Drag Race UK vs the World: Was the season 2 premiere a success?
‘Well-received’, ‘critically-acclaimed’ and ‘best ever!’ are not phrases we would associate with the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World.
With a rushed six episodes, a rather whelming second half and the wildly controversial back-to-back exits of frontrunners Jimbo and Pangina Heals, it’s not often ranked in the upper echelons of Drag Race seasons. (Jimbo’s unhinged introduction of Casper the Baloney Ghost, Jujubee’s so-bad-it’s-bloody-brilliant impersonation of Cher and the runways deserve praise, however.) As a result, fans have been less… enthused, we’ll say, about the follow-up.
How does it fare so far? First of all, this cast is goddamn impeccable. Compared to season one, it’s undeniably a more accurate reflection of the ever-expanding franchise with queens from the US, the UK, Spain, Holland, Australasia and the Philippines.
A majority of the cast has unfinished business, too, or something to prove to viewers: Arantxa Castilla-La Macha is finally comfortable in her skin as a trans woman; Tia Kofi now has the aesthetic to match her talent; Jonbers Blonde wants viewers to get on board with her fashion; and Gothy Kendoll is now (a) confident (top) with her new gnashers.
