RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is back, back, back again! For the show’s 10th season, RuPaul is shaking up the format with a “Tournament of All-Stars!” Three groups of six queens will complete in three brackets—orange, pink, and purple—over the course of three episodes per group. Using a point system, the top three queens from each bracket will face off against each other in the semi-finals. From there, the three queens who rise to the top will battle it out in a sure-to-be iconic final to claim a coveted spot in the Drag Race Hall Of Fame and a cash prize of $200,000.
As fans know, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars queens rely on a mix of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, talent and alliances to succeed in the competition. In this first “lewk” at this week’s all-new episode, all those factors come into play. Episode 3 begins with the queens heading back into the Werk Room after Irene the Alien’s and Bosco’s stunning lip sync to “Murder on the Dance Floor.” An unsure Aja flops on the couch and the other queens follow suit. “Baby, it’s the ghetto because I’m in the bottom 4, allegedly, but I like to say I’m the third in the top,” says Aja in her confessional. The queens look at the updated score sheet: Aja – 3, Bosco – 4, DeJa – 1, Irene – 4, Olivia – 1 and Phoenix – 1.
Per RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars rules, this season each of the bottom 4 queens—Aja, Deja, Olivia Lux and Phoenix—will have to give out 1 point to a fellow queen. Deja immediately announces she’s going to give her point to one of her fellow queens on the bottom. “My point is going to automatically go to Liv because we have the MiMu, which is my top priority, diamond alliance,” says Aja in her confessional. “I’m going to scratch her back because she’s gonna scratch mine.” Back in the Werk Room, Olivia reveals that she knows exactly who her point is going to.
Then it’s time to congratulate the winning queens. Irene exclaims with glee: “Girl, I feel like I am proving everyone who ever had some bullshit to say about me, like, ‘oh, she’s just a first out queen…’ well, look at me now, baby.” “That 4 looks really cute by my fucking name,” adds Bosco happily. In her confessional, Bosco continues to celebrate. “It feels incredible to win a lip sync, and I am so happy that I don’t have to play the Game of Thrones point bull shit that these girls are about to have to do.”
As the bottom 4 queens hem and haw about who has to go first, Aja ultimately steps up because she has the third most points overall. “This person is my sister, so I really want to give you my point,” says Aja to Olivia, who gratefully accepts. Phoenix goes next and gives her point to DeJa, who is thrilled. Then, it’s Olivia’s turn. “This point goes to someone who I truly feel excelled,” begins Olivia. As Aja prepares herself to accept the point from her alliance member, Olivia does the unexpected. “I’m so proud of you, DeJa, and I want to give my point to you this week,”says Olivia.
“Girl, what happened to the plan,” wonders Aja in her confessional. “We’re supposed to be MiMu and now you gave my point to… okay, maybe Deja’s gonna give me her point, maybe this is the plan.” In her confessional, DeJa spirals: “Olivia gave me a point, Phoenix gave me a point, Aja’s in our alliance, what do I do?”
After a bit of fanfare, DeJa gives her point to Olivia, meaning that DeJa and Olivia are now tied with Aja with 3 points each. “I’m feeling like Olivia has ulterior motives, and I don’t feel like I have an alliance,” says Aja in her confessional. “It’s not giving MiMu; it’s just giving me.”
Knowing that she made Aja mad, Olivia goes over to try and smooth things over. “I know I gave my point to DeJa last week,” explains Olivia. “It was more like , ‘if we’re all in this together, let’s even it out.'” Unmoved, Aja just laughs in her face. Back in her confessional, Aja tells the camera: “I didn’t come here to be a pawn, I came here to be the queen. So, Miss Olivia ‘Backstabber’ Lux, I see what we playing now.”
The next day in the Werk Room, while the other queens are celebrating, Aja is still caught up in her feelings. “Olivia, we had spoken a lot about this MiMu alliance…I don’t completely know how to trust you as much as I did when I was walking in here,” says Aja in front of the group. “I’m sorry my action has led you to feel like that,” begins Olivia while gesturing to DeJa. “But if you want to bring up our alliance, Melanination Station had an alliance as well.” Olivia reminds Aja that their “main goal was to make sure that the melaninated girls were all uplifted so that they would be able to have a shot to win this and go on.”
“I came here to play the game and be competitive, and we knew this was going to be tough,” says Olivia to Aja. After hearing this, Phoenix can’t help but speak up. “I have 1 point,” says Phoenix to the queens. “Hearing you all are kinda working together felt very shady to me.” Phoenix also reminds the queens that if she doesn’t win, one of them will eventually need her point at the end. Before the queens can respond, a siren goes off and RuPaul is on the screen, ordering them to the “court” for the final Maxi Challenge.
It turns out the “court” is a basketball court where 6 female collegiate athletes are running drills ! As the queens watch the girls in action, RuPaul stops the practice and has the women introduce themselves. “Now queens, these women know a lot about winning tournaments, but it’s time for you to teach them about the miracle of drag,” says RuPaul. “For this week’s Tournament Of All-Stars Maxi-Challenge, you need to transform these red-hot hoopsters into your very own drag sisters.”
How will they determine which basketball player goes with which queen? “The queen who sinks the most free throws in 60 seconds will pair all y’all up,” says RuPaul. Tune in this Friday, May 16 on Paramount+ to see how the competition shakes out!