Top 10 Moments from RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8

In the season’s opener, this reality series made a landmark accomplishment: it had reached one hundred episodes and seen one hundred competitors. To celebrate, this season’s queens posed for a photo with seven past winners...and a clown. The main challenge had the queens create outfits based on past design challenges, resulting in some impressive looks, Kim Chi’s in particular. Starting off the season in this fashion made a bold statement - the competition is as fierce as ever, the contestants are seriously talented, and many of these queens could have made a name for themselves in any past season. It pays tribute to the past, by promising a bright future.

Given that she’s made performing her full-time career, everyone expected Robbie Turner to succeed in the season’s first acting challenge, but when the time came… she flopped. Thankfully, Robbie was able to bounce back by performing a lip-sync to Faith Evans’ “Mesmerized” while roller-skating all over the stage. By channelling “Xanadu,” Robbie showed off a talent that had yet to be seen in the past seven seasons, and even owned the fact that she smashed a light on the side of the runway. The performance rightfully secured Robbie’s safety and kicked fan-favorite Cynthia right in “her cucu”, sending her packing.

It’s become a tradition for the top four queens to give advice to their younger selves. In a show all about entertainment and laughter, moments like these show the emotional journeys of these men who had to learn how to embrace what made them special and different. Kim Chi’s tribute to her younger self was particularly emotional, reflecting on her childhood in South Korea. This touching exercise enabled viewers to connect with the performers on an emotional level, showcasing a level of vulnerability that few other reality shows allow their contestants to share.

Despite their determination, both Laila McQueen and Dax ExclamationPoint landed in the bottom two for floundering in the “Bitch Perfect” acapella challenge. Unfortunately for them, neither of their lip-syncs to “I Will Survive” impressed the queen of queens, and she decided to send BOTH of them home. There was no shortage of drama this season, but this shocking decision set the bar high for the episodes to come, and proved that there would be little tolerance for half-assing in this cutthroat competition. When two queens as fierce as these are sent packing, you know that the competition is seriously tough.

Snatch Game is the competition every contestant knows is coming, and as such, it results in some of the queens’ best work every season. This season was no exception, with outstanding performances from Derrick as Britney Spears (of course), and Thorgy, who made the bold choice to perform as Michael Jackson. Bob, however, dominated the challenge with a dual role as Uzo Aduba and Carol Channing. Kim Chi also deserves a special shoutout for daringly creating a female character based on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. Let’s just hope our favorite reality drag race doesn’t get hacked in response.

This season’s competitors all delivered in terms of drama and talent, but there was never really much doubt that Bob, who brought it every week, would claim the crown. It’s always satisfying to see a queen win the competition and have her career validated, but it’s even better when fellow finalists, like Kim Chi and Naomi, can express genuine happiness and support. Honestly, season seven winner Violet Chachki almost earned herself a spot on this list with the breathtaking look she wore during the ceremony, but after seeing Bob’s journey throughout the season, not even Chachki’s outfit could steal the spotlight from her.

Though frenemies Bob and Derrick were able to make magic out of their shady political ads, the same couldn’t be said for partners Chi Chi and Thorgy, who landed in the bottom. As two of the season’s strongest competitors performing the iconic “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from “Dreamgirls,” both bring style and energy to the stage for one truly epic battle. The reactions from guest judge Vivica A. Fox say it all - she’s loving it. In the end, Chi Chi embraced every note from head to toe and turned a wardrobe malfunction to her benefit, ultimately coming out on top to stay in the competition.

Chi Chi may have slain that lip-sync, but her crowning moment actually came much earlier in this “Pitch Perfect”-inspired challenge. Team Shady Bitches faced off against the Lady Bitches as they performed the tall order of an acapella lip-sync to classic RuPaul songs while sustaining their choreography. Despite some tension between Chi Chi and her team members, she emerged the victor in this challenge, most notably with her handstand split. One of the most demanding challenges of the season, it truly separated the women from the girls and set the tone for the rest of the season.

Yet another spoof challenge, this time the queens take on the hip-hop hit “Empire.” Two teams portrayed a family of...let’s say “complicated” women as they fight over who will inherit Rucius’ record company. As Chocolate Chip Cookie, Thorgy and Bob BOTH stole the show in their respective scenes by playing an off-the-handle matriarch, with Bob ultimately winning the challenge. Honestly though, there were very few weak spots - even acting underdog Kim Chi pulled off an impressively funny performance. The slapdash scenes had us in stitches, and we hope to see more parody challenges like this in future seasons.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Too Many Kimonos

Mom Stories

The season appropriately hit its high point with the grand finale, when it allowed the top three to give fully choreographed lip-syncs to original songs. Naomi Smalls showed off her iconic “Legs.” Kim Chi owned her body and shamed the haters with “Fat, Fem and Asian.” And Bob the Drag Queen, to no one’s surprise, killed it with her performance of “I Don’t Like to Show Off.” What separates these performances from those in the competition is that the contestants get free reign to command the stage like the superstars they were born to be. If you watch only one thing from this season, it should be these three unforgettable and epic performances.