RECAP: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ Series 8, Episode 2 (Design)
Big week for “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.” After last week’s overall successful debut for Series 8, it was announced this week that the BBC would not be renewing the show past this season, and instead the franchise will move exclusively to WoW Presents Plus. For viewers not in the United Kingdom, this is not a big deal — that’s how non-Britons have been watching it all along. But it is a big deal for the British, as the show airing on BBC III allowed it to have a broad domestic audience, and made it accessible to even casual viewers. It was also reportedly the most-popular program on BBC III by a significant margin, attracting 1 million to 1.5 million viewers per episode on average.
The change is being ascribed to financial pressures facing the BBC, and their mandate to slash costs. I can believe that’s true — we are living in difficult economic times. But I can’t help but fear that there is at least an element of social conservatism at play here. It is for sure on the rise in the United States, and far-right rhetoric is growing louder in many countries. I hope that’s not at play in this decision. We’ve made so much progress as a community in the past 25 years, that to see all that visibility stripped away now would be devastating.
The tin-foil lining to all of this (not a silver lining, a tin-foil lining) is that series producer World of Wonder announced that when the show moves to WoW Presents Plus next fall, its first series will be “UK All Stars.” Not “Vs. the World,” full-bore “UK All Stars.” Fans have been begging for this for years, and based on the “UK” RuGirl response to the announcement on social media, the queens have been waiting for it, too. As much as losing the BBC stings, this is an exciting next step for the franchise. There are certainly a bevy of British baddies who are ripe for a return, so here’s hoping we get a great season out of it. Post your dream “UK All Stars” cast in the comments!
With that out of the way, let’s dig into Episode 2 of UK8. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Want to watch “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK”? You should be! You can catch stream it now at Wow Presents Plus.
RELATED CONTENT
Best “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Lipsync (2020-2025)
Best “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Snatch Game Performance
Best “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Runway Look (S7-S12)
After nobody went home in Episode 1, the queens gathered to hash out the always-controversial Rate-a-Queen and its results. Flesh was mortified to be ranked in 10th — a bit of context for this appeared online this week, as queens came forward and mentioned that production made Flesh shoot her burlesque number numerous times because elements of it weren’t going off properly. Alik and Anita Piss were relieved to have been among the higher-placing of the lower-rated queens (I do think Anita got screwed by the voting machinations of some queens). Paris Baby took being ranked dead last way better than I expected her to, and dare I say there were a few moments this episode that I found her genuinely charming? But then she would say something dismissive, delusional, or deliberately cruel (specifically aimed at the queens she clearly considers easy targets) and I was brought back to my senses. As did her go wigs. Not even shake-and-go, because I don’t think she bothered shaking them.
And then we have Lucky Roy Singh. Lucky made a statement about she was clearly ranked low (11th out of 12) because her fellow queens could not appreciate her style of drag, or the culture she was representing. Lucky said more than once that she felt that she had to educate the other queens — and, presumably, the viewers — about her cultural references. She seemed adamant that if someone didn’t enjoy her number, it was a sign of ignorance on their part, not indicative of any failure on her part.
Lucky also had an interesting week on social media. There was what can only be described as a harassment campaign launched by another South Asian queen (and her husband) who operate in the same social circles, and it was frankly unhinged. A slew of allegations were leveled against Lucky, and I won’t repeat any of them. Even if there were truth to the rumors, the way this has unspooled on socials left me disturbed, and genuinely feeling bad for Lucky.
But the thing is, something really does feel “off” about Lucky. I love my queens at least a little delusional, but Lucky’s inability to acknowledge that maybe her talent number — which was sloppy and unfocused and poorly conceived and executed — speaks to a disconnect with reality, and multiple other comments she made in these two episodes also raised my eyebrow. There is a significant delta (not The Delta Quadrant, but also not NOT The Delta Quadrant) because what Lucky seems to believe she is giving us, and what she is actually giving us. I’m all about being your own hype person, but ma’am, we have eyes and ears. We see and hear what we see and hear.
And then we had the big shocker mid-way through this episode: seemingly out of nowhere, the queens in the work room are summoned to watch a truly odd video of Lucky in a bed, solemnly telling them that she had been stricken with “a bug” and in poor health and thus had to withdraw from the competition. Listen, it’s entirely possible that’s exactly what happened. “Drag Race UK” has had a stunning string of queen DQs, from Veronica Green testing positive for COVID mid-way through Series 2, to Victoria Scone blowing out both of her knees lipsynching in E1 of Series 3, to an unnamed queen being edited out of the first 1.5 episodes of Series 6, to Saki Yew leaving due to injury in Series 7. It’s crazy how often it happens! And yet, that video and the timing of all of this left me wondering if there were other decisions regarding Lucky’s place in the competition happening behind the scenes. We may never know. What we do know is that Lucky Roy Singh is out of Series 8, the unofficial Porkchop of the season.
Before all that, there was a mini-challenge involving Raven in the judge’s outfit, an exceptionally hot Pit Crew member, and the queens having to admit or deny various salacious behaviors. This was surely meant to stir the pot, bringing up the pre-show drama between Flesh and Paris Baby, and getting Alik to state publicly that she’s in a relationship with Series 1’s Scaredy Kat. All in all it was fairly tepid tea, but this cast is unquestionably much more compelling to watch than Series 7, even when they aren’t giving much.
The main challenge was a design task, with six queens assigned to use lighter and brighter materials for the Goodies Gala, and the remaining six given sexier and darker materials for the Baddies Ball. As design challenges go, this seemed like a softball. The materials given seemed plentiful and they were mostly fabrics and related notions, with a few outlandish options thrown in for drama.
I thought overall the group did quite well here — numerous outfits in the Safe zone could have easily been in the top for me. That’s kind of a rare feat on this show. I personally did not care for 2 out of 3 of the High looks — those made by KY Kelly and Anita Piss — but I understood WHY they were praised. Anita’s gown was a simple silhouette, and that slit was far too close to her hoo-ha, but there was clear craftsmanship at an impressive level in that dress. Similarly, I thought Kelly’s aesthetic was taste-deprived, but she clearly sewed and constructed the look brilliantly. Would anyone want to wear it? Probably not. Could you see she worked really hard on it? Yes, you could.
The other top, and the winner of the challenge, was a no-brainer. After coming super close to the win last week, Mocha demolished this challenge giving us a playful and beautifully constructed red Baddies number. Mocha is really one to watch this season, and I’m excited to see where she goes from here.
The Bottom 3 were all different flavors of tragic. Flesh had an interesting concept, and honestly that hat with the giant spiky balls on top of it was a real fashion moment. But she was mostly naked with just a few tubes of shiny, stretchy fabric — which she put a zipper into, prompting an absolutely hilarious reaction from RuPaul (who also looked incredible this episode) — and those dark pads on her hips completely destroyed the illusion. She did look amazing, but a good bit of that is just the fact that Flesh is hot, period. Tequila Thirst gave us a sad, poorly constructed white look with one of the most dubious hems I’ve ever seen on “Drag Race” (Derrick Berry found triggered), and some of the most bizarre styling choices one could imagine. What was with the urn with the furry trim? She looked deranged!
And then, dear Ma_Danii_X. I love that this franchise casts older queens. I love older queens with experience and stories to tell. I agree with the judges that Ma_Danii_X has a lovable quality and dazzling energy on the stage. I’m so glad she got this shot. But goodness, that nightmare in silver really was…not even a choice, it was a series of choices. RuPaul called it an “abomination,” and no lies were detected. The quite literal hoop skirt, the headdress that struggled to stay up, the TWO FAKE BIRDS ON HER SHOULDERS! This outfit is what it sounds like when doves cry, you guys.
Ma_Danii_X defended her look strongly in the work room. I appreciate that she stuck up for herself, and almost willed herself to be safe. But there was no saving this, and the fact that she was that far off the mark, and then referred to the Bottom 2 as a “lip snatch”…well, that says a lot, I think.
Danii and Tequila had to lipsync to “Where Love Lies” by Alison Limerick. Never heard of it, never need to hear it again. Very strange song for a lipsync. To their credit, both Ma_Danii_X and Tequila did the absolute best they could with this dud of a track. Ma_Danii threw herself fully into this; I loved her energy and her passion, even for this mediocre song. That’s a pro! Tequila may not have matched Danii’s energy, but she did give a more consistent lipsync. Towards the end both of them were throwing down splits and tricks, and it all felt a bit desperate. But I appreciated that neither one of them was going to walk away without doing whatever they possibly could to stay.
It was a close call, but Tequila was spared, and Ma_Danii was the first queen to be eliminate from this series. I wanted so badly to see her excel here, but I’m just glad she got the opportunity to show up and show out. I could listen to her tell stories about performing in the 90s for hours. Give me that show, WoW Presents! I wish her only the best.
NEXT: It’s Snatch Game? At 10 queens? Oh this will be…something.
What do YOU think of “Drag Race UK” Series 8? Which queens are you rooting for? Drop your comments below!
