‘RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under’ Episode 2 recap: Aussie Snatch and Kiwi Snatch

In theory, a second episode Snatch Game seems like it could be a smart choice. RuPaul’s Drag Race has moved its signature challenge later and later in most seasons, making it feel less like the first checkpoint in the queens’ race for the crown (especially now that the Ball challenge has been moved up). Instead, it feels like a mid-game chance to eliminate a queen who just can’t keep up with the rest of the cast—Elliott With Two Ts being our most recent example.

But after a rough premiere, RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under could use a shot in the arm. Throwing down the gauntlet early challenges the dolls to step up and make a strong impression. In theory, an early Snatch Game gives us a better sense of each of these queens’ performance skills, sense of humour, and ability to riff with Ru than, say, an acting challenge would.

In theory.

In practice, this Snatch Game is a mess, and not a particularly entertaining one. There is one actually terrific performance, a couple of decent ones and a lot of mediocre left over. Few of the queens bomb—in fact, I’d say there’s only one disaster in the lot. But unlike the Season 4 Snatch Game, known and even beloved for its “romper room fuckery” (forever grateful to Latrice Royale for that description), this Snatch Game’s crime is being unmemorable. Besides the winner, I can’t imagine I’ll think much about any of these performances moving forward. And if the cast has made a strong impression, it’s not exactly a good one.

The workroom prep segment actually seems promising, save a bit of drama between Art Simone and Scarlet Adams about who will get the honour of playing Bindi Irwin. (It’s a bit of a Season 7 “I’m doing Donatella Versace!” moment.) Of all characters to be brought by multiple queens, Bindi is not who I would have expected. Karen From Finance notes how odd the choice is, but Art ultimately wins out, and Scarlet goes with Jennifer Coolidge instead. Anita Wig’lit makes the best first impression with her Queen Elizabeth II, firing off an absolutely amazing Prince Andrew joke: “When somebody turns 100, I send them a letter. And when somebody turns 16, Prince Andrew sends them a text!”

That strong start translates to her performance in Snatch Game, in which she is the clear and obvious winner. She’s the only one who gets off multiple very funny punchlines, and plays off other queens’ lines to make her own jokes. My personal favourite line is her secret to a long life: “Don’t piss me off and wear a seatbelt!” It’s an irreverent take that still wins over Queen Elizabeth fan RuPaul, who doesn’t even bother with deliberations before announcing Anita as the winner. It’s that obvious.

Joining Anita in not having to fear for their lives in the competition are Kita Mean, who does a surprisingly decent Dr. Seuss (complete with on-the-spot rhymes), and Etcetera Etcetera, who goes very dark with a Lindy Chamberlain impersonation. Chamberlain was the mother wrongfully convicted of killing her own daughter, Azaria, and publicly mocked for making the claim that a dingo ate her baby. In fact, that is what happened, making the taste of this impersonation highly questionable. Art and Karen talk about Etcetera’s choice ahead of time, with Art pointing out that her daughter really did die, and Karen questioning the comic value of the character.

In the game, Etcetera gets a lot of punchlines in, but I’d argue none of them are that funny. More to the point, they suck up a lot of the energy in the room, as everyone (including a repeatedly cringing Rhys Nicholson and Michelle Visage) seems on edge that the impersonation is even happening. Part of me thinks Etcetera got the pass to Mini-Untucked just so the judges wouldn’t have to uncomfortably debate the merits of the impersonation.

Instead, Elektra Shock, who does a strange but actually pretty funny take on Catherine O’Hara (in character as her Schitt’s Creek role, Moira Rose), is placed in the bottom with the other five queens. Were I in Ru’s shoes, I’d have scored all the New Zealand queens high, and instead put Etcetera in the bottom three. Alas, they’re instead safe, while Ru puts everyone else up for elimination. “It was a very interesting Snatch Game, let’s put it that way,” he says with a chuckle. It’s quite a reality check for the queens who, earlier in the workroom, had surmised that this was one of the best Snatch Games ever. Not quite, dolls!

A few of the queens’ Sea Sickening runways save them from poor Snatch Game performances, including Karen (whose Dolly Parton is confusingly joyless) and Scarlet (whose Jennifer Coolidge isn’t very distinctive). Coco Jumbo gets poor marks across the board, both for her Ursula-inspired runway and her unfunny Lizzo impersonation. Art gets plaudits for her webbed runway look, but it can’t save her from the lip sync after her Snatch Game performance. Her take on Bindi Irwin is long-winded, inaccurate and, worst of all, there are no jokes. It’s shocking that Art (a funny queen!) fought so hard to get to play Bindi, only to do that with it. Rhys theorizes that Art thought she’d be fine in this challenge, and didn’t properly prepare for it.

She and Coco must lip sync to RuPaul’s “I’m That Bitch,” and while Art does okay, Coco clearly wins the battle. She’s got the right attitude for the song, while Art seems self-conscious as she performs. Despite the winner being clear, Art’s elimination is nonetheless presented as a real shock in the editing. The other girls are gagged by Ru’s decision, and Art’s reaction to the result is shown before Coco’s. Coco, for her part, feels proud of her victory. “Soz bitch,” she says as she walks to the back of the room.

Art is absolutely devastated by this result. She was one of the frontrunners coming into this season, and you can tell she knew it. She weeps on Karen’s shoulder, and barely gets it together to deliver her exit line. When she gets to the workroom, she seems both bewildered by her elimination and horrified by it. She even says she’s the best one in the competition.

But in perhaps the most shocking moment of all, Art rebuffs a producer’s attempt to cheer her up. While expressing concerns that she would not be able to live this down and that she’s disappointed her thousands of fans, a producer points out that she got on the show. “That means nothing,” Art responds, lip trembling. It’s a genuinely shocking moment (I gasped) and an instantly iconic one, emotionally raw in a way we don’t see a lot on Drag Race. It also serves as something of a rebuke to the idea—recently cited by the show in the Season 13 premieres—that merely making it on Drag Race is enough.

With more and more international spinoffs of Drag Race debuting, the sheer number of dolls featured on the show is exploding. Remember when it was a big deal that Derrick Barry was the 100th queen to compete? If you count all the international shows now, over 250 queens have appeared in the franchise. It’s a nice thought that just getting on the show is a prize in and of itself, but I understand why for Art in particular, who has had a WOW Presents Plus series and is well-known, it’s not sufficient. She came on the show to win. I admire that competitive spirit, even if it means she’s very wounded by her early ousting.

But the show must go on, as it will next week with our top eight in a girl group challenge. With Art gone, it feels like anything could happen—and no one is truly safe.

Untucking our final thoughts

✨Up and Down (Under): Obviously a big boost to Anita this week for winning. But I actually think there’s more to parse in terms of how the queens who scored low are treated in critiques and deliberations. Karen and Scarlet both get enough praise for their runways to distract from their poor Snatch Game performances. Elektra actually gets an Alyssa Edwards-esque pass for her Catherine O’Hara: It’s not a great Catherine, but it’s still entertaining. Coco and Maxi’s critiques are the worst among the remaining queens, marking Coco’s second week in a row near the bottom of the pack. She needs to change her trajectory—and fast.

✨I will admit, I did not know there was a non-RuMix version of “I’m That Bitch.” I half-expected Art and Coco to start lip-syncing to Widow Von’Du’s verse.

✨Looks like the weekly prize amount is going to vary—Anita wins $5,000 this week, while Karen won $3,000 last week. (Anita received a sixth of the grand prize just for winning Snatch Game!)

✨Gotta say, I am not loving these “guest stars” in filmed bits only. Kylie Minogue’s RuMail message is cute, but it’s a tease to have her mention a bunch of her song titles and then not get one as a Lip Sync for Your Life. Dannii Minogue, on the other hand, pops up on a Zoom call during Mini-Untucked, in which she talks to the queens via a Mac desktop computer. It’s odd circumstances, and her time is short, but she’s encouraging. It’s nice to see them both, but the whole vibe of these virtual visits is just underwhelming.

✨Similarly, not having celebrity guests for Snatch Game is a bummer. Both are circumstances of COVID-19, so I’m not going to complain too much, but I do hope we can get back to having celebs play the game soon.

✨“This is not a stroke of genius, she’s just having a stroke.” I’m really liking Rhys Nicholson so far. He’s funny, but uses humour as part of his critiques, not in an attempt to make the moment about himself. Eager to see even more.

✨RUPAUL: “Michelle, have you ever been mistaken for a celebrity?”
MICHELLE VISAGE: “Only on Scruff!”

✨“The winner is Jojo Zaho, because she got to go home last week and didn’t have to endure any of this!” Man, Ru really is not having it this week.

The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under streams Saturday, May 15, on WOW Presents Plus in the United States and on Crave in Canada, dropping at 3 a.m. EDT/12 a.m. PT. In other territories, check WOW Presents Plus for your local listings.