Revenge of the Queens

"Revenge of the Queens" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American reality competition television series RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, which aired on VH1 on September 15, 2016. The episode has the final five contestants pair up with the four eliminated contestants to perform a live stand-up comedy act in front of an audience of past contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race. Ross Mathews returns as guest judge for the episode alongside RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley and Todrick Hall.

Episode
The episode begins with the final five contestants; Alaska, Detox, Katya, Phi Phi O'Hara, and Roxxxy Andrews walking back into the werkroom following the elimination of Alyssa Edwards. They briefly talk about the elimination with Phi Phi expressing her negative opinions on Alyssa's performance, believing she was favoured by the judges on multiple occasions. Right after Phi Phi says this, the mirror lights up, revealing a secret room behind it with all the eliminated contestants (minus Adore Delano who quit earlier in the season) standing with angry facial expressions, all having heard what Phi Phi said. The eliminated contestants then walk into the werkroom in the order they were eliminated in (Coco Montrese, Tatianna, Ginger Minj, Alyssa Edwards), leaving the final five confused.

Alyssa confronts Phi Phi due to hearing what Phi Phi had said about her behind the mirror, only for Phi Phi to shut her down by accusing Alyssa of playing the victim, which prompts Ginger to cut in and call Alyssa out as Alyssa had sent Ginger home over Katya in episode 3. Alyssa rebuttals by explaining that she had given a reason for saving Katya as she had a challenge win before that point while Ginger didn't, before Ginger says she wouldn't have allowed Katya to go home regardless feeling she deserved to stay. Phi Phi cuts back into the argument as Alyssa said she doesn't throw people under the bus, which Phi Phi felt was true before once again accusing Alyssa of playing the victim.

The next day, the nine contestants enter the werkroom and are given their challenge by RuPaul. He explains that they will be performing a stand-up comedy routine in pairs, one contestant who was in the final five and one who had been eliminated, with the eliminated contestant from the top two pairs being given a change to re-enter the competition and eliminate one of the top five. RuPaul then explains that the audience would be composed entirely of past RuPaul's Drag Race contestants to add extra pressure to the contestants. The eliminated queens then choose their partners in the order they were eliminated. Alyssa picks Alaska, Ginger picks Katya, Tatianna picks Detox, and Coco picks Phi Phi, leaving Roxxxy unpicked. Due to being unpicked, she is informed that she must work solo and be the show's MC, with the benefit of having sole power to make the decision of which eliminated contestant gets to return and which member of the final five will go home. The queens then begin to work on the challenge.

Results
During critiques, Roxxxy Andrews is criticised for frequently stuttering while hosting the show and for being generally unmemorable, Coco Montrese and Phi Phi O'Hara received praise for their looks, but were criticised for their stand-up act feeling more like a skit and therefore failing to meet the criteria of challenge. Alyssa Edwards and Alaska were praised for strong teamwork and well-timed jokes. Ginger Minj and Katya received praise for being able to play off each other well but were criticised over being a bit stiff when the judge's would have preferred them to loosen up a bit. Tatianna and Detox were praised for their strong jokes and high quality looks.

Lip sync and elimination


Due to being considered the top two, Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna must choose a lipstick which says whether they want to either Phi Phi O'Hara or Roxxxy Andrews. They then perform a lip sync to the Rihanna song "Shut Up and Drive". In a very close lip sync often regarded as one of the show's best, RuPaul names both contestants as the winner, allowing them both to re-enter the competition and to eliminate a contestant.

Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna both choose to eliminate Phi Phi O'Hara over Roxxxy Andrews, which means Phi Phi becomes the fifth contestant eliminated from the season. On her way out the door she refuses a condolence hug from Alyssa and accepts one from Tatianna. The episode ends with Phi Phi saying she is proud of her time on the season and writing a lipstick message on the mirror which states: "I wanted to avoid hugs because of tears! LOVE YOU ALL! "Jump in a car!" - Phi Phi"

Reception
Andy Denhart of Reality Blurred praised the episode's twist of eliminated queens potentially returning, calling it "solid" overall. This episode is consistently regarded as one of the best Drag Race episodes of all time. In a ranking of 30 seasons of Drag Race, Gay Times ranked All Stars 2 in 1st, specifically shouting out this episode, stating it as a "highlight of an already incredible season". Xtra listed the episode as the best Drag Race episode in a 2020 ranking. For a long time, the episode held the record for the highest IMDb rating of all RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars episodes with a 9.6/10, but has since been beaten by an All Stars 7 episode. Alyssa Edwards and Tatianna's "Shut Up and Drive" lipsync is also commonly regarded as a highlight, ranking among Screen Rant's 15 best Drag Race lip syncs.