Last night, LOGO aired the highly anticipated reunion for “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars 2”. This past season of All Stars was arguably its best season ever, so a lot of us were dying to see how things played out with the cast and where they are now. Unfortunately, it left you with a lot of questions that go unanswered in the short hour of programming we saw.
Overall, the energy in the room was incredibly low. Let’s not forget, this is the first reunion that they have done without a live audience since season 3, and if you remember those reunions, it was similar in execution in that the queens were more real about things as they didn’t have to worry about laughter and a reaction out of people they didn’t know. However, something really felt really off about the whole thing. Did Phi Phi’s absence play a part of it? It might be, but I am not sure.
Phi Phi was the only queen who didn’t show up to the reunion, which based on the reaction and chatter from the other queens, I didn’t agree with. To a point. She became more damaged this time around than her first go on S4, which I didn’t even realize was possible, but evidently on this show, being honest and forthright leads to social media terror that not one deserves. And she got that, and then some. What was very obvious was the minimal discussion about her during the whole reunion. I felt they would’ve had one total segment discussing her, but they didn’t. I think it shows the respect the other girls have for her, which some even gave her praise for her cosplay outfit as one of the best this season. I think it would’ve been a good idea for her to show up and defend herself, given that there wasn’t a live audience to potentially boo her and to have support from the majority of the girls on stage.
Honesty was the name of the game this reunion, and each queen did it to the best of their abilities and pretty much read what a lot of us were thinking. It was interesting seeing Adore’s getup last night. She definitely made herself more glam, which I hope was not because of what happened to her on AS2 when she was read for her 14th Street dress and purple hair. Nevertheless, she admits embarrassment and frustration from her appearance on the show, which is very visible when they cut back to her after a reel of her highlights on the show. Adore, in my opinion, didn’t need the show in the first place, and I think this season would’ve been a lot more compelling with another S6 girl who needed redemption like Laganja, Gia, Darienne and more.
The mood primarily in the beginning of the reunion was somber in a way, outside of Adore’s reaction to the season. CoCo, who barely got any screen time this season, explained her journey to AS2 and her health problems prior to getting on the show, which Ru gave a friendly reminder to take care of yourself regardless. I love Ginger, but her small segment could’ve been edited out. It was just boring beyond anything.
Speaking of honesty, let’s break down the rest. I loved Tatianna answer to Ru about how she felt when Alaska sent her home, to which she said “Which time?” Beyond anything, Tati has a slew of new fans which she didn’t have on her own season, and that is a winner beyond anything. Alaska pretty much saying the reason why she sent Alyssa home was because Alyssa was god awful in “Whatever Happened to Baby JJ” movie, gave some clarity into why Roxxxy wasn’t sent home that week. Speaking of Roxxxy, it was also good to see Detox admit that she was originally intending to send her home, but had a change of heart last minute. This led to Roxxxy being completely honest about her time on the show, calling it bittersweet that she made it as far as she did while being in the bottom a lot.
Of course, Alaska, Katya and Alyssa were the comic relief in this whole thing. The funniest part was when Alaska threw her fake leg across the room, as a parody of what Aviva Drescher did on “Real Housewives of New York City”, as a response to people calling her a snake. Watch Adore’s reaction in the background, it was hilarious. As funny as Katya was, it was also interesting to hear her talk about legit going right back into the workroom after her season was over, and still finding her way in her fashion, whereas the others were established. Overall, the reunion was interesting, compelling to a certain degree, but was definitely lacking something.
This part at the end was hysterical- Alaska: “Chad, do you ever get lonely in here?” Chad: “Snap out of it!”