Welcome back to RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Rucap where I bow down to the godliness that is Alyssa Edwards and attempt to analyze RuPaul’s interpretation of herstory from a Marxist perspective. Episode 3 begins with our queens reconvening in the workroom following Tatianna’s departure, which was a sad but arguably fair elimination. It seems that our queens are committed to the idea of sending home the weakest of the bunch, but now that we are down to the top 7 it’s unclear how much longer that agreement will last. While a normal season elimination would take cumulative performance into account, no queen is safe in All Stars 2, and this frightful reality may be just enough to start chopping off the biggest threats.
Mama Ru arrives and announces this season’s lip sync extravaganza, an elaborate ode to the most famous women in history. Ru assigns each queen a role in the group lip sync, but reassures that judging will be done on an individual basis. The queens are cast as follows:
Alaska- Eve
Phi Phi- Helen of Troy
Ginger- Catherine the Great
Detox- Marie Antoinette
Alyssa- Annie Oakley
Roxxxy- Eva Peron
Katya- Princess Diana
Now as far as challenges go, this one is a bit of a doozy. For starters, the judging criteria is illogical and completely subjective. Some queens are assigned terrific, scene-stealing parts while others are cast in roles that are poorly written and largely unfunny. As a result, some queens are doomed from the start. Alyssa shines as Annie Oakley, a humorously dance-heavy part and Detox successfully relies on her comedic shtick. Roxxxy, Alaska, and Phi Phi blend in to the background and Katya and Ginger flounder in terribly choreographed and underdeveloped roles.
Following the performance, our queens strut down the runway serving “the future of drag”. Most of our queens look like Judy Jetson hookers, but Detox and Phi Phi shine in some truly inspired looks. Unfortunately Katya and Ginger stumble yet again in looks that are drab in comparison to our competitors. Alyssa and Detox are deemed the top two of the week and are tasked with choosing either Ginger or Katya to send home packing, and as the queens deliberate in the work room it becomes quite clear how much of a predicament their elimination agreement has turned into. Do the top queens eliminate the weakest queen of the week or the queen with their lower cumulative score? Should potential be taken into account? For the most part, our queens believe the weakest of the week should go, which means they are in favor of eliminating Katya, a fan favorite and bigger threat than Ginger. Alyssa, on the other hand, thinks conviction and potential should be taken into consideration more than the one performance. The precarious nature of the situation may be just enough to splinter the group entirely.
Back on the runway Alyssa and Detox fiercely duke it out to “Tell it to my Heart” by Taylor Dayne, but it is Alyssa who ultimately scores the top spot. Alyssa decides to break the elimination agreement and send Ginger Minj packing, a move that is sure to have a ripple effect in later episodes. Now that elimination is anyone’s game only time will tell how our queens will wield this awesome power.
Queen Rankings
Alyssa
Alyssa stuck to her guns this week (pun intended) and really showed everyone that she is All Star material. While Alyssa may not have had the greatest track record in season 5, she has been slaying each and every challenge this season. All her hard work is paying off.
Detox
In just three episodes Detox has solidified her position as the fashion queen of All Stars 2 . Each and every look she’s served has been gag-worthy, and her performances haven’t been too shabby either. Detox has the perfect blend of charisma, beauty, nerve, and talent, and that combination may be just enough to nab her a top 3 spot.
Alaska
Alaska faded a bit into the background this episode, but girl is still one of the most consistent competitors in the game. She may not be the best at one particular thing, but she possesses the skill set needed to survive every challenge, and that kind of versatility is important in a competition as finicky as this.
Phi Phi
Phi Phi didn’t stand out in the challenge, but she slayed the runway with her incredible cosplay creation. We’ve heard so much about how Phi Phi has grown as a queen since her season and in this episode we finally got to see proof of that. Let’s just hope she can keep her inner bad girl at bay.
Roxxxy
Roxxxy failed to make an impression in the main challenge or runway, but she’s still a fierce competitor. Hopefully next week she gets to take a step into the limelight.
Ginger
Poor Ginger, talk about a backdoor elimination! It was clear from the very beginning that the editors had no intention of keeping Miss Minj around long this season. There is no doubting that Ginger is talented, but perhaps this wasn’t the season for her.
Katya
Katya was arguably the worst performer this week, but it’s not entirely her fault- she was given an impossible role. If anything, being on the bottom will hopefully give her the motivation to step up her game and slay these other hoes.
Is this why I'm still single? 