'Blu Hydrangea's polarising decision was the entertainment RuPaul's Drag Race needs'

This week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK Versus The World, which aired on BBC Three on February 22, will go down in herstory – but whether that’s for the right or wrong reason is up to you.

The entire world has been left gobsmacked that front-runner Pangina Heals, representing Thailand, was eliminated after Blu Hydrangea, of Drag Race UK fame, won the lip-sync against Baga Chipz.

The uproar has been so loud on Twitter than current and former stars of the show have been forced to get involved to tell people to calm down and get a grip – and rightly so.

This is supposed to be a light-hearted television show, full of incredible costumes, campy humour and just the right amount of backstabbing (or maybe not, as we saw this week). It’s really not that deep.

Fresh from the shock of Pangina Heals eliminating the last-remaining Canadian queen Jimbo, the episode opens with the Thai queen admitting she’s “at peace” with her decision. And why shouldn’t she be? The elimination process – whether or not you agree with is – is part of the game, and with the win comes the responsibility – or prize, maybe – of sending someone home.

For those who aren’t regular viewers, All-Star rules see the top two queens of the week perform in a lip-sync for the win, with the winner then choosing who to eliminate from the competition.

Ever since the All-Star rules were introduced years ago, the queens have suggested they would all stick to the idea of sending home whoever got the worst critiques – but as we saw from this week, that doesn’t always happen.

But on second-watch, everything is pointing to Pangina being eliminated (from an editing perspective, at least).

She talks about there being a “clean slate” going into the new episode after her win. Baga talks about avenging her pal Jimbo and sending someone home. Janey Jacké suggests Pangina – who has never done Snatch Game – might have made a mistake by putting herself on a team with two queens who often excel in the challenge. Then in the Werk Room, Pangina says she is “devastated” and feels “vulnerable” to be in a position where she could be sent home.

RuPaul’s Drag Race has a habit of foreshadowing shocking moments and, knowing what we now do, there was no chance anybody else would be going home, based on the episode’s editing.

There’s no denying that Baga (as Kathy Bates in Misery) and Blu (as Mike Myers in Austin Powers) were the deserved top two of the week. And based on Ru’s laughs – he says every time the queens need to “make him laugh” – then Janey (as James Charles) and Pangina (as Mariah Carey) were the bottom two.

The only person on the Snatch Game panel less funny than Pangina and Janey was Katie Price, who failed to pick up on the comedy nuggets Ru was handing her on a plate. It’s a real shame Clara Amfo or Michelle Keegan weren’t part of the Snatch Game, as they were the better celebrity guests of the episode. Katie did look great though, filmed before her latest round of surgery.

When it came to the runway, things changed a little bit, as Jujubee (who did Cher in Snatch Game) had the worst critiques for her Lucky Cat gown.

Guest judges Clara and Michelle brought two very different vibes to the panel. While Clara got the references and had constructive critiques, Michelle seemed to just be there for the experience and told every queen how much she enjoyed them – and she brought so much positivity to the role, which is sure to have gone down well with the queens on stage.

Interestingly, as they got ready for the runway, the queens spoke of “cancel culture” and offending people. Admittedly they were talking about humour and comedy, but Blu was particularly concerned about upsetting people. And upset people she did.

I appreciated Baga’s no-nonsense decision-making. Rarely ever do we see a queen outright tell the bottom queens that they won’t be choosing them.

Meanwhile, Blu told Pangina she was her “biggest competition” and while she didn’t “want to pick her”, she couldn’t say she wasn’t tempted to. Similarly, it seems Baga wasn’t onboard the Pangina train, as she doubted she would save her if the shoe was on the other foot, just like she’d eliminated Jimbo the week before.

Like Michelle Keegan’s time on the judging panel, the lip-sync between Baga and Blu won’t go down in RuPaul’s Drag Race herstory.

But nobody on that stage or judging panel saw Blu picking Pangina to go home. Jujubee stared straight, expecting her name to be called out. Based on track record, it should have been. But this is a television show and the scenes that followed were some of the best entertainment it has ever provided.

Sadly, fans of the show have already started piling on Blu on Twitter, with one even saying she “needs to be held accountable” as if her decisions affect the country the same way the Prime Minister’s do in the House of Commons. In the words of iconic Drag Race queen Latrice Royale: “Good God get a grip, girl.”

If anything, Blu was giving Pangina a taste of her own medicine, while also playing the game very well. Pangina sent home Jimbo, who landed in the bottom after two weeks in the top. Jimbo was undeniably one of the strongest competitors, and sending her home gave Pangina an advantage whether that was the motivation behind her decision or not. At least Blu admitted that she was tempted to send Pangina home for that reason.

Yes, Blu just snatched away Pangina’s dream – and I had predicted she’d win the series before this week – but did Pangina not do that to Jimbo just one episode earlier?

Whether you agree with Blu’s decision to eliminate Pangina or not is one thing. But from the exaggerated wailing backstage, to Blu’s trembling lip, this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race will be remembered among fans for years to come. Or until the next shocking elimination, at least.

RuPaul’s Drag Race: UK Versus The World airs Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC Three

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk