Drag Race Down Under - Season 4, Episode 8: The Recap

It's possibly the least-loved version of the franchise but Drag Race Down Under has come to a conclusion and possibly redeemed itself with a strong cast and an entertaining season.

We got all of the normal trappings of a finale episode, but - as you'd expect - the most interesting elements were the group performance, the runway, and the final lip-sync.

The group performance was to a Drag Race original track called The Biggest - with a verse delivered by each of the queens. This was a strong group number. No back-up dancers or any production budget, but it felt like there'd been enough rehearsal time for the queens to feel confident enough to enjoy it. Everyone looked strong and in control of what they were doing.

The runway

• Lazy Susan: Another genius runway from Lazy Susan - a standard kind of formal gown but with a giant anti-theft button on the bank with an ink spill. Nailed it.
• Freya: Freya looked gorgeous in chocolate and gold.
• Mandy: Mandy went with a black gown with silver fringe detail. It was good but didn't feel like Mandy's strongest look.
• Vybe: Vybe looked stunning in old-school glamour.

We then went from Top 4 to a Top 3.

Freya was eliminated at this point, which was unsurprising as I don't think she'd won any of the challenges in the entire season.

We could easily have eliminated Mandy at this point, as it had been fairly clearly established that Vybe and Lazy Susan were the strongest competitors remaining.

I'm not sure why we didn't go down to a Top 2, possibly because of the edit that they wanted to do on the final lip-sync.

The lip-sync

The track was Came Here for Love by Sigala.

We got a three-way lip-sync but the queens took it in turns and were filmed individually, with the performances then spliced together in the edit.

While that approach makes a lot of sense, and gives us a flavour of each queen's performance, it kind of underscores that this is a low-stakes lip-sync - by this stage of the competition, decisions have been made, the lip-sync doesn't really count for anything.

What it did show us was the different performance styles of Mandy, Susan, and Vybe. Mandy gave it confidence and enthusiasm, Susan went for comedy, and Vybe is old-school drag.

For this track, Vybe's approach was probably the strongest. She felt in control of everything she was doing.

The judging

At the end of the day, the decision went in favour of Lazy Susan. That was absolutely no surprise - Susan has absolutely smashed this season, the win is well-deserved. It's been the combination of quirky humour and killer runway concepts that have really set Susan apart.

This season has also marked something of a redemption for the unloved Down Under franchise. They're still doing everything with zero budget, but changing the host gave it a fresh feel. More importantly, using actual drag queens on the judging panel and giving input into the challenges makes for great TV - would love to see more of that right across the Drag Race Runiverse.

Season 4, done.

The Cast

Lazy Susan
She's a winner, baby! Susan made smart choices throughout this season. She was able to showcase her sense of humour, her runway concepts were creative and well-executed, and she demonstrated her confidence on stage. Deserved.

Vybe, Sydney
If you want to know what experienced drag looks like, it's Vybe. Knows how to work a stage, knows how to work a room, knows how to entertain. This has been a fantastic showcase for the drag-excellence that is Vybe.

Mandy Moobs
Love the energy that Mandy brought to this season - a very well-rounded queen.

Freya Armani
I'm obsessed with Freya, she really seems to be the total package. She's been a joy to watch throughout this competition.

Nikita Iman
Nikita's wide-eyed enthusiasm and genuine likeability has been fantastic throughout the season. I totally underestimated her.

Max Drag Queen
I felt like Max was going to be hard to beat this season but a series of stumbles left her vulnerable. However it's been a great opportunity to showcase her performance skills.

Brenda Bressed
Brenda is funny and camp and entertaining. I'd love to see more from Brenda.

Lucina Innocence
Lucina seems to be at the start of her drag journey - getting cast on Drag Race is a great way to kick-start your career.

Karna Ford
Karna came into the competition with a reputation as a dancing queen who puts on a show. I'm not sure that she's enhanced that reputation with what we got to see on this series - I feel like Karna has been a bit hard-done by with the storyline that she was dealt.

Olivia Dreams
The Pork Chop of the season, Olivia is new to drag and this is a great way to give your career a kick-start.