‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race All-Stars 8×02’ Review
I have to say that out of all of the opening episodes Drag Race has had over the last couple of years, last week’s episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race All-Stars season eight was one of the better ones! The returning (and mostly fan favourite) queens were grouped together to perform on two different versions of “Fame, Money, Success and Glamour” and while the song itself wasn’t particularly iconic every queen did a really good job of reintroducing themselves to the audience! However, the highlight of the episode would have to be the THAT lip-sync between episode winner Kahana Montrese and secret lip-sync assassin Aja. This lip-sync was one of my favourite battles I have seen in a long time with both queens bringing a different style of performance – with the former showcasing her Vegas-centric, pop icon genre which contrasted beautifully against the latter ballroom excellence! However, it was Aja’s dips and splits that claimed the episode win which means that the group vote is the deciding factor as to who goes home this week. Sadly it was revealed that Monica Beverly Hills would have to leave the competition which is particularly devastating as she was one of the first trans trailblazers on the show and the audience (myself included) were hoping she was going to really shine on this season. However, we were also treated to the reveal of the fame game where the eliminated queens still get their weekly runway outfits showcased on the show and the audience votes for a winner of the eliminated queens at the end of the season!
One of the main concerns of the judging in Drag Race UK is the fact that Ru Paul (as head judge) does not fully understand British references and style of comedy but I think this week’s episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race All-Stars was almost the inverse for me personally. The episode saw the queens grouped together to perform in a pre-scripted comedy challenge that was a homage to Saturday Night Live which is a show that has not cracked the UK demographic. While I thought that some of the queens were extremely funny, I do think that I may have missed some of the more subtle references to SNL. However, I do think that it was a fantastic choice to have Bobby Moynihan, who starred in Saturday Night Live for many years, as a comedy coach for the challenge. If you have read my previous reviews of Drag Race episodes you will know how much I love a cohesive through-line in Drag Race episodes and including this person as a special guest really made sense! I thought that Jaymes Mansfield did fantastically well in the challenge as an over-the-top scientist warning the world of the drag virus which was cleverly only affecting areas that had Drag Race spin-offs! It was particularly interesting to see Jaymes put on a different voice than their usually high-pitched squeak! My favourite performance this week however would have to be Jimbo who alongside Jessica Wilde played a hyper-sexual Gardener. As the (Mc)call girls these two worked together beautifully with cleverly written double entendre embedded into the script. I do think that Jimbo’s more subdued character really worked well in this scene and had me laughing throughout! I do have to say that I personally did not enjoy the pairing of Alexis Michelle and Darienne Lake who played two Jersey girls who were obsessed with Michelle Visage. While they referenced Michelle’s hatred of green (giving a nod to Michelle’s roast moment) and both wearing leopard print, I found myself being distracted by Alexis’ breastplate peeling off her body. I don’t think that the jokes really built up so the climax of their idol Michelle arriving into the scene did fall flat. It was clear that Kahana really struggled in this episode as a cat activist who is actually a real-life cat. It seemed like she was simply reciting the lines rather than acting them which meant the performance came across as very one-dimensional!
The runway category this week was ‘Net Gala’ which is obviously inspired by the recent fashion fundraiser but with a netted twist. Jaymes wore a wonderfully sparkly pink jumpsuit which was not something I would have expected from her however it is her choice of wig that had everyone talking. The unique hair was held together with a visible hairnet with one ponytail hanging out of the piece. While special guest judge Carson thought this was amazing, I think it looked more like this piece of hair had been forgotten about. I also personally didn’t like Kandy’s pink outfit which had her portrait emblazened across the front of the look. I thought that bunches and train looked extremely busy with the face not really making sense with the rest of the look. My favourite look this week would have to be Jimbo’s futuristic robot/alien-inspired look that came with its own spotlight on mobile devices. The self-declared “ultimate influencer” outfit was so wonderfully unique and unlike I have ever seen before! I also thought that Kahana looked absolutely incredible in her ocean goddess look that showcased her body perfectly! While I thought the concept of Darienne’s basketball-inspired look was a clever spin on the category, I thought it looked fairly basic when compared to the other queens. The orange and black look came with a massive, oversized hoop that the queen carried down the runway to really make it clear this was a homage to the sport!
It was declared that the winner of this week’s episode was Jimbo which I have to say makes total sense. We know from her previous lip-sync battles on the show that she is not the most gifted performer and when it was announced that this week’s secret lip-sync assassin was none other than a judge of Drag Race Thailand, Pangina Heels! Those who watched Drag Race UK vs The World will know that Pangina received intense backlash from the fans after sending home front-runner and fan favourite at the time Jimbo on the first season of this spin-off and now it’s time for Jimbo to get her revenge but alas this was not the case! Pangina very clearly danced circles around the Canadian clown meaning that it was the group vote that would decide who would go home between Naysha Lopez and Kahana Montrese. It was sadly announced that Naysha would be going home this week which again was really disappointing as she was a queen who entered her original season with bucket loads of hype only to be eliminated … twice and now she is the second to go home this season.
Overall, I think I missed some of the nuances of the challenge due to the fact that I am not the biggest fan of Saturday Night Live which the entire challenge was a parody of. I do think that the runway theme was rather strange and apart from a bit of wordplay did not give the queens a lot to go off of. My personal highlights this week would have to be Kahana and Jimbo with the former deserving her place in the bottom after a fairly disappointing performance in the challenge.
