RECAP: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11, Episode 6 (Daddy Makeovers)
The Pink Bracket of “All Stars 11” has come to a close, and the final episode was easily the best installment we have gotten this season. This episode had EVERYTHING: a charming makeover with lovely gay dads, a terrific and memorable guest judge in Janelle James (“I love a woman who looks like she just wants to lay down”), and an explosive MVQ ceremony that spilled over into the only must-see episode of “Untucked” in literally years. EVERYONE in this bracket was bringing something to the table this episode, and cements this Pink Bracket as one of my favorites in the bracket era.
Read on for my take on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 11, Episode 6. SPOILERS AHEAD!
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This time I’ll cover each queen on how they finished up their journey in the Pink Bracket, including the daddy makeover. They’re listed alphabetically because honestly it’s super hard to rank this very competitive bracket.
April Carrion
By the end of Episode 6, April was the only member of the Pink Bracket who didn’t have any real shot at making semifinals. That reflects well on this bracket overall, and I don’t think it is a negative against April herself. I think she accomplished what she came to do: she was exposed to the “Drag Race” fandom again for the first time in a dozen years, she gave us beauty, she gave us some spice in the workroom (I loved her playful banter with Silky), and she gave us some delicious telenovela drama as the deciding vote in the final MVQ ceremony. She milked that moment perfectly as she built up Salina’s hopes in her speech, only to give her point to Crystal Methyd, pushing Crystal into the semifinals and leaving Salina shut out after her relentless politicking for the entire bracket (more on that in a moment). I think April overall had a perfectly decent showing on “All Stars,” and I’m hoping she gets booked for the “Drag Race Live” show in Vegas. It seems like a perfect vehicle for her.
Aura Mayari
I think Aura had a better showing in the Pink Bracket than the points would indicate. She was very good to great in all three challenges — she did wonders with her daddy makeover, I honestly wasn’t sure which one was the professional drag queen and which was the newbie — and was very much in the mix when it came to work room drama. She was justifiably devastated to miss out on the semis, but it did lead to probably the best bit of drama we’ve had since switching to the bracket format, as she opted to give her final MVQ point to Silky instead of her “pek pek” Season 15 sister, who was counting on that point to advance. The post-show blow-up between Salina and Aura was great TV, and if you haven’t watched “Untucked,” I encourage you to do so. I lost a little respect for Aura when she tried to tell Salina that she voted for SIlky because she “didn’t remember” she could vote for the Top 2 (that’s such a lie, Aura, come on). Once that bullshit was called out, the two of them had a more frank argument about the way that Aura ALSO missed out on the semis despite having a very good track record, and it wasn’t all about Salina. The whole thing was tasty, and the Season 15 queens really delivered this season. As much as we all adore Sasha Colby, there’s an alternate reality in which she wasn’t cast in S15, and we instead got a much more competitive season that was stacked with a great group of queens that were largely shoved into the corner. I’m glad “All Stars” is giving them their moment (Irene, Aura, Salina), and I am desperate to see the likes of Amethyst, Jax, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Loosey LaDuca, Luxx Noir London, and Anetra back for a season where they actually have a chance at the crown. Meanwhile, bring Aura back for the next Slaysian Smackdown.
Crystal Methyd
Crystal stumbled a bit this week, which was interesting to see. Her Season 12 makeover remains one of the most beloved in the entire main series, so to see her relatively sloppy and uninventive approach to this one — no offense to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who are legendary and important to the queer community — was honestly shocking. This was one case where Michelle’s usually bullshit, “I don’t see family resemblance” note actually held weight. It was just a lot of color and patterns just thrown together. Crystal had wisely not committed to any particular alliances, including the “tres leches” Latina alliance that Salina was pushing (but which neither April nor Crystal seemed to be particularly invested in), which left her advancing to the semifinals in real jeopardy going into the final MVQ ceremony. She did ultimately squeak into the semis thanks to April’s vote, but I think it’s important to keep this in mind as the season progresses. I saw a lot of people saying that Crystal was getting pushed heavily by Production — she barely made it to the semi. Barely. It could have very easily gone another way.
Salina EsTitties
I think Salina emerges as the MVP from the Pink Bracket, especially following this episode. She was good to great in all three challenges — she absolutely killed this makeover, I think this was one of the most successful we’ve seen in a long time, and it wasn’t just matchy-matchy bullshit. Salina gave us actual family resemblance without doing a copy + paste, and her daddy partner was incredible. Salina also gave us A+ drama in a way that her Season 15 sister Mistress Isabelle Brooks attempted to do on “AS10,” but without the maliciousness that defines MIB and her antics. Salina has said in interviews that she played “All Stars” like it was “Survivor” (she is a huge “Survivor” fan, I’ve watched her audition video), and you could see that the whole bracket. Right from the beginning she was campaigning for points and trying to set up alliances. I am not mad at her for that. The issue was, Salina wasn’t actually listening to anyone, and she was failing spectacularly at reading the room. Based on talking heads, most if not all the other queens were incredibly suspicious of Salina from the jump, and were never really on board with what she was pitching. They just played along because it was the path of least resistance. (April gave her both of her previous points, but at that point, there was no real harm — Salina was not a threat until this episode.) I can certainly understand Salina’s devastation at coming so close to the semifinals — one point shy! — especially after she did SO well this whole bracket. But her reaction, especially to April and Aura, was fully crazy. Salina seemed to think the alliances were ever only one way. The other queens would give their points to her, and she would do whatever was expeditious for her — and she assumed the other queens were too stupid to see it. That kind of hubris and delusion is what makes Salina a terrific All Star, and I am such a fan after this bracket. Salina should feel excellent about what she accomplished here. She performed well, she absolutely ditched her Golden Boot fashion history, she gave us great TV. She was very much a contender, and I would love to see her come back.
Silky Nutmeg Ganache
Silky also engaged in some MVQ shenanigans this episode, promising Crystal that they would swap points, and then dumping hers on April at the last second because she was — in Silky’s own words — no threat to her advancing. It was ruthless, but she was at least honest about it. I know a lot of people have issues with Silky, and I really do get it. I thought she was the most relatable she has ever been on this “Untucked,” when she fully owned up to betraying Crystal — which was maybe not a great idea on Silky’s part, given that both of them are moving forward to semifinals — as well as screwing over the queens. That felt genuine. I also loved her berating Salina for being a dramatic little bitch and ordering her to talk to Aura, and complaining about sweating through her good Fashion Nova. I can see why people are annoyed that returning All Stars like Silky and A’keria are making the semifinals, when first-time All Stars who are performing well (Aura, Salina) are getting the chop. But neither Silky nor A’keria (nor Morgan McMichaels) went far in their initial “All Stars” appearances, and those were at least five years ago. So I can’t be mad about it.
Vivacious
As a Vivacious Stan since Season 6, I was so delighted to see her get her moment in the sun this bracket. Vivacious did so well this episode, and it was particularly remarkable because she had never made over another person in her life. She even explained that she herself struggles with make-up, which we certainly saw in her previous episodes (both in S6 and the previous two episodes). But I thought she and her makeover partner both looked great, and the performance they did on the runway was heads above — literally, as both had Ornacias — anything the other queens put out. She was so stunned to be in the Top 2 that she clearly forgot the words to the lipsync song, which I refuse to discuss here, because fuck that woman, and delivered…well, she delivered something, let’s just say that. The fact that Vivacious was even in the conversation to continue on made me happy, and the fact that the fandom is embracing her the way they embraced Nicole Paige Brooks last season is why I will never be angry about the bracket format. There is 0% chance that either Nicole or Vivacious would have been cast on a standard “All Stars” season. Not with 12-15 young, new queens with robust social media followings entering the scene each year. I hope Vivacious exits “AS11” with a renewed excitement for drag and that this fandom continues to support her. She’s such a special queen whose talents don’t always align with what “Drag Race” expects, but I adore who she is and what she brings to this community.
So we have Crystal Methyd and Silky Nutmeg Ganache joining Dawn and A’keria Chanel Davenport in our semifinals, and the wildcard slot very much up for grabs. Next up, the Purple Bracket brings us Sam Starr (S17), Joey Jay (S13), Shuga Cain (S11), Hershii Liquor Jete (S16), Jasmine Kennedie (S14), and Kennedy Davenport (S7/AS3) — perhaps our wildest mix yet. Who are you excited to see back?
What did YOU think of the Pink Bracket of “All Stars” 11? Which queens are you rooting for? Drop your comments below!
