A Y2K TRL challenge and the Platinum Plunger unclog the tension on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars

Raja and Jinkx enter the workroom triumphant. After consistently being overlooked in past episodes, Raja has finally won a Legendary Legend star. She is relieved. On the other end of the spectrum, Jinkx has finally obtained her second star (after having one of her wins blocked). The second star cements Jinkx’s frontrunner status, which up to this point has been somewhat implicit. The Vivienne returns from sequester. Despite Trinity asking about the plunger alliance, The Vivienne seems less inclined than the others to perpetuate the false advantage of getting blocked. With over half of the cast having been blocked once the pretense seems unnecessary. Likewise, with Jinkx blocking The Vivienne the plunger finally seems to have the drama producers must have wanted. While Jinkx claims the block as being complimentary as she thought The Vivienne might have won the commencement speech challenge, The Vivienne is convinced it is retaliation for last week when The Vivienne said she wanted to block Jinkx. Meanwhile the queens begin to lobby for the extra stars that Raja and The Jinkx have to bestow.

While the bonus stars seemed to be somewhat arbitrary when first announced, it actually makes the game a little more interesting. While the rules aren’t exactly fleshed out completely, Jinkx and Raja ruminate on who the will gift a star. Could Raja and Jinkx just give each other stars? Could Jinkx (in a BenDeLaCreme-like gesture) award the star to The Vivienne? Can they give the same queen a star? Could they catapult Yvie into a tie for first place with Jinkx, for example? It is still uncertain when they enter the workroom the next day. Curiously, there is no video message from RuPaul with a limerick or hint as to what the challenge may convey. This does feel like a missed opportunity by producers to up the ante and strategy of the extra stars. If Raja and Jinkx had a hint of what the challenge was going to be it would force them to evaluate the strength and weakness of their competitors in order to assign the stars. Instead, they make their choice based on personality. Raja chooses Yvie as someone magical and Jinkx selects Jaida as someone who makes the entire workroom smile. That’s cute, I guess. Monét, perhaps the most strategic contestant of the season, is left empty handed after being blocked last week and attempting to leverage the lineup order to secure one of the extra stars. At the half way point of the season the star tally has Jinkx and Jaida in the lead with two and everyone else tied for second place with one star. In addition, everyone has been blocked once with the exception of Jaida, Raja, and Yvie.

RuPaul explains this week’s challenge – a synergistic Viacom branding exercise – in which the queens will form Y2K girl groups performing on MTV’s aughts staple TRL (Total Request Live). Divided into two teams, they will perform to the love song “2Gether 4Ever” or the breakup song “Titanic.” Like the premiere episode or the 60s girl group challenge from last season, they must write and record their own verses and choreograph their own dance to the track. RuPaul exits leaving the queens to divide into teams. After a second of confusion, Shea, followed by Monét and Raja, seem to rely on their current positions forming a group with Trinity. Jinkx, Jaida, and Yvie seem to acquiesce to the arrangement, but The Vivienne is curiously distant for the other seven. After listening to the tracks, The Vivienne’s mood breaks through when they again bring up teams. They have sat down on two couches but not divided into the previously suggested teams. The Vivienne objects to Raja’s rationale that the way they were formerly lined up when the challenge was announced. Everyone seems to tense up at the first sign of real conflict this season. The Vivienne argues that one team shouldn’t be able to determine the other team without consultation. Trinity says that it wasn’t meant as “shady,” and Jinkx attempts to resolve the issue by suggesting they first decide which song each queen favors. As the queens start to move, it seems like basically the same teams are about to form with the notable exception of The Vivienne, who prefers the song “Titanic.” Somewhat frustrated The Vivienne concedes with the original team line up. “Titanic” will be Shea, Trinity, Monét, and Raja. “2Gether 4Ever” will be Jinkx, Yvie, Jaida, and The Vivienne.

Divided into groups, the queens get to work. Team “Titanic” decides on the name M.S.T.R derived from their first initials. Shea puts a cherry on top when she suggests that the girl group has recently lost a fifth member and that they were formerly known as M.S.T.R.Y. Perhaps that missing member is Yvie, who is working with Team “2Gether 4Ever,” and has expressed a deep love for TRL as a five-year-old. She also comes up with the idea of them being the other girls from the tensions of dividing up into teams. They decide to name themselves The Other Girls and lean into comedic characterization of a girl group composed of performers ejected from other girl groups. The Vivienne calls it the “anti-Super group.” The rag-tag team of misfits, include Yvie as a robotic pop star, Jinkx as the over-the-hill member, Jaida as a bad rapper with IBS, and The Vivienne as British, exotic British. It is clear that M.S.T.R is taking the assignment in a more realness approach and The Other Girls going comedic.

During the premiere episode, the audience was not privy to the recording process of their lyrics. Assisted by Leland and Freddy Scott, the recording process is a little awkward, considering the producers and editors are removing any sense of potential failure by the queens. It’s difficult, without hearing the final version, to tell if anyone is doing particularly well, or if someone is struggling. It’s sort of an echo chamber of positive reinforcement. It is similar when they are constructing choreography. What once was a pressure cooker for contestants is now a playground of collaboration. The cast attempts to add drama by adding shady comments attempting to shake the other team up, but it’s fairly toothless. While Raja and Trinity don’t pick up the steps immediately, without the standard Drag Race editing and misdirection, it lacks drama Without the consequences of elimination or possible negative critiques, the recording and choreography process feels overlong and static. There is a lack of dramatic tension, there is no danger, there is no underdog, there is no persevering, there is no overcoming challenges.

The episode recovers some tension in the workroom as they prepare for their performance. While Raja decompresses with some yoga, other queens are ratcheting up to win. Despite her early protest, The Vivienne is quite pleased with her team. Sadly, the editors didn’t think to show why The Vivienne might be particularly nervous about this challenge. It was the girl group challenge of her original season that landed The Vivienne in the bottom. This information makes this episode more dramatic for her. There is also a sense of a clash between the teams’ different approaches. The comedic underdog narrative is being flamed in opposition to the more real, professional team. Shea is pleased with her team and how Raja and Trinity powered though with the choreography. At the same time, in the confessional, Shea worries that she might be “fading into the background,” and is eager for another win. Likewise, after a charity star, Yvie is hungry to win one on her own merits. Further tensions arise when Trinity suggests that she should have been given Jinkx’s extra star for helping her during the design challenge and The Vivienne expresses anger for being blocked this particular episode. Trinity is joking, but The Vivienne is not.

RuPaul enters the main stage in a bright yellow mini dress with matching heels and large crimped platinum blonde 80s hair. She welcomes Michelle Visage, Ross Matthews, and, revealing an unexpected and correct pronunciation, Tove Lo, the Swedish singer. A series of segues from 2 Girls, 1 Cup to frosted tips to a frosted cake leads to the main challenge as RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars takes us back in time to MTV’s TRL with host Carson Gayly, played perfectly by Ross.

Night of a 1000 Dollys is such a great category that you almost wish the show had saved it for a more fitting episode. Why not attach the category to a Country Girl Group challenge or a 9 To 5 themed acting challenge? Or better yet, save it for when they can get Dolly Parton to guest judge? That said, it’s a pretty great runway category with everyone doing particularly well. Monét was the first in probably the least convincing of the looks. It makes sense after Monét revealed she didn’t have a strong connection to Dolly in Untucked. The look is a perfect recreation of the reference photo of an outfit worn by Dolly, but it wasn’t a look that conveyed quintessential Dolly Parton. The two that best portrayed classic, stereotypical Dolly Parton were Trinity and Raja. The yellow beaded fringe look donned by Trinity was actually better than the original look. Likewise, Raja’s look looked like it was ripped from Dolly’s closet. Raja even managed to show bigger hair than the real Dolly, and it was a delightful exaggeration. However, it was the nail instrumental that nailed the look. Shea and Jaida both managed to combine Dolly’s style with their own to differing success. The black fringed leather look was a perfect fusion of Dolly and Shea. Jaida wore a wonderful reconstruction of a yellow dress worn by Dolly, but the more coiffed blonde hair leaned more toward Jaida’s pageant background than Dolly Parton. Jinx and The Vivienne gave equally compelling impersonations of Dolly with the former channeling earlier Dolly and the later more contemporary Dolly. Jinkx’s impersonation makes you wish there was another Snatch Game to see how she would portray Dolly. The Vivienne really came out on top based on her make up impersonation skills that almost looked as if they had snuck the actual Dolly onto the runway. Rounding out the category was Yvie, who despite not being her brand, managed to find a more alternative version of Dolly in a skintight white lace jumpsuit cut at the knee. It was a peculiar look Dolly actually wore, and matched the oddness of Yvie.

With the critiques only being positive, it’s kind of anyone’s to win. And in truth everyone did pretty well. It was almost amusing to watch them backbend to turn the fact that Raja was behind on the moves into a compliment. It was interesting to realize that the judges didn’t know the backstory of The Other Girls group. It would have been nice for the challenge to have found a way to incorporate each team’s backstory into the performance somehow, perhaps more of an interview with Carson Gayly. With everyone performing well both in the challenge and on the runway, it leaves an open field for the producers to forward some narratives. Based on the storylines brewing in the background of the season, it feels like Monét, Trinity, Raja, and Jaida don’t really have to worry about lip syncing this week. On the other hand, a win for Shea, Yvie, Jinkx, or The Vivienne would be interesting. A victory for Shea would be rewarding after her worry of fading into the background, but the producers probably want that storyline to marinate a little longer for a bigger payoff. Yvie is an interesting choice because if she were to win this week it would catapult her from last place to frontrunner in a single episode. Her win would show how close the race is from episode to episode. Jinkx winning would further cement her lead and possibly have the other queens try to hobble her in the future. A win for The Vivienne, after a near win the previous week, would add drama as she already expressed anger about being blocked.

RuPaul ultimately declares the winners to be Yvie and The Vivienne. It makes sense as they really were the central focus of the entire episode. They lip sync to Dolly Parton’s “Why’d You Come In Here Looking Like That.” In a baffling mistake, Yvie decided to change out of her Dolly look just before performing to a Dolly song. Yvie’s over-exaggeration doesn’t overpower the perfect impersonation of The Vivienne. It really felt like you were watching Dolly Parton perform. The Vivienne really snatches the win when you see her suggest a do-si-do to Yvie and the circle each other with linked arms. It’s a good choice because The Vivienne seems to have the most scores to settle with the plunger. It seems quite possible she might block Shea or Raja over the team snafu or Jinkx in retaliation for last week. She lands on Jinkx in a tit for tat move that further intensifies a brewing rivalry between the two queens, and finally gives this season a little bit of drama.

Stray Observations:

• The personality shift of The Vivienne is fascinating. She started the season so timid and after her win has become delightfully competitive and even a little combative.
• It’s great to see The Vivienne continue to win money even if she can’t win a star since they get no cash prize in the UK.
• It was surprising there wasn’t more of a fight over the teams and song selection after how many fights have been occurring on regular seasons.
• After Vanna White and Dolly Parton, who would have thought a look queen like Raja would be so adept at impersonation.
• I feel like no girl group challenge will ever top Bad Boy Baby for me personally.
• I wonder if they tried to get the real Carson Daly to host or guest judge.
• Dolly Rankings: Raja, The Vivienne, Trinity, Jinx, Shea, Yvie, Jaida, Monet.
• Who is Eden’s Crush? I missed that one in the Aughts.