‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ S6E7 Recap: Not Not This
Way harsh, Ru.
Between telling Scarlet Envy that she makes him “uncomfortable” (but the other Scarlet? You’re a star!) and that Jan lacks “soul”, RuPaul isn’t holding back on which All Stars queens he deems filler.
Just like in S12, All Stars 6 has been gunning to make Jan crack: her critiques about being inauthentic make sense, but alternating between praising her high energy (E4, E6) and criticising it (E5, E7) left her confused with where to go.
As I said last week, Jan could’ve used some time off between S12 and AS6 to better understand what went wrong in the first run. But then again, would the show have cast her if they thought she wouldn’t have a meltdown?
Still, Jan didn’t have a bad showing this season, as having a rudemption win and an elimination that lets her fanbase say she was ‘robbed’ will only boost her standing. Jan will be fine, but they really twisted the knife with those lipstick reveals.
Just a week after the queens wondered what would happen in the event of a voting tie between the council vote (excellent foreshadowing!), we found out that it comes down to the challenge winner’s lipstick.
Imagining the alternate timeline where Yara Sofia remained and lip-synced against Alexis…
Let’s get this straight. Jan thinks she’s safe when S3/AS1/AS5 winner Alexis Mateo pulls out Pandora’s name. Then, she thinks it’s a double-elim as her name is also pulled out. Then she’s given hope she’ll stay when it’s deemed a tie-breaker before TKB pulls her name. THEN, as she’s packing, RuPaul tells her she’s coming back for the ‘game within a game’. Way harsh, Ru!
This week, the queens were asked to exploit their traumas again, but this time for verses in an ‘uplifting’ pop song, ‘Show Up Queen’. Those who played along were rewarded, while those who were reluctant to trauma-mine during Pink Table Talk (Pandora, Jan, Kylie) faltered again.
“we want you to access the one memory from your childhood that wakes you up gasping for air in the middle of the night, dripping with sweat, fearing for your life…. but make it funny!”
— etcetera ɐɹǝʇǝɔʇǝ | STREAM #FLUSH (@glamourbug) July 29, 2021
“It Makes My Anus Pucker”
This week, the queens pretend to like one of RuPaul’s ugliest suits yet before splitting into groups.
Ra’Jah and Kylie choose teammates, and Pandora is unlucky last — her talent show number was a song, sure, but it was a song about how she can’t dance. Not exactly a show of confidence, and she oozes discomfort all episode long.
Beyond the dancing, this week’s challenge is about detailing what you’ve overcome to be a fierce diva boots queen, and as evident in the Pink Table Talk challenge, Pandora doesn’t really like to play any personal cards.
She chats a little about being ‘painfully shy’ as a child, but it’s clear that reservation remains. Pandora doesn’t want to play the Drag Race game outside of her own comforts, which means, as much as I love her as a queen, she’s not a great reality TV show contestant.
Ginger, meanwhile, understands the assignment.
Later, in Untucked, she hints at dark moments in her life, but you can see her pausing to choose her words and not revealing too much (though in S2, she did mention she’s previously tried to end her life). It’s entirely fair to not detail your worst moments on TV, but it’s unfortunately also what she signed up for: performances aside, if she doesn’t offer that ‘human’ spark, she won’t get rewarded.
Pandora’s excelled quietly all season bar this episode, but I really just want one shining moment for her before she leaves. Next week’s Snatch Game seems like her moment: that’s something to pucker up for, Pandora.
The queens record their verses with Leland and Freddie Scott, who coach them through it but then forget to mix the track or make any of the lyrics decipherable. Trinity takes the lead on choreo for her group while the trio of Eureka!, Ginger and Kylie squabble over every little step: no harm though, as none of these moves really seem to be in the performance later on?
Before the track premiere, Ru also has a walkthrough moment where Kylie tells him that by writing “self-love” in her copy of one of his books, he unlocked something within her. Later in Untucked, the queens all gush about Ru’s power in person, which is painful to watch but probably all very genuine.
Hearing them talk, I was reminded of Busy Phillips talking about narcissists a few weeks back on Las Culturistas — how they can channel all their energy onto you and leave you completely spell-bound. This is why I, despite anything, would kill for Ru and Michelle to pierce my soul.
‘Show Up Queen’ Has Single-Handedly Ended The Lizzo-fication Of Pop Music, Destroying Any Appeal Of Self-Love Bangers
Pictures says a 1000 words, but this one screams them.
This week’s performance is fine: it’s pretty clear that Trinity and Ra’Jah are the tops of the week.
Maybe I’m just a little emotional man due to five weeks of lockdown, but Ginger’s line “didn’t want to show up because I knew I’d be dissed/but if I didn’t show up, look what y’all woulda missed” hit hard!
Still, my favourite line was Eureka’s “equal rights and self-love is the true pandemic”, because it accidentally equates equal rights and self-love as diseases killing our society. Go off alt-right legend!!
Pandora might lack energy, but Jan’s the worst of the week. Her verse would suit a song in the vein of ‘I’m That Bitch’, but it misses the mark on the ‘vulnerability’ of the challenge.
Between that misread and her later confessional where Jan claims she was voted out because she’s a ‘threat’ and that the world will be ‘disappointed’ that she’s gone so soon, Jan’s giving delusion this epsiode. She remains the Rachel Berry of drag, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Meanwhile, guest judge Zaldy is giving titty. Thank you Zaldy.
Go on…
This week’s runway is based off The White Lotus.
Eureka comes as a beach ball that the teenage boy will try to fuck when a self-imposed porn ban turns him mad; Ginger and Jan both come as Jennifer Coolidge.
Alternatively, Eureka was fully prepped to also do Katy Perry in the SuperBowl challenge.
TFW you’ve recieved a life-changing massage and are ready to let go of your mother’s ashes.
Pandora is the wallpaper in the show’s credits, and Kylie embodies the spirit of the college girls who read Paglia and fucking hate the world while looking cool.
Okay but if this meant Murray Bartlett was against me, I’d become wallpaper too.
Tell me this isn’t Sydney Sweeney energy!
Trinity and Ra’Jah both point fingers at the show’s critique of whiteness, questioning whether self-awareness simply upholds the privilege it seemingly attacks.
Alternatively, me when Murray Bartlett propositions Steve Zahn.
Trinity nabs the win above Ra’Jah for spending $127,000 on feathers (whoa), and is now officially the front-runner of the show. Despite Eureka thinking the assassin’s silhouette looked like Madame LaQueer, Alexis Mateo comes out to crush a J-Lo track.
It’s pretty even until TKB loses her wig, which is a death sentence for no real reason. My inner-conspiracy theorist says it was intentional so the producers could get their double-lipstick gag, but who really cares?
This is still stunning!
Jan says goodbye, and we’re already at the top six. Next week’s episode is Snatch Game (of love… fine…), which hopefully nabs Pandora her first win.
But when the hell is this ‘game within a game’ happening. And given it’s so late, won’t it feel a little unfair for a queen to come back so late into the mix?
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6 streams on Stan, with episodes arriving each Thursday 7 pm AEST.
Jared Richards is Junkee’s Drag Race recapper, and a freelance writer for The Guardian, NME, The Big Issue and more. Follow him on Twitter @jrdjms.