SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details about the episode 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
Last week, Alexis sent Lala home. The world was shocked as Alexis pulled Lala’s lipstick from her bosom and sent her packing. This was after Alexis said she “wouldn’t forget” that Lala saved her the previous week. It shows what kind of game Alexis is playing – it’s as if we didn’t know she was capable of being shady.
Nonetheless, the group agreed with Alexis and unanimously chose to send Lala home. It seems that Alexis saw this more as saving Kandy rather than sending Lala home – even though she led Lala to believe that she would be saved. Even Kandy was shocked that Alexis picked Lala.
According to Alexis, it’s about semantics. “I didn’t promise, I just told her I would never forget what she did for me,” she said. Then she gave some very pageant answer nonsense about her remaining “sisters” with Lala.
During last week’s Untucked, we learned that Alexis and Kandy made a non-alliance alliance. If Alexis saves Kandy, then the two would then agree not to vote for each other to go home if they were put in a position to do so. Of course, Kandy agreed – but we know that she had her finely manicured fingers crossed behind her back.
It’s the top four and for this week’s challenge, RuPaul tells them that it’s the roast challenge and the queens will be reading Carson Kressley to filth this time around. Based on their roast abilities from their respective seasons, Kandy slayed and won hers while Alexis painted herself green and bombed spectacularly while roasting Michelle Visage. Meanwhile, Jessica and Jimbo have bever participated in a roast which makes them vulnerable for the bottom two.
We also learn that Jimbo is going to embody character for the roast, but when she reveals that she’ll be impersonating Joan Rivers (which won her Canada’s Drag Race’s Snatch Game) her fellow queens express that it’s a very big risk, but Jimbo is confident that she can pull it off. Only one queen has done something similar and that was Coco Montrese in season 5 shen she decided to roast Ru as her cousin from the Brewster Projects. She ended up winning so maybe there is hope with this choice.
Since she won last week’s challenge, Alexis gets to choose the lineup which is as follows: Alexis, Jessica, Kandy and Jimbo as the closer. “My strategy in this is where I wanna be,” said Alexis. The lineup seems fair, but it is clear that the other queens – mainly Kandy are trying to get into her head just a little bit, but Jimbo is just sticking to the course.
After workshopping their jokes with Michelle Visage and Alec Mapa, the queens are fairly neck and neck. They told Jessica she was too nice and that she needed to “cut deeper” with her jokes while Kandy needed help with pacing and annunciation… no surprise there. If anything, she has a wild battle with the word “equestrian” in this episode. The two of them seem safe, but Alexis and Jimbo seem like they are stepping into the danger.
Alexis’s jokes are riding the struggle bus and Jimbo’s impression of Joan Rivers is great, but the jokes are getting too overcomplicated and sounding nothing like the comedic legend. Could this be the week that Jimbo lands in the bottom?
The day of the roast, Katya pays a visit to the queens as they beat their faces. It seems that Katya is supposed to be there to give them advice for the competition but ends up asking them who would f*ck who. We learn that Alexis not only was thirsty for Lala but now she is craving some Kandy. Alexis is a messy horndog.
After asking question about penis sizes and who is the most hated of the group, Katya ends up giving them advice for the roast. She encourages them to make each other cry. “I love it when people try to get nasty!” she tells the queens. “It’s a roast, not a sauté!”
It’s roast and runway time! Ru is looking riveting in this riveted red number to welcome Michelle Visage and the “man of the hour” Carson Kressley.
In front of an audience, the queens went up one by one and it made me anxious. Alexis was… well, let’s just say she wasn’t as bad as the last time. It was a bit of struggle but not cringey, so let’s celebrate the fact that she didn’t bomb.
I enjoyed Jessica’s gown for the roast and her jokes were good, but her delightfully jabbing stage presence is what made her shine. Kandy was on par with her roasting abilities in season 13. She’s funny, cruel, shady, and very Kandy with a capital K. She can command a stage and an audience.
Then there is Jimbo as Joan Rivers. We are all rooting for Jimbo, right? There’s an endearing charm and bizarre appeal that ropes you into her orbit so when I saw her walk on that stage as Joan Rivers, I was anxious as she was. Then she dropped her first joke and it was a steady ascension to inappropriate and brilliant comedy of epic proportions. I think Joan would be proud.
This week’s runway category is “Snow Bunny” and this is how the queens fared:
- Alexis: It’s “Dr. Seuss” cute. Feels like a very fancy onesie with a ruffled collar.
- Jessica: It’s sporty and giving James Bond villainess. She looks ice hot.
- Kandy: I love this iced-out chain bikini fur lewk. One of my faves from Kandy.
- Jimbo: Icy, plucked and other-worldly winter queen. Gorgeous.
During the judges’ critiques, Alexis gets good critiques, but her lewk and performance in the roast are clearly the weakest. Jessica gets glowing reviews for her confident roast and her glamorous ski chalet lewk. Kandy also gets some good marks, but she gets a critique on not letting the room breathe enough so that she can go to the next joke. And of course, they love her iced-out bikini lewk.
Jimbo gets critiques and even though she took the biggest risk, it’s clear that she’s the winner. “You embodied her spirit,” said Kressley. “We almost feel like we had her back for a minute,” added Visage. Ru adds to the chorus and tells Jimbo that her outfit is “beyond gorgeous” and said, it was an honor to watch her as Joan.
Since there are only four queens left, if you are not in the top, you’re in the bottom. And as expected, Jimbo wins and goes up against this week’s lip sync assassin. Crunch, crunch, munch, munch, Silky Nutmeg Ganache is this week’s assassin as she lip syncs against Jimbo who is in full Casper the Baloney Ghost regalia.
The two lip sync to “Freak-A-Zoid” by Midnight Star and after a hurricane of baloney slices, Jimbo – to his shock – wins and decides to send Alexis home.