RuPaul All Stars season 3 episode 2 review/Ruview: Shangela wears a bubble as Thorgy’s is burst

'Stevie Knicks isn’t a witch, she’s just an eccentric Gemini'

“A wonderful and quizzical blend of confusion and confidence,” was Carson Kressley’s note to Shangela after she delivered a show-stopping, breast-plate-flattening impersonation of the ultimate lazy diva Mariah Carey during this week’s VH1 Divas maxi-challenge.

But Carson’s description could easily have been applied to the whole main event after Ru’s remaining nine, for the most part, appeared more All-Startled than All Stars. In their defence, it’s a tough task to take on — rehearse, choreograph, lip-synch to, and impersonate perfectly — women who have changed the face of culture, women who are so well-watched and celebrated globally for their totally unique, idiosyncratic brand of themselves, women whose iconic lives provide the cornerstone for the entirety of drag culture. And while some paid perfect homage to their bespangled divas — here’s looking at you Ben De La Creme as Julie Andrews, ChiChi Devayne as Patti Labelle, Bebe Zahara Benet as Diana Ross — others were a little lost in translation — Kennedy as Janet, Aja as Amy Winehouse, Milk as Celine Dion.

Then there’s the terminal issue of Thorgy Thor. It’s doubtless she’s a smart and very talented queen, and her cerebrally driven approach to the art of drag is something Drag Race is finally beginning to celebrate (c.f. Sasha Velour). But it’s so frustrating to see someone constantly shooting themselves in the 2009-platform-heeled-needs-to-go-in-the-bin foot. You find yourself screaming at the screen, yelping in pain as she says things like “Stevie Knicks isn’t a witch, she’s just an eccentric Gemini.” It's winsome because while she wants to portray one of her icons in a respectful and sensitive way, her approach feels more patronisation than appreciation.

But, perhaps we’d all feel incredibly anxious in Thorgy’s position. While Drag Race and its culturally phenomenal impact has proffered a greater level of both appreciation and respect for people who choose to take the heeled, and often very hard, road of drag, it’s also created an unrelentingly high standard of drag which demands polish, perfection, pop-cultural-prowess, and the ability to jump-split at a moments notice. There’s little room for messy: a system which not only affects Thorgy — Aja, after being slated for her bust-up-Brooklyn looks during Season 9 took to surgery, while Milk broke down after receiving little feedback for her ‘glamorous’ Rudemption on the runway this week.

As Ben De La Creme sobs at the opening of the episode, “the reality of what this competition is going to feel like is really starting to sink in,” it’s evident that that reality, for a lot of these queens, means ticking the boxes we have all come to expect a drag race winner to tick and how painful and disheartening it can be when the judges cross your boxes instead — cc Adore’s exit last season.

And while this week’s episode was, as ever, entertaining like no other show on TV ever will be, it brought with it an uncomfortable sense of desperation and insecurity that makes a viewer feel worried — not because these queens are insecure, but because this week’s challenge prioritised impersonation over authenticity, a hard line to tread for people who are distinct in their drag styles. And the irony of drag is that despite all the makeup, wigs, lashes, dresses, pads, corsets and distractingly stressed faces (here’s looking at you, again, Kennedy Davenport) it’s all about finally finding a space in which you can be celebrated as 100% authentically yourself.

In the end, the winning Shangela sent Thorgy packing after her Rudemption runway look was a wobbly as her Stevie Knicks. And while the heart of drag is, as it should be, humour — it’s worth remembering that for these queens, and so many around the world, it’s also cost them a great deal to ask the questions many are afraid of. While this week’s episode gave you charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent in ample amounts, I’m praying to Mama Ru that this sense of worry can be shed for a position which sees each queen standing proud of the Queen they really are — that’s what makes a winner, baby!