How many drag queens does it take to change a fluorescent lightbulb?
It’s final and for the first time in Drag Race Herstory a sound mixer must lipsync for their life.
Four’s Company
Of course because there was no elimination last week there’s cause for much celebrating, especially as history has been made by Tayce surviving 3 lipsyncs and Ellie reaching the final with no wins under her belt
*whispers* she should have won the first sewing challenge though.
Given that it’s the last chance Lawrence decides to make amends with Ellie and finally get over the whole running order debacle because it’s kind of great that there’s two Scottish queens in the final given that there were none on the show at all last series. There’s a sweet moment between them about how Lawrence largely inspired Ellie’s love of drag – which fully made me think Lawrence was in his late 30s but it turns out he is only 2 years older than Ellie. It’s honestly the gag of the season.
It also kind of explains a lot of the very dramatic reactions in the last couple of episodes – 23 is a nightmare age as you approach the realisation there is an entire generation behind you that think you’re old and on your last legs.
A Whole Lotta Love
As usual the finale is a big production number set to a Ru song, this time it’s A Little Bit of Love and of course they’ll have to write their own verses, learn choreography and appear on a fake episode of RuPaul and Michelle’s podcast where they divulge their deepest fears and traumas. Or if you’re Tayce you’ll only talk about how wonderfully supportive your parents are before casually dropping the fact your father played bass for Wham! like it’s no big deal and nobody will talk about it for some reason.
It was nice that for this finale we actually got to see some of the lyric writing sessions, although it’s mostly focused on Lawrence nagging Ellie once again because she’s being too mean in her song that’s meant to be about love. Ellie’s late stage blossoming into a Courtney Act style villain? We love to see it.
While Ellie continues to write The Burn Book: The Musical, Lawrence worries about whether or not she has ever said “Shook” and just about has an existential crisis over it
As it turns out it barely even matters because the sound mixing on the final product is so Goddamn awful you can’t hear a single word anyone even says – I just about caught Ellie’s 3rd Wizard of Oz reference and the opening bit of Tayce’s. As for Lawrence and Bimini? No idea, Bimini had A LOT sibilance in her lyrics which gave her a bad case of vacuum cleaner mush mouth that was very hard to hear over the overpowering drumbeat. Her choreography though? As good as you would expect
It lacked a little bit of flow and I think maybe could have been simplified and kept a few more tricks up her sleeve for the final lipsync but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Obviously Lawrence struggled with the choreography but in the final performance did extremely well considering she looked like she had run a marathon during rehearsals
and could hardly walk in the the Werk Room the next day, meanwhile Ellie Diamond was skipping around in her incredible clown trousers
the whole thing reminded me of the episode where Homer Simpson goes to Clown College
THOSE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BAGGY PANTS. BAGGY!
Honestly Ellie’s Werk Room outfits this episode were some of my favourites from the entire season, I am obsessed with the jacket that makes her look like Fuzzy Lumpkins from The Powerpuff Girls
She could have honestly performed in that and I’d have loved it. Instead she was wearing a very bold red outfit
I didn’t care much for the ruffles, they completely eat her neck which makes her look very stiff but she coped with the choreography in this better than she did in RATS! The Rusical, I do wish they had put in the Ellie Diamond 8 Count, purely because of Ru’s reaction to it during the podcast
Ellie’s entire podcast session was a delight – the way she absolutely glows whenever she talks about drag and her family is so endearing and touching. I know it has probably come across as me not liking Ellie, but I really do! I just the judging of her during the show has been weird and often overly generous but I don’t begrudge her finishing in 4th place and I’m excited to see what she’ll bring to her inevitable appearance on All Stars 7.
Tayce was the clear leader throughout the performance of A Little Bit of Love, or she would have been if the music had been in sync – I refuse to believe that every single one of the queens was off beat and out of sync. Tayce just smashed the choreography though, even a little too hard, there were moments where it felt like she might not have been in total control of her body
Her outfit was also the most interesting, something about the colours and the way the pattern was arranged really reminded me of Max Fleischer cartoons like Betty Boop and Felix the Cat
and then you have the real punky, Robin Johnson in Times Square wig – it’s eye catching and interesting to look at! Which is no surprise considering she showed up to the rehearsals looking like Player 2 Leeloo
Still no match for Ellie’s trousers though.
High Drag
As usual the final runway prompt was for them to just bring their best possible drag that embodies everything about them, and the previously eliminated queens are joining them so you just REALLY have to hope that none of them brought anything better than you did…
We’ll start with our finalists and Ellie was not playing any games with her Glinda the Good Witch outfit
This is phenomenal, both the look and the fact she managed to pack it and fit it within the luggage limit. The hoop skirt is maybe a touch too small for the dress again but worth sacrificing that for the way the skirt wafted around her when she did the dip
This was The Moment of the finale to be quite honest and will be my lingering image of the series – it’s so satisfying and delicate, like a stingray gliding over the ocean floor. I AM OBSESSED. And the colour palette? Juts matched to perfection, she outdid herself. And Ru FINALLY asked her about The Wizard of Oz – it was a good night for Ellie Diamond.
Bimini went gown adjacent with a bridal look that had that trademark bit of Bimini edge with the mussed hair and the complete lack of a skirt beyond a train
and how could I forget the nipple details!
I love it from the waist up, I think she looks beautiful but I had expected Bimini to maybe push the couture element a little further maybe? And I’ll never be a fan of the bare exposed knickers but even taking that into consideration I felt really weirded out by quite how long Graham Norton kept talking about them for without barely offering a critique on anything else she did in the episode.
Lawrence took her trademark campy approach with a racing driver inspired look
It’s VERY Lawrence and so well tailored and made – it reminds me a lot of her Diana Rigg look from the Gay Icon runway – there’s the same design lines and it’s similarly weighted fabric so moves the same. I like it and it’s a perfectly executed look.
The last of our finalists was Tayce and this felt just a scooch disappointing
or at least the sparseness of it did – it’s really difficult to pull of a feather or a fur look because even the biggest budget doesn’t go extraordinarily far. But I am glad to see the return of the 50 inch weave
I have missed it.
Now for the eliminated queens, starting with Cherry Valentine
It’s very similar to her entrance look despite being entirely different – I’m still gutted that she went out so early because her looks that she posted to Instagram have been PHENOMENAL.
Next was Asttina Mandella who is serving some Janelle Monae realness
The outfit is streamlined and gorgeous BUT THAT FACE – just stone cold stunning.
Ginny Lemon came as the most Ginny Lemon she possibly could
She really is like someone put every old lady sitcom character into the wash with a box of crayons and I can’t not mention the fish shoes
There’s a Ginny Lemon Sole joke in here somewhere that I shall not make.
Following the absurdity of one Ginny Lemon was the return of Theatre Menace, Veronica Green
I cannot tell you how much I love that she dressed as off brand Sailor Moon so that she can just use her real finale outfit for series 3 when she is inevitably crowned. I am manifesting that energy for the next year.
Of course following Veronica was her brief replacement, Joe Black who had swapped the H&M for an HMS
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Also, how has it taken this long for a drag queen to walk the runway with a ship on their head? I’m just glad it was done so well, I have been YEARNING for it.
It was a tough act to follow for Tia Kofi who looked lovely and ready to do the washing up
at first I thought it was made of tiny little Union Jacks and I was a little dismayed but it’s actually African wax print in similar colours.
Then we had Sister Sister who in last week’s preview I had thought was Joe Black mostly because of the fingerwaves (Joe Black does not have a Monopoly on Fingerwaves)
I love this dress, It’s really opulent and somehow reads very 1950s film starlet and yet the sort of bib on top reminds me of the ceremonial robes that Rassilon wears in Doctor Who. I am confused by the axe – it feels like it wants to be a Mommie Dearest reference and yet the outfit doesn’t speak to that.
Lastly we have A’Whora who has also gone bridal and slutty, but with a green boot!
I have many of the same issues with it as a do Bimini’s but I am obsessed with the fact her wig looks like a limp wrist
A Finale Drag Runway Ranking
- The HMS Joe Black
- Ellie The Good Witch
- Asttina Mandella The ArchAndroid
- Cherry Red Valentine
- The Bridal A’Whora
- Ginny Lemon Soles
- Axer Axer
- Bridal Bon Boulash
- Drag Race Chaney
- Tia Kofi Doing the Washing Up
- Tayce’s Plucked Ostrich
- Veronica Green For Obvious Reasons
Going For Gold
With the runways walked and challenged vaguely judged it was time for the results and rather infuriatingly they decided to make the final lipsync for the crown into a three way lipsync between Bimini, Lawrence and Tayce while Ellie gracefully bows out in fourth. I do think they could have dropped Tayce at this point too – I love and adore her but there was no way they were ever going to let her win after being in the bottom two 3 times of which 2 of those occasions have been in the last 2 consecutive episodes. It was always going to be a Bimini vs Lawrence battle for the crown.
Having more than 2 queens in an unrehearsed lipsync is always super uncomfortable to watch because you can clearly see everyone being very worried about their space and the fear of taking someone’s eye out with a stiletto – it also made the editing super weird because Lawrence barely got shown beyond that time she mimed “I’m almost out of time”
and the song was I’m Still Standing by Elton John which practically made for Lawrence!
Meanwhile Bimini is trying to do her Bimini thing and sex kitten it up at the front of the stage
which she promptly realises is not working for the song and doesn’t really seem to know what to do next because she’s having to dodge Tayce who is running around the stage at speeds we haven’t seen since her Pre-herstoric runway look
so Bimini kind of settled for aggressive shouting at the judges
which again, I’m not entirely sure is the vibe we’re going for with the song? She does later find her silly groove with some amazing Hopak dancing
Which doesn’t get nearly the reaction it should have – they should have been screaming and yet I think her doing the signature kneecap crusher of one Tia Kofi got a bigger scream
although that might have been out of pure horror more than anything else.
It really felt like everyone was hindered by the fact there were three queens on stage and the true winner of it was Ginny Lemon just vibing out in the background
but there must always be a winner and this time, the winner of Drag Race Uk series 2 is…
Lawrence Chaney!
I may have been fully Team Bimini but I can see why Lawrence was chosen and how she fits the mould that World of Wonder wants for their TV show that nobody watches but also Lawrence is a lovely person – the interview she did on Radio2 this morning was testament to that, she burned out a little towards the end of the series but she’s a very talented and personable Queen and I desperately hope she’d able to enjoy and revel in her win despite the awfulness of people online.
And so we have our new Drag Race Royalty…
Top Row: A’Whora, Asttina Mandella, Bimini Bon Boulash, Cherry Valentine
Mid Row: Ellie Diamond, Ginny Lemon, Joe Black, Sister Sister
Bot Row: Tayce, LAWRENCE CHANEY, Tia Kofi, Veronica Green