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Drag Race All Stars Season 3: Ru-watching Franchise's Best Season Yet

Yes, we've finally gotten to one of my favorite seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, quite possibly of the entire Drag Race franchise. It takes the "Lip Sync for Your Legacy" All Stars rules and really shapes them into a great competition and demands the queens rise to the occasion. To quote the amazing Chi Chi DeVayne, "Bitch, it's anyone's game here". Yes, my dear, that it is.

"Morgan McMichaels force-fed me vodka in a bar" is peak Morgan energy, in all honesty. She's a very strong personality in-person that doesn't quite translate to the challenges of the show. But that's okay because these queens have all grown so much and flourished as performers that they have full careers outside of the show. Having two strong southern queens this season, Shangela and Chi Chi, is absolutely everything I could have hoped for. Unfortunately, Milk is not that strong of a queen and often gets overshadowed – the only thing I remember about her is that she's cocky and high fashion. Meh, Milk. Just… meh.

Drag Race All Stars 3 Review (Image: VH1)
Drag Race All Stars 3 Review (Image: VH1)

Cameroon queen BeBe Zahara Benet is back as another All Stars surprise. Yes, she did win the very first season of Drag Race but that was so long ago that the whole show has changed and changed again so that the first season is nearly unrecognizable from what it is now. Keeping on the season 8 train, Thorgy Thor is back and down to clown; Aja is routinely serving ballroom realness and it's always perfection; BenDeLaCreme is trying to stay affable while still serving comedy, and Kennedy Davenport is dancing down that runway and back into our hearts.

Speaking of miss BenDeLa, I don't have words for how absolutely gutted I was when she pulled out that white-out and wrote her own name on that lipstick. I felt like screaming at her and pulling a Tyra on her – we were all rooting for you, girl! I get that the competition is beyond stressful and fierce, but she was absolutely owning it week after week after week, and she just dipped. Decisions suck, especially when every single lipstick choice comes with about 200 pounds of drama attached, and she had done what she came there to do, which was to have a better Drag Race experience than the one she left on.

I just want to see more BenDeLaCreme – she's hilarious and I'm bummed she cut her own time short. The competition is taxing, but that's what makes the title rewarding – it's tough but if you make it that far, you know damn well you fought for it and earned that crown. You can bet that the second her tour is back on, I am there with my blinged-out mask on, swatting people away from me with my fan. I just want more BenDeLaCreme!

Speaking of always wanting more, last but certainly not least in the least, miss Trixie Mattel is back, back, back again and the third time is indeed the charm. She's not in her own head and she owns her style of drag with zero apologies. Her drag is hilarious and a parody of what's basically already a parody of women, i.e. Barbie and Dolly Parton. She's over-the-top, talented, funny, and proved that she was ready for all this. All-in-all, it was just a delight to see all the queens back and fighting for "Ru-demption" and showing how much they've grown as artists, as performers, and as people. Well done to all and "con-drag-ulations" to Trixie Mattel on a well-deserved win.


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Eden ArnoldAbout Eden Arnold

Having spent far too much time in front of the television growing up, Eden has lots of opinions about television (as well as movies and everything else). She puts this to good use along with her journalism degree and writing experience with by-lines over the years in many print publications, books, and online media outlets. You can find her on Twitter at @Edenhasopinions
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