‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ finale: Who should come back for All Stars?

Welcome to Drag Race UK Power Rankings! Every Saturday, we’ll debrief this week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. Since it’s a bit too early to tell who the true winners and losers of the season are, let’s instead use our final power ranking of the season to pick who deserves a second chance on an All Stars season—be that All Stars UK, an American All Stars season, or even a U.S. vs. U.K. season.

5. Crystal

Credit: Courtesy World of Wonder

I’ll admit, my passion for Crystal has waned while she’s been away. She’s low-key, which is tough to remember her by, but great for watching on TV. She also, it must be recalled, served some of the best fashion moments of the season. And that metal grinder on the runway! Geri Horner is still faint thinking about it.

In truth, as I said when she was eliminated, Crystal may be a better fit on Dragula than Drag Race, much less All Stars. Her drag is just a bit too in-your-face—she deserves a venue that will celebrate that instead of trying to get rid of it. It’s hard to imagine Ru crowning a queen with chest hair on All Stars, to say the least. But hey, let’s at least get the Canadian-English queen a guest spot on Canada’s Drag Race, eh?

4. Scaredy Kat

Credit: Courtesy World of Wonder

Hear me out! I ordinarily wouldn’t advocate for a second-out to be on All Stars, trust me. But Scaredy’s drag is remarkably strong for someone as young as she is. Don’t throw her on the next All Stars season, but give her a chance in a few rounds. I bet she’ll surprise us all.

One tip for Scaredy, though: Evolve beyond just cat makeup. While I love a signature look, it’s too limiting to stick in. Even Nina Bo’Nina Brown, she of wacky makeup looks, managed to vary it up enough to where she never presented the same thing twice.

3. Blu Hydrangea

Credit: Courtesy World of Wonder

Part of me thinks Blu is actually the most likely to win an All Stars season should she be brought back for one. Her fashion is already there, and will only improve; her acting and performance skills are on the rise, and she should take the time off the show now to hone them further. The energy she showed during “Break Up (Bye Bye)” with her fellow Frock Destroyers is the kind of energy that would serve her well in All Stars.

 

Why I placed her in third is that, compared to the two above, I think she’s less likely to be brought back. Which is a shame, because I do believe she’s a star. But I think she’s a less obvious one than these two, and if we’re talking about a U.S. All Stars season with limited space, that might mean seeing her left out.

2. Cheryl Hole

Credit: Courtesy World of Wonder

It’s funny: Cheryl came in trying to emulate Alyssa Edwards’ mannerisms, but she ended up embodying Alyssa most when she didn’t try and just acted like herself. The long-winded talks about girl groups, the death-defying dance moves, and the quotability—it’s all very Edwardian, to say the least.

As we saw on All Stars 2 and All Stars 3, members of the Haus of Edwards do quite well on All Stars. The personality focus of the spin-off seasons would serve someone like Cheryl well. Nowhere near as many sewing challenges to trip her up, to say the least! That said, she absolutely has to step up her style. Spend some time off-season with The Vivienne, Cheryl!

1. Divina de Campo

Credit: Courtesy World of Wonder

I mean, obviously. The question of what would happen had Jinkx Monsoon not won Season 5 can finally be answered with a Divina All Stars run: in other words, that the quirky underdog would absolutely smash it. Her run on this season was already remarkable, with just one bottom three spot, no bottom twos, and three wins. And as she demonstrated in the finale, she can perform one hell of a lip sync.

I could see Divina making mincemeat out of the Lip Sync for Your Legacy format on All Stars. She’d be able to win a bunch of challenges and earn major bank on cash tips. (Never mind that it wouldn’t convert to much when thinking about the pound.) She could easily be a British winner of All Stars—and isn’t that what she deserves? She and Viv could both have taken this crown, so it’s only fitting if both win one overall.

Kevin O’Keeffe is a writer, host, instructor, and RuPaul’s Drag Race herstorian living in Los Angeles, California. His favourite pastime is watching a perfect lip sync.

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