Racers, start your engines – All Stars 8 is in full swing.

The main challenge

This week was an acting challenge as the queens – working in teams – had to create trailers for new shows.

The teams were decided in the traditional way – busting balloons by humping the Pit Crew. Quality.

We saw a bit of the filming process, with the final results shown on the main stage.

All three videos were solid, but Jaymes, Darienne, and Alexis felt a bit flat when compared to the other teams.

The runway

The category this week was Ass The World Turns – a celebration of all things ass.

I don’t think we’ve had this category before?

• Jaymes; Jaymes gave us a Mayan princess with superb padding. Met the assignment.
• Darienne: Darienne looked good in a sparkling gold bodysuit.
• Alexis: This was a smart choice from Alexis – a beautiful, ass-less wedding dress. Memorable.
• Kandy: Kandy gave us blow-up anime. I feel like we’ve seen this already.
• Jessica: Giving us Latina bomb-shell, Jessica looked beautiful.
• Jimbo: Leaning into her big-boobed aesthetic, Jimbo gave us a TS Madison tribute.
• Heidi: Heidi was the only who opted for the word-play on Ass, giving us Donkey Drag. Smart move.
• Kahanna: Kahanna gave us a sexy silicone covered nurse. This was a put-together look that met the assignment.
• Lala: This nearly worked for Lala – it was a sharp red suit from the front and hooker chains at the back. Job done.

The judging

This episode was judged on team performance.

In the top were Jimbo, Jessica, and Kandy. Jimbo was declared the overall winner, which seemed fair enough.

Safe were Heidi, Lala, and Kahanna.

In the bottom were Jaymes, Darienne, and Alexis. That felt fairly obvious, and all three queens were up for elimination.

The lip-sync

The track was Bad Reputation by Joan Jett.

This is a track that can work well as a drag performance but it is quite niche.

Jimbo was in Beatlejuice drag and threw himself into the energy of the track.

The lip-sync assassin was Shannel – a seasoned performer who had a clear plan on how to tackle the song.

As a lip-sync battle, this was okay. Jimbo was entertaining but it was all a bit one-level, whereas Shannel had a few more tricks up the sleeve and felt a bit more in control of the stage.

Ultimately, it was Shannel that was declared the winner and she revealed that the queens had voted out Darienne – that felt correct.

Episode 4, done!

The Cast

Alexis Michelle

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 9, Alexis prides herself as being team talent – she’s a theatre queen. My perception of Alexis is that she’s not super likeable on television.

Heidi N Closet

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 12, Heidi has established herself as one of the break-out stars of the franchise. She’s warm, engaging, and makes good television. Very happy that we’re getting more Heidi on our TV. She could win this one.

Jaymes Mansfield

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 9, Jaymes’ brief appearance on Drag Race didn’t really do justice to her undeniable talent as a drag queen. It will be interesting to see how she fares this time around – it’s possible that her skills just don’t translate to this format, but hopefully she gets more screen-time this go-round. So far, so good.

Jessica Wild

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 2, I adore Jessica Wild. She’s a hard-working and talented drag queen who is also a really fun person to know. I’m pretty much #TeamJessica. I’m feeling confident that she’s going to make it to the final stages of this season.

Jimbo

Current Ranking: We first met Jimbo on Season 1 of Canada’s Drag Race. From a viewer’s perspective, it’s a bit hard to connect with Jimbo on a personal level – she’s a certified clown and everything is a performance, everything is a character. What’s guaranteed with Jimbo is that she’s going to give us some memorable television. She has put in the work that could see her go all the way this time around, but I’m not sure that I can see it happening.

Kahanna Montrese

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 11, Kahanna returns to our screens with a glow-up and some more experience under her belt. She’s clearly a lot more polished but my sense is that it’s not her year.

Kandy Muse

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 13, I wasn’t a huge fan of Kandy first time around – she’s a big personality that tends to dominate the screen. But she’s really grown on me, anytime that I’ve seen her work since those early Drag Race days. She’s funny, engaging, and self-depreciating. This time around, she’s exactly the same as she was on her original – but I’m loving her. Her personality is probably still a bit too big for this format, but I’m okay with that. I’ve got a feeling she’s going to stick around and narrate the entire season.

LaLa Ri

Current Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 13, LaLa Ri is best-remembered for her bag-ball sewing challenge. She’s got personality and is also a strong performer. Happy to have LaLa Ri back on our screen. She’s now made it past the sewing challenge and it’s all to play for!

Darienne Lake

Final Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 6, Darienne made it to the Top 4 that time around. She’s been on a weight-loss journey but she’s still giving big drag energy. I wasn’t a huge fan of Darienne first time around and nothing in this series has really changed that. Darienne never really got motoring in this All Stars, eliminated in Episode 4 when she was voted out.

Mrs Kasha Davis

Final Ranking: Great to have the work-horse queen of Season 7 back on our screens. Kasha is likeable and experienced and professional. I don’t find her style of drag particularly exciting, so a departure in Episode 3 made sense.

Naysha Lopez

Final Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut on Season 8, Naysha didn’t really get a chance to demonstrate the full breadth of her talents. She’s a Miss Continental. You don’t win Miss Continental unless you’re very very good at drag. Naysha Lopex is very very good at drag. Sadly, history has repeated itself. I was not ready to see Naysha eliminated in Episode 2 – I want more Naysha on my screen!

Monica Beverly Hillz

Final Ranking: Having made her Drag Race debut in Season 5, Monica is old-school Drag Race from the years that helped make this show a cultural phenomenon. Being eliminated in Episode 1, we’re not really going to get a chance to see what Monica could have brought to this competition. That’s disappointing.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 premieres 12 May

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