RECAP: “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK 6” Episode 8 (Makeover)
This may be the single most enjoyable episode of “Drag Race” ever. From any franchise. I think it’s certainly among the warmest, most lovely episodes. This was basically 60-something minutes of tenderness and support, right when the world — and the United States of America specifically — needs it most.
That’s especially remarkable, because generally, I don’t much care for Makeover challenges. They are ripe for riggory — the judging is so subjective that it borders on nonsensical — and over the years the actual “challenge” factor has diminished significantly, as the focus has shifted to personal stories that help to flesh out the backgrounds of the queens. But this one hit different. Nothing felt forced. Everything felt earned. It was just 12 absolutely delightful people being wonderful to one another, and a panel of four judges telling them how amazing they are. Zero complaints here.
Did I agree with the winner? Not really, but I certainly don’t begrudge them this badge. Do I wish it was a nonelimination? I do, because everyone was so good. But that’s the case with this group. I said last week that every elimination from Top 7 on was going to hurt, and that was the case here.
Read on for my takes on “Drag Race UK” Season 6, Episode 7, “Glam Your Fam.” SPOILERS AHEAD!
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There was very little preamble this time, just queens congratulating Lill for being the unexpected lipsynch assassin of the season (three lipsynchs, three wins!), and La Voix and Kyra Thrax both hooting and hollering over their exclusive membership in the 3-Badge Club. For those keeping score, Lill and Rileasa Slaves both have 1 badge each, while Marmalade and Charra Tea have none.
RuPaul came in and quickly jumped to the challenge: each queen would be paired with one of their loved ones for the by-now-expected Makeover challenge, judged on family resemblance and overall presentation narrative. The queens were instantly emotional at this news, and it only got more intense as their loved ones started entering one by one.
I’m going to go through each queen/loved one couple one by one, in order of strongest team to weakest — but note that literally no queen did poorly this challenge. They all were good to great, nobody was even OK. Every one of these queens AND their partners should be so proud of the job they did in this challenge. It was truly wonderful to watch, and this episode may have push this season overall to “UK2” levels of appreciation. And that’s a REALLY high bar.
La Voix and Voix La: I’m giving La Voix my top spot here for a few reasons. First, she had arguably the toughest challenge, making over her 78-year-old father Richard; Richard was one of only two men among the loved ones, and the eldest by I would guess at least 15 maybe 20 years. Second, I think those theater-curtain inspired dresses and wigs may be the best La Voix has looked this entire season. It was less “family resemblance” and more “identical looks,” but they both looked regal and expensive. Third, in an episode filled with touching moments, I think Richard gave THE most tear-inducing speech on the runway. I thought it was overall a slum-dunk week for La Voix. I was already a huge fan, but after this I may have switched to her team to win the crown. What an incredible season she has had.
Lill and Lola Buzzcock: Very close second here. Lill had to make over her absolutely lovely mother, and I found their bond so touching. There’s a connection between them that feels the dream mother-son dynamic, and I am so happy for the two of them. I think Lill actually pushed her loved one the most, turning her mother into a punked-out Vegas showgirl, with big feather headdresses, bejeweled bra, and showing a LOT of skin. And god bless her, Lola went all in here. She sold that character and you could tell she was having a hell of a lot of fun. These two warmed my heart consistently throughout the episode. Lill has emerged not just as the surprise lipsynch assassin of the season, but also as the unexpected teddy bear. She’s got such a kind soul, and this episode, we could see where she got that from.
Marmalade and Just Jam: I was surprised by Marmalade being named the winner of this episode, but I’m also totally at peace with it. Marmalade has been at the top nearly every challenge this season, and on more than one occasion I’ve felt that she either deserved the win, or it could have very easily been a tie victory. Her going into Episode 8 without a badge didn’t feel right, so even though I think she was edged out by two excellent makeovers here, receiving a badge felt totally correct from a season-arc perspective. And the truth is, the plaid outfits — both of which Marmalade herself created — were unbelievably chic. I think Marm may be the most fashionable queen we have had on this franchise, or at least among the Top 5. And she not only has great taste, but the design and construction skills to back them up. She’s truly exceptional. Her mother was such a delight, and Marm is right: the two of them have the exact same sense of humor. You saw it over and over this episode. I loved watching the two of them interact, and I thought her mother did wonderfully on the runway.
Kyran Thrax and Ru Bella: This was the most conceptual of the makeover concepts, and completely in line with Kyran’s brand: weird, trashy, subversive, and well executed. Kyran’s loved one was her partner — the only other male-presenting makeover partner, but significantly younger than La Voix’s. They had a lovely, easy chemistry, and I enjoyed getting to watch their interactions. Nobody else would think of doing, essentially human garbage pails as their makeover except for Kyran Thrax. Baby Bin Benjamin was the cherry on top. Really good job, as always, from Kyran.
Rileasa Slaves and Jileasa Leasa: It seems like at this point, Rileasa is embracing Ru’s rebranding of her name to Rileasa Leasa. I find that interesting — I’m not sure I agree with it, but I get where Ru is coming from. I think Rileasa should be so proud of the job she did here. I appreciated so much that she immediately pivoted from her initial concept, which was focused on showing lots of skin, and instead created two entirely new looks so that her lovely sister felt comfortable and beautiful. Not every queen would be that accommodating, or put herself at risk in that way. Everyone else in that work room seemed to have come with their outfits mostly intact. Rileasa literally made both dresses for this challenge herself in the work room, and I thought they looked great. I took Michelle’s comment about Rileasa’s gown being slightly off in the length, but that was a minor quibble. Loved the styling with the can rollers, hairnet, and massive fluffy coat. The only reason this placed Low was because everyone else previously mentioned absolutely nailed the challenge. It wasn’t Rileasa or her sister doing anything wrong. They didn’t. They were just slightly less amazing than everyone else.
Charra Tea and Mama Tea: First, I think the name for Charra’s mom was a missed opportunity. I didn’t hate Charra Pea, but there were other ways to go here. In the interview with Ru, someone mentioned the term “generosity.” Why not Jenna Rossa Tea? I should write this shit. Anyway, I adored watching Charra and her lovely, lovely mum this episode. I had a smile on my face the entire time. I fell in love with Charra over the past few episodes, and I was rooting for her going into this one. I think she did a perfectly good job with this challenge. The outfits weren’t pushing any boundaries, but they both looked good, and the family resemblance was clear. Mama did everything exactly right — they made a great team. I think this just came down to other queens pushing the concept a little more than Charra did. Because I don’t think aesthetically I can fault them on anything.
That left a Bottom 2 of Charra Tea and Rileasa Slaves lipsynching to the ultimate troll song, “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley. I was hoping the viewer was being RickRolled, and that there would be no elimination — nobody deserved to go home this week, and while their approaches to the song were very different, both of them did well with it. Ultimately I do agree that Rileasa did better, and she was spared, sending Charra Tea home in a VERY respectable 6th Place.
Charra, you did AMAZING this season. You started out rough and were invisible for the first leg of the race, but you came on strong over the past four weeks. You did your home country and your family proud, and I would welcome you back for an All Stars season. What an absolute delight!
Next: It’s the roast of the eliminated girlies, with special guest stars (and previous roast winners) Michael Marouli and Ella Vaday.
What do you think of this season overall? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
