‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7’ Episode 4 recap: Yes, and…?

Improvisation challenges have taken the space in my RuPaul’s Drag Race-addled mind that Rusicals once did—which is to say that for as few good ones as we get, we sure do get a lot of them. Way back in Season 10, the “Bossy Rossy” episode was a season highlight, but those we’ve gotten since (especially “World’s Worst” in Season 12 and the “Bossy Rossy Ruboot” in Season 13) have paid increasingly diminishing dividends.

There are a few problems with these improv tasks that make them a chore to watch. For one, the nature of the improv means we don’t get any kind of reaction as they’re happening. With Snatch Game, you get RuPaul and the contestants laughing at particularly great lines; with acting challenges, you get the judges’ reactions as they play out on the main stage. Improv challenges happen in a bubble, with half-hearted punchline after punchline inspiring no reaction at all.

For another, it’s hard to believe the queens don’t have some kind of awareness of what the challenge will be coming in. In this week’s episode, Trinity the Tuck enters wearing an outfit that perfectly matches Michelle Visage, and also fits her like a glove. Where did that costume come from? How are there two? The idea that none of this was preplanned is dubious, and thus what’s supposed to be a spontaneous, think-on-your-feet type of challenge is diminished.

This is all a long way to say that the “Fairytale Justice” episode of All Stars 7 is a dud, but I don’t think it portends anything particularly bad about the season as a whole. This is a difficult challenge type, thus it’s tough to blame the queens themselves for the subpar results. After three very good episodes, this is the all-winners season’s first slip-up, and hopefully it’ll be the last.

Modelled after the All Stars 4 challenge “Jersey Justice,” which cast Michelle Visage as a Judge Judy-type arbiter sorting out distinctly New Jersey cases, “Fairytale Justice” does the same with two familiar stories. In one, led by team captain Jaida Essence Hall, the queens act out a case between one of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. In another, captained by Trinity the Tuck, an increasing number of fairy-tale characters—a bear from “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” named Halle Beary, Grandma from “Little Red Riding Hood” and the witch from “Hansel and Gretel”—attempt to sue a young woman with multiple identities from across these stories.

The cases are fine, if uninspired. Part of what made “Jersey Justice” so fun was that the queens were largely making these characters out of whole cloth. They had general plot points to follow, yes, but not known characters. Here, while the queens can put their own spins on the characters, they’re still familiar archetypes. Jinkx Monsoon’s little pig becomes an Instagram-obsessed millennial, while Jaida’s is a supermodel parody of Twiggy. Trinity’s witch, as mentioned, is dressed exactly like Michelle Visage, which limits just how much she can do. (She opts to do a Cher voice, which is as silly a choice as it sounds.)

There are a couple of clear standouts here, in particular The Vivienne as Goldilocks-turned-Little Red-turned-Gretel. She gets by far the meatiest part—everyone else has to share their side of the courtroom with at least one other queen, while Viv is on her own—and she runs with it, coming up with a variety of new accents to keep the young woman’s identity a secret. (When she shifts to German upon Little Red’s grandmother insisting they’re from Glendale: “We do not have Glendale in Germany!”)

Also very strong is Yvie Oddly, who gets involved with both sketches as the Big Bad Wolf. In the first, she’s the defendant, smirking and sneaking her way out of accountability for two of the pigs’ houses falling down. She’s later joined by Monét X Change, the third pig, who takes the wolf’s side. Throughout the segment, Yvie’s the one who does the most character work, and stands out as a result. That she gets to come back as Little Red’s wolf in the second sketch only gives her more to work with.

However, while Viv scores in the top two this week, Yvie doesn’t. Instead, Jinkx does, and I’ll admit that decision baffles me. And I say this as a major Jinkx stan! While Jinkx does pick up the most moments for additional jokes—making hay out of a door not closing, for instance, or Bruno from the Pit Crew dropping a book—none of her jokes are that funny. And again, Yvie is the far bigger presence in their sketch; Jinkx feels like a strong supporting player, not a challenge winner.

It’s hard to get that worked up about the decision, though, since the sketches were so mediocre in general. And Jinkx doesn’t even get a star for her trouble, owing to Jaida’s block last episode. But this is now the third time that someone who does not have a star yet—Raja in Episodes 2 and 3, Yvie here—misses out on a win that they seemingly deserve. Something I’ve liked about this season so far is how low on shenanigans it’s been, with production stepping back and just letting these stellar queens shine. But this decision feels just suspicious enough to raise eyebrows.

With Viv’s win, six of the eight queens now have Legendary Legend Stars, with only Raja and Yvie (again, both should have at least one) waiting for theirs. I’m not sure I expected the competition to be this close with the first third of the season complete, but it does make the competition to get that second star all the tighter. We know it won’t be Monét who gets it, since Viv, after winning a Whitney Houston lip sync and faking out Jaida, blocks her. Monét seems to take it hard, but if the preview for next week is any indication, it sounds like Monét isn’t Viv’s first choice to block. Looks like the queens are taking Jinkx’s declaration that design is her one weakness seriously.

Honestly, there’s not much else to say about this week’s installment. It’s the worst of the bunch so far, but I have faith that next week’s commencement address exercise will provide a return to form. If anything, I think the biggest mistake is having this improv challenge just two weeks after Snatch Game—itself a task heavy on improvisation. Snatch Game is a legendary challenge that production made more difficult by doubling up, and thus it felt like an appropriate hurdle for these former winners to clear. This improv task, on the other hand, can’t help but feel somewhat beneath these legends.

Things I’m looking forward to in the back half of this season: who gets the second Legendary Legend Star, how long it takes Raja and Yvie to secure their victory, and perhaps most importantly, how the blocking strategy changes. We’ve seen the first instance of a queen not blocking the previous week’s blocker this week, with Viv choosing not to block Jaida. Will the queens use this as a chance to shake things up? My guess is, with a group this strategic, we’re in for someone to shake the table.

Untucking our final thoughts

✨ Jaida specifically cites Jinkx declaring on the runway that design is her “one weakness”—which Jinkx herself has noted as having been a mistake in interviews. It’s also, I imagine, why Viv was seemingly eager to block her this time around.

✨ Jinkx goes along with Shea Couleé and Trinity’s plunger-secret lie, much to Raja’s frustration. I like this recurring bit: you can tell the other queens don’t believe it, but they’re allowing just the slightest bit of doubt to seep in.

✨ Once again, the edit focuses on a particular queen—The Vivienne—making this a spotlight episode for her. It sets up early with one quote Viv says in the workroom: “Not winning is so out of my character.” And now she’s back in character!

✨ Interesting to see Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman back on the judging dais for the first time since he left the Canada’s Drag Race judging panel. He’s fine here, but considering he had lots of criticisms of the CDR Season 1 production, I’m surprised World of Wonder invited him back.

✨ Favourite moment of the episode: Jinkx leading the cast in a ukulele-accompanied rendition of “UK Hun?” It really is the catchiest damn song!

✨ An all-time great look from Ru on the runway this week, I’d say. The blue of her gown is striking on her, and her white wig is really gorgeous. I’ve said it before, but I love that this many seasons in, Ru is really trying new things with his looks.

✨ Absolute SHOOT of the week on the runway goes to Jaida, who paints her face in gradients of charcoal and grey to pair with a stunning outfit. It’s one of my favourite looks of the whole season.

✨ I’ve been mostly on board with the all-positive critiques this season, but we see where they falter here, as the judges rave about improv performances that were, by all accounts, pretty mediocre. Ross Mathews raving about Monét’s entrance is a particularly funny bit of talking around the critique.

✨ “We’re getting to witness the rebirth of Raja, because all the people who knew you from back then, they’re all dead!” RU!

✨ The lip sync is mostly just fine—a clear victory for Viv—but I’ll say that Viv has two major moments. The first is her jacket throw, which is perhaps the best toss of an item of clothing we’ve seen in a lip sync in some time. It practically glides across the stage. The other is her bit with a xylophone—if you’re gonna play an instrument during a lip sync, make it a real one!

✨ “Is that a limerick?” God, I love Jaida so much.

The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 will stream Friday, June 10, at 3 a.m. EDT on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on OUTtv and Crave in Canada. Check World of Wonder’s streaming guide for other countries’ release plans. You can subscribe to our drag newsletter, Wig!, for exclusive Drag Race content delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday afternoon.