I’m going to try and keep this episode as short and sweet as possible because I’m TRIGGERED! This decision has split the Drag Race fans into two camps, those that think Cheryl overstayed her welcome and those who think she deserved to win this week. I fall heavily into the camp of Cheryl being robbed by this week’s Drag Family challenge.
Cheryl had by far the strongest look and family resemblance. I know Cheryl thought her and her sister looked really similar out of drag but they didn’t really. However, she created a legitimate twin – and a drag one at that! The hair and makeup was spot on and the outfits weren’t dreadful, it was just a fix way of getting Cheryl out of the show as they felt she overstayed her welcome… RIGGA MORRIS!
But enough about that, I’m sure I’ll get back to the travesty when I come to it in the review.
The queens started out by discussing the elimination of the ever-so-sweet-but-secretly-shady Blu Hydrangea. Attention quickly turned towards Baga and how she essentially tapped out last week when she thought she’d be lipsyncing. The queens were not impressed with Baga’s attitude but hindsight is a powerful thing and once she knew she was safe, Baga was happy to say she actually knew the lipsync song.
The Mini-Challenge: Everybody Loves Puppets!
Praise the Lord! One of the greatest mini-challenges in Drag Race herstory is back for the Brits. The classic challenge saw the queens venting their frustrations and impersonating the other girls through the psychological medium of puppetry.
RuPaul came out in a lovely purple suit with matching dyslexia glasses to help him read the queens.
The queens randomly picked their puppets and started dragging them up to high-heaven.
We saw Baga get The Vivienne, Divina get Cheryl, The Vivienne get Divina and Cheryl get Baga. But by far the funniest bit was seeing Divina howling because she knew The Vivienne wasn’t a fan of her.
Let’s see how the queens did.
Baga Chipz with The Vivienne
It was pretty funny, not the best for Baga, but she did a good job.
Cheryl Hole with Baga Chipz
The accent was pure dog shit however, Cheryl actually made some funny jokes, the puppet was hilarious, the addition of badges was a nice twist and she actually made me laugh. Good job Chez.
Divina De Campo with Cheryl Hole
Cheryl is probably one of the easiest queens to spoof, she’s practically a walking meme already. Saying that, I think Divina did a great job. She stepped it up and made her funny without overdoing the obvious ‘Essex’ gimmicks.
The Vivienne with Divina De Campo
This had me in stitches. The bulging eyes, the red hair, the pale makeup – she nailed the look that’s for sure. She also had some funny jokes and dipping the puppet’s face into the white powder was a great touch. Even Divina was pretty impressed with it.
In the end, Divina was the winner of the mini-challenge but she actually won nothing… just the adoration of her fans. But it doesn’t really matter, because it would have given her no boost or bonus to this week’s drag family maxi-challenge.
The Maxi Challenge – A Drag Family Reunion
Like Snatch Game, this is another staple in the Drag Race show that has the fans gagging – it’s the makeover challenge! Will the queens be doing over some of the Queen’s guards? Maybe putting market stall traders in heels? Or what about getting the humble ‘white-van-man’ in a lovely wig? Nope… mums and sisters.
Yes, I like when we meet the family members, but back in the day the challenge was to turn stereotypical alpha males into beautiful bitches. Women are already half way there in this challenge – tits and hips and all that. Why not dad’s and brothers? Or boyfriends and husbands? Who knows, maybe they’ll use these ideas for next season.
ANYWAY, the queens met their loyal subjects for the challenge. Baga was the first to meet her makeover and it was her mum Josie.
Next up was Divina who was blessed with the presence of her little sister Carys who brought her own little surprise to the show – she’s 4 months pregnant!
Next up was The Vivienne and her teeny-tiny Jimmy Crankie mother, Cassie. She reminded me of Thelma the dressmaker from Big Fat Gypsy Weddings.
And lastly we had Cheryl’s sister, Gina. Two Essex gals in one room, I can tell this is going to be a hoot.
After their emotional reunions, it was time for the queens to hop into action and created their drag family transformations.
Do Divina and Cheryl have a Drag Family advantage?
Baga certainly felt this way when she brought it up on the runway and The Vivienne also commented that having younger people will certainly make life easier in this challenge. However, I think age is just a number in a challenge like this, it’s how creative you can be. Look at Jinkx and her makeover challenge, she had the oldest competitor and yet they put on a brilliant performance. Raven had her teammate come out in a wheelchair and Sharon Needles turned her burly old man into a gothic icon.
But enough about their ramblings, onto the runway! Before we continue, let’s quickly talk about Ru’s outfit. I thought the puffy jellyfish/ballerina dress was quite nice actually. The colour looked great, the messy updo wig was beaut and her makeup looked great. This was a really nice outfit for Ru in my eyes and it’s nice for her to show some leg and not just wear a gown – see Blu, she mixes it up sometimes.
Category is: Drag Family Realness
As you know, the queens had to make up their loved ones to show a strong family resemblance.
Cheryl Hole & Sissy Hole – Toot
I honestly think Cheryl and Sissy look spectacular. Yes, it’s a leotard but that is what Cheryl Hole is all about. Her sister looks phenomenal and it’s hard to tell them apart. The hair and makeup are stellar. Not only does Sissy look like Cheryl’s twin, she also looks like a legitimate drag queen. This was my absolute favourite this week.
The Vivienne & The Mother – Boot
The fact this was safe annoyed me, I actually thought it looked dog shit. Don’t get me wrong, the makeup was nice. But Vivienne looks like she’s going to some sort of naff Eygptian fancy dress party and her mum was going to a seperate party dressed as a witch from Hocus Pocus. The wig she put on her mum made her head look like a pea. It was also a pretty dull outfit for Viv, a black dress and a necklace is hardly fascinating.
Divina De Campo & Delisha De Campo – Toot
This was a really fun idea. It was quintessentially Divina and the pregnancy bump was a great detail to turn the pair into twins. Delisha worked the runway with style and sass and you can truly see a family bond in both visuals and personality.
Baga Chipz & Sacka Spudz – Boot
The Results of the Drag Family Makeovers
The judges comments towards Cheryl could not have been more fixed to get her in the bottom. They knew full well she had the best makeover. The wig was spot on, the makeup was flawless and the costumes were both complete ‘Cheryl Hole’ moments.
It was obvious that this was the end of the line for Cheryl but you can’t send her home on a week where she technically should have won. My face when they put Cheryl in the lipsync:
They decided that Divina was the winner, fair enough. It was a fun concept and like Cheryl, the duo had a strong family resemblance. However, if Divina was going to win, Cheryl should have stayed. BUT 👏🏻 THAT 👏🏻 DIDN’T 👏🏻 HAPPEN! 👏🏻
Instead, we had The Vivienne be safe… how. I thought the wig she put on her mum’s head swamped her and made her look like a pea. It didn’t help that her mum was already half the size of her. Then she put her in some shit witches cape and was done with it. Apart from the blonde hair, there was no family resemblance.
And then we had Baga who seemed to slag off her mum at every turn. Now, I don’t think this was deliberate like fans are making out. She doesn’t need death threats. I believe she was trying to protect her mum from looking stupid and she tried to explain that but did it in the wrong way.
I did feel really bad when her mum started crying though and I do agree with Divina – Baga seemingly managed to put all the blame on her mum rather than owning up to the bad makeover.
Because of this, Baga and Cheryl (still raging) were in the lipsync and just to rub salt in the wounds, they do Cheryl dirty once more.
The Lipsync
Another unjust moment to get rid of Cheryl – they gave the pair an Amy Winehouse song… you know, Amy Winehouse, Baga’s idol. However, I just want to say that I thought that Cheryl really held her own in that lipsync. She didn’t serve you OTT Alyssa Edwards dance moves, but it still had sass.
Also, not to piss on Baga’s chips, she did brilliant in that lipsync – I have to make that clear. I don’t have a vendetta against her, it was the show’s decision but she did great. The lipsync seemed warm and friendly between the two and when they held hands and hugged it felt real, not just a TV moment. It was obvious she would be leaving but I really thought she did a fantastic job to keep up with a song style that Baga’s known for.
I didn’t start the season as much of a fan of Cheryl but my word did I leave as one. Bravo you kooky bird, you did alright. As she said, she’s got the ‘worst track record’ to make it to Top 4. What a hero.
How has that affected the scores?
As I’ve said countless times in this review, I think Cheryl was absolutely robbed. Yes, she stayed in the competition longer than she should have, but you can’t send her home on a challenge she should have absolutely won.
Winner: Divina De Campo – 5 Points
Top: The Vivienne – 3 Points
Lipsync: Baga Chipz– -1 Point
Eliminated: Cheryl Hole – -3 Points
At the end of this absolute scandal of an episode, Tom finished with -1 point and I walked away with 5 points. However, I’m more annoyed at how robbed Cheryl was. Either way, that takes Tom’s total to 22 points and I’m ahead with 38 points.
