‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race All-Stars 8×03’ Review
At the end of last week’s episode, we sadly learnt that former Mrs Continental, Naysha Lopez, would sadly be leaving the competition after Jimbo tried (and failed) to get her revenge on her from Drag Race UK vs The World with the returning lip-sync assassin Pangina Heels! After what can only be described as a fairly one-sided battle, it was revealed that the group had decided that it was Natasha’s time to leave which meant that the other bottom queen Kahana Montrese would get another chance this season. It was when the actual votes were revealed however that we saw our first glimpses of drama from this season of returning queens after Jessica explained that the reason she voted for Kahana to home was that she couldn’t vote for Naysha as they are both from Puerto Rico. While I understand that this is a natural connection between the two queens I do think that this sort of voting based on nationality can very quickly become a sketchy grey area. The other thing is that now that Kahana was able to save herself from elimination, Jessica would obviously be next on her hit list!
It was announced that this week’s maxi challenge saw the queens showcase three separate looks for the first-ever supermarket ball. This challenge saw the queens having to showcase three separate looks, the last of which had to be made from unconventional materials, that could be found in any average supermarket! As soon as this challenge was announced I think everyone (myself included) instantly thought about how Lala Ri was going to cope with this challenge after her iconically infamous bag ball look however this time she had the backing of a not-so-secret alliance with Heidi N Closet. In fact, these two queens were opening talking about how they will work together and how these conversations are so hard to have when there are queens walking around with wandering ears. From beneficial alliances to blooming romance, we learn that season nine top four, Alexis Michelle, has the early stages of a crush on season thirteen Mrs Congeniality Lala Ri. From what we see, however, this was welcome news for the latter but that was not the only bit of love that is present in the werk-room. In fact, it was revealed that Darienne Lake and Mrs Kasha Davis once shared a very intimate kissing session which was not a pairing I would have honestly put together!
The first category of this ball challenge was cleverly dubbed “ledgen-dairy queen” where the competitors had to show off their best queen of the diary aisle-inspired outfit. I personally would have come for some sort of gravity-defying milk headpiece and injected a bit of comedy with a clown-esque crying face painted on to be a play in crying over spilt milk! Think Carrie-inspired but with milk! Jimbo used this opportunity to showcase a very fashion-forward look all white inspired by the unique concept of blowing bubbles in milk. The thing about Jimbo is that she can draw inspiration from the strangest of places and yet always looks fantastic in the most elaborate and over-the-top looks! I thought that Kahana looked incredible in her sparkly Cow print outfit made up of an incredible cropped top which showcased her body flawlessly! However, I really disliked Jayme’s outfit for this category as she decided to wear a mod-infused red and white look with strange draping arms that were carrying cookies. While the concept was whimsical enough, I thought that the look itself was rather busy. One of my favourite looks from this runway theme however would have to be Jessica Wild who showcased an incredible white gown that had brilliant fruit loops carefully placed all over the outfit. This look was the wonderful hybrid of glamour and camp that I personally love!
The next category was “Fruity Patote” (which was the name of the group that Kandy Muse drag sister Dahlia Sin popularised as the fierce Broc-ally!) Instead of going with the traditional interpretation, Jimbo decided to pay homage to some of the greatest queer icons with a pop art-inspired outfit! My favourite look in this category would have to be Kahana Montrese who wore an incredible peeling banana that she paired with an amazing blonde wig that worked flawlessly with the rest of the look! When Darien first stepped onto the runway, I really disliked the vibrant, graphic outfit but once it was revealed that this was simply a cover-up for another outfit underneath. Once this jacket was taken off, she showcased an incredible nude allusion bodysuit with whipped cream and cherries covering their more intimate area. This outfit, clearly inspired by that iconic scene of Paul Rudd in American Pie, showcased Darienne’s newfound confidence after losing tremendous weight while also fitting the category perfectly! I also really enjoyed Heidi’s second look in this episode as she channelled her inner strawberry with the most amazing puffy red trousers covered in seeds. It was her voiceover for this outfit that had me in absolute stitches when she said she is out looking for “a sugar raisin instead of a sugar daddy as raisins are just old fruit!” Which was absolutely hilarious!
The final category saw the queens creating original looks from materials that you would find in an everyday supermarket. I thought that Jaymes Mansfield really showcased her creative skills as she not only created a housewife-inspired look but also created a matching puppet to bring with her down the runway. I actually really enjoyed Kandy’s tin foil outfit this week mainly for the fact that she had matching crystallised hair that looked absolutely stunning on her! However, Darienne Lake also tried using tin foil as a cape but this look was too busy for my liking and the cape itself did not look very good in all honesty. Again, I really loved the purple hair but o don’t think it particularly matched the rest of the outfit!
It was announced by Ru Paul that Jessica Wilde is the winner of this week’s episode which I agree with as that diary look was pure beauty. This meant that Jessica had to battle against the secret lipsync assassin who turned out to be none other than the winner of Drag Race UK vs The World season two, Raja O’Hara, to the iconic song Coconuts by Kim Petras. I think that Jimbo must have been kicking herself as I have seen her perform this number numerous times and Jessica decided to go for a very similar direction of shaking massive breasts around for the majority of the number! It made total sense when Jessica was named the winner of the lip-sync meaning that she wins a $30,000 tip and the opportunity to single-handedly decided which queen would be leaving the competition this week between Mrs Kasha Davis and Darienne Lake. It was announced that Jessica had chosen the former to go home. I do think that Mrs Lasha Davis had already accepted the fact that she would be going home this episode as she almost randomly launched into an extremely heartfelt and powerful speech thanking Ru for inviting her back and being on her sober journey earlier in the episode! Kasha is a queen that not only champions drag queen story times but also constantly promotes kindness which is something we need more of in this world!
Overall, the diary queen runway category would have to be my favourite theme this week as the queens were able to creatively interpret this idea and in fact, I was able to come up with my own idea which was unlike everything else that was shown on the runway. The entire storyline of this episode was of Lala Ri could redeem herself and she did fairly well so I kind of hope this is the last time we focus on that infamous bag ball outfit!
