All Stars 3 has been a wild ride. Topping last year’s stunning ninth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race was always going to be a challenge, if not an entirely impossible feat. Last year’s competition was truly a lightning-in-a-bottle moment, with a fiercely compelling reality show airing during a political moment that transformed it into an inspirational roar of resistance.
All Stars 3, even at its best moments, could never come close. Tonight’s finale perfectly summarizes the season’s problem: as entertaining as it is in bursts, it still leaves much to be desired and comes to head-scratching conclusions.
With only four queens remaining at the top of the final hour, Ru challenged her all stars to write and choreograph their own dance verse to “Hey Kitty Girl” for the final performance. The twist? They would perform their verses in a live, single take, recorded all around the studio. This challenge was easily the highlight of the episode, with the four queens truly bringing their all to their verses. This felt like a fun, campy take on La La Land’s opening musical number, and while some edits make me question whether it was truly recorded in one take, it was simply too entertaining to get hung up on.
The real twist of the night, however, was that the six eliminated queens would decide on who the final two queens were, a decision that led to the controversial conclusion. It was undeniably entertaining to see the former queens return and deliberate with the final contestants. Their conversations had just the right amount of tension to make them suspenseful, without the overload of drama that this season has become known for. It also must be said that all the eliminated queens were sporting their best looks of the season; Aja, Morgan, and Thorgy looked particularly stunning.
But having the eliminated queens decide the top two was ultimately a disappointing move, as the final two were, frankly, a major disappointment… which can only be discussed with spoilers – so beware!
Let’s just be honest: it makes no sense for Kennedy and Trixie to be the season’s top two queens. While Trixie – who, of course, ultimately won the competition – gave a solid effort, and isn’t a bad choice for the top two, Kennedy’s spot is an infuriating decision. Shangela was the frontrunner – a statement made by Trixie during this very episode – and, based on her performance throughout the entire season, should have had the crown in the bag.
But, by having the former queens decide who proceeds to the final lip sync, Shangela faced a jury consisting of many queens she eliminated herself. While Kennedy is, by no means, a weak performer (she actually gave the best performance during the “Kitty Girl” sequence), her presence in the bland final lip sync was the result of unnecessary drama.
When VH1 announced that the tenth season of Drag Race would start a week after All Stars 3 wraps, it felt like an odd, almost unwise decision. Finally, thanks to its ninth season, Drag Race had entered the mainstream. Ru was on the cover of magazines and winning Emmys, and ratings were at an all-time high; the series was having a moment. Why oversaturate the airwaves? But, now, season ten couldn’t come fast enough. All Stars 3 was a fun flop, with too many weak contestants and a finale that failed to stick the landing. Let’s hope next season puts the series back on track.
Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
