The previously aired episode 8 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 8 took the remaining queens one step closer to the crown. "RuPaul Book Ball" saw a queen, who has garnered a lot of criticism over the episodes, down to the bottom two along with a consistent performer.
Major Spoilers for Season 8 episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race" titled "RuPaul Book Ball" ahead
For "RuPaul Book Ball," which was aired on Monday, April 25, the top 5 queens created three distinctive looks for the runway. However, before that, Derrick Barry, Naomi Smalls, Bob The Drag Queen, Kim Chi and Chi Chi DeVayne, performed a musical tribute to Jerri Blank from the TV show "Strangers With Candy."
Amy Sedaris, who played Blank in the show, was a judge for the episode, along with her brother author David Sedaris. The performance was led by Chi Chi, who won the mini challenge.
In the challenge titled "Everybody Loves Puppets," the queens were given puppets that look like one of their competitors. They dragged up their respective puppets and used it to read the queen. While more of them said funny and well-received jokes, Derrick and Naomi got a little too bitter.
Their smack continued on much after the competition and despite it being fun for the rest of the queens in the beginning, even they got uncomfortable later. Derrick did set her differences aside and tried to help Naomi in the musical show, even though she herself was looking a little ridiculous.
For the main challenge, the queens made an outfit that was inspired by their own childhood, one that paid homage to their respective mothers and one that depicted the queen that they are. The last one, categorised as "Autobiographical Eleganza Extravaganza" had to be made from books, which is a challenge at which Bob sort of failed.
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Bob, who was asked to put a pause on his ratchet drag and create a glamorous look for the runway, made a dress which was predominantly cardboard, and later had to get rid of the bottom half that was made of pages from books. This took him straight to the bottom along with Derrick.
For the first time during his time at "Drag Race," Derrick tried to create a drag look rather than put on regular girl make-up. While the judges appreciated her efforts, they could not overlook the fact that she did a terrible job at it, especially the eyebrows.
Kim Chi was the winner of the main challenge, with her "That's My Mama Realness" look especially impressing the judges. She also had a consistent theme for all three looks. In "Baby Drag Realness" she depicted herself as a sprout; her mother was depicted as a beautiful and melancholic woman who loves gardening; for the final "Autobiographical Eleganza Extravaganza" look she showed herself a beautifully blossomed flower.
Derrick and Bob battled for their lives on the show by lip-synching to Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)." In the end, Bob's stage presence outshined Derrick's dancing skills, and the latter was sent packing.
