Finally the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race UK is here and I'm so excited about what's to come for the rest of the series! In this post I'm going to review or ruview (get it!) the first and second episodes and the cast of the season. I thought that these episodes were a great introduction to the new queens because we got the perfect amount of time with each person to determine each of their strengths and their personalities.
Firstly let's talk about the cast. I think that this years line up is a lot stronger than last years girls as I feel that their looks are a lot more polished than the year before and also they are hilarious! So lets start with who entered the work room first.
Laurence Chaney is the first Scottish queen in the competition and she sure let that be known many times in the confessional! She's one of the funniest queens in the competition and I can't wait to see what she does in the future challenges.
Next we have Cherry Valentine who is from Darlington (I have to admit I'm British but even I don't know where it is!) I loved her look as it was dramatic glam and the makeup was very strong but looked very professional. Her personality is cheeky but sweet at the same time and I think she'll be good in the future challenges.
Third in was Tia Kofi from south London and she walked in with absolute sass and conviction even though I wasn't a fan of her intro look! She's very funny and honest which is great, so I think she will do well in any comedy or acting challenges.
Bimini Bon Boulash was fourth in and I loved the baby pink outfit, basically she looked like Barbie, I loved it!
Ginny Lemon from Worcester burst into the room in fruity style in a full on lemon outfit to represent her brand. I think she's great and she may actually be one of the funniest queens in the whole competition!
Ellie Diamond is the youngest queen in the competition. At just 21 Ellie is an Instagram queen as she produces fabulous makeup looks however this does worry me because to go far in Drag Race you need to have other tricks up your sleeve, so it will be interesting to see how far she goes in the competition.
Sister Sister from Liverpool is another quirky queen, not as quirky as Ginny Lemon, but a bit quirky. She can definitely bring the looks and I can't wait to see what she does in the other challenges as she says that she has dry humour which I love!
The person I'm rooting for the most though is Tayce! She's Welsh like me, she's from Newport and I'm from Cardiff, so I completely got all of the references she talked about and she's a fierce queen as she's funny but also serves us amazing looks. Her intro look was my favourite because it was pure fashion as it's an outfit that I could definitely see on the catwalk!
Joe Black from Brighton is a cabaret legend in the drag world (I didn't know that before the show, but I do now!) and I loved her glamorous, sequinned look!
I have a soft spot for Lancashire's Veronica Green because she just seems like the sweetest person ever and she's funny without trying to be funny which is great. Her entry look was so cute as it was a purple, 1980's style dress with a huge bow on her head. It was just adorable!
Another one of my favourites is Asttina Mandella because her makeup is perfect and her looks are very fashion forward! I can sense a bit of rivalry between her and Tayce, but hopefully their similarities will turn them into good friends.
Last but not least is A'Whora from London. I really liked the grown up Dorothy look on her. She's very confident, so it'll be interesting to see where she goes from here.
Onto the mini challenge where the girls had to pose for a Wimbledon style photoshoot called Wimbled Hun haha! This was a great mini challenge as it was fun, silly and we got to see how well they did in a photo challenge. I loved Tayce, Cherry Valentine and Asttina Mandella as they posed the best in my opinion. Laurence Chaney actually won though, which I can see as the photo was very funny!
For the main challenge the queens had to produce two looks- one was a famous British person who is/was a gay icon and the second was to make a look that represents their home town. First onto the catwalk was Joe Black as David Bowie which I actually really liked as he put his spin on the legend very well in my opinion however the judges disagreed. His home town look was of the Brighton Pavillion. Now I have to admit that I agreed with the judges on this one as he didn't look like that particular building or as Liz Hurley said, his outfit wasn't regency inspired.
Next up was Asttina Mandella as Naomi Campell. Now as beautiful as Asttina is (she can paint her face very well!) I felt that she could of gone for a more interesting look as Naomi has loads of interesting looks to choose from! Her home town look was your typical East End girl, with the pink glitzy bomber jacket and tight mini black shorts and biker boots. I absolutely loved it!
Ginny Lemon looked amazing as Kate Bush because the look not only really suited her, but also she captured her personality so well while presenting herself on the catwalk. Her suit coloured in the shade of Worcester sauce was such an amazing idea and it was perfectly kooky as well!
Tia Kofi was Alan Turing, which I think was a genius choice because I didn't know much about him at all, so I liked that she taught us something that we should all have been taught back in our history classes. The colourful suit was divine and it represented code braking perfectly well. The fact that he chose Alan Turning also shows us that Tia has brains not just looks going on which I really appreciate. I also loved her Robin Hood home town look because it was really elegant and sleek which suited her body well, unlike other Robin Hood costumes...
Bimini Bon Boulash was Princess Julia who was part of the Blitz Kids in the early 1980s (I know all about this because I'm a huge Boy George fan and he came from that crowd too) and I actually liked the outfit. Yes he could of done a bit more with it, but I still think it was good. His Norwich football outfit was one of my least favourites because it wasn't that creative and the fit was poor as well.
Laurence Chaney was Diana Rigg and I think the cat suit was very well made and the hair did look good however it wasn't the most exciting outfit ever! His Glaswegian look was great though and the touch of the stain glass window design in the dress really made it less predictable which was good.
Cherry Valentine chose one of my favourite icons ever- Freddie Mercury! She came out with the personality and sass that he had and the outfit was perfect! I loved the smokey outfit with the clock bag to represent Darlington. I actually want that bag now!
Veronica Green chose another one of my favourite icons and that's Boy George! I've been a huge fan of his since I was a teenager because I like artists who are unique and have strong personalities as well as great music, which he has. Veronica looked just like him! Also the fact she had Boy George's actually shoes is pretty cool!
A'Whora chose Vivienne Westwood which I liked, but I really didn't like her Robin Hood look. It just looked like something you could buy from a fancy dress shop. Sorry but it was my least favourite.
Sister Sister's Dusty Springfield was good, but not amazing and I agree with the judges critiques on that one.
Ellie Diamond was Lily Savage, which I thought was a fabulous idea and it really suited her! I loved her Dennis the Menace/ Beano look! It was so creative and artistic which is what Ellie is known for.
Tayce was also Naomi Campbell. It was an ok outfit, but I would of preferred it if she'd chosen another icon instead. I really loved her Welsh Dragon look though as it's the ultimate symbol of Wales!
After the catwalk the judges deliberated and Joe Black and Bimini Bon Boulash were in the bottom two. They lip synced to Relax by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. In my heart I wanted Joe Black to win, but ultimately I have to admit that Boulash was much better in the end. Now onto episode 2!
Episode 2 started with the girls knowing that Joe Black had gone. I think this is the point where they realise that the competition is real and that they really have to up their game to stay in the competition!
This episode started with a polling day style mini challenge where the girls decided which queen was the shadiest, best looking etc. The results which stuck in my memory the most is that they voted A'Whora the shadiest queen, Tayce the trade (best looking man out of drag) and baroness basic was Tia Koffi, which was a bit harsh!
For the main challenge they had to perform in the Rusical (or musical) called Rats. I thought that this was such a genius idea as it's clearly based on the musical Cats, but they also make a lot of jokes in it about why are they singing certain lines, which makes me think that some parts are based on the movie Cats, which we all know was awful!
I think that all the queens did a really great job in the musical as they all brought so much entertainment to it. The girls that stood out to me were Veronica Green as the Evita rat, Bimini Bon Boulash as the tough street rat and Tia Koffi as the lab rat. An honourable mention goes to Ginny Lemon as Judi Stench who's the elderly rat.
Surprise was the category for the runway and some queens did much better than others. First up was A'whora starting out with a suit and top hat, then unveiling a pretty bridal dress, so she literally went from groom to bride! I thought that this was an amazing idea and it was very well executed indeed!
Second on the floor was Laurence Chaney wearing a long blue dress which then turned into a tartan long dress. Even though I liked the tartan dress, I personally didn't think that it was the most imaginative idea that Laurence could of thought of, but it was fine.
Ginny Lemon looked like an adorable tea lady, then she turned the outfit into...well the same dress but with the bum showing, literally very cheeky!
Cherry Valentine walked out in a yellow and black polka dot puffy dress with a yellow hat, turning into a short bodycon yellow dress with a baby bump as it was meant to be like a gender reveal theme. I didn't really like this that much, so I agree with the judges opinions on this one.
Tia Koffi started out like a matcho man with strong guns who then turned into a blonde lady with a long red flamenco dress. Personally I thought this was ok, but not amazing.
Ellie Diamond was my favourite reveal because she created three looks in one! The first was the scarecrow from The Wizzard of Oz, then the Tin Man with of course a cute red heart and finally the Lion. This was such a clever idea, I love it!
Asttina Mandella wore a black cape which then unveiled a pink bodysuit. It wasn't the most exciting reveal. mind you the scary teeth was quite cool.
Sister Sister went with a Stepford Wife/ housewife look which then turned into a red bodysuit with black whips across the body, so the housewife's kinky side came out. I liked the idea of this one and it does remind me of what some of the characters in Desperate Housewives would actually get up to haha!
Veronica Green also started out as a Stepford Wife with a big floral dress on and then she turned into a robot, so it was literally like the film! This was a fabulous idea, it was very well executed and both of the looks were really well made. I was very impressed!
Tayce came out in this red cape which turned into a red catsuit and she randomly bled from the mouth. Not my favourite.
Bimini Bon Boulash wore a corset with balloons which was meant to pop, but it didn't work properly. I'm sure it would of been much better if it went according to plan.
The winner of the week was Veronica Green, which I agreed was very well deserved. She's definitely one to watch! In the bottom two we had Cherry Valentine and Tayce which I kind of understand however I didn't want any of them to leave yet. They had to lipsync to Memories from Cats...of course! For me Tayce was the best as she really acted the lines as this song was all in the facial expressions and overall acting ability, which I feel that Cherry Valentine lacked in comparison to Tayce. Ru then decided to keep Tayce in the competition, so Cherry Valentine left. I agreed with this decision even though I think that Cherry Valentine could of stayed in the competition a bit longer perhaps if they had to do another challenge instead.
What do you think of the new series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK so far? I hope you enjoyed reading my double episode review of the programme and I will see you soon.
Chantal xxx
No comments
Post a Comment