Viewers knew someone would be eliminated during this Canada’s Drag Race reunion episode, despite half the episode dedicated to a wholesome reunion between the final four – Kendall Gender, Gia Metric, Icesis Couture and Pythia – and the eliminated queens, with Brad Goreski hosting and Suki Doll winning Miss Congeniality.

There was slight shade given to the final four during Stephanie Prince’s reads but it seemed to be done out of love. And then came the lip sync battle finale to cross someone off the list.

Each queen had to pick up a lipstick to find out which song they would lip sync to. The queens who had the same song would battle against each other. The winners of round one would qualify for the finale, while the losers would have to battle it out a second time to avoid elimination.

Gia Metric and Kendall Gender –members of the “Brat Pack”– had to face each other the first round. They performed to RuPaul’s “Main Event” and it was definitely a close call. The eliminated queens that were watching believed Gia had the dance moves locked down while Kendall was better with her words and facial expressions, especially by the end of the song.

Icesis Couture and Pythia were next, which was stressful as well, especially since they were the eliminated queens’ top picks for who should be the winner. It’s also important to note that Pythia has never had to lip sync battle for their life. The two performed to RuPaul’s “Born Naked” with Icesis dominating the battle.

Pythia and Gia Metric went neck and neck in the last round, lip synching to RuPaul’s “Call Me Mother,” doing the most with their moves.

In the end it was Gia Metric who had to sashay away – but not without one last speech. “To be here is a dream come true,” the Vancouver-based queen said. “This is not the last of me.”

And it definitely is not. Chatting about their elimination the morning after, Gia Metric speaks candidly about their time on the show. They spoke from the heart about what they wanted to achieve in the show, competing against their sisters and making unexpected friendships.

How do you think your audiences are going to view your time on Canada’s drag race? What do you think they’ll take away from Gia Metric?

I have no control over what anyone thinks of me. What I want them to think of me or see me as is just a hard worker and a master of my craft. And I put a lot of fun, a lot of attention. I put a lot of love –but a lot of fun– and a whole lot of me into everything that I brought to the competition.

I really hope that that’s what people see and takeaway, because that’s truly all you can ask for. When I went into the competition my dad told me “have no regrets.” The thing that I promised myself was to be real and genuine and proud of everything I did. I walked out of set having no regrets and being so proud and giving everything my all. I guess that’s what I hope everyone will kind of take from it.

You are a non binary queen. And we’re starting to see more non binary queens in the show. In your opinion, how has the environment been more inclusive towards non-binary Queens now versus in the past?

I think the best part about that is just there’s conversations being had. I feel like there has been a lot of non-binary performers and artists. But it’s not until recently that we’ve actually been having these tough conversations about pronouns, about gender identity. Since that has happened, there’s just been more confidence in saying and portraying who you really are. I feel like that happened to me, where I always used to hide my feminine side, and I always used to think that guys wanted me to be masculine. I thought that was the way that I had to live my life. In and out of drag now, I call myself a tie dye of gender.

You’re so good with your words.

I’m known for the Oscar speeches, babes. So I’ve had a lot of practice.

We love a legacy.

Yes! When that started happening on the show, to be honest, I wasn’t really clueing in. There were a few moments. But it wasn’t until the reunion where Brad was like, “let’s take a look at all of your speeches.” I was like, “Oh, my god, shut up. Really? We’re making this a thing?”

That’s how you know that it’s become a thing or that they’re gonna make it a thing because they’re showing it at the damn reunion. So it was so funny.

With the music and everything.

I know! And that’s the thing, right? I didn’t actually know that was the edit, you know? They didn’t actually start playing music in the real thing. So I hadn’t even seen that until all y’all saw that. I was floored. It was so funny.

It was beautiful, wholesome, funny. Just all the feelings, really.

I’m an icon, truly, I am.

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You’ve obviously had some some close sisters – your Vancouver squad – like Kendall Gender and Synthia Kiss. Knowing that, what was it like to compete with your closest sisters, especially with Kendall in the last episode during that lip sync battle?

There’s kind of two sides to it. You think of a drag race or competition being this individual thing. I was in there for the sole purpose of mastering my craft and showing the judges and everyone there what I’m made of. And then on the flip side, it was also really neat and cool to have your sisters and your family there who you can lean on in hard times.

I would say for Kendall and I at the end, you can see it in our faces. We love each other but we both were there for the same reason. And there was not one inch of our body that was just like “I don’t want to fight” or like “I’m gonna bow down” because that’s truly not who we are. By that point I looked at Kendall and I was just like, “I love you but I also have to say you’re just another competitor.”

Is there anyone else that you that you became close with during the show?

I would say probably my closest, my closest friend from this season, other than the girls that I already know would be Adriana.

Awww.

Yes! I just love her. She’s like my little spicy hot tamale. It’s interesting because when you get to know someone on the show, you’re under watch, you’re in a pressure cooker. So the time you spend together is so specific.

We built a bond after week five, when we were in the Giddy Girls together, which was the girl group challenge that I won. Let me just flip my hair. Thank you.

I truly just saw her for who she was. When she stood up for herself about getting picked last and feeling like everyone’s under estimating her, I could relate with her. And then after the competition, we just continued our friendship. We did the premiere together. I’m actually going to Montreal next week to do the finale with her. We talk every week. So it’s fantastic.

Was that something you were expecting in the show? To make those long lasting connections?

Not really to be honest. I’ve been a fan of drag race for many years. And I’ve watched so many seasons. You always hear it’s not RuPaul’s Best Friend Race. But then you also see all these these situations where the girls are getting really close to each other. For me, that wasn’t really something that I thought about. I didn’t want it to be forced. But it happened naturally. Which is awesome. I’m so grateful that I have a friend. I feel I have I have a lot of friends. I’m friends with all of them. I would just say Adriana is the one that I text the most.

We touched upon this earlier. You’re known for your beautiful, beautiful Oscar speeches. Is there anything you want to tell the world right now, Oscar style?

Whooooo. This is when the pressure is on. This is when I have no words. Everyone’s like “but she can speak forever!”

We’re counting on you Gia!

I want to tell the world to have fun. I want to tell the world to live each day of your life like it is your last life. Life is too precious to be upset or too precious to be anxious or sad or mad.

To all the fans that are watching Drag Race: continue to spread love. That’s why we do it. I truly hope that you know, being on this platform, I can be a role model for everyone. And I just can’t wait for everyone to see what’s coming up for the future of Gia.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Watch video from our conversation with Gia Metric below.

@ramonaleitao