RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars is returning once more for an exciting 10th season! RuPaul is introducing a fresh twist to the format with a “Tournament of All-Stars!” This season, three groups, each comprising six queens, will compete in three separate brackets—orange, pink, and purple—spanning three episodes for each group. The competition employs a point system, with the top three queens from each bracket advancing to the semi-finals. From this stage, the top three queens will contend against each other in a grand finale, aiming to secure a revered spot in the Drag Race Hall Of Fame along with a prize of $200,000.

Fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars are aware that queens must master a blend of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, talent, and strategic alliances to thrive in the contest. In this initial “lewk” at the latest episode, all these elements come into play. Episode 3 kicks off as the queens return to the Werk Room after Irene the Alien and Bosco’s electrifying lip sync performance to “Murder on the Dance Floor.” A hesitant Aja finds her way to the couch, soon accompanied by the others. “Darling, it’s crazy because I’m alleged to be in the bottom 4, but I’d rather consider myself third from the top,” Aja remarks in her confessional. The queens examine the current score sheet: Aja – 3, Bosco – 4, DeJa – 1, Irene – 4, Olivia – 1, and Phoenix – 1.

According to RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars rules, this season dictates that each of the bottom 4 queens—Aja, Deja, Olivia Lux, and Phoenix—must award 1 point to a fellow contestant. Deja wastes no time, declaring she intends to allocate her point to another queen in the bottom. “My point is automatically going to Liv because of our MiMu, my utmost priority, diamond alliance,” explains Aja in her confessional. “I’ll support her because she’ll do the same for me.” Back in the Werk Room, Olivia discloses she knows exactly who will receive her point.

Then it’s time to congratulate the winning queens. Irene exclaims with glee: “Girl, I feel like I am proving everyone who ever had some bullshit to say about me, like, ‘oh, she’s just a first out queen…’ well, look at me now, baby.” “That 4 looks really cute by my fucking name,” adds Bosco happily. In her confessional, Bosco continues to celebrate. “It feels incredible to win a lip sync, and I am so happy that I don’t have to play the Game of Thrones point bull shit that these girls are about to have to do.”

As the bottom 4 queens hem and haw about who has to go first, Aja ultimately steps up because she has the third most points overall. “This person is my sister, so I really want to give you my point,” says Aja to Olivia, who gratefully accepts. Phoenix goes next and gives her point to DeJa, who is thrilled. Then, it’s Olivia’s turn. “This point goes to someone who I truly feel excelled,” begins Olivia. As Aja prepares herself to accept the point from her alliance member, Olivia does the unexpected. “I’m so proud of you, DeJa, and I want to give my point to you this week,”says Olivia.

“Girl, what happened to the plan,” wonders Aja in her confessional. “We’re supposed to be MiMu and now you gave my point to… okay, maybe Deja’s gonna give me her point, maybe this is the plan.” In her confessional, DeJa spirals: “Olivia gave me a point, Phoenix gave me a point, Aja’s in our alliance, what do I do?”

After a bit of fanfare, DeJa gives her point to Olivia, meaning that DeJa and Olivia are now tied with Aja with 3 points each. “I’m feeling like Olivia has ulterior motives, and I don’t feel like I have an alliance,” says Aja in her confessional. “It’s not giving MiMu; it’s just giving me.”

Knowing that she made Aja mad, Olivia goes over to try and smooth things over. “I know I gave my point to DeJa last week,” explains Olivia. “It was more like , ‘if we’re all in this together, let’s even it out.’” Unmoved, Aja just laughs in her face. Back in her confessional, Aja tells the camera: “I didn’t come here to be a pawn, I came here to be the queen. So, Miss Olivia ‘Backstabber’ Lux, I see what we playing now.”

The next day in the Werk Room, while the other queens are celebrating, Aja is still caught up in her feelings. “Olivia, we had spoken a lot about this MiMu alliance…I don’t completely know how to trust you as much as I did when I was walking in here,” says Aja in front of the group. “I’m sorry my action has led you to feel like that,” begins Olivia while gesturing to DeJa. “But if you want to bring up our alliance, Melanination Station had an alliance as well.” Olivia reminds Aja that their “main goal was to make sure that the melaninated girls were all uplifted so that they would be able to have a shot to win this and go on.”

“I came here to play the game and be competitive, and we knew this was going to be tough,” says Olivia to Aja. After hearing this, Phoenix can’t help but speak up. “I have 1 point,” says Phoenix to the queens. “Hearing you all are kinda working together felt very shady to me.” Phoenix also reminds the queens that if she doesn’t win, one of them will eventually need her point at the end. Before the queens can respond, a siren goes off and RuPaul is on the screen, ordering them to the “court” for the final Maxi Challenge.

It turns out the “court” is a basketball court where 6 female collegiate athletes are running drills ! As the queens watch the girls in action, RuPaul stops the practice and has the women introduce themselves. “Now queens, these women know a lot about winning tournaments, but it’s time for you to teach them about the miracle of drag,” says RuPaul. “For this week’s Tournament Of All-Stars Maxi-Challenge, you need to transform these red-hot hoopsters into your very own drag sisters.”

How will they determine which basketball player goes with which queen? “The queen who sinks the most free throws in 60 seconds will pair all y’all up,” says RuPaul. Tune in this Friday, May 16 on Paramount+ to see how the competition shakes out!