‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7’ Episode 6 recap: Totally Y2K

If the first few weeks of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 have been about dutifully showcasing and awarding the returning champions of the season, Episode 6 is where the competition finally starts to feel real.

Part of that is thanks to a leftover twist from last week: as previous challenge winners, Jinkx Monsoon and Raja must each give out a bonus star to one of their fellow queens. There’s a level of strategy required here, particularly for Jinkx—the only queen to have so far hit two Legendary Legend Stars. Because Raja is obviously going to throw hers on Yvie Oddly, the only queen to not yet have a star, Jinkx must elevate one of her fellow queens to match her star count. Picking who gets that honour, Jinkx notes, will be about who’s been a friend, but it also must be a strategic decision.

Ultimately, she goes with Jaida Essence Hall, noting what a positive presence Jaida is in the workroom for the other queens. It’s interesting to award the only queen to previously block her, but the truth is that Jaida and Jinkx’s relationship has seemingly changed significantly since that blocking. They’re frequently depicted as the closest friends in the room this side of Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck, and it’s safe to bet that among her available choices, Jaida is the least likely to block Jinkx. It’s not like she’s gonna give it to The Vivienne right after blocking her.

Speaking of which, Viv walks into the workroom, post-blocking, looking unbelievably gorgeous in her lip sync outfit, hiding the Platinum Plunger behind her. I appreciated Viv’s looks in her season, but I’ll admit, she’s on a whole other level for me this go-around. Her mug is flawless, and you can tell she packed to win this whole thing. We’re also in the middle of what Jinkx calls a Viv “incline” in the competition, as she won two weeks ago and easily could’ve won the commencement speeches challenge. Despite her slower start to the competition, it’s hard to deny that it feels like we’re currently in the age of Viv.

That continues this week in a Total Request Live-inspired Y2K girl group challenge, which is, to put it simply, my absolute shit. MTV is part of the Paramount family, so instead of turning the basis of this challenge into “T-Ru-L” or something, Drag Race gets the full benefit of not just the TRL name, but the logos, archival photos and even crowd footage. It’s the little things that really help make this challenge feel as nostalgic as it should.

The queens are left to their own devices to split into two groups, and Raja, Trinity, Monét and Shea Couleé quickly team up. This irritates Viv, who bristles at the idea that the two teams were divided fairly, noting that she, Jinkx, Jaida and Yvie were forced together by the others. They offer to resort based on who wants what song, but Viv ultimately decides to stick with her group. She doesn’t have a problem with them, she insists, just the process.

Once we see the teams split up, it’s clear that we’re looking at two radically different approaches to the task. M.S.T.R., named for their members’ initials (joking that their fifth member left, losing their “Y” at the end), get the absolute bop that is “Titanic.” Leland and Freddy Scott, who return for recording duties this season, really go off with this one. It’s a song about a breakup, loaded with overly blunt references to the Titanic. They play it very straight as a Girls5eva-esque group, coming up with very of-the-era choreography and loading their verses with ’90s references.

The Other Girls, on the other hand, really amp up the comedy for this challenge. Their premise is that they’re all castoffs from other girl groups (except for Jinkx, whose former group members have all died), and thus they’re all a bit … off. Jaida’s verse is all about diarrhea as a metaphor for love, for instance, while Jinkx is barely staying alive during her verse. Yvie’s premise is that she’s a robot sent from the future—but the technology of the era results in her needing to use a dial-up modem.

Ultimately, who you like most in this challenge comes down to whether you think of this as a musical or comedy challenge. I personally think of it as the former, so M.S.T.R. and “Titanic” are more up my alley. Shea in particular is terrific, with an incredibly clever verse and the rap skills to come across as a credible performer of the era. Monét is also great, while Trinity is predictably okay—we’ve seen enough of her in Rumix challenges not to expect much more—while Raja’s rambling, nonsensical verse and bare minimum commitment to the choreography make her stand out like a sore thumb.

The Other Girls’ song “2Getha 4Eva” is the lesser song, and I’ll admit that while I like the comedic concept, the execution is a bit of a mess. Yvie’s robot bit is cute, but her verse is lyrically unmemorable. Jinkx leans into being an older lady once again, and while she sounds good—even getting off another “Can I Get an Amen?”-style long note—I actually prefer her “Legends” verse from the premiere. Jaida going for the scatalogical humour is a dubious gambit, considering how her Season 12 sister Rock M. Sakura was punished for a fart joke once upon a time.

Viv is the only one of this group who really works for me, largely because she doesn’t let her character—overly British pop star—get in the way of producing a catchy, memorable verse. I’ll be thinking of “He loves to love my double-decker puss” for a while, honestly. It’s yet another standout performance for Viv, only enhanced by her incredible Night of 1000 Dolly Partons runway. (If the idea of a Dolly Parton runway after a Y2K girl groups challenge strikes you as odd, you are not alone.) Amid a sea of big blonde wigs and rhinestones, Viv does the best work on making her mug look like Dolly’s. The transformation is uncanny, honestly.

She lands in the top two, and based on both critiques and deliberations, I assume it will be Shea joining her. While Shea’s Dolly look is a bit far away from the inspiration—a leather fringe jacket and a decidedly un-Dolly wig—it feels right that the best performer in each group should become the top two. In a surprise, however, Ru clearly prefers The Other Girls, and grants Yvie the other top slot. This puzzles me, both because of Yvie’s less-memorable verse and an okay-not-great Dolly look. But her win grants her a second Legendary Legend Star in the same episode, and suddenly makes her quite a threat.

Owing to Jinkx’s block, Viv does not get a second star this week, much to her dismay. But she does get a lip sync song that is right in her wheelhouse: “Why’d You Come in Here Looking Like That” by Dolly Parton. Watching Viv do a Dolly number while dressed as her may not be quite on the same level as seeing BeBe Zahara Benet do Diana Ross, but it’s close! Viv totally channels Dolly, and especially up against the decidedly un-Dolly Yvie, this is an easy victory. Viv earns another $10,000 cash tip, and once again gets to block someone.

If you’ve been following the story of this season, Viv’s choice will be absolutely no surprise: she blocks Jinkx. This back-and-forth ultimately benefits neither of them, and I do think there’s a legitimate chance one of them will miss out on the finale if they keep doing this. But honestly, what other choice does Viv have? No one besides Jinkx has indicated they’re coming for her. She may never get this power again, so she’s gotta use it while she can. And while it visibly irritates Jinkx, you gotta imagine Jinkx would’ve done the same if the situation were reversed.

So, here’s where we stand: everyone’s got at least one star, while Jaida, Jinkx and Yvie have two. That’s not the group of frontrunners I expected when we started this season, to say the least! The former All Stars champions are lagging behind the pack, although obviously if I were judging, Shea would have that second star instead of Yvie. Going into a design challenge next week, the stakes are gonna be high for one of them to pull it out. Could Trinity repeat her ball win? Will Raja get the victory many felt she was denied last go-around? Or will Jaida perhaps advance to three stars?

The competition is officially on, and with five competitive episodes — and, presumably, 10 more Legendary Legend Stars—left to go, there’s plenty of room for others to make their mark. May the best drag queen win!

Untucking our final thoughts

✨ Raja notes she doesn’t remember the early 2000s: “I was a full-grown adult partying. Woke up at four in the afternoon, went to bed at six in the morning.”

✨ Tove Lo is our guest judge, and while she is a delight (“Being Swedish, I love a good foreskin”), I am mostly bringing her up here to strongly encourage you to stream “No One Dies From Love” now. An absolute bop!

✨ Jinkx explains why she didn’t keep up with dance after her childhood: “When I was growing up, I was more concerned with LARPing in the wilderness. That’s actually how I chipped my tooth—I chipped my tooth LARPing. I used to lie and say it was a skateboarding accident, ’cause I thought it made me sound cooler. But no, it was a LARPing accident.”

✨ The use of the actual TRL branding and footage is a reminder that MTV is all in the Paramount family, y’all. No need to make it “T-Ru-L” or avoid saying the network name! Ross Mathews becoming “Carson Gay-ly” sends me, too. And love the shout-out to Eden’s Crush.

✨ MONÉT: “This is like the Jets and the Sharks!”

TRINITY: “I don’t know the reference?”

✨ I could do without seeing any more picture-in-picture ads for House of Love cocktails during Drag Race.

✨ Question for y’all: are you watching Untucked this season? I watched the premiere episode, found it deeply unnecessary and haven’t watched since. Moreover, I have not heard a single thing about it from either friends or online discourse about the show. Would love to know if I’m missing out on something great!

✨ Absolutely hysterical to see Jaida lip sync along with Ru saying the words “Legendary Legend Star” before the lip sync. The queens love that quirky-ass name as much as we do! 

✨ “I need wine—can we have wine in these?” Raja in her confessional is me at all times.

✨ Last week, we celebrated the announcement of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World, but this week, the Queens of the North have given us a whole other season to get excited about! Canada’s Drag Race Season 3 premieres on July 14, and you can watch the Meet the Queens videos now. CDR Season 2 was one of my favourite seasons last year, so I’ve got high hopes for this go-around. And of course, we’ll be recapping that season here on Xtra as well!

The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 will stream Friday, June 24, 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.