**Warning: This article contains spoilers from the first three episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race
BRING BACK OUR CHAMPIONS! RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 is here and if you aren’t watching it you are missing the BEST season of Drag Race in years, maybe even ever. We are only three episodes in and every episode is gag-worthy. There is so much talent in the room that from beginning to end watching is a joy. I have already watched the first two episodes multiple times.
We went to The Spot in Hell’s Kitchen for their viewing party for the first two, so with all the cheering and applause, you miss some laughs. And hell, the episodes are so great another viewing is necessary. That Realness of Fortune Ball…c’mon these queens delivered one impressive look after another. Add to that superstar guest judges – and Drag Race superfans – like Charlie’s Angel actress Cameron Diaz, Supermodel of the World Naomi Campbell and surprising the queens on the runway, Wheel of Fortune’s beloved Vanna White.
AND THE COMPETITORS ARE
The eight glamorous titleholders competing are – fashion icon Raja (season 3), comedy queen Jinkx Monsoon (season 5), sponge queen Monét X Change (All Stars 4), showgirl and workhorse Trinity The Tuck (All Stars 4), proudly weird Yvie Oddly (season 11), “look over there” stunner Jaida Essence Hall (season 12) and triple threat Shea Couleé (All Stars 5). Rounding out the bunch is UK season one winner The Vivenne.
The added bonus: no eliminations! All eight queens stay and compete the entire season. The new system, which is pretty genius, goes like this: each week RuPaul picks the top two queens, awarding them a Legendary Legend Star. The four queens with the most Stars advance to the Grand Finale. But hold the phone…the top two queens each week battle it out in a lip sync for the win. The winner receives a cash tip of 10,000 Dollars (love how Mama Ru always says dollars in an Australian accent), AND the opportunity to block one queen from getting a Legendary Legend Star. If a queen is blocked and lands in the top two, she does not get a Star. Just ask Trinity the Tuck.
Related: Shea Couleé gave Whoopi Goldberg a special gift during their NYC jaunt
As of episode three, five queens have a star with Trinity the Tuck winning two challenges but a block by Shea Couleé cost her a Star. Jinkx Monsoon is currently blocked courtesy of Jaida Essence Hall. The first block went to week one winner Couleé, courtesy of Monsoon, after her career-defining Snatch Game performances. 
TWO SNATCH GAMES, TWO CHARACTERS FROM EACH QUEEN
Speaking of Snatch Game, fans were treated to not one, but two, Snatch Games. Each queen had to deliver two different characters. And deliver they did. No one queen did terribly but there were many standouts. Raja delivered a side-splitting Madame complete with a remarkable transformation. Monet’s Mike Tyson was funnier than expected and Trinity the Tuck found herself in the top two with a side-splitting Satan, playing the devil as xxxtra gay, even asking Ru to call her Luci (Lucifer). Her Leslie Jordan might have even topped her Caitlyn Jenner, which I consider in the top 10 best ever Snatch Game performances.
That being said it was Jinkx Monsoon who stole the show and won the night. Monsoon might have had the weight of the world on her shoulders as her Little Edie from season 5 is iconic, “it was in all the magazines at the time…” Monsoon put the pedal on the gas and never let go delivering two more iconic performances. Her masterful Judy Garland has many calling it THE BEST SNATCH GAME PERFORMANCE EVER. Before that her Natasha Lyonne – someone who initially filled me with trepidation- could be the second best performance of the night, right up there with Madame and Leslie Jordan.
TAKE IT TO THE RUNWAY
The runways have been jaw-dropping. Trying to figure out who is in the top two is harder than putting Ikea furniture together. Monét came out swinging in the episode with a breathtaking brown leather gown vaulting her into the top two and showing the other queens she is a contender.
We have good news and bad news for Raja. Each week she has found herself right there with the other top queens with look after look. This writer thinks she probably landed in third place every week narrowly missing the top two. I personally would have put her in the top two for the Realness of Fortune Ball. But her Olivia Newton-John Waters fell flat costing her a Star. The Before and After runway theme, named after a Wheel of Fortune category, is now my favorite runway ever. Beyond Creative! Cardi B Arthur! C’mon. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane Fonda? YASSSSSS!
Can Raja finally get a Legendary Legends Star next week? Will The Vivenne break out of her shell? She needs to find some momentum and a breakout moment. Who will be the first queen to earn two stars?
Who are you hoping makes it to the Grand Finale Instincters? Sound off in the comments below.
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**This post is solely the opinion of this contributing writer and may not reflect the opinion of other writers, staff, or owners of Instinct Magazine.
