It’s the penultimate episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and I am just not ready to say goodbye to our queens from across the pond.
On this week’s episode, we get to see the UK queens take on not one, but two iconic Drag Race challenges. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s take a look back at the most memorable, talked-about moments from this week’s episode.
Everyone loves puppets!
Ru (in yet another striking suit – what’s up with those shirt sleeves?) tells the top four that they are going to engage in a good, old-fashioned “bitch fest” with puppets. If you’re unfamiliar with this, each queen chooses a puppet representing one of her competitors. They have to drag up their puppet to resemble their chosen queen and then roast them with the puppet. Baga Chipz got her BFF The Vivienne and had her puppet recite a lot of her “Snatch Game” jokes (as 45). This again shows how nice the UK queens are as opposed to their US counterparts, as the puppet shows we‘ve seen in the past could get quite savage.
Cheryl Hole chose Baga and used the exercise to rag her for not bothering to learn the lip-sync songs and for being an attention-seeking, loud queen (which she is, but that’s why she’s so funny.) Cheryl told the puppet the only thing she wanted to do was silence her, which she does, calling her a “talking bag of shite.”
Divina de Campo got Cheryl and poked fun at her Essex accent and got the biggest laugh when she asked the Cheryl puppet “How are you doing in the competition?” and the puppet replied, “Shit.”
The Vivienne got Divina and her puppet had the requisite red hair. The puppet said she could prove that her hair color was natural by lifting her skirt and revealing that the carpet and drapes matched. Vivienne then made fun of Divina’s “chalky” makeup by dumping a ton of powder on the poor puppet’s face.
After the curtain rang down on the puppet stage, Ru declared Divina the winner and she won…nothing. But hey, it’s another feather in her cap. Cheryl jokes that since Divina won with her puppet, she’s also claiming the win, because, “I need to win something in this competition.” Aww.
We are family
For this week’s challenge, Ru tells the queens that they will be making over some of the most important women in the world, their family members., We meet Baga’s mom, Josie, Divina’s sister Carys, The Vivienne’s mom, Cassie and Cheryl’s sister, Gina. There are lots of tears and hugs, and the moms and sisters are all adorable. Cheryl and her sister are almost identical, which The Vivienne notes could put them at an advantage. Carys looks like the most fun family member from the start, and I feel kind of bad with the queens making over their moms (or mums, as Ru has now adopted.)
As the queens work their drag magic, we discover that Gina is “so ready” for the splits, the lashes, everything. Gina asks her brother what he’s planning for the runway and Cheryl relies on that, although she knows that Michelle hates bodysuits, they are true to her brand, so she’s going with them, especially because she knows her sis can pull one-off. Have we not learned to listen to Michelle? The Vivienne tells his mom that he’s been winning and has no intention of slowing down and then jokingly asks her “Have you shaved your minge?” Cassie laughs and calls her son “naughty.” The Vivienne says her mom is the “best in the world” and their relationship definitely seems close. Baga’s mom is really shy, the complete opposite of her boisterous son. Baga decides to go with a Kardashian look for the pair, Baga as Kris and Josie as Kim. Unfortunately, Josie has never watched the Kardashians show (and for that alone, I love this woman.)
During Ru’s walkthrough, we learn that Carys is pregnant and, when Ru asks how she’d feel if her baby turned out to be a drag queen, she replied: “It would be more exciting than anything else.” I love Carys. Divina says that for their runway look, they’re going for angels with white dresses, jewels and, yes, red wigs. Divina is confident in their performance, and with Carys as her partner, she’s right.
Baga tells Ru that she’s been doing drag for ten years and joked that when mom tied to get him an Action Man costume, he wanted to be the Little Mermaid. Baga also admits that she’s never done anyone’s makeup before. Ru asks Josie what she’s most scared about and she says she doesn’t want to embarrass her son, and then Baga talks over her (for the first of many times during the episode.)
Gina greets Ru with a “hello, hello, hello” and Ru says to her that she’s no stranger to foundation (I’m assuming that’s a little shade from Mama Ru.) Gina said she’s the one who taught Cheryl to apply makeup but that the student has now surpassed the teacher. Cheryl and Gina are both confident that victory will be theirs.
Cassie tells Ru that she used to catch a young The Vivienne trying on his sister’s tutus and school uniforms and says she’s proud of what her son is doing. What a sweetie.
The De Campos and Holes practice their runway struts, putting together some choreography and are having a lot of fun. The Vivienne and Baga realize their moms aren’t built for elaborate dance moves and The Vivienne says for that reason, they have to nail the family resemblance. Cheryl runs into problems with his sister. As he attempts to get her into her outfit, she busts the zipper. Cheryl is beyond stressed as she struggles to find a Plan B.
Drag Family Realness
Ru hits the runway looking stunning again in a pink mini dress with flowers, feathers and a delightful pouf skirt, a flawless face and a goddess-like blond updo. Exquisite. For whatever reason, the banter between Ru and the judges this week is truly next level. Ru introduced Michelle Visage as “my sister from another mister”, to which Michelle quipped, “Mister Ed.” Ru then came back with “Hay girl, hay” and Michelle countered with, “Neigh girl, neigh.” Alan Carr was introduced as “my brother from another mother.” He faux lamented, “I wanted to be your slutty aunt, to which Ru whispered, “You are.” Guest judge Michaela Cole (who looked amazing) asked Ru, “May I call you mother?” Ru replied, “Sure…or you may call me Jiggly.” I loved this rapport so much. But, I digress, on to the runway.
Cheryl Hole and Sissy Hole came out in fringed bodysuits (the bane of Michelle Visage) and the family resemblance was strong in these two. Sissy was definitely having a lot of fun on stage, and it showed. Makeup and hair on both were flawless, but Cheryl’s gold gladiator shoes just weren’t working for me.
The Vivienne and The Mother were both clad in regal black gowns, sporting big, blonde hair. Cassie’s face looked gorgeous, but her wig had a weird, high part on top, making her look a bit like a Pekingese dog. The Vivienne’s lacy gown was lovely, but I thought The Mother’s dress looked a bit too much like a bathrobe.
Looking at Divina and Delicia De Campo was like looking at a mirror image. These two looked identical, amazing, and indeed angelic. Dare I say Delicia might have looked a teensy bit better than her brother? I loved the fact that Divina wore a fake pregnancy belly to match her sister and the two looked like they were having an absolute blast. Alan said they looked like “two very sexy patio heaters.” Michelle told Divina that her makeup was still too ashy, but other than that, the pair rocked the runway and Divina got her third Ru Peter badge.
Baga Chipz and Sacka Spudz also went with the all-black route, although not quite as successfully as The Vivienne and The Mother. Baga did look Kris Jenner-esque in a glitzy spangled gown, but her poor mom looked like someone doing a bad Morticia Addams impersonation. And, apparently, Baga went to the Silky Nutmeg Ganache School of Sharpie Brow Application…and failed. Josie had a sex tape for a prop, but other than that, there was no Kim K. in there. Alan said they looked like “a couple of extras in My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding” and Michelle joked that what Baga did to her mom’s eyebrows was “baga-tage”. Truer words have never been spoken.
Mum’s the word
As I mentioned before, Baga has a propensity for speaking over her mother, which is problematic. I get that everyone isn’t as close with their moms as, say, The Vivienne, but Baga and Josie’s relationship (whatever it is, I don’t know them) doesn’t play out well on TV and nowhere is this more evident than during the judges’ critiques. Discussing their look, Alan told Baga, “I would have liked your mum to have looked as sexy and sassy as you did. You look like you’re going to a posh lunch, whereas she looks like she’s going trick-or-treating.” Baga came back with, “It’s really hard to dress a woman of a certain age. She doesn’t want to show her legs. She’s got a bit of a tum. You know what I mean?” It was awkward and uncomfortable – and the awkwardness continued in the mini Untucked, where Baga once again discussed the difficulty of working with her mom, bringing Josie to tears. After the episode aired, Baga took to Twiter to address her relationship with her mom, saying, “No one knows my life story. I’m not a victim but it’s been hard. Be kind.”
The Lip-Sync
With Divina taking first place and The Vivienne declared safe, it was down to Cheryl and Baga for this week’s lip-sync. Last week Cheryl Hole killed the lip-sync to a song by her namesake, Cheryl (Cole), one that was 100% up her alley. This week, she and Baga faced off to the Amy Winehouse song “These Tears Dry on Their Own.” As you may recall, Baga channeled Amy in her first runway of the season, so it wasn’t hard to figure out who was going to win this lip-sync and be part of the final three. Chery’s performance was fine, but Baga appeared to be really matching her movements with the tone and lyrics of the song. At one point, Cheryl hoisted up Baga’s arm as if she was the winner of a heavyweight boxing match, and I supposed by triumphing over a “lip-sync assassin”, she deserves a belt or something.
Cheryl’s farewell
Sadly, we had to say goodbye to the pride of Essex, but she left us with a laugh. Ru said that her departure is “leaves a big hole to fill” and she’s right. As Cheryl sashayed away, she announced, I’ve got a Drag Race world record. I’ve got the worst track record to get to the top four! All the badges…no badges chez. See you in Essex! Bye!” Afterward, in a very sweet moment, her sister came backstage for a hug and support.
After the show…
First off, congrats to Divina’s sister, Carys, who gave birth to a beautiful baby.
If you were curious as to how the eliminated queens would have fared in the drag family challenge, Vinegar Strokes posted a flapper-inspired makeover she did on her cousin. Blu Hydrangea worked magic on her little sister. I would have loved to see these looks on the runway.
We are now down to our final three. Are you #TeamBaga, #TeamTheVivienne or #TeamDivina? Next week is the finale…and the return of the eliminated queens (!) Who will be crowned the UK’s first drag superstar? Join us again next week to find out and, until then, everybody say LOVE!
