Okay, let’s start fresh. We will let last week be a wibbly-wobbly beginning, as this week, many can agree, is much more UK-esque. Having said goodbye to no-one thanks to the lucky cow, everyone chooses to reflect on their first runway and impressions. This is where RuPaul comes in and pushes their first impression further. By a good ole judging and opinion mini challenge, one that is always fun for the queens and no one’s feelings ever feel hurt. Right. It also won’t be the catalyst arc for this week’s episode. Right. The thing is I love drag races, but you can kind of see the direction it’s going to take once someone doubts themselves and the drama flares up. Which, of course, we at home do love a little bit of drama, but we love unpredictability too, or some form of arc that goes in a different direction.
The mini challenge sees them play traitors, and while dressed as Claudia Winkleman, they are tasked with voting – shade included. With the queens having voted Viola as most annoying, aka a pain in the arse, she rightfully takes it to heart, as many of us would. Yet, determined, she’s set out on being herself and excelling in her strengths, which play well for this week’s maxi challenge: sewing. The archenemy of many and the queen bee to some. This week the queens are to work with unconventional materials from past seasons, queens, and challenges. A fun way to reflect on past seasons and rejigging of the early days and how far the series has come.
They are to be paired up and share said box from each season – which doesn’t really impact the queens, as they are to be judged individually. So no worry for family resemblance, house, concept, etc.; it’s just a lesson in learning how to share. Viola is the fashion girl with a degree and a hurt ego who chooses to help no one besides giving a little bit of advice to her partner Paige Three. With the little werkroom chats with RuPaul, her design drawings go down well, as do many. It seems we have more seamstresses, or some have aimed to learn to sew. Which is good news, as it makes for a great runway. Patsy is someone who can only sew with a pattern…. But she makes it work in her own weird and wonderful way by deciding to create a jumpsuit.
This week’s judge might just be one of my favourites yet. Michelle De Swarte is everything you want in a judge: engaging, funny, and enjoying herself. In front of the queens, she explains what she likes, yet while the queens untuck, she proceeds to say, ‘My name is Michelle, and I am a two-faced bitch.’
Proceeding to join the other judges in agreement as to just how badly constructed and ugly some of the outfits were. A true Brit in terms of humour. I would agree that while there were some strong ones, particularly Sally, who just absolutely smashed it out the picnic park in her gorgeous get-up, she knows her strengths and plays well to them. I was surprised by Bone’s outfit, known for being more dark and conceptual. She fell into a pastel palace, emerging as a butterfly made out of yoga mats; she did a fab job.
The other end of the spectrum though falls to Pasty and her ill-fitting green velvet jumpsuit. I wasn’t mad at the jumpsuit too much, more so at the wig and its terrible styling and harsh wig line. BUT she sold it well. Joining her in the bottom critiques is Viola, whose spider construction didn’t serve the chic she hoped it would. As RuPaul said in the werk room, it’s a lot of work in a short amount of time; we saw the concept, it just didn’t spring to life the way it was supposed to. This ultimately lands her in the bottom alongside Pasty lip-syncing it out to “Heartbreak (Make Me Dance)” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. We do say goodbye to Pasty, who declares she’s off to pack her bags and have a sausage roll. So, episode two was much more constructed and overall an enjoyable episode. Next week we have a personal favourite maxi-challenge: Girl Groups!
Tune in: New episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will premiere 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.
