RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10 features the franchise’s biggest cast yet. This time around, 18 Queens assemble into three groups of six to twirl and whirl their way to the finale. Before they even get the shot, though, the top three Queens of each bracket must compete in the semi-finals to earn a spot in the big lip sync smackdown. With a point-based system back in play, that means alliances, drama, and plenty of shade. This week, those who made the cut in All Stars 10 episode 9 join the top winners of each bracket to compete in the semi-finals. From lots of fashion to lots of drama, join us for our All Stars 10 episode 10 breakdown.
Note: This breakdown includes spoilers for episode 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 10.
We all predicted it, but what did you think of Mistress coming for Ginger right off the bat?
Jeanette: Honestly, you know what I sensed when Mistress walked into the Werkroom with all those other queens? Intimidation. She immediately pulled Jorgeous and Lydia aside, partly to get their stories straight about the MVQ point manipulation, and–if you’re asking me–partly because she was sweating. What does she do immediately after? Attempt to start drama between Aja and Ginger because why do the dirty work yourself if you can manipulate someone into doing it for you? Thankfully, Aja put a quick stop to that, leaving Mistress to wander around the room trying to convert more victims people to her anti-Ginger cause by saying things like, “I shared a room with Ginger and never saw her shower.”
What’s funny here is that Mistress absolutely thinks she’s slaying with insults like this when all it’s really giving is jealousy. It reminded me of something a middle school bully would say. Yes, episode 8 saw Denali disappointed with losing the lip sync. And yes, Daya Betty threw an annoying fit in episode 9, but it all truly pales in comparison to Mistress’ toxicity. Bracket 2 was peaceful by comparison. Ginger was right in her confessional. Mistress takes joy in making people uncomfortable, and quite frankly, I’m sick of it.
Shana: I mean, it really speaks of insecurity and jealousy that she felt the need to come for Ginger Minj. It was also just really disgusting to attack someone on a personal, hygiene level like that. Bad enough that she’s made herself some kind of main character with all her games during this competition—which, ok, fine. Blahlblah “good TV” and all, but I’ll once again point out that there is plenty of “good TV” to be had without her mess. See also: Nicole Paige Brooks From Atlanta Georgia—but to go low like that…girl, go touch grass. Seriously.
Lyra: It goes to show you how predictable Mistress is that we called her coming for Ginger. A “villain” shouldn’t be this easy to clock. But here Mistress is. And Ginger didn’t fall for it. While Mistress was talking about Ginger not showering when they worked together, Ginger was minding her business. And it goes to show you that Ginger is here to work while others are here to build their YouTube following as a “mean” but “real” Queen. It’s giving intimidated, insecure, and ineffective.
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What character were you most excited to see in Snatch Game? And did anyone disappoint you?
Jeanette: Zsa Zsa Gabor. Maybe that makes me sound 100 years old, but I love old Hollywood, and Zsa Zsa is iconic in that glamorous, messy way that you can’t help but be strangely infatuated with. Zsa Zsa and her sisters (Eva and Magda) were the Kardashians before the Kardashians, and more people should know about them. I think Irene did a solid job with her. It wasn’t necessarily laugh-out-loud funny, but there also wasn’t anything wrong with it, either (I LOVED when she threw her fur for the “poor.”)
As for disappointments, I’m saying Cucu, BUT with the caveat that I also secretly loved her performance. I’m a big fan of B horror movies. You know, the kind that are so bad, they’re actually the bestest, stupidest thing you’ve ever seen? That’s very much what Cynthia’s Dracula turned into for me. And when Ru started giggling like that, I knew he was on the same wavelength. In an ironic twist of fate, I think Cynthia created an iconic character who we surely haven’t seen the last of, whether it’s in memes or at her future shows.
Shana: The most exciting character for me, going into Snatch Game, was “whoever two-time winner Ginger Minj wants to play.” Once people started saying who their characters were going to be, I was really excited to see what Cucu could do with Dracula—Dra-CUCU-la was right there! Daya Betty’s Jane Lynch also had potential, in terms of whether she’d go full Sue Sylvester or fully embody the actual actress.
Dracula definitely let me down. Kind of fitting that she was so bad with the Slayer as the guest judge…but also: YIKES.
And I’m going to go full offense here: This was not an All Stars level of Snatch Game from anyone other than Ginger Minj, and I’d even go so far as to say this wasn’t anywhere near her best either. But hey: At least she totally stomped whatever it was that Mistress was trying to do. Chant it with me now: WHERE. ARE. THE JOKES.
(Where were the jokes?)
Lyra: As someone who grew up on Reba the show, I was most excited to see Ginger Minj as the iconic Reba McEntire. She got down all the little mannerisms and even went for the the thin upper lip. It was perfect. But that’s what we expected from Ginger because she knows how to do comedy. The one that I really want to talk about is Jorgeous and her Pitbull. That was a mess. It truly felt like every stereotype of a “hot Latin lover” wrapped up in someone who has seen Pitbull in passing but doesn’t actually like the character they’re playing. Culo? Gasolina? That’s it? Pass. Signed, a Latina.
Other disappointments include Cynthia’s Dracula. They could’ve really gone all out with that but it fizzled out before it could even take flight. Makes me wish Denali was the one who made it through because she would’ve added a spark that this dull Snatch Game needed.
What was your favorite moment between the queens in All Stars 10 episode 10?
Jeanette: It might be a toss up between Jorgeous saying she looked “butch” in that sexy red suit (girl, what?) or Ginger rolling her eyes when Mistress asked her to come here.
Shana: I’ll go with two, and one is maybe cheating because I guess we’re supposed to only be talking about the queens actually competing right now. But um, my absolute Number One was Raja giving Raven the crown she’s deserved all along. F Tyra.
Ginger being 100% unbothered with all the BS Mistress and her band of jealous, pathetic pals were trying to pull on her was also pretty high up there.
Lyra: Ginger being unbothered by Mistress while she ran around trying to stir up drama was my favorite. But in particular I liked how Ginger was asked about working with Mistress, essentially trying to get her to say something bad about Mistress. Obviously that didn’t work and Ginger said nothing before moving on with her life.
Fashion. We had a lot of it, from intro outfits to runway to everyone’s new looks in the confessionals. What did you love, hate, or just feel the need to talk about?
Jeanette: Irene the Alien stole the runway for me. The fact I thought she was going for a sunglass reveal and instead she pulled off her whole face…like, yes, I’ll take more of whatever that is, please. It was weird. It was hot, and it had a story. Irene’s sexy cosplayer-esque intro look also had me gagged.
Shana: For me, Aja slayed both the entrance look and the runway. But the best entrance look of the semi-finals also belonged to the queen with the worst runway. That, of course, would be Cucu. (What happened to Acid Betty designing for her like she said at the end of their bracket??? No way was that Acid Betty’s work…)
I was utterly and completely appalled by how sloppy and awful Mistress’ fat suit was on the runway. The look underneath wasn’t that great either. There’s something to be said for feeling more confident in yourself and your body, but doing whatever that was with the fat suit and contributing to fatphobia against others who maybe don’t care about society’s standards was a choice.
Carson said it best: “Unfinished and amateurish.” Also appreciated how he called out the missing details from Butthole. Jorgeous had a good runway, even if her idea of “butch” will forever be, um. I’m giggling just thinking about it, for lack of an actual adjective.
AND IN CONCLUSION. Let’s be real: The best looks were from our Fashion Photo Ruview hosts during Snatch Game. Raja’s big hat! Raven’s everything (and that lovely crown she earned there at the end)!
Lyra: I loved Jorgeous’ look on the runway. That suit, the color, and the reveal were beautiful. I really think that she needs to lean more into silhouettes like this while also remembering this isn’t butch. This is just you looking like a boss in a suit.
As for the runway look I hated, Mistress Isabelle Brooks fatsuit. As a fellow fat girl it was so disheartening the messaging behind that outfit. When she was fat she was clunking around, looking all disproportioned. But when she lost the weight she’s a dazzling slimmer queen. And just… no. Mistress has always had standout looks and she didn’t need to lose weight to prove that. Whatever message she was trying to deliver got lost along the way.
Do you agree with RuPaul’s episode 10 winner?
Jeanette: *Takes off Ginger Minj T-shirt* Um… what do you think? I want to say I’m biased, but really, Ginger’s Reba was miles above the other girls—and I think most rational Drag Race fans will agree.
Jorgeous did decent, too. Although, like Michelle, I can’t decide if it was actually funny, or if Jorgeous wearing a bald cap is what truly sold it. For whatever reason, Jorgeous excels at playing these highly masculine, kind of thuggish characters. I applaud her for going for it, but I’m also getting a little bored with it. Maybe I’m just sort of bored with Joregous in general. She is feeling, dare I say, one-note. Had her appearances been a bit more spaced out, I’d probably be saying something different. To quote Shark Tank, “For those reasons, I’m out.”
Shana: Yeah. Easily. I said what I said up above about the level of Snatch these folks were giving in this Game.
Lyra: Ginger won that Snatch Game, fair and square. Hence the episode 10 win. And we can’t blame it on the edit or say they picked something that was perfect for Ginger. The Snatch Game has been part of this franchise for ages. It wasn’t invented for Ginger. And maybe the other Queens just didn’t do as well as they thought they did. Because this Snatch Game, it was mid for an All Star season.
Do you agree with RuPaul’s bottom two picks? Are we all crying about Cucu’s departure?
Jeanette: Yes and yes! Listen, Mistress had some absolute audacity—and a serious case of drag delusion—to suggest she was third or fourth best? If she were truly considering who had the “least amount of laughs,” then her own name should have come out of her mouth. I rewound the tape, and really, the only time Mistress gets a laugh from Ru is when Jorgeous sets up a joke or Ginger plays off her. Aside from a pity smile from Raja, her entire ending moment got crickets.
Cynthia, on the other hand, had Ru in hysterics. Was her performance terrible? Yes. Did she squander Dracula’s true drag potential? Absolutely. Was it somehow still entertaining in a terrible, sort of terrifying way? 100 percent. Had Cynthia not blown the runway, Ru may have even argued keeping her and put Aja in that bottom spot instead (although Aja’s butterfly gown was gorgeous). But with Cynthia’s runway flopping, too, it only made sense to put her at the bottom.
I’m devastated to see Cucu go, but I also feel like she shouldn’t have been there in the first place. If you’re asking me, Denali deserved that third spot, and the danger of pushing someone forward just because they’re nice is exactly this. They get eliminated first and take the spot from someone who may have gone further in the competition.
Shana: Sadly, I wasn’t at all surprised by Cucu’s elimination. If there was any case for keeping her safe based on Ru laughing because of how bad that Dra-CUCU-la was, that runway mishap probably sealed the deal.
And Mistress sucked at Snatch Game, so yeah. She belonged in the lip sync, too.
I’ve made my opinion on Mistress known, so there’s some obvious bias here—especially since Cucu is such a beloved queen—but I would’ve sent her packing instead of Cucu. Sorry, not sorry, but you can’t win a lip sync with a mouth-wiggling gimmick and nothing else unless you’re really good at it. And well. Girl, you ain’t Detox.
Lyra: Both Cynthia and Mistress deserved to be in the bottom after their performances in episode 10. And I’m sad that Cucu had to leave… but it was the right choice. She wasn’t bringing it. And it was time to go. As for Mistress, she did a great job in that lipsync and brought the stage presence that Denali didn’t when she went up against Ginger. This is how you lipsync for your life. Moves, drama, presence, and actual connection with the judges as you lipsync the words of the song.
