The first episodes of All Stars 6 show how good Drag Race can be when it lets the queens shine

When the cast for All Stars 6 came out, eyebrows were raised.

Most of the cast placed no higher than seventh in their original season. What defines an all star? A queen who deserves a crown? Or just fan favourites back for high viewing figures and hype?

With All Stars 6, RuPaul’s Drag Race is showing that neither are crucial for a great start to a season. This is not a cast filled with a huge amount of big name favourites, but a lineup of queens who deserve their chance to show more and create armies of new fans in the process.

With All Stars previously, every season has had a clear winner. Chad or Raven. Alaska or Katya. Shangela, BenDeLaCreme or Trixie. Trinity or Monét. Shea or Juju. But with All Stars 6, anyone could be a frontrunner at any moment. Well… in the words of Roxxxy Andrews, “except for Serena.”

The entrances were the best vibes

Everyone just looked amazing, didn’t they?

A’keria looked untouchable. Jiggly and Sonique served trans excellence, and proved exactly why casting needs trans representation every season. Scarlet Envy looked delicious, Yara hasn’t aged a single day since we last saw her on All Stars 1 and it’s just so good seeing Trinity K Bonet back on our tellies after so long.

The reading challenge was iconic, too. Highlights included Kylie Sonique Love saying “Ginger Minj. Bitch, you are shaped like a deep breath” and Rajah’s “Scarlet Envy, is that you? I almost didn’t recognise you without the beard!”

Ginger Minj won the reading challenge but did so whilst wearing one of the worst outfits ever to be seen on Drag Race, so you win some and you lose some I guess!

The talent show was… a fever dream

As per usual, the All Stars 6 Variety Show had the usual gamut of highs and lows.

There were loads of weird songs going on, though. Pandora’s act was fun but the song made me feel like I was malfunctioning. Eureka haunted us with this cursed gown with her face projected on it and looked like the drag equivalent of Cassandra, the stretched out piece of skin from Doctor Who. Yara Sofia shook some silicone tits about and won the whole thing. Pretty wild.

Ginger Minj’s gummy bear song was absolutely harrowing and I wish to never hear it again. Rajah’s act was tenser than most horror films and Jan’s singing was beyond great, and how she only got safe for belting her tits off like that is RIGGA MORRIS of the highest order.

Rajah O’Hara, in all her glory

Rajah O’Hara was an icon on season 11, but not always for the right reasons. Good TV, but not great drag. In All Stars 6, she’s here to become a fan favourite. She annihilated both episodes.

Her one minute dress for the talent show was truly one of the most impressive things to ever be done in the challenge’s history. It was thrilling and nail biting, and that reveal of the fabric being iridescent was so satisfying. It was spectacular.

Winning the Blue Ball in episode two just solidified how Rajah has changed up her approach to Drag Race as a competitor. She’s in a great headspace, she’s got her drag and talent together and she’s just a force to be reckoned with so far. Love her!

The Blue Ball

Runways are the best thing about Drag Race. Period. And ESPECIALLY when queens have coin and are back for All Stars.

It could be a shit week of Drag Race with the most cringe and cursed acting challenge on earth, but still have a runway full of amazing looks for the ages. That’s what makes Ball challenges so much fun – the focus IS the runway.

12 queens, 36 looks for us all to gag over. Kylie looked perfect in all of her looks – especially her Xtina, trans flag denim WOW. Rajah’s extravaganza look was impeccably made and Scarlet Envy really smashed it across the board too.

Jiggly Caliente wore the exact same thing she went home in in season four but in blue instead. And though it was sad to see her go, it felt correct.

STOP SLEEPING ON SCARLET ENVY!

Scarlet was criminally underrated on season 11, and left before her time.

On All Stars 6, she’s only been safe so far. But the critiquing has been hard. Her bubble act in the talent show was great and she annihilated the ball. Her narration in the talking heads is so much fun and she deserves to go a long way in the competition. A legend!

Okay but the Rajah O’Hara VS Brooke Lynn Hytes lip sync was one of the best of ALL TIME

Lip sync for your legacy is back with All Stars 5’s lip sync assassin twist, and Rajah facing off against her season 11 castmate Brooke Lynn Hytes was an absolute triumph.

Performing Janet Jackson’s Miss You Much, the girls really served the hell out of it. Tricks, splits and flips were aplenty – but never felt gratuitous. They hit them all at the perfect beats, performed well off each other and it was a photo finish.

For once, when RuPaul declared the lip sync a tie it felt earned.

Leave the stupid ‘it’s not over yet!’ twists out though please for all our sakes

We don’t care about queens ‘returning’ or getting their ‘ruvenge’! LEAVE IT OUT!

If they go home, they go home! Stop wasting our time because let’s face it: Serena Cha Cha and Jiggly Caliente aren’t going to come back and win.

Every queen just has something to prove

All Stars is always about solidifying your legacy, but for a lot of these queens All Stars 6 is their chance to really create one.

Kylie Sonique Love is a completely new woman since her turn on season two over 10 years ago, and seeing her back is just so much fun. She’s herself, she’s a fierce competitor and she’s already proving herself as one to beat. Jan is in it to win it as always, and her talent really does speak for itself.

This season is off to a great start because it’s letting these queens show what they excel at, and doesn’t feel production driven. The queens are building their own relationships and alliances and are letting their drag speak for itself to build their representation and path to the crown.

And that’s excellent television. Drag Race at its best.

Recommended stories by this writer:

• Right, which All Stars 6 queen is most likely to win 

• Drag Race: The 12 most memorable All Stars Variety Show moments

• The ultimate ranking of every season of RuPaul’s Drag Race