By Kristy Puchko | TV | February 16, 2018 |
By Kristy Puchko | TV | February 16, 2018 |
Sparks flew last night in RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 3. Episode four began with a bang when Shangela confronted Trixie Mattel over a shady Thorgy Thor note. Then came the much-anticipated “Snatch Game,” and the shocking possibility of a double elimination. So which queen crumbled and which rose to the top?
et out (LEAVE) right now. @trixiemattel 👋 #AllStars3 pic.twitter.com/pw87mgasN7
— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) February 16, 2018
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
Let’s get real: someone needs to be doing kegel exercises, because that Snatch Game was weak. Yeah, BenDeLaCreme did an on-point Paul Lynde. But doing boy drag’s no longer a daring move, since Kennedy Davenport won with it in season seven.
As for Shangela’s Jenifer Lewis, it was totally competent. But where’s the challenge in making an already bold and hilarious woman funny? Look, Trixie’s Ru fell flat on its pristinely painted face. But at least that queen took a risk. Still, it landed her in the bottom with Chi Chi DeVayne’s clueless Maya Angelou and Kennedy’s underwhelming Phaedra Parks (Real Housewives of Atlanta).
This was a rough one for Trixie fans. First off, she’s dragged into a fight with Shangela, who is really running her Game of Thrones schtick into the ground. Then, she aims high and crashes hard, doing a mediocre RuPaul in front of RuPaul. When Trixie has done Ru on her webseries “UNHhhh,” it’s always with a wink. Going full drag somehow drowned the joke, which is something she realized too late. And damn, did Shangela enjoy raking her over the coals during that elimination speech. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Shangela and Bendela faced off in the lip sync, and pulled off the rare double-win. (Bless the editors for including a cutaway to Shangela realizing her $10k prize just got halved. Face crack!) Now, it was no surprise who Ben would pick. Chi Chi has basically been begging to go home for a couple of weeks now. And look, we love her scrappy attitude and bayou charm. However, she’s just not at the level of the more seasoned queens. Oh, but Miss Shangela. She gives this whole speech about thriving outside the show, and you think for sure she’s talking about Trixie, whose webseries with Katya spun into a Viceland show and has won her legions of loyal fans. But then it’s Chi Chi.
Look. I get it. Shangela’s giving good TV. But she’s getting under my skin. In her previous seasons she came off as an endearing underdog. Now that she’s battling with Ben for the top spot, all her talk about allies, hurt feelings, and the politics of the game are spoiling her allure. Is it just me? Is it just that I am—as my husband accused while watching the ep—“a Trixie apologist?”
Maybe. But have you seen the sheer bliss of this? If you’re short on time, jump to the 7-minute mark for pure magic.
Anyway, this shouldn’t be about Trixie. It was Chi Chi that went home. And to her credit, she did it with grace, and looking better than ever. In the video below, Chi Chi showed love for Trixie, revealed that Kennedy and Bebe Zahara Benet have been mentoring her behind-the-scenes, and the secret she’s been hiding is a USB full of porn.
What did you think of this ep? Are you Team Trixie or Team Shangela? Will my marriage survive this season of Drag Race All Stars? Sound off in comments.