‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ Season 2, Episode 6 recap: English Snatch

During the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, there was a sense among some non-British viewers that we were in for a largely incomprehensible Snatch Game. Based on the first few, very British weeks of the season, the expectation was that the character picks would be largely inscrutable to audiences outside of Britain. That, of course, didn’t come to pass: The winners were The Vivienne and Baga Chipz as Donald Trump and Margaret Thatcher, respectively, and the other characters were either American (Rue McClanahan, Julia Child) or otherwise famous beyond the U.K. (Mary Berry, Gemma Collins, David Attenborough).

As it turns out, the anticipation for an über-British Snatch Game was just a year too early. This season’s crop of characters is stacked with U.K. notables. The most familiar to non-British audiences is probably Mel B, as Tia Kofi takes on Scary Spice. But when the second most recognizable is The Great British Bake-Off host Matt Lucas, who Ellie Diamond technically did as his Little Britain character Vicky Pollard, you know this Snatch Game might as well be “for British eyes only.”

None of this is meant as a knock. While it’s true that this Snatch Games is not the best we’ve seen, that’s because of the weakness of the performances from anyone not named Bimini Bon Boulash or Tayce. It’s actually a lot of fun to get a Snatch Game that feels so steeped in U.K. pop culture. Coming off of last week’s “RuRuVision” and “Rats! The Rusical” in the second week, this season feels quite comfortable staying true to its roots.

After the cast marvels at getting an apology from RuPaul on the runway following his anti-H&M outburst on the main stage, and Lawrence Chaney reads Sister Sister for her lack of a “road map,” the queens are quickly thrust into preparations for Snatch Game. I like when Snatch Game episodes don’t have a mini-challenge; this is the big task every season, and it’s best to just get down to business.

Everyone has brought at least one character, if not more, which is all but expected at this point. And let’s talk about expectations for a minute: There’s been a bit of a discussion in the fandom over the series’ insistence that queens know how to sew—one that Symone and Kandy Muse recently weighed in on. Their point is that drag is a collaborative art, and not every queen will have sewing in their kit of skills. I’m actually amenable to this argument; while Drag Race started in part as a parody of Project Runway, as it has evolved it has left that influence far behind. Sewing challenges will likely always be a part of the show, but if a queen can figure out a way through them without learning how to sew, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize them for not having that particular ability.

Preparation for Snatch Game, on the other hand, is an entirely different expectation. Snatch Game is very minimally about being good at impersonation—and that’s been true since the start. It’s about being funny, quick-witted and committed. So it’s delightful to see that everyone came ready to play this time around.

Tia’s seemingly the only one who changes her character after Ru disapproves of her initial choice of Dame Shirley Bassey. While her Mel B doesn’t exactly work out for her, I think things might’ve been even worse with her original pick. Going against Ru’s advice pans out only occasionally, and it requires real fortitude and confidence. (Think Gigi Goode sticking with Maria the Robot in Season 12’s Snatch Game.) Considering Tia and Ru’s whole arc has been about the elder queen trying to push her and Tia not quite getting the message, I think Tia makes the right call to swap.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing to her Scary Spice. It’s a flat impersonation with Tia in a big wig telling Eddie Murphy jokes, and that’s all. It doesn’t stand out as a huge failure—mostly just because the average quality of these impersonations is pretty low. But combined with an odd pterodactyl take on the Pre-her-storic runway prompt, it’s obvious Tia’s days are numbered. Ru tries to buck her up, telling her not to be hard on herself and once again complimenting her body. But you can tell that for all of Ru’s love for Tia, she’s just not getting to the level she needs to be at for this competition.

Even worse, Tia lands in the bottom next to Lawrence Chaney, which is akin to a common man going up against the reincarnation of Jesus Christ for the title of pope. Lawrence is the only queen Ru seems more invested in than Tia this season, and Lawrence has the benefit of three challenge wins. Additionally, while her runway (a Raquel Welch reference) is not her best and her Miriam Margolyes is a bit one-note, she’s not awful in either category. It never feels like she’s in actual danger, though she does a great job in the lip sync for good measure. In the end, it’s Tia’s time to leave. 

Up at the top of the heap are Bimini and Tayce, who are on a bit of a roll together! They did quite well as a pair in the Morning Glory challenge, and both won as part of the United Kingdolls last week. Tayce opts for Jane Turner, best known as the Kath in Kath & Kim, and really gets into the character. As judge Alan Carr notes, she goes for a campier figure instead of relying on her immense beauty, which she’s been knocked for doing in the past. I’d argue she’s a distant second to the winner, but she’s fun, and shows off a side of herself we haven’t seen before.

But this is Bimini’s week to win, and by a mile. Her Katie Price, the model and tabloid fixture formerly known as Jordan, is nothing short of a triumph. She’s absolutely hilarious, picks up on all of Katie’s funny little habits (like pronunciation and how she holds herself), and has Ru cackling throughout. Bimini stands out all the more as a star in a group that largely whiffed in this challenge. Others get some laughs, but really only Bimini hits home run after home run with her punchlines. She absolutely dominates, and earns her second RuPeter Badge.

Last week, it was somewhat difficult to parse who came back from the break better or worse than before. The group challenge and largely strong performances made the cast blend together, and any critiques about growth (or lack thereof) were reserved for the runway looks. I’m less interested in that aspect (economic downturn hit folks differently, and some may not have had the ability to update their runways much), and more in how they’re approaching the challenges.

If you haven’t already, I recommend checking out the Queens on Lockdown special on WOW Presents Plus, in the Drag Race UK Season 2 section. It’s an interesting little episode, and what stuck with me most is how focused Bimini seems. She knew she had an opportunity to improve and come back stronger. And her work is paying dividends already: She feels like the frontrunner now. Sure, Lawrence still has three wins. But Bimini’s just one behind. If she can tie —or even surpass!—Lawrence, we may be looking at the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2.

Untucking our final thoughts

✨Up and Down: As should be no surprise based on the recap, Bimini is clearly atop the pack. I could still see Lawrence winning this, as she’s had her crucial Moment of Vulnerability now. But all the momentum is with Bimini. Tayce is also on a bit of a roll, and I’d love to see her continue to thrive. I cannot imagine Sister Sister has much more time left in the competition. She continues to be a background character (last week’s moment in the sun was an exception to the rule), and losing any of these other queens before her would feel wrong.

✨Jessie Ware is a very fun, invested guest judge, who is clearly bringing the expertise of a fan. I do always prefer when guests are the contestants on Snatch Game, but I get that might have been logistically difficult this time around. My favourite Jessie bit is when she praised Bimini for her Katie Price:
JESSIE: “I would be your next husband.”
BIMINI: “I’ve got an opening. Do you wanna see it?”

✨Disappointing the lip sync song isn’t a Jessie Ware joint, however. To be a musician guest judge on Drag Race but not have your song lip-synced to is to be Kacey-Ciara’d, a reference to the All Stars 4 episode in which both Kacey Musgraves and Ciara were judging, but Valentina and Monét X Change lip-synced to Ariana Grande’s “Into You.”

✨I’ve read a lot of comments this season about the amount of crying on the runway in Drag Race UK versus the U.S. show. This episode features even more of it, and while I get some of the annoyance, I never think it comes across as forced. These just seem like sensitive queens —and remember, they’ve come out of months in lockdown, so they’re probably very vulnerable. I’d rather have too many genuine emotional moments than forced, produced ones.

✨Did y’all see A’Whora throw that coat on the ground upon being called safe? The poor coat! It didn’t do anything!

✨LEGS from Ru on the runway this week! He may not want to see any fucking H&M, but he definitely wants to see skin.

✨I’m increasingly growing to love Ellie Diamond, but I gotta say, “Matt Lucas as Vicky Pollard” is some real “Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess” shit. If Drag Race is gonna have a rule against copyrighted characters, it should cut out the loopholes, too.

✨Tia realizes she’s the first queen in Drag Race UK herstory to survive two lip syncs. Tayce isn’t ready to call her a Lip Sync Assassin yet, though, settling for a “Lip Sync Ninja.” And with her loss this week, a Ninja she will have to stay!

✨Tia’s response to Ru telling her to sashay away: “Are you sure? I’ve literally got no plans.” I will miss her so much.

✨Who else still has “UK Hun” stuck in their heads? “Clap for the bing, bang, bong…”

Every Friday at 4 p.m. EST, join Xtra’s Kiki with Kevin live on Facebook, where he’ll be talking about RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13 and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2. And hold on to your crumpets, because Kevin will be spilling the tea!

The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will be available to stream Thursday, Feb. 25, at 2 p.m. EST on WOW Presents Plus in the U.S. and OUTtv in Canada, as well as on BBC Three and the BBC’s iPlayer in the United Kingdom. Additionally, episodes are available the same day on Crave in Canada, and Fridays the week following at 8 p.m. EST on Logo in the U.S. For other countries, check World of Wonder’s streaming guide.