It’s time for the Snatch Game! The queens and their celebrity impersonations are put to the test once again for the world to see, and it’s absolutely glorious.
So we are back for another DYCAL mag RECAP of the UK edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2. If you are enjoying these recaps you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook: @DYCALMag
For previous recaps you can click on the links below.
Drag Race UK Season 2: Episode 1
Drag Race UK Season 2: Episode 2
Drag Race UK Season 2: Episode 3
Drag Race UK Season 2: Episode 4
Drag Race UK Season 2: Episode 5
Now, onto this week! It’s the challenge that everybody is waiting for: Snatch Game! But first, the queens reconvene after Joe Black is eliminated for the second time. Usually the queens who are brought back get eliminated straight after, and unfortunately Joe was no exception. However, Joe’s H&M outfit caused Ru to have an iconic meltdown, and we are forever grateful not only to Joe and Ru, but to all the amazing memes that were birthed as a result.
Tia Kofi is quick to assert that she may be the first official lip-sync assassin of Drag Race UK! The queens are quick to dismiss her, lol. I think you aren’t really allowed to call yourself a lip-sync assassin, you have to wait for another queen to say it first! But props to Tia for trying to make lemons out of lemonade, or, coffee out of… coffee beans; I don’t know, I only drink tap water myself.
Tensions are still very high after last weeks Chip-gate, and the Drag Race editors have decided to take it upon themselves to assert that A’Whora’s look was stolen by Sister Sister. It’s a shame, as it does invalidate all the greatness that Sister is bringing to the competition, it’s also hella fun to watch so I’m not too mad. Sister is obviously taking it in jest, but re-watching the show, the editors are trying very hard to make her seem bitter which is completely untrue, I digress though.
This episode takes no time to delve into the queens preparing for their Snatch Game characters, and we start with Ellie Diamond. Lawrence Chaney is quick to tell Ellie that she isn’t funny, and as much as I hate Matt Lucas, I do think the Vicky Pollard is pretty spot on. For a queen so young, Ellie is able to change her accent well enough and was clearly very inspired by Little Britain in her younger years. Hats off to her and the naysayers.
Tia decides to switch from her original idea of Shirley Bassey to Mel B: AKA Scary Spice. The two characters don’t inspire a lot of confidence from Ru, and whilst Tia is very very funny, can she bring it with the Mel B? I’m not too sure. I’m almost certain Mel B will be better than Shirley Bassey though. She was smart to follow Ru’s advice.
Lawrence Chaney tells RuPaul that she is going to do… Miriam Margolyes? Like a shark that can smell blood, I could sense that this could end badly. It’s such an unusual choice? Whilst Lawrence’s personality is huge, the kiss of death for me was when Ru said ‘just be yourself’. Miriam is a fantastic actress and funny in her own right, so there isn’t a lot to go off of. Lawrence imprinting herself onto this celebrity will only make the celebrity disappear.
When Bimini Bon Boulash brought out that wig earlier in the episode, I said ‘YES we’re going to get an Amy Winehouse’! I was very very wrong. But I was relieved to see that Bimini has chosen one of my Snatch Game choices, Katie Price. Thankfully, I will never have to do it in front of millions of people because my impersonations are iconically awful. So I’m glad Bimini got to live the fantasy. After Bimini’s ‘Brexit’ inspired Bake Off improv, I have exceedingly high hopes.
If you do poorly at Snatch Game it stays with your drag career for a very long time, and for these newer queens that is a very stressful situation. Some queens own their poor impersonations (Detox) and some queens are seen forever in a bad light (Gia Gunn). That being said, Ellie’s tears feel justified in her walkthrough with Ru. The mention of her twin brother Bryce and the support that Ellie has made me empathise with her greatly. When I came out to my brother, it made me realise that my family would be okay with my homosexuality, so I truly understood the emotions on display.
Cut to A’Whora who is crying over… her image? I had to watch again to see where the tears came from, and I’m still unsure. (What we aren’t going to do is send ANY queen unnecessary hate on the internet, and as said above, this competition is a pressure cooker.) Any insecurities or doubt will build up to an explosion of tears at some point. As Ru said, her vulnerability is to be admired, not shunned, even if I don’t personally relate to it. All I can say is that doing Louis Spence for Snatch Game is unexpected and inspired, so the tears feel out of place.
So lets get into the actual Snatch Game. Some people online are saying it felt lacklustre, and I can only mildly understand; there was no interaction between the celebrities which can lead to some iconic moments. However, for me I personally enjoyed that each queen let the others have their space, it was refreshing to me and felt British.
As a special guest, Gemma Collins was an inspired decision, but if not for Ru cackling like a maniac at her dry responses it would have absolutely bombed. Now, in 2018 I paid £14 for a meet and greet with Gemma Collins, and she turned up three hours late, didn’t ‘perform’ on stage as she was supposed to, and then was hurried into a meet and greet where she literally could not be arsed to even pretend to be interested in anyone or anything. I remember it fondly because, I got exactly what I paid for.
The performances were excellent, particularly Bimini as Pricey. The way that Katie speaks is instantly recognisable, and for Bimini to channel that into the jokes themselves led her to an undeniable win for this episode. Even the way she said ‘press’ had me in stitches. In addition, A’Whora was totally robbed of a ‘high’ placement. I could not for the life of me understand what the judges were thinking this time. Even Ru Michelle and Gemma were laughing during her irreverant performance. A’Whora had prop legs, and the characterisation DOWN. She went full balls! Raging.
Tayce’s Jane Turner was quite alright alright alright, the Australian accent was funny as is! I agree with the judges when they say we felt at ease as an audience. The same goes for Sister, who knew exactly what to do with the character and delivered it with ease. Whilst we have seen psychics on the Snatch Game before, we got to see a little more of Sister’s twisted sense of humour which I am absolutely here for.
Moving down to safer performances, Ellie Diamond as Matt Lucas as Vicki Pollard was pretty great! It did feel like nothing new was added to the character per say, but it shows real smarts from Ellie to do something she felt really comfortable with. Tia Kofi’s Mel B was also pretty good on a re-watch! I actually loved how she kept using Eddie Murphy as a punchline, it felt like good old fashioned SNL comic timing; and the accent was making me laugh the whole time! Mel B is a bit of a tit, so the blander answers felt like something she would honestly say. Being the first celebrity on the panel is tougher though, and some of the answers did feel rushed.
And then the absolute worst of the night; Lawrence Chaney’s Miriam felt uninspired, unrehearsed, and dare I say desperate. I know the Lawrence fans will come for me for saying that, but it was not good. I think Lawrence has been relying on the loud toilet humour for a while now and the fans and the judges have been receiving it very positively. Unfortunately it just didn’t work this time, but I don’t think Lawrence can be blamed! She’s been getting universal praise for her comedy this entire season, and Ru essentially said to Lawrence to be herself for Snatch Game! The problems that I expected Ellie to have with Snatch Game ended up being Lawrence’s downfall, and honestly I can’t help but kind of enjoy it – I said what I said!
We move on to the runway, with a theme of ‘Pre-Herstoric’ drag. Whilst the Snatch Game is a reoccurring challenge we all love to see, this runway category is hard to make ‘fresh’. That is, until Bimini walks the runway as a floating bacteria. The Iris van Herpen inspired dress is one of the most bizarre and beautiful approaches to a runway ever seen before on the stage. It adds to Bimini’s timeless presence as a drag artist of the future. I am absolutely blown away. This secures Bimini’s win for the episode.
As for the other runways they all pale in comparison; with leopard print and bones featuring heavily in Drag Race history. Sister Sister’s leopard print and bone mask gets unfairly compared to Aquaria’s ‘Evil Twin’ runway from Season 10 of the US season. A’Whora also wears a bone mask and thus the internet trolls align to malign Sister again. It’s getting real old, real quick. Tia’s Pterodactyl outfit is SO fun but isn’t enough, Tayce gives an interesting voodoo take on pre-historic, and Lawrence’s is just plain boring. And we’ve run out of time to talk about Ellie’s outfit oops.
Snatch Game runways are always underwhelming for me, as the celebrity impersonation counts so much more. As there are seven queens left, only two are announced safe. Rightfully so it’s Sister and Ellie who are saved from the critique. Whilst I am happy, I think if any queens need screen time its them, so I have mixed emotions. I also thought without a doubt that Bimini and A’Whora were the top two, with Tayce either being low or high.
I’m not mad that Tayce placed highly, but I am mad that A’Whora was not right there with her! If the runway was poor I could understand that, but the judges were really clutching at straws here. Just put Tia and Lawrence in the bottom and be done with it! Jessie Ware’s presence as a guest judge was just like her music, passionate, correct, yet understated. I wish she had more of a say in the daft judging!
The lip-sync to Cathy Dennis’s Touch Me felt… very underwhelming. Drag Race whelms when it becomes predictable, and luckily this is the first episode of this entire series that has been predictable! My Mum genuinely believed that Tia Kofi was told by producers to throw that lip sync! In reality it just wasn’t great because of the song choice. It wasn’t upbeat enough and had no quirky moments. Simply put, there was just nothing for the queens to work with! The more I discuss this episode, the more I kind of realise that it did have a lot of meh moments, and this lip-sync finishes it off.
Sadly, with no badges and a poor song choice, Tia Kofi the queen of confessionals sashays away. Her presence will be sorely missed on Drag Race UK, and she leaves the show with a HUGE rally of fans supporting her every step of the way, us included. Sadly, I do agree that the writing was on the wall with two previous lip-syncs under her belt. I will remember that Mel B fondly, and on a rewatch it’s actually not bad at all! Definitely a sleeper hit.
Speaking of sleepy, I better wrap this episode up before my tiredness takes me! As a key worker, I only do this for fun so please please follow us on social media if you enjoyed this article. @DYCALmag for all social media. I hope to one day do this full time!
Cheers and see you again next week!
DYCALmag 
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