‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK 4×10’ Review
After being hyped up as the world’s greatest comedy queen for the entire episode, Pixie Polite ended up in the bottom for the political campaign/roast challenge in last week’s episode. She then had to battle against this season’s lip-sync assassin Black Peppa and if that wasn’t bad enough, she even took a tumble during the final performance. This is why in my opinion it made total sense for her to go home in last week’s episode as it was not the best episode for Pixie! To the surprise of literally no one, however, Danny Beard absolutely dominated the comedy roast challenge securing their fourth badge this season and guaranteeing their place in this week’s final! I have to admit that from day one it was very clear that Danny and Cheddar would be the front-runners this season but I was not expecting that Jonbers Blonde (who currently has no badges) or Black Peppa would make it this far. While Peppa got off to an incredible start in episodes one and two she appeared to be stagnant as the season progressed whereas Jonbers got off to rough start but slowly and steadily improved week by week.
Before they could get started in this week’s challenge, each queen was summoned to join Ru Paul and Michelle Visage in the classic podcast moment where the viewers get to see a much more vulnerable and authentic side to the queens. I personally found Danny Beard’s discussion really interesting to listen to as she talked about her club kid inspirations and why she wears a beard. She also talked about how as a child she was violently attacked by one of her peers which forced her to move schools but also really embrace who she was! As a teacher, this really tugged on all of my heartstrings as I had to imagine some students are being physically assaulted in school for being themselves! Black Peppa explores the reason she had to flee from the Caribbean as being queer is still a very dangerous thing there. She talked about how she left her home after coming out and moving to the UK where she was able to build a chosen family who regularly look after her. This was such an emotional story and truly highlighted we the British public to live in a place where gay people are accepted!
The top four queens were tasked to write and record an original verse to a designated section of a Ru Paul mega-mix. Each queen was given a song to perform to and then the whole number was stitched together to create a wonderful celebration of Ru Paul’s music throughout the years and the queens themselves. In a touching moment, the seasons eliminated queens (yet again this season) returned to help the queens during their performance which was a strangely emotional moment for me! I thought that Black Peppa looked absolutely incredible in her metallic and nude bodysuit which worked perfectly with the choreography she was given. It is very clear that Black Peppa is totally at ease on stage and dancing is definitely one of her greatest talents as every move looked absolutely amazing! She also managed to pull out her trademark splits (which we have seen many times throughout the season so far) while delivering a very impressive rap verse! This challenge allowed us to see a very different side to Cheddar as she decided to make her performance much more sensual and provocative. The softly whispered verse beautifully matched the sensual choreography she was given which made for a very cohesive performance to watch! I also really enjoyed the red and white lightening-infused leotard that Cheddar decided to wear as it touched on the space/alien storyline she has been promoting all season. The matching thigh-high boots and elbow lengths gloves were wonderful to look at! Before this season Danny was known as an incredible performer and so far this season she has proved just that! Her verse to the iconic “Call Me Mother” was wonderfully camp and had everyone laughing throughout. The fact she was able to match the extremely rapid spoken word section of the song while delivering extremely difficult choreography is something I would never be able to do and so again I found it very impressive! Jonbers decided to use her original verse to Kitty Girl to talk about her Northern Irish heritage and her home towns storied history with LGBT+ rights.
The final runway category for this season was the grand finale Eleganza where the queens showcased their best show-stopping looks. Considering how incredible and powerful Cheddar’s looks have been this season, I did not think she could set the bar any higher but her alien-inspired oil-slick gown was as near to perfect as humanly possible! The top half of this outfit was absolutely covered in gorgeous detailing with the tule skirt glistening perfectly under the stage lights. The entire outfit complimented her body shape beautifully with the black crystals and gold flakes working wonderfully with the stunning makeup job she did this week. This outfit was not only an incredible spectacle to look at but also fitted the non-binary alien storyline (as previously discussed) that has become part of her brand this season! One of the greatest looks this season was Danny’s over-the-top, towering Audrey Two look complete with an operable jaw which was an almost polar opposite of her finale outfit. Alongside her trademark white make-up and the most stunning hair I have seen in a long time, she wore an extremely sleek and clean black dress that was accented with golden feathers adding a wonderful sense of drama to the look. Jonbers decided to use this runway category to showcase a sheer and gold outfit that was inspired by the iconic Joan of Arc that linked to the fighting spirit she has had this season. The make-up she decided to paint on this week was absolutely beautiful which even Ru Paul herself commented on later in the episode!
Before the queens could relax they were confronted with childhood photos by Ru and asked the iconic question of why would you tell your younger self. Black Peppa delivered a very moving and emotionally driven speech about how grateful she has become she becoming totally free and moving to the UK; whereas Danny used the opportunity to talk about how they were bullied at a very young age. While the former was a lot more powerful, Danny managed to take the listeners on a journey by bookending his emotional talk with jokes about letting your mother cut your hair and his obsession with fake tan as a child! When the queens were able to finally leave the stage they were confronted with the previous three winners of Drag Race UK – The Vivienne, Lawerence Cheney and Krystal Versace. The three intimidating queens talked to the top four about life after Drag Race and how important being nice to your fans as they essentially pay your rent every month!
It was announced by Ru Paul that Cheddar and Danny were the top two of not only this episode but the entire season which I think everyone was kind of expecting considering they both had won four challenges this season! They both were tasked with lip-syncing for the crown to the ballad “This Is My Life” by Shirley Bassey (which must have been a kick in the face to Pixie Polite after her interesting portrayal of the Welsh icon during snatch game!) Both queens decided to showcase a fabulous lip quiver for Bassey’s vocal runs with Cheddar beautifully peeling off parts of her incredible outfit as the number progressed! These two queens are living proof that you don’t need flips and tricks to deliver a flawless lip-sync as they worked together to deliver one of the greatest final performance Drag Race UK has ever seen! Realistically the crown could have gone to either queen by Ru announcing that it would be going to Danny marking her as the overall winner of Drag Race UK season four! While it could have easily been Cheddar, Danny has had an incredible run this season for both runways and challenge performances with their crowning being monumental as they are the first-ever bearded queen to appear (and win) the show!
Overall, this was an episode that had everything we have come to love from Drag Race with amazing outfits, emotional moments and a wonderfully camp musical performance! I do think that in the future the team behind the season need to begin thinking about hosting finale events in a venue (similar to what they do for the US version) as I know for a fact thousands of people would rush to buy tickets!
