This season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, the All Star queens are using their drag for good! Drag queens are saving the world! The queens will be competing for the charity of their choice throughout the season. But with no eliminations, this season will be reminiscent of the all-winners season on Drag Race All Stars 7. Everything is going to be super nice and kind, with charity on their minds. Where’s the drama in that? The big twist of the season is the winner of each challenge will receive a Beautiful Benefactress Badge and the power to “cut off” another queen with the Ruby Snippers from receiving a Beautiful Benefactress Badge the following week. With this mechanic being present, it looks like it might be the only source of drama this season. Kindness is great, but this is drag! We need shade! There may still be a competitive edge to the season, but will it be enough to keep it afloat and engaging?
Now celebrating its ninth iteration, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9 is the RuPaul’s Drag Race spin-off that unites the legends of the game together for another chance to win. Each season, the winner of the season will be inducted into the Drag Race Hall of Fame. Whoever wins this season will join the legendary lineup that includes Chad Michaels, Alaska, Trixie Mattel, Monet X Change, Trinity the Tuck, Shea Coulee, Kylie Sonique Love, Jinkx Monsoon, and Jimbo. This season, eight iconic queens are competing for the title and a $200,000 donation to the charity of their choice. The line-up includes Angeria Paris VanMichaels, Gottmik, Jorgeous, Nina West, Plastique Tiara, Roxxxy Andrews, Shannel, and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. This season’s line-up is filled with actual Drag Race stars, unlike some other seasons that featured some interesting inclusions. Regardless, the non-elimination format will allow the entire cast to be featured in every challenge and runway, but the stakes are simply just not as high.
All Stars Rules Make ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ Interesting
A major part of what sets RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars different from the flagship program is giving the queens the power to eliminate one another. While the format has adjusted for certain seasons, with the infamous All Stars Rules being in effect, it has resulted in some of the most shocking and dramatic moments in franchise history. The first season of the show was a disaster of a twist as the queens were forced to work in teams. Thankfully, they dropped that when Season 2 rolled around. That season, the Top 2 All Stars of the week each got to select one of the bottom queen’s lipsticks to eliminate them.
This remained the same until Season 5 when the show introduced a Rumocracy where all the queens would vote for one of the bottom queens to be eliminated. Then the Top All Star of the week would compete in a Lip Sync for Your Legacy against a Lip Sync Assassin. If the Top All Star wins the lip sync, the bottom queen of their choice would be eliminated. If the Lip Sync Assassin wins the lip sync, the queen voted by the majority would be eliminated. Both formats resulted in major moments, including Roxxxy Andrews being saved multiple times thanks to her alliance with Alaska and Detox during RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2 and Naomi Smalls selecting to eliminate Manila Luzon on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4. Sure, BenDeLaCreme’s self-elimination was a shock, but that would likely have happened no matter the format.
The elimination factor was changed solely for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 when the cast consisted of previous winners. To ensure the cast was interested in playing again and to allow them to present their entire package, the show decided that there would be no eliminations. In order to compete in the finale, the queens had to win the most amount of stars. And to win a star, the queens had to win a challenge. To have a competitive factor for the series, they allowed the winner of the Top 2 lip sync to block someone, using the Platinum Plunger, from receiving a star in the following challenge.
This did ultimately alter who the final four were, but the mechanics of it were a tad messy. Especially in the final challenge when the weight of that challenge was attached to earning more stars, prompting someone who was out of contention to be in the finale last minute. With the casting of the future All Stars hanging in the balance, they ensured their cast that they could be present the entire time and brought back the RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 format. So, instead of a cast of all winners, it became legends playing for charity. Instead of blocking with the Platinum Plunger, which wasn’t even platinum, it’s cutting off with the Ruby Snippers.
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9’ Deserves To Give Drama to the Fans
The concept of cutting off a fellow competitor is one of the few strategic elements attached to RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9. By having the power to prevent a front-runner from earning a Beautiful Benefactress Badge allows one to even the playing field, causing a strong competitor to fall behind in the race. Essentially, the best strategy is to consistently do well and perform at the top of your game so you can control the power in the game and not be cut off. As seen on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7, once multiple individuals began to pull ahead with the amount of stars they earned, those falling behind began to target those with the most. It was the most logical individual strategy you could have had in that iteration of the game. And based on the conversations so far in the Werk Room this season, that will be the plan.
In the first episode of the season, Angeria Paris VanMichaels ended up having the first chance to cut off any of the six who did not land in the top of the week. Not knowing what challenges are coming down the pipeline, Angeria’s theory was to go after one of the most well-rounded competitors in the game. Of course, in this cast, they’re all multi-talented, but her feeling of three-time competitor Roxxxy Andrews of being a long-term threat caused her to be the first to be cut off. On the surface, it was a great decision. Knowing that the season would likely feature an abundance of comedy and acting challenges, she considered cutting off Nina West. You can be results oriented, but Angeria’s decision was the best for her and the rest of the competitors based on what the following challenge was.
The second episode featured the Paint Ball, where the competitors had to present three looks, one of which they built in the Werk Room and hand-painted. History has shown that Nina West is not a sewer and had performed poorly in similar challenges, so she had no chance of winning the challenge. As far as Roxxxy’s track record with fashion, she was a strong threat to win the challenge. Ultimately, she did not land in the Top of the week, but a target was placed on her back regardless.
In the second episode, Gottmik decided to give the Ruby Snippers to Angeria as she was one of two queens with a badge. That means in the third episode, Angeria can win, but she cannot receive a Beautiful Benefactress Badge. There are four individuals with a Beautiful Benefactress Badge: Angeria Paris VanMichaels, Jorgeous, Plastique Tiara, and Gottmik. If the trend continues, whoever wins the next challenge, which happens to be Snatch Game, it’s likely that one of those four will be cut off next. It’s the smartest possible strategy, but it lacks drama. Where’s the fun in doing the obvious? Because the season’s stakes are not high, it’s clear that the queens are not going to ruffle feathers for the sake of charity. But for the sake of the fans, we deserve some spontaneity! It’s clear the queens will throw shade around the Werk Room, but that’s expected on RuPaul’s Drag Race. The queens need to do something to amplify the drama. Someone snatch a wig, quick!
RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9 streams new episodes on Fridays on Paramount+. All seasons are available to stream now.