RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 Episode 8 Recap: "LipSync LalapaRuza Smackdown"

Following last episode's lip sync, the cast returns to the Werk Room to ponder Aura Mayari's exit line, "My dead dad will haunt you all." As Luxx Noir London says, "Bob [the Drag Queen] walked onto her first runway purse first, and Aura left that runway curse first." Does Season 15 really have a hex on it?

Bottoming Out or Top Dog?

Though Jax is grateful to have survived for another episode, she isn't pleased about having to lip sync for her life two weeks in a row. She states in confessional that she doesn't want to be in the bottom anymore.

Meanwhile the queens congratulate Mistress Isabelle Brooks on her well-deserved maxi challenge win, but Loosey LaDuca is peeved over just being marked "safe." She monologues to the group about feeling that she carried all her scenes in the sitcom, leading many to look at her with confusion. It's a new turn for the usually calm and focused Loosey, one that's reminiscent of Daya Betty's freakout about the sewing challenge on the previous season.

Spice, who's desperate to escape her low placements, declares that her "top era" has arrived... only a split second before doing the dreaded doll walk that RuPaul told her never to do again. Mistress wonders to the camera if there's a vaccine for "drag delusion."

Here Comes The LalapaRuza Smackdown

As a new day dawns in the Werk Room, Spice is still concentrating on climbing to the top and the girls good-naturedly call Loosey out for being extra about her safe status.

They're interrupted by Ru's entrance, where he notes that there are still several contestants who haven't lip synced for their lives yet this season. That's about to change, because the remaining ten queens will be challenged to a Lip Sync LalapaRuza Smackdown! Last seen on Season 14, the rumble will pit the cast members against each other one by one in lip syncs until a losing queen is finally eliminated.

But is there a true lip sync assassin in this group of performers? Who really has the Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve and Talent to survive to the top (or honestly just survive)? And most importantly, which songs will they choose? It's getting suspenseful up in here.

Round One: Malaysia Babydoll Foxx Versus Marcia Marcia Marcia

As the contestants assemble, Mama Ru goes over the rules for the day. It's pretty simple: A queen is picked at random and will select who she wants to go head-to-head against in a lip sync. The chosen then decides which song they will be performing. When a queen is declared the winner of her lip sync, she is marked safe and can watch the rest of the battles from the Werk Room. Those who aren't winning will compete in additional lip syncs, eventually resulting in a bottom two where one of them will be asked to sashay away.

The Season 15 LalapaRuza Smackdown kicks off with Malaysia Babydoll Foxx versus Marcia Marcia Marcia. They're lip syncing to "Boys Don't Cry" by Brazilian pop star Anitta. Although Malaysia puts up a fight, Marcia keeps her BFA paying off and dominates the battle. Did we know she could do those flips? No. Do we want more? Hell yeah!

Round Two: Loosey LaDuca Versus Spice

Loosey LaDuca and Spice are next to face off, lip syncing to "Do You Wanna Touch Me" by Joan Jett. (Meanwhile, Salina EsTitties roots for the underdog, saying that Loosey is about to crack.) But while Spice looks the part, she unfortunately isn't really coming into her "top era" yet with a less than stellar performance. The Connecticut queen snatches victory here. For Loosey, who failed in Episode 1 when she sang live, this feels like a redeeming comeback - or at least it does to the artist herself. Where others are concerned may be a different story.

Round Three: Luxx Noir London Versus Salina EsTitties

Next up, Luxx squares off against Salina EsTitties to the classic "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion. (Editors' Note: Praise the production gods, they've recognized one of the greatest songs of all time.) EsTitties proves that the savvy lip sync moves that saved her when performing for Janelle Monae in Episode 5 are a permanent part of her repertoire, and she scores the win here.

Round Four: Mistress Isabelle Brooks Versus Jax

Mistress goes into the ring to combat Jax in the next round, lip syncing to the underrated gem "Tell It To My Heart" by Taylor Dayne. (Editors' Note: Production is killing it with these song choices!) It's ultimately Mistress who can feel her body rock, because Jax doesn't have the luck to pull out the win for what's her third lip sync of the season. How will she fare on her next one?

Then once safe in the Werk Room, Mistress has some choice words for the other girls, who don't think she should have won her round. She fires back to say that the people selected first were chosen because no one wants to go up against the contestants who can win. Racers, start your drama engines!

Round Five: Anetra Versus Sasha Colby

Opera glasses up, everyone! This next pairing is the one that the Drag Race fandom has been waiting for all season. Anetra and Sasha Colby have been standing out as frontrunners through each episode, and both are known in the drag community as natural lip syncers. Their song is "I'm in Love With a Monster" by Fifth Harmony. It's a compelling battle, bursting with death drops, epic hair flips, clever moves, and sexy subtleties. But of course Sasha isn't a drag legend for nothing, and she emerges from the competition even more iconic than before.

Round Six: Malaysia Babydoll Foxx Versus Spice

Now that the first half of the queens are marked safe, the contestants who didn't win their initial lip syncs all have to hang on for dear life. Malaysia and Spice jump into their second effort, lip syncing "Don't Go Yet" by Camila Cabello. Both are weakened by the fact that neither one of them knows the words to the song, which is laughably lampshaded by everybody. However, Spice's decision to conga dance near the end of the song could be the deadly blow here. Spice still can't get a grasp on the brass ring, and Malaysia takes the win.

Round Seven: Anetra Versus Luxx Noir London Versus Jax

It's a three-way this time around. Anetra, Luxx, and Jax are going for the silver with a lip sync to "The Right Stuff" by Vanessa Williams. Luxx scores a surprising victory over her competitors, meaning Jax might be staring down a bottom placement for a third time - and maybe that means her time has run out.

Final Round: Anetra Versus Jax Versus Spice

There's a twist to the final showdown. Although three queens are left, only two of them will be in the very last lip sync. One contestant's name will be picked at random and she will choose who gets marked as safe and can sit out this ending battle.

Anetra is selected from the name draw, and she chooses Spice to sit out the final lip sync, meaning Jax is indeed looking at her potential third strike. Very few would have predicted Anetra, "Queen of the Duck Walk," to be in the bottom two this week, but easy money is still on her to survive.

Fittingly, the song for this lip sync is "Finally" by CeCe Peniston. The Vegas queen puts her inner showgirl to good use for this wrap-up to the smackdown, and it might as well be the Thanos snap. Jax is poofed out of Drag Race existence and asked to sashay away. But as they say, there's always All Stars.

Check out Jax's exit interview in WHATCHA PACKIN':

Watch New Episodes of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15

Catch next week’s episode on February 24 at 8PM ET on MTV. Stay up to date on RuPaul’s Drag Race through MTV.com and check back in with us for more episode recaps!

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Featured image: Mistress Isabelle Brooks celebrates her sitcom challenge win (C) MTV