RECAP: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11, Episode 7 (Sports Design)
We’re at the final bracket of “All Stars 11,” and if this episode was any indication, the Purple Bracket is going to, appropriately, leave us bruised. Because YIKES. I’m not sure what happened in casting, but this is a curious collection of queens. We have one multi-time finalist, one one-time finalist, a lipsync assassin, and queen who got cut for literally no reason because she somehow made it almost to the end, and then two early outs. OK. Sometimes underdogs can surprise and delight you. After this episode, I am highly dubious about this hodgepodge group.
Read on for my take on “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 11, Episode 7. SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Let’s discuss each Purple Bracket queen in alphabetical order. I’ll be covering their previous “Drag Race” experience, their relatively threat level in this bracket, and their performance in the sportswear makeover challenge, which was — to be blunt — an unbelievably tight race for hideous.
Hershii LiqCour-Jete
Hershii was the Porkchop of Season 16, which was surprising to me at the time. Hershii is the drag daughter of Kornbread from Season 14 — a huge threat who was taken out due to injury — and I thought her promo look was fierce. But S16 was super competitive, and Hershii was showing weak straight out the gate, and was eliminated on a design challenge in which she didn’t actually make more than half of her outfit.
I’m glad that the “All Stars” bracket format gives early outs — especially Porkchops — a second chance. Often times these queens are really good at some things, but got screwed by the challenge order. I’m still not clear on what Hershii does particularly well. The poor gal got another design challenge straight out the gate, and once again, she flopped. Credit where it’s due: she did MAKE everything this time. But that corset…thing…was so baffling to me that it caused psychic harm every time I looked at. At this point we know that aesthetics are generally not Hershii’s strong suit. Based on the S16 Talent Show and LaLaPaRuZa, I don’t believe her strength to be in performance/dance either. So I’m left wondering, What exactly does Hershii do successfully that keeps her coming back? Cue Bianca del Rio gif.
Jasmine Kennedie
Jasmine is an obvious All Star, and one of the obvious contenders in this bracket. She was one of the main characters in the main-character-filled Season 14. Looking back, Jasmine feels like she could have won her original season, despite not even making F6 (she went out in 8th Place) and never winning a challenge. But she made for great TV and is a lethal lipsync performer, so it was only a matter of time before Jasmine came back for “All Stars.” And this time, she’s one of the dolls, and she looks terrific. The Mouth Almighty is still runnin’, though. That’s for sure.
I though Jasmine gave us one of the only decent looks in this challenge, and probably the only outfit anyone with any kind of taste would ever actually wear. She has clearly refined her taste level since S14, and I’m excited to see what else she can do this season. I was less enthused by her Top 2 lipsync, in which she spent entirely too long in that truly ugly feather overcoat (I’m sure it was expensive, but I think it’s so ugly, I’m sorry), while her competitor just dominated the song. But one thing is for sure: Jasmine continues to know how to stir the pot, and I think she’ll provide ample drama when it comes to MVQ points.
Joey Jay
Poor Joey Jay from the much-maligned Season 13 (still the worst season in the show’s history, I stand firm in that call) seems like a strange inclusion here. In her first run, Joey was known for basically three things: 1) being trade out of drag, 2) not wearing wigs, 3) being the “first openly gay contestant on ‘Drag Race,’” thanks to her iconic rumix verse (“I’m a gay-ass bitch, I’m Joey Jay…”). So, essentially, she was a meme queen, and she placed 12th in one of the least-competitive seasons of the show.
However, Joey was a breath of fresh air to me this episode. She gives great confessionals and knows how to make Ru laugh effortlessly. Joey volleys. Joey is playful and silly and stupid, and RuPaul loves that. Joey ALSO went home on a design challenge in her season, and I thought her look this type was a step up from her previous efforts — everything seemed competently constructed, at least. But still, there were issues. I would describe her look as, “Kitana from ‘Mortal Kombat’ attending the prom in Reno, NV.” There were good elements of this, but the proportions were way off for me. Part of that was not Joey’s problem. The materials provided — sports uniforms, jockstraps from Bike, various sport balls — didn’t provide much actual fabric. I think Joey did about as well as she could with a lousy challenge concept. But was it actually good? I don’t think so. But good on Joey for at least giving me something to look forward to next week. I enjoyed sending time with her.
Kennedy Davenport
She’s back, back, back again — literally — as Kennedy Davenport returns for her fourth “Drag Race” run, even though this show is only acknowledging her first two. Kennedy placed 4th on Season 7 and Top 2 in “All Star 3.” That was eight years ago. In between, she was Final 4 on “Canada vs. the World” S2, and she had a decent run there. Bottom line, Kennedy is consistently good at “Drag Race,” being a dancer, a singer, a surprisingly great comedian — she just sucks at design challenges. Which is of course what they gave her here. Why are we doing this to both the queens and the viewers?
Like Joey, I think Kennedy did about as well as she could here. Certainly there was a lot of work and thought put into her garment. Making a skirt out of two stacked shorts was…inspired, I guess I would say. But this ain’t “Project Runway” and ain’t nobody care if that got pockets, Kennedy. They just want you to look puss. Alas, Kennedy looked like a cross between an IKEA sales manager and Vault Boy from “Fallout.”
The good news for Kennedy is, she is without question the strongest queen in this bracket, and her weakest area is out of the way. The bad news for Kennedy is, she’s the only “classic” queen in this group, and this is her FOURTH time back. I don’t see these newer queens giving her any MVQ points. She done already herses. Literally. Politically, I think she may struggle.
Sam Star
Sam was one of the few capable queens on Season 17 — I said what I said — but the issue with Sam and the fandom, and the judges, was that she never felt “real.” It always felt like a performative affect, and everything just seemed like someone play acting their version of a drag queen. Sam seems keenly aware of that criticism on “All Stars 11,” and I already find her more relatable and playful than she was on S17. But there’s still a veneer there, and I’m not talking about the teeth.
I think Sam is the other obvious threat this bracket, and the judges appear to agree as they gave her the Top 2 this episode despite what I think is one of the worst competently constructed garments in a design challenge. From a technical standpoint, Sam obviously did a lot of work here. It is just fucking hideous, I’m sorry. This look is the antithesis of taste. I applaud her for embracing the challenge and really going for it. But at some point you have to be able to step back and ask, Is this visually appealing? And no, this was not. I think I became less gay looking at this garment. Seriously.
HOWEVER. Sam looked absolutely PUSS during that lipsync to Bonnie Tyler’s “If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man).” One of the other queens said they didn’t expect to see much transformation between Sam from S17 to now, and after the lipsync, it’s clear that’s wrong. This was a much different Sam, more confident, more sensual. She was great in that performance and she justifiably beat Jasmine for the third point. And beating Jasmine in a lipsync is no small feat. Also: that may have been the first solid lipsync we’ve had all season. It’s Episode 7, y’all.
Shuga Cain
Shuga is one of the few remaining queens to return from Season 11. At this point I think the only queens from that season to not come back are Brooke Lynn Hytes (conflict of interest), Ariel Versace (meh), Mercedes Iman Diamond (not “All Stars” material IMO), and Honey Davenport (recently slammed “Drag Race” after winning a huge leather title out of drag). Shuga is notable for being dropped in 7th Place, when her team killed the magic challenge and the other team absolutely flopped. But they wanted Shuga gone, so they invented a way to toss her. It was honestly crazy, looking back.
I enjoy Shuga’s drag, and she is indeed aging like fine wine. Do I think she’s particularly competitive here? I do not. But that said, this is not a particularly competitive bracket, so she could surprise us. Shuga is very good at doing well enough to continue but never truly excelling. She can turn a look. She can be funny. She gives good talking heads. But what is Shuga’s style of drag? What does she do better than anyone else? I honestly don’t know. I’m very open to learning! But as of now, I do not know.
I thought her look in this challenge was decent from afar, but as soon as you got up close all you could see was that butchered cut across the chest. Pieces of this look competently made, and it was more wearable than probably half the other looks. But that hacked bust line was all I could see.
What do YOU think of the Purple Bracket of “All Stars” 11? Which queens are you rooting for? Drop your comments below!
