RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs. The World

[Diggity]

Ms.Lulu - you're coming across as the epitome of Toxic Fan. You don't get to tell the production team how to make Drag Race, you only get to watch it. "Ru sets the rules", you post after complaining you don't like what you're watching. Well, they don't make the show for you only, did you know that?

[violet and green]

Justice for Jimbo! Redemption arc for Jujubee! So I'm not unhappy. Janey's makeup was divine in that last look.

[TVbitch]

Okay, I love Jujubee but no way in hell should she have been on top this week. The girls were all passable with the song, but unless I missed something, Juju did not make a bit of effort to meet the "work of art" runway challenge. The judges even said as much! I am confused. Both of them stank up the lip sync, and I noticed it was really short. In conclusion... whatever! : D

[xander874]

Just watched the finale. Did not see that coming. I am a Blu fan for sure but I really thought Mo would pull it out. It felt like she was getting a winners edit this season. 
 

And I like Pangina and think she is so good but her stank attitude was annoying. I get she was shocked to be kicked off but Blu didn’t promise anything and this is what can happen when queens vote each other off. 
 

Also Jimbo was shady as hell 

[Glade]

Well, a queen who was at best tied for 3rd place in the competition won.  Blu is nice and all, and she hits the UK box that was obviously required by the BBC, but this was a shitshow. Nice that we saw Pangina's amazing final runway though, and yes, Blu did say she wanted to win by competing against the best and that she couldn't eliminate Pangina, so she did mislead.

[Wonderlad71]

So all in all this season was a mixed bag. Going into the season I was rooting for Jimbo, Blu and Pangina and they all kind of delivered. 

That said the format needs a major shakeup. The UK vs obviously meant a UK queen had to make it to the finals- and Blu was consistently Top or at least safe, but it kind of made it predictable. Mo was alot more inconsistent though she had some great (runway) highs, but no RuPeter badges. 

Jimbo was shady AF and the fans are coming for her, but it's obviously manufactured reality TV villainery because I don't think she's really that mean.

I was happy for Blu's win (she looked amazing) but those lipsyncs were overall underwhelming - I guess it was the song choices. The Reflex? 

And of al the Kylie songs - Supernova? a song that did not chart. They should have used Real Groove (with Dua Lipa) from the last album. Or rather a classic - I would have died for I Should Be So Lucky (Blu would have really slayed that).

Edited March 10, 2022 by Wonderlad71

[DisneyBoy]

On 3/9/2022 at 9:15 PM, xander874 said:

Just watched the finale. Did not see that coming. I am a Blu fan for sure but I really thought Mo would pull it out. It felt like she was getting a winners edit this season. 
 

And I like Pangina and think she is so good but her stank attitude was annoying. I get she was shocked to be kicked off but Blu didn’t promise anything and this is what can happen when queens vote each other off. 
 

Also Jimbo was shady as hell 

Yeah, what was up with Mo's hideous final lipsynch outfit and lack of moves? No wig reveal? No splits even? The hell??

It was like she and Juju were like "great - made it to the big final test!" and then took a nap.

Of course the final 4 runway looks were really awesome. Blu was stunning. They all were. Shame they then had to change.

I agree Pangina was being a bit of a Rachel Barry...and I loved Jimbo getting frank with his feelings. He did it before on Canada's Drag Race too, and I kinda loved it. Canadians are thought of as polite so it's refreshing seeing someone shoot from the hip.

This format though...lame. How can we get excited knowing the best will get kicked out? And even a lipsynch for the crown feels wrong...

Anyway, I walked away appreciating Mo and Baga more, so there's that.

[Sile]

2 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Yeah, what was up with Mo's hideous final lipsynch outfit and lack of moves? No wig reveal? No splits even? The hell??

It was like she and Juju were like "great - made it to the big final test!" and then took a nap.

 

Maybe neither one of them wanted the big "prize" of dueting with Ru.

[Taeolas]

This might be a better topic for another thread; but now that this season is in the books; where do we go from there?

I think the Drag Race franchise is big enough that we WANT to see this sort of mix of themes, so a Global AllStars format makes sense. 

So will we see this continued as various <Country> vs the World and it rotates around? 

How would that affect the Drag Race shows that aren't explicitly branded RuPaul? (Drag Race Canada being the biggest one, since US and Australia are already RP branded). Since Drag Race Canada was represented in UKvsTW, getting Canadian Queens obviously isn't a problem, but would they do a "Canada vs the World?" series later? 

 

In any case, however they decide to do it, I hope they do more International Series in the future. 

[DisneyBoy]

13 hours ago, Sile said:

Maybe neither one of them wanted the big "prize" of dueting with Ru.

If so, their instincts were correct. Behold:

....seriously??

🤨

That's not a song.

 

[Glade]

On 3/11/2022 at 4:03 AM, Taeolas said:

So will we see this continued as various <Country> vs the World and it rotates around?

A big advantage of doing this in the UK was the lack of prize money required since the BBC can't give out monetary prizes.  This would be different in other countries, and with the added cost of airfare to fly in the internationals to remote countries (i.e. Canada, The U.S., Australia, Thailand...) it could be cost prohibitive.  So I'd say it will continue to be set in the UK, but maybe with only 2 UK members as the number of international versions increases.

[Rai]

I don't get why Pangina is somehow a diva over her elimination but Jimbo is just being frank about his feelings. If anything, Jimbo comes off far more petty than Pangina. I don't really care about strategy or shady boots or whatever -- finally, a little cut-throat action was called for. I just don't enjoy giving one person's behavior a pass and not the other's. So I'm team let them both vent and sulk. I get it. It's more honest too.

[Ms.Lulu]

What's hard for me is the format.  Blu wasn't the best queen or even the second best queen in the competition.  I'd put her at third behind Pangina and Jimbo.  

RuPaul is moving away from showcasing talented queens that we fall in love with to trying to create drama by introducing strategy.  I don't want a Survivor or Big Brother voting format.  

If you want to put the queens on an island or lock them in a house, great!  But that's a different show.  I want to see the skills and charm of the queens.  I don't want to see a show where the best queens are voted off by a competitor because they are the biggest competition.

I think that's why people hated the Ralsakatox alliance in Allstars.

I don't want international all stars to go down that path.

And I would watch a drag queen big brother show.

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by Ms.Lulu

[TVbitch]

Final lipsyncs were all underwhelming and comprised mostly of walking about. Maybe they need a separate Lipsync Assassin show. I hope they change up the way eliminations are done, but I think Ru enjoys stirring up the audience. As she keeps insisting, it's a game. 

[Starchild]

On 3/13/2022 at 11:09 AM, Ms.Lulu said:

What's hard for me is the format.  Blu wasn't the best queen or even the second best queen in the competition.  I'd put her at third behind Pangina and Jimbo.  

RuPaul is moving away from showcasing talented queens that we fall in love with to trying to create drama by introducing strategy.  I don't want a Survivor or Big Brother voting format.  

If you want to put the queens on an island or lock them in a house, great!  But that's a different show.  I want to see the skills and charm of the queens.  I don't want to see a show where the best queens are voted off by a competitor because they are the biggest competition.

I think that's why people hated the Ralsakatox alliance in Allstars.

I don't want international all stars to go down that path.

And I would watch a drag queen big brother show.

 

Agree with all of this. In fact 'drag queen" is the ONLY big brother show I would watch.

[hatchetgirl]

Finally watching this and I'm sorry but Blu just sent Pangina home and it's bs!!!! All of the Thai queens, especially Pangina, blow the UK and honestly the US queens away!

Sniff I miss my Pan Pan!

[Mahfouz]

Just watched this season over the past few days. Mostly boring. BUT

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Blu Hydrangea for doing whatever it took to leave me with the lasting image of Pangina wailing as she exited the stage. Fantastic TV. I think Pangina needs a little lesson in perspective. I don't think Blu was completely aboveboard with Pangina in terms of keeping her around but she even admitted that sending her home was tempting so I can't accuse her of being shady. I think Pangina has a high opinion of herself and probably couldn't possibly imagine anybody as talented as her getting sent home.  

 

 

 

[Fake Jan Brady]

Season 2: fun premiere and a great mix of queens I'm familiar with and many I'm not. Tia Kofi has lost none of her narration skills. La Grande Dame is an absolute stunner and Mariana Summers is a force of nature. And I've long been a fan of Scarlet Envy. 

Correct two in the bottom and not surprised at the elimination. 

Settling in for an entertaining season.

[Starchild]

I really liked the talent show performers. Even the lip sync numbers were original and funny.

I liked how the Americans were wondering what the hell was going on with the European penchant for being weird.

[violet and green]

I thought La Grande Dame's number, after the musical beginning which was quite  amusing, was a rip-off of Jimbo. I did enjoy that pissy little look she had on her face when the camera cut to her response after Jonber's number!

I am really excited to see Jonber's back on my screen. Also glad to see a bit more of Gothy Kendoll's looks, even if she doesn't last long.

[Starchild]

Forgot to mention, how adorable was Richard E. Grant?

[SemiCharmedLife]

I'm so excited to see this talented group of international queens.  It's always great to see the glow ups- they are looking stunning.  

I was really surprised about Mayhem's talent show.  Tia was right- it would have been easy enough to ad-lib something if she forgot her script.  Mayhem is a great queen with a huge fan base, but perhaps nerves get to her when on drag race.

I loved what Marina did for her talent show and the runway look was also top tier.  

[BloggerAloud]

Mayhem Miller is so wild because she manages to do worse each time she comes back on Drag Race.

[Ms.Lulu]

Just love Tia Kofi. Here's to hoping she wins it all. She is funny, gorgeous and the best narrator.

Looking forward to the season.

[Wonderlad71]

I doubt a UK girl is winning this season. I am here for Marina, La Grand Dame, Hannah Conda & Keta Minaj - all of them could have won their season and I wouldn't have batted an eyelid. 

Mayhem's crash & burn could be due to brain fog from the long Covid she spoke about - still she went out like a trooper. Iconic queen of IDGAF and the party.

Also have always been fond of Tia (gorgeous runway) and Scarlet Envy. 

And Aranxa! Castilla! LaMancha!

Edited February 14 by Wonderlad71

[Starchild]

Well that sucks. At the beginning of this episode I was really starting to appreciate Aranxa and at the end, she's gone.

She's so sweet and positive and funny, I'm really going to miss her.

But I'm not mad at La Grande Dame, she's my frontrunner, I'd love her to win.

Tia's homage to Cherry was quite touching.

Does anyone else think that when Keta is wearing her makeup she bears a strong resemblance to Joe Black?

[SemiCharmedLife]

16 hours ago, Starchild said:

Tia's homage to Cherry was quite touching.

Does anyone else think that when Keta is wearing her makeup she bears a strong resemblance to Joe Black?

I noticed that this time.  Perhaps her hair added to the resemblance.  Plus, they probably have a pretty similar drag aesthetic.

I was tearing up when Tia was talking about Cherry.  I think it was a beautiful homage to Cherry; Tia really stepped up her runway and design game.  

Sad to see Aranxa leaving (what a beautiful spirit ❤️), but two of Choriza's looks were impeccable and she was high last week, so I think LGD played it correctly.

[violet and green]

This week, on La Grande Dame is definitely winning this season... So disappointing to see Jonbers out so soon. For all that talk of preparation being key, it doesn't seem as if they divided up the recording time beforehand and just allowed LGD to run way over.

Good to see Scarlet Envy get some attention from Ru at last. I knew as soon as Tia started moving with all the oomph of an overcooked strand of spaghetti that Jonbers was a goner.

[Wonderlad71]

I can stare for infinity into LGD and Keta Minaj's eyes . Soo beautiful both of them.

Oh and IMHO Hannah Conda won the challenge but really happy for Scarlet (always loved her and she killed the lipsync). 

 

Edited February 27 by Wonderlad71

[Taeolas]

For the Snatch game ep, La Grande Dame really dodged a bullet. Everyone on that team (aside from the boxer; sorry horrible with names) was in trouble. 

The two wives of Henry the 8th was risky, but it came off well; that team was on fire. Gothy should have been eliminated, it's obvious they've checked out. Sending Keta home obviously surprised everyone. (And just on Keta's runway looks, I probably would have swapped her with La Grande Dame to be honest)

[Starchild]

Well, Gothy (half) tried, but it just wasn't enough. Of all the folks left, I'm really rooting for Tia. LGD is my #2

[Starchild]

I know it's not real, but Tia and LGD are so cute together, I'm really rooting for those crazy kids.

The right choice to go home, and Choriza's reaction ("What?!") was gold. Good on her.

[davidcalgary29]

Crave FINALLY uploaded S2, so I've been binging. I have to say that I'm enjoying this quite a bit more than S16 -- and Tia is more than half the reason for this. Marina's probably going to win the whole thing, but I wouldn't continue to watch if it wasn't for Tia's confessionals. She really is a true delight to watch. I want her to host the regular UK season!

[davidcalgary29]

I've enjoyed Scarlet's Drag Race journeys, so I was somewhat sad to see this one come to an end tonight. Any regret was tempered by the success of Tia, who continues to provide the light and joy of this season -- it would just be something of a slog without her. I hope she wins it all at this point, although it looks like we're being set up for a Marina win. That would be fine, too, but a Tia win would just be the perfect cap to the season.

This has not been the right venue for LGD, who hasn't been able to showcase her true excellence. Did I say that we need AS:France, before? We need it!

[Starchild]

@davidcalgary29 it's like you're reading my mind. Love Tia so much!

[Fake Jan Brady]

I guess Hannah knew that eliminating Marina would incur the wrath of the fans, but it's foolish to let her anywhere near a lip sync finale. Just hand her the crown.

I'll be happy with any of the final four winning; they're all so endearing.

[Wonderlad71]

Hannah Conda devoured the roast and the lipsync - big props to her.

The season is Marina's to lose - she has been so consistent and a real delight to watch as I had expected . LGD lost steam mid season - I really thought she was taking the crown until then.

[davidcalgary29]

Congrats to the winner! I have to say that I was NOT expecting that outcome, but am delighted with it.

[Starchild]

During Hannah and Marina's lipsync, I was shocked that Hannah was really keeping up with Marina. I still expected Marina to win (the strong US influence in the Philippines seems to have resulted in Filipino drag, or at least Marina's, being somewhat Amercanized), but I wasn't mad when Hannah did. I could see how a judge who understands non-American drag could pick her.

A final between two queens primarily known for comedy is why I love Euro drag.

Tia totally deserved to win, so happy for her. She seems to be such a decent person. Too bad her mom didn't live to see it.

On the minus side, ugh Scarlet and Jonbers, poor loser is not a good look.

On the plus side, even if Tia and Dada aren't in a romance, they sure look like good friends now. 

Although I still wish a Canadian queen had made the cut, this has been one of the most entertaining Drag Race seasons, of any franchise, I've seen in a long time.

[davidcalgary29]

Scarlet really needs to adjust her paint or find a style that works better for her face. You wouldn't think that it's that hard -- she's that physically beautiful -- but i thought she looked better on S11 than on either of her subsequent appearances. 

I don't hold her sourness at her ouster against her. Hannah was fine this season, but I really haven't gotten over her subpar (and problematic) Down Under run.

[SemiCharmedLife]

Wow.  I really thought Marina would take it all.  I was shocked when Hanna won that lip synch.  I mean, she did a great job, but so did Marina, who had an amazing track record, to boot.  The only consolation to my surprise of Marina not winning is that Tia was crowned.  She is an amazing person and we have all fallen in love with her since first seeing her in her original season.  Her glow up was great and she excelled in so many challenges. She also ended the season on a high.  

I really enjoyed all the queens on this iteration.  There was so much talent and diversity!

[Wonderlad71]

Looking forward to see Marina and LGD back for more seasons. Ru was living for both of them like she was with Jimbo on UK vs the World 1 . 

[Taeolas]

On 3/30/2024 at 1:09 AM, Starchild said:

A final between two queens primarily known for comedy is why I love Euro drag.

Tia totally deserved to win, so happy for her. She seems to be such a decent person. Too bad her mom didn't live to see it.

Although I still wish a Canadian queen had made the cut, this has been one of the most entertaining Drag Race seasons, of any franchise, I've seen in a long time.

It was a fun final, but I think Tia edged out the final lipsync for the crown rightfully so. They both seemed to have fun playing off eachother during the lipsync.  Hannah's just such a fun queen in general, I'd have been fine with her winning, and I'm sure she's going to do great going forward in general. 

 

As for no Canadian queens, we were in Season 1, but there were no Aussies in Season 1, so I'm wondering if they were (unintentionally) balancing the Commonwealth queens a bit, or they're intending to keep alternating. Canada vs the World had a Kiwi queen, and hopefully if we get an Aussie vs the World competition, we'll have some Canuck queens going down. 

[TVbitch]

Tia is a gem. Really enjoy seeing the international queens.

I like Hannah, but didn't Jimbo just do Shirley Temple for Snatch Game, with the same wild dancing? 

[landstander]

2 hours ago, TVbitch said:

I like Hannah, but didn't Jimbo just do Shirley Temple for Snatch Game, with the same wild dancing? 

Yes, but I looked it up at the time, and this season was shot before that aired.

[TVbitch]

7 hours ago, landstander said:

Yes, but I looked it up at the time, and this season was shot before that aired.

Thanks, I appreciate that cuz it was so similar I could not help but side eye it. Good to know ..they were both probably copying some other queen. 🤣