‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ S2 Finale Recap: Wobbed? Whatever!

She may not speak to my political or moral values, but former Liberal Senator Lucy Gichuhi really speaks for myself and the not-so silent majority when it comes to who should have won UK S2‘s finale: “well… well… next question! Cya!“.

It’s not that Lawrence Chaney isn’t a deserving winner. I love Lawrence, and they’ve shone bright in a season full of stars since walking into the werkroom first. But this season’s tone has led to some foreseeable whiplash online, as her crowning seems like a last-minute swerve back to the season’s original narrative.

Since the COVID-induced break mid-season, Bimini has gained so much traction in the competition it seemed like her win was a sure thing — made all the more impressive by how overlooked her drag and perspective was in episode one. Winning 4/5 of the season’s final episodes is a steamroller of a performance, but it’s not the score-card or wash of love on social media that made Lawrence’s win land a little odd. It’s the show’s edit itself.

Bimini was acing the show and incredibly at ease on-camera, while Lawrence spent three episodes complaining about Ellie’s comedy challenge line-up. The show was very clearly pushing a ‘Bimini up, Lawrence down’ narrative, and to switch that around last minute is unsatisfying, even if Lawrence clearly stands along with the franchise’s other reigning queens and is a much more conventional Drag Race winner.

It also, to be clear, does not really matter. Given the UK’s winning prize is a WoW Presents+ original web-series, they’re really just fighting for the title itself — and you could argue that ‘losing is the new winning’ too, as Bimini now gets a legion of fans to view her as the ‘underdog’, and will inevitably have a chance to go on that rumoured international All Stars.

But damn, it’s hard to not think Bimini was a widdle wobbed. Whatever: it’s certainly not worth sending Lawrence hate over, and it’s a real shame if not understandable that the disappointment seems to be overshadowing Lawrence’s moment.

My girl @ShadyLawrence is a totally worthy winner. The impact they had on the competition is undeniable and they're talented, funny, beautiful and an all round fabulous human. I love everything about them and I couldn't be more proud of them for their deserved win.

— BIMINI! (@biminibabes) March 19, 2021

I’m sure in time it won’t feel surprising at all, given Lawrence was the frontrunner from E1, but it was nice to get swept up in such an unpredictable season. Let’s recap: beyond the Boulash bamboozle, the most famous queen went home first; a front-runner left because she got COVID and E1’s winner left two episodes later; a crock-wearing legend walked out during a lip-sync; and A’Whora turned out to be an incredibly loveable queen.

This has absolutely been one of Drag Race‘s best seasons in a while (for reference, I’d put it among the show’s best, and above pretty much everything since All Stars 2 and S8).

The challenges were great, ‘UK Hun’ remains 2021’s best song, Rita Ora’s replacement doll is my new crush, and we got our first plus-size winner in the English-language version (Thailand‘s Natalia would be the first over-all). I’ve loved every second. Well, mostly — this was an oddly messy finale.

Hello, I’d Like To Talk To The Audio Mixer

Lets be honestly — Drag Race werkroom finales are normally a little boring (as are the live finales beyond the lip-syncs. Sorry Oprah, but we are not having that conversation!).

The final challenge might produce a great number, but it always feels irrelevant, as it’s pretty clear who will get the chop before a final lip-sync. Meanwhile, we just want to know who wins! But it’s not like Drag Race is alone here: most reality shows lag in the finale, as they have to fill out 40-60 minutes with only a handful of competitors left.

But this episode’s final number — a Rumix and performace of ‘A Little Bit Of Love’ — was a little, um, off? The mixing made it hard to hear the queens’ lyrics, particuarly Bimini’s and Ellie’s, as they smooshed a lotta syllables into their verses. Lawrence and Tayce faired a bit better, but even then, the whole thing just lacked a certain je ne sais energy: despite the choreographer being really hot, they mostly just stood around and bopped from one foot to another?

It’s all the more surprising considering how ‘UK, Hun?’ turned out — who knows what went wrong here or if it was a COVID-related issue, but the mixing, recording and audio-visual match-up was all off. Just a bit disappointing, really, especially given how excellent these queens are. Not to be dramatic, but the show failed them a little: it was nowhere near as lacklustre as All Stars 4‘s slowed down ‘Super Queen’, but lets just say this isn’t going to make a megamix anytime soon.

In-between rehearsing their dance moves, dropping their verses and enjoying a Tic-Tac lunch with Ru and Michelle, the queens finally tackled the biggest question of the season: Lawrence’s hair. Kind of, we learnt he shaves the side to fit it into a wig, but that doesn’t quite… explain what else is going on.

The Scottish queens generally have some questionable styling, as Ellie walks into the werkroom with floral pants with suspenders — given she’s seemingly eight feet tall and they sit above her waist, they are overwhelming. Tayce, the narrator of the season, fulfils her role to the last moment, asking Ellie, ‘what’s going on here?’.

Honestly, I really didn’t take that much away from the chats with Ru or much that happened this episode, beyond that Tayce’s dad was in Wham!, and that the judges don’t love Tayce as much as they should.

I get they’re not seeing the confessionals, which is where she’s really endeared herself (the gall! the gumption!), but there’s something a bit reminiscent of Ru’s badgering of Pearl to disclose her trauma in her and Michelle’s convo with Tayce.

They seem disappointed that she’s not going to unravel her insecurities and issues in front of them for TV. And while she has previously talked about her self-esteem issues with Lawrence in the werkroom, that arrived as a much more personal, natural moment.

It seems like Tayce doesn’t want to play into storylines or providing fabricated ‘vulnerability’, and is a little punished for it. Later, the judges essentially say she can’t win because she doesn’t let her guard down, which is a completely different version of Tayce from the beans-loving person we’ve seen this season.

It’s like they need a teary moment, when most of the audience really just wants to watch confident queer people make fun, silly but meaningful art. No wonder they’re enamoured with Lawrence, whose self-esteem issues have been central since E1.

It was really sweet to see Ellie encourage Lawrence in rehearsals: time and time again, we’ve seen Lawrence freeze when uncomfortable, but Ellie repeatedly told her she ‘DOES’ know what to do. Hopefully this win helps her listen to that inner instinct more, as Lawrence’s talents are undeniable — and overcoming that inner saboteur is the best winner’s arc the show can produce.

Bring Back My Girls!

The best part of the performance comes when the eliminated queens pop out for the final chorus: it’s really nice to see them on the main-stage again. What a cast.

Afterwards, we get a runway with the vague theme of ‘finale eleganza’, which is essentially best drag? There’s absolutely no unity to it given the eliminated queens mostly don’t come out with their most elegant looks, so we get No Frills Sailor Venus, Sister Sister holding an axe and Tia Kofi doing her best. (For the record, Tia’s performance look is seemingly a reference to RuPaul in Drag Race promo — maybe some kind of play off Ru’s comment how in the right hands, Tia could look as beautiful as her?)

Meanwhile, Asstina reminds us she’s beautiful, and A’Whora comes out in an asymmetrical dress with dolphin fin hair that screams ‘I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOP 4’.

The top four are far more regal, though I’m a little surprised by Tayce’s bodysuit. She’s gorgeous, duh, but it’s relatively simple for her.

Before the judges eliminate Ellie, they make each talk to an adorable photo of their younger selves. In the US version, the queens usually choke up here: the UK queens mostly crack jokes, even if the messages of self-acceptance and love is clear. It’s pretty much a synecdoche for the difference between the shows, and why UK’s felt so fresh.

It’s a little annoying this is even a segment — yes, it gives us that vulnerability and emotional moment, but I wish the show would return to that parody of reality TV it started as. Now, it echoes producer lines you’d see in The Bachelor: not necessarily bad, but just less subversive in format.

Whatever! The queens lip-sync to ‘I’m Still Standing’ by Elton John, which might be a classic but it’s not really the makings for a spectacular showdown. Should have been ‘Private Girl’ by Natalie Portman as written by Sia for the Vox Lux OST.

The judges announce Lawrence the winner, which again, feels like a right but safe choice, much like The Vivienne winning above DDC or Baga. I would love to see a non-binary Drag Race UK winner who is aggressively leftist, and speaks about social issues with the ease and sharp humour of most of the queer people in my life.

Obviously I’m a massive leftie lol

— BIMINI! (@biminibabes) March 14, 2021

(Without getting too conspiratorial, given they film multiple crownings (or ‘drownings’), I ‘begin to wonder’ whether Bimini’s recent (and seemingly deleted) anti-police tweets in wake of the UK protests this week made the BBC a little nervous that a Bimini win could start a conservative pile onto the ‘state-sanctioned woke media’, so they went with a safer crowning? Or is that just the sort of thing that would happen in Australia?)

Again, Lawerence is great (and not without her own leftist political views!). I truly love her, and I’m so excited to see what she does with the crown. But, to quote Wendy Williams, Bimini Bon Boulash is an icon, has a point, is a legend, and they are the moment. Now, come on now!

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RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is available on Stan, with S13 episodes dropping 3PM AEDT each Saturday.

Jared Richards is Junkee’s Drag Race recapper and a freelancer who has written for The Guardian, The Big Issue and more. He’s on Twitter.