The Two RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 Twists, Explained
Oh you wanted a twist, huh? All right RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8, let's give them two.
Fans of drag and fabulousness rejoice! The latest edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is back! Season eight premiered on Paramount+ on Friday, May 12, with two episodes arriving simultaneously. That should give those who adore the reality staple enough to be satisfied…at least until next Friday, when the season continues.
As is always the case, this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars comes with a twist. Well, two, actually. In an effort to mix things up a bit, Ru and the producers have brought back one addition to the game play and mixed in another, and they make this latest showing even more exciting to watch.
For those who haven’t yet had a chance to watch the first two episodes who just can’t wait to learn what’s different this time around, read on below. But warning! There are major spoilers!
Twist 1: Lip Sync Assassin
We’ve seen this one before, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. First introduced in RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 5, only one challenge winner will be crowned each episode. That’s in stark contrast to seasons two through four, when the top two contestants would be named and then lip sync against one another. That single queen will then face off against a surprise lip sync assassin from a previous season, in a bid to win the coveted legacy lip sync.
If the All Star wins, she’ll have the power to send one of her fellow queens home. However, if the assassin wins, a group vote will determine the eliminated queen for that episode.
These lip syncs made for some excellent television, and some of the better performances of the past several years of the Drag Race franchise. I mean, who can forget when Trinity K. Bonet and Laganja Estranja absolutely destroyed Dua Lipa’s “Physical”?
Twist 2: The Fame Game
In addition to the return of the lip sync assassin twist, this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars will also feature a game within a game – something RuPaul loves.
This time around, fans can also check out the Fame Game side competition. Each week, eliminated queens will have the opportunity to showcase their unused runway looks for a chance to win an extra $50,000 prize at the grand finale. The weekly winner of the Fame Game will be determined by audience vote.
The idea for this type of extra competition likely came out of the popularity of seeing what queens who had already been voted off the show had planned. They had already the spent money getting outfits made, and as the episode aired, these contestants would take to Instagram to upload pictures of what they would have displayed on the runway.
Now, while they might not take home the crown, they might at least have a shot at making back some of that money, as these costumes don’t come cheap!
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