This week on the 6th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” the four remaining queens, Kylie Sonique Love, Ra’Jah O’Hara, Ginger Minj and Trinity K. Bonet, were greeted by the fifth finalist that would rejoin the competition for a chance to snatch the crown. Last week’s episode ended in a cliffhanger: did Silky Nutmeg Ganache continue her winning streak through the “Rudemption Lip-Sync Smackdown” or did Eureka deliver Silky’s fatal blow to boomerang back into the competition?
Below, check out our minute-by-minute recap of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” season 6 episode 11 to find out whose stage presence and storytelling in “The Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent Monologues” earned them a spot in the final, final four. All Stars 6 is airing this summer on Paramount+ with new episodes added to the streaming service every Thursday at 3 am ET.
01 min – Based on their performances at the end of the last episode, RuPaul Charles revealed her decision to give Eureka the “shantay,” meaning Silky’s steamroll through the others had come to an end. Though it was sad to see Silky’s hard work hit a wall, Eureka was determined to make the most of her return.
05 min – It wasn’t until the next day until the final four learned the identity of the rudeemed queen. Ru joined the girls herself in the Werk Room to reintroduce Eureka to them and to make it clear that she’s fully back in the competition with a chance to win the crown. To welcome her back, Ru threw a mini challenge their way: a Pride photo op using customized Levi’s outfits that show their pride. After some quick snapshots in front of the green screen, Kylie was named the winner.
09 min – For their maxi challenge, the queens were tasked with telling stories of their life as a drag queen in the stage production spoof “The Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent Monologues.” Ru explained that judging would be based on their ability to tell a story and to touch the audience with feelings.
11 min – As they prepared for the challenge, the girls finally got to chat about Eureka’s return. She explained that she was nervous about their reactions to her return, but found them to be welcoming. That being said, she knows that she needs to win the challenge in order to avoid giving them the opportunity to vote her right back out. With her own status in the competition, Trinity also felt like she’d have to win or she’d be eliminated as the biggest threat.
12 min – To help prepare them for the stage, each of the queens met with Alec Mapa and Jermaine Fowler to run through their ideas and rehearse. When Ra’Jah came to the stage glued to her notes, Jermaine had to explain that being in the zone is the most important aspect of connecting with the audience. He told her she’s naturally funny and to roll with her strengths. Kylie’s story was about her first time in drag and Alec’s only notes were to rearrange some of the concepts in order to up the ante on the emotional journey. For her monologue, Trinity was angling to be a little more comedic as a chance to redeem herself from a previous challenge. Jermaine thought that she rushed through the story and advised her to slow down a bit so that nothing would be missed. Alec told Ginger that her delivery sounded too much like written word and it’d be important for her to speak like she would to her friends to avoid sounding to pageanty. Eureka’s subject matter (poop) pushed the boundaries more than the other queens were, but Alec and Jermaine were OK with that as long as she found a way to make it more of a metaphor for a larger concept.
19 min – Back in the Werk Room, Trinity pulled Kylie aside to express her concern that she has more pressure on herself than the other girls because she feels like some of the other girls are “solidified” as finalists. Kylie said she doesn’t agree, but it was clear that Trinity was getting in her own head and convincing herself that she’s not good enough to make it to the end. Kylie stressed the need to not get caught up in what could happen and instead remain in the present and focused on doing her best.
24 min – On the main stage, Ru was joined by series judges Michelle Visage and Carson Kressley, as well as special guest judge Justin Simien. Trinity opened the production with her story, “Bamboozled,” about being catfished online. It turns out the catfish in the story really just wanted an opportunity to thank Trinity for saving his life when he saw her come out as HIV positive on the show. The heart of the end of the story served a nice balance to the comedy of the beginning, but it did seem like Trinity was still rushing through it as she had in rehearsal rather than letting her words breathe. Kylie was next with “First Time,” the story of her first time in drag and the revelation that it provided her the opportunity to express her femininity. Ginger followed with “My Ruby Slippers” about the horror of her father catching her in her mom’s heels and the unexpected conversation with her mom later where she bestowed upon her a first pair of ruby slipper heels of her own.
32 min – Ra’Jah’s story “Bunny Tail” started with a few hiccups of forgotten words, but she quickly rebounded into a smooth telling of a time her tuck fell out on stage early on in her career. Eureka closed with her most embarrassing moment in drag in the story “A Benefit for Boom Boom,” a tale of her pooping her pants on stage after an ill-timed dinner of cheesey jalapeño corn dogs and unexpected encore performances on stage. Both queens used humor to underscore their ability to overcome embarrassing moments on stage, packing an emotional punch while still bringing in the laughs.
38 min – After the monologues, the queens walked in the “Oops… I Did It Again” fashion fail runway. Trinity opened in a gorgeous gown held together by large safety pins in the back, Ra’Jah followed in a gown styled to look like it was falling off her body, Kylie went as a messy eating corn dog story employee, Ginger brought a homely prom dress and curling iron to the stage as a girl who had to make her own dress, and Eureka closed as a wind-blown and messy Cinderella.
40 min – The judges started their critiques with Trinity, telling her that her comfort level and rushing through the words didn’t give the audience any space to enjoy and absorb what she was saying. They did, however, think she looked gorgeous on the runway. Ra’Jah got clocked for her stumbling at the beginning and told she wasn’t as conversational as she should have been, but they loved the way her performance on the runway enhanced her beautiful look. Carson told Kylie she’s a natural born storyteller, but didn’t like that she was sitting down for most of the performance. Justin liked the sitting down though because he said it made the story more powerful. The judges liked that Ginger brought her signature Southern concept to both the story and the runway look, but that she’s still a little bit too polished. Justin told Eureka that he had high expectations for her and that she delivered with vulnerability and a clear story and message. Of all the queens, the judges thought Eureka was the most conversational and that’s why it was such a success.
46 min – Based on the critiques, it was clear that Eureka was Ru’s choice as the winner. That delivered Eureka’s first challenge win of the season and secured her a spot in the finale. With only one winner, again that left the remaining four as vulnerable for the vote to be eliminated. Back stage, the queens were left with the difficult position of discussing their points of view about who should go home. Ra’Jah let Eureka know that she did drop the ball in her performance, but hoped that she’s the kind of competition that Eureka wants to go against. She put forth Trinity’s name as the one to be eliminated for falling into the bottom more than any of the others. You could see it in Trinity’s face that she knew the writing was on the wall that the other girls would send her home. The dismay over Eureka’s return meant to Trinity that she was so close to making the finale and she didn’t think it was fair that her dream was thwarted by the redemption moment. Eureka told Trinity that she seems defeated and urged her to fight to stay. In her conversations with Kylie and Ginger, Eureka learned that they also would vote for Trinity to leave based on track record alone.
54 min – In order to determine who would make the elimination decision, Eureka faced off with the lip sync assassin of the week Jaida Essence Hall to “Good Golly Miss Molly” by Little Richard. Jaida’s approach of gyrating all over the stage to the music was strong, especially with the emotive expressions in her face, but Eureka’s clown gown torn-away into a catsuit and her splits and dips across the stage gave Ru only one decision to make: a tie! As before, a tie meant that the decisions of both lipsticks could potentially send two queens home. First, Jaida revealed that the group voted in majority to eliminate Trinity. Next, Eureka revealed her own choice and it was also Trinity. As such, only Trinity was eliminated, leaving us with a different final four than was originally intended.
NEXT WEEK: The top four compete in “The Grand Finale” for a collaboration on Ru’s song “This Is My Country” that will test their lyricism and choreography skills. By the end, we’ll know which of the four is the next to join the Drag Race Hall of Fame as a winner.
