Entertainment
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 only has one problem – it’s too nice-Shaun Kitchener-Entertainment – Metro
Throughout the entire season, especially as it has progressed, there has barely been a whiff of criticism from the panel.
What’s the harm in calling a spade a spade sometimes? (Picture: WOW Presents Plus)
You’ll be hard pushed to find many RuPaul’s Drag Race viewers who don’t think the current season of All Stars – the first to feature all-winners – is among its best ever.
Uniting eight crowned queens from years gone by (four from ‘regular’ US runs, three from previous All Stars, one from Drag Race UK), it’s a Champion Of Champions eleganza extravaganza – with one inspired change to the format.
Rather than knocking contestants out week by week, all eight are allowed to stay for (almost) the entire duration; flaunting their charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent in each and every challenge – with a points-like system set to determine the final four, who’ll compete for the crown in a Lip Sync ‘LaLaPaRuZa’ in just a couple of weeks’ time.
The whole thing has been an almost flawless triumph. Any concerns fans may have had over which winners were and weren’t invited to take part have surely been allayed by the perfect blend of personalities we did get; and without weekly eliminations keeping tensions fraught, the focus is more on camp fun than heated arguments and apparent ‘villain edits’ – without losing the competitiveness.
But if there’s one teeny-tiny problem stopping it from being totally perfect, it’s that maybe the show has been… well, almost too positive.
It’s not that I want more arguments. Whenever there is a fleeting moment of discontent in the werkroom, it usually comes from a place of mutual respect rather than outright rivalry, and it’s soon resolved. No matter how p***ed The Vivienne is about being blocked, we’re never even close to being in Daya Betty vs Jasmine Kennedie territory, and I for one am relieved.
It’s the relentless positivity of the judges that is jarring.
We need the judges to guide us in telling us what’s working and what isn’t (Picture: World of Wonder / Paramount Plus)
Throughout the entire season, especially as it has progressed, there has barely been a whiff of criticism from the panel. We go to the judges’ critiques at the end of every runway and, nine times out of 10, they are overwhelmingly positive with hardly any negatives whatsoever.
And bizarrely, it seems it’s the edit that’s to blame rather than the judges themselves: Trinity The Tuck recently indicated on Twitter that stronger critiques were handed out, they’ve just been left on the cutting room floor.
Look, the world is hostile enough to LGBTQ+ folks; it’s not like the uplifting and celebratory energy of this season is a bad thing. But it does grate a little when, say, a contestant clearly struggles in one challenge and they get the same glowing praise as someone who soared.
Most of the queens have had at least one moment of struggle: Raja in the girl group challenge, Jinkx in the design challenges, Jaida during last week’s roast. But even when the judges do pick up on those things, often the observations are dressed up as acclaim instead (‘that’s so you!’).
The contestants don’t need to be rudely and disrespectfully slated (we all remember season one of Canada’s Drag Race). But they’re professionals! They’re champions! We already know they’re great, we know they’re talented, we know none of them are being eliminated at any point (until the finale, at least).
What’s the harm in calling a spade a spade sometimes? If anything, it’ll make genuine moments of glory even more triumphant, rather than some occasions where it’s seemed as though one or both of the queens in the Top 2 has been randomly picked out of a hat.
Plus, as viewers who don’t live and breathe drag like the professionals do, we need the judges to guide us in telling us what’s working and what isn’t; what’s fashion (‘but is it fashion?’) and what’s not; what’s derivative and what’s boundary-breaking. Sure, their opinions are all subjective, but they’re at least informed.
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It’s a similar problem I – and many other viewers – had with the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing, when the 9 and 10 paddles started to lose all meaning because gushing praise was being wheeled out willy-nilly for dances that, realistically, were worth a 6 or 7, tops.
It’s not about cutting down contestants who are trying their best; it’s about creating a clearer and fairer playing field; and therefore, a more interesting competition.
Instead, I’m turning to The Pit Stop for the best critiques – the official YouTube sister show hosted by Bob The Drag Queen (and it’s only confirming my feeling that should Ru ever hang up her wig, Bob should take over – with Peppermint as the Michelle Visage). Bob and the weekly guests are critical but fun; they’re shady but reverent. I’ve started looking forward to their comments more than I do the judges’.
It really is the only gripe in what has otherwise been a gag-worthy season.
All Stars 7 is the best cycle of the spin-off for a long time – perhaps the first with proper rewatch value since the iconic All Stars 2. And hot off the heels of a similarly brilliant season 14 of the ‘regular’ US show, it seems the franchise is back on a real hot streak.
It’s shown us the remarkable evolution of Jinkx’s comedy, introduced us to an even kookier Raja, given underrated mid-pandemic champ Jaida her dues, showcased The Vivienne’s sharp wit to a wider audience, and served up even more joy from recent fan faves Trinity, Monét, Shea Coulée and Yvie Oddly.
It almost seems a shame now to narrow it down to a Top 4 and have one of them win, but that crown of crowns has to go to somebody (I’ll be cheering for Jinkx, but they’re all winners. Quite literally, in this case).
Let’s just hope that if this format is repeated at any point (and for all its brilliance it probably shouldn’t be repeated, at least for a few years), the judges’ critiques are as fierce as the queens themselves.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
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