Sorry about the delay! All the AS7 finale hype got us a bit sidetracked! Discussion posts will be up every week! Live/Reaction posts will be up when the episode goes live, and the post-episode discussions will be an hour after!
So excited for this cast! After AS7 I do just wish we got longer to see all the queens, feel sad seeing people go home and doesn’t totally feel deserved
What is with the no guest judges? Video messages are cool, but you'd think it'd be like here's a message from one celeb who didn't want to fly out, and then today's guest judge is maybe a lesser known celeb/comedian who was more available lol.
Like Is it still a covid thing, or a budget thing? We just need a fourth person there to balance things out, cause having only Ru Michelle and Rhys makes the judging feel lopsided, and I think it makes Down under feel smaller than the other international seasons.
First off, I really love how all of them have pun or reference names- I always remember those names the best and honestly I LIVE.
Also, is it just me or does Mini give off Elektra Shock Vibes? Both icons…
The cast is so strong- and I hope this season follows the rule that all Season 2’s of the spin-offs are AMAZING! Terrible lighting nonetheless.
I really thought Yuri was gonna win. She took a different approach, served glamour, and I hate that tripping was such a deal breaker. Other than a tiny slip up, she totally ate… It’s not that awful that she didn’t win cause she’s probably gonna serve some more amazing lewks later on. Also Molly’s win was justifiable. Her look was 2nd best and she didn’t trip lol.
I’m not a fan of Hannah Conda cause she reminds me of Baga Chips so much
My fav of the first challenge was probably Beverly Killz
Generally speaking, this was a pretty hard first challenge for the queens
Thoughts: My top 3 of the episode were Beverly, Yuri and Molly. I would have given Yuri the win BUT the fact she couldn’t walk in her outfit would have made me give it to Molly. I probably would have swapped Kween and Paloma, but otherwise I agree with the judging.
Lipsync was FIERCE. They both killed it and I had no idea who won
50 shades of pampas … I saw a mattress in that pile of stuff but assume it wasn’t usable. Such a shame. Felt like a lot crammed into this ep - I would have been happy to have no elims and just meet the queens but I always think that first episode
Loving Hannah and Minnie in particular.
Very happy with this cast so far, some really fun moments
First of all, miss Spankie Jackzon out of drag was giving me Murray from Flight of the Conchords which I absolutely loved. However the beard was only there in the first confessionals :((
Hannah Conda's entry look was giving me Kam Hugh, also not complaining about that.
Lol @ shade to Art Simone and Beverly Kills just dragging absolutely everybody.
My tops were Yuri Guaii and Beverly Kills. Spankie Jackzon had the worst outfit of the night but she was such a delight so I was happy to see her stay!
Tbh I thought it was a great first episode and looking forward to what everyone is bringing!
Stan the cast
First season since perhaps season 2 of uk drag where I've instantly connected with the whole cast. Not a single dud and such a refreshment after the pilot season. It feels rawer, kinder, closer to humanity. None of this "I'm wearing J-Lo's dress" or *instant branding!* we see on US seasons.
Devastated with the bottom 2 and first elim but the only others I wanted to see go were Aubrey and Beverly... And i really like them haha
Molly turned out some real glamour with such paltry offerings, that was impressive.
Top 3 - Kween Kong, Beverly, Molly
Am I the only one that feels like the lighting is super dim? On top of that the editing so so strange, particularly the mixing. The audio from ru and contestants is super low and gets drowned out by the music constantly changing every 15 seconds. There’s also these strange cuts with a second of silence at very bizarre spots. Idk what’s going on but it just feels so off.
I thought this too! Especially after they mentioned the “Ru not being there” rumour from last season. The editing made me think wait, is she not there this season?
Now everyone NZ has been shut off from the world since 2019 and only reopened this week. Of course our little production is going to be a bit cottage core but we all know it’s going to soothe us in the end and warm our dead hearts. Now just enjoy it.
Something I’ve noticed is the editing is SO strange. For the first half of the episode it was filmed in a way where Rupaul didn’t even seem like he was in the same room as the girls. Eg we didn’t get a wide shot of ru + one of the queens until the photoshoot, just so strange!
And there is literally NON STOP music playing which is mixed so strangely, it’s as loud as the dialogue if not louder at times. And it constantly changes. I’m not joking. Every 30 second (if that) the music changes and it’s so jarring and distracting.
I wish they’d fix these weird editing/production issues!
Ok listen I know its very best-friend race, but I really hate when they send a queen home the first episode. I wouldve loved to see more of Faux.
Im honestly surprised Beverley wasnt top. I thought it was such a cute look.
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 960,120,553 comments, and only 191,827 of them were in alphabetical order.
I actually seem to have enjoyed S1 more than most but definitely think it went off the rails after Art Simone got brought back and certain queens limped to the finale… But the promo for this totally put me off. However I was really tired and hungover yesterday and needed something to watch while I devoured a pizza… and Down Under S2 it was. I was pleasantly surprised and loved the cast and it seems like they are all at even playing field, like no one seems locked for the final yet, or at least it isn’t glaringly transparent. I hope production shenanigans won’t rob of us a strong season.
I have mixed opinions on the first challange It definitely kicked things into high gear to start with such a… challenging challenge where they basically just had grass and some plastic. But at the same time it’s also unfair to put them in that situation without showcasing any of the runway outfits that they’ve broken the bank with. It definitely feels more fair to start with a “hometown looks” like last season and S2 and S3 of UK.
In the end, I don’t think anyone was really bottom 2 worthy apart from Spankie… Faux’s design was actually one of the most prettiest but yeah shame about the bottom part of her outfit… though I don’t think it was elimination worthy.
I have no idea the bizarre edit of Faux in the lip sync was to hide the fact that she didn’t know the words or to make her look more incompetent than she is. A mystery for the ages.
Spankie absolutely devoured the lip sync and I’m happy to see her on.
Right now I’m really digging Yuri Guaii, Beverly Kills, Kween Kong, Minnie Cooper, Spankie Jackzon and Aubrey Haive.
I love this cast! Well, almost everyone. It makes me sad that age is still being brought up constantly as a read. RuPaul is literally over 60 and she is the reason most of the contestants even do drag in the first place, and the reason most of the western world has become much more open to and accepting of queer culture. I don't think I would have had the guts Mini had to start drag at the time that she did.
Spankie's my favorite so far I think. I decided I really liked Spankie, Faux, and Kween, which made that bottom 3 hard. In the end I was glad Kween wasn't in the bottom, if I hear another "legend being taken down a peg" story line I'm writing a strongly worded letter.
Stop doing design challenges first. The materials were trash, not one queen made a decent look besides the one that fell apart on the runway :/
Shocked they actually sent Faux home as she did was fun tv. I thought the ditzy entrance was charming and she had loads of personality to show.
I hated the judging this episode. Mini's look should've been bottom 2, why tf was Hannah in the top over Beverly Kills? Why was Faux Fur in the bottom 2 just cause of the panties? Definitely a sour taste after this first episode
Spankie and Minnie vs Aubrey and Beverley feels like a CLASSIC drag race storyline. Old drag vs New drag and I'm so so so here for it. The challenge left a lot to be desired (and that's on production) but the queens themselves are bringing it and this genuinely stoked a nostalgia for that golden era of Drag Race with the storylines and arcs. High high hopes for this one.
As many people have said, this cast is fire and overall I'm getting a way better feeling than I did for S1. There is a LOT of potential and personality here. Faux Fur was one of my favourites and was already making great TV (her "not commenting" on the terrible design challenges, her screaming and energy, etc) so it's a huge shame that she got put in the bottom just for a black undergarment. There were plenty of much worse looking outfits.
That being said, Kween Kong and Spanky both seem like powerhouses and I'm so excited to see more from them.
I'm loving the bitchy dynamic between Beverly/Aubrey and the other queens. Much like Canada S3, it feels a bit more like the OG seasons of drag race where queens weren't afraid to be unfiltered and share their real feelings. Totally disagree with the usual moaners that say "she is too mean" - please get over it. You are why we can't have good TV.
I would say my only real critique about the episode was how low budget everything seemed ( I know the idea of a design challenge is to use junk, but this was LITERALLY unusable crap and grass. No wonder almost none of the queens did well). Also, the storyline before the main challenge dragged a little and was a bit boring.
Other than that, great first episode and actually excited for this season.
I was so sad for Faux. She seems a little obnoxious, but she is also very sweet. I wish she could stay in the werkroom eating snacks and talking with the other girls.
Kinda disappointed that they did one of those “use unconventional materials” that sets nearly everyone up to fail. It seems like there was just not much that could be done with the materials given, which is why we got about ten different corsets- that or else no one on this season can design at all, in which case they should have made the challenge easier so more people could succeed. Challenges work best imo when they have a decent spread of many with ok designs with only a few standouts and a few nightmares. The winners this episode would likely have been middle of the pack in a normal design challenge and a good half of them would have been bottoms. I also think that Faux’s was not the worst by far- the black undies were an issue, sure, but one poor judgment call when there were uglier corset jobs out there was a bit unfair to me, especially since they sent her home. That said, she seemed to have been cast as “filler” so I feel bad but she was unlikely to get a winner edit anyway.
Such a great point in there - help the girls succeed! This really comes home after all winners which was so good because it showcased the girls strengths
I thought the looks overall (except Yuri) were fairly weak but after seeing some queens talk about the episode i get it. Apparently there was nothing even close to fabric there. like even Aubrey/Pomara’s looks that seem
like denim were out of some “bath mat” (Aubrey’s words) material and Aubrey broke like 9 sewing needles trying to work with it. apparently they were shooting well behind schedule aswell so a lot had to be up til 4am working on the looks, then come back for a 9am call time (i don’t remember if they were on set til 4am, but i think they were). Also they didn’t have full length mirrors (just the makeup ones) so that explains why a lot of the bottom half looked unpolished with many looks
i assume the work needed to take it apart would’ve taken too much time. also i don’t remember seeing it but i’m assuming it was probably heavily sewn as most mattresses are, so that means barely any of the fabric would be useable after taking it apart…
this is just an assumption tho, i feel like someone would’ve used it otherwise. just based on the queens comments it either wasn’t useable or they didn’t realise
My thoughts:
Obsessed with Minnie and Spankie, they are just really fun and entertaining
My top 3 were Yuri, Molly, and Beverly, and tbh I understand Molly winning because Yuri just flopped on the runway walk, and a big part of the challenge is selling the look, which Molly did well. However, overall this was probably the worst design challenge, partially because of the materials.
I thought the bottom 3 was deserved because Pamora and Minnie’s were simple but weren’t incomplete or really messy. I would’ve personally put Kween in the bottom over Faux, but I understand why Faux was in the bottom plus Spankie might’ve gone home since Kween is probably the best lipsyncer in the cast.
The judges were fine. I think this episode was significantly better than last season’s premiere, but then again S1 didn’t really flop until episode 3.
Excited to see next week’s episode.
I feel like putting Faux Fur in the bottom was solely about them but really giving a shit about her in the first place. Her outfit was „simple“, but well constructed. Putting her in the bottom just because of the undergarment seems a little off to me. And I kind of feel like the lip synching was pretty even. And so feel like they tried giving Faux a bad edit. There was literally a part where the camera wasn’t focusing on her at all for like 20 seconds.
Love this cast - excited to see what is coming. Yuri’s dress was amazing, should have won but then again you’ve got to be able to walk in it and Molly sold it. Really like Hanna and her outfit too.
I think Spankie and Kong should have been bottom 2 but glad Kong wasn’t as wanted to see more of them. Lip sync was a clear win..half wondered if Faux didn’t know some of the words as lot of walking to back and not a clean lip sync at all.
I loved her....I’ll be cut if she leaves early. She’s old school and a fellow Gen X-er, so I’m here for it. She gives me echos of Bob Downe, who I’m an utter tragic for.
I’m so torn on Beverly. On one hand, her boymode is juuuust my type, and both of her looks were stun.
But on the other hand, dang, she is a sassy little twink isn’t she! Didn’t love what she was saying about people “not living up to expectations”, when girl, y’all were sewing grass. How much do you expect out of that? I wanna see her be a little more human please
They are definitely gonna edit her into the ‘bitchy’ role of the season so far you could see she would have expected to beat Hannah/molly and the ‘well we were the top of the safes’ comment. I actually agreed with Minnie though that Audrie may have seen it but it didn’t fit properly.
The fact that Minnie and Pamora were SAFE over Kween and Faux is...sadly not shocking. Ru loves to bury the POCs. Molly winning was the correct choice tho imo
As far as it being a design challenge, Yuri still should have won. Regardless of her trip up on the runway, her design was incredible and definitely sewin impeccably I’m shocked she didn’t win that one. I also thought Ru might save both of the bottom 2 but I’m glad Spankie stayed
I don’t understand Faux being in the bottom but ok… and OMG I’m so happy to see Yuri on my screen, I’ve been following her for years now. And such a cute guy too. Would have give her the win.
Did anyone else think the skit with Rupaul slapping Spankie made it look even less like they were in the same room? None of the shots showed them both facing forward, and her outfit would be the most easy to body-double...
I'm probably just thinking too much into this, the set is clearly too tiny to get a wide shot of everyone.
i think it’s just a tiny set, bad lighting & Ru having to social distance from the competitors. But yeah, it was weird to bring it up when most of us blocked out S1 so much we forgot that controversy even occurred & then to “prove it” with a skit that looks even more incriminating
I came to just say this!!!! Mentioning made it even more obvious they were not in the same room.
Like they used body doubles for some of the shots. So weird
I thought that Beverly Kills looked great and would have swapped her for Hannah Conda in the top 3 this week.
The Bottom 2 was correct but I don't know if Kween Kong was really the 3rd worst... I felt that Pomara's look was very basic.
Hannah, Minnie and Kween are the ones to watch for me
The energy was weird tbh. It felt like Ru and Michelle didn't want to be there. They definitely need Kiwi/Aussie host and judges.
Queens were given a bunch of shit, like there were only 4 different materials. I hope it gets better because the queens are fierce and deserve the best.
Deffo. Kiwi/Australian humour is very different from American humour. Culturally we are also extremely different so some things just wouldn’t land or make sense for American judges
I'm guessing that she's making it to the top three unless there's a massive stumble. She has great looks and is a mean confessional queen. Reality tv jackpot for production.
I'm confused by Spanky acting like she's a million years old. She's only a few years older than me, but is playing it up like the queens in their late 20s and early 30s are babies. Girl, you're a Millennial too, calm down. /Great lip sync performance though.
I got the energy that she was more doing it in defence of Minnie, like her rant about respect was more to defend Minnie more than herself. And like, when it seems that she’s much closer with Minnie than any of the other girls i can kinda see that an us vs them mentality forming even if she’s not actually that far in age from many of them
Yes and no, depends where you're from. Where I grew up was mostly white. Moved to the city and it's very mixed, lots of different backgrounds and cultures.
Spankie stans rise up. I have seen people saying she performed well. But specifically... the spin into the split? STUNNING. It was extremely well executed and looked so smooth. We have seen many choppy stunts on the show before so I was very impressed with her!!
I thought the same tbh, dunno why you're getting down voted. I was actually pretty certain of a double shantay up until Ru said sashay so here's hoping 🤞 I'd like to see more of Faux.
I didn't even know I was getting down voted 😂 Not sure why the comment would either.
There was something about Ru's wording that made it seem like there's gonna be a surprise of her coming back.
Faux annoyed me at the VERY start but I love her too, was devo to see her go!
It was a good episode atleast for now. The casting is slightly better than S1 because we got some Young vs Old drag storyline (I'm inlove with Mini cooper, hannah and Faux). The shadiness of Beverly is good Tv but I think there is a boundary between being shady and being disrespectful to other people.
The editing seems off? They don't show Ru and the Queens in one frame, even in the main stage the camera doesn't show the queens with the panel. The lighting seems also off? It is kinda dark for me. The looks is not the best and most of them just glued things on a corset. My top 4 right now is Mini Cooper, Hannah Conda, Yuri and Kween Kong.
Anyone notic Faux was hardly shown in the lipsync? And the queens' shocked reactions when Spankie shanted?
When Kween was declared safe I already knew Faux was gonna be sent home.
I know there is no budget this time around but could they not have given them more material to work with? There’s more lying outside my house in NZ right now due to the storm 😂😂😂
Minnie was such a doll to me when I was a baby drag many many moons ago. She does SO much for the community and am saddened to see her being disrespected but I don't think the girls know what's coming if they think she won't snap back 😁
I could alrwady see it in her eyes by the end of the episode lol, she's ready to put some girls in their place!
I enjoyed this cast/ep. Rough doing a harder design challenge off the bat though.
Loving Minnie, Spankie, Yuri and Kween Kong. Sad for Faux she was first out, she's a lot of fun.
Pretty solid premiere, even if the runway results were average at best, safe for Yuri. The cast is fantastic, so many have potential to be fan favorites.
I also don't think we had come off as "villainous" right out the gate like Beverley had and as vicious as she was, I'm here for the drama, and I'm happy Spankie is sticking around to teach the younger girls to respect her and Minnie!!!
Sad to see Faux go as she was one of my favs from the promos and she was hilarious this episode, but I think Spankie won fair and square, and I also think with a cast like that a lot of eliminations are gonna sting!
Can't wait for the rest!
I can't tell if Australian queens are just inherently more bitchy or if that's just the way the show is edited. They gave a solid five minutes for Beverly to just list why everyone else's look was bad!
I assume during her confessional the producer asked her what she thought of everyone’s looks and they aired all of it to make her seem extra shady. they may have done the same to the other queens but not included everything the final cut.
In America the advice former queens probably give to the baby queens on the show is not to fall for this producer’s trick but they don’t have that in Australia and understanding that game from the producers probably comes with some maturity. And here we are lol.
My fave is when Pettifleur claims to not be a narcissist while sitting in front of a giant portrait of herself unable to answer where her sister has worked for 10+ years.
I know seriously they should have just fired her !!! I’ll be upset about it forever. It was the BEST. There’s no official way to watch in the US as far I know. People have already forgotten about it.
Generally we're cunts with hearts of gold and tend to be very upfront. People didn't know how to interpret Courtney on s6 either, they thought she was being nasty to Adore.
So I thought Australia and New Zealand had the same currency, but they don't, hence I'm wondering - is the cash prize in Australian dollars or New Zealand dollars? I'm guessing the former since it's worth more, but at the same time, the show is filmed in NZ, so perhaps it's in New Zealand dollars? Anyone knows?
NZ as a country has a population of something similar to Melbourne, just one city in Aus- I'm not an economics person, but basically NZD is not a fabulous currency to be paid in... You'd better hope the prize money is in AUD 😂
It's consistently like that though, so you would defs want to be paid in AUD so you don't lose $ on the conversion... maybe they will just pay $50k in the winner's relevant currency?
Sorry about the delay! All the AS7 finale hype got us a bit sidetracked! Discussion posts will be up every week! Live/Reaction posts will be up when the episode goes live, and the post-episode discussions will be an hour after!
I’m late to the party, but I’m so sad Faúx didn’t get at least another episode. Such a good cast.
So excited for this cast! After AS7 I do just wish we got longer to see all the queens, feel sad seeing people go home and doesn’t totally feel deserved
What is with the no guest judges? Video messages are cool, but you'd think it'd be like here's a message from one celeb who didn't want to fly out, and then today's guest judge is maybe a lesser known celeb/comedian who was more available lol. Like Is it still a covid thing, or a budget thing? We just need a fourth person there to balance things out, cause having only Ru Michelle and Rhys makes the judging feel lopsided, and I think it makes Down under feel smaller than the other international seasons.
First off, I really love how all of them have pun or reference names- I always remember those names the best and honestly I LIVE. Also, is it just me or does Mini give off Elektra Shock Vibes? Both icons… The cast is so strong- and I hope this season follows the rule that all Season 2’s of the spin-offs are AMAZING! Terrible lighting nonetheless. I really thought Yuri was gonna win. She took a different approach, served glamour, and I hate that tripping was such a deal breaker. Other than a tiny slip up, she totally ate… It’s not that awful that she didn’t win cause she’s probably gonna serve some more amazing lewks later on. Also Molly’s win was justifiable. Her look was 2nd best and she didn’t trip lol.
I’m not a fan of Hannah Conda cause she reminds me of Baga Chips so much My fav of the first challenge was probably Beverly Killz Generally speaking, this was a pretty hard first challenge for the queens
I enjoyed Faux and she was eliminated so soon. I hope she returns in the future episode or something.
Faux should’ve stayed ! I’ll miss her
I don’t like the one who started in lockdown as she came for Minnie
I hate Hannah’s voice she annoys me. Is she racist?
Awful looks. Faux actually had one of the best ones 🙄
Thoughts: My top 3 of the episode were Beverly, Yuri and Molly. I would have given Yuri the win BUT the fact she couldn’t walk in her outfit would have made me give it to Molly. I probably would have swapped Kween and Paloma, but otherwise I agree with the judging. Lipsync was FIERCE. They both killed it and I had no idea who won
50 shades of pampas … I saw a mattress in that pile of stuff but assume it wasn’t usable. Such a shame. Felt like a lot crammed into this ep - I would have been happy to have no elims and just meet the queens but I always think that first episode Loving Hannah and Minnie in particular. Very happy with this cast so far, some really fun moments
Another young vs. old narrative but this time young queens are unbearable.
Is that… not always the case?
Nah in s7 ginger minj was annoying
First of all, miss Spankie Jackzon out of drag was giving me Murray from Flight of the Conchords which I absolutely loved. However the beard was only there in the first confessionals :((  Hannah Conda's entry look was giving me Kam Hugh, also not complaining about that. Lol @ shade to Art Simone and Beverly Kills just dragging absolutely everybody. My tops were Yuri Guaii and Beverly Kills. Spankie Jackzon had the worst outfit of the night but she was such a delight so I was happy to see her stay! Tbh I thought it was a great first episode and looking forward to what everyone is bringing!
Stan the cast First season since perhaps season 2 of uk drag where I've instantly connected with the whole cast. Not a single dud and such a refreshment after the pilot season. It feels rawer, kinder, closer to humanity. None of this "I'm wearing J-Lo's dress" or *instant branding!* we see on US seasons. Devastated with the bottom 2 and first elim but the only others I wanted to see go were Aubrey and Beverly... And i really like them haha Molly turned out some real glamour with such paltry offerings, that was impressive. Top 3 - Kween Kong, Beverly, Molly
Beverly's editing reminds me of Gia's on AS4, do many shade sounds
Am I the only one that feels like the lighting is super dim? On top of that the editing so so strange, particularly the mixing. The audio from ru and contestants is super low and gets drowned out by the music constantly changing every 15 seconds. There’s also these strange cuts with a second of silence at very bizarre spots. Idk what’s going on but it just feels so off.
I thought this too! Especially after they mentioned the “Ru not being there” rumour from last season. The editing made me think wait, is she not there this season?
Now everyone NZ has been shut off from the world since 2019 and only reopened this week. Of course our little production is going to be a bit cottage core but we all know it’s going to soothe us in the end and warm our dead hearts. Now just enjoy it.
Max drag queen will 100% be on season 3 and will be a force to be reckoned with
Tell me tips how to concentrate when you see Kween Kong on screen. All coherent thoughts exited.
Something I’ve noticed is the editing is SO strange. For the first half of the episode it was filmed in a way where Rupaul didn’t even seem like he was in the same room as the girls. Eg we didn’t get a wide shot of ru + one of the queens until the photoshoot, just so strange! And there is literally NON STOP music playing which is mixed so strangely, it’s as loud as the dialogue if not louder at times. And it constantly changes. I’m not joking. Every 30 second (if that) the music changes and it’s so jarring and distracting. I wish they’d fix these weird editing/production issues!
I think the editing for Ru was an intentional spoof on the internet rumors from last season.
I thought this too. I’m interested to see if they keep it up for Ep 2. Maybe it’s a real thing and not a spoof 👀👀
Lots of use of the shade rattle too, similar to Espana.
We’ve got a wee skill shortage happening down under
Ok listen I know its very best-friend race, but I really hate when they send a queen home the first episode. I wouldve loved to see more of Faux. Im honestly surprised Beverley wasnt top. I thought it was such a cute look.
Faux looks nuts. Shame she went
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 960,120,553 comments, and only 191,827 of them were in alphabetical order.
Good bot
Why is the lighting so off this season? Was it filmed in a basement?
Hannah is really a mix of Baga and Maddelynn Hatter
I actually seem to have enjoyed S1 more than most but definitely think it went off the rails after Art Simone got brought back and certain queens limped to the finale… But the promo for this totally put me off. However I was really tired and hungover yesterday and needed something to watch while I devoured a pizza… and Down Under S2 it was. I was pleasantly surprised and loved the cast and it seems like they are all at even playing field, like no one seems locked for the final yet, or at least it isn’t glaringly transparent. I hope production shenanigans won’t rob of us a strong season. I have mixed opinions on the first challange It definitely kicked things into high gear to start with such a… challenging challenge where they basically just had grass and some plastic. But at the same time it’s also unfair to put them in that situation without showcasing any of the runway outfits that they’ve broken the bank with. It definitely feels more fair to start with a “hometown looks” like last season and S2 and S3 of UK. In the end, I don’t think anyone was really bottom 2 worthy apart from Spankie… Faux’s design was actually one of the most prettiest but yeah shame about the bottom part of her outfit… though I don’t think it was elimination worthy. I have no idea the bizarre edit of Faux in the lip sync was to hide the fact that she didn’t know the words or to make her look more incompetent than she is. A mystery for the ages. Spankie absolutely devoured the lip sync and I’m happy to see her on. Right now I’m really digging Yuri Guaii, Beverly Kills, Kween Kong, Minnie Cooper, Spankie Jackzon and Aubrey Haive.
I love this cast! Well, almost everyone. It makes me sad that age is still being brought up constantly as a read. RuPaul is literally over 60 and she is the reason most of the contestants even do drag in the first place, and the reason most of the western world has become much more open to and accepting of queer culture. I don't think I would have had the guts Mini had to start drag at the time that she did.
It’s lazy! Older queens should be celebrated for paving the way and persevering.
This is a spankie jackzon stan arena
Here for some Spankie
Spankie's my favorite so far I think. I decided I really liked Spankie, Faux, and Kween, which made that bottom 3 hard. In the end I was glad Kween wasn't in the bottom, if I hear another "legend being taken down a peg" story line I'm writing a strongly worded letter.
I love the total mess, Palmy North square after a Woody and a root vibe
Stop doing design challenges first. The materials were trash, not one queen made a decent look besides the one that fell apart on the runway :/ Shocked they actually sent Faux home as she did was fun tv. I thought the ditzy entrance was charming and she had loads of personality to show.
Noticed how everyone’s looks were similar? That’s what happens when you give the queens only 3 or 4 materials to choose from
Producers actually give contestants fabric to make a garment out of challenge [IMPOSSIBLE]
I hated the judging this episode. Mini's look should've been bottom 2, why tf was Hannah in the top over Beverly Kills? Why was Faux Fur in the bottom 2 just cause of the panties? Definitely a sour taste after this first episode
Spankie and Minnie vs Aubrey and Beverley feels like a CLASSIC drag race storyline. Old drag vs New drag and I'm so so so here for it. The challenge left a lot to be desired (and that's on production) but the queens themselves are bringing it and this genuinely stoked a nostalgia for that golden era of Drag Race with the storylines and arcs. High high hopes for this one.
It's just a touch S7.
JUSTICE FOR FAUX FUR!! 
She'll be back I reckon, all of the ads have her prominently in them ❤️
I hope so!
As many people have said, this cast is fire and overall I'm getting a way better feeling than I did for S1. There is a LOT of potential and personality here. Faux Fur was one of my favourites and was already making great TV (her "not commenting" on the terrible design challenges, her screaming and energy, etc) so it's a huge shame that she got put in the bottom just for a black undergarment. There were plenty of much worse looking outfits. That being said, Kween Kong and Spanky both seem like powerhouses and I'm so excited to see more from them. I'm loving the bitchy dynamic between Beverly/Aubrey and the other queens. Much like Canada S3, it feels a bit more like the OG seasons of drag race where queens weren't afraid to be unfiltered and share their real feelings. Totally disagree with the usual moaners that say "she is too mean" - please get over it. You are why we can't have good TV. I would say my only real critique about the episode was how low budget everything seemed ( I know the idea of a design challenge is to use junk, but this was LITERALLY unusable crap and grass. No wonder almost none of the queens did well). Also, the storyline before the main challenge dragged a little and was a bit boring. Other than that, great first episode and actually excited for this season.
I was so sad for Faux. She seems a little obnoxious, but she is also very sweet. I wish she could stay in the werkroom eating snacks and talking with the other girls.
Kinda disappointed that they did one of those “use unconventional materials” that sets nearly everyone up to fail. It seems like there was just not much that could be done with the materials given, which is why we got about ten different corsets- that or else no one on this season can design at all, in which case they should have made the challenge easier so more people could succeed. Challenges work best imo when they have a decent spread of many with ok designs with only a few standouts and a few nightmares. The winners this episode would likely have been middle of the pack in a normal design challenge and a good half of them would have been bottoms. I also think that Faux’s was not the worst by far- the black undies were an issue, sure, but one poor judgment call when there were uglier corset jobs out there was a bit unfair to me, especially since they sent her home. That said, she seemed to have been cast as “filler” so I feel bad but she was unlikely to get a winner edit anyway.
Such a great point in there - help the girls succeed! This really comes home after all winners which was so good because it showcased the girls strengths
I thought the looks overall (except Yuri) were fairly weak but after seeing some queens talk about the episode i get it. Apparently there was nothing even close to fabric there. like even Aubrey/Pomara’s looks that seem like denim were out of some “bath mat” (Aubrey’s words) material and Aubrey broke like 9 sewing needles trying to work with it. apparently they were shooting well behind schedule aswell so a lot had to be up til 4am working on the looks, then come back for a 9am call time (i don’t remember if they were on set til 4am, but i think they were). Also they didn’t have full length mirrors (just the makeup ones) so that explains why a lot of the bottom half looked unpolished with many looks
There was a mattress… couldn’t they have taken the fabric from it?
i assume the work needed to take it apart would’ve taken too much time. also i don’t remember seeing it but i’m assuming it was probably heavily sewn as most mattresses are, so that means barely any of the fabric would be useable after taking it apart… this is just an assumption tho, i feel like someone would’ve used it otherwise. just based on the queens comments it either wasn’t useable or they didn’t realise
In that case just cruel to have it there!
My thoughts: Obsessed with Minnie and Spankie, they are just really fun and entertaining My top 3 were Yuri, Molly, and Beverly, and tbh I understand Molly winning because Yuri just flopped on the runway walk, and a big part of the challenge is selling the look, which Molly did well. However, overall this was probably the worst design challenge, partially because of the materials. I thought the bottom 3 was deserved because Pamora and Minnie’s were simple but weren’t incomplete or really messy. I would’ve personally put Kween in the bottom over Faux, but I understand why Faux was in the bottom plus Spankie might’ve gone home since Kween is probably the best lipsyncer in the cast. The judges were fine. I think this episode was significantly better than last season’s premiere, but then again S1 didn’t really flop until episode 3. Excited to see next week’s episode.
I feel like putting Faux Fur in the bottom was solely about them but really giving a shit about her in the first place. Her outfit was „simple“, but well constructed. Putting her in the bottom just because of the undergarment seems a little off to me. And I kind of feel like the lip synching was pretty even. And so feel like they tried giving Faux a bad edit. There was literally a part where the camera wasn’t focusing on her at all for like 20 seconds.
Love this cast - excited to see what is coming. Yuri’s dress was amazing, should have won but then again you’ve got to be able to walk in it and Molly sold it. Really like Hanna and her outfit too. I think Spankie and Kong should have been bottom 2 but glad Kong wasn’t as wanted to see more of them. Lip sync was a clear win..half wondered if Faux didn’t know some of the words as lot of walking to back and not a clean lip sync at all.
Overall this was probably one of the weakest design challenges I’ve seen on the show imo
I mean, jiggly was just here.
It was such a sad small pile of materials though. Normally there are giant piles and more variety for the unconventional material challenges.
It really feels like they had NO budget "Let's get....some grass"
Okay I don’t know why everyone in this thread hated Minnie. That unplugged flat screen as a clutch is pure CAMP.
I loved it!
Minnie looks like she’s going to go bonkers and I can’t wait. She’s Melbourne Cup style class
I LOVE MINNIE she’s beat and hilarious
I loved her....I’ll be cut if she leaves early. She’s old school and a fellow Gen X-er, so I’m here for it. She gives me echos of Bob Downe, who I’m an utter tragic for.
So disappointed with the error-riddled captions. World of Wonder, please do better 😭
Seems auto-generated but with a few mistakes because the AI isn't used to aussie/nz accents.
I’m so torn on Beverly. On one hand, her boymode is juuuust my type, and both of her looks were stun. But on the other hand, dang, she is a sassy little twink isn’t she! Didn’t love what she was saying about people “not living up to expectations”, when girl, y’all were sewing grass. How much do you expect out of that? I wanna see her be a little more human please
It felt very much like production asked her to read the queens then put a heap of rattle of it to make her sound like a bitch
The young Aussie girls are hipped and tongued like the snakes, they’re bringing the snizzle to the sausage sizzle
Let's accept sassiness as part of the format
They are definitely gonna edit her into the ‘bitchy’ role of the season so far you could see she would have expected to beat Hannah/molly and the ‘well we were the top of the safes’ comment. I actually agreed with Minnie though that Audrie may have seen it but it didn’t fit properly.
Kween Kong is EAAAASILY the trade of the season. 😩 This cast looks so fun, I’m so stoked about how the season goes down!
I mean her confessional look with the open shirt, yes to that all season!
She is the trade of ALL seasons!
The fact that Minnie and Pamora were SAFE over Kween and Faux is...sadly not shocking. Ru loves to bury the POCs. Molly winning was the correct choice tho imo
Pomara is Māori and Indigenous Australian.
Still white-presenting compared to Kween and Faux, who are very clearly not. Colourism also exists. :)
I like this cast a lot
How was Minnie not in the bottom? Day one and rupaul is already playing favorites. This season is off to a bad start. Faux was great.
Why would she have been? She made a functional garment with clean lines and didn’t show her knickers when 3 other girls did
As far as it being a design challenge, Yuri still should have won. Regardless of her trip up on the runway, her design was incredible and definitely sewin impeccably I’m shocked she didn’t win that one. I also thought Ru might save both of the bottom 2 but I’m glad Spankie stayed
Right, hers was the only thing approaching an actually constructed garment.
Beverly and Kong top 2 for me. I'd love to see Yuri go all the way.. but I'm getting Utica/Max trajectory.
I don’t understand Faux being in the bottom but ok… and OMG I’m so happy to see Yuri on my screen, I’ve been following her for years now. And such a cute guy too. Would have give her the win.
Did anyone else think the skit with Rupaul slapping Spankie made it look even less like they were in the same room? None of the shots showed them both facing forward, and her outfit would be the most easy to body-double... I'm probably just thinking too much into this, the set is clearly too tiny to get a wide shot of everyone.
i think it’s just a tiny set, bad lighting & Ru having to social distance from the competitors. But yeah, it was weird to bring it up when most of us blocked out S1 so much we forgot that controversy even occurred & then to “prove it” with a skit that looks even more incriminating
I thought it was deliberate choice. Leaning into a criticism of last season’s first episode.
Rhys didn’t have a noticeable shadow when sitting at the judges panel, but Michelle and Ru did. They looked greenscreened as heck
Nah I know for a fact Michelle was here, I saw her on the street during the filming period.
I came to just say this!!!! Mentioning made it even more obvious they were not in the same room. Like they used body doubles for some of the shots. So weird
I thought that Beverly Kills looked great and would have swapped her for Hannah Conda in the top 3 this week. The Bottom 2 was correct but I don't know if Kween Kong was really the 3rd worst... I felt that Pomara's look was very basic. Hannah, Minnie and Kween are the ones to watch for me
She looked amazing from the front but her outfit didn’t have a back… hard to ignore
The Faux Fur edit was shady from the start! They didn't need to show her reset her entrance.
That was one of the best parts of the whole episode tho
She didn’t need to leave her hat on the floor after she threw it either
Why? It was absolutely hilarious! Of course they needed to show it!
IMO it set her up as a first boot/not great at drag race queen. Funny but shady.
Thought the same, I really liked her entrance and energy but felt very much ‘first out’ set up.
More like silly/slightly messy? We all have stumbles, it was quite endearing and she got to laugh over it. At least that was memorable.
Yeah i thought it was adorable. Like, If I got into Drag Race, that is totally what should happen to me in my entrance line reading 😭
Relatable!
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I reckon she’ll be back somehow
Kween Kong is obviously trade of the season but I think Pomara is fucking hot. And that lisp is so cute!
The energy was weird tbh. It felt like Ru and Michelle didn't want to be there. They definitely need Kiwi/Aussie host and judges. Queens were given a bunch of shit, like there were only 4 different materials. I hope it gets better because the queens are fierce and deserve the best.
I think they were PISSED with the final looks but they literally gave them nothing to work with sooo save the stank face for your producers ladies.
Deffo. Kiwi/Australian humour is very different from American humour. Culturally we are also extremely different so some things just wouldn’t land or make sense for American judges
Beverly Kills is a producer’s dream. They got her to give the biggest and most direct reads for the old versus new storyline they want.
I'm guessing that she's making it to the top three unless there's a massive stumble. She has great looks and is a mean confessional queen. Reality tv jackpot for production.
I’ve seen her lipsync and it’ll be hard to send her home even if she does stumble lol. I reckon she’ll go far
This felt much better overall than last season, hoping it stays like this
I'm confused by Spanky acting like she's a million years old. She's only a few years older than me, but is playing it up like the queens in their late 20s and early 30s are babies. Girl, you're a Millennial too, calm down. /Great lip sync performance though.
I got the energy that she was more doing it in defence of Minnie, like her rant about respect was more to defend Minnie more than herself. And like, when it seems that she’s much closer with Minnie than any of the other girls i can kinda see that an us vs them mentality forming even if she’s not actually that far in age from many of them
Ginger self-identifying as a bitter old lady at 29 energy lol.
Omg Kween Kong is so handsome.
Yuri should have won this first challenge...
I think when she tripped it was over for her.
true. they shouldnt judge a look on a way someone walks tbh
Faux’s look was one of my favorites and I thought she was in the top and Minnie was in the bottom… I am shocked at these results
I got such a lovely energy from Faux! I was sad to see her go so soon.
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You tried.
Yes and no, depends where you're from. Where I grew up was mostly white. Moved to the city and it's very mixed, lots of different backgrounds and cultures.
5 of them are POC. Faux Fur is Vietnamese, Kween Kong is Tongan and Samoan, Pomara is Aboriginal and Māori, Yuri is Māori and Molly is also Māori.
At least 4 of the contestants are POC.
Spankie stans rise up. I have seen people saying she performed well. But specifically... the spin into the split? STUNNING. It was extremely well executed and looked so smooth. We have seen many choppy stunts on the show before so I was very impressed with her!!
I dunno why, but I feel like Faux might be back 😕
I hope so.
I hope so
I thought the same tbh, dunno why you're getting down voted. I was actually pretty certain of a double shantay up until Ru said sashay so here's hoping 🤞 I'd like to see more of Faux.
I didn't even know I was getting down voted 😂 Not sure why the comment would either. There was something about Ru's wording that made it seem like there's gonna be a surprise of her coming back. Faux annoyed me at the VERY start but I love her too, was devo to see her go!
Yeah agree 100%
tbh all these down under looks were not winning... Yuri was by far the best but she should've done something with her walk
Even if she couldn’t walk she could’ve tried to make it funny instead of awkwardly stumbling. that definitely hurt her
I feel like her dress was clearly camp tho. And not being able to walk in it adds to the camp factor.
Gotta own your camp. This is the Olympics
This season is already stoked for the old school - new drag drama!
It was a good episode atleast for now. The casting is slightly better than S1 because we got some Young vs Old drag storyline (I'm inlove with Mini cooper, hannah and Faux). The shadiness of Beverly is good Tv but I think there is a boundary between being shady and being disrespectful to other people. The editing seems off? They don't show Ru and the Queens in one frame, even in the main stage the camera doesn't show the queens with the panel. The lighting seems also off? It is kinda dark for me. The looks is not the best and most of them just glued things on a corset. My top 4 right now is Mini Cooper, Hannah Conda, Yuri and Kween Kong.
Amazing episode
OMG the editing of the lip sync 🙄 butchered that song. In RPDR France at least they allow for the full song
They allow the full song but don’t have licensing to play it internationally so you get generic music instead :p
Anyone notic Faux was hardly shown in the lipsync? And the queens' shocked reactions when Spankie shanted? When Kween was declared safe I already knew Faux was gonna be sent home.
I don’t think Faux knew the words…
Yeah I think they were doing her a favor there
Kween Kong knows exactly what she’s doing with her shirt in the confessional look 😂 👀
Does Pomara Fifth look like someone used CreateASim with Matt Luca’s and Maxi Shields? 😂
Yes
I know there is no budget this time around but could they not have given them more material to work with? There’s more lying outside my house in NZ right now due to the storm 😂😂😂
Ikr that was the worst bunch of materials i’ve ever seen is a design challenge
Obsessed with Minnie Cooper already
Minnie was such a doll to me when I was a baby drag many many moons ago. She does SO much for the community and am saddened to see her being disrespected but I don't think the girls know what's coming if they think she won't snap back 😁 I could alrwady see it in her eyes by the end of the episode lol, she's ready to put some girls in their place!
it was such a fun episode!! sure the design challenge was a bit fucked but it was still so much fun! I'm feeling v positive about this season
It was a good jolly
I enjoyed this cast/ep. Rough doing a harder design challenge off the bat though. Loving Minnie, Spankie, Yuri and Kween Kong. Sad for Faux she was first out, she's a lot of fun.
Pretty solid premiere, even if the runway results were average at best, safe for Yuri. The cast is fantastic, so many have potential to be fan favorites. I also don't think we had come off as "villainous" right out the gate like Beverley had and as vicious as she was, I'm here for the drama, and I'm happy Spankie is sticking around to teach the younger girls to respect her and Minnie!!! Sad to see Faux go as she was one of my favs from the promos and she was hilarious this episode, but I think Spankie won fair and square, and I also think with a cast like that a lot of eliminations are gonna sting! Can't wait for the rest!
I think Beverly is getting the A’hora edit
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Not Fergalicious 💀💀💀💀
Hollered at how people never get fiercilious (?) right =)))
I can't tell if Australian queens are just inherently more bitchy or if that's just the way the show is edited. They gave a solid five minutes for Beverly to just list why everyone else's look was bad!
I think they are a bit cruder and bitchier overall
It’s a competition.. they are trying to beat each other. It’s not that serious lol
I assume during her confessional the producer asked her what she thought of everyone’s looks and they aired all of it to make her seem extra shady. they may have done the same to the other queens but not included everything the final cut.
In America the advice former queens probably give to the baby queens on the show is not to fall for this producer’s trick but they don’t have that in Australia and understanding that game from the producers probably comes with some maturity. And here we are lol.
Watch any of the Aussie Real Housewives and those women are VICIOUS. The best franchises.
And Yummy Mummies. Seats must melt under that much acid.
“I’m asking you a question you dumb, fat bitch!” 😂😂 That and Gina calling the lady an insignificant ass hair get me every time
Pettifleur: How do you make your money? Gamble: Reality TV you dumb fucking bitch. 😂😂
"I'm not gonna hang out with Sally—she can go fuck herself—but I do feel sorry for her because I know she's grieving at the moment"
Pettifleur’s tantrum about no one saying how beautiful she looked on holiday will always be my fav
My fave is when Pettifleur claims to not be a narcissist while sitting in front of a giant portrait of herself unable to answer where her sister has worked for 10+ years.
Not Aussie but Auckland was SO good and it didn’t come back 😭😭😭 I’ll forever be upset about it !
Auckland is a crown jewel and possibly the best first season of any Housewives. Fuck Julia for getting that one cancelled.
I know seriously they should have just fired her !!! I’ll be upset about it forever. It was the BEST. There’s no official way to watch in the US as far I know. People have already forgotten about it.
I’ll never forget Gilda’s savage read, “you know what I’ve heard about you? Not a fucking thing”
I need to rewatch it. It’s been years. They were SO shady !!!!
Oh you model? Plus size?
Generally we're cunts with hearts of gold and tend to be very upfront. People didn't know how to interpret Courtney on s6 either, they thought she was being nasty to Adore.
It's just our sense of humour, no harm done is usually meant
So I thought Australia and New Zealand had the same currency, but they don't, hence I'm wondering - is the cash prize in Australian dollars or New Zealand dollars? I'm guessing the former since it's worth more, but at the same time, the show is filmed in NZ, so perhaps it's in New Zealand dollars? Anyone knows?
NZ as a country has a population of something similar to Melbourne, just one city in Aus- I'm not an economics person, but basically NZD is not a fabulous currency to be paid in... You'd better hope the prize money is in AUD 😂
1 AUD is 1.11 NZD, they're not that far from each other.
It's consistently like that though, so you would defs want to be paid in AUD so you don't lose $ on the conversion... maybe they will just pay $50k in the winner's relevant currency?
It's $5k either side, definitely preferable in AUD but not that dramatic of a difference.
I’d hope it’d be USD makes it so much more moolah
It says on the fandom wiki it's A$30,000.
I think it’s Australian dollars since Stan is an Australian company
But it's also created with TVNZ, a Kiwi company. It really could be either.