S02.E01: All Star Talent Show Extravaganza

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The Season 2 premiere features a drag talent show.

[okerry]

What on earth happened to Adore? That has to be some very rough plastic surgery - what an awful shame! He's so young and just a couple of years ago could not have been cuter and prettier. Doesn't even look like the same person now.

[DasFlavorPup]

Well, Roxxxy still suxxx - not any brighter, and still completely up her own self-important padded ass.

[Primetimer]

Because flawless drag is just assumed. This is All Stars. What else can you do?

View the full article

[Eliza422]

Wow, I did not agree with the judges at all for the top picks or the lip sync winner. I did agree with the bottom 3. I'm not sure what that means!

Edited August 26, 2016 by Eliza422

[snowblossom2]

I love the twist re: girls picking the ones to go home (and called it!), though the being able to come back may be too much. 

 

I thought Coco deserved to go home, by far, and would have put Ginger Minge there instead of either Adore or PhiPhi. 

 

I thought Detox and Alyssa would be in the top

[Loki]

49 minutes ago, okerry said:

What on earth happened to Adore? That has to be some very rough plastic surgery - what an awful shame! He's so young and just a couple of years ago could not have been cuter and prettier. Doesn't even look like the same person now.

I don't think it's surgery, I think it's weight gain. She's starting to get a bit of a double chin. (No shade, I'm working on one myself)

[okerry]

4 minutes ago, Loki said:

I don't think it's surgery, I think it's weight gain. She's starting to get a bit of a double chin. (No shade, I'm working on one myself)

hmm, not sure - no lip filler? Maybe the eyebrows were shaved? There's just a very different look, and weight gain is probably part of it but wow - just hate to see someone get torn up with plastic surgery in any case, especially someone this young.

And I don't think Adore wants to be there anyway. Maybe she'd rather pursue the music instead of drag. And that's fine, too. She did a fabulous job on the show the first time around, and maybe now it's time to move on to something else.

[lyric]

Yeah, I'm with Loki on this - just looks like weight gain to me - same adorable face...can't imagine she'd mess with her eyes or lips, and honestly, looks exactly the same, but definitely weight gain in her face.  Alaska, on the other hand, looks very different to me - maybe lips, maybe even her eyes?  Not apparent in makeup, but boy Alaska?  Looks alien-ish to me, but I can't figure out why, exactly.

I'd like to see Adore go far, I've always had a soft spot for her, and she is immensely watchable to me.

[Xazeal]

Pretty great premiere, all in all.

Not loving or hating anyone yet. I've really enjoyed what I've seen of Phi Phi recently, but I'm getting the sense that she's not long for this season (and this was filmed a year ago, so she may just have grown even more since then). Based on the premiere, Tati is easily my favorite, and I probably would've given her the win. A lot of the other girls played it safe.

I do love the editing this season. The show feels a lot more relaxed and willing to poke fun at itself - like when Adore defended her "messy slut" intro by referencing Juju's "big dicks and fried chicken", or when they joked about how Ginger's comment about Violet was totally not getting edited out. The show has taken itself pretty seriously recently, but by leaving these moments in it feels like they're in on the joke, in a good way.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Xazeal

[kieyra]

It's nice not knowing who the winner will be, unlike the season 8 snoozefest. I actually can't even guess at this point. AS1 was obviously set up for Chad, but just not sure with this one. Alaska? Katya? (Sometimes I forget Katya wasn't the actual S7 winner.) 

[annewithaneee]

I am still so excited, but a little traumatized too. This season is going to hurt...there's only a couple queens I'm indifferent towards (Coco, PhiPhi) and the rest I'm at least vaguely rooting for even if they're not my personal fav.

Poor Adore. She's not my cup of soup, but she didn't deserve that from Michelle. I don't want to see her pull a NeNe Leakes and believe her own hype and become unnecessarily cutting just to get a sound bite. It was a talent competition, with no runway category. Michelle's critique was completely over the top. It's crazy to put her in the bottom for a talent challenge with zero critiques about her talent making the edit! Maybe that's on the judges, maybe that's on the editors, or a combination of the two. It was hard to watch it chip away so badly at her confidence, especially since she's been on the road with Michelle for months and they're probably quite close. For me personally, the bottom three should have been Coco, PhiPhi, and Alyssa or Katya (and I love those two so much, but their talents were towards the bottom of the middle for me).

That aside, I loved this episode! The talent show was a dream, and I'm glad they front-loaded it instead of saving it for one of the last episodes (like where something like Top Chef might finally remove constraints and ask you to cook your best food that represents you fully for the finale). I'm still a little perturbed that they're fucking with lipsync for your life, that seems like it should stay sacred (and ugh, that song), but it's nothing as bad as teams. I just don't want to see this devolve like whatever that Dave Navarro tattoo show is, where it turns into non-stop alliance talk and shit instead of showcasing jaw-dropping talent. As it is, it's refreshing to see the queens talking a bit about production as well as worrying about fan reaction. I can almost see the "lipsync for your legacy" turning into a sit-in if Alaska and/or Katya end up in the bottom that week, because ain't nobody going to want to face the Twitter mob for that.

Edited August 26, 2016 by annewithaneee

[MeloraH]

I kind of want Alyssa's sky-blue tulip-print blazer!

[Cosmic Muffin]

So I just moved and I was sold on "Roku" which was supposed to mean watching t.v. for free but so far means not being able to watch anything I actually chose to watch. Tomorrow is payday,I'm going back to xfinity. It's the first episode, so I'm ok with being spoiled.

Adore did just party for the year after winning, but she also got a lot of dental work and an upper lip implant which she later had removed. Not sure where filming occurred among all these events.

[okerry]

Good point about Adore being judged far more for her look than for her talent - when it was a Talent Show with no runway.

Adore still looked like a girl while singing, and even when she first walked into the workroom. Serious question: Does drag always have to be over-the-top and somewhat extreme, or if someone just looks like a "regular" female - which I thought Adore did - isn't that still drag? And in its own way, maybe even more difficult to do well?

[BloggerAloud]

Does anybody think that Michelle's speech to Adore may have even been more harsh than what we saw? Because Michelle starts off with that whole general critique about how she's being harsh and then the audio sort of jumped? Like it went from that to her critiquing Adore and it sounded like it was the second part of a statement.

[CraftyHazel]

I think Adore looks amazing as a woman, but boy Adore/Danny doesn't really cut it for me.  There is weight gain, yes, but I do think he may have plumped his lips some or something.  I know he had a lot of dental work done after his season aired, so maybe the mouth looks different because of that, but whatever it is doesn't look good on his boy face.  But I love Adore...always have, always will.  Messy, adorable, and very talented, and I just wanted to hug her when Michelle was knocking her look.  There are reasons Adore is as popular and beloved as she is, and maybe Michelle should wrap her head around that.

Katya still turns me on both in and out of drag.  I think it's that damned megawatt smile!!  Gorgeous! 

And I will never not love Alaska or Detox.

[kieyra]

9 minutes ago, Cosmic Muffin said:

So I just moved and I was sold on "Roku" which was supposed to mean watching t.v. for free but so far means not being able to watch anything I actually chose to watch. Tomorrow is payday,I'm going back to xfinity. It's the first episode, so I'm ok with being spoiled.

Adore did just party for the year after winning, but she also got a lot of dental work and an upper lip implant which she later had removed. Not sure where filming occurred among all these events.

Partied for a year after winning what? 

As far as Adore looking different, I agree that something is off, but I just saw her live in May and she seemed as tall and gangly in person as when I saw her in 2014. So maybe there's something to the "got work done" thing. 

Very good points about her being critiqued for look in a talent show with no runway, but they also critiqued CoCo's ashy foundation. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by kieyra

[Cosmic Muffin]

Whoops, I misspoke, Adore was top three. I think she did well to parlay her time on the show into success in the world, but of course BDR won. I really hate Michelle's narrow ideas about drag. She can also get over her hatred of the color green; she doesn't have to wear it.

[lyric]

Adore got a lip implant?  Even though she got it removed, why the hell?  Her lips were crazy full in the first place, and she wore lipstick like none other., already.  Gah - weird choice.  On the rerun, I'm seeing what y'all are saying now - the lips have that rubbery, less defined thing happening.   So, does Alaska look the same to y'all?  Something seems different to me - but hell, I thought Adore was just weight, so what do I know....

Pains me to say this, but Phi Phi's reads were pretty damn good - when did she get a sense of humor?

I'm with the poster who said the cuts this year will be rough - Katya, Alaska, Detox, Adore will always be my top picks, but almost all the girls are really likable.

[Princess Sparkle]

8 minutes ago, lyric said:

Adore got a lip implant?  Even though she got it removed, why the hell?  Her lips were crazy full in the first place, and she wore lipstick like none other., already.  Gah - weird choice.  On the rerun, I'm seeing what y'all are saying now - the lips have that rubbery, less defined thing happening.   So, does Alaska look the same to y'all?  Something seems different to me - but hell, I thought Adore was just weight, so what do I know....

 

Alaska got lip injections, right? That's the thing that stuck out to me right away; not only did the top lip look so much fuller than before, Alaska was talking in that way people do after they get lip injections where their lips almost flare out away from their teeth (I used to notice it all the time on Kaitlyn's season of The Bachelorette). Also, I'm about to say something potentially controversial- I have never really liked Alaska.  I don't hate her, but I don't find her as funny as she thinks she is, and she's never really impressed me - I'm pretty "meh" on her, and wasn't disappointed at all when Jinx won season 5.  I actually feel similarly about Katya - I liked her well enough on season 7, but that season was pretty weak, and I think she would've been solidly middle of the pack or lower in any other season.  Compare her lip sync performance in the Airline challenge vs anyone in season 8's Bitch Perfect challenge. 

Adore has been one of my all-time favorite contestants, so I'm glad to see her back - I know she's not everyone's style, but I think she has personality and charisma for days.  I also hate when Michelle gets on one of her kicks about anything outside her narrow view of drag - I damn near rolled my eyes out of my head in season 4 when she hammered Sharon every week just because she didn't like/understand Sharon's drag.  I'm not sure if this is setting up an "Adore changes Michelle's mind on drag" storyline or an "Adore is an early exit" storyline, but I hope it's the former  

I actually didn't recognize Phi Phi when she came out; I was wracking my brain to figure out who it was before she said her name.  If she has truly grown, I will be happy to see her - I rewatched season 4 again recently and actually hated her more the second time around. I do like her look so much better now though, so I guess only time will tell if her personality has changed as well. 

Edited August 26, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[denbblbg]

Hey Locas! Loved this episode! I'm still on the fence about the elimination twist, but agreed with Coco going home. I loved Alyssa and Detox's entries for the talent show, but I totally get how Tatiana and Roxy were on top. The final twist about someone coming back and getting their revenge? Could be fun depending on how that works out.

I'm so happy to have his show back and no pairing up crap. I'll miss Ross but Todrick is a great addition to the panel. Michelle, love ya, but geez! Lighten up! Looking forward to everyone's comments! TC!

I must add I'm positive Alaska has had her lips done. Looks great in drag, very different as a boy!

Edited August 26, 2016 by denbblbg

[kieyra]

To me the only thing that looked "weird" about Alaska was that in boy drag/TH he had a hairstyle that reminded me of his farmer look in S5 kid's show. Edit to add: is there any chance Alaska is subtly editorializing on *LaGanja's" talking head look, with the pompadour hair?

That would be very Alaska.

Either way, Alaska and Adore just *generally* look much different than the image of them we may have etched into our brains from the talking head segments of their original seasons. (I've rewatched both so many times.)

I want to mention that I saw PhiPhi with BOTS in May and she was hilarious, tiny, sang well, and seemed to be having a really good time. Much was forgiven.

(Can't say the same for Pearl's "DJ set.)

Edited August 26, 2016 by kieyra

[kieyra]

6 minutes ago, denbblbg said:

Hey Locas! Loved this episode! I'm still on the fence about the elimination twist, but agreed with Coco going home. I loved Alyssa and Detox's entries for the talent show, but I totally get how Tatiana and Roxy were on top. The final twist about someone coming back and getting their revenge? Could be fun depending on how that works out.

I'm so happy to have his show back and no pairing up crap. I'll miss Ross but Todrick is a great addition to the panel. Michelle, love ya, but geez! Lighten up! Looking forward to everyone's comments! TC!

I must add I'm positive Alaska has had her lips done. Looks great in drag, very different as a boy!

Hold the phone. Ross isn't coming back?

[rustyspigot]

RuPaul looked great at judging. 

Good episode. Alyssa had a damn puppet for christ's sake.

And I'm all for RuPaul doing a Porkchop callback.

[phoenix780]

I still hate roxy, and I think the top 2 was for drama not based on success in the challenge. That said, I enjoyed the episode. None of the twists suck yet. Maybe this will be the rare reality show all star edition that isn't terrible! 

[rozen]

How are you going to cast Rolaxatox (sp) and then have the queens vote each other off? That's a built in power alliance, ugh. 

I didn't watch S2 so color me pleased that I really like Tatianna! Her spoken word was hilarious. Alaska knew exactly how to ham it up while also being like "yea, I could hit that note if I really wanted to, but no." Ginger was great, Adore was pretty good, but the song was so pedestrian. Detox's routine would be great in a club with a good song drowning her out. Alyssa gave you the drag vaudeville you pay for! Roxxy's routine just made me admit that Violet was actually pretty good at burlesque, comparatively. I am so in the tank for Katya I can't even deal with her, continue being a woman of grace and dignity!

Phi Phi...girl, no.

Coco...

I feel like Michelle just goes at Adore because she knows Adore wears her heart on her sleeve and will give the waterworks they need backstage. There was no reason to be that nasty, she's a goddamn All Star because of her style of drag. How are you going to sit there and shit on it like it's her first go around? That's sad that she had Bianca help her specifically pick out a first outfit and get that dumpsterfire of a response. 

I don't think either one did particularly well at "Shake it Off", but Roxxy was closer, so yay marginal victory! 

[CaioF]

Well, Ru/Producers really found a way  to shake things up and avoid the boring vibe from last season of all stars were everything was so set up and even the queens pretty much could tell what was about to happen. Plus, they can pass the blame on the eliminations. I don´t know about this twist, gonna need to wait couple more episodes to see it.. I just think the winner of the lip sync should choose from a bottom 2 only *at least I hope they change it to two as we have less queens*. For me, its a nice twist but it should go just till the middle of the competition cause if the queens starts to send their biggest competition home, we might see the competition getting weaker.

As far the challenge, we got the right bottom 3 for sure.. Coco´s dance routine felt tentative, Phi Phi singing was a mess and Adore song was self indulgent with flat vocals (plus, if people gonna judge talent of actually sing, Ginger was the only one to really show impressive controll and tone, despiste the boring song choice).

Edited August 26, 2016 by CaioF

[JakeyJokes]

I saw Adore live at Pride last year and she gave a fiery and passionate speech about people telling her that her version of drag was "wrong" and she compared herself to RuPaul when he was doing club kid genderfuck in the '80s. And then she crowd-surfed and it was terrifying.

(I saw her as a boy this summer and she looked significantly thinner than she did on this episode, FWIW)

I'm glad Tatianna had a good showing because I thought she had a slight disadvantage being from S2. And I loved that the producers were willing to break the fourth wall a little bit and let the queens openly discuss that they are ON A TV SHOW and that the show itself has evolved significantly in its length of time.

Edited August 26, 2016 by JakeyJokes

[marsha]

I enjoyed this episode more that I expected and colour (Canadian here!) me surprised at feeling quite sorry for Coco (who I didn't care for in her season at all apart from her masterful lip syncing talent) when she was told to "sashay away". Oh, and I really like that Roxxxy (who I 'hated' in that I think I'm getting too emotionally caught up in this show kind way, you know?) completely took responsibility for her "messy" game play and I thought she looked good. It made me, so far, want to give her another chance. I still hope my darling Miss Alyssa Edwards somehow snatches the crown and loved her 'variety' routine (I actually thought she should have been in the top 2) and I never get tired of watching her dance! 

I thought Ru looked really good tonight and Michelle Visage ... is Michelle Visage. I was kinda hoping that maybe Merle might come back as a judge as, when I re-watch Seasons 1 and 2 I find myself often agreeing with her in ways I don't with Michelle. I'm vaguely aware of who Toddrick is and he seems like a nice fit to the panel. I'd much rather Ross than Carson but, oh well.

That last part about the eliminated queen being able to come back for 'revenge' ... isn't that just the usual lets bring one queen back later in the season deal? Is there not going to be and 'Untcuked' for this All Stars or was the deliberation with drinks basically a new 'twist' on the 'lounge' of Untucked.

I'm also wondering what queens turned down offers to come back as I'm not sure they meant to have such a heavy Season 5 showing. I read that BenDeLaCrem turned down her offer for All Stars 2. It would have been great to bring back someone completely out of left field (which maybe TPTB think Tatianna -- loved her 'spoken work' piece. qualifies as this). I would have loved to seen Dita Ritz or Victoria 'Pork Chop' Parker or Kelly Mantle.

Locas, it's so good to be back and see you all again!

[buttercupia]

That was glorious. Glorious.  

Adore was terrific and in no way belonged in the bottom 3. No way. Michelle Visage is so wrong about her and so mean.

I'm kinda worried about Coco. She's really thin. I mean really, really thin. She looks like she's sick. I hope she's ok.

Alaska fulfilled her season 5 dream of making her lips "look like thissssss", hahahhaaa. I love her and I hope she wins the shit out of this. She's always been my drag dream girl.

Katya cracked my shit up. So funny.  Love her.

[Kaboom 2.0]

Locas, it was my boyfriend's birthday yesterday and he still did not get to watch what he wanted on tv. I wasn't missing Ru and the ladies for ANYthing. He did enjoy the reading challenge, especially the use of the opera glasses! As I've said before I cannot stand PhiPhi but imho she did marginally better with her talent than Coco did. Having said that big snaps to the brief sighting of my beloved Lil Poundcake during Alaska's intro to the workroom. That little bitch is my all. I still want Alaska to be crowned, I like many of the other queens but love love love her. I thought everyone looked good, re: Adore I suspected she had lip fillers but that's all. Did not recognize Roxxxy at all. To me Tatianna looks even better and I loved her spoken word performance. Detox still cracks me up as does the Glamour Toad. I really hope Katya can shine this season. Next week: Snatch Game!!

[BloggerAloud]

I cracked up at the way that some of the girls made Tatianna sound so old because she had been on season 2 of the show but in reality she's only 26/27 years old now, younger than some of her current competitors.

[AntManBee]

I did not care too much for the talent show.  Roxxxy and Tatianna were the clear standouts, mostly because their routines were both retro-but-modern takes on unconventional performances.   All of the singing queens performances really began to blend together by the end.

I do love the elimination twist -- if only because it is different.  It throws a wrench into the meta game that many of the queens came ready to play.  The lip sync to Shake It Off was much better than I expected too.  Roxxxy and Tati were like polar opposites of the same queen: dark vs. light colored, blunt vs. soft hair, bold vs. sultry movements... it was pretty amazing.  Both of them did well, but I think Roxxxy deserved the win.  She does this little movements in the lip sync (and burlesque number) that are so fantastic. like wiping the nape of her short haired wig after the reveal, a simple side shimmy early in the lip sync, a Charleston-like two step, or simply brushing off her shoulders, that are so feminine and understated, yet mesmerizing.   This may have been the best lip sync since season 5, and certainly blew away anything from seasons 7 or 8.

I really wish we had a runway show though.  Regardless, it's a positive start to the season. 

[Dirtybubble]

So happy this is back, loved seeing everyone back BUT I am kinda happy Coco is gone.  (or is she??)  What is up with that revenge speech Ru gave at the end?  If I had to guess the eliminated queens are gonna vote for the winner of All Stars.  Enh, I'm ok with that.

Coco's talent show was my least favorite and I've never really liked her to begin with so eliminating her NOW was a-ok with me. 

I think I've already found my fantasy finale 2:  Katya and Alaska.  In my eyes they can do no wrong (drag wise) and I think they were both robbed in their season, nothing against the winners of their season, but IDK I just want one of them to win.

So umm no Untucked?  Is what we saw in the workroom going to be the untucked?  Darn.  I really enjoyed the T spilled backstage.

[DanMSchro]

I loved the episode, but I'm concerned with the second half of the show. I understand that changing up the format is necessary to differentiate it from the non-All Stars version, but I think the changes aren't doing the show any favors.

First, we've got the lip syncs, which are now performed by the top two queens, who're competing for $10,000 and the opportunity to boot one of the bottom from the show. It's clear these rewards were added to give the lip syncs high stakes, and sure, those $10,000 checks are nothing to turn your nose up at, plus the life of a drag queen isn't cheap and doesn't pay well, but it doesn't hold the same weight as elimination. I just worry that without the stakes of being sent home, we won't get the desperate passion of performances like Latrice's Natural Woman, Jujubee's Black Velvet and Chi Chi's And I'm Telling You.

Second, I swear I will gouge my eyes out and throw my tv out the window if Drag Race has ruined Untucked by turning it into an extended critique/powertrip for the potential winners (ROXXXY) with random cuts to unfunny judge nonsense. Respect to Tati though for just knowing who she'll pick and not interviewing each of em.

[Zuleikha]

 Serious question: Does drag always have to be over-the-top and somewhat extreme, or if someone just looks like a "regular" female - which I thought Adore did - isn't that still drag? And in its own way, maybe even more difficult to do well?

No, drag does not always have to be over the top. There are many, many ways to do drag and they all play to different performer strengths, venues, and niches. Fishy drag is legit (so I hate the "doesn't even wear makeup" critique that queens like Derek Berry and Courtney Act got) as is over the top as is genderf*ck as is messy.

Adore's main problem is, and always has been, that she looks like she's messy on accident because she lacks the skill to put together a look rather than that she's intentionally doing a messy look. She's working plenty and well liked, so I don't think it's something she necessarily needs to do anything about. But I understand why she was having trouble before the show and why Michelle is so frustrated with her.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Zuleikha

[Skyler Durden]

Alaska's lip filler is out of control. Gurl, put the needle down.

And talk in a normal goddamn voice or you're going to start getting compared to LaGanja.

[PaulaO]

I did not like Adore AT ALL (cue Michael Kors) during her season and I don't care for her now.  Although I LOVED her purple lipstick.  Her face did look different and I assumed it was weight gain.  I will always love Alaska who is more OTT than ever, and I will always despise Phi Phi and Coco.  Alyssa is much more entertaining now than then.

[Dirtybubble]

Quote

I just worry that without the stakes of being sent home, we won't get the desperate passion of performances like Latrice's Natural Woman, Jujubee's Black Velvet and Chi Chi's And I'm Telling You.

IDK, $10,000 is a lot of money and could be more incentive than just staying in the competition plus I get the feeling that the queens will want the ability to send this person or that person home.   I like this change but yeah I am totally bummed there is no real Untucked just this lets talk in the workroom b.s.  Blah no fan of that

[gryphon]

I totally think Adore had her lips plumped.  I still love Katya and Alyssa.  I remember liking Ginger at first but then she got so mean and it turned me off her.  This should be a good season. I didn't see season 2, so Tatiana is new to me and I think I like her.  Still can't stand Roxxy.

[ClareWalks]

Alaska definitely plumped her lips and it is very on-brand for her. During her season she talked about how jealous she was of queens who had ridiculously big plumped lips and she was not joking. 

I am definitely Team Alaska and Team Katya. They are both amazing queens who have really polished themselves up since their original seasons. 

Roxxxy and PhiPhi I HATED back in the day, but I am reserving judgment for now. Roxxxy is at least fairly self-aware about why she was such a dick to Jinkx, and PhiPhi seems sincere about wanting to show her nicer side.

I don't know WTF Coco was thinking, doing that weird old-style dance. The talent show was a chance for all the queens to showcase what they usually do, so the audience watching will want to go see them. Coco completely missed the point and thought "I'll go outside my comfort zone" when she SHOULD have put on her Janet stuff and done some Rhythm Nation or some shit.

ETA I forgot to mention Tatianna, wow, she has come a long way. What a dynamic, confident performer. I found her somewhat underwhelming during season 2, except Snatch Game (her Britney was WAY better than Derrick's, sorry 'bout it), but her lip sync was really fun and her spoken word was an attention-getter.

Edited August 26, 2016 by ClareWalks

[kylies-lips]

I spent most of the episode being completely distracted by Adore's lips. Sure she may have gained a bit of weight since her season (I certainly have!) but I felt like it was the lip that was the most jarring. I haven't seen much of Adore in the last year or so, and I was kind of taken aback.

Michelle's critique of her was really, really unnecessarily harsh. I'm glad that Detox spilled the tea and said that Adore and Michelle already had some tension from back when they were on the road together. 

I am the most happy to see Tatianna back on the screen. She was my favorite from season 2 and she's also local to me in the DC area and homegirl has been booked in this area since being on the show. She has certainly made a name for herself in this area and I was kind of surprised to see that others are still underestimating her. I see Tati being one to beat. 

[Haberdasher]

For years, I've been wishing that this show would start each season with a talent/variety show. Give the queens the opportunity to show what they feel they do best right from the beginning. And we finally got that! I enjoyed this more than I expected. Really looking forward to the rest of the season and getting to see more of Katya and Alaska.

[Gizmo110]

20 hours ago, kieyra said:

Partied for a year after winning what? 

As far as Adore looking different, I agree that something is off, but I just saw her live in May and she seemed as tall and gangly in person as when I saw her in 2014. So maybe there's something to the "got work done" thing. 

Very good points about her being critiqued for look in a talent show with no runway, but they also critiqued CoCo's ashy foundation. 

I just saw her in July, and I must say much slimmer and prettier. And could not be nicer, really sweet.

[violet and green]

I thought Adore had put on weight, looked like a boozy fast-food puff to me. Clearly Alaska had her lips injected to the max, and something very strange done to her upper face that's far more apparent in the boy talking heads; and yikes that vile coil. But I was really worried to see the changes in Coco and Alyssa. Alyssa has clearly taken that "back-rolls" comment to heart and has lost far too much weight and looks scarily emaciated in her talking heads; and Coco looked really ill, she was so thin, and maybe is unwell. Relieved she was voted out.

I can't stand Alaska, and that drawling affected voice with the on-ludes slowed down quality, or her needle-nosed look.

Adore looked so defeated, one episode in - she's my favorite! So disappointing. I hope she pulls it together, but for whatever reasons she's lost that confidence and charm and sass she had in abundance in her season.

Katya's in good form. The Glamour Toad, also. I just rewatched season 2 so am sick to death of Tatiana already. No-one else is on my radar. Wish Ben de la Creme was there.

Katya should rightly win, in the same way Chad did the previous All Stars. This new route is easily manipulated, if they do decide carry it through, and I'm sure it could be managed to still get the ultimate result Ru wants, whatever that is. I would hate to see Rolaskatox manipulate an outcome as I really don't like any of them and found that whole thing very irritating in their season. But it could just as easily be judge and producer manipulated, to a fair degree. Anyway, adds a new twist and somewhat better than repeating that godawful pairs thing - and Adore wasn't booted, so I am happy with that at least.

Michelle's an idiot. Green is the best color and probably with her look the color that would suit Michelle the most. I hate it when she gets a bee in her bonnet about a queen's style. Know your limitations, woman.

[OnceSane]

Adore can be as messy as she wants, but she earned her spot in the B3. #sorrynotsorry

Michelle may have been "Way harsh, Tai", but she's right: This is All-Stars…come with your "A" game or don't come at all.

As much as I disliked Roxxxy during her season, I thought she owned that lip sync…but Tatiana owned the talent show.  The spoken word was brilliant.

Alaska and Katya are still my hopeful frontrunners…and Alyssa.  Can all three win? 

Bye, Coco, your exit was definitely deserved.

[kieyra]

2 hours ago, Gizmo110 said:

I just saw her in July, and I must say much slimmer and prettier. And could not be nicer, really sweet.

When I mentioned I'd seen her in May (when I posted last night, I mean), I didn't realize how long ago this was apparently filmed. Meaning, I didn't realize she might actually have been heavier during AS filming and then lost weight before her appearances this sumer.

(Hmm, I want to clarify also that I'm just trying to figure out, along with everyone else, why her face looked so different between her S6 talking heads and her AS talking heads. No fat shaming here.) 

As for the "Michelle is mean" drama happening ... over on reddit lots of people are painting it as some kind of abusive situation, while ignoring the fact that Michelle's a judge on a competition show. And all the queens are speaking up in defense of Adore on social media. Almost like the whole thing was ... planned.

Edited August 27, 2016 by kieyra

[KnotsLanding]

I think the problem with Adore is that while Michelle could be harsh at times, she was given too much of a pass her original season. She was so bad styling wise they kept avoiding putting her in the bottom so she didn't have a lipsync and she pretty much skated to the end. Adore should've been Shangela'ed and been eliminated earlier giving her incentive to improve her drag, then come back the next season and hopefully take it. I have no sympathy for her now because she knew the type of competition she was coming into and she still came unprepared. I do drag myself and Adore has been booked twice where I perform and she packs the house, but is lazy. Jeans and a tshirt and she'll sing a couple songs. Considering how much you're getting paid, that is lazy. If you wanna do punk rock, then research it and come up with a punk rock look. She deserves to get called out if she's just going to be lazy.

Other than Adore, I LOVED the cast. I don't have a favorite I'm just rooting for everyone. I love that most of the contestants were controversial personality wise because I feel like it doesn't single one person out to be the villain and puts them all on equal footing. Coco deserved to go, but she has always entertained me with her cookiness. She is really good when she wants to be, but makes mad decisions. I died when she said she ran out of time to paint her arms when we know damn well she was never going to paint her arms lol.

Tatianna was stunning as I expected since I saw her perform a few months ago. I don't think the earlier seasons get the respect they deserve so I didn't like her being singled out as the old relic of Drag Race past. There should be bigger representation from seasons 1-3 because those seasons were iconic. I think it sucks that they wasted Nina and Tammie on the horrible team aspect of All Stars 1. Whatever the case, Tatianna showed she has grown and came to win. I love her!

Roxxxy I've always enjoyed, but I hate the way she does her makeup now. I think it gives her a sorta-dead look. Katya I know people rave about, but she has never blown me out of the water. She's entertaining, but I'm waiting for the WOW moment. Ginger I've gotten to know personally and I LOVE LOVE LOVE her! Wasn't a huge fan of the song or her wigs (that lace was showing so bad on the runway), but I know she's going to turn it. Alaska is another that is a huge fan favorite, but not a personal favorite of mine. She was really flawless though this week and I enjoyed her! 

[Kostgard]

I enjoyed the format of this far more than I thought I would. I'm glad that they can only eliminate from the bottom group and can't eliminate someone who consistently does well just because she's competition. And I enjoy the judges enjoying cocktails with the contestants deliberate. 

Not at all sad to see Coco go. Her drag does absolutely nothing for me. I hope she stays gone and isn't allowed to come back.

Tatiana was a pleasant surprise. She's here to play. She wasn't going to futz around with interviews and she's correct that people are trying to be fair with eliminations now, but it will soon become strategic.

Oh, Michelle. *SIGH*. I wouldn't mind her being the Simon Cowell of drag race so much if her definition of preferred drag weren't so narrow.

I still adore Katya. And I just want to be a fly on the wall and watch Alyssa as she goes about her day. I bet it's hilarious.