RECAP: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 11 FINALE
And lo, we have another “All Star” winner. It’s hard to consider “All Stars 11” without comparing it to the its predecessor season, which had roughly the same format. I think “AS11” was overall a more enjoyable watch — it lacked the dark Mistress Isabelle Brooks drama, the “AS10” semifinals were super rushed and key queens go totally lost in the third act — but the highs were not as high as the ones we got in “AS10.” They just weren’t. It was wonderful to be reintroduced to some of these queens, including some of those who didn’t make the semifinals — Morgan McMichaels, Vivacious, Aura Miyari, Salina EsTitties all had great runs in the bracket prelims — and I do think this is a wonderful group of semifinalists.
But the smaller number of queens in this lipsync smackdown finale made the stakes felt lower than last season. Just six queens meant that each semifinalist got their moment (unlike, say, Irene the Alien, Aja, and Daya Betty in “AS10,” who just kind of…disappeared by the “AS10” finale). But another ham-fisted twist that I’m sure will lead to cries of favoritism, and a third-act rivalry that was talked around but never really addressed, left this episode feeling a bit light on content and almost like a fait accompli. Which is not to say it didn’t have its charms, most of them courtesy of the first openly gay contestant in the show’s history.
Read on for my take on the “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 11 Finale. SPOILERS AHEAD!
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We started off with the fallout from last episode’s lipsync between A’keria Chanel Davenport and Sam Star, with A’keria sending her second semifinalist home. The results of Rate-a-Queen were revealed, and A’keria felt some kind of way about unanimously ranked last for the Talent Show. When she asked why people put her last, Jasmine Kennedie gave her a direct answer — the talent was unoriginal, it was sloppy, her props didn’t work correctly, and she put everything together last moment. All of that is accurate, and A’keria did not respond well. This beef reemerged online this week, with Jasmine reiterating her argument, and A’keria’ coming in with some pretty low blows.
I’m gonna be honest here: I am sad for what has happened with A’keria this season, and the energy she seems to have continued with after it wrapped. There is a nastiness and a messiness to the way she has conducted herself in this last act, and on social media up to this week, that I feel is beneath the queen I believe her to be, and that I fear speaks to a deep unhappiness on her part. I’m sure it must have been supremely frustrating for her to come back for her third time — after a fairly disastrous second run — and to barely make the merge, and then be put in the Bottom 2 for both of the semifinals. But this is all a really bad look for A’keria.
Speaking of, let’s talk about the A’keria/Silky drama. It was heavily discussed in the last three episodes, but the two of them never hashed it out directly, nor did they even lipsync against one another. I have to assume that at least part of the reason they were both brought back again was to explore this rivalry on camera, as it had been known in the fandom for at least a year. Silky was noticeably silent for the entire opening segment of this episode, only chiming in when she explicitly had to answer a question from the Pink Furry Box (you know they were stretching for time when we had to do a question-and-answer portion). The producers must have been furious that neither of them addressed their issues on camera, especially because it has spilled over into social media this week. Silky went on MIB’s show and shared her side, sparking A’keria to do a Live in which she purported to share her receipts and…it did not go well for her. She seemed unfocused and if she thought she had damning information about Silky, it didn’t really come across that way.
This whole thing makes me sad. I hope A’keria logs off for a while and figures out something that brings her joy. She’s tremendously talented, a stunning beauty, and when she’s winning, she’s a brilliant light. But this is all a bad look. Silky had overall a solid run this season, but she shot herself in the foot (again) by going on a few different shows this week and making some deeply questionable statements that have gotten her a lot of blowback.
Anyway, let’s get into this disco lipsync for the crown, with guest Pit Crew member Evan Mulrooney manning the ball tumbler. And let’s all agree that, no matter what feelings we have about the way this episode turned out, we can all be grateful for seeing Evan in a gold speedo, lubed up, flexing his pecs. What a blessing.
Actually, before we get to the lipsyncs, one more twist: two queens got to automatically skip the first round, based on their performances in the semifinal rounds. I do think there is a a legit reason for this. If we had three Round 1 lipsyncs, we would have 3 queens for Round 2. That wouldn’t work. By giving two of them a bye, it avoids an odd number for the penultimate match-ups. But I guarantee you people are going to object to Crystal Methyd getting another free pass (because she won both of the semifinal episodes, which most viewers find controversial on its own), while Jasmine Kennedie was auto-advanced because she had the highest overall average in the Rate-a-Queen rankings.
Round 1, Match 1: Silky Nutmeg Ganache v. Dawn “Star Love” by Cheryl Lynn
This was actually a tighter competition than I expected. Dawn has not traditionally done well in lipsyncs, having been slaughtered by Morphine Love Dion on at least once, if not twice, on Season 16. But I thought she actually put up a decent fight here, especially in the middle section of the lipsync. She was too tentative at first, and I think Silky came alive in the third act when she brought out the batons. But Dawn should feel good about her job here — she put up a fight, and the odds were stacked against her. Silky advanced to Round 2.
Round 1, Match 2: A’keria Chanel Davenport v. Joey Jay “The Boss” by Diana Ross
Have we ever had a lipsync to “The Boss”? I can’t recall one, and it’s such a great lipsync song. I thought both of these queens did well here, and it was a very close race. Joey is just so joyful when she lipsyncs, and she is skilled at both storytelling and in her musicality. A’keria has made it to the finale on the strength of her lipsyncing skills, and she was embodying Ms. Ross in this song. Ultimately RuPaul gave the win to Joey, marking the first time in “Drag Race” history Joey has ever won a lipsync, or literally anything at all.
Round 2, Match 1: Silky Nutmeg Ganache vs. Joey Jay “The Main Event/Fight” by Barbra Streisand
This one was not as even, as I thought Joey really shone this whole number. No offense to Silky, who I do think is a skilled lipsync artist — she was indeed ready to do so — but I think she overly relied on reveals and gimmicks, and they just didn’t have a lot of impact. At one point she blew a handful of shiny confetti into the air, but she was in the back of the stage and you could barely see it…except the one that stuck to the poor gal’s armpit. Joey just had a great time living to that song, and this one was a TKO. There was a great moment at the sustained high note at the end where Joey mimed taking tips from the nonexistent audience that had me literally LOLing. Joey Jay, early out from the worst season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” who has never won a challenge ever, lipsynced her way into the Top 2 of “All Stars” 11. You better dance, you homosexual.
Round 2, Match 2: Crystal Methyd vs. Jasmine Kennedie “Knock on Wood” by Amii Stewart
These queens were already at disadvantage, because this song has been performed quite well on “Drag Race” at least twice before, in Season 3 with Alexis Mateo vs. Stacy Layne Matthews, and as the final lipsync of Season 15 with Sasha Colby and Anetra absolutely tearing up the stage, slamming their pusses into oblivion in one of the all-time great boss matches of this series. Crystal and Jasmine did not live up to either of those previous battles. Crystal is not known as a strong lipsyncer, and I thought she did fine. Jasmine IS a renowned lipsync artist, and I thought this was a rare miss for her. She was throwing out some tricks and splits, but they felt oddly timed with the music. She was going for seductive, but there were some shots that just…did not give sexy, let’s say that. So while Crystal didn’t exactly blow it out of the water, she did the best she probably could with the song; meanwhile Jasmine underperformed (based on what they showed us). And thus, Crystal advanced to the Final 2, as pretty much anyone could have seen coming after she was handed the wins in both semifinal episodes.
Final Lipsync: Crystal Methyd vs. Joey Jay “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer
Our unexpected Final 2 came out in new outfits, with Crystal serving Heat Miser in an over-the-top flame look and Joey giving us Snow Miser in a massive ostrich-feather coat. I thought they were both a lot of fun in this lipsync — which has also been done, in Season 3, in an iconic battle between Manila Luzon and Delta Werk. Again, we can only go by what they showed us, and the camera certainly spent more time focused on Crystal. But I loved some of Crystal’s more playful moments here, including her licking her fingers while talking about her cake recipe and a successful outfit reveal leading into the end of the song. And, as I think many people suspected based on the way the past few episodes went, the winner of “All Stars 11” was Crystal Methyd.
I think it could have ended up with either finalist as a winner, and I would have been happy. I like both of these queens, and they’ve both had unconventional journeys — they are underdogs in their own way. But I do think Crystal brings something new and different to the winner’s circle. We haven’t had a weirdo winner since Willow Pill (four years ago) or Jimbo (three years ago), and Crystal’s approach is significantly different than theirs. We haven’t had a Latina winner since Bianca del Rio, which was 12 years ago. (I know that Ginger is partially Puerto Rican, but that’s not something that she leads with as part of her drag.) She’s also a delight, and my god, we need that right now.
I know that people will grouse that Crystal was pushed to this win, and it’s hard to discount that especially given the semifinal wins. But let me offer this defense: Crystal never flopped this entire season. While there were others who could have won those challenges, Crystal’s victories were at least plausible (the criticism that she did that exact talent on tour before the show — come on; the vast majority of the audience had never seen it, and you cannot plagiarize from yourself). Moreso, I don’t know if there’s anyone else I would considered “robbed” by this. Joey had a great run. She leaves this season as the people’s princess. That’s a huge turnaround for a queen who wasn’t particularly well regarded by the fandom prior to this. I don’t think any of the other finalists were a more “correct” winner for the season. And more than anything, I’m glad a returning All Star didn’t take the title this time. It was great to see those queens again, but I loved the fact that a one-time returnee took home this title.
And as a Season 12 apologist — that cursed season, packed with talent and memorable moments — I am so glad that another S12 girlie has a crown. It has one of the lowest ratios of returning queens, for a multitude of reasons. So I’m glad to see it getting more prominence in the “Drag Race” lore.
That may be the end for “All Stars 11,” but we have plenty more “Drag Race” recaps incoming. We’re currently recapping “Canada All Stars” and “Drag Race France 4” — both excellent! — and we’ll be doing “Down Under vs. the World” and “Latina Royale” when they start in the next few weeks. It’s a great time to be an international “Drag Race” fan, so get that WoW Presents Plus account set up and join us via the link below!
What do YOU think of the finale of “All Stars” 11? Which queens are you rooting for? Drop your comments below!
