RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: Rudemption and Rupeating Past Mistakes (Episode 3.2)

Logo courtesy of VH1.

I already miss Morgan McMichaels. Sure, she was a hardcore bitch who was a hot mess in last week’s challenge but she brought a hardness to the competition which is desperately needed in a show where the queens are concerned so much at not coming off as antagonistic to not upset their fans. BenDeLaCreme spends so much time agonizing over how much she hated sending Morgan home and the other queens rightfully point out they don’t buy the act. Thankfully Aja is around to stir up some drama by saying she would have sent home Chi Chi if she had won the lip-sync. I agree with that choice: Morgan showed more promise than Chi Chi did in that first act.

But if I learned anything from Season 8, it is that Chi Chi knows how to make a comeback.

No mini-challenge this week, instead the queens are hurled right into their maxi-challenge which is another All-Star mashup lip-sync combined with celebrity impersonation. Thorgy Thor immediately launches into her typical conspiracy theories, thinking that she has been set up to fail after being assigned Stevie Nicks. Sure, Stevie is less overtly comedic than divas like Mariah Carey and Dolly Parton, but there is plenty of comedy to be found. As a comedy queen, Thorgy should be able to find the humor in almost anything. It’s already clear that she is going to sabotage herself in the same way she did on her season.

Milk is feeling really great about Celine Dion. Eternally obscure, she opts to wear Celine Dion’s dress from last year’s Met Gala. Trixie asks what we are all thinking “who knows what Celine Dion wore to the Met Gala?” Big and Milky insists Celine’s fashion star is on the rise while the other queens (and I) roll their eyes.

Doing her best to channel Mariah Carey, Shangela serves the most humorous rehearsal performance in RuPaul's Drag Race herstory.
Photo Courtesy of VH1

In typical Drag Race fashion, the rehearsal process (overseen by the stunning Todrick Hall) is tragic. None of the queens are able to pick up on the “complicated” choreography Todrick is throwing their way. Surprisingly, Kennedy is having the hardest time picking up her steps. She has the hardest choreography, sure, but she is also the best natural dancer in the competition. Just goes to show that being able to turn a party doesn’t mean that you can follow steps someone else gives you.

Shangela may be frustrating to work with but her “method acting” as an overly dramatic and divalicious Mariah Carey is to die for. Her sassy comebacks to Todrick and the other queens make for one of the most entertaining rehearsal processes. It is already clear she will slay the scene.

The lip-sync isn’t quite as amazing as last season’s Herstory of the World just because it feels a little more disjointed this year. Milk does an okay job and looks nice but she’s painted as Milk and not really as Celine—if you’re going to wear an obscure outfit you should try to paint yourself like your celebrity a little more. Kennedy is a sloppy Janet Jackson and seems to be unsure in what she’s doing throughout. She also misses half of the words. Aja once again surprises me with a very funny Amy Winehouse which, at times, reminded me of Season 6 Adore Delano.

Once the song hits it’s middle, the better performances emerge. Chi Chi Rudeems herself from last week’s disaster with an overly energetic Patti LaBelle. Trixie gets to channel her new aesthetic as a folk country music star with Dolly Parton. For the funniest queen in the competition, however, she doesn’t serve as much humor as I wanted. Shangela has the easiest time with her content as an overly dramatic Mariah Carey. That being said, she really elevates the material to be more than funny: she’s a showstopper.

Poor Thorgy Thor has to follow Shangela with a too-accurate Stevie Nicks. She doesn’t really understand the point of the challenge: to be an over-the-top version of their assigned diva. Following that train wreck is Ben DeLaCreme serving up a British queen that is right up her alley: Julie Andrews. The shtick is definitely one that calls for excessive humor but she also has the most difficult lip-sync with “Call Me Mother,” Ru’s most wordy tune. Bebe once again proves why she won this competition with a spot-on Diana Ross which rounds out the performance nicely.

The queens serve it up as some of the biggest Divas of our time.
Photo courtesy of VH1.

The runway this week is perhaps my favorite of all time: Rudemption. Each queen gets to redo an outfit they royally f***ed up on their season and (mostly) the queens don’t disappoint. Notably, Shangela takes the horrendous Christmas outfit she made in Season 3 and turns into a real life snow-globe on the runway-complete with giant Zorba ball and everything. None of the other queens come close to serving as much glamour as she does, but DeLa successfully drowns herself in jewels to Rudeem the Dripping in Jewels Eleganza look which previously sent her packing.

Interestingly, Thorgy and Chi Chi both attempt to Rudeem the same look (the neon runway from Season 8) and each falls flat. Maybe that just wasn’t a good runway theme? 

For those who love a good laugh, you’ll eat up Kennedy’s look. She Rudeems her Season 7 Death Becomes Her ensemble and keeps the story the same “after a long night of hooking, trade didn’t like the session. So he had gutted me and set me on fire. But you know I didn’t die… I had crystallized. Now I’m a glamazon bitch ready for the runway.” I still don’t get the story but she finally nails the look.

Ru names Shangela, Bebe and Ben to the top three while sentencing Trixie, Aja and Milk to dreaded safe-land. Milk is none too thrilled about her position with the safe girls. She feels like she turned it in the challenge (she did fine) and that her runway finally served glamour the judges felt they never got during her season. While her runway was glamourous, Trixie says it best in a floating head interview by saying it lacked any of the charm which made people fall in love with Milk.

Alas, that means Chi Chi lands in the bottom for the second time along with Thorgy and Kennedy. Chi Chi’s spot here is more due to her lackluster runway performance. Synched as she may be, inspiring she is not. Thankfully Thorgy and Kennedy royally screwed the challenge and Chi Chi runs off to safety with our Cameroon queen. Shangela and BenDeLaCreme must now begin the uncomfortable process of determining who they want to give the boot. Deliberations are amusing, as Thorgy insists that she will have Shangela’s back when she lands in the top (which is unlikely to happen). I don’t hold anything against Thorgy, but this is not her environment—she just can’t handle the pressures of a competition.

For the lip-sync, Ben and Shangela serve up one of the best cohesive performances for The Pointer Sisters’ “Jump.” Each queen hits some quality moments: Shangela begins jump roping on stage and Ben has a zip-up skirt that pulls off for a nice reveal. Smartly, Ben sees Shangela is becoming the star of the lip-sync and does a wonderful job of playing the dorky white girl who is trying to keep up with her cool friend. The bit goes on a little too long for her sake, however, and Shangela hijacks the performance and shines so brightly that Ru has no choice but to crown her that week’s winner. If House of Edwards knows one thing it is how to lip-sync and turn the party.

Shangela kicks Thorgy to the curb. Unlike last week’s elimination, this choice makes a lot of sense to me. Neither on her season nor as of yet in All Stars has Thorgy demonstrated the ability to get out of her head and let her drag shine. For a clown, her time on the show has been humorless. For her sake, I hope her time has ended with Drag Race. She is much better staying in her element and being the Thorgeous creation she is.

Was it Thorgy's time to go? Should another queen have been sent packing? Sound off below!

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