RECAP: Drag Race Down Under vs. the World Episode 2
The big headline this episode is we fairly quickly got the resolution to the big question hanging over this season: What is going on with Raven? When the “Drag Race” legend was included as a contestant in the cast reveal, the fandom went WILD. Nobody saw that happened, and it is rare that the Nancy Drews miss a cast member during the filming of new seasons, especially returnee seasons. The queens themselves could not believe that Raven was competing, as she has been RuPaul’s personal make-up artist for basically a decade at this point. But Raven and Michelle Visage assured everyone that it was real, Raven was competing.
To quote Maury Povich: that was a lie. At the beginning of this episode, Michelle announced that it would be the girl-group challenge, specifically one that would pay homage to Aussie diva Kylie Minogue. Deserved! But she also said that they had a very special guest judge for the episode, and she was in the room with them: It’s Raven, hunty.
Michelle revealed that Raven was always intended to be her mole, and to give her the behind-the-scenes scoop on the other girls (like, for instance, Flor being furious as the queen both of the Top 2 queens picked to go home last episode, until the non-elim). The whole “mole” concept is super meta, as during “All Stars 3” the fandom was absolutely convinced that S1 winner Bebe Zahara Benet was not an actual contestant, but would eventually join the judges’ table. I guarantee you that the producers of this season knew about that, and played into it here. You can also see that deliberate wink wink with Michelle’s, “How soon can you get here?” phone call at the end of last episode, which was a reference to the Season 8 Episode 2 cliffhanger. It wasn’t addressed at all this episode. The producers are having fun playing with gaggy, buzzed-about events in “Drag Race” history.
I am sure many viewers will be irritated with this turn of events. They will feel lied to and used, and…I guess that’s true. But here is my argument: “Down Under” has always struggled to get eyeballs and buzz. I love the franchise, but it has struggled — and the TV business is tough in Australia. Stan has clearly invested in this international spinoff, and I don’t blame them at all for pulling every stunt and shenanigan they can. It’s a TV show. It’s fun. And Raven being Safe last episode, and nobody going home, means that her presence in E1 had literally no impact on the competition itself. I’m totally cool with it.
I am less cool with the production value in this week’s challenge. The sound mixing this episode was appalling — I couldn’t hear the lyrics in like 8 out of 10 of the queens. The lighting is also sus — how do you fuck up the close-up of the winner badges? That should be the easiest shot to get and yet it is literally impossible to see! Y’all are obviously spending money on this production, the queens are working. Demand at least basic production competence. Please!
So let’s get into it! Read on for my take on “Drag Race Down Under vs. the World” Episode 2, “Better the Kylie You Know.” SPOILERS AHEAD!
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First of all, if you love Kylie Minogue, check out the Best Kylie Minogue Song episode of our podcast:
New, let’s go over our girl groups and their Kylie-related tracks.
Charlene’s Angels
I would love to embed the tracks from each girl group — in this case, “Kylie, Princess of Pop” — but they are not available on Spotify, despite Michelle assuring us ON THE SHOW that they would be. Again: someone needs to do better, kids.
This group included Art Simone, Coco Jumbo, LaLa Ri, Nicole Paige Brooks, and Nikita Iman, performing an 80s/90s number. This group struggled with the choreo, in particular NPBFAG and Nikita Iman. NPBFAG is not really a choreo type of girl, while Nikita admitted to being intimidated by the other queens in the competition. During the actual number, several queens visibly struggled with their words — the words they wrote! — and the choreography was largely quite basic. I couldn’t understand a word of LaLa, Ninkita, or NPBFAG were saying in the verse due to the sound mixing, but I thought both Art and Coco were great in their verses. Art was every inch the star in a shocking pink showgirl-inspired Kylie outfit, and she had that camera on lock throughout the number. I thought Coco looked gorgeous and I personally liked her multi-colored “Hand On My Heart” Kylie number — I didn’t have the issues the judges did. My only issue with Coco were her not knowing the words.
The Kye-Kylies
This team — Estrella Extravaganza, Flor, Michael Marouli, M1ss Jade S0, Vybe — had a more contemporary song inspired by Kylie’s 21st Century output, and they were significantly more polished than their competitors. I still struggled to hear some of the queens — I don’t think I could make out a word that Vybe said, which is a shame because she was eating up that stage — but even without hearing the lyrics, the actual performances were stronger. Michael was a standout again in a “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”-inspired look, but I also loved pretty much everything this group wore.
At judging, Art, Estella, and Flor were called as the tops of the week, while Coco, Nikita, and NPBFAG were the Bottom 3. I totally agree on Art and Estrella. Art gave us one of the more impressive looks of the week (it was not a great runway overall, sadly) and a strong performance; Estrella gave us a wild and wacky runway and is so outrageously charming in her performance. I fell in love with her on “Espana” and I am so glad the world gets a chance to fall in love with her here. I don’t know as I would have put Flor in the top over Michael Marouli, but I also feel like they’re frankly nerfing Michael a bit. She’s performing at a very high level already.
For the bottoms, I can’t disagree with NPBFAG and Nikita, solely from the flopped lipsyncs. I don’t know as I agree with Coco being there. Yes, she missed a few words too, but she exuded energy and joy on that stage. I am loving Coco this time around. I see the star that she is. I thought she was the second-best in that first group, with Art being the clear MVP of that team. LaLa was not exactly sparking joy with me this episode.
Nicole announced that Art and Flor were the Top 2, while Nikita Iman was spared, giving us a Bottom 2 of NPBFAG and Coco Jumbo. Both Art and Flor did a good job with “What Do I Have To Do?” by Kylie Minogue. Flor was having a great time on that stage, and Art was hitting the lipsync hard. It could have gone to either one of them, but ultimately Art was named the winner, giving Art her first-ever win on “Drag Race.” Deserved! Art is a top-tier queen, and her run on “DU1” was traumatic to watch — I can’t imagine how soul-killing it must have been for her. I’m glad she’s coming out swinging here. My concern is that a few times this episode she alluded to second-guessing herself, or being worried about how she would be perceived. That is completely understandable, given how awful the fandom was to her during the back half of “DU1” (none of which was her fault, by the way). But I desperately hope Art is not getting too in her head. She has everything it takes to be a real contender here. The only person who can stop her, is herself.
When revealing her lipsync, Art made a strange, haphazardly edited comment about the possibility to get revenge (Coco Jumbo sent Art home the first time on “DU1”), but ultimately pulled Nicole Paige Brooks’ lipstick. As much as it pains me, I think that was the right choice. Nicole is a case of being an absolute icon who is not terribly good at “Drag Race.” She makes amazing television! But she is not a strong competitor, and Coco certainly outperformed her in this challenge.
I know that the bracket format on “All Stars” is polarizing, but without that I genuinely don’t think we would be living through the NPBFAG Renaissance. And you know what? She deserves it. She has been a drag performer and a staple of the Atlanta scene for 30+ years. She is hilarious. She is having a Moment, and I couldn’t be more happy for her. I hope she continues to get a bounce off of this experience, and I hope this is not the last we see of her. I was also glad she got a nice, emotional sendoff. She didn’t really get on that “AS10.” She said how proud she is to have been an O.G. RuGirl, and to be part of this. She should be SO proud. I am proud of her!
Sidebar: I saw both Art Simone and Nicole Paige Brooks in person at Drag Con NYC in 2019. I briefly chatted to Art at security — almost hypnotically beautiful in person — and I tried to chase down Nicole for an autograph but that queen is shockingly spry. She outran me. In heels!
Next: It’s Snatch Game, and Art Simone is triggered.
What do YOU think of “Drag Race Down Under vs. the World”? Which queens are you rooting for? Drop your comments below!
