Didn't say we saw this one coming.
Mikelle Street*This story contains spoilers and was also updated.
And just like that, we're down to ... well, still at four.
It's surely been a crazy season for RuPaul's Drag Race U.K. We've had fights, Ginny Lemon walked off stage at the beginning of a lip sync, there was a seven-month break in the middle of production, Veronica Green contracted the virus at the center of the ongoing global pandemic and was not allowed to continue on. The list is almost endless. After all of that RuPaul had one more "first time in Drag Race U.K. herstory" moment that she never announced.
In the latest episode, the four remaining contestants had to put on an episode of BeastEnders, a drag-filled soap opera. As far as these types of acting challenges go, we can't say this was the strongest for the series — though the judges truly seemed to love it. Lawrence Cheney psyched herself out — as is her habit — while Bimini Bon Boulash knocked it out of the park — as is her habit. Still, we wound up with Tayce and Ellie Diamond in the bottom.
For any voracious consumer of the show, the end seemed a foregone conclusion: historically queens are really only allowed three lip syncs for your life. (For the purposes of this we consider lip sync for your life, lip sync for the crown, and lip sync for your legacy different types of lip syncs.) In season five, Coco Montrese lip synced for her life four times and went home after the fourth. Similarly, on Drag Race Thailand, Srimala was eliminated on her fourth lip sync. So, it seemed, Tayce's road had certainly come to an end, even though she put on a pretty amazing performance.
"Ladies, I've made my decision," Ru said at the conclusion of the battle. "Tayce, shantay you stay." And just like that, herstory was made: Tayce is now the only queen in Drag Race U.K. history to survive four lip syncs for her life in one season. She joins Kameron Michaels from the original Drag Race and Miss Abby OMG from Drag Race Holland in an elite group of true lip sync assassins.
But, the episode continues of course with Ru handing out the double save that people were hoping for last week. Diamond is also safe making the top four all finalists. Similarly, whenever a queen has survived four lip syncs for your life, there has at some point been at least one double shantay.
Next week, the four will compete in "the most dragtastic performance of their life," likely writing, singing, and performing personalized verses of a RuPaul track.
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