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RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars Season 2 |OT| Let's Get All-Started!

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R

Red Liquorice

Member
Shizuka said:
Yes, they are. It's been confirmed not long ago.
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done5qss5.gif
 
S

Shizuka

Member
Apparently, the song for the AS2 finale got leaked and then removed from Reddit. Does anyone know where I can listen to it?

Edit: Found it.

Alaska is amazing, so is Katya. Fuck Roxxxy, that's horrible. Where is Alyssa?
 
S

Soulscribe

Member
While we await Alaska's crowning this evening, give this article a read, discussing the show's legacy, who deserves to win, and why taking this show too seriously makes you an idiot twat:

http://www.laweekly.com/film/the-low-heeled-high-stakes-of-rupaul-s-all-stars-2-7481983

RuPaul’s All Stars 2 has been perhaps the greatest season of the only reality-TV competition that matters. Logo TV’s Emmy-winning series is not only a mainstream ingress into a historically devalued, antinormative art form for an increasingly younger and more global audience — it doubles as a launchpad for post-show careers for its contestants, far beyond the queens' usual subterranean digs.

RuPaul really stepped her pussy up with All Stars 2. The premiere revealed a shocker of a twist: Instead of pitting that week’s weakest two in a lip sync for their lives, the first episode found the top performers facing off for the power to decide which of the bottom queens sashays away. For the Race's dedicated following, this game change was akin to watching Beyoncé literally slay someone.

The season ends Thursday, when a winner will be chosen among the four finalists: Roxxxy Andrews, the thick and juicy showgirl beauty; Detox Icunt, a Thierry Mugler–obsessed fashion-plate blow-up doll; Katya Zamolodchikova, the delightfully wackadoodle contortionist and breakout favorite of season seven; and Alaska Thunderfuck 5000, the warped mastermind with a razor-sharp focus who’s dominated, with four out of seven challenge victories under her tuck.

Most Drag Race viewers are basking in the eleganza of All Stars 2, but there is a social-media swarm directing threats at queens they think aren’t playing fair. And while I would much rather focus on the season’s greatness, I feel it’s my responsibility to use this little corner of the internet to walk some of these ignorant children in nature and explain to them why sending death threats to drag queens on a TV game show is not fucking cool. Because I’ve had it. Officially.

So, this is for @kimmy7197, who told Detox “thank fuck your cunt of a father is dead” after she eliminated Alyssa Edwards. This is for @jjyounghearts, who went on Instagram to let Alaska know her mother failed as a parent for “raising a scumbag rotten spoiled brat drug addict.” This is for @daisybell, who called All Star Phi Phi O’Hara “the worst most ugliest untalented faggot to ever be on drag race someone kill it.” Now, let me count the ways in which fan responses like these are so deeply troubling.

It’s not personal, it’s drag (on TV). This season's final four was not decided because of nepotism or unfair play; it’s who the producers wanted. All Stars 2, like basically every reality competition ever, is rigged. Outcomes are usually determined well before the first episode starts filming. And it’s not because of some nefarious conspiracy; it’s just how it’s always been, ever since Darva Conger was picked to be the lucky lady to fake marry a fake millionaire. After narrowing down the cast, story producers designate the heroes and villains in a narrative of their creation. Using off-camera machinations, shady sound effects and creative cutting and pasting, editors take contestants’ words and actions out of context in order to construct characters who satisfy the producers' story. Yes, it’s manipulative and exploitative and even unfair, but it’s how the sausage gets made. Sorry about it.

This is not RuPaul’s Best Friend Race. When, in the history of ever, has a drag queen had to be nice? The gender-nonconforming street fairies who threw the first bricks at Stonewall didn’t give a shit about being respectable. Alaska, the usually unflappable frontrunner, threw a tantrum last week after receiving her first negative judges’ critique. The fit caused major retaliation from fans turned off by her unbecoming behavior. Death threats, renunciations of respect and snake emojis flooded her social-media accounts. During a San Jose Club gig a night after the episode aired, Alaska addressed the backlash with her wry sense of humor, explaining, “I think drag queens should be a little bit insane. If everyone was nice and jolly all the time on that show it would be boring as fuck, so … if anytime you need a psychopathic childish monster, I am your queen.” Bow down, bitches.

Get a Grip, Get a Life and Get Over It. So, here’s the T: Sending a death threat to a drag queen for not being nice on TV isn’t nice either. In fact, it’s fucked up and pathetic and kind of terrifying. Aside from a certain “K” family, reality-TV personalities aren’t privileged to the same breadth of distance from fans and ugly-hearted trolls as the Beyoncés and the Gagas of the world.

In order to keep working, Drag Racers must stay accessible. This includes maintaining multiple social-media sites and life-streaming platforms like Periscope and Facebook Live. Fans can also make time with their favorite Drag Racers in person at pre-show meet and greets, grueling ordeals where queens must stay gracious in binding, sweaty drag while on the receiving end of interminable selfies and declarations of love from total strangers. I bet these are even more emotionally taxing for queens who might be wondering if any of these strangers pleading “I love you” in person are the same ones tweeting “I hope you die.”

If you don’t learn your HERstory, you’re doomed to repeat it.I have to believe fans who resort to online hate speech are simply too young to remember when a show about drag queens would never have been allowed on air. Queens are historically denigrated figures, brash and bawdy spectacles who unapologetically flaunt their effeminacy in the face of respectability. Drag queens have endured lifetimes of ridicule, violence and alienation. Some of these trolls might excuse their online harassment as “just words,” but those words contribute to a culture in which hatred and violence are increasingly normalized.

We live in a time when an unapologetically predatory, racist, bigoted, divisive, lying Cheeto that’s been collecting cat hair under our nation’s couch for the last 70 years is a major party's nominee for the highest office in the land. RuPaul’s Drag Race is a sweet escape, a middle finger to patriarchal ideology. In an increasingly polarized, uncertain America, RuPaul’s Drag Race is my happy place. Stop shitting on my happy place!

And don’t fuck it up. This Thursday, there is only one clear choice for the winner of All Stars 2. Each finalist is fiercely talented, but none exhibits more Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent than Alaska. As a singer-songwriter, actress, comedian, spokesmodel and politically radical feminist artiste, she’s the total package. If this sudden surge of social-media backlash holds sway over whether or not Alaska gets the crown, RuPaul’s Drag Race will have jumped the shark. Officially. Of course, if RuPaul really is a genius for marketing “subversive drag to 100 million motherfuckers,” as he proclaimed a few episodes back, he already knows this.

RuPaul and Drag Race producers have a responsibility to protect the integrity of the show. More importantly, RuPaul has a responsibility to use his influence to promote media literacy and to defend his legendary children from an angry mob of fans who don’t understand that in reality TV, realness isn’t real.
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G

Garrett Hawke

Member
Sounds to me like an Alaska Stan is pressed that someone else in the lineup deserves to win. Oop.

I just don't see why alaska deserves to win more than Katya because she's had hate tweeted at her.

If we're going on that basis, the ultimate middle finger would be to bring back Phi Phi and have her crowned by Lucian Paine, lol.
 
S

Soulscribe

Member
Alaska deserves to win coz she did the best, lol

You can also add in that she's the most well-rounded, marketable winner of the four but I feel like doing the best on the show is reason enough?
 
J

Jugendstil

Member
I will preface this by saying I am 100% #teamkatya and #justice4alyssa and #justice4tati. I think Katya is the most brilliant queen to ever be on the show and if she were to score an upset and snatch the crown, I'd be happy.

That being said, I think the anger towards Alaska is a bit out of hand. I read a lot of the reactions online before I saw her actual breakdown on the last episode and I was surprised that instead of being disappointed in her, I felt sympathy and pity more than anything else. I can really relate to letting your frustrations get the best of you, especially when its being directed towards yourself. I'm sure the pressure of the situation only magnifies things a million times over. I think the real issue with Alaska this season is that she has been so focused on winning, she has come across as a bit cold and unfriendly, and that's not the Alaska that people loved going into the season. She's done great but its never really seemed like she was enjoying herself especially compared to most of the other queens. It sucks that her actually showing more of her messy human side has come so late in the competition because I think it could have been an asset if she had dropped the facade earlier on. Anyway, I just think there needs to be a little more empathy towards the queens, regardless of who you want to win (except for Phi Phi, fuck her).
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
Soulscribe said:
Alaska deserves to win coz she did the best, lol

You can also add in that she's the most well-rounded, marketable winner of the four but I feel like doing the best on the show is reason enough?
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"The show is faked huntys, the outcome is pre determined"

"Alaska had the best performance on the show"

Do you not see how those two things contrast? How can we know she's the best if it's faked?
 
S

Soulscribe

Member
Garrett Hawke said:
"The show is faked huntys, the outcome is pre determined"

"Alaska had the best performance on the show"

Do you not see how those two things contrast? How can we know she's the best if it's faked?
Click to expand...

The show is produced and manipulated because that's how reality shows are. That said, the winner of every season has always been the one with the most wins. That's just always how it is. Why would this season suddenly be different? Especially considering people were only suggesting Alaska won't win after she had one bad, unlikable moment?

The only way Katya could win tonight is if Ru decided that social media reception to the queens is more important than the competition itself, which again, would be a first for the show. I know Drag Race tends to meander into "popularity contest" territory, but it never fully made the transition, particularly when it comes to shafting the best performer for someone who didn't do nearly as well.
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
Soulscribe said:
The show is produced and manipulated because that's how reality shows are. That said, the winner of every season has always been the one with the most wins. That's just always how it is. Why would this season suddenly be different? Especially considering people were only suggesting Alaska won't win after she had one bad, unlikable moment?

The only way Katya could win tonight is if Ru decided that social media reception to the queens is more important than the competition itself, which again, would be a first for the show. I know Drag Race tends to meander into "popularity contest" territory, but it never fully made the transition, particularly when it comes to shafting the best performer for someone who didn't do nearly as well.
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There's still one more episode though. Alaska has won 4 challenges, Katya 3. If she performs better than Alaska tonight then they're on equal grounds.
 
S

Shizuka

Member
Garrett Hawke said:
"The show is faked huntys, the outcome is pre determined"

"Alaska had the best performance on the show"

Do you not see how those two things contrast? How can we know she's the best if it's faked?
Click to expand...

That's what I got from the article. If everything is staged, how come Alaska is more talented and deserving just because she won more challenges? The article itself makes it sound like anyone who won had an empty win because everything was faked and edited.
 
M

mantidor

Member
It's going to be a mess when Alaska wins, it will be the most hated decision since Tyra's coronation, I know popularity does not decide the winner, but I mean (stolen from reddit):

0HsA6CU.jpg
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This has never happened before, it's not even a contest.
 
R

Rayis

Member
Idk, I love Katya but I would not be upset if Alaska won, she's very deserving of the crown after all, and she's also a great queen. Now, Roxxxy winning, that would be bullshit of the highest caliber which is why it'd never happen.
 
S

Shizuka

Member
mantidor said:
It's going to be a mess when Alaska wins, it will be the most hated decision since Tyra's coronation, I know popularity does not decide the winner, but I mean (stolen from reddit):

This has never happened before, it's not even a contest.
Click to expand...

Let's make it bigger, crown Roxxxy!
 
G

Garrett Hawke

Member
How is everyone watching it live? Is there any way to watch it live outside the US? I bought the season on iTunes but the episodes don't come on til the morning ;-;
 
S

SouSouRocket

Member
Dandy Crocodile said:
Although I'd prefer Katya to win, if it's Alaska I don't care. I'd still understand and be pleased with the result.
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I agree with this. Alaska's tantrum was disappointing but I do understand that it's hard being where they are and having all that pressure. Be that as it may, Katya has always been an amazing queen and I would honestly be thrilled if she won, particularly after last week. Alaska's response to the criticism does remind me why I love her though <3. She's brilliant. Detox and Roxxy simply lack various parts of C.U.N.T while I believe Katya and Alaska have both.

Joining #Justice4Tati and #Justice4Alyssa. Tati has been one of my faves since I watched Season 2 as it aired on TV and to see her come back better than ever has been a joy. I hope she's gained tons of new fans and capitalizes well on the post-show wave. Alyssa I have absolutely no concerns about because she's already demonstrated that she knows her worth and how to market herself. She may have lost but she's a class act and a true queen and she will be just fine.
 
Jinfash

Jinfash

needs 2 extra inches
I missed the first 7 minutes. When I tuned in, Alaska was wrapping up her podcast interview. Did I miss anything good?
 
K

Killthee

helped a brotha out on multiple separate occasions!
Loving this episode.

GO
KATYA
GO!

Jinfash said:
I missed the first 7 minutes. When I tuned in, Alaska was wrapping up her podcast interview. Did I miss anything good?
Click to expand...
Not really, just Michelle introducing the challenge.
 
K

kirblar

Member
This entire episode has been ridiculously first-person Alaska POV so far.

this challenge I'd rank em: Katya, Detox, Alaska, Roxxxy

Which would put Alaska/Katya at 4-2 and Detox at 4-1. lol
 
K

kirblar

Member
Definitely seems like a setup to an Alaska win based on the nonstop focus on her all ep.

edit: shaaaaaaade thrown at Roxxxy here lol
 
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