by Chris Feil
It was a rough week for Drag Race fans. Not only has this season had an unending barrage of racism and vitriol in the fandom, but RuPaul showed her ass again this week revealing her exclusionary thoughts on trans queens. The whole enterprise, including the supreme leader, needed a post-Snatch Game Latrice Royale table-slamming intervention. If ever there was a time for the show to make essentially zero waves, now was certainly convenient timing.
Maybe it was just aftermath of both Ru’s ignorance and BenDeLaCreme blindsiding us with a tectonic shift self-elimination, but this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars was a relief partly because it was so predictable. Call it the least essential of the season but when the weight of drama has become so cumbersome, this felt refreshingly unburdened and unbothered. I blame the restorative powers of Nancy Pelosi arriving in the workroom to brandish a rainbow bracelet just, you know, because.
This week’s challenge was also perfectly timed for the remaining afterglow of last Sunday’s Oscars...
The queens were tasked with starring in My Best Squirrelfriend’s Dragsmaids Wedding Trip, an amalgam of Ru’s love for raunchy female comedies and recent Oscar-winning ladies. Or “Award-winning”, because in 2018 we can have Nancy Pelosi on Drag Race but you can’t say Oscar on television because the Academy will still sue you for copyright infringement.
While I coped with the twitch I developed by the challenge mixing a single Supporting Actress winner with four leading ones, I was also confused why none of the queens jumped on the role of Sharon Frockavitch (Clockabitch? Cutabitch? Malkovich?). No one wanted what was clearly the largest role and Morgan assigns herself the worst part of nearly wordless Beige Swan? Why she would return and not save herself with the best part to have any chance of not being given the boot by the eventual winner is beyond me. The world is round, people!
This could have been a moment for Kennedy to shine as singing and dancing La La, but the show simply wanted to paint her as a mess telling the same “jazz!” joke you’ve heard on Twitter ad nauseum. Bebe was characteristically haughty as The Queen but struggled to make stuffy louder. Shangela was sidled with poop jokes, but made her strongest impression reacting to Morgan’s goose Beige Swan. Queen Elizabeth Mary Stuart Masterson Mastrantonio Bo’Nina Brown, though.
Which left room for Trixie to finally dominate as we have been waiting for all season. I’d argue that it hasn’t been all that surprising that Trixie has had a wildly vacillating performance on All Stars. She needs to control the energy in the room to succeed, but tends to fall back when faced with the rigidity of the competition. Introversion is unfortunately a set back in this competition, but Trixie is finally hitting her stride. Who knew all she needed was to play her laugh twin Julia Roberts.
Great Moments in Drag Queen Self-Actualization:
Before the mainstage, we got the kind of engaging mirror talk that the season has been missing including Trixie and Bebe discussing their pricklier natures. But it was Kennedy that pulled the heartstrings talking about how she’s often cast aside in the fandom despite her success on the show. Honestly, it’s as if folks deliberately want to ignore how wide ranging her gifts are: incredible live performer, polished pageantry, goofball unafraid to go for big laughs. Her grouchiness is part of her well-meaning charm, but people choose to spin it to its worst interpretation (and often the show does as well). She simply deserves more love. She’s just trying to matter.
Best Runway of the Season
Winner: Trixie, with maybe the single best look of the season. Adorable and unexpected, and not just because she wore a red lip for once. I wonder what Serena Cha Cha thinks.
And better yet, each queen served a memorable look: Morgan’s heritage, Pussy Bitch’s space age facefaceface, Kennedy’s peak pageant gemstones, and Shangela going weird (if a tad chintzy). With Trixie and Shangela in the top, the episode was smart to not really belabor what would be an obvious choice for deliberation and instead gave us some fun back in the workroom.
Admit It, You Like Her, You Really Like Her
Kennedy is a meme queen who doesn’t know what a meme is. The first one to laugh at her own shortcomings is Kennedy, and we appreciate a self-effacing queen. Who loves Kennedy? Me-me.
Trixie again proved to not be a lipsync artist and Shangela brought out an eyeroll fat suit, so this wasn’t exactly a lipsync to remember. However these are now our two clear frontrunners for the crown, so it was worthwhile to see them in a direct competition with one another. Morgan “I’m Not Phi Phi, I Hug Everybody” McMichaels was one of the most easily predictable outs ever, but also one of the most gracious. We still wonder what could’ve happen had Aja returned in her place, but at least Morgan ended up bringing some sweetness to a cutting season despite her harsh beginning.
This is a neck-and-neck race to the crown for Shangela and Trixie. While I’m #TeamShangela, cases for and against both queens are understandable. Shangela has played instigator for much of the season’s drama but has entered the competition like a champion and has remained one throughout. Trixie started mild before a major misstep made her finally get into gear, and momentum goes a long way to the finale. Much as I love Bebe, she hasn’t made as much of a case for another crown, and underrated Kennedy still hasn’t charged ahead when it’s mattered most. If this season hasn’t been a positive or exciting one, this episode gave simple pleasures and helped solidify a slippery battle to the Drag Race Hall of Fame.
I’m going to cry because this season has been as long as RuPaul’s career. Would anyone like to sit on a sofa and possibly cry along as would look at this week’s rankings?
- BenDeLaCreme QUIT
- Shangela
- 🔺Trixie Mattel (because we don't believe in ties, but...)
- Aja OUT
- 🔺Kennedy Davenport
- 🔻Bebe Zahara Benet
- Chi Chi DeVayne OUT
- Morgan McMichaels OUT AGAIN
- Thorgy Thor OUT
- Milk OUT
Gif as Episode Grade:
We didn’t quite expect another season of Drag Race to happen quite yet, but we still have season 10 looming a near 2 weeks away! Here to stoke anticipation (if not outright distract from All Stars) is the trailer for what’s to come, and it looks like we’ll be getting so revamping for this inaugural season including a new workroom that looks like its been doused in radioactive Pepto Bismal. Most importantly, the queens continue to promise a dynamic range of personality and creativity. One look I’m already fawning over: Monique Heart’s playing card dress!