Drag Race All Stars E5: RuVenge is a Dish Best Served With Love...
Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 9:48PM By Nathaniel R
How is RuPaul's Drag Race doing it this season? Eight years into the RuVerse and despite a trainwreck of a first attempt with All Stars, All Stars Season 2 is arguably earning its rather instant rep as "Best Season Evah, Yaaaas." The first season, an ill considered 'doubles' event was echoed if you will in Episode 5's "Ru-Venge" narrative in which the eliminated queens were brought back and chose comedy partners from the remaining queens. Somehow even this unmistakable reminder of Season 1's slog of watching divas drag basic bitches around like dead weight behind them transcended the concept.
It helps I think that RuPaul is playing with the format more than ever. Usually when stars have nothing left to prove they coast. Ru did win a long deserved Emmy recently and dont you forget it. (Logo won't let you, bless.) But America's favorite Drag Superstar is making fun of coasting itself while pushing her own envelope playfully.
RuPaul scrapbooking instead of working. Hee.
The funniest meta bit in each episode is hearing what RuPaul and the judges will be doing while the competition Queens deliberate who should be sent home (since they've taken over the judging duties) -- this week it was scrapbooking. Ha! It's a delightful inversion of the "work" of a reality show panel with the open secret being that the Queen Mother and her Squirrelfriends have always been having a fucking ball. What is "work"? Oh, yes, you mean "WERQ!"
awkward hugs, villain edits, and NSFW Alaska after the jump...
Phi Phi and Alyssa hug it out. Sort of. Awkwarrrrrd.
Speaking For Us All...
That hug was like Obama hugging Donald Trump. Unh-unh.
-Coco Montrese
Best RuVeal: Phi Phi O'Hara's toxic personality was not an editing invention. A reality show can't create a villain narrative from whole cloth unless a contestant is giving them the clips to work with. Phi paid constant lip service to redemption but she was still the same shady lady inside. Even her hugs were disingenuous and when she refused to hug Alyssa a second time (awkward hug part 2 in absentia) it was yet another bright spotlight on her flaws. It was so satisfying to see her go because she's an uncomfortable graft from a lesser kind of reality show... and an earlier iteration of this one. You don't need petty infighting for "conflict" or "watchability" when you're attending a televised bukkake party in which you're already drenched in Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent.
Phi Phi... confused by the sight of good sportsmanship and hugging.
Ginger Minj and Katya -- were they too comfortable together? It just didn't quite work.
Episode MVP: Another inversion... as much as the show plays with concept of catfights and rivalries the giddiest element of the show lately (in the flagship show's Season 8, too) is how nice all the queens actually are to each other. Reality Show Pettiness and "I'm Not Here to Make Friends" Automated Bitchery is soooo Early Aughts. Been there, Super-cutted that. Note the ease with which Alaska reigned over the competition with nothing other than her innate confidence and the smarts to zero in on Alyssa's appeal so that they could win the challenge together rather than just trying to win it for herself. Alaska was going to be funny no matter what (it's her gif... I mean gift) so why not raise her partner/competitor's game, too? It benefits them both in the long run and it's good television for everyone to be entertaining.
Best Cameo: Cut to Alexis Matteo when Alaska drops a deadpan "BAM!" from the staahge. (Why wasn't Alexis in this season instead of Coco?!)
Results: In the end Alyssa & Tatiana, who both turned it out in the challenges and lipsynch were invited back by Mama Ru and Phi Phi is finally ousted. My guess is Roxxxy is next to go. But everyone that remains appears to love each other so the eliminations will be point-to-the-heart "ouccchhh"y
Current Ranking: Since Chris has been doing these recaps this is a different ranking than you've been seeing. We all love what/who we love. It seems like we're watching an Alaska coronation this season and I cant disagree as she's slaying every week. Her rise is well timed to the release of her new album "Poundcake". Here's her new very NSFW video "Puppet" in case you haven't seen it.
Alaska Thunderfuck - Puppet [UNCENSORED] from Alaska Thunderfuck on Vimeo.
- Alaska
- Detox
- Katya (actual favorite though she never quite ascends to the challenge in they way one hopes she might)
- Alyssa Edwards back in
- Tatianna back in
- Roxxxy Andrews
- Ginger Minj OUT
- Phi Phi O'Hara OUT (Loathed her, then and now, but she's not actually 'dull' which is the worst thing to be on a TV show like this ... see #9)
- Coco Montrese OUT (weak on her season, weak still. Why was she cast for this?)
- Adore Delano QUIT (self pity is such a buzzkill. I was a huge fan previously)
Gif As Episode Grade:
Reader Comments (20)
This episode was thrilling. I was left aghast at moments. If Phi Phi just accepted the fact that competition makes her go crazy, and accepted the villain role without reservation, I think it would be better for her state of mind and her standing among viewers.
I loved seeing the past queens, but especially Alexis Mateo as she is one of my favourites, but I prefer her catchphrase 'The jig is up.'
For me the MVP was Tatianna. Detox and her together was my favourite comedy duo, she looked incredible, her confessionals were funny as well as insightful and she won the lip-synch in my mind, as I was literally screaming at her dance moves.
All in all, one of the best hours of TV this year.
1-Alaska (WAY above everyone so far)
2-Alyssa (My surprise this season)
3-Katya (would be #2 if more consisting)
4-Detox (Performing WAY better than expected, could be #3)
5-Roxxy (Should go soon, hopefully)
6-Tatiana (Bores the hell out of me, yaw! RU likes her for reason that escape me)
I want an Alaska, Katya and Alyssa or Tatianna top 3. Alyssa has been killing it this season. She's constantly stealing the spotlight in the workroom and consistently doing well at the challenges, minus the acting one. That lip sync between her and Tati is one of the best the show's ever had.
As great as Alaska has been doing, it's weird how little screen time she gets for being the presumed front runner. Her confessionals - when we get them - don't exhibit the lovable queen we saw in season 5. She comes across a little robotic. I'm hoping Katya can reclaim the magic from Snatch Game in these next few episodes, as I want her to win. I find it bizarre she was in the bottom 3 in the acting challenge as her skit was the funniest and she was funnier than Detox. Why was there a bottom 3 that episode to begin with when there was a bottom 2 in the Bad Bitches of Herstory challenge the week prior? They should have more consistency.
Regardless, this the best season ever!
"Why wasn't Alexis in this season instead of Coco?!"
because she was in AS1 [but there were so many other queens who shoulda been there instead of coco
the only thing that could have made this episode better? if roxxxy had caught the bus home with phi phi
1. alaska
2. katya
3. tatianna
4. alyssa
5. detox
6. roxxxy
"a televised bukkake party in which you're already drenched in Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent."
I choked on my laughter reading this. Great recap!
Very same on Katya being the personal favorite who is just not rising above. She seems even more in her head than her original season, which is saying a lot. I was actually rooting for Detox before the season started because people forget how ferocious she is, but she's simply not getting the facetime.
It's exciting to see where the rest of the season will go considering Phi Phi defined so much of the narrative these past weeks. We need a sewing challenge!!
Hands down, best season to date. It makes me sad for the queens in the first All Stars that they didn't get this treatment. Justice for Pandora, Latrice, Raven and Juju!
This is far and away the best Ru season so far though. Tati has certainly grown - that lip sync was better than she ever did in Season 2. Alyssa has stepped up her game and I'm thrilled she's back. Detox seems destined to always land around #4. Katya would be a great winner pick but Alaska is knocking her down week after week. Love seeing everyone's A game and even Roxxxy, who can't keep up, has managed to convince me she has a good heart in there somewhere. Next to Phi Phi, she looks like an absolute angel.
When she refused to hug Alyssa, my two-drinks-in ass was like "RUDE BITCH". She's a sore loser and Alyssa was nothing but classy to her that whole episode.
That lipsync was everything too. Alyssa was doing it but Tati was keeping up. I was horrified when RuPaul said Tati won but got over it when she added on Alyssa. Best lipsync of the season and both of them deserved that win.
With the challenge, i loved Alyssa and Alaska but I'll be honest, I thought Ginger and Katya were more solid. But Ginger should have kept quiet.
"I didn't want you to send me home but if you sent Katya home, i was going to go home anyways." What kind of bullshit logic.
Roxxxy is the next to go. She's been underperforming for the last few episodes now. Katya too. I'm starting to think Katya just came off better in season 7 because of her lack of
competition.
I was so hopeful that Alyssa and Tatiana would send both Phi Phi and Roxxy home so that we could have the best Top Five imaginable.
But I guess I should just be grateful that they let Tatiana back in at all. I was sure that the competition this week was just a ploy to get Alyssa Edwards back in the race.
Can anyone beat Alaska? She is one fire. Love her.
Katya is my second favorite, but I almost feel like the show is working against her. She was saddled with the unfunny Princess Di role a few weeks back and then was unfairly put in the bottom the week of the Thelma and Luise spoof. Love her, but hope she gets her spark back.
And, yes, Alyssa is quite a surprise. She's been awesome.
In terms of performance on this series so far:
1. Alaska
2. Detox
3. Tatianna
4. Katya
5. Alyssa
6. Roxxxxxxy
My overall rankings:
1. Alaska
2. Katya
3. Alyssa
4. Tatianna
5. Detox
6. Roxxxxxy
Roxxxxy needs to go. She's pretty, her redemption story has been real and genuine, but she doesn't have enough entertainment chops to justify having been around this long.
This season has reinvigorated my love of the show - seasons 7 and 8 felt like slogs. I hope producers and future queens take note.
Tati and Detox made me laugh the most, but if we're grading this as a STAND-UP challenge (which, trust, nobody was; it was a pairs sketch-comedy challenge that they just called a stand-up), Alaska/Alyssa and Ginger/Katya were being themselves more.
I feel bad for Phi Phi in that she's getting death threats -- nobody deserves that, especially someone on a reality TV show -- but while she did correctly point out an instance in which she was edited to have a certain reaction (she clocked the background of the couches in the work room), you can't give them what they can't edit. Willam said on his Tumblr that his strategy was to always be smiling so they couldn't give him a mean/bitch edit, and then they used it to call him as "robotic". It's a rough business and while cosplay and performing is definitely for her, REALITY TV IS NOT FOR HER.
The bar I was at squealed at both PP's elimination and the double shantay you stay.
Alexis was on All Stars 1! Although I think the entire cast of All Stars 1 should get a redo of their god awful season.
I love Katya but I feel like this isn't the format for her. She's at her best freewheeling and random; she's an improv queen being pushed into sketch comedy. Katya's charm is Katya, not whatever look or character she has to be every week.
wow i totally forgot Alexis was on All Stars S1. I have blocked that entire season out i guess. The only thing i remember was that Pandora ended up with Mimi
What's up hookers?
This all stars season has been so good I'm worried that season 9 will feel like such a let down in comparison.
I saw so mad that VH1 didn't air this episode... My cable lineup doesn't provide LOGO :(
Ginger did herself absolutely no favors appearing on this show. I find myself doubting her in ways it never would've occurred to me to doubt her...that weird fight she picked with Alyssa insisting she would have "saved" Katya? What was she even talking about.
On her season her brand was "BS detector" and on this show she was such a BS artist. Disappointing. It makes me wonder how much dim bitterness missed her edit on season 7.
My list would be...
1. Alaska
2. Alyssa
3. Katya
4. Tatiana
5. Detox
6. PhiPhi
7. Roxxxxy
I dont get the love for Detox. She has amazing runaway looks, but her performance is pretty average. Though I dislike Phiphi A LOT, I think that she should have gone after Roxxy and Detox, her presence is way more interesting for the show.