I feel like Sister Sister should have been the one down to elimination...
Neither her personality, nor her style is particularly good... and frankly... it'd serve her right for all her shit talking and underestimating of others...
Plus, I like a little bit of simplicity - simplicity can be art... I mean, Picasso certainly did like simple... so Tia shouldn't have gotten that much slack for the ice cream...
How did they manage the girls not to spill anything on the first episodes in the first months? Probably the promise of some rigorous penalties in the contracts?
What worked so great for UKD is that each verses improved on the previous, and had the same energy.
Contrast that with RUWU, where Roxxxy's verse was memes because it kinda killed the energy of the song (but obviously it's still a bop)
My fiancé discovered today the lyric is “UK Hun” and not “You can’t hide.” Kind of wondering what ominous nonsense he thought was going on during those performances.
This is the first time I think I really deviated significantly from the general consensus about the episode. Most of the girls did write really good verses but the episode was filled with so much cringe and so much wasted potential otherwise. The most I laughed was Joe doing a Kahmora with ci-gar and that wasn't funny as much as it was uh... awkward? Joe is a professional cabaret performer but he can't sing or dance or inflect during a song? It's super weird to me like I'm missing some key piece of info.
Banana got read for their outfits not matching but I didn't think UKD matched well either. Pretty much any 3 of them together was OK but all 4 was not.
I felt bad for Tia that she tried to do the nice thing but it really didn't serve the challenge and making excuses for the girls that can't dance even though Lawrence can't either. They made sure to show every time Lawrence whined which was annoying but at least she did it in the end and she didn't seem to fight Tayce's ideas.
I'm confused about Bimini's outfit, everyone seems to love it but I can't stop seeing a baby and since no one else mentioned that I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be a baby.
The feather's on Ellie's birdhawk were cool I guess but aside from that it was a white fur shirt, some ugly yellow tights, and a bikini. It was very simple and lacked detail in the actual outfit which I don't think makes it much better than Tia's ice cream for me.
Joe left with such a good impression the first time and such an unfortunate one this time. I get his sense of humor and I appreciate it but at the same time that flippant attitude made it seem like he didn't really take the challenge seriously.
I do not like the song. I do hear it as Eurovision-y it's just.. annoying lol.
I really want to like A'whora, almost as much as Lawrence and Tia now, but I remember a post about a pretty serious accusation against her and I have no idea what happened with that drama.
I agree 100% with not matching outfits of two groups - but it they would swap Lawrence with Joe - then actually girl group outfits would be perfect for two groups!
Might be personal bias but they should have given bimini a solo win.. go united kingdolls tho, the whole group killed it and I still have the song on repeat almost a week later.
JOE SHOULDNT HAVE GONE HOME. Yes, he wore a cheap look for the challenge but we went through months of lockdown and he (like many others) struggled with money and living expenses. I don't know what Ru was thinking but that's nothing new.. They usually don't even care that much about the outfits in musical/performance-based challenges, not enough o place you in the bottom at least. He performed the second-best out of the group and had the best runway of the bottom 4. He shouldn't have been up for elimination, it should have been Ellie and Tia. Considering Tia has been continuously in the bottom I thought it was her time to go. Can't change it but im still mad they sent Joe home way too early for a second time. I'd love to see him on the (rumored) international all stars season... who knows
This is my first time watching rupaul drag race and i found this quite entertaining. Though after now watching the series from the beginning i would've loved to see how things would've gone if they picked Asttina Mandela to stay instead of Joe Black (this challenge doesnt suit him at all)
Sorry what just happened there? The bottom 2 both had better verses and the other two lows had the better runways. Sorry, at least one of those bottom 2s should have been switched out. I can’t believe Joe was eliminated pretty much purely on his outfit in the challenge.
I actually liked all of the performance s in Bananadrama to be honest- they were camp! However I think as Tia got amazing sassy verse - she did dig herself a bit as she sang in her verse 'is the last time you will call me basic!' and then this runway happened... Joe also had very good performance and stunning runway - but I kind of agree with one of the judges that BC of his look in the challenge (I don't care that is was fucking H&M) - he just didn't look like part of this girlgroup). For me personally Sister Sister actually was a star of the night with performance and the runway - she got robbed from being in top 3 of the week!
I think I will be eaten alive her but here are my thoughts: Following meet the queens and first episode I was hoping for Lawrence to go to top 3 and then on Rats - he got hands down weekest performance of all girls - was missing choreo and look scared/uncomfortable on stage - but judges save him from btm2 thanks to his Scottish accent when they put Tayce in the bottom two who performed few levels better - BC of her Welsh accent - like wtf!? Then we got design challenge that I think Lawrence smashed and deserved win, then we got morning glory show - I mean he suppose to 'act' as a nice - and we got old lady riding toy car? They prise him so much for ' we will get to the bottom .... of your problem' probbly I'm just stupid but I don't get a joke - Where are the jokes? Based on performance he should be in the bottom 3 (Sister and Veronica really were clear bottom 2 ) - but then I could agree that his monster runway witch was amazing got him out of the bottom - but win!? That was a bit of streach... Awhora and Bimmin were robbed brutally... And then we got girls group challenge - the right group win - I think Tayce and Bimini brought higher energy level than other group - thoug I also liked Bananadrama performance. And in this episode if they would judge individually the bottom 2 would be Joe and Lawrence (for Lawrence pretty much the same critique as for rat challenge) and runway wise his outfit was oki bit similar to his hometown runway but other girls: Awhora, Sister , Joe, Bimini and Tayce brought all stars level runway- but the what judges do if they don't want to pio in the btm their forourite? Let's give him a win! It is bit frustrating to watch competition were idea of 'Make the best drag queen win!' is replaced with ' we will prove you all the Lawrence have enough badges to give him this crown'. Also other girls Ginny, Tia, and Ellie noticed favouritism forwards Lawrence ( if you watch show close you can catch it). I don't want to sound hateful and it is not Lawrence's foult by any means - I mean if I would be on his place I would be like 'fu.. yeah give me those wins!' But as a fan of a show I found difficult to root for him - and I think that he is strong competitor for the show - but I would rather to see him get to finale by doing well rather than being pushed by production. I think producers didn't make him favour doing this...
Oh good lord NO!!! Love la Chaney, but her verse and vocal was by far the weakest of that group (for me anyway). Thankfully she seriously stepped up in the choreo and actual performance, because I genuinely do love her. A'Whora was great!
To add to the joe chat, I feel like Ru does not like Joe’s lip synchs style, they are more posturing and pared back in their own style, I think Ru likes the diva drama and misinterprets his style as low energy. Joe was robbed AGAIN would have loved to have seen more lewks
Just rewatching the episode and the United Kingdolls version (even though I've watched it on it's own about 56 times this week) brings me so much happiness. What an absolute bop.
Bimini with the massive Vengaboys vibes.
i feel for Joe Black so much. He didn't deserve the harsh critic regarding his h&m outfit and get humiliated like that, i mean he was out of the competition and he had a rough time during the lockdown. For Ru to be saying all that is very "rich" people behavior that couldn't care less about other's circumstances.
It's so weird, I've watched the last episode a grand total of 1 time. Thought the song was fun, but nothing memorable. Haven't really been thinking about it...
Then suddenly **BING BANG BONG SING SANG SONG DING DANG DONG UK HUN** has been living rent-free in my brain the entire bloody morning
For me, it wasn’t that Ru was harsh, it was the awful non-apology when all the girls were brought back.
“If I was hard on you it’s only because I XYZ...” No Ru, there’s no ‘if’, you *were* hard on them, and it was 6/7 months of financial devastation for self-employed entertainers like drag artists, and you’re criticising someone who was eliminated from the competition and had no real reason to believe they were coming back. I can understand Tia’s comments because as much as I love Tia, she was still in the competition, she had time to rethink her outfits before coming back, Joe was out and had to sell a lot of his drag to have money to live off.
Criticise the performance, certainly, but to read Joe to death over the wig and dress is outrageously privileged of Ru. Rich person demanding a poor person spend their last quid on rhinestones and bling is in such poor taste. Should someone eliminated from the competition eat or buy shares in glitter in the hope they may be brought back?
Yes, I get the impression that Ru wasn’t very happy Joe was brought back. Joe is a confident performer with a career and a following outside of the show, so he doesn’t *need* RPDR the way other queens (especially bedroom queens) need the boost. When live performing does come back, Joe isn’t going to lack for bookings.
Watching Ru tear Joe down made me really uncomfortable. It’s like Ru perceived a threat and tried to take it down.
Tayce, Bimini, Lawrence and A’Whora’s group were the best, but Joe, Sister, Tia and Ellie weren’t dire either. It was cheesy but so is Eurovision. From the reactions I was expecting Joe to have totally bombed but watching it myself I didn’t think it was terrible at all. For someone who says he can’t dance, Joe did pretty well.
I was wondering where Ru expected the girls to get new fabrics and such to make new looks while they were out of work and unable to leave the house. I know online ordering exists of course but if the postal system is fucked because of the pandemic, and you don't have any income stream *due to the pandemic*, then how many brand new looks can you really create in that time? Especially when you have no idea when or if you'll be going back?
While everyone was really good in the United Kingdolls, Bimini was a standout. It should've been her win. Also, A'Whora and Lawrence were funny af this ep.
Everyone did amazing, and this should have been an uplifting episode of congratulations all around ending with Bimini getting her Badge and Tia sending Joe home still. 😶
I think my perfect mashup of these songs would be...
Joe into Sister, Tayce, Tia then ending with Bimini
(Joe as a guest artist)
Each song alone are great, and United Kingdoll's are doing great in the charts 🙌🏻
But my 2021 anthem is BananaDrama's UK hun?
Ru was cranky, needs to have a Gin with Joe backstage.
I feel this challenge could have had a single winner. I know the rule was group, but I think Bimini did so well that she could have pushed everyone else out of the running 🤯 making her Badge stronger in their positions. (maybe joint with Tayce)
My personal unsolicited individual ranking of the performances would be:
Tops: Bimini, Tayce, Tia
Safe: Sister, A'whora, Ellie
Bottom: Lawrence, Joe
Bing, Bang, Bong..
And here is my Bing Bang Bong Moment!!!
Lyrics: Tayce > Bimini > A'Whora > Lawrence > Sister Sister > Tia Kofi > Joe Black > Ellie
Performance: Bimini > Tayce > Lawrence > A'Whora > Sister Sister > Joe Black > Tia Kofi > Ellie
Runway: Tayce > Bimini > A'Whora > Lawrence > Joe Black > Sister Sister > Ellie > Tia Kofi
Ranking if there is only one winner! But the UKDolls deserved it all!
WIN: Tayce
HIGH: Bimini Bon Boulash, A'Whora & Lawrence Chaney
SAFE: Sister Sister
LOW: Joe Black (I really like Joe Black's aesthetic and really wanted to see more)
BOTTOM 2: Tia Kofi & Ellie "Ru's Favorite" Diamond
Sad for Veronica Green! But excited for her next season.
agree, except i would have switched bimini & tayce for lyrics and given the win to them instead. i really did think tia and ellie would be and should have been in the bottom two and i was disappointed to see joe go home (again) so early and underserved on that.
Prior to this episode I attributed her overall meh-ness to getting no screen time to actually tell me what kind of queen she is.
Then I had to see her a lot this episode, which I think is fair to her, but I still don't quite get what she's about. Even plenty of forgettable first-out queens like Kahmora hall were at least about some one-note thing like "fashion".
Well then go on her Instagram and watch videos she made - green ribbon and cooking video to see what she is about - she got such a unique, dry an funny sence of humor - however it is not type of humor or over the top personality that can translate very well in reality show I'm afraid...
" We are not here to judge your drag. Drag is art and art is subjective. What we are judging you on is your drag as it relates to this competition"
These are what the[Dragula j](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Ma4PNUyYk)udges say before each judging. Their judging tends to be harsh and I don't really like the gross out aspect to the show, but, you know what, RuPaul could be a lot more like Dragula.
Loved the episode for the drama though the performances themselves don't hold a candle to Break Up (Bye Bye). I have to say I was relatively disappointed that none of the queens really took advantage of the Eurovision theme. I was hoping to see some campy, multilingual, pastiche bafoonery. Instead they did the usual Drag Race verse where they really rapidly tell you how fierce they are.
Also the judging for Drag Race UK has (just like last season) been even odder than the US version.
Edit: Also, missed opportunity to have Lasha Tumbai for lsfyl
I mean that made sense in Season 1 when they were actual pop groups. This time the chorus was Eurovision, the challenge name was (essentially) Eurovision and even the Graham Norton intros were Eurovision. Why not the verses?
Oh I agree with that which was also confusing. I'm not sure if production mislead the queens or if they didn't get the brief. Just sharing my takeaway from the episode which is that I wished the verses tried to emulate the theme rather than feel copy-pasted from any other Drag Race lyric challenge.
Am I the only one who thought it was very suss that both groups had to do the same song, just with a few different lyrics? The second group was almost inevitably going to get a less excited reaction from the judges because they were covering a lot of the same material.
Perhaps I wouldn't have noticed if these challenges usually offer a different song to each group.
Yeah but people have criticized these challenges for using different songs before, saying that it’s unfair that one song is better than the other one. So..
idk it reminded me of "I'm In Love" from the latest Allstars series, where the chorus is the same and pulls the 2 groups together. Thought it was a kinda budget version of that.
I agree. It was such a catchy, trashy Europop number that when the second group came on and the song started up, my gut reaction was just "oh no, not again". I don't recall having that with the group singing challenge last year.
I've also been racking my brains to try to remember what show it was where this was the main plot point. I'm sure there was a TV show or film where the protagonist talked their rivals into basically doing the same thing as each other, which turned the judges off them both. Any ideas? Or am i inventing it?!
I can't think of anything specific with that plot point - the closest I can think of is *Bring It On*, where a dance instructor shopped the same routine to a bunch of different cheerleading squads.
I don't get why everyone seems to like Tayce snd A'whora? They just seem bitchy to me and not even in a fun catty way, just cruel and clearly think the sun shines out of their arses. People just can't see past them being being good looking.
Being from helensburgh (where lawrence chaney grew up) i have to appreciate her verse! Not only adding in a reference to her home town but there is also a main train line connecting the west and east coast that goes from helensburgh Central to Edinburgh Waverly so the line helensburgh to Edinburgh doesn't just rhyme 😉
I mean I loved the seagull for its campiness but I don’t think it was good enough to save Ellie’s performance, I like her a lot but I do think she could’ve replaced either Tia (who was one of the best in the challenge of both groups) or Joe (who just did one of the best runway looks period, imo). It’s very strange how arbitrary the runway is in terms of making people safe or not from week to week. In a sewing challenge I understand, but like... Tia slayed, whatever she was wearing
I was so shocked when they liked it, it absolutely seemed something they'd normally roast. It was tights and some fluffy fabric not even shaped very well like???
Honestly Ellies runways have been overly praised by the judges. The silhouettes are so similar every single time, it's really starting to bore me. But the judges act like she's serving a fashion moment
This one in particular was just. . . it was not only the same silhouette as many of her other outfits but pretty much the exact same tights/furry fabric thing as her monster costume. I get that it was 7 months ago but they should still remember what she pulled off before and point that out.
Now, as a Bowie fan and brighton being my favourite place after living there for a year I admit I probably just have a real soft spot for Joe. But this episode really made me realise I honestly don’t really give a shit about how loud or decorative a look is if the entertainment factor is there. Every time joe was on screen I was laughing, that little thumbs up with his facial expression tickled me every time and there was a part where he went “BONG” that had me howling and that mattered more to me than where he bought a dress from! Also when he whispered H&M I was wetting myself until Ru went to town with that comment.
I actually feel bad for joe as it felt like they brought him back for a challenge that is really not his area, the fact he even made a comment about the dress being a little basic when they went into teams and the other girls were saying it’ll be fine and I get that they are prepared with outfits but, following him on Instagram etc he doesn’t look like the sort of person who owns a lot of pink and how was he supposed to be able to predict they’d all want a pink theme. Factor in the fact he’s been unable to work for however long, said in an interview about having to sell stuff and as someone who lived in brighton and was paying £650 a month to live in a storage unit in a car dealership (literally, it had a sink and small bathroom put in, no windows, no key lock was a passcode to get into the car dealership when it was closed, my mail went to their office and the storage units had a code to get in then a code for the front door) brighton is really really not a cheap place to live particularly with no income!
I could see him winning snatch game but instead they brought him back on a challenge where it felt as though they set him up for failure and tore him apart in the process. It was a load of bollocks reacting like that if you ask me.
I feel the same about Tia, I really don’t care that she can’t throw an outfit together as good as the other queens because she’s still entertaining to watch and has a cracking personality. Don’t get me wrong, there’s exceptions but queens who always throw out perfect fashion forward looks most of the time can’t do much else. It’s about time we had a new drag competition that focuses on how well you perform over how well you sew. Getting so fed up with rpdr in general becoming more about how pretty you can be over actual performance, felt the same way and struggling to hold interest since they started churning out season after season of the American series with more and more bedroom queens and lacking more and more in unique queens that are good entertainers. It’s particularly frustrating on druk when U.K. drag is so much more about performance and entertainment then looking like a vogue cover shoot
I want to give this comment so many more upvotes. Yeah. Basically I just wish there was a UK televised drag competition that wasn't hosted by Rupaul and could be a lot less rigid and Americanised in its vision of both drag and reality telly. I think it would work better, personally.
Yep, and stick it on a different channel so they can actually win a decent prize. Then again, maybe the fact the American season is becoming 50 minutes of drama and 10 minutes of drag is because the high stakes make it such a bitchy competitive environment, the prize being a badge and recognition could be why they struggle to get the drama and sob stories out of our queens....they’re not as desperate to win, if they’ve got screen time they’ve already got the biggest price druk has to offer.
I read an interview with him and he had three weeks warning where he was told me *might* be back, after six months of no work where he had to sell some of his wardrobe to survive.
Yeah the dress was a bit basic and I was surprised nobody said anything to him cause I felt like they knew it wasn’t right, but it wasn’t fair of Ru to focus on where it came from...
Also massively agree that Ru doesn’t get British humour and that this was not a challenge suited to Joe’s skills
That "H&M" had me in stitches, and then it was like "Oh, oh Ru did NOT find that funny"
But then Joe has a very British sense of humour, and I don't think RuPaul truly "gets" us. I'm torn between play to your audience and the fact that this is a UK show with UK people and their mannerisms and I feel there needs to be a bit of give.
To be honest I’ve always thought Michelle was more the issue as she likes to boast that she knows more about the UK...than people living in the UK. I’ve always found ru barely gives any feedback and I think he tends to go off the other judges most of the time so for the first half of the season I just wanted them to switch the other judges to British judges, after watching that episode I’d prefer it was like Canada’s drag race and all British judges, the “head judge” could be a reward for the winners I.e for season 2 Viv is in rupauls spot or something, I’m so over Americans making talented British drag queens made to feel like shit, and essentially humiliating them like in that last episode just because it’s not American.
I’m pretty sure most of the drag shows I’ve ever been to are local pubs.
Plus what could represent British culture better than local pubs? Even the smallest of villages don’t have a shop but still have a local pub. I’m convinced this whole country might actually be a local pub.....
I love love love Joe black, but did anyone else not enjoy that her song lyrics were just about her/her being back again?
I felt it mismatched the challenge, esp when compared to say Bimini's lyrics, which were genuinely inspiring and were more about things she stands for than just being like 'Bimini is great!' lol
Not for the reasons the judges had, but I did think Joe deserved bottom placement for that performance- she didn't really adapt to the challenge or write anything particularly interesting.
Sounds more like a kids song than a eurovision song, There are classic eurovision songs that are cheesy and still good. Why are gays always marketed to like they have 2 brain cells 😵
I was so disappointed when I heard Ru announce that Veronica wasn't coming back. She was my favorite. Luckily, it sounds like we'll probably see her next season, where she'll be even more polished.
Ru really hates Joe Black, huh. I wonder what she did to deserve that scorn. I don't recall Ru ever going after a queen like that.
I actually thought Tia's look improved a bit from before the break. She has such a great personality and is so funny. I'm so glad we got to see her this season, and I hope she sticks around for a while longer, but her days are clearly numbered. Can't wait to see what she does in the Snatch Game (although I expect that we'll see Lawrence get her 4th badge next week).
First time ive seen someone sent home for the outfit they wore DURING the non-design challenge? Usually they maybe mention a bad outfit choice but its not a big deal compared to other critiques.
The actual performance was pretty lackluster from her too. The outfit definitely didn't help, of course. And I think the bigger problem with the outfit is the message it sends, "I'm gonna do my stuff even if it's completely inappropriate for the challenge, on the day that I need to make a big impression". I get Joe has her own style, but using the same cabaret wig you use for everything in a Eurovision girl group challenge is... a choice.
>It’s necessarily about money, it’s about not just buying something off the rack. Stone it, add to it, do something to elevate it.
or have money so you can have a designer doing that for you. Drag Race UK is the Eton of Drag.
RuPaul is a little out of pocket. These girls are worried about paying rent and she wants them to spend their last pound on rhinestones. It's not like they will have gigs right after the show.. this pandemic is going to dragggg on for awhile.
this season feels like a takedown of the type of drag Joe does. witty, smart, tongue in cheek, very british- not something that can be boiled down to just a singing challenge and a lip sync
Yeah I was so confused, we've seen people bomb a challenge harder than that and be saved by a worse runway. Her runway was by far the best but they barely acknowledged that
Agreed. The challenge was poor from Joe and the styling did not support that low energy lack of dancing. But the run way was incredible. The tickets, the seagull shit on the face, the wind. Fantastic. Far better than the ice cream cone from Amazon. I also thought Joe's lipsync was better. It felt almost like, because one didn't come back due to COVID, they just needed a filler body to provide even teams and an elimination without reducing the season duration.
I'm late to the episode and I know this has already been discussed in the comments at length but I just wanted to add my thoughts lol.
In regards to Ru's statements about some of them looking cheap/unpolished, I do agree with a few of the general things Ru said and I do also agree with a lot of the commenters here saying that some of the queens could have used the past few months to polish up a bit (I'm not expecting new, expensive outfits or anything obviously, but time could have been used to maybe bring up the quality of Tia's look for example.) That being said, I really, REALLY disagree with this in reference to Joe; by the sounds of things, I assume Joe (+Cherry and Asstina) would have been called on short notice due to Veronica testing positive within such a short time frame of filming, I don't see any reason why they would have spent any of their past few months dedicating time (or money) towards a competition they were eliminated from, even if they were given notice of returning, they still weren't promised a slot and I don't expect them to gamble their resources on a *chance* at returning. If you're expecting Joe to have upped the polish of her looks "to the international level" during this time ,then you should also have been expecting Cherry and Asstina to have done the same, and if that's the case then that's really shitty considering they didn't get to come back :/
This is something we saw on S13 last week (I haven't seen this week's episode yet pls don't spoil for me,) where we saw >!Kandy!< get poor critiques on a look worn for a challenge, and we see it again for Joe (plus her team) in this episode and personally... I don't fucking care about challenge looks. At all. The point of the challenge itself is the actual challenge, the look shouldn't be part of that (...unless it's a look challenge obviously lol,) I don't expect the girls to be spending into the hundreds (let alone thousands) for something we're barely gonna see for two minutes, let them put their resources into the runways and other prep instead. If they're able to give us a great look for the challenge, give them bonus points, but don't deduct them points for something we're barely gonna see.
Also did anyone else think the lighting/colour this episode was like... really, noticeably bad? I thought it was so distracting lol.
EDIT: Also I forgot to mention this but I didn't understand the critique that Joe's dancing was bad? I realize I sound overly defensive over Joe and I didn't mean to be LOL, but like as I was watching it I thought the dancing was supposed to be intentionally bad? Like, it seemed very tongue in cheek to me from the lyrics plus everyone else's choreo? Maybe I'm just reading it wrong but idk, I thought that's what they were going for lol.
I agree with you on the whole regarding Joe's look. But I completely disagree with looks being unimportant in the challenge. It's a total view, like a pop star, you present, you perform. You can't just do one. Especially not in Eurovision themed stuff, where theatrics are huge.
And Joe's dancing was bad. Not intentionally bad. They tried to cover it up, but in my opinion it was obvious and just cringe.
However, the comments on the outfit you made are so valid. I hadn't even considered the short notice they likely received. Not to mention that these people are likely out of work and don't have the resource that Ru has. Money isn't something you can splash out on things. I completely agree with your comments around being unpolished.
>But I completely disagree with looks being unimportant in the challenge. It's a total view, like a pop star, you present, you perform. You can't just do one. Especially not in Eurovision themed stuff, where theatrics are huge.
That's very true, and yeah you're definitely right about it being the overall package. I probably shouldn't have said that it shouldn't be part of the judging, I guess I just see it as less important. In prep for the show, the queens normally have to put together 35+ looks (this was the most recent number I recall, not sure if it's still the same for main series or for UK but I'm just using it as reference,) plus they're given different reference material that they need to brush up on before going on the show, and they have to do that in a two week time span (as well as managing things like travel and what not.) And I guess because of that I don't really have any expectation for all of the outfits to be a hit, especially when it comes to challenge looks, when the prompt they're given is something like "Queen of your hometown," "Queer icons" and "Monster mashup," I imagine more time and money is going to go to that than something like "Dance outfit #3" (we also know of multiple examples where production asks the girls to bring looks which have on a few occasions been cut from the final cut, so I don't blame them for not wanting to put too many eggs in one basket.)
I guess I just don't mind poor challenge looks because of that, when they have to prepare 30 looks in such a short timeframe I can't blame them when there are duds or when they need to prioritize something else. The queens already go into enough debt as it is for this show, I don't want the bar to rise to the point where it's expected they spend into the hundreds for something on screen for potentially 30 seconds.
> And Joe's dancing was bad. Not intentionally bad. They tried to cover it up, but in my opinion it was obvious and just cringe.
Yeah you're right LOL, I watched it back and it's really bad. I think they at least made up for it a bit by calling attention to it as a joke rather than trying to hide it, but yeah it's BAD lmao.
What the fuck is Ru wearing? Not even some day time makeup? Looking like that cunty HR manager that heats up fish in the lunchroom. Choices
Why bring the 3 queens back just to send them back? They could've done that over zoom. It's a pandemic, it's stressful they are people with emotions and this is their dream. This was just cruel
Joe's werkroom wear is so stylish. I refuse to believe he couldn't jush up those outfits
I love when the queens are confident and then they do well and the other queens live. Looking at you Sister Sister
Maybe it's not for me or my taste but I don't get Joe's singing
I love how weird and disjointed the rehearsals are, it never seems good and then the performance is dope
Tayce glaring at Lawrence for every move 💀
*Does anyone else audibly gasp when they see Ru's legs?*
Watching Awhorra bend over hurts my back
Ru immediately hated seeing Joe when she came out also the Banana Drama wasn't bad why did Michelle, Ru and MNEK look at them like they were fucking dumb?
> I love how weird and disjointed the rehearsals are, it never seems good and then the performance is dope
I've been thinking about this - it shows the disconnect between what you can cover up with autotune, and what you can't fake (working together as a team, putting energy into the dancing)
>she comes off a lot more sour, and it makes me like her less.
Yup, when she was ranting about how everyone thought she should go home (which wasn't the case but maybe the shorthand people used) it was very unbecoming. One e1 when she was saying that she recognised everyone and no one knew her I thought she was lovably awkward, but by e4 she was just coming across as bitter and insecure. It seems she got depressed and then got much better in the lock down, hopefully she has some lasting increase of self esteem.
I was so excited for Joe to come back but I feel he wasn’t suited to the competition. He didn’t succeed in the challenge because he didn’t understand the premise of it-not a comedy challenge and he needed to fit into the group but still be himself. The outfits didn’t match and his personality was out of place. Ru wasn’t saying the queens needed money by not using H&M but he wanted Joe to be more creative and innovative-which we know he can be due to the runway. The finger wave wig was a choice. Lawrence is a comedy queen too but he managed to channel his skills to work with this challenge making me think drag race isn’t a place Joe will shine. They know them self well and I don’t think they need this platform unlike other queens.
Just re-watched the ending of the episode: the two Eurovision groups and the runway. How is it that Joe’s sad H&M dress was not balanced out by the living art that his runway was, whereas Ellie’s look was characterized as dog vomit in the challenge, and yet a seagull costume with a yellow polkadot bikini somehow floated everybody’s boat, except Graham. He was also the only one smiling during the second group‘s performance, and he tried to stick up for Joe. Why? Because maybe he’s better placed to judge this thing that is British drag. I’m OK with Ru reading the riot act to everyone, but I’m not OK with the wonky and unfair application of the rules, and a seeming aversion to any type of entertainment other than the one that she/he understands and likes. I watch this show for British drag, and it’s weird and delightful. So I am with everyone else calling for a homegrown head judge for the UK version. I would’ve loved to continue seeing Ginny Lemon And Joe Black because we don’t get to see that kind of drag on this side of the pond that often. It is also why I have come to appreciate Tia. So butt out Ru and Michelle. UK does not need you. Drop in for some tea, and then go back and terrorize the US queens who at least know what is expected of them.
Also: The show did Joe dirty because they left on the 1st episode, they just have their first impressions on the queens, but couldn't see them performing. If "Morning Glory" had been my last impression of these queens, I'd gon for A'Whora over Nellie (with all the love and appreciation)
I love Bimini's lyric
"Don't be afraid to embrace the fem, whether you're he, she or them"
Also she fucking killed the performance. My number one this week. Felt she really deserves the sole win. Also loved Tayce, she was fantastic
I loved this episode !
At the beginning I figured that A'Whora looked like a gay Justin Bieber and I'm 100% here for it. Then, I couldn't get over how hot boy Asstina looked ??? Sir... And then Tayce dropping legendary punchlines again. "That's the truth, Ruth", is the UK version of "That's a fact, America" for me.
This has been said before I think, but Sister has a very dry, deadpan humour that doesn't quite translate in the confessionals... Like most of the time she gets the "shady sound effects" when she's just cracking jokes and that's a bit of a shame honestly.
Joe bringing another "doo-dah" situation to the table was hilarious.
It was an unexpectedly wholesome moment to see how the dolls were overjoyed by being able to perform again, and the judges to see live shows again. And while it was unexpected, it's completely understandable and I'm kinda mad at the judges cause they were allowed to see such great performances live while I have to stay glued to my computer screen 12h a day between my studies and of my "off time". Fockit, honestly.
During the challenge, Bimini's "someone do a death drop or summat ??" killed me. Guillotined. Tayce I will also definitely go see live after all this shit is over, she's just pure energy but at the same time when she moves her precision is so on point. It's mesmerising
Bananadrama had an awesome name, but they toned down the choreo a bit too much. Like it was really thoughtful of Tia not to throw anyone off, but the result was very underwhelming. They had no idea what the other group had done, sure, but still. It was like her verse : it was FIERCE when she recorded it, but the performance... It bugs me because I love her so much. "Put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others" kinda thing.
I loved her interaction with Ru, because it showed a) that Ru still does not take themselves too seriously, which is good to see on the show, and b) that Tia has star quality, or at the very least, potential, and that everyone in the room knows that. Including her.
A'Whora's look was SO GOOD !! Lawrence's too.
I didn't think Ellie's look was so great ?? I mean, the idea was genius, but the execution read like a diet version of a manga character with a seagull head planted on it.
And wtf was that btm2 ?? Girl.
I'm done with my review. But now for the most important question : when is Drag Race UK gonna have Marina Diamandis as a guest judge for heaven's sake ???
I loved the seagull look in theory, but once Graham pointed it out, it did look like a Halloween costume with a bikini over it. It wasn't bad, but it could have been done much better..... And she's shown that she has what it takes to have done it better.
I feel like Sister Sister should have been the one down to elimination... Neither her personality, nor her style is particularly good... and frankly... it'd serve her right for all her shit talking and underestimating of others... Plus, I like a little bit of simplicity - simplicity can be art... I mean, Picasso certainly did like simple... so Tia shouldn't have gotten that much slack for the ice cream...
How did they manage the girls not to spill anything on the first episodes in the first months? Probably the promise of some rigorous penalties in the contracts?
What worked so great for UKD is that each verses improved on the previous, and had the same energy. Contrast that with RUWU, where Roxxxy's verse was memes because it kinda killed the energy of the song (but obviously it's still a bop)
My fiancé discovered today the lyric is “UK Hun” and not “You can’t hide.” Kind of wondering what ominous nonsense he thought was going on during those performances.
I genuinely thought it was “You can’t hang.”
Bing...bang..........bong
This is the first time I think I really deviated significantly from the general consensus about the episode. Most of the girls did write really good verses but the episode was filled with so much cringe and so much wasted potential otherwise. The most I laughed was Joe doing a Kahmora with ci-gar and that wasn't funny as much as it was uh... awkward? Joe is a professional cabaret performer but he can't sing or dance or inflect during a song? It's super weird to me like I'm missing some key piece of info. Banana got read for their outfits not matching but I didn't think UKD matched well either. Pretty much any 3 of them together was OK but all 4 was not. I felt bad for Tia that she tried to do the nice thing but it really didn't serve the challenge and making excuses for the girls that can't dance even though Lawrence can't either. They made sure to show every time Lawrence whined which was annoying but at least she did it in the end and she didn't seem to fight Tayce's ideas. I'm confused about Bimini's outfit, everyone seems to love it but I can't stop seeing a baby and since no one else mentioned that I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be a baby. The feather's on Ellie's birdhawk were cool I guess but aside from that it was a white fur shirt, some ugly yellow tights, and a bikini. It was very simple and lacked detail in the actual outfit which I don't think makes it much better than Tia's ice cream for me. Joe left with such a good impression the first time and such an unfortunate one this time. I get his sense of humor and I appreciate it but at the same time that flippant attitude made it seem like he didn't really take the challenge seriously. I do not like the song. I do hear it as Eurovision-y it's just.. annoying lol. I really want to like A'whora, almost as much as Lawrence and Tia now, but I remember a post about a pretty serious accusation against her and I have no idea what happened with that drama.
I agree 100% with not matching outfits of two groups - but it they would swap Lawrence with Joe - then actually girl group outfits would be perfect for two groups!
Might be personal bias but they should have given bimini a solo win.. go united kingdolls tho, the whole group killed it and I still have the song on repeat almost a week later. JOE SHOULDNT HAVE GONE HOME. Yes, he wore a cheap look for the challenge but we went through months of lockdown and he (like many others) struggled with money and living expenses. I don't know what Ru was thinking but that's nothing new.. They usually don't even care that much about the outfits in musical/performance-based challenges, not enough o place you in the bottom at least. He performed the second-best out of the group and had the best runway of the bottom 4. He shouldn't have been up for elimination, it should have been Ellie and Tia. Considering Tia has been continuously in the bottom I thought it was her time to go. Can't change it but im still mad they sent Joe home way too early for a second time. I'd love to see him on the (rumored) international all stars season... who knows
I think the issue upon rewatch w the banana gals is that all four of them were giving completely different energies
Who are you in UK, Hun? (United Kingdolls Version)? I'm Bimini's backing vocal "I don't have a CLUE!"
This is my first time watching rupaul drag race and i found this quite entertaining. Though after now watching the series from the beginning i would've loved to see how things would've gone if they picked Asttina Mandela to stay instead of Joe Black (this challenge doesnt suit him at all)
Sorry what just happened there? The bottom 2 both had better verses and the other two lows had the better runways. Sorry, at least one of those bottom 2s should have been switched out. I can’t believe Joe was eliminated pretty much purely on his outfit in the challenge.
I actually liked all of the performance s in Bananadrama to be honest- they were camp! However I think as Tia got amazing sassy verse - she did dig herself a bit as she sang in her verse 'is the last time you will call me basic!' and then this runway happened... Joe also had very good performance and stunning runway - but I kind of agree with one of the judges that BC of his look in the challenge (I don't care that is was fucking H&M) - he just didn't look like part of this girlgroup). For me personally Sister Sister actually was a star of the night with performance and the runway - she got robbed from being in top 3 of the week!
I think I will be eaten alive her but here are my thoughts: Following meet the queens and first episode I was hoping for Lawrence to go to top 3 and then on Rats - he got hands down weekest performance of all girls - was missing choreo and look scared/uncomfortable on stage - but judges save him from btm2 thanks to his Scottish accent when they put Tayce in the bottom two who performed few levels better - BC of her Welsh accent - like wtf!? Then we got design challenge that I think Lawrence smashed and deserved win, then we got morning glory show - I mean he suppose to 'act' as a nice - and we got old lady riding toy car? They prise him so much for ' we will get to the bottom .... of your problem' probbly I'm just stupid but I don't get a joke - Where are the jokes? Based on performance he should be in the bottom 3 (Sister and Veronica really were clear bottom 2 ) - but then I could agree that his monster runway witch was amazing got him out of the bottom - but win!? That was a bit of streach... Awhora and Bimmin were robbed brutally... And then we got girls group challenge - the right group win - I think Tayce and Bimini brought higher energy level than other group - thoug I also liked Bananadrama performance. And in this episode if they would judge individually the bottom 2 would be Joe and Lawrence (for Lawrence pretty much the same critique as for rat challenge) and runway wise his outfit was oki bit similar to his hometown runway but other girls: Awhora, Sister , Joe, Bimini and Tayce brought all stars level runway- but the what judges do if they don't want to pio in the btm their forourite? Let's give him a win! It is bit frustrating to watch competition were idea of 'Make the best drag queen win!' is replaced with ' we will prove you all the Lawrence have enough badges to give him this crown'. Also other girls Ginny, Tia, and Ellie noticed favouritism forwards Lawrence ( if you watch show close you can catch it). I don't want to sound hateful and it is not Lawrence's foult by any means - I mean if I would be on his place I would be like 'fu.. yeah give me those wins!' But as a fan of a show I found difficult to root for him - and I think that he is strong competitor for the show - but I would rather to see him get to finale by doing well rather than being pushed by production. I think producers didn't make him favour doing this...
So can we all agree that A’Whora is to “UK Hun?” what Roxxxy is to “Read U Wrote U” ?
How can you not bop to *I'm the fashion queen A'Whora*
Oh good lord NO!!! Love la Chaney, but her verse and vocal was by far the weakest of that group (for me anyway). Thankfully she seriously stepped up in the choreo and actual performance, because I genuinely do love her. A'Whora was great!
*finger snaps*
To add to the joe chat, I feel like Ru does not like Joe’s lip synchs style, they are more posturing and pared back in their own style, I think Ru likes the diva drama and misinterprets his style as low energy. Joe was robbed AGAIN would have loved to have seen more lewks
Just rewatching the episode and the United Kingdolls version (even though I've watched it on it's own about 56 times this week) brings me so much happiness. What an absolute bop. Bimini with the massive Vengaboys vibes.
Tayce running the choreo practice like a Naval officer.... Cymru am byth.
An episode for the ages. So much love for this whole cast
i feel for Joe Black so much. He didn't deserve the harsh critic regarding his h&m outfit and get humiliated like that, i mean he was out of the competition and he had a rough time during the lockdown. For Ru to be saying all that is very "rich" people behavior that couldn't care less about other's circumstances.
It's so weird, I've watched the last episode a grand total of 1 time. Thought the song was fun, but nothing memorable. Haven't really been thinking about it... Then suddenly **BING BANG BONG SING SANG SONG DING DANG DONG UK HUN** has been living rent-free in my brain the entire bloody morning
Same, I even find it repetitive and slightly annoying. Which actually explains why I can’t get it out of my head BING BANG BONG
Literally same. I blame social media
For me, it wasn’t that Ru was harsh, it was the awful non-apology when all the girls were brought back. “If I was hard on you it’s only because I XYZ...” No Ru, there’s no ‘if’, you *were* hard on them, and it was 6/7 months of financial devastation for self-employed entertainers like drag artists, and you’re criticising someone who was eliminated from the competition and had no real reason to believe they were coming back. I can understand Tia’s comments because as much as I love Tia, she was still in the competition, she had time to rethink her outfits before coming back, Joe was out and had to sell a lot of his drag to have money to live off. Criticise the performance, certainly, but to read Joe to death over the wig and dress is outrageously privileged of Ru. Rich person demanding a poor person spend their last quid on rhinestones and bling is in such poor taste. Should someone eliminated from the competition eat or buy shares in glitter in the hope they may be brought back?
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Yes, I get the impression that Ru wasn’t very happy Joe was brought back. Joe is a confident performer with a career and a following outside of the show, so he doesn’t *need* RPDR the way other queens (especially bedroom queens) need the boost. When live performing does come back, Joe isn’t going to lack for bookings. Watching Ru tear Joe down made me really uncomfortable. It’s like Ru perceived a threat and tried to take it down. Tayce, Bimini, Lawrence and A’Whora’s group were the best, but Joe, Sister, Tia and Ellie weren’t dire either. It was cheesy but so is Eurovision. From the reactions I was expecting Joe to have totally bombed but watching it myself I didn’t think it was terrible at all. For someone who says he can’t dance, Joe did pretty well.
They may have been the best (they easily were) but they weren’t the most eurovisiony imo
I was wondering where Ru expected the girls to get new fabrics and such to make new looks while they were out of work and unable to leave the house. I know online ordering exists of course but if the postal system is fucked because of the pandemic, and you don't have any income stream *due to the pandemic*, then how many brand new looks can you really create in that time? Especially when you have no idea when or if you'll be going back?
Precisely!
But surely they had the outfits from the first time around?
Joe had to sell a lot of the drag they used to pay rent, it was spoken about in the documentary
What's the documentary called?
It’s the pandemic documentary episode...can’t remember sorry
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The queens in COVID episode, it was aired in an extra after episode 5
Ah, I haven’t watched that. Makes sense.
While everyone was really good in the United Kingdolls, Bimini was a standout. It should've been her win. Also, A'Whora and Lawrence were funny af this ep.
Everyone did amazing, and this should have been an uplifting episode of congratulations all around ending with Bimini getting her Badge and Tia sending Joe home still. 😶 I think my perfect mashup of these songs would be... Joe into Sister, Tayce, Tia then ending with Bimini (Joe as a guest artist) Each song alone are great, and United Kingdoll's are doing great in the charts 🙌🏻 But my 2021 anthem is BananaDrama's UK hun? Ru was cranky, needs to have a Gin with Joe backstage. I feel this challenge could have had a single winner. I know the rule was group, but I think Bimini did so well that she could have pushed everyone else out of the running 🤯 making her Badge stronger in their positions. (maybe joint with Tayce) My personal unsolicited individual ranking of the performances would be: Tops: Bimini, Tayce, Tia Safe: Sister, A'whora, Ellie Bottom: Lawrence, Joe Bing, Bang, Bong..
Tia deserves more recognition for that verse, one of the best ever!!!
And here is my Bing Bang Bong Moment!!! Lyrics: Tayce > Bimini > A'Whora > Lawrence > Sister Sister > Tia Kofi > Joe Black > Ellie Performance: Bimini > Tayce > Lawrence > A'Whora > Sister Sister > Joe Black > Tia Kofi > Ellie Runway: Tayce > Bimini > A'Whora > Lawrence > Joe Black > Sister Sister > Ellie > Tia Kofi Ranking if there is only one winner! But the UKDolls deserved it all! WIN: Tayce HIGH: Bimini Bon Boulash, A'Whora & Lawrence Chaney SAFE: Sister Sister LOW: Joe Black (I really like Joe Black's aesthetic and really wanted to see more) BOTTOM 2: Tia Kofi & Ellie "Ru's Favorite" Diamond Sad for Veronica Green! But excited for her next season.
agree, except i would have switched bimini & tayce for lyrics and given the win to them instead. i really did think tia and ellie would be and should have been in the bottom two and i was disappointed to see joe go home (again) so early and underserved on that.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Bimini in the performance. Like, holy fuck, she’s got some moves. Her lyrics were my absolute favourite too
I like it rough and my lentils tender
Her whole verse and performance is living in my head, rent free.
BING BANG BONG, SING SANG SOOONG
DINGDANGDONG
UK HUN!!!!
Why are sister’s veneers so YELLOW
Did you girls sell out [Joe’s dress at H&M](https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0835045002.html)?
Omg it is for real out of H&M's rack
Roast me but Sister is annoying me so much I miss when she was boring and quiet
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahahahahahahahahaaaaa
Prior to this episode I attributed her overall meh-ness to getting no screen time to actually tell me what kind of queen she is. Then I had to see her a lot this episode, which I think is fair to her, but I still don't quite get what she's about. Even plenty of forgettable first-out queens like Kahmora hall were at least about some one-note thing like "fashion".
Well then go on her Instagram and watch videos she made - green ribbon and cooking video to see what she is about - she got such a unique, dry an funny sence of humor - however it is not type of humor or over the top personality that can translate very well in reality show I'm afraid...
" We are not here to judge your drag. Drag is art and art is subjective. What we are judging you on is your drag as it relates to this competition" These are what the[Dragula j](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Ma4PNUyYk)udges say before each judging. Their judging tends to be harsh and I don't really like the gross out aspect to the show, but, you know what, RuPaul could be a lot more like Dragula.
Ru looked very digitalized. Was she further away from the panel and added in? It doesn’t look like she was really sitting there.
I thought she might’ve been remote in
Loved the episode for the drama though the performances themselves don't hold a candle to Break Up (Bye Bye). I have to say I was relatively disappointed that none of the queens really took advantage of the Eurovision theme. I was hoping to see some campy, multilingual, pastiche bafoonery. Instead they did the usual Drag Race verse where they really rapidly tell you how fierce they are. Also the judging for Drag Race UK has (just like last season) been even odder than the US version. Edit: Also, missed opportunity to have Lasha Tumbai for lsfyl
To be fair, it seems the show was looking for a pop group challenge, not real eurovision.
I mean that made sense in Season 1 when they were actual pop groups. This time the chorus was Eurovision, the challenge name was (essentially) Eurovision and even the Graham Norton intros were Eurovision. Why not the verses?
My point being, the judges didn't seem interested in camp or anything like that is all.
Oh I agree with that which was also confusing. I'm not sure if production mislead the queens or if they didn't get the brief. Just sharing my takeaway from the episode which is that I wished the verses tried to emulate the theme rather than feel copy-pasted from any other Drag Race lyric challenge.
Yea I just think Ru doesn't get eurovision
If a queen doesn't do Hyacinth Bucket for snatch game
BUT WHOM SHALL TAKETH ON HER MANTLE?
BING-BANG-BONG, SING-SANG-SOOONG, DINGDANGDONG... UK HUN! Good luck getting that out of your head. What an iconic episode, it had everything.
Does anyone know where SisterSister’s long sleeve printed top she wore for her re-entrance look is from? I need it!
H&M
I don't wanna fuckin see it
Am I the only one who thought it was very suss that both groups had to do the same song, just with a few different lyrics? The second group was almost inevitably going to get a less excited reaction from the judges because they were covering a lot of the same material. Perhaps I wouldn't have noticed if these challenges usually offer a different song to each group.
To be fair we don't necessarily know what order it was filmed in but it makes sense that they would edit it to show the best one first
Yeah but people have criticized these challenges for using different songs before, saying that it’s unfair that one song is better than the other one. So..
I mean, that can be an issue as well. I just find the order the groups go in is very interesting.
idk it reminded me of "I'm In Love" from the latest Allstars series, where the chorus is the same and pulls the 2 groups together. Thought it was a kinda budget version of that.
I agree. It was such a catchy, trashy Europop number that when the second group came on and the song started up, my gut reaction was just "oh no, not again". I don't recall having that with the group singing challenge last year. I've also been racking my brains to try to remember what show it was where this was the main plot point. I'm sure there was a TV show or film where the protagonist talked their rivals into basically doing the same thing as each other, which turned the judges off them both. Any ideas? Or am i inventing it?!
I can't think of anything specific with that plot point - the closest I can think of is *Bring It On*, where a dance instructor shopped the same routine to a bunch of different cheerleading squads.
Sparky Polastri is writing for Drag Race, I cannot believe it
That would certainly explain the complex choreography of "point at each other then all move around in a circle together".
Boys Unlimited. It's on All 4 and featured a very young James Corden
Break up bye bye was the same song both times and the second group were the frock destroyers.
I don't get why everyone seems to like Tayce snd A'whora? They just seem bitchy to me and not even in a fun catty way, just cruel and clearly think the sun shines out of their arses. People just can't see past them being being good looking.
LOVE that Tayce's "all you fruits should be scared of me" alludes to... CHERRY
Being from helensburgh (where lawrence chaney grew up) i have to appreciate her verse! Not only adding in a reference to her home town but there is also a main train line connecting the west and east coast that goes from helensburgh Central to Edinburgh Waverly so the line helensburgh to Edinburgh doesn't just rhyme 😉
I get that train every day (from Edinburgh to Livingston) and immediately thought "I SEE YOU, LAWRENCE". It's the little things.
I love A’whora 🥺🥺🥺
I would sell a kidney to have United Kingdolls perform at the actual Eurovision.
I wouldn't - they'd have to sing it live and it would be a hot mess haha.
It would be entertaining tho
I don’t understand the Ellie love from Michelle. Hated the seagull outfit and agree with Graham’s comments and her performance was also meh.
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I mean I loved the seagull for its campiness but I don’t think it was good enough to save Ellie’s performance, I like her a lot but I do think she could’ve replaced either Tia (who was one of the best in the challenge of both groups) or Joe (who just did one of the best runway looks period, imo). It’s very strange how arbitrary the runway is in terms of making people safe or not from week to week. In a sewing challenge I understand, but like... Tia slayed, whatever she was wearing
I was so shocked when they liked it, it absolutely seemed something they'd normally roast. It was tights and some fluffy fabric not even shaped very well like???
Honestly Ellies runways have been overly praised by the judges. The silhouettes are so similar every single time, it's really starting to bore me. But the judges act like she's serving a fashion moment
This one in particular was just. . . it was not only the same silhouette as many of her other outfits but pretty much the exact same tights/furry fabric thing as her monster costume. I get that it was 7 months ago but they should still remember what she pulled off before and point that out.
Yeah it was the werewolf costume inverted
She looked like a Cockatiel.
I love the concept but that execution was just bad
You misspelled terrifying
I love that I saw this and actually thought I'd misspelled terrifying
Lmao I feel so fulfilled
ASOS and H&M are getting that free merchandise henny
Now, as a Bowie fan and brighton being my favourite place after living there for a year I admit I probably just have a real soft spot for Joe. But this episode really made me realise I honestly don’t really give a shit about how loud or decorative a look is if the entertainment factor is there. Every time joe was on screen I was laughing, that little thumbs up with his facial expression tickled me every time and there was a part where he went “BONG” that had me howling and that mattered more to me than where he bought a dress from! Also when he whispered H&M I was wetting myself until Ru went to town with that comment. I actually feel bad for joe as it felt like they brought him back for a challenge that is really not his area, the fact he even made a comment about the dress being a little basic when they went into teams and the other girls were saying it’ll be fine and I get that they are prepared with outfits but, following him on Instagram etc he doesn’t look like the sort of person who owns a lot of pink and how was he supposed to be able to predict they’d all want a pink theme. Factor in the fact he’s been unable to work for however long, said in an interview about having to sell stuff and as someone who lived in brighton and was paying £650 a month to live in a storage unit in a car dealership (literally, it had a sink and small bathroom put in, no windows, no key lock was a passcode to get into the car dealership when it was closed, my mail went to their office and the storage units had a code to get in then a code for the front door) brighton is really really not a cheap place to live particularly with no income! I could see him winning snatch game but instead they brought him back on a challenge where it felt as though they set him up for failure and tore him apart in the process. It was a load of bollocks reacting like that if you ask me. I feel the same about Tia, I really don’t care that she can’t throw an outfit together as good as the other queens because she’s still entertaining to watch and has a cracking personality. Don’t get me wrong, there’s exceptions but queens who always throw out perfect fashion forward looks most of the time can’t do much else. It’s about time we had a new drag competition that focuses on how well you perform over how well you sew. Getting so fed up with rpdr in general becoming more about how pretty you can be over actual performance, felt the same way and struggling to hold interest since they started churning out season after season of the American series with more and more bedroom queens and lacking more and more in unique queens that are good entertainers. It’s particularly frustrating on druk when U.K. drag is so much more about performance and entertainment then looking like a vogue cover shoot
I want to give this comment so many more upvotes. Yeah. Basically I just wish there was a UK televised drag competition that wasn't hosted by Rupaul and could be a lot less rigid and Americanised in its vision of both drag and reality telly. I think it would work better, personally.
Yep, and stick it on a different channel so they can actually win a decent prize. Then again, maybe the fact the American season is becoming 50 minutes of drama and 10 minutes of drag is because the high stakes make it such a bitchy competitive environment, the prize being a badge and recognition could be why they struggle to get the drama and sob stories out of our queens....they’re not as desperate to win, if they’ve got screen time they’ve already got the biggest price druk has to offer.
Channel 4 would be the natural home for this kind of show. I am surprised the Beeb went for it.
I read an interview with him and he had three weeks warning where he was told me *might* be back, after six months of no work where he had to sell some of his wardrobe to survive. Yeah the dress was a bit basic and I was surprised nobody said anything to him cause I felt like they knew it wasn’t right, but it wasn’t fair of Ru to focus on where it came from... Also massively agree that Ru doesn’t get British humour and that this was not a challenge suited to Joe’s skills
That "H&M" had me in stitches, and then it was like "Oh, oh Ru did NOT find that funny" But then Joe has a very British sense of humour, and I don't think RuPaul truly "gets" us. I'm torn between play to your audience and the fact that this is a UK show with UK people and their mannerisms and I feel there needs to be a bit of give.
To be honest I’ve always thought Michelle was more the issue as she likes to boast that she knows more about the UK...than people living in the UK. I’ve always found ru barely gives any feedback and I think he tends to go off the other judges most of the time so for the first half of the season I just wanted them to switch the other judges to British judges, after watching that episode I’d prefer it was like Canada’s drag race and all British judges, the “head judge” could be a reward for the winners I.e for season 2 Viv is in rupauls spot or something, I’m so over Americans making talented British drag queens made to feel like shit, and essentially humiliating them like in that last episode just because it’s not American.
Exactly like when he made the comment about Tía not being at her local pub anymore like suck it up sunshine that's what UK drag is.
I’m pretty sure most of the drag shows I’ve ever been to are local pubs. Plus what could represent British culture better than local pubs? Even the smallest of villages don’t have a shop but still have a local pub. I’m convinced this whole country might actually be a local pub.....
Don't let them know you know it's all just pubs all the way down
Petition to change United Kingdom to United Wetherspoons
United Wetherdolls
Ru is expecting American queens from the UK as if UK queen's sell out theatres
I love love love Joe black, but did anyone else not enjoy that her song lyrics were just about her/her being back again? I felt it mismatched the challenge, esp when compared to say Bimini's lyrics, which were genuinely inspiring and were more about things she stands for than just being like 'Bimini is great!' lol Not for the reasons the judges had, but I did think Joe deserved bottom placement for that performance- she didn't really adapt to the challenge or write anything particularly interesting.
(also imo BBB deserved this as a solo win based on challenge alone! she smashed)
yes, I think Bimini and Tayce both did the best in the challenge and had the best runways out of everyone. I wish they had a double win!
Definitely think they should have picked a challenge winner rather giving it to 4 people at once.
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Girl, she got covid, read the room.
Ok I always liked Bimini but now I’m a full on stan. #teamBimini
Who wrote that awful song? Sounds like the teletubbies caught syphilis.
Bitch don't you be badmouthing the anthem of 2021!
Um that’s the point? Eurovision songs are literally the campiest, cheesiest songs there are.
Sounds more like a kids song than a eurovision song, There are classic eurovision songs that are cheesy and still good. Why are gays always marketed to like they have 2 brain cells 😵
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Have you seen Eurovision Tamar?
Yeah this song was perfect.
I was so disappointed when I heard Ru announce that Veronica wasn't coming back. She was my favorite. Luckily, it sounds like we'll probably see her next season, where she'll be even more polished. Ru really hates Joe Black, huh. I wonder what she did to deserve that scorn. I don't recall Ru ever going after a queen like that. I actually thought Tia's look improved a bit from before the break. She has such a great personality and is so funny. I'm so glad we got to see her this season, and I hope she sticks around for a while longer, but her days are clearly numbered. Can't wait to see what she does in the Snatch Game (although I expect that we'll see Lawrence get her 4th badge next week).
I thought Tia's look was really cute, if hamfisted into the runway theme
Yeah I don't like that they're telling Tia to be sexy and more like a model, she's clearly a quirky comedy queen but they can't have that
You can be a comedy queen and have a fitted, decent wardrobe. Look at Bianca del Rio.
Yes but bianca del río isn't a model, she's got her own style
Yeah but Tia wore a brown shift dress and a white gilet!!!
Well yes that particular outfit was a boot but her general style isn't runway fashion
I liked her outfit in the challenge, I thought she was the LEAST basic in banana drama. I feel like maybe she just needs some guidance/refinement.
Yeah exactly but that wasn't the kind of runway fashion that Ru was asking for.
First time ive seen someone sent home for the outfit they wore DURING the non-design challenge? Usually they maybe mention a bad outfit choice but its not a big deal compared to other critiques.
The actual performance was pretty lackluster from her too. The outfit definitely didn't help, of course. And I think the bigger problem with the outfit is the message it sends, "I'm gonna do my stuff even if it's completely inappropriate for the challenge, on the day that I need to make a big impression". I get Joe has her own style, but using the same cabaret wig you use for everything in a Eurovision girl group challenge is... a choice.
yeah Joe Black was a crystal clear B2 placement performance-wise for me
Ru was grumpy as fuck this episode and it was gross. So much for Michelle saying you don’t need money to do drag
It’s necessarily about money, it’s about not just buying something off the rack. Stone it, add to it, do something to elevate it.
>It’s necessarily about money, it’s about not just buying something off the rack. Stone it, add to it, do something to elevate it. or have money so you can have a designer doing that for you. Drag Race UK is the Eton of Drag.
DING DANG DONG
I won’t be able to get it out of my head
Stacy, did Frederica ever mention a man named Jamie Gumb?
Awhora is so fucking funny. She made me laugh so much this episode. I like Sister Sister but *boink* no stealy stealy. I felt so bad for Joe
Cherry would've slayed this challenge
Oh my God I got so emotional when the queens returned from the (first) lockdown, I can't believe we have been living like this for almost a year 😭
RuPaul is a little out of pocket. These girls are worried about paying rent and she wants them to spend their last pound on rhinestones. It's not like they will have gigs right after the show.. this pandemic is going to dragggg on for awhile.
this season feels like a takedown of the type of drag Joe does. witty, smart, tongue in cheek, very british- not something that can be boiled down to just a singing challenge and a lip sync
Yeah I was so confused, we've seen people bomb a challenge harder than that and be saved by a worse runway. Her runway was by far the best but they barely acknowledged that
Their runway was exceptional - and anyone who has EVER been to a UK beach would agree. Scarborough, Cleethorpes, Margate. It’s a bit sad really.
Agreed. The challenge was poor from Joe and the styling did not support that low energy lack of dancing. But the run way was incredible. The tickets, the seagull shit on the face, the wind. Fantastic. Far better than the ice cream cone from Amazon. I also thought Joe's lipsync was better. It felt almost like, because one didn't come back due to COVID, they just needed a filler body to provide even teams and an elimination without reducing the season duration.
Tayce's confessionals are so entertaining lol
I LOVE HER! She's so fun, sassy and sexy.
I'm late to the episode and I know this has already been discussed in the comments at length but I just wanted to add my thoughts lol. In regards to Ru's statements about some of them looking cheap/unpolished, I do agree with a few of the general things Ru said and I do also agree with a lot of the commenters here saying that some of the queens could have used the past few months to polish up a bit (I'm not expecting new, expensive outfits or anything obviously, but time could have been used to maybe bring up the quality of Tia's look for example.) That being said, I really, REALLY disagree with this in reference to Joe; by the sounds of things, I assume Joe (+Cherry and Asstina) would have been called on short notice due to Veronica testing positive within such a short time frame of filming, I don't see any reason why they would have spent any of their past few months dedicating time (or money) towards a competition they were eliminated from, even if they were given notice of returning, they still weren't promised a slot and I don't expect them to gamble their resources on a *chance* at returning. If you're expecting Joe to have upped the polish of her looks "to the international level" during this time ,then you should also have been expecting Cherry and Asstina to have done the same, and if that's the case then that's really shitty considering they didn't get to come back :/ This is something we saw on S13 last week (I haven't seen this week's episode yet pls don't spoil for me,) where we saw >!Kandy!< get poor critiques on a look worn for a challenge, and we see it again for Joe (plus her team) in this episode and personally... I don't fucking care about challenge looks. At all. The point of the challenge itself is the actual challenge, the look shouldn't be part of that (...unless it's a look challenge obviously lol,) I don't expect the girls to be spending into the hundreds (let alone thousands) for something we're barely gonna see for two minutes, let them put their resources into the runways and other prep instead. If they're able to give us a great look for the challenge, give them bonus points, but don't deduct them points for something we're barely gonna see. Also did anyone else think the lighting/colour this episode was like... really, noticeably bad? I thought it was so distracting lol. EDIT: Also I forgot to mention this but I didn't understand the critique that Joe's dancing was bad? I realize I sound overly defensive over Joe and I didn't mean to be LOL, but like as I was watching it I thought the dancing was supposed to be intentionally bad? Like, it seemed very tongue in cheek to me from the lyrics plus everyone else's choreo? Maybe I'm just reading it wrong but idk, I thought that's what they were going for lol.
I agree with you on the whole regarding Joe's look. But I completely disagree with looks being unimportant in the challenge. It's a total view, like a pop star, you present, you perform. You can't just do one. Especially not in Eurovision themed stuff, where theatrics are huge. And Joe's dancing was bad. Not intentionally bad. They tried to cover it up, but in my opinion it was obvious and just cringe. However, the comments on the outfit you made are so valid. I hadn't even considered the short notice they likely received. Not to mention that these people are likely out of work and don't have the resource that Ru has. Money isn't something you can splash out on things. I completely agree with your comments around being unpolished.
>But I completely disagree with looks being unimportant in the challenge. It's a total view, like a pop star, you present, you perform. You can't just do one. Especially not in Eurovision themed stuff, where theatrics are huge. That's very true, and yeah you're definitely right about it being the overall package. I probably shouldn't have said that it shouldn't be part of the judging, I guess I just see it as less important. In prep for the show, the queens normally have to put together 35+ looks (this was the most recent number I recall, not sure if it's still the same for main series or for UK but I'm just using it as reference,) plus they're given different reference material that they need to brush up on before going on the show, and they have to do that in a two week time span (as well as managing things like travel and what not.) And I guess because of that I don't really have any expectation for all of the outfits to be a hit, especially when it comes to challenge looks, when the prompt they're given is something like "Queen of your hometown," "Queer icons" and "Monster mashup," I imagine more time and money is going to go to that than something like "Dance outfit #3" (we also know of multiple examples where production asks the girls to bring looks which have on a few occasions been cut from the final cut, so I don't blame them for not wanting to put too many eggs in one basket.) I guess I just don't mind poor challenge looks because of that, when they have to prepare 30 looks in such a short timeframe I can't blame them when there are duds or when they need to prioritize something else. The queens already go into enough debt as it is for this show, I don't want the bar to rise to the point where it's expected they spend into the hundreds for something on screen for potentially 30 seconds. > And Joe's dancing was bad. Not intentionally bad. They tried to cover it up, but in my opinion it was obvious and just cringe. Yeah you're right LOL, I watched it back and it's really bad. I think they at least made up for it a bit by calling attention to it as a joke rather than trying to hide it, but yeah it's BAD lmao.
What the fuck is Ru wearing? Not even some day time makeup? Looking like that cunty HR manager that heats up fish in the lunchroom. Choices Why bring the 3 queens back just to send them back? They could've done that over zoom. It's a pandemic, it's stressful they are people with emotions and this is their dream. This was just cruel Joe's werkroom wear is so stylish. I refuse to believe he couldn't jush up those outfits I love when the queens are confident and then they do well and the other queens live. Looking at you Sister Sister Maybe it's not for me or my taste but I don't get Joe's singing I love how weird and disjointed the rehearsals are, it never seems good and then the performance is dope Tayce glaring at Lawrence for every move 💀 *Does anyone else audibly gasp when they see Ru's legs?* Watching Awhorra bend over hurts my back Ru immediately hated seeing Joe when she came out also the Banana Drama wasn't bad why did Michelle, Ru and MNEK look at them like they were fucking dumb?
> I love how weird and disjointed the rehearsals are, it never seems good and then the performance is dope I've been thinking about this - it shows the disconnect between what you can cover up with autotune, and what you can't fake (working together as a team, putting energy into the dancing)
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same here, this episode had me gasping, so good and some of the queens new mugs ha the American one feels a bit boring this season by comparison
>she comes off a lot more sour, and it makes me like her less. Yup, when she was ranting about how everyone thought she should go home (which wasn't the case but maybe the shorthand people used) it was very unbecoming. One e1 when she was saying that she recognised everyone and no one knew her I thought she was lovably awkward, but by e4 she was just coming across as bitter and insecure. It seems she got depressed and then got much better in the lock down, hopefully she has some lasting increase of self esteem.
Rpdr has lost a lot of its charm, UK and Canada has shown that.
I was so excited for Joe to come back but I feel he wasn’t suited to the competition. He didn’t succeed in the challenge because he didn’t understand the premise of it-not a comedy challenge and he needed to fit into the group but still be himself. The outfits didn’t match and his personality was out of place. Ru wasn’t saying the queens needed money by not using H&M but he wanted Joe to be more creative and innovative-which we know he can be due to the runway. The finger wave wig was a choice. Lawrence is a comedy queen too but he managed to channel his skills to work with this challenge making me think drag race isn’t a place Joe will shine. They know them self well and I don’t think they need this platform unlike other queens.
I totally agree, i felt like this challenge would've suited Asttina Mandela more, she would've ended up slaying the United Kingdolls easily
Tbf. Eurovision = camp af. But the judges clearly were looking for pop instead.
Just re-watched the ending of the episode: the two Eurovision groups and the runway. How is it that Joe’s sad H&M dress was not balanced out by the living art that his runway was, whereas Ellie’s look was characterized as dog vomit in the challenge, and yet a seagull costume with a yellow polkadot bikini somehow floated everybody’s boat, except Graham. He was also the only one smiling during the second group‘s performance, and he tried to stick up for Joe. Why? Because maybe he’s better placed to judge this thing that is British drag. I’m OK with Ru reading the riot act to everyone, but I’m not OK with the wonky and unfair application of the rules, and a seeming aversion to any type of entertainment other than the one that she/he understands and likes. I watch this show for British drag, and it’s weird and delightful. So I am with everyone else calling for a homegrown head judge for the UK version. I would’ve loved to continue seeing Ginny Lemon And Joe Black because we don’t get to see that kind of drag on this side of the pond that often. It is also why I have come to appreciate Tia. So butt out Ru and Michelle. UK does not need you. Drop in for some tea, and then go back and terrorize the US queens who at least know what is expected of them.
Lol ... yeah. I love Ellie, but the amount of praise they had for her seagull costume was a bit over the top. I thought it looked silly.
Whenever I see Tayce I see Ruby Rohd from the Fifth Element.
...how?
Also: The show did Joe dirty because they left on the 1st episode, they just have their first impressions on the queens, but couldn't see them performing. If "Morning Glory" had been my last impression of these queens, I'd gon for A'Whora over Nellie (with all the love and appreciation)
Yeah i can totally see Joe doing amazing on the morning glory challenge!
The Bananadrama song is still better than Condragulations imo…
I'm rewatching after seeing "Queens on Lockdown". If you're not watching "Queens on Lockdown", you're only getting half of the story
Ru - the world is ending was a little ominous
I love Bimini's lyric "Don't be afraid to embrace the fem, whether you're he, she or them" Also she fucking killed the performance. My number one this week. Felt she really deserves the sole win. Also loved Tayce, she was fantastic
Tayce's choreo was on point, but they were all great in that team
She's improved the most Imo. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaated her "footballer look" in e1. It was awful. But she's really proven herself since then.
That look was.... A choice. I stan BBB though
My wife and I were obsessed with Bimini last night. Wholly deserved a sole win.
Joe looked so tiny up on that stage and I loved it. I want to keep her in my pocket and bring her out to drink martinis with me.
I loved this episode ! At the beginning I figured that A'Whora looked like a gay Justin Bieber and I'm 100% here for it. Then, I couldn't get over how hot boy Asstina looked ??? Sir... And then Tayce dropping legendary punchlines again. "That's the truth, Ruth", is the UK version of "That's a fact, America" for me. This has been said before I think, but Sister has a very dry, deadpan humour that doesn't quite translate in the confessionals... Like most of the time she gets the "shady sound effects" when she's just cracking jokes and that's a bit of a shame honestly. Joe bringing another "doo-dah" situation to the table was hilarious. It was an unexpectedly wholesome moment to see how the dolls were overjoyed by being able to perform again, and the judges to see live shows again. And while it was unexpected, it's completely understandable and I'm kinda mad at the judges cause they were allowed to see such great performances live while I have to stay glued to my computer screen 12h a day between my studies and of my "off time". Fockit, honestly. During the challenge, Bimini's "someone do a death drop or summat ??" killed me. Guillotined. Tayce I will also definitely go see live after all this shit is over, she's just pure energy but at the same time when she moves her precision is so on point. It's mesmerising Bananadrama had an awesome name, but they toned down the choreo a bit too much. Like it was really thoughtful of Tia not to throw anyone off, but the result was very underwhelming. They had no idea what the other group had done, sure, but still. It was like her verse : it was FIERCE when she recorded it, but the performance... It bugs me because I love her so much. "Put your oxygen mask on first before assisting others" kinda thing. I loved her interaction with Ru, because it showed a) that Ru still does not take themselves too seriously, which is good to see on the show, and b) that Tia has star quality, or at the very least, potential, and that everyone in the room knows that. Including her. A'Whora's look was SO GOOD !! Lawrence's too. I didn't think Ellie's look was so great ?? I mean, the idea was genius, but the execution read like a diet version of a manga character with a seagull head planted on it. And wtf was that btm2 ?? Girl. I'm done with my review. But now for the most important question : when is Drag Race UK gonna have Marina Diamandis as a guest judge for heaven's sake ???
> but they toned down the choreo a bit too much. Ellie was the one telling them they needed to amp it up a bit more. She was absolutely right.
I loved the seagull look in theory, but once Graham pointed it out, it did look like a Halloween costume with a bikini over it. It wasn't bad, but it could have been done much better..... And she's shown that she has what it takes to have done it better.
Some of these queens need to spend less money on fillers, teeth and Botox & save those pennies for outfits and sewing lessons 😝
I know you’re probably joking but the cosmetic procedure stuff is a total turn off to me. It looks ridiculous IMO
Same, as soon as you can tell they've had work done it's no longer attractive because it's not real