Last week, I said the “Ru-merican Horror Story: Coven Girl” episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 6 was all about taking care of unfinished business. Sometimes, a show has to clear its throat and reset before moving on with the rest of the season. Had this week’s episode turned out to be a dud, I’d be concerned, but I had faith in what has otherwise been a great season.
Reader, my faith was well-founded. This week’s installment gives us the first proper tie in “Ru-mocracy” rules herstory, resulting in one of the most dramatic eliminations we’ve ever seen. It’s a shocker of an ending, and proves that even as we near the end of this competition, All Stars 6 still has plenty of goops and gags waiting for us.
The challenge this week is a girl group task with a twist. In teams (but performing together, oddly), they must write “inspirational” verses to the new song, “Show Up Queen.” I imagine there will be some bristling at this added wrinkle, since fans tend to question whenever a challenge criterion is about opening up or being vulnerable. (The Pink Table Talk challenge, which I thought was nothing short of excellent, got backlash for this reason.) To tell the truth, the inspirational angle just feels tacked on here; this is not exactly “Can I Get an Amen?” redux as a challenge.
But the winning queen does the best job of finding a message and working it organically into her lyrics. She also comes up with stellar choreography, executes it with aplomb and sounds great on the track. She is the first queen to win two challenges this season and, as she herself notes, that puts her at the head of the pack. All hail Trinity K. Bonet, the frontrunner of All Stars 6.
Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+
There are two narratives happening simultaneously in this episode: one is that neither Eureka! nor Pandora Boxx has won a challenge yet. Jan calls this out in the cold open, which makes both admit they’re nervous. When track records have been used to make elimination decisions, not having a clear win leaves a queen vulnerable. Conversely, neither Pandora nor Eureka! has been up for elimination, while every queen with a win has at least once.
The other narrative is one the queens discuss in the workroom before their performance. If the maxi-challenge winner isn’t Eureka! or Pandora, then whoever does come out on top will become the frontrunner by virtue of having two wins. That’s what really sets up Trinity for a big week, and this feels much more significant for her narrative than her first, muted win did.
Trinity is on Team Ra’Jah O’Hara—as last week’s winner and bottom two survivor, Kylie Sonique Love and Ra’Jah are named captains—alongside first draft pick Jan and last-picked Pandora. Despite it being Ra’Jah’s team, however, Trinity takes on a leadership role as choreographer. (“The team has deemed me choreographer, rightfully so,” she says in confessional.)
This is where Trinity really shines. She leads the queens ably, and when she sees that Pandora is struggling, she takes the time to work with her to get her teammate to a comfortable place. Pandora even thanks Trinity on the runway, even as Pandora herself gets critiqued for struggling in the challenge.
As an individual, Trinity also kills it. Her execution of her choreography is great, and her verse (“If you blink, I’mma end up with the crown”) is my favourite. She also hits the tropics-themed runway in a stunner of a Carnival-themed garment. She even sambas to really sell the Brazilian fantasy. It’s all around a terrific week for TKB, and she more than earns her frontrunner status.
Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+
The teams are not judged in groups, which means Kylie, Eureka! and Ginger Minj skate to safety. All of them do pretty well, with Kylie performing the best (not to mention stunning on the runway in a green parrot look), Ginger giving the best verse and Eureka! coming across competently. Ra’Jah also acquits herself well, only being knocked for not wearing purple boots with an otherwise all-purple performance outfit, but still earning raves for her verse.
That leaves Jan and Pandora as our bottom two, presenting an interesting conundrum. This is Jan’s third strike. But while her lyrics are shallow, she does well in the performance, and looks cute (if a little basic) on the runway.
Pandora, on the other hand, is the clear weak link. Her verse tilts too comedic—though it’s not particularly funny—and she’s the only one who visibly struggles with the dancing. On the runway, her housewife-inspired tropics look is nice, but it’s something we’ve seen plenty of times before. It can’t help but pale in comparison to Trinity’s Carnival look, or Kylie’s green one.
However, this is Pandora’s first time in the bottom. Should her consistency matter more, or should Jan’s one win give her the edge? There’s no right answer, and Trinity seems to be working through what she cares about more. She even specifically asks Pandora to make her case based on track record, eschewing the more emotional pleas that we’ve seen in recent weeks. Jan also makes a case for herself as a performer, but actually builds herself up as too much of a threat.
Credit: Courtesy of Paramount+
The Lip Sync Assassin this week is Alexis Mateo, returning fresh from her fifth-place finish on All Stars 5 and eager to lip sync (since she never did during that season). She and Trinity face off to Jennifer Lopez’s “Dance Again,” and while both move like mad, Trinity loses her wig. I’m surprised she wouldn’t have secured it better. Considering this, and how Trinity reacts a little later, part of me wonders if she might have thrown this lip sync.
I’m not sure it would have mattered, though. With a reveal and some killer moves, Alexis smashes this lip sync and wins her fourth in her Drag Race career. She pulls out a lipstick, and it says: “PANDORA.” Ru gasps, in much the way he did when Silky Nutmeg Ganache went home. And then: “But wait, Ru!” Alexis shouts. “I have another lipstick!”
This moment is camp. It is drama. It is reality television. Alexis then pulls out a lipstick with Jan’s name on it, and reveals that the group vote is a tie. Ra’Jah, Kylie and Pandora vote to eliminate Jan, while Ginger, Eureka! and Jan vote to eliminate Pandora. There was a tie a couple of weeks ago, between Jan and Scarlet Envy; however, in that case, Ginger won the lip sync, so we didn’t get to find out what would happen in case of a tie. That’s a pretty impressive bit of foreshadowing, I must say.
The rules state that the power of elimination returns to the top All Star of the week, meaning Trinity has to make the choice. She seems pissed to do so, which feeds the “Trinity threw” theory, but make the choice she does. With lots of love and praise for Jan, she eliminates her, in one of the most shocking moments of the season. But like Kylie with A’keria last week, Trinity sends her out with kind words: “Can I say one more thing? I want you to know that I look up to you. You are so talented. Please stay on 110%, don’t ever come down.”
It’s a lovely moment, but Jan is no less devastated. “As we say on the internet, ugh, not this,” is her parting remark. But of course, Jan will have a chance to return in the game-within-a-game—which, when exactly is that happening? Next week is Snatch Game of Love, so likely not then. But we’re running out of time!
This season has been excellent so far, but the real test will be in how it executes this final twist. If the season wants to hold onto its sterling reputation, it must stick the landing-within-a-landing.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨As should not come as a surprise, the vote last week was indeed unanimous to eliminate A’keria C. Davenport. A friend wondered if the queens would try to move strategically against Ra’Jah, but despite Jan’s protestation this week, I think the queens have been trying to be as fair as possible in their decision-making. They’ve just had different ideas at times about what “fair” is.
✨Ru says “TKO” stands for “Tina Knowles Original,” to Trinity’s delight. Funny enough, Tina is our guest judge next week for Snatch Game of Love!
✨Trinity and Pandora have a cute little friendship! They’re not as close as Trinity is with A’keria and Ra’Jah, but coming off sharing time in Untucked last week, the two clearly have a solid bond. You can tell Trinity really respects “the Boxx that rocks.”
✨Kylie’s group initially thinks about doing superhero-esque bodysuits for their performance looks. But upon seeing how different their jumpsuits are, Kylie deadpans, “We’re fighting crimes in different cities.”
✨Ru asks Ra’Jah and Jan about the first records they owned. Ra’Jah’s was a Lil Wayne record, while in the most fitting choice possible, Jan’s was the Spice Girls.
✨Jan’s grandmother apparently wrote Ru a letter when Jan was eliminated in Season 12. And as Jan alludes to in her exit, I’m betting Ru will be getting another one!
✨I will never get over Eureka! seeing the Lip Sync Assassin silhouette and saying, “Could it be Madame Laqueer?” And on the very episode in which Michelle Visage admits to liking green hair on Kylie!
✨“I got two free lipsticks, bitch!” Honestly, have Alexis on every season.
The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 6 will be available for streaming on Thursday, August 5, on Paramount+ in the US and on Crave in Canada.
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