'Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs The World' Episode 5 Recap: Fast Acting | Magazine Xtra (2023)

You know, when I'mthey heap praisealreadyCanada's Drag Race: Canada vs The Worldto change the challenge ofGreat Britain against the world, I assumed it meant "as long as there are no acting challenges." Alas, here we are, on the final five of this abbreviated season, seeing these über-talented performers go through the "Spy Queens" overacting. A reminder that "different" does not always mean "good"!

Me child — mostly. It is true that acting challenges are an integral partDrag Raceexperience, and probably always will be. And while "Queen of Spies" is short with actually funny material, it's no worse than your average acting challenge (although it feels pretty long). The problem here lies more in time. Icesis Couture quit inlast episodehe has already stopped the momentum of the season a little, withCanadian Drag RaceThe first non-elimination episode ever to happen only due to scheduling difficulties.

Now, not only do we have an acting challenge as the last competition task before the finale, but there is also a very obvious fifth place finisher among the crowd. Vanity Milan spends the cold open this episode learning that both Silky Nutmeg Ganache and herDrag Race UKSeason 3 sister Victoria Scone was ready to send her home last week. She promises that this will light a fire under her ass and that she will return to the Vanity that won long ago inseason premiere. But it would essentially take winning the challenge to overturn the expected outcome - we've seen that before, with Blair St. Clairom uAll stars 5mostly. Anything less would result in her elimination, unless her competition decided to be bloodthirsty.

But that wasn't the case this season, where the queens dutifully sent out the worst performer week after week. And there's no reason to believe that will change this week, especially after Vanity is clearly the worst in the challenge. Victoria and Rita Baga, the winners of our challenge this week, tease the possibility that they might suddenly decide to play a strategic game. However, you have to imagine that they have a memory ofGreat Britain against the worldthe reaction of the fans in their minds. Who wants to be bullied like Pangina Heals was when she sent Jimbo home — or like Blu Hydrangea was when she did the same to Pangina?

No, suffice it to sayCanada vs. the Worldit was a very different show from his ownUKpredecessor—and frankly, neither gets exactly the right tone.Great Britain against the worldwas an often vicious display of dicey play, in which retreat took a bit of a backseat.Canada vs. the WorldOn the other hand, it felt like a light, loving, fun series that shows great appeal, but the strategic potential of the format remains completely untapped.

One would hope that the futureagainst the worldcould determine the balance — but since this week's announcement of a newGlobal All Starsseries, it seems unlikely that they willagainst the worldthe franchise will continue. I'll have more to say about this new series and its growing international reachDrag Racein the end-of-the-year article on the franchise, but I'm a little bummed that Paramount is taking over internationalAll starsconcept beforeagainst the worldI could understand. I'd love to see more views on the format (I'm still personally clamoring for theSpain against the world), even if I agree that none of the attempts so far have hit the mark.

Okay, I guess I can only put off talking about Spy Queens for so long. As the defending champion lip syncer, Victoria gets cast. "Acting challenge acting drama" is only slightly more tolerable at this point than "comedy challenge drama with performance order", but it presents a bit of a problem for the British queen because both Vanity and Ra'Jah O'Hara don't understand what they want. Ra'Jah wants to be a "Reading Fundamentalist", a role Victoria assumes for herself, and instead ends up as "Body-Ody-Ody". Vanity, meanwhile, wants the same "Lip Sync Assassin" role that Silky ends up getting, and is instead delegated the "Look Queen" role. (Rita happily assumes the role of "House Mother" for herself, despite no one's protest.)

In practice, all these roles are quite similar, so it's a little ado about nothing. The challenge comes down to who is most committed to impersonating and who can deliver their lines with the most confidence. Rita is the funniest of them all, thanks to her unusual sense of humor and her character being the most pronounced. This is a much more defensible victory than her uCanadian Drag RaceSeason 1acting challenge, at least.

But the queen who seems to be the most masterful performer, and also has the most inventive (and cutting edge!) take on the Y2Gay runway category for "2000s club dude," is Victoria Scone. She achieved her third best finish in as many weeks and goes into the final with the best record of the others. I'll be honest: I didn't expect Victoria to dominate this season the way she did. I thought she would do well, but I assumed her story would be more about getting a real chance after being pulled from the competition inUKSeason 3.

How wrong I was! After getting a warning from the umpires after the Snatch Game to step it up, she's been pushing the pedal all the way from then on. I have some doubts about her chances in the Lip Sync for the Crown tournament, but if she gets the right song and pulls it off – like she did against Silky on “Your Daddy Don't Know” – she could absolutely be a threat to win the title tournament. This would make it two consecutive victories for the United Kingdom and would likely mean that the British franchise would hold a monopoly onagainst the worldvictories.

But I still tend to think Silky has this. Yes, her last place finish is a bit in doubt this week, which could mean the show wasn't invested in her success. After all, who would say Rita or VictoriaI do not want tosend her home? However, I'm inclined to think, given that both Silky and Victoria were ready to send Vanity home last week, production isn't afraid of the occasional Silky boot. Even in her current rock bottom, editing remains very calm with season 11 andAll stars 6a veteran. The more I think about it, the story where, years after Brooke Lynn Hytes knocked out Silky in the Season 11 finale, she's the one who crowned Silky, the more I feel like this season is going.

I guess the crown might still go to Rita, especially considering Icesisrequirementsafter its termination that production was invested in keeping the title in Canada. However, I think her path to winning the lip sync tournament would be limited: she would have to beat either Victoria or Silky in the first round, and face Ra'Jah in the finals. Since the last LSFTC lip sync is mostly judged by the season as a whole—check out Jinkx Monsoon's win inAll stars 7-she could win if she had a better record between her and Ra'Jah. But I think that is extremely unlikely at this point.

Which brings us to the queen I really thought was going to win it all when this season started: Ra'Jah O'Hara. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of her continuingCanada vs. the World. She was wonderful as she wasAll stars 6, and her performances on the challenges were solid. But along the way, she's hit a big snag, with her disappointing standup performance at a time when three ladies were better than her, and her ball looking disappointing compared to expectations, while others (especially Silky) surpassed their previous work. She's doing just fine in the acting challenge this week, but the judges spared her the bottom spot by only announcing two queens for elimination.

I still think Ra'Jah could dominate the lip sync tournament, but I have a hard time seeing a way for her to win in the final round if the judging is truly based on the season. Victoria has the strongest results, Silky has a stronger notebook and greater narrative focus, and Rita has a Canadian edge. What a shame considering the high hopes I had for Ra'Jah coming into this season. I'd really like to see her beat the odds and take home the crown, but I'm bracing myself for a different outcome.

We've successfully avoided talking much about Spy Queens in this recap, which is ultimately for the best. It's a pit stop before the final, nothing more. More interesting is the Y2Gay track, which is inconsistent throughout, but in unique ways, and the Estelle and Kardinal Offishall syncopation "Freak." Victoria and Rita are messy in it, but in a very fun way. It's also possibly the longest lip sync of the season, with plenty of time for all the antics of the two camp queens. In the end, Rita wins her lip and, honoring her deal with Silky, sends Vanity home.

See you next week for the final season recap—and the final recapDrag Racein 2022! Whichever queen takes home the title of Motherpucking Queen of the World will do so after a fun and enjoyable season. And for all my wishes for more thanagainst the worldformat, it's a nice way to end the yearDrag Raceas I can imagine.

Unraveling our final thoughts

✨ Up and down:I don't have much more to say here that I haven't already covered in the summary. In terms of track records, Victoria leads the pack, followed by Silky and Rita, with Ra'Jah trailing with just one top finish (and no wins in sight). A truly incredible result compared to my expectations at the start of the season, but it goes to show you can never predict exactly whatDrag Racethey will throw at you!

✨Let's talk about winsagainst the world. Editing recaps of the previous episode makes it very clear that, as withGreat Britain against the worldand its badge distribution, the show only treats lip sync wins as challenge wins. And I think that's a strange policy! UAll stars 2, the first season with the Lip Sync for Your Legacy format, Alaska clearly counted all of her wins (even without proper lip syncing) as wins, saying she won four in the penultimate episode of the season. And not only that, but every top ranking was considered a victoryAll stars 7earlier this year. Whyagainst the worldwhether he's doing it is unclear, as he only allows five "wins" during the season. Although I guess it only matters for a long time, withGlobal All Starson the way. Congratulations on our latest and likely to be last challengeagainst the worldto win!

✨Silky chose not to reveal that she chose Vanity last week on the couch, instead telling her solo in the mirror. I understand why she's doing it, citing her mental health and fears of making Vanity feel, but it's kind of funny, years after Bebe Zahara Benet chose not to reveal her lipstick, that finally someone else is refusing (even for the moment).

✨Stylist Joe Zee is our guest judge this week. He's fine! He doesn't have a ton of unique insights to offer. I'd have preferred him to officiate the ball, but the guest umpire positions have been a bit iffy throughout the season (with the exception of Gary Janetti on the comedy challenge).

✨Ra’Jah tries to do Victoria’s dolphin noise from Spy Queens but instead imitates her sister Mercedes Iman Diamond from season 11. "Scream Mercedes Iman!" he adds happily.

✨Each of the characters in Spy Queens gets an entrance and tagline. Silky's "death drop" joke is the best, while Vanity's master of disguise references the characterRevealiana. I bet you've never seen itandcome on baby!

✨It was Traci Melchor who was chosen to play the villain in the film. She's honestly my favorite part!

✨Silky's goal is to be onGrey's Anatomy. Call Krista Vernoff to join Silky!

✨It's interesting to hear Silky admit what should be obvious: Rita and Victoriayou shouldeliminate her, so that she has the best chance in the finals. This makes me even more confident of a Silky win: they had a chance to knock it out, but they didn't take it. Now watch her win the tournament.

Final ofCanada's Drag Race: Canada vs The Worldwill be available to stream on Friday, December 23, at 9 p.m. EST includedWOW is a plusin the USA and beyondYearnin Canada. You can subscribe to our dear newsletter,Wig!, for an exclusiveDrag Racecontent delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday afternoon.