S03.E06: Handmaids to Kitty Girls

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's Previously.TV's EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP of the episode!

When RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Plays Us, It Plays Itself

An extra-long trip to a 'shocking reveal' makes for the franchise's all-time worst episode. Mark Blankenship explains why in his EPIC OLD-SCHOOL RECAP!

[Kaboom 2.0]

With Ben gone I don't think I care who wins...unless it's Shangela. Ugh. Would love if Ru surprised the finalists at the end and still crowned Bendela the winner. 

Snaps to Chi Chi or saying she didn't want to be this AS's Roxxxy. Ha! 

[annewithaneee]

5 hours ago, SFoster21 said:

Wow, Nerdlove, great post.  Kennedy may be correct in general that black queens are not as popular, but while Kennedy is fine, she is no Ben.  Bob the Drag Queen is Black and he has a terrific career.  (He is doing Angels in America at Berkeley this spring.) He is more talented than Kennedy, who has never successfully memorized a part on this show.  She was hopeless at leading her theater troupe during her season.  Sometimes she is funny.  Her make up is often lovely, but her taste is off and her attempts at breaking out of ”pageant pretty” don’t fare well.  She has no depth, imo.

I think, as you say about Thorgy, there’s a “try hard” quality to Kennedy.  But YMMV.

Bob won his season and is an entirely different type of performer than Kennedy. 

I think Kennedy is completely correct in her hypothesis. I feel for her, I think she's been put through the wringer and is a very talented queen who has stretched herself beyond the pageant/dancer box with very little reward for it. On Season 7, her thanks for turning out one of the most physically impressive LSYFL's were endless death threats for "sending Katya home". I think the bigger Drag Race and its rabid fandom become, the more problematic it becomes -- or maybe it's just making more apparent issues that have been there from nearly the beginning. 

It's just all-around strange what's become of this once very niche show. I fear it's devolving, not evolving. I'm sure people much more intelligent than me could right novel-length think pieces about it.

[WhineandCheez]

First--Aja:  "Ben de la Christ"--awesome!!!!

Second;  Shut up Thorgy.  If I liked her drag more I might allow for her inner nastiness, but she's cuter as a boy than a girl, so NO

This screams of a producer set up.  where did the white out come from? I think that if it's true that she hasn't been on the circuit since her win, and if its true she allued to depression (and was sooo upset over Morgan--I mean the average Queen could've given 2 fucks) I think she wasn't mentally up for it.  She didnt do great enough to have won the challenge, the producers put her there so this could play out.  Also BeBe won that lipsinc.

[HunterHunted]

3 hours ago, WhineandCheez said:

This screams of a producer set up.  where did the white out come from? I think that if it's true that she hasn't been on the circuit since her win, and if its true she allued to depression (and was sooo upset over Morgan--I mean the average Queen could've given 2 fucks) I think she wasn't mentally up for it.  She didnt do great enough to have won the challenge, the producers put her there so this could play out.  Also BeBe won that lipsinc.

The wite-out was Trashbag Thorgy's because that's how she paints her nails. Ugh.

Ben De La Creme didn't win her season, season 6. She came in 5th, but was voted Miss Congeniality. She hasn't been on the drag circuit, but has her own theatrical and burlesque shows that she has concentrated on since season 6. DeLa talked about her depression a bit in season 6. Furthermore, she's given interviews about finding the ins and outs of how reality sausage is made to be disgusting and repugnant. She turned down All Stars 2. I guess she figured she had gotten to a place where she could deal with it again and then decided otherwise halfway through. According to her, a camera, a producer, and a director saw her write her name. It's possible/probable that they told Ru. I also think Bebe won the lipsync. 

[2727]

Was it necessary for Ben to win in order to take her leave? Even if she hadn't been top two or hadn't won LSFYL, she could have simply spoken up onstage before the winner revealed her lipstick.

My only beef with her departure is that she should have announced it right after Ru called her out as top two. Then someone who was still trying would have gotten the chance to lip sync.

I generally resist "producer interference" suggestions, but will admit I've never disagreed with Ru's decisions more than I have this season.

[Ananayel]

Maybe this will lead to a complete overhaul of All-Stars. The first season with pairs was a dud. The second season was highly problematic, and now Ben broke the format. Don't do another All-Stars right away perhaps. Have a Second Chance season for early bootees, so we can see how they have grown as performers. Then another regular season, and then an All-Stars when the talent pool is a bit bigger.

Try something completely different. Maybe 7 queens, no one leaves but they earn points with challenge wins. Bottom two  each week lipsync for more points, top two lip sync for prizes or "extra credit" points, and at the end the top three compete in an old-school challenge, Ru-video, runway and lip-sync for the crown.

I'm still rooting for Shangela, and have been all along. I've always liked her, and think she's funny, talented and really charismatic. I also like Trixie a ton, but I have to admit mostly when she's paired with Katya, because Katya makes everything better. And I do like Ben a lot, and she's also mad talented. That would have been my ideal top three, let the chips fall, as they say.

Bebe has slipped a few places down my list. An unattractive arrogance is starting to show, and she was just beyond condescending to Aja (who I've done a complete turnaround on. This season she turned me into a big fan.)

Edited March 7, 2018 by Ananayel

[ClareWalks]

I have rewatched the episode a time or two and I am OBSESSED with Kennedy's ultra-high kick on "say yes to drag / yes ma'am to drag" where she almost kicks herself in the goddamn face. AMAZING. I want a gif of it.

[annewithaneee]

1 hour ago, Ananayel said:

Maybe this will lead to a complete overhaul of All-Stars. The first season with pairs was a dud. The second season was highly problematic, and now Ben broke the format. Don't do another All-Stars right away perhaps. Have a Second Chance season for early bootees, so we can see how they have grown as performers. Then another regular season, and then an All-Stars when the talent pool is a bit bigger.

Try something completely different. Maybe 7 queens, no one leaves but they earn points with challenge wins. Bottom two  each week lipsync for more points, top two lip sync for prizes or "extra credit" points, and at the end the top three compete in an old-school challenge, Ru-video, runway and lip-sync for the crown.

I definitely think they need to let the talent pool simmer for a year or two before casting another All Stars. Maybe they can do something fun in between regular seasons -- I think the premise of Gay for Play and Drag U were good but the execution not so much. I'd be so down for them to take another stab at things with a rotating cast of past queens. A Hollywood Squares ripoff with drag queens (including non-Drag Race legends like Lady Bunny, Jackie Beat, Coco Peru, etc) could be so much fun (although I feel like Vh1 recently already did a Hollywood Squares thing? Still, something kitschy and uncomplicated to let their personalities shine). 

I love the creative alternate formats for All Stars, too, but I kinda wish they would just try a vanilla Drag Race format. Like, they're trying to fix something that is seriously not broken. It reminds me of the first couple seasons of Top Chef Masters that were just a full-on mess with trying to radically change the show and elimination format (tournament style, I think?) and it was so dull, then they just went back to basics and it was much, much better. I worry that with ratings and Emmys love World of Wonder and Ru won't really care that Ben did kinda break the format and just keep on going full steam ahead.

[Corgi-ears]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

I have rewatched the episode a time or two and I am OBSESSED with Kennedy's ultra-high kick on "say yes to drag / yes ma'am to drag" where she almost kicks herself in the goddamn face. AMAZING. I want a gif of it.

 

Surely you don't think it's better than Trixie's hilariously Kermit-the-Frog high kick? 

Edited March 8, 2018 by Corgi-ears

[Corgi-ears]

@ClareWalks

 

Say yes, to drag! YES, MA'AM, TO DRAG!

Edited March 8, 2018 by Corgi-ears

[ClareWalks]

@Corgi-ears God bless you, my friend! I can use this for about a billion "that feeling when..." Tweets :)

[Fiero425]

Just pulled out tape of this semi-reunion of the eliminated queens return! It was so funny; girls put on the spot for who and why they sent them home! I wonder did Trixie ever apologize for posting that note concerning Shangela? That was so fk'n rude; esp. with someone as talentless as Trixie winning the whole thing! Milk got the shock of her life when exposed as being "an arse-hole!" "Am I an arse-hole?" It was a mistake for Bebe to come back! She came back even more arrogant and FOS! She could have given Asa a little credit for the help given the b!tch! She looked bad and funny when others went off in the TH's saying "can't you just give a little..... shut up!" ;-)