We’ve been at the reality-recapping game long enough to know that posting one four days after an episode airs is not likely to get a ton of engagement, but as we might have mentioned a time or two, we’re the OG Drag Race recappers and your uncles have a book they’ll never stop selling, so we’ll always keep our streak alive while we can. Besides, this was a legitimately fun, if low-key episode. One of the benefits of the bracket format is that the vibe completely shifts with each new bracket. Ladies, (re)introduce yourselves.
TINA BURNER
She clearly came back with a lot to prove and a serious case of defensiveness, which means she could either get very tiresome quickly or she’ll be hellaciously entertaining to watch. She championed this look as a triumphant example of her evolution away from the McDonald’s colors she was known for wearing, but we find her drag to be pretty stale and extremely aging to her.
KERRY COLBY
She’s the stunner of the season for sure, but she has to prove that she’s more than a supermodel to Ru. This look is very fashion, but if she spent her whole time serving looks like this, we think the judges might have an issue with it. She cracked Ru up with that “My ministry is cuntfidence” exchange, so she’s not off to a bad start.
NICOLE PAIGE BROOKS
Ma’am. Nicole Paige Brooks is a Drag Race legend for having one of the earliest memeable exchanges of the series, back when it seemed like no one was watching it. We’ll always have a soft spot for the girls who did this gig back when the lens was smeared with Vaseline and every ad was either for an HIV med or a leather gear store. She legitimately looks great and there’s no reason she can’t serve world-class drag and glamour here. This is not world-class drag.
MISTRESS ISABELLE BROOKS
This, on the other hand, is world class drag. You either love Mistress or you hate her and she completely understands that this quality equals reality television stardom, not to mention the increased likelihood of staying on camera all the way to the end. Bitch is playing the game, and while we think she sometimes overdoes things, we also can’t seriously claim that such a quality is unseemly in a drag queen. Bring on the mess. If these bitches can’t take it, they shouldn’t call themselves an all-star.
LYDIA B KOLLINS
This is pretty cute. We think she’s smart to play up how ludicrous it is that she’s already back, but we think she’s even smarter for what looks like a serious attempt to address the critiques of her drag last time. Not that we think she listened to us, but we had an issue with her drag not having a certain clarity to it, and this feels extremely clear and straightforward.
JORGEOUS
Living up to her name. Jorgeous has always been adorable and insanely charming. This time around, she’s added mega-confidence to the mix, which means she’s likely to be a major contender. Some viewers have issues with queens overstaying their welcome but All-Stars is basically a reunion tour of sorts. She’s fun and glam and Ru likes her. That laugh she does at the end of every sentence is hilariously endearing, and reality TV gold.
The Pit Crew came in to put their balls on display and the bulk of the episode was turned over to the queens sewing and sniping their way through the Werk Room. Honestly? No complaints.
It wasn’t the most exciting episode in the world, and we can understand the argument that there was a lot of filler to sit through. If Mistress didn’t have such a finely tuned understanding of her role in this endeavor – to stir shit up and then back it up with good drag – then it might have been a lot duller, but for the most part, we were entertained watching it all play out.
But it’s not all down to Mistress. The vibes are much different with this crop of queens and it feels like there are more agendas and lists of things to prove with this crowd. An entire season of this kind of sniping might get exhausting, but we’re perfectly fine sitting through two more episodes of it.
Category Is: Eight Ball Eleganza! Which queen is reaping what she sewed? #AllStars10 pic.twitter.com/b01dFUjMhf
— RuPaul’s Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) May 24, 2025
Jorgeous knows how to play to her strengths and she also knows what the judges are likely to critique for seeing too much and she threads that needle like a champ. This isn’t the most spectacular thing we’ve ever seen her wear and it wasn’t likely to win, but she did a great job with some questionable materials.
This was her faking her way through the challenge, everyone knew it, and no one cared because she looked so gorgeous. It was a smart series of creative choices that played to her strengths. It was also never going to be in the top.
This was fun and savvy. There was no way a panel comprising RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and Susanne Bartsch wasn’t going to fall all over a mashup of Club Kid and ’80s homage. This is what we mean about clarity in her drag. On this show, it needs to be the kind of drag you get immediately.
This is extremely well-made and girlfriend was PISSED that she didn’t get more recognition for it, which we can understand. It couldn’t have been easy for her to see the win go to Tina over this and there’s likely to be a shit-ton of drama going forward, which is probably why it didn’t win. That’s the problem when you cast yourself as the villain. The producers set you up with material.
Put bluntly, if this were a regular season of Drag Race, the judges would have read her for filth and sent her packing. But it’s always been pretty clear that the queens only return to All-Stars because the judges agree to tone down their critiques. We long ago gave up on the idea that this show is a legitimate competition, and we do want to see Nicole improve her standing a little, but she wasn’t well-served by the judges pretending like this was good drag. Putting aside the dreary costume, it’s disappointing to see that she didn’t even try to get a little more outrageous with the style. That wig and those shoes are SAD.
Here’s the dichotomy of Tina Burner’s drag: it’s stale, but she’s very good at it. For a design challenge, there’s no denying that she did an incredible amount of work and executed all of it nearly perfectly. We felt like the judges had no choice but to award her a win and we completely agree with that, but as drag goes, this is… not fresh or even all that glam. She said she was serving a Samantha Jones moment and we think she needs to pick better, fresher references for herself.
Tina and Lydia faced off for the lip sync and it was a fun matchup because their styles are so different and their energy levels were the same. It seemed pretty obvious, however, that the judges were responding much more to Lydia’s antics.
She was shocked by this win, which was legitimately charming, but she doesn’t yet understand the advantages she has in this competition. All of the judges critiques of her are fresh in her mind and she hasn’t yet dealt with the exposure of her season and the will of the fans. She’s just trying to do what they told her to, which is going to be a big leg up for her.
Come see us in DALLAS next month for Pride, where we’ll be giving a talk on the drag and trans legends who changed the world and handing out signed copies of our book! Details here.
Legendary Children: The First Decade of RuPaul’s Drag Race and the Last Century of Queer Life, a New York Times “New and Notable” pick, praised by The Washington Post “because the world needs authenticity in its stories,” and chosen as one of the Best Books of The Year by NPR is on sale wherever fine books are sold! It’s also available in Italian and Spanish language editions, darlings! Because we’re fabulous on an INTERNATIONAL level.
[Photo Credit: Paramount Plus via Tom and Lorenzo]
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