RECAP: Drag Race U.K. Season 7, Episode 1
“Drag Race UK” Season 7 kicked off this week. The last two seasons of RuPaul’s Brit edition have been exceptional, bringing the franchise back to the highs of its first two seasons. Could it possibly go for the hat trick and give us a third consecutive superlative season? After Episode 1, the jury is still out. While I find all 12 of these queens likable, and a good number of them interesting, I didn’t find myself truly wowed by many of them. I do think that part of that is down to a new first-episode format that didn’t give the queens a lot of opportunity to impress. But I’m also just not sold on this group yet. As a collective, I think this group produced one of the worst promo shots of any franchise, right down there with Drag Race France Season 3.
Read on for my thoughts on the standouts from the Brit Gala challenge, the Queen of My Hometown runway, the lipsynch (dreadful), and the Lucky Cow twist. SPOILERS RIGHT AHEAD!
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The first thing I’ll say is that the queens’ entrances may have been my favorite part of the episode. There’s a real affable quality to this group that I loved seeing, and they all vibed pretty much immediately. Standouts were Pasty in that hilarious human-sized handpie get up, Bones in that attention-grabbing outerwear, Sally ™ with her Misfits (from Jem and the Holograms) look that spread to her face, and Viola for just fully gagging me from the first moment. Less successful on initial impression were Tayris Mongardi, who I think struggles with aesthetic from outfits to make-up; and Sillexa Diction, who clearly has great ideas but some messy execution (what was going on with the lopsided ass panels she kept showing off?).
After the initial intros, the queens were quickly presented with their first maxi challenge, walking the pink carpeted stairs of the Brit Gala and being interviewed by Drag Race icons Baga Chipz, Plane Jane, Marina Summers, Tessa Testicle, and All Stars 9 winner Angeria Paris VanMichaels. Was the inspiration the Met Gala? Do the Brits know or care about the Met Gala? The concept is solid, asking the queens to show up in attention-grabbing clothes and show their personalities via quasi-contentious interviews with the RuGirl alums. I’m just not sure the result was successful. While a few of the girls distinguished themselves with their their fashion or personality, very few achieved both. In fact, when it ended, I thought, “Condragulations Plane Jan, you are the winner of this week’s challenge,” as I thought she and the other legends stole the sequence.
I enjoyed most of the looks for the Queen of My Hometown runway. It’s clear that Bones and Paige Three are going to be our runway queens this season, and I enjoyed Viola’s outfit more once I understood the ribbon inspiration and the fact that she made it herself. Nyongbella’s Big Ben-inspired London look was very weak. If you told me she made that in the work room, I would believe you. I thought Tayris’s pufferfish look was actually quite cool, but I agreed with Michelle that it felt like a real stretch to represent Brighton.
When the tops and bottoms of the week were called, I was genuinely stunned. The top queens being Catrin Feelings, Paige Three, and Elle Vosque left me a bit stunned. Paige, sure. She did well consistently in the episode, and is one to watch. I could see Catrin and Elle’s Brit Gala interviews setting them apart from the pack, but I thought both were mid at best on the runway. I’m sure Bones will get shit for her sneering at Elle’s crafty Titanic Museum outfit, but…it was a crafty outfit. It simply was. I appreciated Catrin’s presentation on the runway, but the look itself felt like the definition of safe.
I was not surprised to see Nyongbella and Tayris in the Bottom 3. Nyonbella’s runway was not even close to Drag Race level, and I’m with Michelle regarding the put-on affects. (Nyongbella swears that her mannerisms are authentic to who she is, and I simply find that hard to believe. She seems lovely, but it’s giving the Brit equivalent of vocal fry, and I find it offputting.) The nose music on the pink carpet was hilarious, though. Tayris had to know she was in trouble after that wince-inducing interview with Plane Jane. I will also sadly agree with the third bottom spot going to Patsy. Admittedly, her Brit Gala look didn’t fit well, and I didn’t immediately get the Psycho inspiration, and she gave a very odd answer to the interview question. But the gal showed up dressed like a giant hand pie. It would be devastating to lose her first (although on trend for Drag Race, with food-related first outs including Porkchop and Juice Boxx).
And then we got to the big twist of the season, the Lucky Cow. Kind of a combo of Drag Race Canada’s Golden Beaver and All Stars 5-8 voting format, this sees all the queens voting on one of the Bottom 3 to spare should they lose the lipsynch for your life. This was a little confusing to me, because the winner of the Lucky Cow could quite easily be the queen spared from the Bottom 2, making it fruitless. On the other hand, if the queens keep voting en masse week after week for the queen who ends up losing the lipsynch, will they keep deferring an elimination? Or is it a one-time thing, like the chocolate twist on U.S. Season 14?
We may find out next week, because the Lucky Cow came into play straight away, as Tayris was spared from the lipsynch (surprising), leaving Nyongbella and Pasty to perform – and I’m being generous with that term – to Charli XCX’s “Von Dutch.” This is an example of a good song that makes a deeply boring lipsynch. It’s also an example of early-season Drag Race UK lipsynchs, as both queens just kind of half-assedly moved around on stage. Neither of them was good. I don’t even know as I would label it competent. They were just…there. And I was glad when it was over.
But I was sad when Pasty was announced as the first chop. I think she and Nyongbella were both pretty bad in the lipsynch, but, like, equally bad. But all was not lost, because Pasty was indeed the queens’ vote for Lucky Cow, and she was spared. I’m glad for that. I think Pasty has more to show us. I’m not convinced the same is true for Nyonbella. Lovely gal. Gorgeous. Seems quite sweet. But she says she can’t dance, can’t design, can’t do comedy. And yet she thinks she’s absolutely amazing. Party.
Next week: design challenge, and the kumbaya comes to an end.
What did you think of the premiere? What UK 7 queens are you rooting for? Let us know in the comments.
