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RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 5 Episode 5 Recap: Snatch Game of Love

All is fair in love and drag…

It’s finally time for another episode of All Stars, and we’re entering Snatch Game territory. We all know this is a make or break challenge in the competition, so it will be an important one to pay attention to. Last week we said sashay away to Mayhem Miller, who seemed to lose steam when it was time to plead her case to the queens backstage. Still, the reality of her best friend Morgan McMichaels coming in only to eliminate her must have truly sucked. It’s a new week, and we are one queen closer to finding out whose portrait will hang in the Drag Hall of Fame.

As always, we start our episode in the werk room following Mayhem’s elimination. The queens congratulate Cracker on her win, and India is feeling grateful to still be in the competition since there was a possibility that she could have been sent home in a double elimination. The queens open the lipstick box to reveal that the group voted unanimously for Mayhem to go home, including Mayhem. Shea is disappointed that anyone would give up on All Stars. She knows the spots in this competition are coveted, and why anyone would want to give theirs up without fighting for it is beyond her. India is feeling like she’s on a steady decline from her place at the top at the beginning of the season. Can she pull it together again?

After the break the queens are back into the werk room. Cracker is feeling invincible after her win. The queens read Mayhem’s message on the mirror, and Ru announces this week’s maxi challenge is none other than the Snatch Game of Love. This is an important challenge, and the pressure is on to create a memorable performance.  The queens get to work preparing their characters for the show. Jujubee is going for Eartha Kitt, which will be the third time a queen has done her on Snatch Game, so it needs to be next level. Shea is going with the daring, but iconic choice of Flavor Flav, and I think she might she might pull this one off. The only thing worse than not landing any jokes in the actual Snatch Game, is failing to make Ru laugh in the werk room walk around. While Alexis landed a few jokes as iconic Latin American psychic Walter Mercado, India’s Jeffree Star is not killing it, and could not have had worse timing. But there’s still time to pull it together for the show.

The Snatch Game of Love starts with our first three snatchelorettes. Tiny New York queen Miz Cracker as tiny New York queen Lady Gaga, Alexis as Walter Mercado, and India as Jeffree Star. Our first snatchelor is one of this week’s guest judges, Tommy Dorfman. Out of this first group Alexis is definitely stealing the show. All of her jokes are landing, and her character is hilarious. Cracker’s Gaga is good, but not as strong as Alexis’ performance. This is India’s first-time playing Snatch Game and it’s rough. Tommy chooses Alexis, and I’m not surprised. She killed it from beginning to end. It’s time for our second batch of snatchelorettes. Blair is Ellen, Jujubee is Eartha Kitt, and Shea is Flavor Flav. This round’s snatchelor is none other than one of our stunning Canada’s Drag Race judges Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman. This group as a whole is stronger than the first group. Jujubee and Shea are so good, and it’s a fun game to watch. Blair’s Ellen is weaker in comparison, but not as bad as India’s Jeffree Star. In the end, Jeffrey chooses Shea’s Flavor Flav, which in my opinion is one of the greatest Snatch Game performances we have ever seen on the show.

It’s elimination day in the werk room and as the queens are preparing for the runway, discussions are starting to happen on who might be eliminated this week. Juju and Alexis talk about how this week might be India’s fourth time in the bottom, and whether or not this might be her week to go home. Out on the mainstage the category is Prom Queen Fantasy, and the queens are serving prom realness. Since we’re down to the final six, all of our queens are getting critiques this week. Cracker is up first, and although the judges like her pimple prom look, her Gaga was a bit to much Cracker. The judges love Alexis’s prom look, but also her outstanding performance in Snatch Game. The judges liked India’s look though it didn’t scream prom, but all agreed that her Snatch Game left a lot to be desired. While the judges were all gagged over Blair’s stunning gender-bending prom look, they agreed her Ellen impersonation was quite good, it just wasn’t very funny. It’s official. Jujubee was finally the queen to do Eartha Kitt justice, and her lavender 80s prom look is a hit as well. Finally, Shea receives praise from all of the judges on her incredible impersonation of Flavor Flav, and her stunning runway look. She pulled out all the stops, and Ru announces that Shea is the winner of this week’s challenge.
Ru also announces that starting this week there will be no more safe queens. Meaning, if you’re not the winner, you’re up for elimination. Backstage the queens discuss who they think the bottom two are, and who should go home this week. Cracker believes that she and India performed the worse this week, while Alexis is gagged that she could go home after a really good week, and she makes it known. Shea thinks she knows who she wants to send home, but India insists she needs to talk to Shea anyways. This is of course to spill the tea that Alexis and Mayhem were in fact plotting her demise a few weeks ago. Shea doesn’t do secrets, so she brings it up to the group. Alexis denies the allegations so what is the truth? Who is lying? Jujubee takes it upon herself to play detective, and Alexis continues to deny that she campaigned for Shea’s elimination, even in her one-on-one with Shea. The queens try to make sense of who the lying queen is while casting their lipstick votes, and I am as confused as the rest of them.

Shea chooses her lipstick, and it’s time for her to lip sync against this week’s assassin Miss Vanessa Vanjie Mateo (Alexis’s daughter). Shea and Vanjie lip sync to Madonna’s Open Your Heart. The lip sync is a fun one to watch, both Vanjie and Shea bring all they’ve got, but there can only be one winner. Ru announces that Shea is the winner of this week’s lip sync, and with that she also has the power to send one of the remaining queens home. Shea reveals the fifth queen leaving All Stars 5 is India Ferrah. It was kind of a weird twist, and although it was India’s fourth time in the bottom, it’s still sad to see her go.

What we’ll see next week: The queens try to figure out who’s lying, and it’s time for a good old-fashioned ball darling.

Missed a week?: Read our RuPaul’s Drag Race All Star 5 weekly recaps right here!

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