We’re at the end of the bracket system, folks! “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season 11 episode 9 ends bracket 3 with some classics, fantastic impersonations, and MVQ point strategies going wild, causing some surprises at the end.
Spoilers ahead!
Welcome to the Show
The purple bracket (Hershii LiqCour-Jeté, Kennedy Davenport, Jasmine Kennedie, Shuga Cain, Joey Jay, and Sam Star) were tasked with having to lip sync to “The RuPaul Show” interviews Ru did over the years with various celebrities. This is a first for “Drag Race” and it really helped the queens show off a talent they all have in a refreshing way.
Let’s talk about episode 9’s highlights.
The Drama
Y’all, Shuga went off this episode. And then, so did Jasmine. It was fabulous to watch, I love seeing queens snip at each other from time to time. So here’s what happened… At the MVQ point-giving party (where Jasmine broke down crying because she wasn’t top two), Jasmine gives her point to Joey (which makes Sam mad), Sam gives her point to Shuga because she rightly assumes she’ll get one back from her, Shuga gives Sam her point, Joey gives her point to Jasmine. Once again, a one-for-one swap between queens, however, the drama that came out of this!
Shuga becomes alerted to Sam and Jasmine’s alliance when she sees the doll apologize to her new bestie. This has her regretting giving her point to Sam. She felt she should’ve given it to Joey and continues to feel that manipulation into the next week. Shuga brought up her regret in the Werk Room, saying she felt like Sam got one over on her. Jasmine and Sam are pissed. Jasmine kind of goes off on Shuga saying this is the game, that’s how it’s played. It created a tension that lasted through a good chunk of the episode until Jasmine and Sam apologized to Shuga. One thing’s for certain, it was very enthralling seeing Shuga get buck; one her original season, she fell into the background a lot.
The Challenge
Onto the main challenge and I got to say, this was one of my favorite new challenges in a long time. Everyone did well and I laughed so much. This was a nice treat for those of us who never saw “The RuPaul Show” when it was on air because we were too young. Every queen had to play both RuPaul and one of her iconic celebrity guests and the footage was then spliced to get together for the lip sync.
- The RuShuga and Cher interview was the highest energy I’ve seen from Shuga this season. She was doing A LOT in her Ru role, it was over the top drag. Her Cher was fine, but you could tell she wasn’t as comfortable in that role versus the host,
- Sam did one of the best Anna Nicole Smith impersonations I’ve ever seen. She has her mannerisms down to a T. I personally didn’t enjoy her Ru as much, something about it was offputting.
- Hershii did a ridiculous Patti LaBelle and, holy shit, she crushed this. Both her Ru and Patti were excellent, especially her Patti. When she pulled out the glasses and notebook, I cackled.
- Jasmine did Tammy Faye Messner, who I know less about, but she did a great job with her. However, her Ru impersonation reminded me of Trixie’s Snatch Game. It was a bit awkward and edited strangely.
- Kennedy’s Eartha Kitt was so deeply unhinged, I had to rewatch it multiple times. She really went all the way camp with it, just wacky as shit.. I liked her Ru and the giant notecards were a great gag.
- Joey’s Bea Arthur really stole the show. Her Ru was honestly not memorable to me. As Bea, I loved her pulling her wig slightly off her head and other little quirks she did.
The Runway
The category is: David Bowie—Icon and I’m usually not the biggest fan of celebrity runways. I like to see original or creative looks and a lot of times, the queens do exact replicas of the looks, which I find dull. This was an impressive runway, though, everyone did something pretty unique.
- Shuga did the striped jumpsuit with wide pants from the Aladdin Sane leg of the Ziggy Stardust tour and it looks like an almost exact replica. The hair and makeup give perfect Bowie. Not usually a fan of exact copies, but this look is already so draggy and out there. You can’t perfect perfection.
- Joey had Bowie’s big wings look from his Glass Spider Tour. The look is very draggy but less impactful than Bowie’s original.
- Sam’s got the Ziggy Stardust glam down. I love the Sam Star-branded cape and mullet hair.
- Hershii’s yellow and striped outfit was so visually striking. It has the perfect balance of homage and doing her own thing with it.
- Kennedy played in a bit of cosplay with Bowie’s costume from “Labyrinth” and it’s so dramatic and glittery. I love this hair on her.
- Jasmine had my favorite look by far. This mint suit is a great play on what Bowie wore to the Freddie Mercury tribute. The collar and giant tie forming a halter top is genuinely great design.
The Guest
The guest judge was Bronwyn Newport and I have no clue who she is, but she gave really sweet critiques and seemed super happy to be there. I loved her calling out Shuga and her both wearing Garo Sparo (from Project Runway and famed costume designer), it was a cute moment between the two.
Something must’ve been in the water this episode because Law Roach was actually being very congenial with his critiques. Even he was surprised by his lack of barbs. Maybe he was in a good mood!
The Winner
The way the judging went, it was kind of hard for me to gauge who would be in the top two. It could’ve been anybody except for Hershii. Ru announced Sam and Kennedy are the top two by the look on Jasmine’s face, you’da thought Ru slapped her. As the bottom four queens settle in the back, Jasmine gets over her shock and moves quickly into planning mode with Joey, suggesting they pool their points to get either her or Hershii in the next round. Sidenote: it’s kind of crazy to me that Joey Jay came back, slayed, charmed the hell out of Ru, and yet, has nothing to show for it. I feel for her.
Meanwhile, the top two put on a very fun show. It was a pretty even lip sync with both being excellent at what they do, but I liked Kennedy’s performance just a little more than Sam’s. And Ru agreed, awarding her second win.
At the MVQ ceremony, everyone gives their point to Jasmine, tying her her with Sam. Ru had to break the tie, but decides not to, sending THREE girls from this bracket to move on. It’s her show, she can do what she wants.
The Wild Card
And just when this episode couldn’t get more fun, Ru and Michelle decide eliminated queens that will get entered into the Wild Card lottery: Morgan McMichaels, Salina EsTitties, and Joey Jay. We’ll find out next episode, who got selected! I loved this little bit.
The Untucking
This was a fun, final “Untucked” for this bracket. It wasn’t the most dramatic, but these queens are so endearing they made every moment worth watching.
- Hershii had sadface because she got the worst critiques, she wished this wasn’t the last runway and leaving that last impression.
- Sam admits, in her talking head, that Shuga was on to her strategy so she’s worried about her position if she’s not in the top.
- It’s extremely tickling that Joey wrote all of their scores in lipstick on the mirror so they can do math on potential points.
- Jasmine trying to subtly work out a deal with Hershii and getting called out by Same was funny as hell. Hershii, for what it’s worth, is keeping her cards close to her chest.
- I was screaming at Kennedy walking around for half of “Untucked” in Hershii’s runway wig.
- Jasmine is so geeked about moving on to the merge, without even having to lip sync again.
Final Thoughts
This was a fantastic bracket. There was a magical concoction created here when they brought these six queens together. They gelled so well and all, in their own ways, made Ru laugh a lot. I think Ru had the most fun during this bracket than the others. Also the top three of the bracket makes complete sense and didn’t feel overly produced. Next, we head into the merge! One of the best crossovers in “All Stars” herstory.
Season 11 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” and “Untucked” streams weekly on Fridays on Paramount+.
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