Well, we’ve reached the end of this little experiment and – without doubt – All Stars 7 has delivered on its promise of giving us everything that we’d hoped for from an all-winners season.

Are you up to speed? Let’s get into it.

The runway

It felt a little bit of an anti-climax to have the final runway before anything was decided, but you can understand why those choices were made.

• Jaida: Jaida gave us black excellence in shimmering silver beading.
• Raja: Raja gave us aquatic beetle from space.
• Vivienne: Vivienne gave us a ruffled gown in monochromatic black.
• Yvie: Yvie gave us a statement gown as a cake. I liked the surreal campness of this.
• Jinkx: Jinkx gave us Joan of Arc, but sexy.
• Monet: Monet gave us Wakanda warrior princess.
• Shea: Shea gave us a burst of colour in layers of yellow and orange.
• Trinity: Trinity gave us Lady Godiva in a barely-there vajazzled blush-pink fantasy.

The lip-syncs

I think it’s important to remind ourselves that none of this real and none of this means anything. It’s just TV.

Obviously, we’re all fairly emotionally invested – this is a franchise that has become a cultural touchpoint for our community, and the All Winners season is something that we’ve been collectively manifesting for years.

Naturally, we’ve all got opinions, but we’re not the ones making the decisions.

Let’s take them in order.

• Lip-sync 1: Yvie versus Vivienne. The song was Push It. This was a clear win to Yvie.
• Lip-sync 2: Raja versus Jaida. The song was Let’s Hear It For The Boy. This seemed to be a clear win to Jaida, but it was Raja who was the one moving forward. Okay.
• Lip-sync 3: Jinkx versus Shea. The song was Judas. This was a pretty close call. Jinkx was declared the winner, which was plausible.
• Lip-sync 4: Monet versus Trinity. The song was So What. I felt like Trinity took this one, although Monet was declared the winner.
• Lip-sync 5: Raja versus Yvie. The song was Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves. This seemed a clear win to Yvie, but the prize went to Raja. Okay, we’re making choices.
• Lip-sync 6: Jinkx versus Monety. The song was Swish Swish. I love Jinkx, and I’ve pretty much been Team Jinkx for this entire season, but this lip-sync seemed a pretty clear win to Monet. However, Jinkx got the prize and was declared Queen of All Queens.

So, that’s it. We’re done. There’s apparently quite a bit of behind-the-scenes drama that we can expect to spill out from this season, but overall this All Winners format has clearly been a success. We can expect more of these, and I’m okay with that.

The cast

Jinkx Monsoon

The winner of Season 5, Jinkx is known as a top-tier performer of her original material. Coming into this All Winners format, the question was whether she could recapture the magic of Season 5. The verdict? Jinkx is the Queen of All Queens.

Monet X Change

A contestant on Season 10, Monet returned to All Stars 4 and shared the trophy with Trinity. This time around, she’s excelled once again. Monet makes great TV.

Shea Couleé

A finalist from Season 9, Shea returned to win All Stars 5. Coming into this, she felt like one of the frontrunners – it looked uncertain for most of the season, but on the last challenge Shea leapfrogged into the Top 4 and maximised her screen-time.

Trinity The Tuck

A finalist from Season 9, Trinity went on to tie for the win in All Stars 4 – sharing the trophy with Monet. Trinity is a fierce competitor and she’s proved – once again – that she’s very good at Drag Race.

Jaida Essence Hall

The winner of Season 12, Jaida had to win the final live-streaming from her living room. She’s always entertaining to watch, and it’s been a really strong season for her.

Yvie Oddly

The winner of Season 11, Yvie is known for her over-the-top personality, her kooky perspective, and her lip-sync prowess. It’s been a strong season for Yvie and she’s showcased how she’s continuing to set the direction.

The Vivienne

The winner of Season 1 of Drag Race UK, The Vivienne is the only non-US competitor in this cast. It’s been a solid season for Vivienne.

Raja

The winner of Season 3, Raja is one of the old-school Drag Race girls who helped establish this franchise as a cultural phenomenon. It’s been a long time since she’s had to shine on a reality TV competition show but she’s proved that she continues to set the standard. It’s been a good season for Raja – plus she’s walked away with a cash-prize of $50K, for winning a lip-sync! You couldn’t make this up.

Follow Gareth Johnson on Twitter

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