RECAP: “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK 6” Episode 3 (Acting)
The good news for “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” Series 6, Episode 3, is nobody injured themselves in the shower! Congratulations, girls! This week we got the fallout from DesignGate, a sassy mini-challenge that was meant to stir the pot (but the pot already done been stirred-ed), and an acting challenge that was…very much a “Drag Race” acting challenge.
One thing this season is doing really well so far is juggling the cast. Almost every member of the cast had some moments this episode, whether it was excelling in one way or another, giving us some backstory, or establishing a plotline. The editors are doing a great job establishing this field, and the queens are doing an equally good job giving hem plenty to work with.
Read on for my takes on “Drag Race UK” Season 6, Episode 3, “Brit-flicks.” SPOILERS AHEAD!
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We picked up right where we left off, with Chanel O’Connor feeling some kind of way about Lill getting last week’s challenge win, despite the fact that Chanel created the bulk of her outfit. (Nobody disputes this fact, by the way; Lill just points out that Channel didn’t make the entirety of the outfit, Lill herself made the accessories.) Chanel says it’s fine; she’s just glad Marmalade didn’t get the win. This sets Marmalade off, because she thought they all worked well as a team, and she doesn’t understand where this hostility is coming from. Chanel explains that, as the season’s two biggest seamstresses, she feels naturally competitive with Marmalade. The two of them snip and snipe at each other until ultimately, Marmalde gets overwhelmed and walks out of the work room as they all de-drag.
My take on this: I can understand why Chanel would be irritated at doing the bulk of the work on the look that won the design challenge. I also fully back her speaking up about it — unbidden by the judges — during panel last week. A closed mouth does not get fed. I also think Chanel is playing all of this up for the cameras a bit, because she fundamentally understands that conflict is what makes good TV. I also think that Marmalade was playing into it, too. That walk-off might have been genuine, but it was also melodramatic as fuck. All of that to say, Good job, girls. Keep it up! This is low-stakes drama we can all believe in.
The next morning, Marmalade speaks her mind and delivers a pretty withering takedown of Chanel and her behavior. I think this is when Chanel realized she might have to dial it back a bit, because while you want to give the cameras drama, you don’t want to be painted as “the villain.” That does not play well with this particularly fandom (cough Kitty Scott-Claus on “Global All Stars” cough).
Ru then comes in to lead the girls in a mini-challenge called Dirty Laundry, in which the queens had to assign articles of clothing that were metaphors for how people are doing in the competition. I can’t recall what everyone received, but among the winners were Chanel, who got what equated to bitchiest; Charra Tea, who got what equated to weakest; and Kyran Thrax, who got the item that equated to toughest competition.
The girls were then split into two teams via schoolyard pick — Chanel was last, which is both unsurprising but frustrating; they will never make me dislike you, Chanel O’Conor! — and assigned two British romcom spoof trailers. The team with Zahirah Zapanta, Kyran, La Voix, Rileasa Slaves, and Lill got a Love, Actually riff called Hate, Actually (Chanel chose to join this team, which was smart on her part). The remaining girls — Charra Tea, Dita Garbo, Actavia, Kiki Snatch, Marmalade — got a loose interpretation of Four Weddings and Funeral that also included elements of Bridget Jones’s Diary and, weirdly, Titanic and Pretty Woman, which are not British romcoms.
Neither of these were particularly successful, but we have also had much worse acting challenges on “Drag Race.” The clear highlights for me were both Hugh Grant characters, played by Kyran and Actavia in wildly different but successful interpretations. Rileasa was also very good in her role as a little stalker girl (I have no idea what movie this was supposed to be referencing), while Dita was stiff and unfunny in her Bridget Jones role. Most of the rest didn’t make much of an impact on me at all.
On the runway, the theme was New Romantics, a nod to the early 80s style that incorporated over-the-top silhouettes, military regalia, genderbending, and wildly inventive make-up. Think Adam Ant, think Bow Wow Wow, think David Bowie, think Dead or Alive. I thought most of the queens did a great job, especially Dita (I agreed with guest judge Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran, this was the look of the night and very much on brand with the theme), Marmalade, Rileasa, and Kyran.
Unfortunately there were some real stinkers here, too. Kiki Snatch was going for a more refined, sexy take on the topic and gave us something mismatched and banal; Zahirah focused too much on her top and gave absolutely no attention to the bottom (girl, we have all been there…) — and Charra was completely off topic with a Leigh Bowery look that was super cool, but had nothing to do with the assignment. Leigh Bowery was firmly Club Kid. It seemed nonsensical seeing that on stage next to every other look.
The tops this week were Kyran, Rileasa, and Marmalade, all of which were justified; I though Actavia could easily have been up there as well. La Voix seemed irked that she was not in the top, but I even if she did well in the challenge — and she did — her runway was pretty weak compared to everyone else in the top placement. I think it’s clear at this point that runway is going to be La Voix’s main weak point this competition. On the bottom we had Zahirah, who was good in the challenge but forgot to wear pants; Kiki, who was overacting in the challenge and looked a mess on the runway (also an emerging trend); and Dita, who was easily the worst in the challenge but received high praise from all the judges for her look. If she made that, she should be really proud of herself. It was stunning.
I thought they might give the win to Rileasa, especially because Kyran is already such a dominant force in this competition. But no, it went to our bin queen, and Kyran has now won TWO badges in three episodes. I can’t be mad about it. She is coming for this gig HARD, and I admire her ambition. The judges did tell her that they want to see a different mug from her next week instead of her usual witchy beat, which is ironic, because it’s a Halloween challenge. More on that in a second.
In the stew room, Zahira seemed resigned to her fate, even if in confessionals she was privately frustrated that she is not interested in a prolonged bottoming streak. I mean, that sounds like fun to me, but I don’t know her life. Kiki had a pretty good attitude about the whole thing, and was ready to fight. But Dita was upset. She understood the judges’ critiques, but shared with the girls that she was struggling, as it was the anniversary of her mother’s death. Dita had mentioned her mother before on the show; I think it’s pretty clear that they were close. She did try to snipe at some of the other girls, and she got called out for her negativity by Kyran. This caused Dita to flee, and Chanel to attempt to comfort her — which gave us a hilarious soundbite from La Voix — but I do think ultimately Chanel did help. Was it a deliberate move to soften her edit? I think probably. But at the same time, do I think she was being a sympathetic person in that moment? Also yes.
Zahirah was called safe, leaving a Bottom 2 of Kiki Snatch and Dita Garbo, lipsynching to Duran Duran’s iconic “GIrls on Film.” They both took different approaches to this. I was really impressed by Kiki’s musicality and physicality. She interpreted the song in an interesting way, and was exciting to watch. Dita really focused on the lyrics and sold the story of the song. I thought she did well here, and she should be proud of this performance. I also think if it came down strictly to lipsynch and not the total presentation, she beat Kiki, who was not always on point with the words. But there was no question that Kiki laid down a better overall performance.
And so Dita Garbo was our first properly eliminated queen of the season. That bums me out. I LOVE seeing older queens getting a shot on “Drag Race.” I think they often have such a different take on drag, and completely different experiences as queer men than most of the 20- and 30somethings who predominantly get cast. I was sad that we got so little of Dita, because I think she’s stunning and has such an interesting story and point of view. I liked her quite a bit and I wish her only success in this new chapter of her career.
Next: it’s the girl group, or rather “ghoul” group, challenge, with the queens recording Halloween tracks. That could be fun!
What do you think of this season overall? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
