a drag race queen died in her sleep in the middle of filming. this week the show aired her episode, with a yellow dragon for her.

via Entertainment Weekly, Philstar, The Independent and Out

Misua's verse is still in the song.

When the queens of Drag Race Philippines season 4 performed the girl group challenge, the lights dimmed for the part she had recorded, and one of the queens, Manza, swirled her yellow dragon through the air while it played, Entertainment Weekly reports. Misua recorded that verse in April. She died in her sleep before she could perform it.

what happened in april

Misua was Jason Elvie Ty, a 27-year-old queen from Cagayan de Oro and a performer for eight years, who made almost everything she wore herself, from the outfits to the nails, according to the biography quoted by The Independent when she died on April 2. Her drag name came from misua, the noodle dish her grandfather loved. World of Wonder, the show's producer, announced her death that day, and Out reported it within hours. Her family wrote that "Jayson is a star."

At the time the public was told she was "set to appear" on the season. Friday's episode showed what that meant: she had already competed in episode one, and she died during the filming of episode two. "Her passing occurred during the filming of this episode," a title card read about 27 minutes in. "Production was temporarily halted to care for the queens and provide support for the cast and crew."

how the show honored her

The episode, "Can I Get an Eme?," aired Oct. 2. The queens came back to the Werk Room in tears. "She told me, 'Sis, we're in the spotlight now,'" Merckz said, remembering one of their last conversations; EW reports the two had worked behind the scenes as a choreographer and a designer, helping other queens prepare for the show. Host Paolo Ballesteros extended condolences "to the Ty family, the House of Lafeya, and to all who knew and loved Misua," and told her, "you will always have a place in our hearts."

There was no elimination. Merckz won the lip sync, with the dragon brought out again, and Ballesteros signed off with "We love you, Misua," and a second goodbye to Jiggly Caliente, the Drag Race alum and Philippines judge who died in April 2025. Philstar reports the production pause partly explains why the season arrived late. The title card promised a tribute "for the entire season."

She was supposed to be in the spotlight. For one Friday night, the whole franchise made sure she was. We like to think she saw the dragon.