You might be sad today. You might be mad, stressed — maybe you feel neglected, unwanted, unloved. Maybe you feel like the world just keeps on taking and taking. I’m not here to dispel any of those feelings, but I am here to tell you that fate is opening up their arms today and finally giving us a little something: Trixie Mattel is a guest judge on Glow Up Season 5, and that episode (Episode 6) is finally streaming on Netflix.
I will pause while you regain your composure. I know how you’re feeling. This is a moment that fans of Glow Up, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and/or Trixie Mattel have been waiting for since March 1, 2020, the day that Trixie and Katya first watched Glow Up Season 1 as part of their Netflix-made YouTube series I Like to Watch.
I know you remember that video joke by joke, but a refresher: this is the recap video that launched one of the most iconic and enduring drag memes of all time. I’m talking about the Glow Up model from Season 1’s completely unhinged drag makeup challenge, a model whose neck-cracking turn-to-camera made Trixie and Katya lose their damn minds.
This video — which has since amassed 7.7M views — spurred me to proclaim I Like to Watch as the funniest show on Netflix even though it’s not technically on Netflix.
And when the COVID-19 lockdowns hit just a few weeks later, Trixie actually put a tiny framed photo of this very model in the background of her pandemic-era videos.
I even asked Trixie and Katya about this very moment when I interviewed them a few months later. This meme has not been living rent-free in my mind for three years. I’ve been renting my mind from this meme for 3 years.
And if you’ve been a devoted devourer of Trixie Mattel content over the past three years, then you’ve seen this Glow Up moment and that photo of the model pop up over and over and over again. All of this led to the moment where Trixie actually met Glow Up judge Val Garland (she of “ding dong” fame) and Cody Choi (the model in the meme) onstage during a show.
And now, 1290 days after the internet was introduced to Trixie Mattel’s undying love for Glow Up, Val Garland, and that iconic meme, we finally have Trixie Mattel on Glow Up. You better believe the MUAs were as shocked as Katya is in the above YouTube thumbnail.
And unlike in an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race where the guest judges pop in for the runway portion, maybe say a few nice things about some queens’ looks, and then disappear, Trixie Mattel is in the entire episode. She stays the whole time and she slays the whole time.
And as a bonus, Trixie isn’t the only drag queen, nor is she the only Ru Girl to appear in this episode. The first assignment of the episode challenges the remaining MUAs to apply drag makeup to UK drag queens Dame Dave Lynn, Rhys’ Pieces, and Drag Race UK alumni Victoria Scone, Cheddar Gorgeous, and Black Peppa. No spoilers, but it goes way better than that notorious Season 1 drag makeup challenge — well… mostly.
The entire episode feels like a gift to all of us who have been actively wanting this moment for years. It’s a delight watching everyone fangirl over Trixie, and it’s an even bigger delight to see Trixie be blown away by some of these young MUAs’ talent. And you better believe that Glow Up knows exactly what we all want from this highly anticipated moment: the reunion of Trixie Mattel and Cody Choi, a.k.a. The Model.
Legends, all.
The entire episode was worth the wait, and I’m sure the rest of Season 5 is as well. Yes, I did just jump straight to the Trixie episode. Did I mention I’ve been waiting nearly 1300 days for this? I feel renewed, revitalized, and refreshed. It feels like good things can happen again. The vibes are right and the energy is in place. This is the kind of payoff that brings joy to life. God bless Glow Up.
And God bless this meme.