Shannel-ing becoming an opposite to Dida Ritz-ing is not what I expected to happen this season.
But yeah if anyone is actively hurt by the non-elim format, it's Shannel, who is consistently strong and therefore would be allowed to shine as queens who were less consistent were eliminated.
At this point though, I definitely feel the unsubtle attempts by production to have her meltdown.
You make a great point, if less consistent queens had been eliminated (such as Plastique in the SG for example) then Shannel would’ve had more of an opportunity to win over them in the next challenges
I imagine the phenomenon where a queen never really does that great, but gets carried far because there’s always at least two other people doing worse.
Meanwhile Shannel has been doing consistently pretty well, but (according to the show) there’s always been at least two other people doing better
Dida Ritz holds the record for the longest presence on the show without ever placing above Safe at 9 competitive episodes. She was often saved from the bottom by other queens being worse, but she never really got to shine outside of her This Will Be lipsync. She was just kind of there until they ran out of other people to eliminate.
They don't give her air time and simultaneously keep including shady shots and edits. Like, someone wins , cut to shannel, someone mentions badges, cut to shannel.
And shannel is just basically existing and not doing anything. But they always cut to her when some things are mentioned 🤡 you can't tell me that isn't on purpose.
Tbh idrk an episode where I would’ve put shannel in the top 2, however I do think it’s pure insanity that they are putting her in the top all these weeks with no badge. Idk, I think production wants Shannel to have another “i don’t want to be here” moment.
I would have put her in the top two for her Liberace, honestly.
She also did very well in the real estate episode, well enough that one could justify top two.
I'm not sure, I mean they already have all the footage and they'd know if they have that moment, and it doesn't feel like they're building to that. I feel like her edit is more, "she's a professional and a drag legend," it's respectful but not exciting. In a regular season it's a finalist-but-not-a-winner edit. I think she'll win at least one challenge before the season is up.
Seriously, half the show feels like her eulogy. “You’re such a legend with an amazing legacy.” Meanwhile she is sat there looking fierce as hell and doing the damn thing. It’s so frustrating.
Omg yes you described it exactly! Like they will praise her until the cows come home but still refuse to place her anywhere near the top. I’m an old queen myself and I felt her Liberace was better overall, more accurate and even funnier in its subtlety than Nina’s. Ru even said as much to her, yet she’s not in the top? It’s like she is not allowed to even place or get helpful feedback. They just smile and blow smoke up her ass and send her back to the side like she’s not part of the actual competition. I don’t get it.
I bet she’s winning at least a challenge or two but production at the time are probably trying to get Shannel to have another dramatic moment but it isn’t working so they had nothing to work with in the edit.
Well, if there’s the same number of episodes as season 7 of all stars; that being 11 competitive episodes. Then we have 4 episodes left for Shannel to earn a badge. And if there’s no twists as far as getting 3 badges in 1 episode, then for Shannel to be in the top 3 she’d have **to win ALL FOUR OF THE LAST FOUR EPISODES** in order to make it.
I enjoyed their estate agent advert, I’m probably a bit slow but I’ve just realised that Shannels last appearance was before roxxxys first appearance, their really making her feel her S1 feelings again even after making her 4th for AS1 (despite being the winning team).
I’m so ready for her talent show. Idk if she’s gonna unicycle while juggling on fire, but I know she’s gonna take us to VEGAS. The talent show better be worth 5 badges 😤
Their real estate was boring imo. They had the best concept but the problem is that Shannel is too afraid to be wild and crazy which is exactly what Ru is looking for in a challenge like that especially. This is why I don’t think she’s best for modern day drag race, she seems to approach all of the challenges with such a serious attitude when you kinda need to have the opposite mentality. Compare it with Roxxxy and Plastique whose ad was nonsensical but perfect for making Ru laugh
Yeah. Each challenge has a brief. But the key is to loosely stick to that brief whilst successfully meeting the not stated brief of "make yourself ugly so Ru can laugh at you".
This isn't a criticism. It's Ru's show. She knows what she's doing and she's not wrong that if a queen can stop striving for perfection they'll be more likely to win over the viewers.
Jan, Scarlett, Loosey are examples of Queens that couldn't really push passed this. They are still phenomenal Queens, but they won't win a season of drag race judged by Ru.
I actually understand this, because I’m a crazy loud bitch and I wish I kind of wasn’t. I respect the fact that Shannel approaches the competition so seriously and she seems to have a different kind of maturity about her compared to the other queens. Don’t give me wrong, I love all the queens on AS9. I also think that Shannel not winning badges may have something to do with the fact that her style’s not as “in-your-face” as her competitors’.
Shannel is THE blueprint. It’s a shame that the producers aren’t doing more with her edit. As a queen who’s had such an enduring career, I feel like they really could’ve built an excellent story arc for her.
Mik can still be top two if she's blocked, she just won't win a badge. But if she is top two it does have the advantage of stopping another queen from getting a badge, so it's still in Mik's interest to try to do well.
Shannel has been consistently good all season, but basically never quite good enough to be top 2. I probably would have put her top 2 in snatch game with Mik, but that's it. Lots of times she was third best.
We're seeing that a no-elimination season favours specialists, not generalists. In a regular season, a generalist would outlast the specialists, who get filtered out in their off weeks, but there's no long game in a season where everyone sticks around.
Shannel should’ve done Joe exotic for the Snatch Game of Love.
I think she’s too in her head. Bring in your head can really rob you of your personality and spark. She’s probably feeling her age and letting that psyche her out. I hope she has a break through and gets one badge before it’s all said and done. I’m rooting for her!
I think she’s great but maybe not what Rupaul is looking for in this era (which isn’t a bad thing tbh, considering roople is like an elderly uncle who makes the same 5 jokes). She has hella talent, just doesn’t line up as well with the show compared to ppl like Gorgeous - love her but let’s be fr - who can make roople laugh doing anything.
Totally agree!!!
After all, would you rather go to a show and watch Shannel, who in my opinion would be entertaining as fuck, for she can do pretty much everything totally at the top of her game!
Or…
You could go to a show of Jorgeouse’s, which would be a little like going to a local dance recital where one of the older kids (who’s in all the advanced classes & can basically out-dance most everyone up there, including most of the teachers at the dance school) comes on & dances number after number ~ all while getting higher & higher between each number? Yes, it’s a lovely fun night, that might even include some laughter, but it’s no where near the kind of professional Vegas-like entertainment that Shannel would put out!
That said, I am a Shannel stance all the way!!!
NOW GIVE THAT BITCH HER FLOWERS AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF BADGES!!!
Hooray Shannel !!!
They don't seem to be spotlighting her all that much from what I see, except for the times it's pointed out that she's the only queen without a badge. Track records are taken into a lot of consideration but what the show seems to be going for is who they want to represent the brand. If they're not spotlighting a queen (or if the queen's only spotlight is negative, ie the "shady edit" queen), I don't really expect that queen to win based on precedent of the formula they seem to use.
I do agree that if they pick a top two for an episode like in the AS format that both queens should be given a win for that episode and not only the queen who wins the lip-sync. It doesn't seem fair to choose two queens who did equally well in the eyes of the judges to be denied a win since they did technically win the challenge but not the lip-sync. They can still do the lip-syncs but do something else with it, like just give the winner of the lip-sync the 10k tip but not make them the sole winner of the episode.
You don't have to make up excuses to lift Shannel up, she's great, she's always have been, but the only time I could argue she could've won was the one she did the realtors sketch with Nina West. She suffers from coming across as being too serious in a competition that is required by the host to make a fool of yourself all the time. At least she has the opportunity to show herself to newer fans of drag race.
This is it right here.
Trinity actually commented on this on Sibling Watchery, on different episodes. Monét said she thought that Shannel and Nina’s skit was the best one and Trinity said that the problem is that Shannel isn’t funny and can’t deliver it the way that would work for Drag Race and that all the comedy was left for Nina to deliver.
In a different episode, Trinity mentions that on her own original season, she was told by the panel that she was funny and that she took that advice and ran with it. She actually almost says what you mentioned about having to really play up the comedy and not be scared to look foolish. Trinity has obviously taken that critique and completely ran away with it earning her a crown, a spot on all-winners and the most challenge wins in the shows herstory.
Shannel doesn’t have that in her. She’s way too serious to play up the way that is required to win these comedy challenges. Even in her Liberace, they said she had the better Liberace, but Nina had the better SG because Shannel can’t let go and go completely balls to the wall with comedy.
I agree with the point about comedy and shannel' relationship.
I feel she like many other queens has one schtick, ie surprised pikachu face, and it's not enough to carry her to the top. She kind of lacks comedic timing too but none of that is to her fault tbh, not everyone is a comedian for a reason.
She showed her best in the realtors ad and it was good thanks to nina, most jokes were made by nina too, i don't think she'll ever do better than that 😔
She doesn't and the way she told off shannel during the critiques this week was so bad. It felt like a generic scripted speech she doesn't believe, honestly, i almost wish ru didn't say anything.
I disagree, tbh.
She’s done fine in most challenges, but I don’t find anything she’s done particularly good or memorable. I think having half the cast be either a Win or High is also a flaw in this system because if Shannel’s been considered HIGH in that many episodes, I feel like she’d have more strong and memorable moments, but she doesn’t. The closest she came to a win was the SG and she was like 4th, at best, in a SG that wasn’t even that strong to begin with. Despite my negative view on this, I don’t think she’s done particularly bad in any challenge; she’s just coasting. Plenty of queens do across different seasons and there’s nothing wrong with that. A lot of people are just demanding she wins because she hasn’t and because she’s one of the OGs and because her edit is somewhat boring. I’m not saying they couldn’t edit her to be better, but based on what we’ve seen, she hasn’t won because she simply hasn’t done that well.
If we’re talking about Shea in AS7, I feel like this can also apply, to a lesser extent. Outside of her two wins, I only remember her doing really well in the Girl Groups challenge (and her runway was busted) and the Legendary Legend Looks. She may have gotten a ton of high placements, but she didn’t feel like she was totally excelling all season.
There's not a particular challenge that I would say she should have won either, although other posters have stated examples of cases that could be made that I agree with.
I think Shannel has been memorable so maybe this is a taste thing - in general her drag is a style that I love and she executes it really well on the runway - she's more consistent than almost all the other queens there, and she has a clear aesthetic and point of view without being samey. I also really like her attitude and her vibe - I love seeing older queens on drag race. In terms of a specific performance that is memorable I think her Liberace was a standout for me.
I think my main point is that the only reason Shannel isn't excelling is that the format is different this season, so the standards are just significantly higher. On an elimination-based season (with a different cast of early-outs, mid-outs, and finalists to match) she'd likely been cast as a finalist and have multiple wins by now.
I understand your point.
I like Shannel’s style and can definitely agree that she has range in looks, but she’s a classic example of someone who simply isn’t that good at Drag Race. Not to say she’s bad at it, but since Drag Race is so centered around comedy, she falls short of wins. The only skill that Shannel has that I’d say she’s above everyone else would be makeup, but even then that’s not a skill that is solely needed for a challenge. She’s simply way too analytical to succeed in most challenges and she doesn’t have the other skills, like lipsyncing, dancing or sewing to fully standout out in challenges not fully centered around comedy. Could she be slaying the game on a normal season? Sure. However, that’s the whole point of coming back, to show growth and to compete among those who are also memorable and did well in the past (well, mostly), but she’s just coming up a little short. It’s okay. We all still love Shannel, but that’s just how I see it.
I would’ve put her in the top two this week. I thought she was so funny.
And maybe the roast, over Plastique? Plastique’s jokes were better but her delivery was off.
And this is another reason why this format doesn’t work for either queens who are doing really bad which to my surprise none of them are doing bad. And for queens that are neither bad nor good. If this season had eliminations she probably would’ve been eliminated with the excuse of her not having any wins or maybe she could have won a challenge if any of the strong competitors got eliminated for bombing a challenge or seen as a big threat. I personally think Vanjie is another queen that could’ve had 0 wins by now and Roxxxy so far hasn’t excelled in the two challenges she won. So production clearly didn’t have Shannel in mind for the top 3.
You're forgetting that we'd never have an elimination season with this cast. They would have cast four of these queens *at most* and they would have cast all of them as finalists or late-mid-outs. Shannel would be a finalist or maybe cut right before the finale.
I agree that production absolutely didn't have Shannel in mind for top 3 for this season.
I don't think she does exceptionally well to earn a badge this time around, she's been consistently good or safe compared to some other flops this season but i wouldn't put her above any other queen in any challenge. Maaaaaaaybe in group ads, and even then i think nina did overshine her a little and i didn't think their ad was conclusively the best.
But in any other season she for sure would've scored high/top placements any day.
Agreed that she'd be doing much better in an elimination format. Granted an elimination season would have a larger cast, but still if you look at this cast there's not a lot of CONSISTENT strength. Angeria is consistently amazing or good. Gottmik is nearly as consistent. Shannel is consistently very good. Vanjie is consistently Vanjie. The other four are constantly oscillating between strong performances or runways and moments that would definitely get them eliminated.
So in an elimination format those inconsistent performers would get knocked out one by one and Shannel would have less competition, and pull it a few wins. Maybe not win the season but definitely make it to the final.
I SO agree with this. I have been loving seeing her on the screen again, and I think she has kept up with the way Drag Race has changed from when she was on the first couple times. I think she should have been in the top for Liberace and the Real Estate challenge, but she is still giving the new seasons queens a solid competition
Thank you, we don’t really talk about how Monet and Shea are legit amongst the top 3 performers of ASAW.
In a different system where the top 4 of each week all get points, neither Monet nor Shea would’ve needed the final twist to do good.
Then we could talk about how they were gonna crown Jinkx no matter what, so by pushing them to the final top 4 they were effectively left with no chance of winning either of the cash prizes and a lot of misplaced anger from toxic fans.
But anyway, in a system that rewards more than two queens per week, Shannel would be regarded as a top competitor for sure. We also could have a more interesting leaderboard.
Doesn’t matter still no badge. Even if you keep counting all the highs in mini or maxi challenges. Bottomline still no badge. Still no money for charity. This is not to hate on Shannel. I just think she hasn’t done the BEST in any challenge as of yet. She has done well but doing well is still not winning you the badges at the end of the day.
It's not that she's done terrible, rather that production hasn't decided her winning is a story worth telling....yet. Like the only feedback we saw this moat recent ep was "you did good, but you didnt really fucks with me"
You said "Doesn't matter, still no badge". Gotta say the whole sentiment and its implications with your chest sis. Best is also subjective to what we see make it past post production. The only challenge we actually saw Shannel struggle with was snatch game, which to her credit, ahe had never done in her 15 years with the show.
How you choose to interpret/understand words is not my problem. Again, I didn’t say she was terrible. I said she was doing well but not the best. Doing well on challenges does not get you badges.
Shannel-ing becoming an opposite to Dida Ritz-ing is not what I expected to happen this season. But yeah if anyone is actively hurt by the non-elim format, it's Shannel, who is consistently strong and therefore would be allowed to shine as queens who were less consistent were eliminated. At this point though, I definitely feel the unsubtle attempts by production to have her meltdown.
You make a great point, if less consistent queens had been eliminated (such as Plastique in the SG for example) then Shannel would’ve had more of an opportunity to win over them in the next challenges
Wait, what’s dida ritz-ing?
I imagine the phenomenon where a queen never really does that great, but gets carried far because there’s always at least two other people doing worse. Meanwhile Shannel has been doing consistently pretty well, but (according to the show) there’s always been at least two other people doing better
Dida Ritz holds the record for the longest presence on the show without ever placing above Safe at 9 competitive episodes. She was often saved from the bottom by other queens being worse, but she never really got to shine outside of her This Will Be lipsync. She was just kind of there until they ran out of other people to eliminate.
wait she was safe for the acting challenge? I remember thinking that if Latrice didn’t hsce her iconic acting performance then she would’ve won
She got her best feedback of the show for that challenge and was in the losing team because everyone else was a disaster
RPDRWiki is telling me that it was judged in teams so it was a Latrice win with Chad and Phi2 high.
Dawn was safe 10 episodes no?
Dawn placed high several times, Dida didn't
They don't give her air time and simultaneously keep including shady shots and edits. Like, someone wins , cut to shannel, someone mentions badges, cut to shannel. And shannel is just basically existing and not doing anything. But they always cut to her when some things are mentioned 🤡 you can't tell me that isn't on purpose.
Tbh idrk an episode where I would’ve put shannel in the top 2, however I do think it’s pure insanity that they are putting her in the top all these weeks with no badge. Idk, I think production wants Shannel to have another “i don’t want to be here” moment.
I would have put her in the top two for her Liberace, honestly. She also did very well in the real estate episode, well enough that one could justify top two.
The two Liberaces in the top would be camp, hilarious and honestly so fierce. "We can both do the same character and both be in the top"
Shannel’s Liberace was so fucking funny.
I would've given put her in the Top 2 alongside Nina for both the Snatch Game and the Real Estate Commercial.
I'm not sure, I mean they already have all the footage and they'd know if they have that moment, and it doesn't feel like they're building to that. I feel like her edit is more, "she's a professional and a drag legend," it's respectful but not exciting. In a regular season it's a finalist-but-not-a-winner edit. I think she'll win at least one challenge before the season is up.
Seriously, half the show feels like her eulogy. “You’re such a legend with an amazing legacy.” Meanwhile she is sat there looking fierce as hell and doing the damn thing. It’s so frustrating.
It’s extremely frustrating because she’s doing well
Omg yes you described it exactly! Like they will praise her until the cows come home but still refuse to place her anywhere near the top. I’m an old queen myself and I felt her Liberace was better overall, more accurate and even funnier in its subtlety than Nina’s. Ru even said as much to her, yet she’s not in the top? It’s like she is not allowed to even place or get helpful feedback. They just smile and blow smoke up her ass and send her back to the side like she’s not part of the actual competition. I don’t get it.
I bet she’s winning at least a challenge or two but production at the time are probably trying to get Shannel to have another dramatic moment but it isn’t working so they had nothing to work with in the edit.
Well, if there’s the same number of episodes as season 7 of all stars; that being 11 competitive episodes. Then we have 4 episodes left for Shannel to earn a badge. And if there’s no twists as far as getting 3 badges in 1 episode, then for Shannel to be in the top 3 she’d have **to win ALL FOUR OF THE LAST FOUR EPISODES** in order to make it.
Oh, there’s definitely a twist for sure
*oh y’all wanted a twist aye ?*
I really want there to be a 3 badge episode and have her win and get back in the running. That would be a gaggy storyline
When they didn’t praise her higher for her Liberace I knew they were gonna Jan her all season
Jannel 😭
Jan, Shannel, and Monet x Change start a podcast together, call that Jannel Monet.
I love Jan!
I love Mandarin Jan
Soju?
As I commented before about Jan, god forbid a queen be skilled and practiced enough to be *polished*.
Alexis Michelle was polished and practiced LMAO
I enjoyed their estate agent advert, I’m probably a bit slow but I’ve just realised that Shannels last appearance was before roxxxys first appearance, their really making her feel her S1 feelings again even after making her 4th for AS1 (despite being the winning team).
I’m so ready for her talent show. Idk if she’s gonna unicycle while juggling on fire, but I know she’s gonna take us to VEGAS. The talent show better be worth 5 badges 😤
I thought this was the week to put her in the top 2. I could see her being in the top 2 for real estate too.
Their real estate was boring imo. They had the best concept but the problem is that Shannel is too afraid to be wild and crazy which is exactly what Ru is looking for in a challenge like that especially. This is why I don’t think she’s best for modern day drag race, she seems to approach all of the challenges with such a serious attitude when you kinda need to have the opposite mentality. Compare it with Roxxxy and Plastique whose ad was nonsensical but perfect for making Ru laugh
Yeah. Each challenge has a brief. But the key is to loosely stick to that brief whilst successfully meeting the not stated brief of "make yourself ugly so Ru can laugh at you". This isn't a criticism. It's Ru's show. She knows what she's doing and she's not wrong that if a queen can stop striving for perfection they'll be more likely to win over the viewers. Jan, Scarlett, Loosey are examples of Queens that couldn't really push passed this. They are still phenomenal Queens, but they won't win a season of drag race judged by Ru.
I actually understand this, because I’m a crazy loud bitch and I wish I kind of wasn’t. I respect the fact that Shannel approaches the competition so seriously and she seems to have a different kind of maturity about her compared to the other queens. Don’t give me wrong, I love all the queens on AS9. I also think that Shannel not winning badges may have something to do with the fact that her style’s not as “in-your-face” as her competitors’.
Shannel seems super professional not one bit annoying. She wins at life
Shannel is THE blueprint. It’s a shame that the producers aren’t doing more with her edit. As a queen who’s had such an enduring career, I feel like they really could’ve built an excellent story arc for her.
Next week is a design challenge and with Gottmik blocked, I’m hoping that it gives Shannel a shot for top two. She was high for the ball.
Mik can still be top two if she's blocked, she just won't win a badge. But if she is top two it does have the advantage of stopping another queen from getting a badge, so it's still in Mik's interest to try to do well.
Yeah I know that, I just feel like maybe Gott just won’t do as well or maybe Ru will give to Shannel if her and got are close enough
Shannel has been consistently good all season, but basically never quite good enough to be top 2. I probably would have put her top 2 in snatch game with Mik, but that's it. Lots of times she was third best.
She’s consistently 3rd place and honestly work
We're seeing that a no-elimination season favours specialists, not generalists. In a regular season, a generalist would outlast the specialists, who get filtered out in their off weeks, but there's no long game in a season where everyone sticks around.
You're not fooling anyone, Shannel, we know it's you
Her 39th character illusion. A redditor.
Lmao you got me!
Well, HI there!
Shannel should’ve done Joe exotic for the Snatch Game of Love. I think she’s too in her head. Bring in your head can really rob you of your personality and spark. She’s probably feeling her age and letting that psyche her out. I hope she has a break through and gets one badge before it’s all said and done. I’m rooting for her!
Manifesting that she wins the talent show and gets 5 badges at once 🤪
I’ve really loved her this season, she’s so consistent and polished, and her mug every week is AMAZING
Shannel is doing fantastic and absolutely holding her own!
I think she’s great but maybe not what Rupaul is looking for in this era (which isn’t a bad thing tbh, considering roople is like an elderly uncle who makes the same 5 jokes). She has hella talent, just doesn’t line up as well with the show compared to ppl like Gorgeous - love her but let’s be fr - who can make roople laugh doing anything.
I mean I glad RuPaul is enjoying herself, but I'd rather see Shannel live over Jorgeous any day.
Taste is not really discussible, but Jorgeous isn’t a weak queen performance wise. Seeing her live is probably pretty fun
Yeah fr. This recent episode especially felt like it was “Rupaul’s playtime” rather than an episode actually meant to showcase the queens.
Totally agree!!! After all, would you rather go to a show and watch Shannel, who in my opinion would be entertaining as fuck, for she can do pretty much everything totally at the top of her game! Or… You could go to a show of Jorgeouse’s, which would be a little like going to a local dance recital where one of the older kids (who’s in all the advanced classes & can basically out-dance most everyone up there, including most of the teachers at the dance school) comes on & dances number after number ~ all while getting higher & higher between each number? Yes, it’s a lovely fun night, that might even include some laughter, but it’s no where near the kind of professional Vegas-like entertainment that Shannel would put out! That said, I am a Shannel stance all the way!!! NOW GIVE THAT BITCH HER FLOWERS AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF BADGES!!! Hooray Shannel !!!
They don't seem to be spotlighting her all that much from what I see, except for the times it's pointed out that she's the only queen without a badge. Track records are taken into a lot of consideration but what the show seems to be going for is who they want to represent the brand. If they're not spotlighting a queen (or if the queen's only spotlight is negative, ie the "shady edit" queen), I don't really expect that queen to win based on precedent of the formula they seem to use. I do agree that if they pick a top two for an episode like in the AS format that both queens should be given a win for that episode and not only the queen who wins the lip-sync. It doesn't seem fair to choose two queens who did equally well in the eyes of the judges to be denied a win since they did technically win the challenge but not the lip-sync. They can still do the lip-syncs but do something else with it, like just give the winner of the lip-sync the 10k tip but not make them the sole winner of the episode.
Both queens in the Top 2 get a badge.
I really liked her performance this week in her scene with Ru. It feels like Ru said she didn't vibe well with her in the scene was a bs excuse!
Yeah. Ru's comment felt unnecessary. Shannel did well in the challenge, and if there was anyone Ru wasn't vibing with it was Plastique and Vanjie.
Yeah, besides the zero badges thing, she's... there.
She's honestly done well at everything just not well enough for the win.
You don't have to make up excuses to lift Shannel up, she's great, she's always have been, but the only time I could argue she could've won was the one she did the realtors sketch with Nina West. She suffers from coming across as being too serious in a competition that is required by the host to make a fool of yourself all the time. At least she has the opportunity to show herself to newer fans of drag race.
This is it right here. Trinity actually commented on this on Sibling Watchery, on different episodes. Monét said she thought that Shannel and Nina’s skit was the best one and Trinity said that the problem is that Shannel isn’t funny and can’t deliver it the way that would work for Drag Race and that all the comedy was left for Nina to deliver. In a different episode, Trinity mentions that on her own original season, she was told by the panel that she was funny and that she took that advice and ran with it. She actually almost says what you mentioned about having to really play up the comedy and not be scared to look foolish. Trinity has obviously taken that critique and completely ran away with it earning her a crown, a spot on all-winners and the most challenge wins in the shows herstory. Shannel doesn’t have that in her. She’s way too serious to play up the way that is required to win these comedy challenges. Even in her Liberace, they said she had the better Liberace, but Nina had the better SG because Shannel can’t let go and go completely balls to the wall with comedy.
I agree with the point about comedy and shannel' relationship. I feel she like many other queens has one schtick, ie surprised pikachu face, and it's not enough to carry her to the top. She kind of lacks comedic timing too but none of that is to her fault tbh, not everyone is a comedian for a reason. She showed her best in the realtors ad and it was good thanks to nina, most jokes were made by nina too, i don't think she'll ever do better than that 😔
I don't think she's doing bad it's just that everyone else is doing better.
She's doing fine, and fine doesn't win challenges .
The only person that matters is RuPaul, and she is not giving Shannel any real credit.
She doesn't and the way she told off shannel during the critiques this week was so bad. It felt like a generic scripted speech she doesn't believe, honestly, i almost wish ru didn't say anything.
I might be crazy, but I thought the top 2 should have been Shannel and Angeria 😭
Ru want Shannel to have another version of her iconic confession wayback season 1.
Last episode felt like she's over it. She just want the season to end. She knows she's being overlooked.
I disagree, tbh. She’s done fine in most challenges, but I don’t find anything she’s done particularly good or memorable. I think having half the cast be either a Win or High is also a flaw in this system because if Shannel’s been considered HIGH in that many episodes, I feel like she’d have more strong and memorable moments, but she doesn’t. The closest she came to a win was the SG and she was like 4th, at best, in a SG that wasn’t even that strong to begin with. Despite my negative view on this, I don’t think she’s done particularly bad in any challenge; she’s just coasting. Plenty of queens do across different seasons and there’s nothing wrong with that. A lot of people are just demanding she wins because she hasn’t and because she’s one of the OGs and because her edit is somewhat boring. I’m not saying they couldn’t edit her to be better, but based on what we’ve seen, she hasn’t won because she simply hasn’t done that well. If we’re talking about Shea in AS7, I feel like this can also apply, to a lesser extent. Outside of her two wins, I only remember her doing really well in the Girl Groups challenge (and her runway was busted) and the Legendary Legend Looks. She may have gotten a ton of high placements, but she didn’t feel like she was totally excelling all season.
There's not a particular challenge that I would say she should have won either, although other posters have stated examples of cases that could be made that I agree with. I think Shannel has been memorable so maybe this is a taste thing - in general her drag is a style that I love and she executes it really well on the runway - she's more consistent than almost all the other queens there, and she has a clear aesthetic and point of view without being samey. I also really like her attitude and her vibe - I love seeing older queens on drag race. In terms of a specific performance that is memorable I think her Liberace was a standout for me. I think my main point is that the only reason Shannel isn't excelling is that the format is different this season, so the standards are just significantly higher. On an elimination-based season (with a different cast of early-outs, mid-outs, and finalists to match) she'd likely been cast as a finalist and have multiple wins by now.
I understand your point. I like Shannel’s style and can definitely agree that she has range in looks, but she’s a classic example of someone who simply isn’t that good at Drag Race. Not to say she’s bad at it, but since Drag Race is so centered around comedy, she falls short of wins. The only skill that Shannel has that I’d say she’s above everyone else would be makeup, but even then that’s not a skill that is solely needed for a challenge. She’s simply way too analytical to succeed in most challenges and she doesn’t have the other skills, like lipsyncing, dancing or sewing to fully standout out in challenges not fully centered around comedy. Could she be slaying the game on a normal season? Sure. However, that’s the whole point of coming back, to show growth and to compete among those who are also memorable and did well in the past (well, mostly), but she’s just coming up a little short. It’s okay. We all still love Shannel, but that’s just how I see it.
100% agree
I would’ve put her in the top two this week. I thought she was so funny. And maybe the roast, over Plastique? Plastique’s jokes were better but her delivery was off.
And this is another reason why this format doesn’t work for either queens who are doing really bad which to my surprise none of them are doing bad. And for queens that are neither bad nor good. If this season had eliminations she probably would’ve been eliminated with the excuse of her not having any wins or maybe she could have won a challenge if any of the strong competitors got eliminated for bombing a challenge or seen as a big threat. I personally think Vanjie is another queen that could’ve had 0 wins by now and Roxxxy so far hasn’t excelled in the two challenges she won. So production clearly didn’t have Shannel in mind for the top 3.
You're forgetting that we'd never have an elimination season with this cast. They would have cast four of these queens *at most* and they would have cast all of them as finalists or late-mid-outs. Shannel would be a finalist or maybe cut right before the finale. I agree that production absolutely didn't have Shannel in mind for top 3 for this season.
"casting only frontrunners" ... are we watching the same season?
Production sees these queens as frontrunners, yes.
Most of the girls either went pretty far or were in their respective (pre-) finales
I don't think she does exceptionally well to earn a badge this time around, she's been consistently good or safe compared to some other flops this season but i wouldn't put her above any other queen in any challenge. Maaaaaaaybe in group ads, and even then i think nina did overshine her a little and i didn't think their ad was conclusively the best. But in any other season she for sure would've scored high/top placements any day.
You mean than SHE gives herself credit for
I mean I didn't, but one could make that argument, sure.
Agreed that she'd be doing much better in an elimination format. Granted an elimination season would have a larger cast, but still if you look at this cast there's not a lot of CONSISTENT strength. Angeria is consistently amazing or good. Gottmik is nearly as consistent. Shannel is consistently very good. Vanjie is consistently Vanjie. The other four are constantly oscillating between strong performances or runways and moments that would definitely get them eliminated. So in an elimination format those inconsistent performers would get knocked out one by one and Shannel would have less competition, and pull it a few wins. Maybe not win the season but definitely make it to the final.
I SO agree with this. I have been loving seeing her on the screen again, and I think she has kept up with the way Drag Race has changed from when she was on the first couple times. I think she should have been in the top for Liberace and the Real Estate challenge, but she is still giving the new seasons queens a solid competition
Well I think the only way for her to earn a badge is if she steal it from someone…
Thank you, we don’t really talk about how Monet and Shea are legit amongst the top 3 performers of ASAW. In a different system where the top 4 of each week all get points, neither Monet nor Shea would’ve needed the final twist to do good. Then we could talk about how they were gonna crown Jinkx no matter what, so by pushing them to the final top 4 they were effectively left with no chance of winning either of the cash prizes and a lot of misplaced anger from toxic fans. But anyway, in a system that rewards more than two queens per week, Shannel would be regarded as a top competitor for sure. We also could have a more interesting leaderboard.
Doesn’t matter still no badge. Even if you keep counting all the highs in mini or maxi challenges. Bottomline still no badge. Still no money for charity. This is not to hate on Shannel. I just think she hasn’t done the BEST in any challenge as of yet. She has done well but doing well is still not winning you the badges at the end of the day.
It's not that she's done terrible, rather that production hasn't decided her winning is a story worth telling....yet. Like the only feedback we saw this moat recent ep was "you did good, but you didnt really fucks with me"
I didn’t say she was terrible. I said she was doing well. Just not the best at the past challenges. 🤷🏻♂️
You said "Doesn't matter, still no badge". Gotta say the whole sentiment and its implications with your chest sis. Best is also subjective to what we see make it past post production. The only challenge we actually saw Shannel struggle with was snatch game, which to her credit, ahe had never done in her 15 years with the show.
How you choose to interpret/understand words is not my problem. Again, I didn’t say she was terrible. I said she was doing well but not the best. Doing well on challenges does not get you badges.