FILM & TV

WEEKLY RUCAP | All Stars is back, henny!

Halleloo, ladies! Rupaul is back, and ready add a third queen to the Drag Race Hall of Fame.

RuPaul’s Drag Race | All Stars 4 Official Trailer

WARNING: THIS RUCAP CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!

Hey kitty girls!

Rupaul is back with her new, legendary All Stars in a bombastic season premier that brought more than a few twists and turns. And despite my many fears, it seems that this season aims to not only match the legendary All Stars 2, but chisel it's own place as one of the best seasons of Drag Race we've ever seen. The queens have come to play and honestly, it's relief. This season has definitely been one of the most talked about seasons of the show's herstory - and I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to the hype.

But this premier did that.

We start the episode with the usual work-room walk-in starting with Trixie Mattel rollerblading through the work room door.

She delivers her, now iconic, "Oh hoooney," before almost falling on her face - but she recovers and even gives us an appropriately corny "And that's how I roll." She's perfectly pink, and sporting some 80s neon bodysuit realness. It was so perfectly Trixie and I lived for it. And she wouldn't be Trixie without throwing a little shade, "There's nobody in here. It's like a Morgan McMichaels meet and greet."

Then we had Season 6 club kid favorite, Milk! Serving some "denim pennochio."

It wasn't my favorite look out of the rest of the queens, but it definitely showed of Milk's ability to own any look she puts on. Plus, her opening line, "I just farted," gave me a good chuckle. And honestly, I picked up some definite diva vibes. It makes sense, Milk has seen a lot of success in her post-Drag Race career - but this is Drag Race, and it wouldn't be Drag Race without a little shade.

Then we have bayou queen, Chi Chi DeVayne!

She wears a beautifully made twist on her original entrance look - it's still trash bags, but they're yellow and they don't actually look like trash bags. She looks stunning, even if she can't keep that hat on her head. Not to mention, she brings a certain level of Southern charm that makes you just like her.

Then we have the permanently peppy Brooklyn queen, Thorgy Thor!

She is serving circus clown realness in probably one of the worst entrance looks I've ever seen. But, she makes up for it with her energy, even though she almost broke her foot on the way in.

Then of course, we have the dead bitch, Morgan McMichaels.

And she is slaying in this look! I've seen Morgan on WOWpresents, and I've seen clips of her stellar drag performances, and I am not surprised that the other queens are intimidated by her. She didn't come to play games, and she wants to make sure that every single contestant knows that.

Next is Aja, scooter-ing through in a delightfully skimpy outfit.

And I have to say it, I love her hair, and her make up shows a lot of improvement over the trainwreck that was season nine. She says she has some unfinished business, and I have to say, I was surprised to see her on the cast list. After all, she just finished Season 9 - but hey, I ain't complaining, 'cause this bitch clearly came to play.

Then there's BenDeLaCreme, wearing an atrocious repurposed dress.

Listen, I love BenDeLa, but come on - that dress looks terrible. And why did she have to do the same exact thing she did for her Season 6 entrance. I think Morgan said it well, she feels a little recycled. But, I can't really hate her, because she's too damned sweet!

Next we have one of my favorite entrances, Kennedy Davenport!

She's back, and she's here to show you that she didn't die, SHE CRYSTALLIZED! Sure, it was in a horrible dress, but I don't even care. She's perfect, she beautiful, and even if she looks like she just threw on a bunch of random stuff on a gross yellow dress.

Then we have Miss Shangela Halleloo herself, back in the world for the third time!

She enters in her iconic box, and then reveals into a very Alyssa Edwards-ian dress. I guess the drag daughter doesn't fall far from the tree. I mean, come on, you cannot tell me that you looked at that bow and didn't hear Alyssa's faint tongue-pop in the distance.

And just as the queens speculate about who the tenth queen is going to be, the sirens go off, signifying Rupaul is about to make his entrance. Everyone is confused, and then Ru enters, looking kind of funky in an all red suit, only to reveal that something seems to be wrong - there's someone missing. And after an agonizingly long wait - the mysterious tenth queen is revealed to be...

NONE OTHER THAN SEASON ONE WINNER, BEBE ZAHARA BENET!

Speculations about the mysterious tenth queen have been going on around the internet for ages. But in the end, it seems all signs pointed to Miss Benet's return. And man, what a return it was. I don't know what it is about her, but she exudes this ethereal energy that makes you feel both at ease and incredibly excited. Even though I already kind of knew it was her - I still felt my breath catch when she entered. I mean, look at her.

And the other queens were absolutely gagging - after all, she did win, how are they supposed to compete with someone who already won? We'll just have to see.

Anyway, after the dust settled, we were treated to a rather lackluster reading challenge. I don't know if everyone was just off or what, but they just didn't read very well. Especially poor Thorgy, who just couldn't seem to get a read out without spending twenty or thirty minutes taking me on some weird journey. BenDeLa ended up winning after delivering a surprisingly nasty set. But honestly, I think Kennedy's, "I hate you," towards someone (I think it was Aja) definitely deserved some sort of recognition.

After the reading challenge, Ru revealed that their first Maxi-Challenge would be another Talent Show ala All Stars 2 - and I'm not even mad. I don't know why I love the talent show idea so much - I think it's because we get to see what these queens think they can bring to the table. Ru also informed them that they would be doing the same form of elimination as last season: The winning queen gets to send one of the bottom two home.

Unfortunately, my excitement was short lived. Half of the queens decided they were all going to be doing the same thing, which was a major let down after the surprisingly diverse set the previous season's queens brought. I expected the show to wind up being just boring.

Boy was I wrong. There was a lot of dancing, sure. We had Shangela provide a perfect Alyssa Edwardian dance routine, but with her own twist. Bebe did an amazing Lion King-esque dance/lip-synch that literally transported me out of my body. Kennedy slayed it, as always, but is it really all that impressive if you expect it? Yes. It is. That was a dumb question. And Aja, Jesus Christ, AJA - she did a FLAWLESS performance that ended with a death drop from the top of a huge box to the ground!

BenDeLa slayed with a parody burlesque performance that involved her ripping off bra, after bra, after bra, revealing increasingly ridiculous pasties. It was hilarious, and honestly, I expected nothing less from her. She and Aja were definitely the highlights of the evening.

Thorgy and Trixie both stood out from the crowd, with Trixie doing a beautiful song with an instrument that I cannot identify. And Thorgy blending drag and violin in a fun little performance. They were different, but unfortunately, they both fell a little flat in terms of energy - especially after Aja.

Then we have the lower end of the spectrum. Morgan tried to perform one of her own mixes, but fell flat - it wasn't that it was bad - it was just boring. Chi Chi decided she wanted to look completely busted, and decided to go out with no heels, no pads, and a wig she got from Party City. And then there was Milk, who delivered a weird and dull performance to one his own mixes that basically included him strapping cardboard dresses to himself.

I wasn't surprised to see Aja and Ben take the top, and Morgan and Chi Chi end up on the bottom. The deliberations were definitely different from the last season, with most of the cast (excluding BenDeLa) agreeing that a "group consensus" wasn't going to work.

They each come out and deliver a fun lip synch to Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda," with Aja doing a more poppy-sexy kind of move, and BenDeLa doing a perfectly shtick-y, fun routine. BenDeLa ends up taking the win and (falsely) stating that the group has come to a consensus and that means that she's going to send... Morgan home!

But, much like last season, I doubt this is the last we'll see of Morgan. After all, Rupaul has her back.

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FILM & TV

WEEKLY RUCAP | Episode 5: Pop Art Ball

This week's episode was the season's first real design challenge - and I've only got one question: Why can't these queens freaking sew?

I've been waiting weeks for a design challenge! Design challenges are the best parts of this show, because it showcases' these queens' knack for style and their overall artistic vision. And you'd think, with all of these queens having been on this show before, that at least a few of them would have learned how to freaking sew - but that just wasn't the case, I guess? Still, this was a solid episode - if not a little boring compared to the previous episodes.

Honestly, though, it did give me a chance to breathe - cause this season has been crazy.

THE POST-CHALLENGE MEET UP

Not much happened, except for some more speculation and questions about how queens were going to vote each other off. There was a sweet moment where Trixie and Shangela talked about each other and how they respect one another - but other than that - it was pretty tame. Shangela is still trying to turn this show into the Game of Thrones of drag, but at this point, I can't even complain anymore.

ASSIGNMENTS

Right off the bat, Rupaul enters dressed as pop art icon, Andy Warhol, and delivers one of the few mini-challenges of the season. (Side bar: What happened to mini-challenges? Remember when they were on every episode?) The queens have to get into some quick drag and do a photoshoot that will later be turned into some beautiful pop art, Andy Warhol style.

The all looked beautiful - but in the end Aja walked away with a year's supply of Hamburger Mary's hamburgers and $2000 dollars!

After that, Rupaul said that this week's challenge would be an Andy Warhol-inspired Pop Art Ball! The queens would have to design two looks: A Soup-er Model look, where they would have to design their own drag branded soup can and wear it out on the runway; and Studio 54 realness, where they design iconic disco looks inspired by Warhol's favorite spot!

The only problem? Only about half of these queens actually know how to sew - and this comes out as soon as the queens start planning everything. Kennedy, Trixie, and Aja feel very confident because they all know how to sew and they're costumes have been pretty solid since they've been back.

The queens who can't sew, Shangela, Bebe, and BenDeLa, are all doing their best. BenDeLa feels okay, because she's won a design challenge with nothing but hot glue alone. However, both Shangela and Bebe get help from Trixie and Aja on their looks.

As the queens get ready to go out onto the mainstage, Shangela attempts to gauge everyone's elimination tactics - and naturally everyone has a different answer. BenDeLa overthinks it, and annoys everybody, while Kennedy says that it doesn't matter, because people are going to do what they're going to do.

CHALLENGE/RUNWAY

Due to the nature of the challenge, I've got a some more intensive thoughts on the two looks:

SOUP-ER MODEL CANS

AJA - Sugar Tits - doesn't really fit her. She wanted to go for this sugary sweet look, and that's just not Aja. She's always been more spicy and fiery. It was a cute can though, so she gets a 6/10.

SHANGELA - Halleloops - this energy inspired fish soup fits her brand to a T, but the can looked like too much and it sounded really gross. 7/10.

TRIXIE - Pep/Abysmal - She delivered a funny and campy soup, with a sharp Trixie wit and an over-the-top design that could only fit Trixie. 9/10

KENNEDY - Grandma Kennedy's something... - Unfortunately, I didn't get Kennedy's name as she ran through her bit. I know it was definitely old and southern - which doesn't really fit Kennedy? But I liked the way the can looked. 5/10.

BEBE - Zaza Spicy Peanut Soup - The can was red and full of dark colors and very understated. It was also Cameroon-inspired, which totally fits Bebe. I loved it. 10/10.

BENDELA - Cream de la Crème - a beautiful can, that is filled with Ben's terminally delightful charm. It really worked for me, in the end. 8/10

STUDIO 54 DISCO REALNESS

AJA - She looked beautiful, and I thought her look didn't totally fit, but she was gorgeous enough that I didn't care. 7/10.

SHANGELA - Ugly. Horrible. One of the worst looks I've ever seen. Honestly, she had these golden records covering her body and she had no silhouette - it was like Season 3, episode 1 levels bad. 3/10.

TRIXIE - Pretty, disco, tacky trash that really fit Trixie in the best way. She really captured her own shape, and it looked astounding. A huge improvement form last week. 10/10.

KENNEDY - She looked very disco, and I loved her outfit so much more than last week - but she had this damned belt that looked cheap as hell and it ruined the whole outfit for me. 7/10.

BEBE - She looked great and this dress was definitely something - but I felt like it looked a little too bulky? I guess it's just me, though. 7/10.

BENDELA - Basic. Nothing to shake a stick at. Meh. I don't have much to say - it wasn't the best, but it also wasn't the worst. 5/10.

The judges ended up reading Aja a lot, which she honestly deserved, because she didn't do her research. She messed up names, and got the 60s mixed up with the 70s - plus her can was also totally not her. They also read Kennedy for her can too, but they enjoyed her dress a lot.

Shangela got read pretty hard, but she took in stride and said that she put her best foot forward. BenDeLa's disco look was always read pretty harshly - at least for BenDeLa - with the judges basically saying they expected 120, and she only gave them 100.

Bebe and Trixies were received very well - the judges loved both of their looks and said that their cans really shined on the runway.

In the end, these were the results:

SAFE: BenDeLa, Kennedy

BOTTOMS: Aja, Shangela

WINNERS: Bebe, Trixie.

(Side bar: I still think Bebe is a mole - even is she won. I know I haven't talked about this before, but these conspiracy have me thinking all kinds of crazy stuff.)

THE LIP SYNCH

This lip synch was a pretty boring rendition of The Boss by Diana Ross - and I say it's boring because it was the same thing we've seen Bebe do before. She stood there and perfectly channeled Ross in her lip synch. Meanwhile, Trixie moved around a lot and flubbed up on the actual lip synching part, but not enough to be considered terrible. I got pretty bored watching it, to be honest.

In the end, Bebe ended up winning and sending Aja home. Admittedly, I would have been disappointed either way. Aja was such a fierce competitor and she started so strong. She really didn't deserve to go home, but neither did Shangela. It was a hard, hard week. I just hope she gets a chance to come back.

AND THEN. AT THE END.

AFTER THE CREDITS. RUPAUL PULLED THIS CRAZY HANDMAID'S TALE THING AND REVEALED THREE QUEENS; BUT THEY DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THEY WERE ACTUALLY FROM THIS SEASON? I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THINK ABOUT THIS? WHAT IS RU DOING? I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT NEXT WEEK.

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WEEKLY RUCAP | Episode 4: All Stars Snatch Game!

I really thought this was going to be a great Snatch Game - and I was sorely disappointed.

Let me tell you something - everybody looks forward to a good snatch game. And with a team like this - a group that has proven to be both funny, and astounding impersonators - it should have been an AMAZING one. Unfortunately, we were given a game that went on too long, and a bunch of drama that grated on my nerves. I don't know what it is about this season, but something isn't right. Is it the weird fabricated mind games? Or is the clear divide between the talented girls and the girls who don't really deserve to be there?

I don't know.

THE POST-CHALLENGE MEET-UP

This episode was absolutely filled with pettiness - and Milk kicked it off postmortem with her mirror message. It didn't phase any of the queens, because everybody knew how shady Milk was. Nothing jumped out at me with this opening - just Kennedy essentially saying that she sent Milk home for discrediting her drag (which she did). And BenDeLa chose Chi Chi because, well, she's been in the bottom four goddamned times.

Then there was Trixie's little, last second observation. She said that no one was safe, because eliminations weren't based on critiques - they were based on relationships. And that's the gospel truth, because that seems to be the only game most of these girls are playing now.

THE ASSIGNMENTS

There weren't any real assignments this go-around. But RuPaul did reveal that we were doing Snatch Game this week! And right away, everybody is excited. They all start talking about how this challenge shows who the best of the best - and who deserves to be there - which is true. I can't think of one Drag Race winner who didn't do a good job on their Snatch Game performance/

There wasn't a lot that happened during the initial set up - except that Shangela was trying to start some beef with Trixie for no reason - except to get into Trixie's head. It starts with Shangela noticing the note she received from Thorgy after Thorgy's elimination. The note says that Shangela is a shady bitch, and all that. And Trixie is confused - because she also kept Milk's note too.

And yeah, it does seem like a shady thing to do - but I don't think Trixie meant anything by it. Especially because it was hung up in her private area - and it's not like Trixie has ever shown any outward aggression towards Shangela in the past. It seemed very fabricated to me - and Kennedy didn't make it any better after she chimed in. It seems that she and Shangela are taking this alliance thing all the way.

Shangela forgives her, but has Trixie on her list.

Other than that, you have RuPaul going around with special guest, Marc Jacobs, and shading all of the queens' choices. The most shaded were Bebe (who chose the amazing Grace Jones) and Shangela, who actually did a last minute switch from Miss Cleo to Jennifer Lewis.

In the end, this was the line up:

Trixie: RuPaul

Chi Chi: Maya Angelou

Poor Chi Chi didn't get a GIF!

BenDeLa: Paul Lynde

BeBe: Grace Jones

Shangela: Jenifer Lewis

Kennedy: Phaedra Parks

Aja: Crystal Labeija

THE CHALLENGE

This Snatch Game went on forever. Like, far too long - and it wasn't even that good. I sat there watching a lot of the queens go through this train wreck - and the issue was that so many queens who should have done well... tanked. Like bad.

Aja and Bebe were okay. Aja gets some major points for being a huge drag icon and educating some of the masses. After all, who is as iconic as the original mother of the Haus of Labeija? And Bebe was uncharacteristically crass, yet elegant as ever, as Grace Jones. They were both fine, but not incredible.

OH YEAH - AND KRISTEN CHENOWETH WAS JUST THERE? For no reason, except to just hang out and play the game. It's was cute, and she was definitely funny.

BenDeLa and Shangela killed it. BenDeLa once again brought out an iconic portrayal of someone we've never heard of - Paul Lynde - who appeared on a lot of television and film stuff way back when. And Shangela's perfectly sassy portrayal of Jenifer Lewis was hilarious - and had Ru rolling. Of course, I knew these two were going to bring it - they bring it every episode.

Now, we get to the disappointing part of this whole mess. First, Kennedy fell flat as Phaedra Parks of The Real Housewives of Atlanta - she had jokes, they just weren't landing. I was mostly surprised, but also, she has been super up-and-down this season, so not really. And Chi Chi was just bad - she misspelled Maya Angelou's name, and then didn't even deliver on RuPaul's references. It was a train wreck.

The biggest shock of the night was how bad Trixie did as RuPaul. I have always been a fan of Trixie, and I expected her to turn it out this season. She's known for being hilarious, and having watched videos of her live performances - I know she's funny. But her RuPaul was embarrassingly flat - and it didn't read at all. And you could say how much that hurt her throughout the rest of the episode. I was shocked, and disappointed, but also worried.

It can't be easy to know you're failing.

GETTING READY FOR THE RUNWAY

This was surprisingly short, because of the length of the Snatch Game - or maybe it wasn't and the Snatch Game just felt like it went on forever. Either way, this was a speedy transition. We saw Trixie feel horrible about her performance, and almost crumble because of it. BenDeLa admits that Trixie should have won the previous challenge - which Shangela thinks is ingenuous, because Shangela is playing a game that doesn't exist.

And that's all I could remember!

THE RUNWAY

FLOWER POWER

Before we go down the list. I have two points to make:

1. RuPaul's dress was straight up hideous - it was this awful bacon-esque flower monstrosity and I don't know who told her it was okay, but it wasn't.

2. This runway was so fast, I could barely get my ratings down before we moved onto the next queen!

With that, here is my list:

Aja: 10/10 - gorgeous, beautiful, stunning.

Shangela: 9/10 - I loved it so much. She was giving me pregnant flower fantasy and it was amazing.

Bebe: 10/10 - gorgeous, stunning, amazing, ethereal, transcendent, goddess.

Kennedy: 7/10 - a sunflower dress with some sunflowers blooming out of a black dress. Pretty, but not that amazing.

Chi Chi: 6/10 - The judges loved this, but I thought it was too much.

Trixie: 5/10 - This was not her night and this dress reminded me of her Ugliest Dress from a few episodes ago.

BenDeLa: 6/10 - I don't remember her dress.

All in all, this went too fast to really enjoy - but hey, what are you going to do?

CRITIQUES + DELIBERATION

SAFE: AJA + BEBE

WINNERS: SHANGELA + BENDELA

BOTTOM: CHI CHI + KENNEDY + TRIXIE

There wasn't a lot that went into this deliberation. Bebe and Aja were praised for their outfits and told that their Snatch Game performances were decent - and then were told that they were safe. Chi Chi and Kennedy were read for their Snatch Game performances - as was Trixie/

Trixie's critique upset me, because I'm not used to seeing her like that - so emotional. And you could hear the genuine fear and worry in her voice - and it hurt her to admit how scared of the competition she was. I was glad to heard Michelle sticking up for and saying what everyone is thinking: We want to see the real Trixie Mattel.

In the Work Room - we see Trixie confiding to everyone that she's not handling the pressure well. She's having a much worse time than she's been showing, and she can't help it. It's heartbreaking - but it makes sense, because she hasn't really been present. She's faded into the background, and that's not the Trixie I've come to know. It's unfortunate, and I hope she picks herself up next episode.

Chi Chi, when talking with BenDeLa, basically says that she's been in the bottom four times and she's okay to go. It's nice to see her being honest with herself, I just wish she would try a little harder and not sabotage herself.

Then there's Shangela and Kennedy. Shangela gives Trixie a hug, and talks more about her alliance strategy. Trixie explains the note - and they seem to walk away on good terms. But Shangela is playing this weird, manufactured game that none of the other girls are actually playing. And she admits that she still doesn't trust Trixie.

Kennedy thinks she doesn't belong in the bottom - and she totally does - but she doesn't deserve to go home.

THE LIP SYNCH

The lip synch to I Kissing A Girl by Katy Perry is dull. Shangela plays the sexy and BenDeLa plays up the campy comedy. HOWEVER, at the end, when Ru was deciding the winner, I was on the edge of my seat. I knew that if Shangela won then she was definitely sending Trixie home, and that BenDeLa was her only shot. AND THEN RUPAUL SAID THEY BOTH WON, AND I FLIPPED OUT.

BenDeLa revealed that she was sending Chi Chi home - thank god - and then Shangela took her sweet time talking about her choice, before ALSO REVEALING THAT SHE WAS SENDING CHI CHI HOME.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and shut my laptop. This episode wasn't great, but it kept me on the edge of my damned seat, I'll tell you that.

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WEEKLY RUCAP | Episode 2: Divas Lip Synch Live...

The claws are out honey, and it doesn't look like anybody is safe.

This was probably one of the most up and down episodes of Drag Race herstory. With a lackluster challenge, and an even more lackluster performance from some of these queens - I am left wondering just how this is all going to shake out. Unlike it's previous season, these queens definitely seem to be out for each other's necks - and it doesn't seem like they're afraid to go for the jugular.

THE POST-CHALLENGE MEET UP

We start off the episode with the typical post-previous episode challenge reactions from the queens. It was a lot of BenDeLa being emotional and the other queens not really having it - which is fair. Not even I could stomach her tears for WINNING the previous challenge, but I could just be heartless.

Some highlights were Aja revealing that she wanted to send Chi Chi home (which is what should've happened, tbh), and Chi Chi getting really upset about. It goes to show just how different these queens are - because it felt like last season they didn't take it nearly as personally as these girls do. Everyone wants to win, sure, but this batch of queens has a certain ruthless edge that adds so much more tension to every scene.

Another highlight was Chi Chi (rightfully) being shady towards Milk's performance, which was really boring. Like, she literally just Velcro-ed dresses to a body suit! Come on! And Milk - who seems to think she's much better than she is - got very upset. She thought her talent was both unique and fun (even though Velcro isn't a talent).

THE ASSIGNMENTS

The challenge this week SHOULD HAVE BEEN a good one. The queens were all assigned a different, iconic diva and tasked to perform in a VH1 Diva's Live: Salute to Mama Ru Lip Synch Extravaganza!

Cast List:

Milk: Celine Dion

Kennedy: Janet Jackson

Aja: Amy Winehouse

Chi Chi: Patti LaBelle

Trixie: Dolly Parton

Shangela: Mariah Carey

Thorgy: Stevie Nicks

BenDeLa: Julie Andrews

Bebe: Diana Ross

Everyone seemed pretty happy with their assignments, except for Thorgy, who seems to be pulling a Nina Bo'Nina and calling it a conspiracy. After all, Stevie Nicks isn't realty the same as someone like Mariah Carey and Diana Ross. So that must mean that RuPaul is gunning for her to fail. Right? RIGHT? Of course not. But hey, this is just Thorgy being Thorgy.

Other highlights include Milk getting read for her decision to do literally the least iconic Celine Dion look. And I feel like this is Milk's problem, she's trying to make these really different decisions, but completely forgetting what the challenge is about. Much like in the previous challenge, she is assuming her knowledge of fashion and its conventions are going to get lauded by the judges - but come on, I don't think Celine is known for being this huge fashion icon. Unless I'm wrong?

As for the runway, the queens are given the task of redeeming themselves from the worst looks of their season. And honestly, this is probably one of my favorite runway prompts - because it's really going to show how these queens have grown and if they've learned from their mistakes.

THE REHEARSALS

Todrick Hall is back to choreograph - and it seems like no one is really getting it. Even Kennedy, the dancing diva of the season seems to have trouble getting the steps. Todrick lays into her and makes sure she knows how important her part is - which only seems to rattle Kennedy even more. Kennedy claims it's because she's not a choreography-oriented dancer, but a freestyle one, but come on girl, this is Drag Race. You knew there'd be choreography!

Shangela, the star of the episode in my opinion, came to rehearsals completely in character. She really captured Mariah's diva-ness, so much so that it really got on everybody else's nerves. I lived for it, because I knew that she'd be able to turn it out, and it's nice to see a queen really prove that they have the character down. I just loved it. I love Shangela - she's really killing it this season.

Poor Thorgy is getting really rattled about everything. She doesn't have a lot of choreo and seems to be too into being the real Stevie Nicks to do any kind of funny and campy drag version of her - much to the chagrin of Todrick. And it's very disappointing to watch, because you can see her crashing and burning just like she did in season eight - and I just want to shake her! Because I know she's so good!

The other queens seemed fine - Shangela and Milk are shaping up to be the enemies of the season. And honestly, I have to side with Shangela. Milk has an almost delusional confidence in her abilities, and I think it limits her, because I feel like if she ever gets critiqued... it won't end well. But that's just me.

The rest of the rehearsals felt like typical Drag Race fare - except for this odd moment where Todrick felt the need to pressure the hell out Bebe by reminding her that Diana is Ru's favorite artist of all time. Bebe handled it though - even if she looked a little shook after the conversation.

THE CHALLENGE

This. Challenge. Sucked. The music was bad, and a lot of the performances weren't good. Milk was terribly basic, and she didn't look like Celine Dion. Kennedy just didn't lip synch and looked very nervous. Thorgy also didn't do a good job - it was just boring and unfortunate, because I know she could have done better.

The other queens did a great job with what they were given. Shangela KILLED IT as Mariah, and honestly, she was my favorite part of the night. Chi Chi also did a pretty spot-on Patti LaBelle, and redeemed herself from last episode. BenDeLa did an AMAZING JOB as a rapping Julie Andrews - and was just hilarious, even though she kind of stumbled on her choreography. And Trixie delivered a spot-on Dolly Parton that deserved a lot more recognition than it got.

And I just want to say that this challenge was bad. Not the queens. The challenge sucked, and was a big let down compared to the Herstory challenge of the previous season. Even though a few these girls sucked - I think the challenge as a whole fell flat. What do you think? Am I wrong?

THE RUNWAY

So, I'm just going to list them and give you a score:

Milk: Attempted Glamour, didn't do it very well. 3/10.

Aja: Redid her Princess look from season 9. AND LOOKED AMAZING. 8/10.

Chi Chi: Redid her Neon look and redid it well. 7/10

Trixie: Redid her Ugliest Dress challenge. And it was UGLY. 7/10

Kennedy: The only thing I have written in my notes is "SHE CRYSTALLIZED BITCH" and "SHE. DID. THAT." 10/10

Thorgy: Redid her neon look. Looked better, but really weird. 5/10.

BenDeLa: Attempted to do her Dripping with Jewels dress, and failed. I hated it. 3/10.

Bebe: I don't remember what her old challenge was. But she looked like a strong-ass business woman. I loved it. 10/10

SHANGELA: CAME OUT IN A FULL ON PLASTIC BUBBLE DRESSED IN A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS COLORED SUIT. AND IT WAS AMAZING. 20/10. LOVED IT.

This runway definitely made up for the horrible challenge. It was both nostalgic and very telling of these queens' skill level and taste evolution.

TOPS/BOTTOMS

The TOPS were obviously: Shangela, Bebe, and BenDeLa.

The BOTTOMS were surprisingly: Chi Chi, Thorgy, and Kennedy.

And the safe queens were: Milk, Aja, and Trixie.

I also want to point out that Milk got VERBALLY upset about being safe and talked about it in front of Ru. And man, I cannot see that helping her as the competition progresses.

WINNERS/BOTTOM TWO/LIP-SYNCH

Shangela and BenDeLa won, which is great, but part of me wonders if BenDeLa is going to be the Alaska of the season? But also, she does deserve all of the wins - maybe I'm just not used to so much talent.

Meanwhile, Kennedy and Thorgy wound up being the Bottom Two.

During the deliberation, the had their usual interviews. But most of the attention was given to Milk, who seems to be really upset that the judges aren't falling in love with her? Like, this girl CRIED because she was SAFE - and none of the other girls were having it. And frankly, neither was I. I really do think that Milk is edging on delusional - and it's crazy. I hope she comes back down to planet earth so I can start liking her again.

The Lip Synch was surprisingly basic. BenDeLa did a funny schtick, but Shangela used her typical Haus of Edwards flare to secure a win and send Thorgy home.

Thorgy was upset - and as she lamented on how upset she was and how she wasn't ready to go home, Ru showed up on the screen. And after delivering yet another Handmaid's Tale themed call-back - informed Thorgy she had her back.

I really want to know what kind of challenge is going to bring these queens back - and how they could POSSIBLY drag up Handmaid's Tale.

Here's to another episode of a very weird season.

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