"Let's start off by admitting something: Snatch Game has been a challenge with diminishing returns for years now. Last year's version had two good performances, in Onya and Jewels, and was otherwise a total dirge. The season before that was the same thing with Plane and Sapphira being totally good (not thrilling, though) and everyone else just trying to get by."
"Nowhere was that demonstrated better than in the fact that, between seasons 11 and 16, no regular-season winners placed above safe during Snatch Game. It was a mainstay, yes, but one that, even within the show, was not prioritized as an important part of potential winners' story lines. So despite its repeated usage, it lacked stakes. And, I'd imagine, that's at least partially because the challenge winners' work wasn't so exceptional that it had to be taken into account at the end of the season."
"I say all this to explain why I think this season's change to the Snatch Game format was ultimately great. It shook the girls up a little bit! It gave them a chance to use new forms of physical comedy! It felt ... fresh! The format change is assisted by the fact that the average Snatch Game performance this season is the best it's been in years, and the worst Snatch Game performances in this group are the absolute worst they've been in years."
Snatch Game has suffered diminishing returns for years, delivering only occasional strong performances while many contestants performed passably. Between seasons 11 and 16, no regular-season winners placed above safe in Snatch Game, reducing its impact on overall season outcomes. Recent winners' impersonations often lacked the weight of historic, season-defining performances such as Jinkx's Little Edie, Bob's Channing-Aduba double act, and Aquaria's Melania Trump. A format change this season energized contestants, opened opportunities for physical comedy, and coincided with an unusually high average quality alongside some of the weakest entries in years.
Read at Vulture
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