Michelle Visage got her Ru-demption ages ago.

I hated her judging in early seasons. Over time I came to realize that she was being the voice of production choices. She still can be, but they tend to pass that job off on the recurring judges because it’s not a well liked position to be in.

But now she seems to have a good idea of where she fits in with the show and how her experiences can help the queens.

But more than that, she is the actual Mama bear from the show.

If you watch Whatcha Packin on YouTube, she is just so genuine, caring, and real, in a way that Ru is not. Where Ru would be using it as a platform for herself and trying to get iconic moments, Michelle is there propping up the queens and trying to show them how to best love themselves.

This season especially. Her and Plasma kiki-ing over Plasma’s references, her extremely loving Mama bear, almost to the point of overbearing love, for Mhi’ya, and her Jersey/Miami girl fun times with Morphine. Pretty much all of the episodes show her being present and supportive.

It’s also really interesting to see how the queens react to her vs how they act on other post-show content such as Hey Qween.

So, yes, I am excited for this change. I hope that the show improves because of it. I love the international seasons which feature supportive judging panels. For example Belgium, where Rita gives some quality, often harsh, but never mean, judgement. I think it gives the show a more lived in feel on the lower budgets.