“RuPaul‘s Drag Race All Stars” season 8 continued on June 23 with the eighth episode streaming on Paramount+. For the first time ever, RuPaul Charles announced a “second way to win” in addition to earning the coveted crown and $200,000 prize given to the traditional winner. One of the eliminated queens will also be named Queen of the Fame Games and earn a $50,000 cash prize.
The queens still in the running at the start of episode 8 were: Alexis Michelle, Jessica Wild, Jimbo, Kandy Muse, andLaLa Ri.
Check out our full recap of episode 8 below to find out what happened when the queens took inspiration from the style of former winners in “You’re a Winner Baby!”:
It was a hard decision for LaLa Ri to send her friend Kahanna Montrese home last week, but that it came on the heels of her first ever challenge win on “Drag Race” helped pad the hurt. Alexis Michelle understood how tough it was for LaLa to save her, but the whole group agreed that based on track record the final five “felt correct.” That was supported by the fact that all of the lipsticks from the group vote were for Kahanna, unifying the group in the decision that it was her time to go.
For this week’s maxi challenge, Ru asked the queens to create from scratch a new outfit “worthy of joining the ‘Drag Race Hall of Fame.'” In that spirit, the Pit Crew brought out trunks showing the names of five “All Stars” winners: Kylie Sonique Love, Trinity the Tuck, Shea Couleé, Monét X Change, and Trixie Mattel. The trunks contained “drag droppings” inspired by those queens and the final five had to take those fixing to create their look. As last week’s winner, LaLa got to assign each trunk to one of the queens. LaLa picked Shea for herself and then handed Trinity to Alexis, Kylie to Jessica Wild, Monét to Kandy Muse, and Trixie to Jimbo.
Unlike most design challenges, all the queens were pleased to find their trunks filled with plenty of usable material and thought that LaLa chose a queen for them that they could definitely work with in their own style. Jessica was honored to get the box of her season 2 sister, but slightly concerned that all the fabrics were see-through to match Kylie’s body-showing style that doesn’t necessarily translate into Jessica’s own style. Meanwhile, Jimbo was was aware of her tendency to procrastinate and was slipping into bad habits, LaLa was dreaming up a glittery gown inspired by Southern drag, Alexis knew she had to push herself in this challenge to earn redemption from going home during her original ball challenge, and Kandy was faced with the hurdle of not being the best seamstress in the room.
Later in the day, Shannel and Raven stopped by the Werk Room to tour the stations and talk to the girls about their thoughts on the challenge. Shannel wanted to know from Jessica whether she was going to play it safe or give the judges something unexpected and Jessica said she feels better about making herself feel comfortable and confident instead of taking a big risk. Alexis was able to point out that she knows how to sew and her history in pageantry gives her the ability to push the boundaries and take a risk. Kandy explained a superhero concept using the patent leather fabrics from her trunk, LaLa surprised them by describing a gown with big sleeves that she’s never attempted before, and Jimbo admitted that she’s aware the other girls might be waiting for her to fall in the bottom so that they can eliminate the competition.
As the queens worked on garment construction they got to talking about their experiences on their original seasons. LaLa described being intimidated by the cast of queens, specifically when it came to the runway presentations. She said her confidence took an up-turn when she went on tour after the show and learned that she had so much support from the fans. Kandy and Jimbo both started to feel the time crunch when they realized that they bit off more than they could chew with their ideas. When LaLa tried on her first draft of a gown she was not pleased with the way the pattern looked on her body so she made the executive decision of scrapping it and starting over with half a day to go.
When the queens returned to the Werk Room the next morning, we learned that LaLa ended up having to sew a third gown overnight because the second draft was not to her liking either. Kandy’s night work wasn’t up to par either, leaving her with a garment that she felt could be seen as too simple. Jimbo was still at work sewing more parts to her ensemble, leaving her with a decision to not wear makeup under the face-kini that was a focal point of her look.
Because the group was down to just five and many of them weren’t sure who would place in the top and bottom, the concern over who they’d vote to send home was real. LaLa felt comfortable in the hands of Alexis, who she saved last week and agreed wouldn’t send her home. Kandy was nervous about her tainted relationships with both Alexis and Jimbo following the drama earlier in the season, so she knew that she could be on the chopping block.
On the Main Stage, Ru was joined by Michelle Visage and Ross Mathews, as well as special guest judge Brandon Boyd. In the runway presentation, Kandy walked in a simple black pleather dress holding a sponge inspired by Monét, Jimbo’s full body suit and pink coat earned “wow” reactions from the judges, LaLa went with an all orange one-sleeved pageant gown, Alexis designed a purple pageant gown with feathered headdress, and Jessica closed in her purple and green mixed fabric gown.
During critiques, Ross told Kandy that she looked beautiful, but that it was indeed too simple. For Michelle and Ru, the fit and length of the dress was off despite them being impressed with how clean the sewing looked. Brandon and Ross appreciated how original and crazy Jimbo’s concept was because, as Ross put it, she throws every challenge through her own lens. Michelle liked the color that LaLa chose for her dress, but she and Ross took issue with the styling elements of her look. Ross told Alexis there isn’t a thing he’d change about her look, calling it “perfection” and a “glow up.” Michelle and Ru noted how evolved Alexis has come across all season and how this challenge exemplified that. Michelle called Jessica’s looks “beautiful” and “fantastic” and Brandon called the dress “expensive.”
Based on the critiques, Ru declared Alexis the top all star of the week, giving her a win to match that of the other queens in the competition. Ru gave safety to Jessica and Jimbo, leaving Kandy and LaLa as the bottom two of the week and vulnerable to elimination. As the winner, Alexis was set to face off against this week’s lip sync assassin Nicky Doll to “These Boots Were Made for Walkin.'” Both queens looked the part of country pop star and though the slow tempo song didn’t present many opportunities for big moments, they each managed to squeeze a trick into the main verses. Alexis snatched the performance to her side of the ring when she went over-the-top with the last flourish of the song. In that final moment, Ru had a clear winner in her hands and was able to give Alexis a deserved win.
As the winner and recipient of the $10,000 cash tip, Alexis was required to reveal the lipstick of the queen she chose to eliminate. Referring to it as the “hardest decision she’s ever had to make,” Alexis sent LaLa home and ultimately settled the final four as herself, Kandy, Jimbo and Jessica.
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