The queens had a lot to say when put to the test on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 6 Episode 5.
The Pink Table Talk Maxi Challenge is an interesting game because it tests the queens on their conversational and improv skills. Strong queens can hold a conversation, but if a queen can’t keep the topic going, it’s a quick way to land at the bottom.
In the case of “Pink Table Talk,” the trouble at hand came from how genuine the queens could be. Two queens, in particular, couldn’t shake their stage persona when it truly counted.
Jan stayed too much in her head and tried to present her upbeat persona all the time.
This issue was a big hurdle during RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 12 as it made Jan seem fake and too much of a polished professional. It’s an upbeat quality of her personality that comes to her detriment, especially here during the vote reveal and the Maxi Challenge.
Jan should’ve owned her lipstick vote against A’keria C. Davenport. She had to make a decision and she believed that A’keria should’ve been the one to go. (End of the story if anyone asked.)
By backtracking and softening her reason, it made her seem indecisive and playing too much in the middle. She didn’t need to undercut her motives to A’keria just because everyone else had voted out Yara Sofia instead.
Confidently explaining why she did it would’ve won over the queens more than coming up with a hasty excuse.
For the Maxi Challenge, she slipped too much into her performer mode that it took away from her words.
There’s a difference between being charismatic/vulnerable and being “on”/upbeat. Jan plays too much in the latter when all the judges want for her is to be the former.
I’m gonna put Jan in the box. I love you, Jan. I think you’re a phenomenal entertainer, but you’ve been at the bottom twice.
Trinity K. Bonet
It’s almost like a switch goes off and Jan turns “on” to be upbeat and engaging. The energy feels like she’s trying to be the best and please everyone. She needed to pull back and allow herself room to give levels throughout the conversation.
If she can figure out how to rein her energy in, it will do wonders for her performances.
In Scarlet Envy’s case, she has that same sheen problem that Jan has, but her energy gives off more of a breathy and debonair vibe. She acts like a Southern character from Gone with the Wind.
Scarlet had a great conversational point for the “motherhood” topic, but she kept intercutting it with sassy comebacks and weird facial expressions.
[In confessional] This is not the tea. It seems like Scarlet is in some way ignoring the fact that RuPaul, the person whose name is on the top billing of this program, literally said that Scarlet made her uncomfortable.
Jan
If she had dropped the pretenses, she would’ve landed near the top instead of eliminated. Her words were strong on their own and you could feel the passion behind them. However, the constant breaks to give a sassy look or quip ruined the flow of her conversation, which threw her off her game.
And, the tone of the quips didn’t match the vibe of the chat about her two mothers. She had an uneven performance that felt awkward and uncomfortable.
Out of the three Pink Table Talk segments, the sex segment was the best all-around.
Eureka!, Trinity K. Bonet, and A’keria balanced each other with their points and they each offered something weighty to the conversation. Plus, they seemed the most organized and had many jokes between the three of them.
Ginger Minj: [In confessional] Sitting here listening to these girls, this is what keeps going through my head: “I won!”
[Dances around]
I’m shocked that one of them didn’t win the week, especially Eureka.
Eureka has shown a talent for this type of structured environment (she won the DragCon challenge on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Episode 6). It only seemed obvious that she would use those skills to bring in another win.
If not her, her teammates Trinity and A’keria both opened up about serious topics, like Trinity living with HIV. One of them could’ve been awarded for being in the top group.
Ra’Jah O’Hara, in particular, from the “motherhood” group was the breakout star. How did Ra’Jah not win this round?
The editing of “Pink Table Talk” gave her a sympathetic redemption arc and prepped her up to win. She opened up so much about her strained relationship with her mother; the emotional focal point of the round was entirely about Ra’Jah.
Shockingly, she didn’t get rewarded for giving the judges exactly what they wanted by having the most open and heartful chat. Plus, her patterned ensemble on the runway was stunning!
There is no way that Ra’Jah should’ve been at the bottom half of the group to speak with the judges.
The “body” group, on the other hand, had the weakest structure. They weren’t bad, per se, but they didn’t go in-depth into their topic compared to the rest of the teams.
Jan discussing the fandom shed light on a serious issue that I wish she treated with more seriousness/fewer smiles. And Pandora only lightly touched on the issues of ageism and her personal struggles. She needed to dive deeper to be a contender in a conversational game like this.
Ginger Minj did a great job as moderator and opening up about a personal issue. Part of her win had to do with her personality and how she led the conversation, which did set her apart from Pandora Boxx and Jan.
I still think other queens could’ve won instead. Ginger would’ve been a high second or third at the top.
The “Clash of the Patterns” runway had a few standouts with its conflicting patterns theme. Trinity, Eureka, Ra’Jah, and Pandora were my favorites that each had bold looks that shined.
Trinity and Ra’Jah utilized patterns that connected back to their heritage. They looked chic, fierce, and positively stunning on the runway. These were two looks that came to slay!
Take notes, girls. If you do it right the first time, you don’t have to come back.
Bianca Del Rio
Eureka’s gown, while not having the most flattering patterns, was constructed in a beautifully fitted manner. The mermaid cut suited her body perfectly and it highlighted every feature to showcase glamor.
Pandora’s Sally-inspired gown from The Nightmare Before Christmas, on the other hand, was a cheeky nod that warmed my geeky heart. (Sometimes that’s all you need to win me over.)
Ginger competing against Mayhem Miller from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 10 was one of the best moments of “Pink Table Talk.” Their lip-sync battle to “Phone” by Lizzo was upbeat, expressive, and hilarious.
This lip-sync is the type of performance where comedy works perfectly in every move and lyric
Ginger brought it from the first look she gave to the judges. She came ready to fight Mayhem for the prize, and Mayhem wasn’t making it easy for her either. The two balanced each other quite nicely with a routine that was funny and upbeat.
Once Ginger used the lyrics to poke fun at Mayhem, the battle was over. Ginger had this win in the bag.
Last Thoughts From The Werk Room:
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Did Scarlet not realize that the other queens could disprove her campaigning? RuPaul blatantly said that she made her uncomfortable. Seriously, that was the worst critique of the night.
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Kylie Sonique Love needs to start speaking up or else she’ll fade into the background.
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Ginger Minj rolling her eyes at Jan calling it the “Jantasy” was the perfect GIF.
- Bianca Del Rio! I did not expect to see her behind the lip-sync assassin curtain as a prank.
Now, over to you, Drag Race fans!
What did you think of “Pink Table Talk”?
Which table segment was your favorite? Did Scarlet’s table performance make you uncomfortable too? Who would you have voted out?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Justin Carreiro is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.