Those who have left us too soon: Drag Race UK S2

Ah, Drag Race UK Season 2. What a breath of fresh air.

Similar to the stellar casting of season 13, there's no dead weight in this cast. Everyone is fascinating, gorgeous, and fuuuuuny. Unlike season 13, which had four whole episodes san-elimination, we have already been forced to say premature goodbyes to a handful of our UK queens.

An elimination recap for the children:

Episode 1: Joe Black

Episode 2: Cherry Valentine

Episode 3: Asttina Mandella

Episode 4: Ginny Lemon

I was pretty shocked that Joe Black exited as early as she did. In their Meet the Queens interview, I was immediately struck by how intriguing I thought Joe was. She struck me like a stronger steeped Sharron Needles (minus all the SN ugliness); she's got that dark drama that I crave. I was utterly entertained while Joe was gracing my screen. While it's a shame that we didn't get to see more of miss Joe on Drag Race, I'm at least glad we were introduced. See ya on instagram, Joe.

Miss Cheeeeeeery Valentine. Ugh, what a gorgeous creature. I have the feeling she was sitting on some LOOKS, which hopefully we will see as they trickle into her insta. While I personally detested her Surprise Surprise reveal runway, I believe she would have stayed in the running much longer if this wasn't a particularly talented season of Drag Race. 

Asttina Mandella. One word about her elimination: Rude! I was shocked to see Asttina leave as prematurly as she did, especially considering her strong performance in the first episode. I was a tad put off by her overwhelming self confidence, but that's only because of my inability to relate. That ASOS jacket never looked so good. 

As for sweet Ginny Lemon, ah. What to say.

I don't know if I've ever seen a contestant that I related to more from a style perspective. Ginny is the first thing my eye goes to in any DRUKS2 line up. I love a monocolor statement; I am deeply envious of folks who live monocolor lifestyles, like Kitten Kay Sera, the pink lady of Hollywood, and Elizabeth Rosenthal of BK who lives in green. To me, it speaks of decisiveness and conviction; at some point they all made the decision to stick with one color, and THAT WAS THAT. I love it. Ginny takes this to the next level, by bringing a maximalist take to the monocolor look, which I can't get enough of. Pile it on, as long as it's yellow. Heck yeah.

I could go on and on about how much I love Ginny's aesthetic. It's got a thrift store charm; we're peeking into an actual wardrobe more so than a costume closet. There's a playful practicality to Ginny's looks, which reminds me of the club kids of the early 90's. I'm living for it

Very much like Joe Black, I was immediately captivated by Ginny's quirk and charm. Unlike Asttina, Ginny has a touch of self doubt and loathing that  I picked up on, which I strongly relate to. In a particularly touching workroom moment, Bimini is talking to Ginny about their queerness and their drag. Ginny states that they does not love themselves, and sees a long road ahead of them before they ever arrive at that point. This conversation broke my heart for two reasons;

1)I get it 100%. You can be a creative dynamo, funny as hell, and widely loved while still struggling with self love. It's realistic.

2) I knew Ru would never let a queen win who subscribes to this self image. The entire brand of Drag Race is built around "loving yourself before you love anyone else". So much of the Drag Race narrative is about 'learning to love yourself'. The journey to self love can take a lifetime, it's silly to think that these changes could take place during the filming of a reality TV show, especially one that thrives off placing it's contestants in stressful situations, and then critiquing them. It's also unreasonable to expect that every great queen is a beacon of self assuredness. Ginny represents a more vulnerable drag where emotions are present. 

I felt for Ginny when Ru asked them to 'sexy it up'. While Drag Race has come a long way, there are still cringey moments. I wish Ru had considered that 'sexy' isn't a part of everyone's persona. I, myself do not consider myself 'sexy', and would feel extremely uncomfortable if I was asked to exude such. That is essentially the situation Ru put Ginny in for episode 3. Major kudos to Ginny for meeting Ru's challenge, and here's to hoping Ginny is never forced to be sexy against their will ever again.

Along with the majority of the fan base, I was shocked and saddened when Ginny eliminated themselves. I was really hoping they would knock that lipsync out of the park, but hey. Ginny is now the first ever UK Drag Race contestant to leave prior to being told to sashay away, and one of a small handful of Drag Race alum who have eliminated themselves. I'd say any club with BenDeLa and Adore as members is good in by books. While I was upset that Ginny left us so early, I'm glad that they got to leave on their own terms.

So as you can tell, I fancy a slice. Thank you Ginny Lemon for brightening up my TV, and I look forwards to everything you do in the future. Your butt reveal was iconic.

Drag Race UK S2 airs tonight, and as much as I look forwards to the episode, I dread saying goodbye to another member of this fantastic cast. My glass is always half empty.

*cue Ginny's laugh as they left the stage*