‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Versus The World’ season premiere recap: Drag is all over the world

An international All Stars season has been something of a dream for RuPaul’s Drag Race fans since the first non-American series debuted. What a thrill it would be to see queens from across the franchises do battle! How would Drag Race Thailand’s crew fare against, say, Canada’s Drag Race’s group? Would UK queens be able to keep up with the American dolls? As Drag Race launched more and more international series, the interest in a franchise-spanning season only grew.

So the announcement of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Versus The World—as well as rumours of it during filming, let’s be honest—brought much joy to the fandom. Sure, it’s yet another instance of two seasons airing against each other, and franchise fatigue is real. But how could you turn down the chance to see titans like Jujubee and Monique Heart travel across the pond to face off against UK Season 1 standouts Blu Hydrangea, Baga Chipz and Cheryl Hole? And queens from non-Ru hosted series, like Lemon and Jimbo from Canada’s Drag Race and Janey Jacké from Drag Race Holland, would get to compete on a whole new stage!

Perhaps most exciting, however, was the announcement that Drag Race Thailand judge Pangina Heals would be competing this season. While Thailand had stellar queens who would be more than capable of competing with this lot, Pangina is drag excellence. Getting to see her on the other side of the dais, from where she iconically yelled at dolls to “FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE”? That promised to be something to see. Expectations were high, to say the least.

Luckily, after one episode, Pangina has more than lived up to them. Be it interacting with the other queens, performing in the first challenge (a “royal command performance,” a.k.a. a talent show by another name), walking the runway or slaying the lip sync, Pangina is the clear star of this premiere. She makes a forceful stand that she is here to win. And in an episode when a lot of the girls—hell, even the show itself—seem content to just show up and hang, Pangina’s passion is infectious. If only the rest of the show were quite at her level.

Unfortunately, it seems like the expectations of the first-ever international All Stars might’ve been too high. The energy of this episode is a bit sleepy, the pace off and the stakes a bit too low. (Once again, as a BBC Three show, they’re offering no cash prize—a big change for six of these queens.) There’s still plenty to enjoy about it, but considering UK Versus The World will be an abbreviated, six-episode season, one might have hoped for a more forceful start.

Take the entrances, for example: doing something different, the queens each enter on the main stage, not the workroom. The impact of this is a double-edged sword, as the queens have a grander debut in equally great looks. (The entrance looks alone scream “money,” to say nothing of the later runway garments.) But then, after entering, the queens are left to awkwardly shuffle around a narrow stage as they banter. It feels a bit too performative in practice, and the delay from their reveal—from behind the All Stars Lip Sync Assassin curtain!—to their entrance line is too long. It’s less a chance for an opening statement and more for a delayed thesis.

The not-quite-entrance lines range from the too simple (“You’ve been expecting me” from perpetual competitor Jujubee, “Well, what’s the craic?” from Irish queen Blu) to the wildly elaborate (former All Stars 4 finalist Monique’s “The battle ain’t yours, sis. Buckle up, because I’m gonna be here every week. Thank you!”). My favourites are from the queens who are from non-Ru-hosted shows in the Netherlands, Canada and Thailand, respectively: Janey’s “Told y’all I was gonna be back—this time you won’t need your subtitles though,” Lemon’s “I heard you missed your main squeeze” and Pangina’s “Ready for Thai tea? Because Pangina Heals is in the house!” They’re long and specific enough, without being full paragraphs.

I’ve purposefully left two queens who I think are most primed to win this season for last (and who, after meeting on tour, are also apparently good friends). First, you have Baga Chipz, third-placer on UK Season 1 who has gone on to great television success in Great Britain (including a stint on The Celebrity Circle). She’s got the energy of someone who wins an All Stars-style season, but surprisingly, Baga struggles out of the gate this episode. She can’t stop referencing her own run on Drag Race UK; her entrance line, delivered while dressed as Princess Diana, quotes her “Break Up (Bye Bye)” verse: “Baga Chipz is stunning, Baga Chipz is class… It’s me, the People’s Princess!” She asserts that she’s famous and beloved in the U.K. in this premiere, but it’s notable that she seems more comfortable remembering her past in the competition.

Then there’s Jimbo, who parlayed a fourth-place finish on Canada’s Drag Race’s first season into major fan support—especially, appropriately enough, in the U.K. Jimbo reminds me of All Stars 2 winner Alaska in this episode: she’s self-referential, but she’s also further developed her character and her drag style since her season. She comes in with giant breasts and dressed as a clown—two signatures of hers—but later gets a lot more outré with her looks. It’s a clever gambit: she’s cute and clowny at times (“Mom, I’m home! And I want a snack” is her entrance line), but her drag is thoughtful and unique. I came into the episode thinking Baga was the frontrunner because of her off-show fame, but now I’m thinking it might be the favoured Canadian who’s in pole position.

But both of them will have a hell of a time keeping up with Pangina, if this episode is anything to go on. Baga falls into the bottom three for her “royal command performance” of a repetitive, one-note original song, one the judges note she doesn’t even ably lip sync. Meanwhile, Jimbo lands in the top after a twisted bit of performance art that involves birthing ham. Really, that’s all there is to say—it’s freaky, unusual and undoubtedly funny. (Combined with Ru’s praise of Willow Pill’s recent talent show performance, it’s clear the host is really enjoying experimental acts these days.)

Pangina wins, however, after a performance that proves variety acts can still stun and surprise after we’ve seen dozens of them on All Stars seasons. She dances in different styles, all quite well, to the beat of a catchy original song. She’s also hilarious, but not only comedic in the performance; there are levels to what she’s doing. She also stuns in what she describes as “head-to-toe, Thai-inspired couture” on the runway, in an “I’m a Winner, Baby” category. She certainly looks like a champion, and paired with a winning lip sync to the Spice Girls’ “Say You’ll Be There,” she more than earns her victory.

Among the safe queens are both Americans, who sing live and turn out elegant runway looks. I give the edge to Mo for a more dramatic forest green gown, but I appreciate the big hair on Juju’s look. Neither feels like they have the fire from their previous All Stars runs, though. The same goes for Cheryl, who does a dance to an original song that is the definition of safe—particularly in contrast with Pangina’s own variety act. Blu scores high for an act with mannequins of herself that she puppets in front of and behind her, and it’s hilarious. Were it not for a runway that totally misses the category (“BDSM troll doll that just had sex with a highlighter pen,” while vivid, is not quite a winner’s look), I think she’d have been in the top two this week. But I’d argue even she doesn’t feel like she craves the win yet.

Conversely, Baga clearly does want the crown, but I can’t understand how she avoids the bottom two. Not only is her song repetitive (take a drink every time she says “Much betta!”), but her supposedly Oscar-inspired runway is all wrong. As Ru says, “Based on your interpretation of the Oscar, we won’t have to worry about copyright infringement.” Instead, it’s Janey and Lemon up for elimination, and their reactions speak volumes. Janey’s reveal-heavy act, complete with impossibly quiet backing track, is the worst of the night, and she mostly seems disappointed to be losing on behalf of the Netherlands. 

Lemon, on the other hand, knows Canada will still be represented without her, but she’s crushed on her own behalf. She, like Baga, Jimbo and Pangina, has a clear drive to prove something this season. She did quite well in Canada’s Drag Race, but couldn’t escape harsh criticisms of her runways. Now, she’s got the looks, but the judges are apathetic to her original rap and dance. Michelle Visage all but calls out her split-jump from a box as being a repeat of Aja’s All Stars 3 talent show performance, which Pangina ultimately uses as a deciding factor in making her decision.

It’s tough to watch Lemon break down in mini-Untucked, because I genuinely don’t think she deserves to be in the bottom. She was in the bottom two for her first run on the show as well, but she could save herself in a lip sync then. Here, her fate is left in the others’ hands, and while she and Jimbo are sisters from their own series, their lack of relationship post-show (Lemon posits that Jimbo feels she was robbed on the season) means she’s not comfortable relying on Jimbo to save her. Pangina, meanwhile, is an even worse candidate to rely on, as she and Janey formed an instant bond.

Upon winning the Lip Sync for the World (cute name), Pangina reveals that she’s sent Lemon home, upsetting the Canadian queen. She says it’s okay, but while filming her final words, it’s clear she thinks Pangina made the wrong decision. Interestingly, Jimbo says she wishes she were a stronger dancer as Lemon leaves, implying that had she won the lip sync, she’d have saved Lemon, not Janey. A set-up for drama in the next episode? We can only hope!

My takeaway from this premiere is that there’s got to be a bit more heat moving forward. Pangina is terrific, and I’m excited to see what more Jimbo has in store. I also think watching more of the queens interact will help a ton. But for a series that’s been anticipated for years, I wish I were wrapping up this first episode eager to dive into another. As it stands, UK Versus The World feels less like an epic battle and more like a light skirmish.

Untucking our final thoughts:

✨Up and Down: We’re back to just recapping this season, which means I’ll be keeping track of the queens’ spots in the competition in our recurring “Up and Down” feature. Obviously one has to worry about Janey after this first episode, although a sewing challenge next week will be more up her alley. In all honesty, the U.K. queens are in great danger on such a challenge: neither Blu nor Baga is the strongest sewer, and Cheryl was actually in the bottom three of UK Season 1’s sewing task. But they’ll have some company: Juju professed to not like sewing on All Stars 5, and Jimbo went home in her season’s ball challenge. I’d put good money on Janey and Mo doing the best—though perhaps Pangina can quickly rack up another win?

✨We’re back to a calmer Ru for this instalment of Drag Race, aside from a wild choice of tights in his runway outfit (and the decision to descend from the rafters via a lift for his entrance). Still, no “coffee enema” effects in sight yet.

✨The pacing of this episode is absolutely wild, and I hope the show gets into a better groove moving forward. With no mini-challenge and just nine entrances, we get to elimination day just 21 minutes into a 73-minute episode. And the runway comes just five minutes after that! I know we’re familiar with these queens already, but I’d love some more time just watching them interact in future instalments—the workroom stuff we do get (including Baga’s tea with Juju, Monique and Pangina) is some of the best in the episode.

✨Unfortunately, I think we’re pretty clearly headed to a Monique villain edit this season. She’s shown shading the other queens repeatedly—even more than her American sister Juju—and in next week’s preview, she’s once again leading the charge in dragging another queen’s choice of garment. Most telling is that there’s an extended bit of Blu calling her out for diva behaviour the first time they meet. Monique does apologize (“We all have Alyssa Edwards moments, okay?” she jokes), but still: the whole package is looking rough for Mo.

✨Speaking of Mo: despite introducing herself as “Mo Heart” in the promos, Monique is called “Monique” by everyone in this episode, including herself. I’ll be referring to her as Monique for sake of consistency with the show, but I do wonder if we’ll see a change at some point during the season.

✨Mel C is honestly a revelation as a guest judge. She has a blast, but that doesn’t stop her from making specific, sharp critiques, like calling Lemon out for not translating her performance to her face, or questioning how Blu missed the runway prompt with her look. Most delightful is how she uses critiques to positively drag her Spice Girl sisters: telling Baga her “vocals are much betta!” than Victoria Beckham’s, or that Blu’s mannequin trick would be useful to keep Geri Halliwell in time with their dancing. Brutal! I love it.

✨With the return of the All Stars 2-4 format comes a return to the judges taking on other activities during deliberations. For this episode: “The judges and I will pop down to the chippy.” (Ru orders pizza instead after the others’ orders are too complicated—a mood.)

✨There are a lot of globes on set, and I’m not sure I like them all (especially rendered in the green-and-purple colour scheme on the runway). But the globe-shaped lipstick box gets a 10 from me. Flawless.

✨We’ve got some updated prizes: gold RuPeter Badges for the lip sync winners, and a song recorded with Ru as the grand prize. Listen, it’s better than a WOW Presents Plus show. And in a nice touch, proceeds from the song are being split between two charities: Comic Relief and Children in Need.

✨“It has been U.K. versus the world for centuries, darling.” Leave it to Jujubee to give us the best single line of the episode. She may be low-key in this premiere, but I will never turn down a chance to watch a season of Juju.

The next episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Versus The World will be available to stream Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. EST on WOW Presents Plus in the U.S. and Crave in Canada, as well as on BBC Three in the United Kingdom. For other countries, check World of Wonder’s streaming guide.