Innovative. Very, very innovative.

And I think the story, it was the story. So we get through the critiques, uh, we find out that it was a top 6. Nobody's going home. Um, Mercx and Katana ultimately win. Do you agree?

Yeah, yeah, of course.

I think orange group was stronger overall. I didn't— the critiques, even though that they were all top, they gave them some negative critiques too.

Did you notice that? Yeah.

They weren't all super complimentary. They're like, We love this, but we'd like to see more of this. And I think that's, you know, give them that feedback. Yeah. And then of course the lip sync is quite emotional. It is Dilao.

I don't know how they went through that, both of them.

Yeah, I think they both sharing the dragon. I need to look up the lyrics of this song because it's such a— it sounds like such a beautiful, like, heartache song. What would you say the song— like, what is the song talking about?

I actually was not paying attention, girl.

Well, I was— two of us— because I was like, what is I was hoping that they had subtitles for it, but they didn't.

It was just too emotional. And even without the lyrics, I think like the situation already spoke for itself. Yeah. And having Mercx have a breakdown just crushes you, you know? And just knowing that they have that bond together as people who have worked behind the scenes to work for other drag queens, and now they're in the spotlight. for the other person to not be there anymore is just heartbreaking. Yeah.

Yeah. She at least— I rest knowing that she has— she rests knowing that she has exposed herself and she got there.

I'm getting goosebumps, you know?

I think when I got goosebumps was when they started swinging the dragon around again.

Yes.

When everybody in the back was lip-syncing along. And then at the very, very, very end when she goes backstage and she gets the glasses.

I'm getting goosebumps now thinking about it.

When she wears the glasses.

Oh my God, yeah.

Wow. Like what a beautiful way to honor your friend because she it seems like Merck had the really big connection to Miss Wa. Yes. And you know, it seemed like Katana let her have her moment. Katana didn't really go crazy.

She was she was there to support her.

Yeah. And I think that's beautiful.

Like thank you, Katana. You were us. You were all of us.

Katana is such a class act. Yes. Yes, she is. Yeah. So congratulations to Merck for winning. Yeah. Well deserved. What I thought was funny was immediately Mama Pa was just like, "You won that badge from Miss Wa." You got that badge from, you know, like it's like I think it's not joking, but it's like it's like finding a way to honor and incorporate Miss Swan moving forward. Yes. You know, so she's not like left out. So I think that's cute how they said that. Yeah. And even as soon as Merckx went to the confessional, she's just like, show it to the Lord. Yeah. Like they're making jokes about it immediately, which I think is like not a COVID thing.

It's very, very Filipino.

It's very Filipino. It's like, we're not taking it that serious. Like, yes, beautiful, everything. But she was like, show it to the Lord. Kidding, you know.

Yeah, very queer Filipino at that.

Very, very beautiful. Beautiful tribute. One of the best episodes of Drag Race.

I must say as well. I was actually sobbing. Yeah, I was sobbing. Yeah. Beautiful tribute.

Very touching tribute. It's gonna stay on my mind for a while because it's like, you know, me too. We are— I always like to think about us as drag artists as a part of this legacy. And everybody who does drag in any kind of way is a part of that history. Yeah.

You know, at that moment I realized there are still a part of me who was ashamed. I still have a lot of shame on my body, but the fact that we do this, I do this, face all the time. And that moment just made me feel like, oh my God, we drag queens are doing something no other people in this world will do. We are risking ourselves to be ridiculed, to be subject to judgment, you know, but yet we show up. We show up and despite our traumas, we use that as an inspiration to entertain people. We are actually healers. We give people the opportunity and the space to be entertained and be healed and see something in us that they haven't figured out themselves on their own.

Absolutely. And I think above all, the desire, regardless of the outcome, to get up and do it again is what I think— that resilience is what makes a drag queen.

Exactly. And to lose someone that's part of us, you know, we all of us get affected. I got so affected.

Yeah, yeah. I think yeah, she's part of our legacy. We'll always remember her and the impact that she's made, and her drag family—the house shout out to the House of La Fea. Yes. I think it was so beautiful that Mama Pao shouted them out—not only her family, but the House of La Fea. They—it was such a human. They didn't need to do that. Yes. But they wanted to acknowledge that this is more than just one person. Look about all the people that they impacted, you know. So yeah, shout out to Miss Wa. We will miss you.

Miss Wa, we love you. Yeah, we don't know each other, but. We see ourselves in you.

We see ourselves in you, and we know the impact that you made and the legacy that you leave. So rest assured knowing that your legacy will live on.

And we're happy to know that there's an angel out there, a drag queen.

Oh my God. Who will watch over us. Her and Jiggly are kicking and cutting up, you know. Yeah.

Well, by the way, you were telling me you're not spiritual.

I'm not. I'm not. I was just saying that just to say that, y'all. The thing is, I think these are all methods of coping with what we have a hard time experiencing as humans. While I personally don't have a connection to religion, I can acknowledge that it exists and it helps others. And that connection to spirituality is a big part of what others—

What's your take on death though?

I feel like, girl, I'm a, you know, out of drag, you know, I am very pragmatic. I'm, you know, I work in science, I work in the field. So I feel like I just think there's nothing, you know? What was it when we were— before we were born? I think I think in a lot of ways, if we really want to get into it, I don't know if we have time.

Yes, yes, we do.

But I think like, I, when I learned about nihilism, yeah, which is the concept that you are the only person. Yeah, because you like, I very much like, I think therefore I am. You know that you were alive and you know that you were the only thing in the world. And there are moments where I'm like, well, is everything else like just what is— none of this matters because I'm— it's all in my head. It could all just be the projections in my head. There are very few moments when, like, when you hurt other people or when other people hurt you, then you realize that you're beyond that. You know what I mean? When you feel that deep emotion, you're like— those kinds of emotional experiences ground you, I feel like, to that experience.

And I think for me, that is very close to spiritualism. You know, your relationships with people and how you treat each other. For me, that is the definition of spirituality and interconnectivity. And it doesn't have to be something that that's highfalutin or Disney story-like. But spirituality is here right now. Our relationships with each other, how we treat each other, how we treat the environment.

Yeah.

You know, because for me, I believe in interconnectivity and interconnectedness, that we are all connected to each other, and we are all connected not only to each other but to our environment.

Yeah.

To the universe, to the cosmos, you know, because there are laws that govern this, and that will prove that the connection is there. True. And for me, that is spirituality.

Yeah, I think there's different ways you interpret your experience on Earth, right? And some people rely or use these methods, and that doesn't make them invalid. I just, you know, it's just a different connection and experience that I have. So I think, you know, but I think when I do see like religion being played out, there's a twinge in me that makes me like abstain.

I'm the same with you. Like, I don't believe in the God as a person, or you have to do all these roles. It just cringes me, you know?

Yeah, no, and especially this episode when, uh, Borj Gham was like, you have to pray above all, you have to pray. I'm like, I don't, I don't know if that's what we need to do.

I mean, that's colonialism right there at work.

Exactly. I'm like, I wish sometimes— this is the take that I have— sometimes I wish that the same decolonial mindset is applied to all aspects. Not you just— you don't get to pick and choose. Yeah, I think like if you are If you are passionate about your culture and language, then you should also extend that passion to your religion.

Exactly. We all have a responsibility to decolonize ourselves because as we know, colonization destroyed most of the world as we speak.

Absolutely.

And it's still destroying it as we speak.

Yes, yes. In the way that in modern-day imperialism, all that stuff, like the way that it's, you know.

And you know, that's what we drag queens do. It's all of these things.

We decolonize it. Yeah, absolutely. You should decolonize your ideas of like, what is beauty?

What is right?

What is wrong? All of those things are very subjective. You know, there is morality and there is, you know, the concept of ethics. But I think beyond that, you know, you should detach yourself from those expectations that were imposed by someone who did not have any of the understandings of the world that your ancestors did.

Free your mind. That fear is not you to begin with. That was instilled in you by the colonizers.

Correct. Exactly.

And with that, we're done.

And with that, we're done. All right, that's the end of the episode. Decolonize yourself.

Yeah, yeah. And this has been Station Persuasion, episode 2, season 2, episode 2.

We'll see you next week. Absolutely. Will I be wearing another black bust-down? Who knows? Tune in next time to find out.

All right, bye!