It’s a makeover family affair: Drag Race UK episode seven

It’s a makeover family affair: Drag Race UK episode seven
Image: Drag Race UK Ep 7

Warning: If you haven’t watched the latest episode of Drag Race UK, be warned: this article contains spoilers.

Bye bye Blu Hydrangea, as the queens return to the Werk Room after last week’s elimination. It’s down to the top four and there’s a lovely mateship between them all instead of the usual drama you would expect.

As they sit down for some real talk, Cheryl Hole doesn’t think Blu should have lip-synched (and I agree) stating that Baga Chipz got off lucky and should have been the one on the bottom.

It did look like Baga was ready to head home and was walking into the lip-synch unprepared. Baga makes for great reality TV, which is the real name of the game at the end of the day, but as we head towards the pointy end of the competition, I find myself wondering if the producers have overplayed their hand.

It’s the last week before we have our top three, and Cheryl is walking into it having not one a RuPeter Badge during the whole competition, so she is going to have to turn it out if she is going to stick around.

We have a much more interesting mini challenge than last week, because it’s time for puppets, as the queens are assigned a puppet that they have to drag up to imitate the drag queen they have been assigned. So let the roasting begin.

Baga has got The Vivienne, and does a brilliant impression of her, which is Baga’s strength at the end of the day. But that pales in comparison to Divina de Campo doing Cheryl, who would have given any competitor oodles of material to work with.

Everybody loves puppets on Drag Race UK. Image: BBC Three.

The Vivienne impersonates Divina and after the build-up of the last two weeks, I expected something a little shadier. I guess that’s just saved for the confessionals when she is on her own; still, she provided us with plenty of laughs. And finally, Cheryl impersonates Baga, which is actually a whole lot of fun, but characters are not her strong suit, as we saw in Snatch Game.

Each queen is such a character in their own right that this challenge should have been a whole lot more fun than it was. Are we getting fatigued, or can we just see the way the wind is blowing? Because after there’s something about this episode that just doesn’t nail it for me.

Divina wins the mini challenge and the queens are informed that it’s time for a makeover for the main challenge. They have to drag up one of their family members, with Baga and The Vivienne’s mothers arriving, and Cheryl and Divina’s sisters appearing.

The Drag Race final four with their family members. Image: BBC Three.

We knew the makeovers were coming, and doing a family member should give us some more of an insight into the finalists, but it just fell a bit flat for me overall.

Divina has to work around her sister’s pregnancy, and Cheryl feels like she has this in the bag because of their literal family resemblance, which is the name of the game on the runway after all.

Baga and The Vivienne have the hardest job because their mother’s don’t’ resemble them physically at all, and they clearly both have two very different relationships with their parents. Baga has never painted anyone’s face before, and her mum doesn’t want to embarrass her.

The whole ‘meet the family thing‘ just feels weird as Ru tries to learn more about the queens, I feel like we’ve been there in the personal narratives and everyone just seems a little chill. This could have been so much more.

Baga Chipz and her mother. Image: BBC Three.

Baga is working with her mother, who is very shy, and this is something I can relate to. My mother would be the same way. This challenge is hard because you have a relationship with the subject, and you have to navigate that at the same time as putting together a fabulous look.

Elimination day has arrived, and they are starting to paint their family members faces. There is a lovely conversation about the armour you wear when you get into drag and we discover that Baga and her mother aren’t as close as the other queens are to their family members, but more about that when we get to the runway.

Thank god we didn’t have to watch the queens do a lip-synch or dance performance with a family member, it was enough hassle just getting them into drag, and I always hate those bits.

Alan Carr, Michaela Coel, RuPaul and Michelle Visage. Image: BBC Three.

Alan Carr is back as a guest judge (Yay!) and can we take a moment to appreciate the exquisite beauty that is Michaela Coel in her outfit (even though the editor spelt her surname wrong)? I feel like every queen stepped onto the runway and took one look at her and thought … bugger!

Anyway, it’s time to take it to the runway with Drag Family Realness.

Cheryl Hole and Sissy Hole are the first out of the rank, and they look fantastic, with their big hair, sparkly short sequinned outfits and are serving great energy. Earlier, in the werk room when everyone kept mentioning how similar they looked, I just didn’t see it—but now it is all I see. Where has this Cheryl been hiding? Clearly two holes are better than one!

The Vivienne and The Mother hit the runway and I cannot be more disappointed with this look. The only thing that kind of connects them is the wig colour. It is a smart move to be a princess and her mother, because you let that narrative do the work for you, but there’s something about the look that has The Vivienne shining a little less brightly, and her mother is fabulous, but is swallowed up in the gown. I actually think this is the weakest of all four. There was so much comedy for The Vivienne to play off, and she played it really safe.

Divina De Campo and Delicia De Campo have got the right idea. Divina has smartly styled them to be identical regnant twins, so you can’t miss the family resemblance, plus they are being so fun and silly on the runway that you just can’t fault it. If someone had told me that the plan was to look elegant and then be trash in your moves, I would have told them they were crazy to do it—but it works brilliantly.

Finally, Baga Chipz and Sacka Spudz arrive, and I think they were great. Yes, there are some major styling issues going on with far too much black overall, but if Baga had just gone with a different wig for her mother it would have changed everything. Their energy together is fabulous. The makeup isn’t great, but the look is beautiful.

This week’s critiques are beyond explanation for me; yes Michelle I am talking to you. You hated Cheryl’s spangly body suits, but the family resemblance was on point, as was the transformation and runway. Where was this comment for Bagas’ look last week?

Drag Race UK Runway Ep 7. Image: BBC Three.

Plus, the commentary Michelle gives Baga and her mum should have also been directed at The Vivienne. Who knows, maybe it was and has been reedited. Baga starts making excuses for her mother and is throwing her under the bus a bit, but having never done a makeover, she should know better than to make excuses, especially in the second last week.

Divina ends up on top and Baga and Cheryl were in the bottom. I haven’t seen such a set up since last week when Cheryl Hole performed in front of Cheryl Cole. Wait, I take that back, because the song they are lip synching too is clearly made for Baga and for Cheryl to go home. Could they not even try to fake it?

Before we get into that, The Vivienne should have been on the bottom with Baga, based on that runway. It is clear other things are at play here. Anyway, it is time for the lip synch. Just like when they lip synched to Spice Girls, performing to Amy Winehouse’s Tears Dry on their Own is such a specific and strategic choice, it will either fail or succeed. It’s a whole new style of performing we haven’t seen from Cheryl, and Baga seems to fit right in.

The final three Drag Race UK. Image: BBC Three.

Cheryl was driving me crazy—why does she always start at an 11 and give herself nowhere else to go? with a song like this it made it really hard—I would have just stood still, something neither of them seem to be able to do. Still we get a lovely hand holding moment and this is clearly emotional for them. It just didn’t seem to translate with such a laid-back beat.

Also, can whoever’s doing the sound calm down with the crash noises please? Way to make something out of nothing.

In a move that should not even be happening and was spoilt for us by ITD Events when they announced the three UK queens who are coming to Australia next year, Cheryl is sent home having not one any major challenge. At least she has that title.

And now, we have our top three. Who will be crowned the first winner of Drag Race UK? Are you team Baga, Team Divina or Team Vivienne? Baga is clearly the bottom of the three and someone in production loves The Vivienne because they have been editing her to beggary since the show started, but for me, I think Divina will take it. Her talent and style is unique and different, just like drag is in the UK.

Who do you think should win?

 

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