“RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season 11 episode 10 shifts the show in a different direction. Gone are the brackets, welcome back the Lip-Sync For Your Life and Rate-A-Queen (M.V.Q. Edition), which genuinely shocked the queens.
Spoilers ahead!
It’s Story Time
RuPaul and Michelle Visage truly had a tough time picking between the nominees for the Comeback Queen: Morgan McMichaels, Salina EsTitties, and Joey Jay, but ultimately they picked the first openly gay contestant in “Drag Race” herstory: Joey! (So sad for Morgan, I really thought she had it in the bag.) This will please so many fans… until they get to the end of the episode.
With the semifinals contestants back (A’keria C. Davenport, Dawn, Silky Nutmeg Ganache, Crystal Methyd, Kennedy Davenport, Jasmine Kennedie, Sam Star, and Joey Jay), this new mix of queens have to contend with a change in rules and some drama with each other. There’s already some trouble brewing between Silky and A’keria, who have a tumultuous past together, going from besties in their original season to ignoring each other’s presence in this season. Also, Jasmine seems to have some beef with Joey because she kept poking the bear.
Let’s talk about episode 10’s highlights.
The Entrance
The semifinalists re-enter the runway, fresh from their brief hiatus away with incredible new looks. Every girl was beaming as they walked down the runway, as they should because they looked fabulous.
- Dawn looks marvelous in an outfit that reminds me of Absolute Wonder Woman, with those giant furry arms and metallic bodice. She usually does softer looks, but this is very hard and warrior-like and I love it.
- A’keria looks like the gayest mobster in the ‘20s or ‘30s. This rhinestoned pinstriped suit dress with the long red nails and red hair are to die for. The cigar?! Such a sexy touch. She’s perfect.
- Crystal’s pastel party clown look is very quintessentially HER, but I don’t like it that much. That has been happening a lot for me with Crystal’s looks this season.
- Silky looks incredible in this baby blue gown with matching headpiece, looking like an old Hollywood starlet. She may not be my favorite, but I can acknowledge that her drag has been so good this season.
- Kennedy looks like a motherfucking queen with this headpiece and gigantic hair. The sequined green gown fits her body like a glove.
- Jasmine’s little cocktail gown with this massive cape is very pretty, but not as striking as some of the other looks.
- Sam’s outfit is made out of belts and it is cool as fuck. I love how it lays on her body. Definitely an upgrade from her first entrance look in the brackets.
- Joey Jay’s look is very gothic, serving Edgar Allen Poe’s raven. I wish she had done black hair with this look, but the bondage vibes are excellent.
The Drama
Ru dropped the news that for the next couple of episodes, she will name one top all-star and the rest of the queens have to decide who is in the bottom by ranking them in Rate-A-Queen, the M.V.Q. version. R.A.Q. makes so much more sense in an All-Star season vs. regular seasons so I don’t mind seeing it here. This beautifully sets up some drama for later this episode.
We have to talk about the tension between A’keria and Silky. The two queens were thick as thieves, along with Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, on season 11, but in the years since have fallen out and had public spats that played out on social media. In the Werk Room, they didn’t acknowledge each other even once. Being the drama queen that she is, Jasmine keeps poking at the situation (and at Joey, for some odd reason) trying to stir some shit up, but, for now, Silky and A’keria aren’t biting. Miss Davenport refuses to talk about it and the Reverend Ganache is still pressed about her former friend attacking her character on social media. It’s so juicy and almost certainly why they were both cast on this season, alongside their talent.
This leads to Silky rating A’keria low because she thinks the other queen will do the same thing. But cheers to A’keria’s integrity because despite her dislike, she played fairly. Which bit her on the ass later.
The Challenge
The main challenge is “Tell Me Something Good Story Hour,” in which every queen has to tell a story on the main stage, specifically to their younger selves. This is a challenge that can easily trip the queens up, because are the judges looking for “stupid” or for something more heartfelt? It seems like a lot of the queens were unsure of which direction to go, but it was overall an intriguing peek into their lives.
- First of all, Dawn’s outfit is so cute, I would wear it. Her story about her and her friends getting so high off weed that she called the cops is actually pretty funny, but her delivery wasn’t hitting the way it could’ve. But I still think she did a wonderful job.
- Joey slayed this challenge. As soon as I saw she had a sound effect machine to punctuate her punchlines, I knew she had this in the bag (NOT). The best part is her story would’ve been funny without it too. She has great comedic timing.
- Jasmine’s story was actually very heartfelt, a little funny, but wholesome. She’s so over-the-top with her expressions and mannerisms, but it works on the main stage.
- Kennedy started off really strong, but ended up telling a story about her basically getting physically abused as a child by her principal and her mom. It kind of made everyone uncomfortable. I would’ve chosen a different story.
- Silky’s church story was pretty good, she edited herself to the essentials. I also LOVE her glittery green gown. This might be the best she’s ever looked on the show.
- A’keria’s story didn’t have many jokes but she got a couple laughs. I just wish she had done more with the story, but it felt like she wanted to get off the stage as quickly as possible.
- Sam’s story was cute but you can tell she felt awkward and she didn’t get that many laughs. Plus, her biggest laugh was a joke Jasmine handed to her during the workshop with Evan Mulrooney.
- Crystal’s story was full of nautical puns and it was actually very well done. It was written well and her outfit added oomph to it.
The Runway
The category is: Red Carpet Realness and honestly, mostly underwhelming. I like themes that allow for more creativity with the looks, but I get why the queens love categories like this. They get to be glamorous and beautiful, and that, they were.
- Dawn’s drag is so elevated this season. Her seafoam green gown (by Garo Sparo!) is perfect for an alien queen going to a gala. Her hair is amazing and the color fits perfectly with the dress.
- Silky’s black gown is very pretty, but, honestly, not the most memorable.
- Crystal’s couture clown suit actually looks amazing. It’s so well-crafted, almost like a French clown who went to Clown University. I love her makeup too, very soft and pretty.
- Kennedy’s gown is very gorgeous, fit for a pageant. Unfortunately, another look that isn’t the most memorable.
- A’keria also looks like a space alien mixed with a tropical bird. I’m not sure why she picked this wig for this gown, but she looks incredible. She made this gown herself! Michelle later called it art and she’s right.
- Joey looks so pretty in this sheer gown with the bottom of the gown connecting to her fingers. She’s kind of giving the late, great Selena.
- In this giant platinum wig, Sam looks like Anna Nicole Smith again. Her glitter gold gown has high heels attached at the tits and hips. I don’t think I like it, but the outfit would be hella boring without them.
- Jasmine made her almost Japanese-style gown and it’s very gorgeous on her. I think it’s the only look without glitter or sequins, actually.
The Guest
The guest judge is Evan Mulrooney, who I have recently become obsessed with because of his mildly unhinged reels on Instagram. He pulled double-duty this episode with judging and helping Ru during the workshop. He is extremely funny and weird, but he gave actual poignant feedback on how the queens constructed their stories on the main stage.
I love when the guests tap into their own expertise to fuel some excellent feedback. It’s so much more helpful than hearing some random cis white women yell, “YASSS QUEEN YOU ATE THAT!”
The Winner and Loser
SHOCKINGLY, Joey did NOT win this challenge. Literally everyone (including me) thought she had this in the bag. Her set was the absolute funniest, but I think Ru was looking for a true storytelling queen here and Crystal won. I can’t deny that Crystal did the best with the story aspect, but Joey’s was just soooo funny and stupid. It sucks that yet another win was ripped away from her again.
The bottom two queens, unfortunately, are auntie and niece: the Davenports. As soon as I saw them flop a bit in their challenge, I knew it was coming. And it hurts. This one hurts. I wish things had gone differently. Every queen definitely saw this as an opportunity to get Kennedy out if they could. She is a clear frontrunner.
Kennedy and A’keria gave us one of the best lip syncs of the season, if not the entire show this episode. The passion, the stunts, the reveals, the emulation of the lyrics; this truly was a micro-presentation of why pageant queens still matter. It hurts to know that one of them has to go home, because neither of them deserved to be in this position. I truly could not tell you one did worse than the other, but because A’keria has drama with Silky still left in the tank, Ru chooses her to win.
The Untucking
“Untucked” is typically pretty slow to start in the beginning, but this was a really fun episode. Crystal surprisingly helped usher in some fun tidbits with her red carpet interview bit, so I appreciate her for that.
- Dawn is wearing Garo Sparo and Joey is wearing Utica. LOVE the drag designers being on display, so thank you, Crystal, for doing your little mock interviews. Welcome to journalism!
- Jasmine yells at Joey when she walks in “We all thought you were gonna win, bitch,” and Joey pauses and says “SO DID I.” She then calls herself this season’s Susan Lucci.
- Joey is also slightly worried about how the queens will react to her ranking Kennedy #1 to protect herself. While I appreciate her inadvertently having Kennedy’s back, it truly did not matter, because it seems every queen ranked mother Davenport low.
- While Kennedy has this air of gloom about her, Jasmine felt the need to tell her that she ranked her low. Like, okay, relax. Read the room, doll.
- Dawn is VERY emotional, separates herself from the group and A’keria talks to her a little. Meanwhile, A’keria is regretting where she put Kennedy in the ranking, feeling she should’ve looked out for her auntie more. The girls are emotional and going through it.
Final Thoughts
This was a fun first episode of the semifinals. While I would’ve loved to see Morgan come back in this dynamic, I am SO glad Joey is back. Even Ru said it in her judging, this is what “All Stars” is truly about; giving the queens who didn’t get to show much in their original season a chance to truly shine and that’s what Joey is doing.
I’m gutted by the bottom two and the losing queen, if there was ever a case for a double shantay, this would be it. It fucking sucks to see Kennedy going out this early. With another R.A.Q. on the horizon, we’re in for more drama, especially when the ranking reveals come out next week. Plus, we still have unresolved drama with the season 11 sisters!
Season 11 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” and “Untucked” streams weekly on Fridays on Paramount+.
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