‘Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World’ Episode 3 recap: Weather or not

Since this is just the second season of Drag Race’s nascent vs.The World sub-franchise, it’s hard to know just what to expect. There are certain similarities between UK vs The World and Canada vs The World: a cast of nine queens, with the most representatives coming from the host nation (three British queens for UK, four Canadian for CDR). There are the top two Lip Sync for Your Legacy—er, for The World here—that leads to each top queen picking someone to go home via lipstick, and the winner getting their pick eliminated. And considering there are six episodes in this season, just like the last, I’d imagine we’re heading to a top four finale and a Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown.

But beyond that, a lot has differed between the two seasons. Unlike in UK vs The World, which quickly handed out a slew of wins to the same three queens (Jimbo, Janey Jacké and Pangina Heals), Canada vs The World has almost gone out of its way to spread the wealth. Everyone remaining in the top six has a win at this point, and no one has won more than one lip sync. And for that, I’d credit the remixed challenge order and design.

The challenges so far have tested a range of talents—girl groups for musical performance and dance, Snatch Game for impersonation and improv comedy and now the Weather Ball for fashion design and presentation. UK vs.The World had a broad spectrum of challenges in the first half as well, including the talent show, the RuPaul Ball and a Rusical. But it’s notable that only the ball challenge has carried over so far between the two. (The seasons share Snatch Game in common as well, but “Snatch Summit” was in a decidedly different format than the Family Feud-inspired Snatch Game of UK vs The World.) And thanks to the BBC Three episode descriptions for Episodes 4 and 5, we know we have stand-up and acting challenges ahead of us.

I say all this to give due credit to Canada’s Drag Race’s production team for making the season feel both fresh and genuinely competitive. We’re halfway through this very short season, and the competition is tight. And we’ve gotten some really memorable moments, too! From SRV’s iconic rendition of “Bonjour, Hi” to Silky Nutmeg Ganache’s surprising, specific output in the ball challenge, this season is feeling much more vital than UK vs The World did. However, as we saw with UK vs The World, one wonky elimination is all it takes to throw the whole season off balance. With a slew of fair eliminations so far, but everyone left on roughly the same playing field, how do you make “fair” elimination decisions?

It doesn’t help that there’s some potential foreshadowing going around. We start this episode with Ra’Jah O’Hara expressing surprise that Icesis Couture sent her Canada’s Drag Race Season 2 sister, Stephanie Prince, home next week. But Icesis notes in her confessional that this should make the other queens less wary: “Now everybody knows that I’m playing a fair game, and just because you’re my sister, or just because you’re from Canada, doesn’t mean you get to get saved.” Icesis is committed to playing fair, but are the other queens? Ra’Jah, at least, seems to be, as she reveals she would’ve also sent home Stephanie.

Neither of these queens should have anything to worry about, as this week is the Weather Ball challenge. Both have won a ball in their time on Drag Race: Ra’Jah the Blue Ball in All Stars 6, and Icesis the Sinner’s Ball in CDR Season 2. Some other queens in this group have won a design challenge here and there; Rita Baga actually won two in her season, though she was in the bottom for the ball. But you’ve also got Victoria Scone in this group, who never made it to her season’s ball, Silky and Vanity Milan, who were in the bottom three of their ball challenges, and Anita Wigl’it, who was eliminated on a design challenge in Drag Race Down Under’s first season.

The good news is that almost everyone has come into this challenge with a plan. Anita admits in confessional that she still cannot sew, which is quite the warning sign coming off of her scoring low in two challenges she considered her strength! Yes, there’s a bit of a “DANGER” sign flashing over Anita’s head this whole episode, particularly when some of the other queens who performed poorly in previous balls have taken steps to rectify their weaknesses.

Top of this crop is Silky, who pulls out a surprising win this week! She pulls out three fully fleshed-out characters in her looks, giving us a soft, sexy take on the “Air, Body, Lace” lingerie category, then a regal, opulent gown and cape for the “Arctic Foxy Lady” runway. Then, when it comes to the self-made category, the “Caught in the Rain Couture,” Silky gets a ton done. She sews boots and a jacket in a difficult vinyl material, and fashions herself as the Morton Salt girl all grown up, ready to hit the club. The range in her looks, mixed with some really interesting design choices, make her a worthy winner. It’s all the lovelier that it comes at a time when, by her own admission, Silky isn’t feeling her prettiest—but nonetheless shows up to do her job, and does it excellently.

I admittedly have some quibbles with our other ball champion’s win. Victoria does pull out a surprising, exciting look for the first category, coming out as a Fabio-esque drag king, “Victor Scone,” for the “Air, Body, Lace” runway. This alone seems to account for the bulk of Victoria’s score, since the judges’ praise for it is breathless, while their praise for her puffer jacket look is more tame, and they actually have issues with her self-created look.

For some time, I’ve asked that the judging for the ball challenge be overhauled; there’s just no consistency from season to season about what the criteria are. Is the self-made look worth more? Is it an even split? Without some kind of transparency—I’d love on-the-spot scoring, like an actual ball!—decisions like these are going to continue to frustrate. Why is Icesis, who puts out three excellent runways, including a lingerie look that gives Final Fantasy boss and created a netted trash look that is nothing short of stunning, sent to the back without critique?

I’m happy for Victoria, and I’m glad she gets some recognition at a crucial time. My concerns about her story arc being a setup for a fall turned out to be unfounded, as she uses the judges’ remarks about her playing it safe to make a big impact this week. But while I think her Fabio look is worth tremendous praise, I don’t think it’s enough to counteract what Icesis puts out across three categories. And by the look on Icesis’s face when she and Ra’Jah are called safe, it seems she agrees.

Ra’Jah is also “feeling some type of way,” as she puts it in Mini-Untucked, about her safe placement, but this one I personally understand better. We’ve seen Ra’Jah put out better on the runway; my personal favourite of her looks is her lingerie take on Cruella de Vil. The final look in particular is an interesting idea—what if she took rain jackets and made a gown out of them?—but the final product doesn’t demonstrate all the work that goes into it. The good news is, as she demonstrated she could multiple times in AS6, Ra’Jah seems to be taking it in stride, and as a chance to come roaring back next week.

Unfortunately for our bottom two, Anita and Rita, one of them will not get the chance to come roaring back next week. (Vanity, our low-scorer, avoids the bottom two.) Rita disappoints in the ball, with an underwhelming silhouette for her lingerie look, a reveal-less winter coat for her second and a messy self-constructed garment for the third. However, there’s no real doubt who is in position to go home this week, even before seeing her looks.

To her credit, Anita’s second look is solid, but it’s not enough on its own. Her lingerie look lacks the surprise it needs to pull off a reveal, and pairing it with a blue ombré wig is a strange choice. And while I appreciate her constant refrain in judging and deliberations that her look fits her well, that’s not enough when it just doesn’t look great. I admire her for creating something she’s proud of, but she’s just not on the level with the other queens—and this is her third time in the low-scoring group, her second in the bottom two proper.

With the way eliminations have been going so far this season, there’s not a ton of suspense as to what’s going to happen. Maybe if it was Icesis or Ra’Jah in the bottom two suddenly, Silky or Victoria might get the idea to play strategically. But I don’t believe Victoria will cut her Touché sister with the better track record—and, in what might turn out to be a very savvy move, Silky cuts a deal with Rita to keep each other safe. It’s all over but the lip syncing, which, in a delightful twist, is a redux of “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here” by Deborah Cox. A bop! Both queens do well, but Silky commands the stage.

As expected, Silky wins, and she sends Anita home. I’m sad to see her go, but there’s no denying it was the right call. With the New Zealand queen gone, this is officially a battle between two Americans, two Canadians and two Brits—and it has never been tighter. At this point, I think anyone expecting judging to remain “fair” with just two eliminations to go might need to go refresh themselves on Jimbo and Pangina’s abrupt departures. Things don’t stay calm on vs The World for too long; that, at least, we know for certain.

Untucking our final thoughts

✨ Up and Down: Theoretically we’ve got an even playing field at this point, as every queen remaining has one top placement. There are a few wrinkles to that, of course: Rita is the only one who’s been at risk for elimination, while three of the queens also won their lip syncs. Still, rocking the only “high/safe” placement given out this season, I think Ra’Jah’s an inch ahead of everyone at this point. Meanwhile, if they do indeed stick to judging on track record, I think either Rita or Vanity should be most likely to go next. But I’d be surprised if we lose another Canadian before the final five. It ain’t called Icesis Couture vs The World.

✨ Another point in the “Ra’Jah and Icesis’s heartwarming friendship” column: their earnest, heartfelt exchange at the start of this episode about last week’s lip sync. “That was so much fun!” they both say to each other. Considering her close Drag Race friends include Icesis, Silky, A’keria C. Davenport and Kylie Sonique Love, it must be said that Ra’Jah has exquisite taste in pals.

✨ Traci Melchor is the regular guest judge out this week, but we get Brad Goreski back in advance! I’m a stickler about the fashion expert judge needing to be present for design challenges—the number of design tasks Carson Kressley has missed on the American series drives me nuts—so it’s great to see him here. His best judging this year, I’d say? He was a bit off his game in Canada’s Drag Race Season 3, but he’s engaged in both the workroom and on the panel this week. My personal favourite bit is his flirtation with Victoria during their walkthrough, which is delightful all around. “I’m paying!” Victoria says of their fake date.

✨ Our guest judges are Hollywood Jade, whom I usually expect for dance challenges, but is enough of a CDR fixture to come judge any time, and Canadian fashion reporter and TV legend Jeanne Beker! They’re both great, but Jeanne just has an absolute ball, throwing out all kinds of jokes during the runway presentation. The show has been incredibly reverent about her over the years (remember Synthia Kiss’s tribute on the runway?), so it’s a blast to see her here.

✨ I typically give this crew a lot of props for weaving in producer-prompted questions well—Ra’Jah is a master at it—but that shady question at the start of the episode about who needs to step it up is clunky as hell. We get it: Anita is obviously next to go, and she goes. Not much point in underlining the obvious.

✨ If you are ever asked in a Drag Race confessional who your best friend in the competition is, you best lie. Because as Anita finds out this week after extolling Rita’s praises, it is a quick way to make sure only one of you is surviving an episode.

✨ Silky finds a full uncashed cheque in her notebook, which delights Brad. “When you’re too busy to go to the bank, you know things are good!”

✨ Absolutely obsessed with the conversation the queens have about who has watched each other’s series. It’s prompted by Anita asking who has seen Down Under Season 1, and while some admit they jumped off after Anita’s elimination, Ra’Jah says she stopped after Episode 1. (Wise choice.) Ra’Jah also hasn’t watched Rita’s season of Canada’s Drag Race, but was a huge fan of Vanity on UK Season 3. This really touches Vanity; the story of Vanity looking up to Ra’Jah and Silky is truly a gift this season.

✨ With the elimination this week, SRV is officially the last girl group from the premiere left intact. That may not last long, though. Hard to tell who’s going next when everyone left has at least one maxi-challenge win, but Vanity’s trajectory certainly seems headed in the wrong direction—and she already was eliminated on a comedy challenge once.

✨ Do we think this “unspoken alliance” between Silky and Rita will pay off? I’m inclined to think no, since alliances based on anything but pre-existing relationships (hello, Rolaskatox) rarely go anywhere on Drag Race. But it is worth noting that the most successful one we’ve seen was between Blu Hydrangea and Mo Heart on UK vs.The World: their deal got them all the way to top two. Might history repeat itself here?

The next episode of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World will be available to stream Friday, Dec. 9, at 9 p.m. EST on WOW Presents Plus in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada. You can subscribe to our drag newsletter, Wig!, for exclusive Drag Race content delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday afternoon.