Rutrospective: The best of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Season 2

Alaska 5000

In All Stars Season 1, the producers were stretched for time. Or money. Or they were being blackmailed. Whatever the reason, they forced the queens to split into pairs and compete as teams. There were some talented queens in attendance that year, but the gimmick kept them from being as good as they could be.

There was none of that nonsense in Season 2. This operated like an ordinary season of Drag Race, the difference being that everyone was a battle-tested competitor. (And that RuPaul forced them to eliminate each other rather than taking on the job herself. But put a pin in that.) And love her or hate her, no came more ready to compete than Alaska.

Her impersonation of Mae West in the Snatch Game first marked her as a frontrunner. West is one of those figures so ready-made for this challenge it’s a miracle no one’s thought to do her before. The Snatch Game is all about making the most of the handful of seconds at a time you’re given to shine. Mae West is all about one-liners, which makes her ideal.

But Alaska didn’t just regurgitate West’s catch phrases. She put a modern spin on them and made the subtext text. “When I’m good I’m good,” she said during her introduction, “but when I’m bad I get a serious venereal disease.” It may have been the best Snatch Game performance ever.

Alaska followed that up two weeks later with a dead-on impression of Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Then she harnessed the power of Alyssa Edwards’ off-the-cuff buffoonery in the comedy challenge, brought her offbeat sense of humor to bear when shooting her commercial, and wrote the richest lyrics for her rap in the final episode. She was smart, she was consistent, and she worked harder than anyone else.

That devotion to showmanship extended to her lip syncs, where she brought a little something extra each time. She cut herself out of her outfit during the first one, stayed in character as Lil’ Poundcake in the second, and pulled a freaking American flag out of her wig during the third. Alaska is dedicated heart and soul to great drag, and that’s worth rewarding.