Dragula Season 4 Episode 9 Review (TV Series, 2021)
content warning: grieving, mental wellness, foul language
Editorial note: these Dragula reviews will contain spoilers.
Happy Last Supper, everyone. If you’re new to the show, you’re in for a real treat. The Last Supper is what Dragula calls the reunion episode. The Boulet Brothers encourage the contestants to air out all their grievances and watch how their surviving contestants behave under stress. Everyone gets a little moment to shine, but the episode is designed to tie up all the loose ends before the finale.
Why go to these lengths? Whether they all like it or not, every contestant on a season of Dragula is part of the Dragula family. If they can’t learn to work through their differences and come to some level of understanding and respect, they’re probably not going to get much benefit from these new connections they made through the contest. They can be messy or emotional, but they have to figure out how to pull it together and cooperate. The Boulet Brothers cast their other projects from people they know, and Dragula contestants who made the right impression are constantly part of their casts.
The traditional color scheme for the Last Supper is black and red, which is extended this year to a holiday theme. Why? It’s camp. Everything on this show is designed to be entertaining within the loose guidelines of a weekly theme and this week’s theme is apparently my Christmas decoration aesthetic.
Last week, we ended on a “To Be Continued,” with no one officially eliminated going into the finale. Oh, the Boulet Brothers definitely stabbed someone; we just don’t know who. By the end of the night, all will be revealed. Happy Crimas, indeed.
I am not going to go play by play through everything in this episode. There’s a lot of drama that is great reality TV but it’s not what draws me to write about a show like this. I’m here to support the artists and enjoy the spooky vibes.
A welcome addition to The Last Supper is a montage of the Dragula audition tapes. We get to see some highlights, like Formelda Hyde’s absolutely deranged character montage and La Zavaleta’s interact with the public challenge. I don’t know if they had to do the Pink Flamingos monologue in season three as part of the audition tape, but that was part of season two and clearly had an impact on casting. The segment wraps up with almost everyone’s reaction to being cast on the show. It’s a great celebration of what makes these performers special and the tying thread of this Last Supper. As much as these contestants fought, the Boulet Brothers wanted them on the show for their talent.
The major conflicts are all broken down. These include Koko Caine and Merrie Cherry not getting along in the Nosferatu Beach Party; Astrud Aurelia’s reaction to being in the bottom two; the Monsters of Rock challenge; Jade Jolie and Bitty Better’s falling out; and the Boulet Brothers versus Formelda Hyde’s club kid shoes. The contestants all get their say on what happened and find a resolution or not.
These discussions do lead to a little bit of insight into the production. We don’t know how often it happened, but the production did find a way for these contestants to get additional supplies at least during the Nosferatu Beach Party and Monsters of Rock. Astrud mentions it, and she wasn’t there for Monsters of Rock. Dahli’s team went out for supplies with Sigourney Beaver, which stopped them from seeing Merrie, Jade, and Betty rehearsing onstage together.
I encourage you to go into this episode with an open mind. Some of these contestants were very polarizing this season. Give everyone a chance. Most of the episode focuses on the eliminated contestants, giving them a chance to speak up about their experience and tie up any loose ends they see from their time on the show. A competitive reality show needs conflict to craft a narrative out of a season, but most shows don’t really give the contestants a platform to resolve their issues like Dragula does.
At the end of the special, the finalists are announced. We knew Dahli would compete because they won the Killer Clown challenge. Sigourney and Saint are announced next. And then Hoso also gets invited to the finale.
The competition was so tight this season that there was bound to be a non-elimination week. The show has been very careful to not spoil big twists, like Dahli as a surprise 11th competitor, so the promise of the Top 3 going on tour wasn’t really a lie; it was a half-truth. The Top 3 are technically in the Top 4 (the same way the premiere only had 10 contestants) and the tour was never capped at only having three guests.
I’m excited to see what they all bring to the finale as this is the make-or-break moment of the season. We’re still talking about Melissa Befierce’s Filth runway going on five years later and that really seemed close to giving her the crown. The slate is wiped clean for the finale and the strongest competitor across the categories of Glamour, Filth, and Horror is crowned the winner. The Boulet Brothers alone judge the finale and it’s always interesting to see how they evaluate these final performances.
New episodes of The Boulet Brothers Dragula premiere Tuesdays on Shudder.
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