Hey kitty girls! RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is back for a fourth season and some of our very favorite queens are competing again for a spot in the Drag Race Hall of Fame. Episode one had a ton of twists and turns, so let’s get into it!
Monique Heart from season ten was the first to walk in the workroom and her confessional look is the greatest. Brown cow, stunning! Then came Trinity ‘The Tuck’ Taylor from season nine and she entered in a body bag. She talked about how she’s evolved from her season, realizing she is more than just a pageant queen, she also thrives with comedy. Naomi Smalls from season eight walked in next, looking stunning as always. Monét X. Change, the reigning miss congeniality from season ten followed Naomi. She admits her runways from her season are a bit questionable. I can’t wait to see how she’s evolved. Up next was Gia Gunn and she wanted us all to know this fresh tilapia is now seasoned. She is openly transgender, an issue that has sparked debate with RuPaul in the past. I think it’s amazing she’s on the show, plus she’s as shady as ever. Then came miss Farrah Moan from season nine. She felt she was cast too early. She has blossomed post-show, so it will be fun to watch her this time. Jasmine Masters is here, and she has something to say. Our favorite season seven queen is back and filled with all the catchphrases. The fan favorite is here, Valentina! There will be no Farrah and Valentina drama this time, kids. They have since rekindled their friendship.
Saved by the ooh girl, RuPaul entered the workroom. Everyone thought eight seemed like a low number for a cast, and of course, they were right. Our twist this season is the return of Manila Luzon and Latrice Royale. This is an early Christmas gift, I cannot wait to see these two back in the competition. The rules stay the same, the top two queens will lipsynch for their legacy and a $10,000 tip. The good news is Latrice and Manila will get to compete on their own! No teams, none at all.
It was time for the mini challenge and as we know, reading is fundamental. The reading challenge is always a hit. Farrah and Gia struggled a bit, but everyone else had some great reads. Especially Latrice’s read to Jasmine Masters, welcoming her to a season people will actually care about. The winner of the mini challenge was Latrice, her second reading challenge win!
For the maxi challenge, it’s another variety show! The queens had to perform their best talents in front of an audience of LGBTQ active service men and veterans. While the queens were prepping for the talent show, Gia Gunn started throwing shade at Farrah. She seems to think Farrah isn’t All Star material. She asked who everyone thought would be in the bottom, although they hadn’t even done the show yet. She went for Trinity’s performance idea. Gia came ready to stirr the pot.
Carson Kressley, Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews, and Jennifer Lewis joined RuPaul on the judge’s panel to watch the girls performances. Monique Heart debuted her new song Brown Cow Stunning with a great performance. The judges ate it up, Ross was even singing along. Naomi Smalls did a fun number about fashion and posing, doing what she does best. Gia did a traditional Kabuki performance. Trinity did a hilarious performance about tucking, which of course had RuPaul cracking up. My favorite part about the variety show was actually Jennifer Lewis’ reaction to the queens.
Then came Farrah, doing burlesque on a giant highlighter compact. She slipped and fell and it shook her up a bit, but she regained her composure to finish the number. Monét X. Change was up next and she did what we loved seeing her do on her season, lipsynch! She is one of the most entertaining queens to watch perform. Also, shout out to her sponge outfit and the lyrics of her song, soak it up. Manila Luzon channeled her inner Bob Ross and made art? Everyone was very confused, but it turned out great. Jasmine Masters also did what she does best, talk. Her standup performance was a live-action Instagram post. It was a little too intense for the audience, I think. Latrice put on a color guard performance and it was everything I could have wanted. Can we please just give her the crown already? Valentina closed out the show, showing us she can actually lipsynch. She would like to take it off, please.
It was time for the judge’s critiques. Gia, Manila, Latrice, and Valentina were safe. Monique, Trinity, and Naomi all got great critiques and were clearly in the top. The judges were a bit over Monet’s sponge schtick. Michelle and Ross gave Farrah some much-needed reassurance to boost her confidence after her fall. RuPaul loved Jasmine’s pantsuit. Thankfully, the judges agreed Jasmine is hilarious although her jokes didn’t land. Trinity and Monique were the top two of the week, while Farrah and Jasmine landed in the bottom two.
The queens returned to the workroom while the judges tooted their own horns. The top two queens pulled aside the bottom two to discuss how they would handle the competition in the future if they were to stay. Monique wants to see Farrah succeed and not cry when things go wrong. Jasmine also said Farrah is a bit too sensitive for the competition when pleading her case to Trinity. Farrah made it clear the fall is what set her back and that she plans to fight and stop crying. Jasmine didn’t fight for a spot, while Farrah did. Monique wanted to send them both home after speaking to them!
Trinity and Monique took the stage to perform to Mariah Carey’s Emotions. Thank you Drag Race gods for finally giving us this song. Monique’s wig fell off, so naturally, she threw it up to the ceiling. The best part was watching the crew take it down after. This lipsynch was so fun to watch and both performed with so much energy. The win went to Trinity and she chose to send home America’s sweetheart, Jasmine Masters. Life isn’t fair. Next week the queens will be performing in supergroups with STACY LANE MATTHEWS. We have been given a gift to make up for what has been taken from us this week. Whose team are you on? Sound off in the comments below. Now that Stacy is returning, I am team Stacy. Telling me she is only on for one episode isn’t going to change my mind, nice try.
