SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details about the episode 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars.
It’s getting down to the nitty gritty and I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of the drama.
Kahanna has sashayed away after an emotional week where RuPaul had to gather the girls and put them in line. Lala is glowing and absolutely smitten after her win – and it was well-deserved. She had a very good week with the “Forensic Queens” challenge.
All the queens except for Kahanna voted for Kahanna to go home. Alexis is very grateful that the queens saved her and cemented her place in the top five. It seems that everyone is happy-go-lucky and everyone is getting along – or is this the calm before the storm?
The next day, Jimbo leaves a trail of bologna slices around the Werk Room and you can smell the nastiness through the screen. Before you can spell O-S-C-A-R, RuPaul walks in and tells the queens that the next challenge will have them exclaiming “I’m a winner, baby!”.
The queens will pay homage to Drag Race All Stars hall of famers and create lewks inspired by past winners. Since Lala won last week, she gets to assign the queens which All Stars hall of famer they will be inspired by. She chooses Shea Couleé for herself and assigns Trinity the Tuck to Alexis; Kylie Sonique Love to Jessica; Monét X Change to Kandy; and Trixie Mattel to Jimbo. It feels like the assignments are fair and aligned with each queen’s aesthetic. All the queens are happy with their hall of famer.
“Remember that in the future!” Lala tells the gals. She is definitely protecting herself so that if she is in the bottom the queens will remember this moment and not choose her lip stick.
Lala also may be in danger. She is riding high on a win so she is also going to be ambitious and create a gown in the tradition of old southern pageant queens. The gag is that she has never made a ball gown.
Then there’s Alexis – the only queen left without a win. However, if there were an award for most tears shed, she would definitely win. Since she hasn’t had a win, it makes her an easy target to be sent home if she lands in the bottom. Alexis is determined to win by creating something that pushes the envelope and that is, as she puts it, memorably “DRAAAAG”.
Kandy also seems vulnerable to go home this week because she is up against some creative forces when it comes to creating lewks. I don’t know if excessive glue-gunning is going to cut it in the top five.
After some consulting from All Stars alums Raven and Shannel, everyone seems mostly confident about what they have planned for the runway. Raven and Shannel also try to get tea from the queens. They ask the queens who is their biggest competition and a lot of them say Jimbo. It’s clear that there’s a target on Jimbo’s back so it will be very interesting to see what would happen if she landed in the bottom.
As the queens get ready for the runway, Lala asks Kandy why she is fully padded and her “tits are out”. Kandy explains that it makes it easier for her to get in and out of her dress while sewing and fitting it. This prompts Jimbo to ask: “When you hook up with guys, do they ever slap your titties around?” The room erupts in infectious laughter in what could possibly be the funniest moment this season.
Later, Alexis talks to Jimbo and they create an alliance (but they don’t call it an alliance). If either of them land in the bottom, they promise that they won’t choose each other’s lip stick.
As time runs down, Kandy and Lala are still struggling with their lewks while Jimbo admits that she will not wear makeup because of her facekini. This is a risky move because in the past, queens who wore a facekini still put on a face. Remember when Michelle Visage clocked Silky Nutmeg Ganache for barely putting on a face during the facekini challenge? The judges did not like that.
Alexis admits that It’s anyone’s game at this point and it will be a rough lip stick vote tonight because it’s going to be difficult to see anyone go home. Lala tells her: “If you win tonight, don’t forget about me!” Alexis responds, “You know I won’t! I told you I wouldn’t!” In other words, if Alexis wins and Lala is in the bottom, it seems that she will be in the clear.
It’s another another leggy lewk for RuPaul this week as she takes the runway in a short pink punky number. In addition to judges Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews, she welcomes musician Brandon Boyd of Incubus fame as guest judge.
This is how the queens fared with their “I’m a winner, baby!” lewks:
- Kandy: She looks great and the design is nice, but nice doesn’t cut it in the top five anymore.
- Jimbo: Definitely a showstopper. The ballooning shouldered cape/coat and retro floral of it all is the perfect Trixie Mattel by way of Jimbo lewk.
- Lala: Again, it’s nice. She looks beautiful in this one armed arrange creamsicle gown but it is not enough at this stage of the game.
- Alexis: It’s signature Alexis and it’s giving Hello Dolly! It’s well made and a clear frontrunner.
- Jessica: It’s amazing that she made this lewk with a glue gun. It’s gorgeous and it’s enough to get her to the final four because she sells it.
In the critiques, Jimbo gets praised for her wild lewk and Michelle says she “imagines” that her face is painted underneath the facekini. Jimbo nods – are we going to hear about this later?
Nonetheless, Jessica also gets good marks for her lewk and the judges are eating up what Alexis is serving. They are gushing over her pageant lewk – and she is announced as the winner.
Jimbo and Jessica are safe and Kandy and Lala’s mixed reviews land them in the bottom two. It’s the first time for Kandy and she refuses to go home if she gets voted out. In all honesty, I want to see her get voted out just to see what would happen.
After the vote, Alexis goes up against this week’s lip sync assassin: season 12 alum and host of Drag Race France Nicky Doll.
It’s a pleasant lip sync to Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Were Made For Walkin’” – nothing terribly memorable. It’s fun, though.
Alexis ends up winning the lip sync and she votes for – wait for it – Lala!
It looks like she didn’t stick to her promise and – correct me if I’m wrong – that’s kind of shady. Also, it’s not that surprising.
Even so, Lala is in good spirits as she leaves the competition. If there was a Miss Congeniality for All Stars, she would definitely win.