The show in general really needs to work on the disconnect between the judging and the actual performance.

What seems to happen is that production guesses who will be fan favorites and then shields them, boosting their successes and obscuring their failures.

But there are two massive problems with this. The first is that seeing someone constantly succeed isn’t actually likable! It adds to a character when we see them fail and they have to acknowledge that they failed. Many of the show’s biggest fan favorites were in the bottom multiple times and only built more of a passionate following because of it.

The other huge issue is that they’re never right about who the favorites are gonna be! Take Silky, someone who I adored on S11. Even as a Silky stan, I can admit there were multiple times she should have been in the bottom when she wasn’t. I can also acknowledge one of her wins was questionable. The thing about shielding and boosting queens is that it deprives them of underdog status. Seeing someone fall short of their goal immediately makes an audience root for them, and production has yet to understand this. It’s supremely frustrating.