RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 10, Episode 8
"Stagecooch"
Director: Nick Murray
Cast: Acid Betty, Alyssa Hunter, Cynthia Lee Fontaine, Daya Betty, Denali, Ginger Minj
I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. I've been up all night with Zepbound-related nausea (my Zep sis Ginger Minj knows what it's like!) and, frankly, if the show isn't putting in the effort ...
Complaining about Drag Race is as part of the Drag Race experience as just watching Drag Race. And I don't even find complaining all that fun to do anymore. I already said what I wanted to say.
The problem is this: there is a sense of complacency to Drag Race that does not match the investment made by the queens or the audience. The vibe is very much of a few people at the top, lounging on pool floats in speedos and sunglasses, drinking margaritas and shouting out a few "storylines" — and then a hard-working crew breaking their backs to contort the queens' actions and whatever footage they have to fit into this narrative.
And the narrative is never, ever as exciting as the one that we all clearly see unfolding just beyond the edges of the edit.
So, this season. I was mad when Olivia Lux was told she executed a pitch perfect, prototypical, definition of a great makeover ... and wasn't in the top two. I was mad when Kerri Colby was told she stole every scene in the Rusical, and that she created such a strong character that she should get into voice acting, and wasn't in the top two. Now I'm mad in the opposite direction: I'm mad that this show is making me not root for Ginger Minj.
I love Ginger. I want Ginger Minj to have a crown — but not like this (which, nerd alert, was a Hawkeye meme long before it was Jan's). I hate that this edit is making me react to Ginger's nonstop winning with confusion and — most infuriatingly — a nonplussed "sure, whatever." The problem is, as soon as Ginger was announced, all of the gay internet cried out in unison, "Oh, her."
Everyone knew the score: Ginger's on this cast to get a crown. It's her fourth time. Many feel she should have won Season 7. She was part of the iconic All Stars 2, a season she flopped, and now she's back for All Stars 10 — and she's going to win. Oh, wow, the storytelling. The symmetry. The symbolism. Sure. Now we're two weeks into Bracket 3 and Ginger's won all the points. We all saw it coming. I mean, Ginger didn't. The look on her face when she won the lip sync says it all.
Again, I love Ginger! I am excited to see her on my TV, but I'm not excited by what this winner-no-matter-what edit is doing for her. It's predictable — literally. Everyone predicted this. And it doesn't match up with what we're seeing; Denali and Acid could have won last week, and Acid could've been in the top with Denali again this week. And Daya could've won last week's lip sync, and Denali could have won this week. And, from a reality TV producer POV, this is not exciting storytelling. This is not storytelling that feels alive, in the moment, able to pivot to follow something that's clearly happening and more exciting than whatever was planned. This feels very much like it was decreed that Ginger must win long before production started, and then whoever makes such a decision is now in Ibiza with their laptop shut.
A more interesting season is, you bring Ginger Minj back ... and let her compete. She's not gonna do poorly. She should be a TV producer's dream, in that you know she's going to give you loads of entertainment and exactly what you want from confessionals. I don't think you have to worry about her at all. That should free you up to pay attention to the other queens, a loose cannon like Acid Betty or a ferocious competitor like Denali. What storylines are they telling? What's popping up in the Werk Room? Like, oh shit, did Acid kinda eat this week — in a country music girl group challenge? That's television, baby.
I'm also mad because, as is too often the case with Drag Race, the more interesting story is the one that's unfolding about this season through gossip, leaks, and bent (or broken) NDAs. You may have noticed that in her confessionals, Denali's hair inexplicably lengthens by inches and inches. Again, rumors and gossip and secondhand hearsay, but listen starting at 28:00.
The thing is, and I am ready to wrap this up, I would rather have the show itself be as intriguing as those rumors. And no, I don't think reality TV should necessarily play fair, or that there should be unclockable verisimilitude to these proceedings. I don't think it's the producers' job to appease contestants, and some friction there is just part of the human experience, baby. That's reality. But. In a reality competition show, I want to be more invested in the competition between the competitors, and not the competition between the competitors and production.
Anyway, here are the points. I hope to god Acid Betty causes chaos next week and convinces Cynthia and Alyssa to all give their points to the same person, essentially doing Nicole Paige Brooks' plan for Kerri Colby ... just, y'know, way earlier when it could make an impact on the outcome and not literal seconds away from the credits rolling.
Next week: an improv challenge, meaning Ginger will likely hit the edge of this chart.
