The shade and drama is turned up to a ten this week on the thermometer scale. While the queens gather to congratulate Lill on their win, La Voix gently asks Chanel O’ Connor how she feels about missing out on a badge despite making all the outfits. The conversation starts off polite and civil, until Chanel says she’s happy Lill won instead of Marmalade. Cue the room instantly filled with shock as things take a 180 and emotions run high. Marmalade, feeling betrayed, tries to explain her feelings before eventually leaving the workroom to gather her thoughts.
But a new day begins, and Marmalade, having collected her thoughts, is ready to eloquently tell Chanel her feelings. As Kyran Thrax says, it sounds like poetry; with every word being said, apologies are accepted, and it’s time for the mini-challenge. But if things weren’t shady enough, Ru adds more fuel by playing dirty laundry. The queens are to pick an item from the washing line and assign that word that best describes each other. Shady. Charra Tea gets the title of pants, Zahirah Zapanta is basic and perky, Chanel is told she needs to have more fun, La Voix is dubbed as big-headed, and Kyran is stomping the competition.
For the maxi challenge, the queen is to act in a British rom-com, something that we are well known for doing. “Hate Actually” and “Fourty funerals and a wedding.” Charra Tea and Zahirah are team captains, allowing them to select their team mates. Team Hate actually consists of: Kyran, La Voix, Chanel, Rileasa Slaves, and Lill.
After a read-through, the filming commences with director Michelle Visage, and most of the queens do a fairly good job. Lill struggles with one particular line, resulting in a funny edit of her trying to get it correct. Meanwhile, poor Dita Garbo goes completely blank, unable to remember her script. On the other hand, Kyran nails her role as the shuffling, lovable Hugh Grunt, leaving everyone in stitches. There’s high hope for how the challenge will turn out.
This week the category is “New Romantics,” a perfect category for the mainstage; that allows so much creativity to be displayed as well as exploration of gender. The guest judge this week is 80’s pop king Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran. Lill is out first, embodying Adam Ant realness; it’s a stunning look, but I expect no less from her. There’s a common theme of pirate-esque billowing blouses and the same silhouettes. Each queen has put their own spin on the theme, with Actavia’s coming out in a blue velvet number. They all do a fantastic job of experimenting with colour in their makeup. Marmalade does a great job at switching it up from the others opting for pastel colours, with her hair and makeup beautifully complimenting each other, setting her apart from the rest.
It’s time for the rom-coms, and team “Hate Actually” absolutely smashed the assignment and then some. It was a perfect blend of British humour, with no weak links; everyone was memorable. In contrast, “Forty Funerals” struggled to get off the ground; perhaps it was because the script just wasn’t as funny as the first one.
The top two queens this week are Marmalade and Kyran, with Kyran winning and proving she is most certainly one to watch to snatching the crown. Landing in the bottom two are Dita and Kiki Snatch. Lip Syncing to Girls on Film by Duran Duran, and although Kiki delivers impressive moves, she doesn’t appear to be lip syncing as much. Whereas Dita performs word for word, embodying the vibe of the track. It’s an incredibly close call, and Kiki certainly does have that extra edge. Which ultimately keeps her in the competition as we say farewell to Dita Garbo.
Tune in: New episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” air every Thursday at 3pm ET / 12pm PT in the US and in select territories exclusively on WOW Presents Plus, day-and-date with its local airing on BBC3 in the UK.
