For the second years in a row, RuPaul has somewhat screwed himself when it comes to choosing the right winner (or at least the right people in the end) on All Stars. Last season, Detox and Alaska kept eliminating the people who should’ve been in the end with them (err, I mean Alaska), and this season, a group of lukewarm competitors screwed over the one queen who truly deserved to win the title over all the others… by far.
Let’s recap here. The final four enter the werk room, are happy to be there, read Morgan McMichael’s goodbye message (could you imagine if she actually made it to the final four? What merits would she ACTUALLY have to even quantify her winning anything) and then Ru walks in. In true Drag Race form, Ru announces that this will be the most “ambitious” challenge yet, filled with choreography and a bunch of other stuff that we’ve somewhat seen before. Then, in a finale twist, she reveals that the eliminated queens are “back, back, back again!” Oh, god. So they are probably going to help pick the winner, right?
Then, the queens rehearse with Todrick Hall, who I must say has really found his footing on this show. I met Todrick at a red carpet event a bunch of years ago, and he’s incredibly intelligent, humble and interesting all at the same time. He gets his point across really well on the show, and his main target of frustration this go around is Bebe, who isn’t exactly good at choreography.
Let’s get into this: Bebe is a gorgeous queen. Bebe has great one liners, a regal-type behavior about her that doesn’t come across as pretentious, and a mug that is far superior to many of the other queens in the competition. However, she’s been middle of the road for pretty much everything else this season and it’s baffling to me that she made it this far. IMHO: Ben should’ve taken her spot (but, you know, she quit) and Aja was prematurely eliminated if it wasn’t Ben.
Kennedy and Shangela should be the ones to look out for in this challenge, as dancing is their strong suit. Trixie not so much, and we’ve already discussed Bebe. This is the first musical number that takes place backstage at whatever lot they film Drag Race at, so it should be interesting to see how they pull it off. The song isn’t new, it’s Ru’s “Hey, Kitty Girl”, however the verses outside of Ru’s chorus are all new from each of the queens which gives it a fresh element and somewhat rivals the best damn song this show has ever done: “Read U, Wrote U”… minus Roxxxy (sorry boo).
The musical number was really good. LIke really, really good. When I was sitting there with my friends, I was reminded of why I love this show so much in the first place. Each queen played to their strengths during it, and made for a great closing number from a season that quite honestly wasn’t so great. Also, shout out to Trixie and her purple wig: LOVE IT!
The four queens then change into their finale looks, and they all look stunning. Bebe’s look, as lovely as it is, has been done before though. Contrary to popular opinion, I loved Kennedy’s look regardless if it was a bit recycled from her S7 finale look, as the hair and makeup that complimented it looked great. Shangela has never looked better IMHO, and Trixie switched it up by giving us some modern day Mae West.
Then, the twist. The six eliminated queens were to determine who would become the final two. Meh. Seriously meh. Let’s be honest here, out of those six eliminated queens, Ben and Aja were the only two to ever really do a good job this entire season. Morgan didn’t do anything good in either episode, Thorgy whined and then got into a ton of hot water by saying Stevie Nicks wasn’t a gay icon, Milk destroyed her reputation with her ego and Chi Chi literally wanted to go home. This is like being the valedictorian of your high school and having the kids who cheated off your test be the determining factor on if you are going to get into the school of your dreams. It really doesn’t make any sense.
They all have one on one time with each girl, and Bebe shoots herself in the foot immediately by not revealing who she would’ve sent home and brought back when the eliminated queens had a shot at returning to the competition. NEXT. Kennedy’s plea is heartfelt, and even though she didn’t do that great this season, she’s a reminder of how amazing her type of drag is still to this day, and she’s become a much more likable queen this time than during her stint on season 7.
Shangela, as far as I’m concerned, should be top two no matter what she tells the eliminated queens. Homegirl worked her ass off this time around, and minus her sewing issues, did an amazing job through and through and should be top 2. Her chat is very passionate as well, and then we get to Trixie. The girls grill the f**k out of her, and ask her uncomfortable questions like who shouldn’t be in the top two with her, which she says Kennedy based on the finale look. Hmm.
Look, we all know damn well that the final two should be Shangela and Trixie. They’ve done the best this season, and it’s very frustrating how these six get to choose as opposed to Ru, who would’ve done the right thing in the end. The queens choose Trixie… and Kennedy. I was gobsmacked. Like, truly truly gobsmacked. I felt so bad for Shangela, you could see the pain on her face and on Ru’s. Her third time was her charm and she truly should’ve been the winner of this season. But, sure, let’s have the girl who was told to quack to make herself look crazy judge who should win.
The final lip sync performance has Trixie and Kennedy doing “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus, which is a great finisher. If this was an upbeat song, Kennedy would’ve mopped the floor all over Trixie and won. But it was slow paced, and she didn’t really follow through with the passion and the lyricism that Miley helped make so famous for her to win. Trixie didn’t do that great however, and the reveal was pointless, but she must have done something right, because she won.
Look, I love Trixie. I get it. She’s awesome. But this was a bit of a foregone conclusion from the get, and it’s hilarious how she has NEVER WON A CHALLENGE in her two seasons on the show and winds up winning the whole thing in the end. I still think she belonged in the top two, but she didn’t deserve to win. And based on social media’s response last night, I definitely wasn’t alone.
Who did you think deserve to win All Stars 3? Let us know your thoughts.
Shangela got robbed. Trixie
Shangela got robbed. Trixie is not my cup of tea.