‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ recap: Mistress Isabelle Brooks brings the ‘shenanigans and chaos’ to the second bracket opener
Previously on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 10, the first bracket of six returning queens concluded with Irene the Alien (Season 15), Bosco (Season 14) and Aja (Season 9, All Stars 3) emerging victorious as the point leaders in the first of three preliminary rounds within the first ever "Tournament of All Stars." Before sending the losing queens, DeJa Skye (Season 14), Phoenix (Season 3) and Olivia Lux (Season 13) away for good, RuPaul Charles unveiled another twist: the judges will be selecting certain queens to enter into the Wild Card Lottery for a chance to randomly be chosen to re-enter the competition in the final stage. Ru promised we'll hear more on that later.
This week, the second bracket begins when Ru throws a ball for Jorgeous (Season 14, All Stars 9), Kerri Colby (Season 14), Lydia B Kollins (Season 17), Mistress Isabelle Brooks (Season 15), Nicole Paige Brooks (Season 2), and Tina Burner (Season 13). Read on for our recap of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 10 Episode 4, titled "Eight Ball," which began streaming Friday, May 23 at 12 a.m. ET on Paramount+.
In the "Tournament of All Stars," 18 queens compete in a preliminary round of three episodes as three brackets of six, a semifinals round of the top-scoring three from each bracket, and then a finals to determine who will join the "Drag Race Hall of Fame" and take home the ultimate cash prize of $200,000.
SEE ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ winners list: Every season, plus ‘All Stars’
"It's about to be stunts, shows and shenanigans" — Mistress Isabelle Brooks
Making their re-entrance on to the Main Stage, the queens in the second bracket gave us a glimpse into why they felt it was necessary for them to come back to the competition at this point in their career. Tina offered that she's ditched the "red, orange and yellow" motif and promises drag that's "bigger and better than ever." Kerri admits that she was a "mid girl with big potential" that will make the most of opportunities in the competition. Nicole Paige Brooks from Atlanta, Georgia said that she was too reserved in Season 2 and challenges all the other girls out there because she "hasn't had to change her face to change her career." Mistress maintains the confidence she displayed on Season 15 and believes she was "perfection" then, but promises to sniff out the drama in the Werk Room once again. Lydia made her return mere weeks after concluding Season 17 and plans to perform with more intention this time. Last was Jorgeous, back for her third time in front of the judges, who feels like she's mastered her craft and "can do anything."
Though Lydia is the newest queen returning, she already has a pre-existing relationship with Mistress who was the subject of the "Villains Roast" during Season 17. Naturally, Mistress promised to get her "lick back" for the digs Lydia took at her then, but Tina was also interested in getting a lick back at Mistress for posting a shady photo of her on social media. Mistress did find an instant kinship with Nicole because of their shared family name Brooks, but they disclosed that they're from different lines of the geneaology. The closest two queens this season should have been Jorgeous and Kerri because of their time together on Season 14, but Jorgeous has known Mistress longer than that from their time in Texas and so it made sense for all three of them to form an alliance.
"Hats off to you, Miss Butthole" — Kerri Colby
For the first maxi challenge worth two points to the top two queens, Ru threw an "Eight Ball" where each queen would design a high-end original look using eight items found within an oversized eight ball (pool reference) chosen at random. Some of the more challenging items inside the balls were a red lampshade and gold chain (Tina's ball), a clear bath mat (Nicole's ball), an unattractive floral print and black plastic (Jorgeous's ball), a panel of beaded tassels and metal trim (Kerri's ball), a crystal lamp shade (Lydia's ball), and golden anal beads (Mistress's ball).
Upon hearing from Lydia that she designed all of the looks she wore on the Season 17 runway, the girls were gagged and intimidated to be competing against someone of that design caliber in a ball challenge. Lydia, however, got in her own head because she actually didn't place that well in any of the design challenges and so this time she would be scaling back her ideas. On the flip side, Jorgeous planned to show more of herself in the runways after reflecting at how simple the garments she made in the past were.
In some brief face to face time with Ru for a doll check-in, Tina and Kerri both addressed their lack of awareness during the first runs and plan to attack the competition with more confidence this time around. Ru gave Nicole her flowers for being one of the "founding members of this franchise," but was concerned that she was going with a similar silhouette to what she wore on the first day. Ru was less concerned with the plan Mistress had to bring "grand Texas drag" back to the runway. The time with Jorgeous and Lydia revealed that Ru is still obsessed with both of them and their ability to make her laugh comes quite easily.
"I can see the mirrors shattering inside Tina" — Jorgeous
On runway day while the girls were getting ready at the mirrors, a polite request from Lydia to be adopted by Mistress spiraled into a chaotic flare up between Tina and Mistress in response to the social media post Mistress had made. Tina warned Lydia about getting involved with Mistress, who instinctively clapped back at Tina and soon enough promises of receipts and rumors of people sliding into DMs flew through the air. Tina recognized that Mistress was trying to get Tina to crack in that moment, but didn't back down even though Jorgeous thought she could "see the mirrors shattering inside Tina."
Later, on the dais with Ru to judge the ball looks were Michelle Visage, Ts Madison and New York nightlight icon Susanne Bartsch. Ru thought Jorgeous was smart to return to the cut outs in her design because of her "diminutive" natural build. Michelle appreciated that Kerri took the stage with "reckless abandon." Susanne called Lydia's look "fabulous" and Ru said the only thing missing from her '80s vibe was shoulder pads. Michelle clocked all of the right proportions and finished edges on the look Mistress created. Ts thought Nicole looked "cute," but she thought she should have went bigger in the makeup and other drag elements. The judges were all impressed by how many different pieces Tina was able to make with such great construction in the allotted time.
Based on the presentations, Ru declared Lydia and Tina as the top two of the week with Mistress as a clear third place finisher. To decide which of them would receive the extra point and a $10,000 cash tip, Lydia and Tina performed in the Lip Sync for Your Legacy to "Love Sensation" by Loleatta Holloway. Tina was running high off her own first ever maxi challenge win, but she was up against the "lip sync assassin" from Season 17 who once again prevailed.
Before sending the queens back to the Werk Room, Ru revealed the MVQ twist and asked that the four bottom queens consider who they will be giving their extra point to.
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