The second season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK has arrived! 12 new queens sashay into the Werk Room for a drag competition across the pond.
Because of the distinct and hilarious personalities on RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 1, there is a lot of pressure on the Season 2 cast to deliver great television. Many fans have ranked the first season of Drag Race UK among their favorite seasons of all time. If this first episode of season 2 is any indication, we are in for another fantastic ride of uproarious fun, unintelligible accents, and delightful wit. Season 13 of the American version of Drag Race has amped up the stakes, but Drag Race UK is already wildly more entertaining. Drag Race UK is once again prioritizing personalities over aesthetics. Overall, the season 2 cast is comprised of queens that identify as entertainers first. The American cast has felt much more... Instagram Marketing and PR Firm first, TV personality second. These British gals are behaving like absolute fun-loving slags and all we have to say (in an Austin Powers voice) is... "YEAH, BABY!"
From the moment the first queen walks into the Werk Room, we feel instantly taken care of. Lawrence Chaney enters with a bagpipe sound and a thick Scottish accent. The accents on Drag Race UK are such a lovely addition to the enjoyment of the show. It breathes life into a show that can otherwise feel somewhat formulaic. Cherry Valentine is the second queen to enter and, as she does, her headpiece falls off. It's perfect. This is what is great about the UK version of the show: the dolls are not as polished. They are messy, and that usually means more fun. Cherry Valentine lets us know she has not been doing drag for long as her main hustle is as a registered nurse. Then, Tia Kofi enters and tells us that she named herself after Tia Mowery of the show Sister, Sister. Her look is a mess and when she says "I'm not concerned about looking the best I just want to show the audience a good time" I thought to myself... this is my kind of drag queen. Bimini Bon Boulash enters saying "I'm vegan." It does not make sense, but she looks sickening. Ginny Lemon enters and is instantly legendary. This queen stands out. She gives off absolute clown vibes. After several personality queens walk in, a 21-year-old named Ellie Diamond sashays in looking SCARED. She says she is a lewk queen and she does indeed look gorgeous. After her walks in a queen named Sister Sister. So there is a named after a Mowery sister and a queen with the same name as their TV show on the same season!? Gay heaven. Tayce stomps in looking so sexy and so right. She says she's a dancer and a comedy queen. Plus she's hot in and out of drag... watch our girls!
Joe Black enters looking like a true old-fashioned drag legend and says, "I know what you're thinking... God, Glenn Close looks rough." Joe Black has a reputation in the drag community for putting on stellar shows. Veronica Green walks in looking like the first queen to get the boot. She doesn't look bad, but... she doesn't look good. Following her in is Asttinna Mandella. This queen looks feisty and fun. A'Whora follows her in and she is giving a Wizard of Oz fantasy. It's a little on the nose for a drag competition. For the first mini-challenge, the queens are tasked with having tennis balls thrown at them. Lawrence is hilarious and quickly becoming one of RuPaul's favorites. Joe Black also stands out. These queens in the UK are so funny. The winner of the first mini-challenge is Lawrence Chaney. This queen is making a real name for herself very early on in the competition.
The best part about Drag Race UK is that RuPaul has the time of his life on this show. He often looks like he is waiting for the day to end on American Drag Race, but when Ru is in London, he is living, honey! RuPaul tells the dolls that they have to serve two lewks for the mainstage challenge. Their first lewk must pay tribute to a UK icon, and their second lewk is a shoutout to their respective hometowns. Lawrence Cheney wants to keep her drag on and initiates a wonderful conversation about how vulnerable it is to take her drag off. She says she feels invincible in drag, but has been made fun of out of drag. It's an interesting reminder of how drag is a gay superpower and how gay people can be so cruel to each other when we are not donning our powers. Asttina and Tayce both pick Naomi Campbell for their icon runway lewk. They express that growing up in the UK, they did not have too many Black gay icons in the media for them to look up to. Tayce expresses that she hopes to be that representation for queer Black kids watching the show now.
On the runway, RuPaul literally looks like a rainbow butterfly goddess. The special guest judge is Elizabeth Hurley. Joe Black's first lewk is in honor of David Bowie. This is a very good idea, because Bowie is one of RuPaul's favorite musicians of all time, but the lewk is a little rough around the edges. Asttina Mandella as Naomi Campbell is absolutely stunning. The make-up is right, the hair is on point, and the outfit is fashionable while still looking very drag-like. Ginny Lemon looks literally insane and we love her for it. She is giving full Baga Chipz realness with a messy outfit and an amazing personality. Tia Kofi's suit looks so cool but her wig is straight out of the kid's section of a Halloween Store. The purple and pink colors in a wig are not the way to go on the runway. Bimini Bon Boulash looks very sexy, but the outfit does not have much of a point of view outside of its sex appeal.
Lawrence Cheney shows the world how to do a big girl silhouette! She looks flawless. The hips are wide and the proportions are fantastic. She looks super polished. Cherry Valentine looks... so bad. She's supposed to pay homage to Freddy Mercury, but this lewk will rock you. Her rhapsody is a bit too bohemian and not enough runway. This week, she will not be singing "We Are the Champions." Veronica Green struts down the runway in a very good Boy George lewk. It is excellently executed. A'Whora as Vivienne Westwood looks really messy. Graham Norton quips "Vivienne Westwouldn't". Sister Sister brings Dusty Springfield to the runway. The look is a little too simple for Drag Race. Tayce's runway is a way worse Naomi Campbell than Asttina's. The hair isn't quite right for Naomi.
For the second lewks, Joe Black slays in a gold royal Brighton queendom costume, but the judges hate it because it is not an accurate nod to the building she is trying to represent. That feels... obnoxiously picky of them. Asttina Mandella has a really wonderful wig on as she serves Black Girl Magic on the runway. Ginny Lemon looks much more polished and quite fashionable on this second runway. Tia Kofi looks much better on the second runway as well. She gives a Robin Hood realness lewk that is so right and so fun. Bimini Bon Boulash serves a really sexy soccer lewk, but the judges clock the tape all over the back of it. Lawrence Cheney has a gorgeous stained glass dress on and she once again slays the hip padding game. Veronica Green has a gorgeous dress on and looks elegant. Overall, she serves some surprises in the maxi challenge after a lackluster entrance lewk. There is a second Robin Hood lewk on the runway by A'Whora. This nod to Nottingham is NOT-IT-ingham. Tayce is the Welsh Dragon and her hair is shaped into horns. She looks thrilling from the head up but the midsection looks boxy.
In the Untucked portion, A'Whora tells Tia Kofi that everyone was saying her entrance hair looked thirsty. It provides some exciting drama and we can already tell who the villain of the season will be. The top three of the week are Asttina, Lawrence, and Ellie Diamond. The bottom three are Joe Black, Bimini Bon Boulash, and Sister Sister. The judges announce that Asttina is the winner of this week's challenge. The bottom two are Bimini and Joe Black. This is quite shocking. Both of these queens seemed to be top girls based on the first half of the episode. Joe Black is asked to sashay away. Once again we are reminded that anything can happen on RuPaul's Drag Race UK.
RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 2 airs Thursdays at 2pm EST on WOW Presents Plus in the US and around the world, and on BBC iPlayer in the UK.