RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Finale: Did the Right Queen Win Season 10?

For a season filled with twists and turns, the finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10 was surprisingly… unsurprising.

Sure, I was moderately gagged to see Kerri Colby strut into the Werk Room as the official wild-card pick, but only because it felt like the stage had been set for the dramatic return of Mistress Isabelle Brooks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a total KerBear, but bringing Mistress back would have infused this finale with some much-needed drama.

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I suppose it was also a gag that the show resurrected its controversial Rate-A-Queen system to determine the finale’s lip sync pairings, but I think Bosco best summarized why it felt pointless to care: “I was originally thinking I was going to be kind of strategic about it, but I just don’t know what any of these rankings do!” Exactly.

ROUND ONE

GINGER MINJ vs. KERRI COLBY | The finale’s first face-off was between the queens ranked No. 1 (Ginger) and No. 8 (Kerri), who battled it out to Lady Gaga’s “Disease.” Both queens brought the drama, complete with plenty of floor-writhing and a healthy dose of crazy eyes — but there was nothing exciting about this first lip sync. Still, I’ll accept Ginger’s win, if only because walking around the stage on her knees must have really hurt. No pain, no gain, right? Winner: Ginger.

And just like that, Kerri was back out of the competition as quickly as she reentered. Frankly, I’m glad she feels she got the redemption she was “hunting and searching and craving and needing,” because another take would be that her return was… pretty anticlimactic.

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LYDIA B KOLLINS vs. IRENE THE ALIEN | The energy was definitely higher with Lydia (No. 2) and Irene’s (No. 7) follow-up battle, to the tune of Kesha’s “Joyride,” but it still left me wanting more. Did these girls forget that they were lip syncing for the crown here? I was hoping for a little more fire! And I imagine that Irene is especially disappointed, as she was initially confident that she could handle Lydia. (“The girls ranked exactly how I thought they would!” she said… which have now become her famous last words.) Plus, Irene’s fall probably hurt a lot more than she let on, so she deserves a few bonus points just for powering through. Winner: Lydia.

JORGEOUS vs. BOSCO | OK, now we’re cooking with gas! As soon as Jorgeous (No. 3) and Aja (No. 6) were announced as competitors, I knew we were in for a feast of a show. From the moment Natalie Cole’s “Party Lights” began, no one was messing around. That said, I found Aja’s big reveal to be more distracting than helpful. Jorgeous managed to hold our focus without all the bells and whistles — just her natural charisma, uniqueness, nerve and ponytail. I love Aja, but Jorgeous at this one up. Winner: Jorgeous.

DAYA BETTY vs. BOSCO | The final match-up of Round One was emotional before it even started, thanks to Daya (No. 4) crying about not wanting to compete against Bosco (No. 5), who’s like a sister to her. Bosco was considerably less upset about taking on a friend, and what better song than Christina Aguilera’s “Show Me How You Burlesque” from the cinematic masterpiece of the same name? I’ve got it to hand it to Daya, she put up a damn good fight, but we all knew Bosco had this in the bag from the moment the song was chosen. Winner: Bosco.

ROUND TWO

BOSCO vs. GINGER | Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” served as the kickoff for the finale’s second round, but I’ll be honest, I’m not raising my glass to this one. It was a corny song choice, which is (no shade!) very much in Ginger’s wheelhouse, and I don’t think Bosco was really feeling it. Winner: Ginger.

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JORGEOUS vs. LYDIA | Shakira’s “Whenever Wherever” was an inspired song to include in this finale playlist, and I’m sure Jorgeous agrees. From the moment we heard that flute, I knew this was going to be Jorgeous’ song to lose — and it was. Jorgeous was giving us the full Shakira fantasy, while Lydia was giving what we all think we’re giving when we give Shakira. Basically, Lydia’s only fatal flaw in this particular lip sync was… not being Jorgeous. And really, who among us can be? Winner: Jorgeous.

FINAL ROUND

GINGER vs. JORGEOUS | Well, well, well… look who we have here. Did you picture Ginger and Jorgeous standing as the final two queens of All Stars 10? Ginger has been a frontrunner all along, but I’m actually really proud of Jorgeous, who shablammed her way through some fierce competition this season. As soon as The Weather Girls’ “It’s Raining Men” started playing, however, I could already see Ginger wearing the crown. An old-school queen + an old-school song + RuPaul’s increasingly questionable judgment? This one was absolutely a foregone conclusion. Still, I find myself torn. Sure, Jorgeous could have gone a little harder, but how many times are we (aka Ru) going to laugh at Ginger pretending to do a death drop? Is it really still funny?

Apparently, that answer is a resounding yes, as Ginger Minj was declared the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10, taking home a crown, a scepter, a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and, of course, that $200,000 grand prize.

Ginger Minj wins RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10

“It’s been 10 years of coming to this competition, and I’m f-ing ready to reign!” Ginger said. “I’ve worked so hard for this, and to have it finally happen, it just exceeds every expectation. I feel like… a winner. I am living proof that even if he whole world tells you that you’re not a winner, you can make it happen for yourself.”

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OK, let’s talk: Are you pleased that Ginger won All Stars 10, or did you have another victor in mind? Do you hope that All Stars sticks with this new tournament format, or would you like to see a return to the original? Weigh in via our polls below, then drop a comment with your full review.

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