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Let's Talk 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3' Episode 6: Drag Con Panel

By Kristy Puchko | TV | April 27, 2018 |

By Kristy Puchko | TV | April 27, 2018 |


DragRaceKumail.jpg

Last night on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the queens teamed up for a Drag Con challenge, while Pajiba favorites Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon played extra special guest judges. One queen had a roaring comeback, while an early frontrunner ended up in the bottom two!

SPOILERS BELOW!

After two weeks in the bottom two, comedy queen Monét X Change had a lot to prove going into the Drag Con Panel challenge. After Asia turned the “Sitting on a Secret” mini-challenge into a (sitting on) cake walk, the queens split into teams. And Monét didn’t get picked as much as she got stuck with Eureka—who others complain is too vocal—and Kameron Michaels—who is considered too quiet. But this trio quickly bonded, came up with a catchphrase and slayed in the challenge, while cheering, “PROPORTIONIZING!”

Their Team Body panel actually gave useful information about how to shift whatever body into a more curvy, traditionally feminine one. They demonstrated aptly on their Pit Crew assistant, and they managed to keep it funny! However, Kameron’s lucky they were judged as a team. While’s she’s finally coming out of her shell, she didn’t dress to impress and made the mistake of talking about shaping while sitting staunchly behind the table. Meanwhile, Monét had a strong comeback and brought none of her self-doubts to the stage. But she was bested by Eureka, whose comes alive in front of a crowd! She was the victor, which makes this the second win in a row for the season nine returnee!

Asia O’Hara and Aquaria should be thanking Monique Heart. She single-handedly saved Team Face by setting the tone of informative and fun as a moderator, and actually using the Pit Crew member who was onstage for demonstrations. After that Asia and Aquaria demonstrated on themselves, while wide shots kept cutting to the forgotten hottie in the chair. On top of that, they were performing dueling demonstrations, which made both difficult to follow. Good god get it together before the real Drag Con comes calling!

That left The Vixen, Miz Cracker and Blair St. Clair in the bottom. And frankly, they had it coming. Their wig panel felt completely careless. For reasons unknown they opted out of having a moderator, so it quickly devolved into the three exchanging jokes and barbs, few of which landed. But props to the Vixen for “I’m African-Merkin.” Ru and the other judges called them out for the woeful lack of information the panel actually provided. And oof the irony that when asked for actual tips on how to style a wig, their advice was “ask someone more experienced.” THAT’S LITERALLY THE POINT OF THIS PANEL, LADIES!

When it came to the “Hat’s Incredible Runway,” Miz Cracker saved herself from the bottom two with her My Hair Lady look, in which she spun her icy blond wig into an outrageous Audrey Hepburn fantasy.

Blair brought Kentucky derby style to the runway, and defended her sugary sweet persona, explaining that it’s her way of coping with an ugly part of her past. In a tearful moment, Blair shared that she is a rape survivor.

It was a heart-breaking moment, but we cheer Blair’s bravery, vulnerability, and resilience. After the judges made their decision, she returned to the runway ready for the lipsync. And while she gave a lovely performance, The Vixen’s more audacious and stunt-packed take on “I’m Coming Out” won the day.

It was a surprise to see Blair go home so soon. She’d been in the top three weeks in a row, then fell into safe before this. Season 10 is not playing around. One bad day can send even the strong queens packing.

And can we take a moment to appreciate Nanjiani and Gordon? They were clearly living for the moment on the runway.

And they took the responsibility of helping to determine the next drag superstar very seriously.

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Next week on RuPaul’s Drag Race, the remaining queens will face off in the show’s most popular and challenging event: SNATCH GAME! And we’ll get a visit from season six winner—and my personal favorite queen—Bianco Del Rio!

What’d you think of this ep of RuPaul’s Drag Race?