‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars’ S7E3 Recap: Oh, This Old Thing?

As Chad Michaels once, twice or fifty times said, may the odds ever be in your favour, though this week’s Wheel of Fortune-themed ball continued to show that these eight winners didn’t take their crown by chance. Even in their off weeks and weak spots (Yvie in Snatch Game, Jinkx and Monet in a sewing challenge), these queens show off more talent than we see in entire seasons.

That’s not to say that All Stars 7 is perfect, but it’s pretty damn close. As always, the judging is confusing, and there are so many talents on-screen that some keep falling to the side even when they’re close to a win week after week, like with Viv. But with my ride-or-die Jaida granted more screen time this episode, I have a feeling the show will end up giving each queen their moment at some point.

And can you blame the editors, in the meantime, for making it the Trinity, Jinkx, Monet and Shea show? They’re big personalities, and Trinity, Monet and Shea, in particular, are very aware of how to make good TV, without coming across like self-produced.

Little moments, like Shea pretending there’s a further twist to the plunger and Trinity ‘yes, anding’ her, are gold. So far, this season is what I’ve always wanted (and have been asking for in my recaps for years): more scenes of the queens just hanging out in the werkroom, messing around.

There’s something also to be said for the cast’s age range. Drag Race casts keep skewing younger and younger, but here, the youngest queen is Yvie at 27, with most sitting somewhere in their 30s and Raja topping things at 47. It’s not to say young queens can’t rule (Aquaria won fair and square at 22), but they’re more likely to have their own distinct vision with a bit of time under their belt, rather than having similar influences and references.

Down Under S2 Better Have A John Burgess Ball

This week, the queens present two looks from home: Vanna White realness, AKA the hostess on the US Wheel Of Fortune, and then a ‘Before and After’ look named after one of the gameshow’s categories, mixing together two types of ‘queens’ together in a wordplay.

To introduce the challenge, we get a pointless but funny little Wheel Of Fortune game. My favourite part is Monet guessing the “vowel” Z, both because it’s wrong and it speaks to just how damn strategic she is, as she was the second guesser and didn’t want to help the queens coming after her. She’s constantly playing 7D chess.

Then, they each have to construct a look inspired by a colour/destination (mostly colour) they get from spinning a wheel. It’s a silly little segment, but the queens are so fun to watch and make the most of any moment — Trinity’s face when her spinner landed on “bankrupt” was sitcom perfection.

The queens all seem pretty happy with their colours: Shea’s a little worried since she has white and has already done a bridal look in AS5, but then just makes another, better one. We learn that Monet hasn’t made an outfit since her sponge dress, Jinkx can’t seem to use a sewing machine, and Yvie has double nipple rings: all three of these things are obvious in hindsight.

There’s a bit of alliance chatter when Trinity and Monet try to get Jinkx in on it, then when she declines, they head over to Shea, who ropes in Jaida, who is so pure she seems exhausted by the whole idea. Pretty much everyone overhears them, but it doesn’t really impact Money and Trinity’s pact, as all it is a promise to not block each other.

Of all the queens, Jinkx is struggling the most in the werkroom — she hates her dress, but Trinity comes over and helps her with it. Between Trinity, Jaida, the Viv and Raja, there are some amazing seamstresses here (and both Yvie and Shea have won balls, too!), so we’re treated on the runway.

Can I Buy An ‘S’? An ‘L’? An ‘A’? Ooh, I’d Like To Solve: Is It “#Susanalbumparty“?

As a surprise, Vanna White watches the queens’ runways, which prompts screams and laughter as soon they come out — save for Yvie and Viv who don’t notice her until halfway through her walk. You have to assume Viv had to look her up for the outfit prompt, as I absolutely had no idea who she was until this episode.

The second category was the best, as each queen went in a completely different direction from one another. My favourite has to be Monet’s Bob The Drag Queen Elizabeth, tied with Jaida’s ‘Bag Lady In Red’, purely for the inguinity. LaLaRi wishes.

And finally, the designed looks. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but here they are in order of my favourite to least-favourite. Raja was robbed: she shoot’d herself, god-damn it, and she was right to do so.

It’s pretty clear Jaida will be in the top two, but choosing her lip-sync partner is much harder. Raja’s second look lets her down even if her third is the best of the designed looks, so they land on Trinity, making her the first queen this season to win two challenges, though she’s only nabbed one badge for her troubles. Maybe the judges felt bad for her.

In what’s becoming my favourite part of All Stars 7, the queens return to find out the top two, all having changed into lip-sync looks that mostly reuse an old runway. It’s like pressing randomise on a Sim’s wardrobe.

Jaida and Trinity duel it out to Beyoncé’s ‘Green Light’ (justice for Lorde, whose song of the same name did not get its dues in an AS3 lip-sync), and Jaida just kills it. That’s my girl!

She blocks Jinkx, which duh! Next week, the queens take on an acting challenge about fairytale characters going to court. Hopefully the queens get to script it so we get some genuine jokes, though this cast could probably even turn out ‘Shakesqueer’.

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RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars S7 is available to stream in Australia in Stan, with new episodes dropping AEST 6pm each Friday.

Jared Richards is Junkee‘s Drag Race recapper, and a freelancer who writes for NME, The Big Issue, The Guardian and more. He’s across the internet as @jrdjms