The little spinoff that could proves its mettle this week, writes Sam Brooks.

This recap is for season two, episode three of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, available to watch on TVNZ+ now. If you’re waiting for the broadcast on Friday night please don’t read any further until then.

Let’s get something out of the way right now: this is the best episode of Down Under yet, and it’s not a close competition. Not only is this a great episode of television – with a unique, main fun challenge and a runway with literally no duds – it manages to highlight both down under drag and the struggles within the scene beautifully. With no shade, Down Under has had a hard time finding itself, and this is the first indication that this spinoff has struck true gold – I cannot wait to see more.

After a slightly cringe mini-challenge that goes on for too long – a parade of Pit Crew pulling down their pants to show what tool is inside, vintage Drag Race stuff – we’re into the meat of the episode. The main challenge is a brilliant one: the queens are paired off to host a drag brunch, while also delivering the roast. It tests a bunch of things at the same time: obviously the ability to host, but also the ability to be funny and to riff off a teammate. If there’s ever a challenge that another version of Drag Race needs to pilfer, this would be the one.

Nobody truly bombs the challenge, even though the Pomara/Beverly pairing would definitely have me reaching for another mimosa in real life. Hannah Conda and Molly Poppinz feel like they’ve been hosting events together for years but lack the material. Spankie carries Yuri through the challenge, handing her soft lob punchlines to smack over the net (and this even nabs them the win, which I can’t be too mad about).

Kween Kong and Minnie Cooper, however, absolutely body this challenge. Kween comes out on her own, flinging out race jokes confidently (“I am of Pacific descent, my mum is from Sāmoa and my dad is from Tonga, which means according to the latest census I have flat feet, diabetes, and more children than I can provide for”), and making fun of Minnie’s white privilege while keeping her backstage (it’s the only way to shut her up).

When Minnie comes out, she makes herself a target for roasting without self-flagellation. It’s material that could feel uncomfortable, or bending over backwards to make a point, but Kween and Minnie have such wild chemistry and such great material that it never comes off like that. It establishes both of them as contenders, and is a clear highlight of both seasons of Drag Race Down Under.

Then we get a great runway with not a single dud, though a special shoutout has to go to Kween Kong’s volcano god inspired outfit. No notes, no notes.

As always, there has to be a bottom two, and this week it’s Pomara Fifth and Beverly Kills, who lip-sync to ‘Starstruck’ by Years and Years (featuring one Kylie Minogue). Kills slays, Fifth is slain, and we’re left with seven queens. Now, onto the rankings!

Eliminated: Pomara Fifth

The writing was really on the wall for Pomara when she was given a note that her job was to make her partner look better and her reaction was one of genuine confusion. It was as though the thought not only had never occurred to her, but was an anathema to her entire drag philosophy.

The writing was underlined when Pomara did not listen to that note, and by stepping on Beverly’s punchlines, tripped over everything. Beverly wasn’t great in the challenge either, but at least she wasn’t disrupted.

Finally, the writing was bolded, italicised, capitalised and highlighted when Pomara, who had one of the best gowns on the runway, almost immediately took the bottom half off during the lip-sync, revealing… panties. If there’s one lesson of drag that viewers have learned over the years, it’s that if you remove a garment on the runway, whatever you have on underneath had best look even better than what you took off.

Alas, we say goodbye to our indigenous queen Pomara Fifth, sadly in eighth place.

7. Beverly Kills

As I said above, Beverly was steamrolled by Pomara in the challenge, and that was enough to put her in the bottom. However, as often happens on Drag Race, she proves herself as a contender by being one hell of a lip-syncer. Pomara can’t compare to her precision and focus, and so Kills remains in the competition. Still, lip-sync assassins don’t win seasons, so if she doesn’t buck up soon she’ll be here again, and again, and then no longer.

6. Hannah Conda

There are two Hannah Condas in this episode. There’s the accomplished, funny queen who clearly spent a lot of money on her wardrobe this season, who is maybe being railroaded into complaining about not winning when it’s far too early in the season to be doing so.

Then, unfortunately, there’s the Hannah Conda who gets into a discussion with Kween Kong about some dubious racial appropriation in her past after Kween mentions that her show with Minnie will be about white privilege. And by “gets into a discussion”, I mean gets into a full-blown monologue. She apologises to Kween, she explains how much she’s learned, she talks about taking up space, while Kween stands there and quietly nods. The scene is a classic example of somebody being An Ally™ when they could stand just being an ally. It makes for great TV, and I can understand Hannah’s desire to explain that she’s not the person she used to be given what went down last season, but oof.

5. Molly Poppinz

If I wasn’t already sure that Molly Poppinz would be hanging around for a while from the tremendous amount of talking head coverage she’s getting, the fact that she’s a strategic queen who can perform would be all the proof I needed. She’s absolutely fine in the challenge, but her outfit is one of the best ones – silly, stylish, and a little bit bizarre. You love to see it.

She also gets the filthiest joke I’ve ever heard on Drag Race, and I will be genuinely surprised if it makes it to TVNZ2 unbleeped. I would write it here, but the internet lives forever and I do not want those words attached to my byline.

4. Minnie Cooper

Minnie Cooper has many things in her favour, but one above all: RuPaul finds her delightful. If the person the show is named after likes you, chances are you’re hanging around.

But seriously, Minnie continues to show what an asset it is to be an older queen in this competition. She knows that success in the challenge will come not by playing to her own strengths, but by enabling Kween Kong to play to hers. She knows the funniest approach is letting Kween roast her and setting Kween up for the punchlines. Most importantly, she knows her history: her outfit, even though it doesn’t quite fit, pays homage to queens we’ve lost to HIV. It’s a beautiful moment on the runway, and it gives her presence on the show that much more weight.

3. Yuri Guaii

Yuri gets into a little bit of drama this week, almost missing the main challenge due to an eye infection, but she bounces back to be a more than capable partner for Spankie. While Spankie has probably hosted more events than I’ve lived days on this planet, Yuri is comparatively fresh to the industry and is wisely relegated to the role of delivering easy punchlines. And? She nails it. She also has maybe the second best runway of the week, so thankfully, Yuri is still here, you Guaiis.

2. Spankie Jackzon

After that first week bottom placement, Spankie continues to kill it. She’s a consummate host, a generous teammate, and is polished enough that her roughness feels like a choice and not like a side effect. Plus, this poppy-themed dress is classy, stylish and entirely in character. Keep it up!

WINNER: Kween Kong

OK, Kween did not win the challenge, but these are my rankings and not yours or RuPaul’s.

Three episodes in, Kween Kong is my pick to win this whole damn thing. Sure, she’s a great performer with a tremendous sense of style and charisma, but what’s most exciting is the presence she brings to the workroom. The conversation with Hannah Conda about racial appropriation is nuanced, with Kween acknowledging that it’s not enough to say sorry and even if it was, it’s not her place to accept that apology. And her pumping Beverly Kills up after falling into the bottom two is the kind of sweet moment that makes someone a fan favourite. We haven’t seen a Kween like Kong (sorry) in the franchise before, and I can’t wait to see what she does every week. That’s a winner, baby.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under drops on TVNZ+ on Saturdays at 6pm, and airs the following Friday on TVNZ2 at 9.30pm.