It’s a Battle of the Caitlyn Jenners on All-Stars Four of Snatch Game

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Dec 31

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Watch out! The RuGirls are here to find love with this week’s special episode of Snatch Game: All-Stars edition!

RuPaul adds a twist this season to the fan-favorite Drag Race tradition. In a departure from previous seasons, Snatch Game meets the Dating Game in a clever redux with super-hunk guest judges Gus Kenworthy and Keiynan Lonsdale as the boys looking for love. This subtle change to the Snatch Game formula helps to split up the girls and showcase each queen individually, making sure everyone gets their chance to shine and make us laugh.

Some things never get old as drama sparks in the workroom. Come to find out Trinity and Gia both want to do Snatch Game as Caitlyn Jenner. Trinity seems like a clear fit for Caitlyn Jenner with her comedic timing and attention to detail. Or as Gia Gunn puts it, they’re both Caucasian and have fucked-up noses. Ouch, girl!

In what could have been the most interesting game of chicken on Drag Race herstory, the drama fizzles out as Gia taps out and settles for Cardi B’s nail technician Jenny Bui … I’m sorry who? It’s a weird choice because she’s not well-known by audiences and there’s not much to play off. What might have been a better choice would have been to go with Cardi B herself. She’s popular, has funny catchphrases, and there’s a myriad of looks Gia could have had fun making for Snatch Game.

See there’s a formula to Snatch Game that separates the good from the great competitors of Drag Race. If a queen finds a character with recognizable catchphrases and nails the look, they’re pretty much safe. What really elevates and makes a great Snatch Game performance is when a queen takes a character - doesn’t have to be well known as we’ve seen with Jinkx Monsoon’s Little Eddie - hones in on one distinct trait, and hams up the performance to eleven.

A great example of this sure-to-win strategy would be Kennedy Davenport’s Little Richard from season seven. Kennedy’s Little Richard was groundbreaking, not just because she took the risk of playing a man, but because she played up Little Richard’s fluid sexuality to hilarious results. Every answer to her Snatch Game questions went back to the shtick that Little Richard is a pervert, but she made sure each joke was filthier than the last. Kennedy knew how to elevate her comedy and build jokes up to a gut-splinting punchline.

Some of the queens take to this winners’ strategy like Trinity as Caitlyn Jenner, Manila as Barbra Streisand, and - surprisingly - Naomi Small as Wendy Williams. While Trinity and Manila kill it with their over the top and out-of-touch with reality interpretations, Naomi is the MVP this week as she nails every Wendy Williams mannerism and catchphrase, even ending on a high note by fainting in front of the audience.

Unfortunately, not everyone learns from previous Snatch Game fails. Gia Gunn lands herself in the bottom for repeating the same dumb shenanigans that have sabotaged previous Snatch Game fails, including interrupting Latrice Royale and going for broke by playing up racial stereotypes. Valentina also lands in the bottom, which is a shame because her Eartha Kitt was on point! The look, the voice, the mannerisms, everything! It just wasn’t funny, and after last week’s win, Valentina is at risk of losing her spot in the competition.

The tables turn as Manila goes from being the bottom of last week to the winner of this week’s lip synch. And after doing her worst Cersei Lannister impersonation, hinting she might upset the competition and send Valentina home, Manila goes with the producers’ advice and sends Gia Gunn home instead.

All in all, this Snatch Game had some exciting surprises like Naomi’s Wendy Williams, but some even bigger disappointments from queens who know better. Hopefully these girls can get their act together for next week’s episode of Michelle Visage’s daytime court drama “Jersey Justice.”

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