And then there were four. Again. Thursday’s penultimate episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6 began by welcoming one queen back to the competition, then ended by crushing another queen’s dream entirely.
Let’s start with the “twist” that we all saw coming: Despite winning — nay, crushing — six lip syncs in a row, Silky Nutmeg Ganache was once again sent sashaying away. Instead, the coveted fifth spot went to Eureka, which means we can pretty much forget that the whole “game within a game” thing even happened.
Moving on, this week’s mini challenge was a Levi’s-sponsored Pride photo shoot. I’m not sure why they would do a Pride-themed challenge in the month of *checks calendar* August, but at least it wasn’t as disastrous as when the Season 12 queens did a Frozen-themed runway… while the Broadway show was shut down due to the pandemic… and shortly before Disney finally announced it was closing for good. Oof. Anyway, a surprisingly covered-up Kylie Sonique Love slayed this challenge, earning a well-deserved win.
As for this week’s maxi challenge, the queens were tasked with telling personal stories from their lives as drag queens for a production of The Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent Monologues — and the final results were all over the (Alec) map(a).
Ra’Jah O’Hara told a funny story about her overconfidence as a baby queen, including her first-ever tuck fail; Kylie recalled her first time in drag, which was also the first time she ever felt that her femininity was celebrated; Trinity K. Bonet opened up about getting catfished, only for that fish to reveal that Trinity’s openness about her HIV status actually saved her life; Ginger shared a lovely memory about her mother gifting her a pair of “ruby slippers” as a young gay child; and Eureka regaled the judges with a story about, well, accidentally crapping herself after doing a split. Like I said, it was a mixed bag. All nuts.
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Speaking of splits, this week’s “Fashionable Fashion Fails” runway found the queens sporting less-than-perfect looks, from Trinity’s safety-pinned gown to Ginger’s burnt-hair-don’t-care prom ensemble. And while I loved watching Kylie pull a corn dog out of her skirt, I wasn’t expecting her to actually eat it. That’s commitment right there.
I also wasn’t expecting Eureka to be named the winner of this week’s competition. I love me some Eureka, but her monologue didn’t floor me, and her runway look was nothing to write home about. Giving her the win felt more like the show’s way of proving that they picked the right queen to come back.
I’m not going to lie, I was kind of hoping that this week’s lip sync assassin would turn out to be Silky, even if it was just another Bianca Del Rio fake-out moment. (Remember when that happened? Damn, this season really has been on for a long time.) Of course, I was more than thrilled to see the one and only Jaida Essence Hall take the stage. She’s an incredibly talented queen whose reign pretty much got the shaft (thanks, pandemic!), so I’m always down to give her another moment in the spotlight.
And the surprises didn’t stop there. I mean, come on… Little Richard’s “Good Golly, Miss Molly”? Kennedy Davenport would like to have a word. And given her history of winning, I was fully prepared for Jaida to wipe the floor with Eureka, but the Elephant Queen is also not one to be underestimated. Eureka brought the moves, she gave a stunning ru-veal and she pulled out a literal clown nose to complete her look. At that point, I actually thought Eureka would walk away with the win, but I also didn’t disagree with Ru’s decision of a tie.
In accordance with All Stars rules (“of which there are many!”), this meant that both queens whose lipsticks were chosen would get the chop. The group chose Trinity, which didn’t entirely surprise me… but when Eureka also chose her? The goopery! I know it couldn’t have been an easy decision, especially considering how close Eureka and Trinity have become this season, but was it the right one?
I’m not so sure. I understand that rules are rules, but this just feels wrong somehow. As Trinity said earlier in the episode, “I earned that Top 4 spot, and now I’m just sad that it could be taken away from me.” And taken it was.
OK, let’s talk: Was Eureka the right queen to return to the game? And should Trinity really have gotten the boot? Weigh in via our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts ahead of next week’s finale.
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