RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs. The World was, to put it lightly, a controversial season. While it was fun to see All Stars-calibre queens from across the many international Drag Race franchises clash, the highly strategic gameplay led to some major threats being eliminated early, and Blu Hydrangea’s ultimate victory earned mixed reviews. The discourse around the whole season was incredibly negative, too, resulting in multiple queens having to plead with their fans to stop sending hateful messages to their season sisters. It was an intense experience, to say the least.
Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World, which is premiering not even a full year after the United Kingdom kicked this new franchise off, already has much better vibes. Maybe it’s the familiarity we have with this cast (everyone competed on a Drag Race season within the last two years), or the Canadian congeniality coming through. But this premiere is lighter and more enjoyable than any single episode of UK vs. The World, without sacrificing the competitive edge that makes this series interesting.
While the Canada vs. The World production deserves kudos for a lot of things that make this premiere feel fresh—first and foremost the long-overdue discarding of the opening talent show challenge in favour of a girl groups battle—I primarily credit the cast for the premiere being as good as it is. So in a bit of deviation from norm, let’s use this opening episode recap to check in with each of our queens and their premiere journey, and what I think we have to look forward to from them this season.
Credit: Courtesy Bell Media
Rita Baga is the first queen to enter the workroom, and she’s also one of our top two at episode’s end. The Canada’s Drag Race Season 1 veteran can fairly claim she fell just short of the crown during her first run, and her TV success in the years since puts her in a similar spot to the similarly named Baga Chipz from UK vs. The World. It pays to be a finalist who nearly won out the first go-around, because your high standard will have the judges already looking at you for excellence. To her credit, however, the “alien actress” doesn’t rest on her laurels this go-around. She’s a stand-out in her girl group, Touché, with fellow campy queens Anita Wigl’it and Victoria Scone. She knows how to keep attention on her even when she’s not the solo performer. And on the runway, in the “Queen of the World” category, Rita delivers a major elevation of her campy Montreal drag, without losing the comedic spirit (the hot dog sceptre!). It’s a great first week for Rita, and a deserving season-opening top placement.
Stephanie Prince is our next Canadian competitor, the first of three from CDR Season 2. Stephanie’s arc is that of the wannabe comeback kid, someone who was a major threat before an unceremonious early elimination. I’m glad Stephanie is here, since I do think she deserved a longer run on her season. However, her performance in this episode quickly reveals she might not be able to keep up in this crew—and the judges aren’t going to cut her any slack. She makes the mistake of overcomplicating the choreography for her group (the Maple She-Rups, which, woof), and it reads all over their faces. Meanwhile, while I personally adore her “Indigenous Filipina, traditional, queen of the village” runway look, the judges fixate on how she balances the crown on her head the whole time. It ultimately lands her in the bottom two, a rough spot for someone trying to fashion herself a surprise contender.
Similarly, Kendall Gender’s return to the competition is a rocky one. Unlike Stephanie, Kendall was a finalist in her season, but she nonetheless falls into the bottom two immediately in this contest. Kendall speaks a couple of times about her excitement to be back in the competition, which admittedly puzzles me. Kendall had a strong run on CDR Season 2, but I didn’t get the sense that she had anything major left to show—and filming for this season happened so shortly after Season 2 finished filming that she didn’t have time to grow. This comes across in her entrance and verse, which both demonstrate she’s relying on her much-loved “Kenny Gen looking like a slice” line from her finale verse. It also really shows in her runway look, which is accurately dragged by the judges for looking more “bodyguard” than queen. The whole package suggests that Kendall could’ve used more time before returning to the fold.
That said, if I’m suggesting Kendall should’ve waited, I should theoretically be saying the same about Icesis Couture. The Season 2 champion, and one of my all-time favourite queens, barely had a second to enjoy her reign before jumping right back into the fray. However, unlike with Kendall, I do already see some growth with Icesis. (And I’m not just talking about her dramatic glow-up in her confessionals.) Her entrance look is gorgeous, and she’s still got that Couturian sense of humour: “I wanna snatch another crown because I already went through all my money, and I need some more!” Her verse is a step up from her Season 2 offerings, and more to the point, she shows much greater skill with choreography than she did in the Rusical in her season. What really demonstrates why she’s back, though, is her runway look: her icy take on the Queen of the World category is absolutely jaw-dropping. She’s the only member of her group not to land in the bottom, and I’m certain this runway is a big reason why.
Credit: Courtesy Bell Media
Now that we’ve re-met our Canadians, let’s see the rest of the world—and by “rest of the world,” I mean, “the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand.” (Seriously, whoever hosts vs. The World next, let’s please get more countries represented.) Anita Wigl’it is a delightful sight to see, as we last saw her on the dreaded RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 1. Anita’s elimination was a big pile of bullshit that season, so I’m glad she’s getting a chance to redeem herself. The results so far are mixed, though: while the other queens seem to love her, she lands in the bottom three for failing to stand out during her girl group’s performance. I don’t get that criticism—I think she’s a standout—but I do think her too-low-key tulle runway look suggests she’ll have some trouble standing out in this group.
Next, we have the Americans, led by the Lip Sync Guru herself, Silky Nutmeg Ganache. It’s thrilling to see Silky back after her lip sync power hour in All Stars 6—it felt like she found something new in herself during that episode, and it was a shame she didn’t get a chance to compete further after it. Already, it feels like Silky is embracing who she is and who she can be in this competition; even her defiant entrance (saying “Prepare to be sick of me!” with wine in hand) is a sign that she’s ready to play. Her entrance look is very fun, and her verse in the performance is great, but nothing she does in this episode is quite as breathtaking as her runway. She comes out in funeral garb for her late husband, the king, which strikes me as an odd choice. But then she reveals out of the black gown into an absolutely gorgeous ball gown. It is stunning, easily the best thing she’s worn on Drag Race, and the reveal only makes it more of a moment. I’m excited for this ultimate Rudemption for Silky, and I’m hopeful she and her bestie can represent for the Americans.
That’s right, folks: Ra’Jah O’Hara is also back! She and Silky are on their third run together after Season 11 and All Stars 6, and already Ra’Jah is feeling like a star this season. Her entrance is basically her thesis statement for the season: “Now that I’ve won your heart, it’s time to win the crown!” She had perhaps the greatest redemption arc in Drag Race history during her All Stars return, but fell just short of the win. This is her chance to finally snatch victory. And if her imminently watchable performance in the challenge and gorgeous, self-made purple look for the runway are any indication, this season is going to be another one for the record books for Ra’Jah. Had her verse been just a bit less wordy, which her former Season 11 sister Brooke Lynn Hytes dings her for, than she might’ve been in the winner’s circle. Alas, she’ll have to come roaring back next week—and I have full confidence she will.
Our final two competitors are the Brits; defending the vs. The World title this season are UK Season 3 contestants Vanity Milan and Victoria Scone. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine two better picks from that season for this one. (Although I best see Choriza May on a vs. The World soon!) Vanity speaks openly in this premiere about feeling much better having other Black queens on the cast; she was the only such representative in the UK Season 3 cast, after all. Vanity’s new confidence radiates through her the whole episode, and she graciously thanks Ra’Jah and Silky for inspiring her at multiple points. This feels like a whole new Vanity, and I’m excited to see her performances all season long.
Credit: Courtesy Bell Media
Vanity performs with Ra’Jah and Silky as part of “SRV” (pronounced both as the letters and like “serve”), and she just absolutely smashes the performance. Not only does she kill the choreography as expected, but she also uses her verse to make a confident statement about her individuality. “Black queens don’t look the same, so remember their names,” she says, making a point about fans tagging the wrong Black queens on social media and mixing them up. (Quite damning for the social team over at Drag Race UK, which just had to issue an apology after misidentifying UK Season 4 queen Baby as her fellow competitor Black Peppa in a tweet.) The verse is a barnburner, and while wearing a gorgeous Regency-inspired runway look, Vanity earns a top placement for her efforts. It’s a hell of a start in this competition for her.
Victoria enters last among the queens, and while I think that has more to do with country order and alphabetization than anything else, I also think it’s quite appropriate for her grand return to Drag Race. Victoria’s removal for medical reasons was heartbreaking in her season, and I’m thrilled she’s getting the chance to compete once more. She just scores safe in this episode, but that says more about how good the competition as a whole is—Victoria’s verse and sung performance are a highlight of the episode for me. I’ll admit, the bumps on her scone dress trigger my trypophobia a bit, but I can still see she looks gorgeous.
We get deliberations in Mini-Untucked, which include Kendall and Rita floating a potential alliance together, as well as Vanity empathizing with Stephanie as being the only queen of a certain racial background to be on their respective casts (Vanity as the only Black queen in UK Season 3, Stephanie as the only Asian queen here). Rather incredibly, Kendall suggests that sending her home here would be her getting “Pangina’d,” referring to Pangina Heals’s shock boot in the fourth episode of UK vs. The World. Suffice it to say, I do not agree with her use of the term here.
It’s not particularly clear who’s sending who home heading into the lip sync (to guest judge Anjulie’s “Brand New Bitch”), but I would guess that Rita plans on sending home Stephanie, and Vanity sending home Kendall. This becomes more interesting when the lip sync hits All Stars 3 premiere-levels of difference in the approach. Rita is the BenDeLaCreme, camping it up, while Vanity is the Aja, playing it straight and dancing up a storm. It looks as though the judges are enjoying Rita’s approach more, even though it’s nowhere near as technically proficient.
But no, ultimately, Vanity wins out, and as I’d guessed, she sends Kendall home. This is actually unprecedented, as no finalist from a previous season has ever been the first queen sent home in an All Stars format. But based on her output and the critiques, I don’t think Kendall would’ve made it much farther than this.
Overall, this is a strong premiere, and has me excited for each of these queens’ journeys. There’s a lot of potential in this cast, and I think the tone is a much better fit for an international showdown format. Will it keep it up? There are only six episodes, so it should be doable, but we’ll see! If the recent seasons of Drag Race have taught us anything, it’s that a season can change on a dime. But I’ve got faith in these queens that even if the show around them falters, they’ll remain endlessly entertaining.
Untucking our final thoughts
✨ Up and Down: It’s back! We won’t be publishing separate power rankings for Canada vs. The World, so we’ll be tracking who’s rising and falling week to week. Obviously, this is a great start to the season for Vanity, as she picks up her first non-team win in her Drag Race career. We’ve seen queens win the first challenge and later struggle on All Stars, though: Tatianna being eliminated immediately after on All Stars 2, India Ferrah constantly hitting the bottom after her victory in All Stars 5, and so on. Can Vanity keep it up? Elsewhere, of the former finalists on the cast, Rita takes a crucial early lead. And of course, Canada losing one of its four competitors right out of the gate—on home turf!—has gotta hurt after Lemon was first out on UK vs. The World.
✨ Lots of good use of Ra’Jah’s signature “ohhhhh my godddd” in this episode, both in an echo in the episode intro and then in the verse itself. Glad she’s keeping her signature for this new season!
✨ Surprised that there’s no Brad Goreski in this premiere, but Anjulie (who I was admittedly not familiar with prior to this episode) does a nice job of filling the gap. She’s not only a strong coach for the queens in the workroom, but she also offers actual critique during judging. That’s refreshing, to say the least, coming off of UK Season 4!
✨ Silky makes a joke about nobody wearing flip-flops in their entrance look, but then admits maybe they should have. “That worked out for her!” Kendall jokes.
✨ “Bonjour, Hi” makes for an interesting song for the girl groups challenge—it’s bland enough that you don’t really remember the chorus, but it gives the queens a broad canvas to work with. I ultimately will always prefer the queens getting more time to show us what they can do, so I like it! Not as catchy as “Bye, Flop,” though.
✨ There was a rampant bit of speculation online when this cast was first rumoured that Icesis was actually hosting the show, and Brooke Lynn was competing instead. I like to think that BLH’s reveal on the mainstage and following joke—“Oh y’all thought I was gonna be competing?”—is an allusion to this. Brooke Lynn is basically in a league of her own at this point though, because holy shit, that main stage look during the challenge!
✨ Brooke Lynn notes that the last time she saw Ra’Jah was during their AS6 “Miss You Much” lip sync—“making iconic TV,” as she puts it. It’ll be really interesting to see how BLH judging Ra’Jah and Silky goes this season. Obviously it’s unprecedented on this series to have former competitors judging and being judged by each other, but as Ra’Jah notes, it’s actually a fairly common practice in the pageant world. Considering they all have that background, I could see it being a non-issue.
✨ Lots of talk about the target Icesis has on her back as a former winner in this episode. Silky predicts that the other Canadians will eliminate Icesis before she has to, while Icesis also tells her Season 2 sisters to their faces that she knows they’ll send her home. Foreshadowing?
✨ Still so sad for Blu Hydrangea that the winner of this season is getting $100,000 and not, well, this.
The next episode of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World will be available to stream Friday, Nov. 25, 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.
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