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Drag Race Sverige Season 1

Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 3 – “Drag-a’-mera!” design challenge Review & Power Ranking

March 21, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the third episode of Drag Race Sverige (AKA Drag Race Sweden) Season 1 – “Drag-a’-mera!” It’s a familiar unconventional material design challenge with the added pressure of being judged by one of Sweden’s most legendary drag performers, Christer Lindarw, and one of their most notorious fashion icons, Fredrik Robertsson.

The presence of Lindarw and Robertsson seemed to ratchet up the tension in this episode much more than on a typical RuPaul’s Drag Race design challenge. Even when RuPaul’s Drag Race lands massive stars as guest judges, often they represent something apart from drag – or, at least, just a single aspect of success in drag. RuPaul remains the person who it is most important to impress and whose career exists as the exemplar for contestants.

By contrast, on this episode of Sverige it felt as though its charming host Robert Fux was secondary to the pair of heavyweights on the judging panel. The only time RuPaul has ever come close to being eclipsed as the show’s paragon of drag was when Lady Gaga appeared for the Season 9 debut – an episode on which Ru never appeared in drag!

When it comes to design, RuPaul is typically looking for some form of indefinable “eleganza” that’s all about size and structure. However, Fredrik Robertsson’s walkthrough for “Drag-a’-mera” was much more intimidating than a typically breezy (but helpful) commentary from Carson Kressley or Brad Goreski. It felt as though Robertsson was treating the queens as though they were all legitimate fashion designers, demanding that each one of them deliver the careful detailing of haute couture while also using a mix of materials to suggest something more avant-garde.

Meanwhile, the presence of the soft-spoken Christer Lindarw seemed to unnerve some of the queens even more. His career as a drag performer and fashion designer spans nearly 50 years, including four decades of his “After Dark” revue that employed many Swedish performers (including Elecktra). There was a tangible feeling that he had the ability to make or break the career of any queen on the cast, which is usually only true of RuPaul herself on the main franchise.

The result was an unusually polished design challenge runway without any true failures, but with more than one surprising development in the judging. That meant a major shake-up for my power rankings compared to last week’s talent show! It feels like this season is already down to a set of heavyweight frontrunners who are all deserving of a spot in the Top Three with just three more episodes until the finale.

After tonight, two queens who seemed like obvious cuts are experiencing a sudden surge while another former lock feels like she’s in danger. No matter what happens next week, it will be a shocking elimination.

(Want to watch Drag Race Sverige outside of Sweden? For most of the world, it’s available as part with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Läsare, start your engines. Och må den bästa Drag Queen vinna! 

[Read more…] about Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 3 – “Drag-a’-mera!” design challenge Review & Power Ranking

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: Design Challenge, drag, Drag Race, Drag Race Sverige, Drag Race Sverige Season 1

Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 2 – “MARATHON Talent Hunt” Review & Power Ranking

March 14, 2023 by krisis 1 Comment

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the second episode of Drag Race Sverige (AKA Drag Race Sweden) Season 1 – “MARATHON Talent Hunt.” It’s a standard Drag Race talent show paired with an in-the-dark quick drag mini-challenge and a Longstocking Extravaganza runway.

The Drag Race talent show challenge has transformed from a novelty when it debuted in All Stars 2 back in 2016 to a staple regular seasons around the globe. It usually comes early enough in the season that it isn’t a a must-win challenge, it has definitely proved to be a “must not flop” challenge every time it has appeared on the show.

The flopping comes not in singing a little out of tune (a-hem, Monét), but in approaching it with a lack of imagination. As with many challenges on Drag Race, the talent show isn’t really a challenge about talent but a challenge about branding. You can sing an original song, but what does it communicate about you and how you do drag? You can dance to a royalty-free track rather than penning your own song, but what are you saying about yourself with the dancing?

MARATHON Talent Hunt saw a particular pair of queens understand the idea of “talent” in vastly different ways. Both of them are primarily talented at drag itself. One of them turned that into a hilarious song and dance act about being an untalented hack. The other used their act to protest the idea that Drag Race asks queens to have a talent.

One act was a terrific branding win about having a sense of self-deprecating humor. The other was a complete branding fail that made its performer out to be a bland, petulant prima donna. Unsurprisingly, the former was in the top and the latter only narrowly won a lip sync for her life.

What do those performances and the other talent show acts mean for my power ranking compared to last week’s debut episode? One queen from the middle of the pack has made her move to be a front-runner while another plummeted to the bottom of the rank. Meanwhile, a talented queen missed an opportunity to gain momentum with some questionable choices.

(Want to watch Drag Race Sverige outside of Sweden? For most of the world, it’s available as part with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Läsare, start your engines. Och må den bästa Drag Queen vinna! 

[Read more…] about Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 2 – “MARATHON Talent Hunt” Review & Power Ranking

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: drag, Drag Race, Drag Race Sverige, Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Talent Show, Willow Pill

Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 1 – “Start Your Engines” Review & Power Ranking

March 7, 2023 by krisis 1 Comment

Welcome to my review, recap, and power rankings of the first episode of Drag Race Sverige (AKA Drag Race Sweden) Season 1 – “Start Your Engines.” This is a standard-issue international Drag Race first episode, with a silly photo shoot and a two-look runway that includes a hometown theme.

I love getting to know the drag scene and queer culture of a new country through the lens of Drag Race (which I realize isn’t always 100% accurate or representational).

One of the first things that stuck out to me about Sverige is that it’s international… but not in the same way as some of the other European seasons.

Franchises like Drag Race UK and Drag Race France have felt international because they have centered immigration stories from their cast members. Drag Race Sverige has that from the Brazilian Fontana, but they also have the opposite story – an emigration story! The cast features a pair of returning expats in Antonina Nutshell and Endigo, who live in the UK and Japan, respectively.

I think that said something interesting about Sweden and the relative size of its drag scene. On one hand, of course you’d want to come back to your home country to participate in Drag Race given the chance! On the other hand, with both of these returning queens ranking in the bottom this episode (alongside a queen with little experience), it was giving “We barely filled the cast” vibes.

That’s pure speculation on my part. Plus, first seasons of any reality franchise can be hard to fill with contestants. Once the host country sees the show, then more players emerge from the woodwork for a second season. But, there definitely a sense in this cast that there are a few major contenders and then some obvious fodder for early eliminations.

(I won’t call them “filler,” because they’re each a talented, worthy queen – but, it seems pretty plain who is meant to last past the halfway point in this cast.)

The other interesting aspect of this first episode is that Sweden’s drag aesthetic seems to de-emphasize the familiar form of glamourous pageant drag for something a little more edgy. Out of 18 total looks this episode across two runway themes that openly invited a pageant aesthetic, we only wound up with two looks that fit that vibe. And, the queens took a decidedly dark and twisted view on the benign, “One Night at the Castle” theme which could easily invoke royalty and princesses.

Even Admira Thunderpussy, who turned in a gorgeous pageant-ready look in the first runway, took a more martial approach to the second.

I’m curious to see if this diversity in runway fashion holds up across the season. We might even see a “fashion girls vs. punk queens” divide begin to emerge amongst the frontrunners.

The runway this week made absolute chaos out of my pre-season power ranking, with an unexpected queen on the top and a highly-ranked queen slipping down the rankings. That could go topsy turvy all over again next week, where the challenge is a Talent Show that could see several queens at the middle and bottom of the rankings score high placements over this week’s top queens. I can’t wait to see how this one turns out!

(Want to watch Drag Race Sverige outside of Sweden? For most of the world, it’s available as part with a Wow Presents Plus subscription as soon as the episode is done airing.)

Läsare, start your engines. Och må den bästa Drag Queen vinna! 

[Read more…] about Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 1 – “Start Your Engines” Review & Power Ranking

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: drag, Drag Race, Drag Race Sverige, Drag Race Sverige Season 1, hometown runway

It’s time for Drag Race Sweden Season 1!

March 5, 2023 by krisis Leave a Comment

Drag Race Sweden Season 01 Promotional ImageStarta dina motorer, för det är dags för Drag Race Sverige – AKA, Drag Race Sweden!

The first episode of Drag Race Sverige is available NOW to watch internationally on WOW Presents Plus (although word is that future episodes will arrive slightly later in the day at Saturday 8pm US ET).

I’m extremely curious to recap this season, as it will be my first time recapping a season that will be entirely in a language I don’t speak or comprehend. (Much to my surprise, a lot of Drag Race Philippines was conducted in English.)

Plus, all things Sweden are a complete blind-spot for me beyond the obvious (and obviously tired )IKEA jokes, so I’ll be coming to this season with fresh eyes and a lot to turn about Sweden and it’s queer culture. Add to that the fact that we didn’t get any “Meet the Queens” interviews with this cast, and I’ve never gone into a season of Drag Race with less knowledge than I am with Sverige!

My coverage of Drag Race Sweden will debut mid-week with my Power Ranking for Episode 1. Until then, you can read my Pre-Season Power Ranking. And, if you don’t have Wow Presents Plus, you can watch all of the Sverige queens enter the workroom for free on YouTube!

Ses nästa tisdag!

(I don’t get an affiliate bonus from referring you to WOW+, but as a major fan of drag and Drag Race it’s probably my most-used media subscription. At a pricey $8.30 a month I know it’s competing for your budget against things like Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, and more. All the more reason to keep up with my recap and power rankings, and then subscribe for just a month or two to binge all the parts that sounded interesting to you!)

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: drag, Drag Race, Drag Race Sverige, Drag Race Sverige Season 1

Drag Race Sverige Season 1 – Pre-Season “Meet The Queens” Power Ranking

February 28, 2023 by krisis 1 Comment

We’ve only had two weeks to get acquainted with the queens of Drag Race Belgique, but it’s already time to launch the third Drag Race season of 2023 – again, in a new country! We’re flying north from Belgium to Scandinavia, where Drag Race Sverige will debut in Sweden on 5 March, 2023! That means it’s time to meet the queens of Sverige  for my pre-season Power Ranking.

What exactly am I ranking before the season even begins? Usually I watch the “Meet The Queens” interviews of the cast, but Sverige didn’t produce any! That puts me at a major disadvantage for pre-season ranking, since I can’t tell much about how the queens do on camera without being able to control their own edit. Instead, I’ll scroll these artists’ social media feeds and closely examine their promo looks.

It’s not much of a “get to know you,” but that’s all I get before I make my totally blind, no-spoilers try at ranking their chances to win the show.

Remember: my Power Rankings are for fun. I don’t write them to criticize these amazing drag artists. The point of these posts is to give these performers the thousands of words of attention and analysis they each so richly deserve for their art – all while trying to predict what their drag and their editing says about their placement on the show.

Some of those predictions come from watching 15 years and 30+ seasons of Drag Race, but ultimately it comes down to the camera presence and quick wit of each queen.

Or, perhaps we could say it has to do with their Charisma, Uniquness, Nerve, and Talent.

If you want to watch Drag Race Sverige when it premieres on 5 March you can sign up for WowPresentsPlus to watch it anywhere outside of Sweden. WowPresentsPlus also features the many other worldwide Drag Race franchises (though note that generally each franchise is blacked out in its home country, since you’re meant to watch it on local television.

Läsare, start your engines. Och må den bästa Drag Queen vinna!

[Read more…] about Drag Race Sverige Season 1 – Pre-Season “Meet The Queens” Power Ranking

Filed Under: teevee Tagged With: drag, Drag Race, Drag Race Sverige, Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Meet The Queens

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