Ahoy there girls, gays, theys and tucking tights salespeople — you ready for another recap of Stan’s RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under only on Stan and exclusive to Stan? Well tighten those chains and place an order for Grindr’s new Twink Pink Gym Shorts, because it’s about to go down (under).
Last week Yuri Guaii was sent home by Molly Poppinz in a killer lipsync to Tina Arena‘s “Chains” (the S&M remix, of course).
It was heartbreaking to see Yuri go home, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
RuPaul then tells the queens that this week’s maxi challenge will be to make a promotional video for their hometown. I personally would have loved to do this and sell the fuck out of western Sydney. Merrylands and Parramatta are basically historical landmarks.
To help the girls get into the mood to sell things to a camera, they are called to stand in front of a pre-recorded message from legendary Aussie model Samantha Harris.
Could we not have spared a couple of dollars to fly her to New Zealand?
At least she didn’t appear via Samsung flip phone like Sophie Monk did last week.
The girlies are getting ready and Beverly Kills decides to ask the girls for some advice. RuPaul keeps telling her that she’s guarded and not really letting loose, but Bev is just being herself and trying her best.
Honestly, if I was acting normal on a reality show and everyone started to ask for “the real me” I would have a manic episode on live television. But hey, that’s just me. Bev was 21 during filming and let’s be real, who had their shit together at that age?
Needless to say, the other girls decide to lay their “advice” onto Beverly pretty heavy. You know, all the helpful stuff like “you’re really fucking fake”. Works like a charm when you’re lost and confused.
Thank the gay gods for Spankie Jackzon though, who pulls Bev aside and tells her to brush off all the doubts. She’s in the top five just like anyone else, she just needs to stop doubting herself so she can thrive in the competition.
Next up is the actual filming of the Drag Race Down Under hometown advertisements with infomercial hostess Suzanne Paul (in the flesh!!!) and RuPaul’s ride-or-die Michelle Visage.
We don’t need to spend too much time rummaging through the chaos of this part, so let’s just let Suzanne and Michelle’s reactions say the rest.
Beverly has therapy-like revelations coming to her about her family’s perfectionism and how it’s negatively impacted her entire life after filming the ads wraps up. I need to lay down after all this. Somehow the show has turned into RuPaul’s introspection race.
Kween Kong then has her own moment in front of the makeup mirror mourning the loss of her sister, a powerful trans woman who passed away in the year she transitioned. It was devastating to watch Kween talk about how angry she feels that she’s been robbed of a life with her sister, and the masking that she had to do to make her father happy.
It sucks to watch how all of these amazing and artistic gay individuals are still impacted by their parents to this day. There’s something about the neverending chase for parents’ approval that is intrinsically attached to being queer.
Power to Bev and Kween for being amazing people regardless of their upbringing.
Now onto the runway!
Here are some of the notable looks from this week’s Drag Race Down Under episode. The theme? Swimsuit edition!
There weren’t too many stellar looks this week so I’ll give a shout-out to Spankie Jackzon for serving up this incredible Pamela Anderson fantasy. She could put anything on and sell it though, she’s just dripping with charisma.
Next up is Kween Kong serving up some gorgeous Nafanua realness with an absolutely incredible wig to boot. The judges were right, in motion this look was everything, but once it stood still you could see the tatters in the fabric. Oh well, it still fkn ATE.
Now let’s breeze through these hometown advertisements, shall we?
Kween Kong presented some dark comedy with her ad for Kween Kong Island, a place where you can stress over your mistakes and dance like a dickhead.
I couldn’t really tell whether to laugh or be extremely worried.
Spankie sold us insane fantasy with her ad for New Zealand’s Palmerston North.
“It’s always balmy in palmy. Fuck yeah!” is going to stay stuck in my mind forever.
Molly Poppinz had the difficult task of making Newcastle look like a desirable place to visit.
I personally think she did an accurate job at portraying what Novocastrians are like.
Hannah Conda did an excellent advertisement for what she called Middle Perth.
The video had her fighting a giant black swan, meeting two blokes in a bush and combusting on a beach. It didn’t make much sense but girl, I was living.
Beverly Kills was a lesbian hunting for a sugar daddy (?) on the Gold Coast.
Sounds funny on paper but she was too committed to being a character that it felt a little rigid.
I must commend her on the Aquaduck joke, however. So glad to see there are people who still remember the glory of that boat/car/possible plane given the right circumstances. A modern-day Optimus Prime.
Back in the werkroom and the girls have another moment to pause and discuss the important topic of how fake Beverly is.
Hannah seems to be energised by the idea of getting to tell Bev how she needs to open up, and it’s a bit strange to watch. Poor Bev couldn’t take it (understandably) and had a tearful moment.
Can’t we all just get along?
Back on the main stage Hannah’s Middle Perth ad is crowned as the winner of this week’s maxi challenge.
Meanwhile, Kween Kong’s island of disrepair and Bev’s sugar daddy beach have left them in the bottom lipsyncing against each other.
It’s definitely a show with one million tumbles, twists and spins, and Kween is ultimately crowned the winner for rolling around the stage a little more fiercely.
It hurts to see Beverly Kills leave the competition. Now there’s nobody I can make twink jokes about.
But in all seriousness, this competition is tough as bricks on the queens, and Bev did a stunning job of showing her drag to the world. And let’s be real, she never looked bad, not once.
Given her age, I’m excited to see where she’ll go next. She definitely has infinite possibilities for growth before her.
Godspeed, Twink #48371945.
You can watch Drag Race Down Under on Stan now.
