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Here we are at the much too short third season finale of We’re Here which, for the first time in the show’s history, picks up right where we left off in the previous episode, same location, same ‘drag kids’, same horrific right-wing political agenda to address, but … there is some hope by the end, a tiny glimmer, and in a bit of a reversal, one of the drag kids actually helps their drag mom deal with her own internal turmoil.
At the top of the episode, we do get some levity as Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka and Shangela lead an aerobics class at The Villages … in full neon-colored, 1980s-inspired, aerobics fashions, hair and make-up. And in heels, which Shangela learned was not the best way to do aerobics. But they really seem to have won over the residents of the notoriously white and right The Villages. Maybe a little too much as some of the, ahem, gentleman of the community were eager to take pictures with them outside and get a little too handsy. Eureka had the best comeback when one man told her that was the best ass he’s seen in a while, and she said he should see the one she left back at the hotel room.
As things begin ramping up for the drag show, Bob gets to meet Mark’s mother and he seems to be a little taken aback by her indifference to Mark being gay and doing drag. Then Bob learns she doesn’t quite know what drag is, but she and Bob have a humorous conversation about his purse, which he calls an ‘extra pocket’. She says he could carry a backpack, but Bob doesn’t want to look like he’s going camping all the time. And you can’t deny the purse if fabulous. She is a character, and maybe meeting Bob and learning more about what’s going on has educated her a bit. Later Bob asks Mark if he and his partner ever got married, and he admits that they did during their last year together before he passed. But has mom ever acknowledged him as Mark’s husband? No. Would she? That would be progress. And as a bonus, the Queens take Mark to his first drag show ever. And seeing him rehearsing his choreo later in thigh high red boots in his garage, with the door open, is everything!
In the midst of everything else going on, Jaime, her husband and Dempsey are making an appearance at a press conference with the United States Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona where he affirms they will stand up for and stand by every student, including the ones that Ron DeSantis is trying to erase. Dempsey takes to the podium to show everyone that she’s just a kid and does not deserve to be treated any differently, but we see through clips of local newscasts that the State of Florida is carrying on with its mission to dehumanize, demonize, and terrorize trans children and their families and anyone who supports them. The attacks continue, of course, on drag queens and drag shows with the State threatening to take action against parent who take their children to ‘sexualized’ drag shows, even suggesting Child Protective Services would get involved. Okay, hold up — how about sending CPS to the homes of parents who force their children to go to a church where a priest or other adult with authority is sexually abusing them, and not even listening to their kid or noticing that there is something going on? That is more of a danger to a child than seeing a man in a dress lip syncing to a popular song or reading a book. Hell, letting a child watch television today exposes them to more sexual and violent content than a couple of hours at a drag show. All attacking drag queens does is exposes how bigoted, hateful and miserable people can be that they can’t just see drag as an art form that’s been around for centuries and has never been an issue until this country allowed religion to become ingrained in politics — which are Constitutionally meant to be separate. Maybe it’s time churches pay their damn taxes!
Mandy and Lori’s story — and Dempsey’s as well — takes a slight detour as they have truly affected Eureka on a deeply emotional level. As we learned in the previous episode, she lived as a trans woman in her late teens and early 20s but it was just too difficult to deal with other people’s reactions and she decided to transition back to male and live as non-binary so she could move between two worlds and be … comfortable, although not content. Working with two trans women at two different stages of life has made Eureka finally realize that she will only truly be content if she finally acknowledges that she is a trans woman, so she brings Bob and Shangela to a park to have a chat with them and let them know what’s been going on, especially her struggles and how working with Mandy and Dempsey finally opened her up to her true self. Of course they both show her huge support because they have formed this sisterhood both from RuPaul’s Drag Race and We’re Here. With that out of the way, Eureka next has a private sit-down with Mandy to give her the news and Mandy’s reaction is nothing short of pure joy, assuring Eureka that she will always have a friend in her. For the first time on the show, it was the drag kids who actually helped ‘mother’ become her true self.
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For Vico, being a Pulse survivor has taken a toll, giving him PTSD to the point that he often blanks out in certain situations, especially if there is a large crowd of people and a confined space involved. It’s kept him from living, it’s kept him from going out into the world as his authentic self, fearful that if he presents as a gay man that he will be a target. He wants, he hopes, for this experience to help alleviate his fears of just being himself and enjoying going out, and Shangela assures him that they will be in a safe space, a space full of people there to see him perform, a space full of love (and we actually got to see footage of security scanning people as their entered the venue). Vico was out first, looking fabulous — requesting something Latin-themed — performing to Camila Cabello’s ‘Don’t Go Yet’, and he was fierce, with some really tight choreography. Shangela joined him as the song changed to Cardi B’s ‘I Like It’, clad in a bright yellow outfit from head to toe. And the icing on the cake was that Vico’s mother had made the trip (not sure from where but it was apparently a distance) to show up and support her son. In the end Vico felt like a weight had been lifted, saying that he could see each and every face in the crowd looking at him … and he loved seeing the respect and appreciation. Now Vico feels like a part of the community again where he once felt he was not a part of.
Mark was up next with a performance that was meant to portray an aging actress in her dressing room, in a robe and a turban on her head, singing Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’. But Bob, as the assistant, reminded her she had a show to to and in a very quick change, Mark reappeared on stage in full drag performing Pat Benatar’s ‘Love is a Battlefield’ with Bob joining in. And his mom was in the front row too, at one point singing along, and smiling, clapping and really enjoying the show. The whole experience really seems to have helped knock down some of her walls — perhaps the ‘he does what he wants, I do what I want’ attitude will see more of a merge moving forward — and may have actually allowed Mark to take that other foot out of the closet once and for all. There’s no hiding who he is anymore from his The Villages neighbors since a lot of them were also in the audience to show support. And after the show, mom said she was very proud of her son. This is just another example of why We’re Here is important television.
Eureka, Mandy and Lori performed together with Eureka as a bee (although if she wanted to appear to float across the stage she should have worn black tights instead of the nude look she went with), with Mandy and Lori as caterpillars who blossomed into beautiful butterflies … and celebrated their 50th anniversary while doing it! And seeing the joy on their faces gave Eureka chills under her ‘hot ass costume’.
Jaime was last with a school-themed setting, performing the first part of the number to Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’, dressed in a sparkly graduation gown with a cap attached to the side of her wig (which we learned in the behind-the-scenes feature after the episode was held on with a magnet). At a certain point the black part of the gown was removed and the song segued into ‘Firework’ as Shangela took to the stage, and Jaime was joined by her husband and Dempsey — who both nailed their choreography. At the end, Shangela took a moment to address Dempsey who was just overwhelmed with happiness, and then sang the praises of her mother, calling out how she has stood up so many times and how fantastic it is there everyone is there to also stand up for and with her. Jaime spoke about how overwhelming it all was as a teacher and a mom with a trans kid who is always targeted, and that as a teacher she will always stand up for her students no matter who they are, she will never back down. She thanked her husband for always being there when she needs him, and then told Dempsey she is so blessed to be her mom. Outside Jaime told Shangela that she was so grateful for all the support and Shangie told her it doesn’t go away after that night.
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With the closing montage we’re reminded that in today’s political climate, people wonder if it’s safe to be themselves, and drag gives you the ability to say ‘I am amazing’ and you can be loved and celebrated. It doesn’t matter who you are, gay, straight, whoever you are, this is what brings people together and gives them strength, and this is something we’ve seen throughout the series as a wide spectrum of people have participated in the drag shows. Drag brings people togather, builds them up and lets them step out into the world with confidence. In other words unity, not divisiveness. Drag is love, and there is an infinite amount of love out there no matter who you are. Drag lets you feel like you can conquer the world, conquer the hatred with love, the darkness with light. And while politicians like Ron DeSantis and others tell us daily how ‘evil’ drag queens are — and I think we have to point out that someone who constantly accuses someone of being a certain way is almost always just a reflection on themselves — Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara, and Shangela Laquifa Wadley are infinitely more compassionate and loving and empathetic and talented than any of their accusers. Maybe that’s why those people hate them so much.
And while the third season of We’re Here has come to an end, the fight for justice and equality has not, and it may only get worse next month with a Republican-controlled House and some suggesting there should be a national ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. You can’t have a country rooted in liberty when one party is doing all it can to take that liberty away from one group of people, because if they are successful making drag illegal, forcing LGBTQ+ people back in their closets with threats of legal retaliation (or even physical retaliation by their emboldened followers), it won’t stop there. Keep fighting the good fight and everybody say ‘GAY!’
What did you think of the finale? Tell us in the comments section below!
All episodes of We’re Here are streaming on HBO Max.
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