A conservative mind-set doesn’t like this version of femininity either. This is a queer femininity, a parody, a heightening. But also … nobody really connects those dots? As the lesbian makeover subjects grew worried about stepping into femininity, I was surprised that nobody pointed out that drag is not the version of femininity that their mothers were thrusting upon them growing up. It’s not a bad idea for a challenge, combining different views on femininity and masculinity - the most interesting moments of the episode are when the lesbians talk about how they were denied access to masculinity in the same way the queens talk about being denied access to femininity growing up. The challenge is to make over lesbians, which is something the show has done before, way back in season one of the original Drag Race. But because it, spoiler, is not a success story, it’s a disappointment to have that be the only moment of visual creation we get to see. It’s interesting to watch her completely fold in response to her partner’s need to be sexy and create her most boring runways of the season in response. Jimbo works with the idea of “sexuality” in her act, but it’s such a heightened sexuality that it can’t really be construed as actually sexy. This week, the only queen forced to show us any part of her visual creative process is Jimbo, whose partner’s only goal is to be sexy. So instead, all of the attention gets put on personal transformations due to drag’s inherent inspirational value, which can either be incredible or pretty disappointing. When they do that, we, as viewers, don’t get any insight into the queens’ creative processes we watch them put on outfits.
In recent years, the queens have been walking in with their makeover outfits already in tow, which in some ways is just a talented queen being prepared, but doesn’t necessarily make for good television. Makeover challenges, as I wrote about in the season 15 recaps, are about two things: Being able to imbue your partner with the inspirational message of drag and having a distinct enough visual brand that your newfound “sister” is recognizably from your family. Part of the issue is that the makeovers just aren’t that exciting. Unfortunately, it didn’t bear out in the episode. When you have a season like this one, where that group of high-level competitors is relatively small, and you need to fulfill an episode count, it makes sense not to bring back a queen (which they often do on All-Stars seasons) and instead opt to have that top group just continue to compete. As you continue along the stretch of any competition show, the goal is for the season to become more and more competitive with the queens who can’t handle the competition or don’t have a shot at winning winnowed down to a group of high-level performers who are handed increasingly difficult challenges and expected to knock them out of the park anyway. Drag Race has never done this before, but if there was any season to try it, it makes sense that it’s this one. I’m talking, of course, about having a competitive episode dedicated to the top three, bringing the final down to the top two. Now, for the first time, this season has innovated, figuring out a new way to be mediocre. The queens were mostly doing just okay, and few seemed to be motivated to the level that would cause any real pathos. It plodded along, slowly eliminating the competition without much incident or drama. The season has been an extended ode to Jimbo’s dominance without her ever faltering and the futile attempts by the other queens to catch up. How many ways can one season of television not work? All-Stars 8’s answer seemed to be just one, and that one way was protracted over an entire season. For much of this season, we’ve just been circling the drain. Photo: World of Wonder/Paramount+/World of Wonder/Paramount+
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