Culture

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 episode 4 Ru-flections: We need to talk about Naomi

Jan 05 2019
Written by Charlie Jones

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queen Naomi Smalls

Naomi Smalls has been gagging us—but not the judges—on All Stars 4 (VH1)

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 starts 2019 with some New Year New Jersey injustice.

Let’s deconstruct some drag:

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queen Valentina shows off her deconstructed drag look which splits the judging panel.

Valentina’s deconstructed drag look splits the judges on All Stars 4 (VH1)

All Stars 4 Episode 4 Jersey Justice: the verdict

How much Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent was episode three packing?

Overall: C.U.N.

A classic among classics. Thank u All Stars 4, next.

Challenge: C.U.N.

I usually hate the acting challenges—#Breastworld— but ditching the scripts and rehearsals works a World of Wonder.

Lewks: C.U.N.

Category is: swerves and curves, padded for the gods

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queen Monique Heart

Monique Heart serving Alexander Moo-queen on Drag Race All Stars 4 (VH1)

The best drag tells a story.

It can be told through comedy—Monique, Monet, Naomi —concept—Manila, Valentina—or couture—Trinity.

What tells me no tale is a blue gown with stones.

Latrice, this challenge was probably chosen for you.

I’m getting all of the curves of a Greggs vegan sausage roll. And like Piers—ew, never saying that again—I’m not eating it.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queen Latrice Royale on season 4.

Latrice Royale coins her first catchphrase on RuPaul’s Drag Race season 4 (Logo)

Unfair edit of the week

We need to talk about Naomi.

Naomi poses and snatches her wig during the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 talent show (VH1)

HOW is Naomi the only queen not to win a challenge?

She slayed every challenge, every runway, and has been largely edited out of every episode.

It brings back this interview judge Carson Kressley conducted with the queens a few weeks ago:

Carson: do you think there is a formula [for winning All Stars]?

Naomi: blonde and white?

It’s not hard to see it her way.

She definitely should have placed high—or won—this week.

She should have won Snatch Game.

She could have beaten Trinity in week one or Monet—when factoring in runway—in week two to win either.

To overlook Naomi once could be considered an accident, twice carelessness, three times shade and four times a a mother tucking scandal.

Naomi portrays both Wendy Williams and a Snatch Game glo-up on All Stars 4 (VH1)

Don’t make it five, Ru.

The shade of it all

Alliances or a-lie-at-sis?

The season 9 queens tore Valentina’s congenial mask off during their reunion.

Coming to All Stars she shows what’s underneath: one of the best players RuPaul’s Drag Race has seen.

As I said last week, it has been beautiful to behold.

But this week it wasn’t cute.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queens Valentina and Trinity the Tuck debate elimination methods

Valentina tells Trinity she would rather send her home than risk a backlash from eliminating Latrice (VH1)

Openly admitting to sending your star supporter and season sister to the slaughterhouse—‘sorry, Monique’—just to avoid a backlash from the fans was a sickening supply of shade.

Trinity has performed phenomenally in All Stars 4 whilst going above and beyond to defend Valentina from elimination during the last two weeks.

Sending her home over Latrice would have looked cowardly, I’m sure Trinity won’t let her forget it.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queen Trinity the Tuck tells off Manila Luzon for daring to wonder whether she should eliminate Valentina

Trinity scolds Manila for wondering whether or not to eliminate Valentina (VH1)

Editor of the week: Manila Lose-on-purpose

Ooooooh, another conspiracy!

Be like Manila and produce the edit you want to see.

Want to be top lip? Umm and err, wonder loudly whether to send home strong competition you clearly weren’t going to eliminate.

Reward: $10k.

Don’t want to make the choice? Lip sink yourself by loudly declaring who you’ll send home. Oh, and do a half-assed comedy routine to a song you know needs feeling.

Reward: continued friendship with one of the most beloved queens and self-declared best friend, don’t alienate the fanbase by sending home the wrong person.

Tribute to our fallen victor

She was large and in-charge, chunky yet funky, bold and beautiful. But groups were the end of her, darling.

Still, she gave us the face cracks of the season.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 4 queen Latrice Royale gets read by Valentina

Exhibit A: Latrice’s face responds to a read by Valentina on ep 1 of Drag Race All Stars 4 (VH1)

RuPual's Drag Race All Stars 4 Trinity reads Latrice 'Where are the jokes?'

Exhibit B: Latrice tries to read Trinity but her face cracks under the shade she gets in response (VH1)

All Stars 4 episode 4: A Queen-by-queen ru-view

Trinity the Tuck: 518 points

Edit: The one to beat / lip sync assassin (see: Alaska, Ben DeLa Creme).

Yep. She’s spilling the tee, and even sharing Monique’s edit as audience surrogate. Despite being safe this week, it still feels like Trinity’s to lose.