RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E04

After four weeks our order is seriously settling in, with the queens delivering no major surprises (other than the sad one from Trixie).

#1 Violet Chachki (avg 1, was #1, 1, 1)
Violet masters yet another challenge even while backtalking her way through it. In Untucked, Jaidynn tried to explain the issue to Violet as nicely as possible and she just couldn’t hear it. Part of the problem is that her drag is just so damn good, yet she apparently gets no props in her home town of Atlanta. I would have a major attitude too if I went from being a small fish in a big pond to being the hands-down best competitor on Drag Race. Yet, she’s got to soften up to be a winner. I would have dropped her to #2 this week after relying on that body-ody-ody again on the runway, except the judges finally caught on to how strategically she plays things. This will be interesting.

#2 Ginger Minj (avg 3, was #2, 3, 4)
There is no way in heaven or hell that Ginger doesn’t make the top three based on her output so far in this competition, and she is clearly going to be beloved by fans. She’s just a hair out of number one for her slightly average fashion and self-defeating cattiness – she loves to dish to Kennedy, but then dished equally to Max about writing all of Kennedy’s lines. That could hurt her with the queens or the audience if she keeps it up, and it’s just a pity that she’s not a nice girl under all that obvious talent. Yet, she’s by far the smartest strategist here – which is saying a lot in a competition with Violet and Max it.

#3 Max (avg 5, was #3, 4, 9)
Max is holding steady but any number of elements could catapult her into the top spot or drop her from contention for the crown. She’s been a consistent performer, even tonight as the worst in her group. She is an incredible team player and supporter of other queens. She takes direction well. And, despite her messy fashion this week, her editorial sense is unmatched this season by anyone save for Violet (Raja and Raven can’t help but squeal over her fashions on their Fashion Photo RuView). Oh, and she’s mega-likable with obvious star power – even as a boy. Elements leading to her downfall? She overthinks things, and that can lead to a major miss on an important challenge. Plus, can Ru bring herself to re-crown a sweeter, more-professional Sharon Needles? It’ll depend on what Max does with this week’s comment from Michelle to get out of the gray hair.

#4 Kennedy Davenport (avg 4, was #6, 2, 2)
Real talk express: Kennedy is as boring as watching paint that has already dried just sit on a wall and be paint. Her initial air of experience has dissolved into an air of sitting back and whining while other people work harder than her. Yet, given her undeserved win this week and her consistent fashion sense you can’t really have her ranked lower against these other queens with more obvious flaws. So here she sits – ready to strike as soon as any of the top three show a fault. The problem is, at this point she’s about as likable as Violet – maybe less. That’s a hard element to game, since it’s not something you can feel in the room as you just live your life.

#5 Katya (avg 6, was #5, 6, 6)
Finally, Katya’s bug-eyed energy popped out of the interview segments and into a performance in a major way. Everyone loved her delivery, and her fashion was plenty safe. If she can make herself pop some more in another challenge we’re going to have a real competitor on our hands, but I can’t see Ru calling her brand of vague comedy The Next Drag Superstar. She’s going to need some personal growth, too.

Here’s Trixie Mattel with her average of six. She was delightful but a bit self-defeating. Here’s hoping for a comeback later this season – that hasn’t happened for a while!

#6 Mrs. Kasha Davis (avg 9, was #7, 10, 12.)
This is the first week where Kasha’s smarts and sense really paid off, but the panel is already tiring of her middle-of-the-road middle-aged fashions. Yet, I think we could accurately call her one of the most consistent performers, after Ginger. If she can hang on until Snatch Game she might sneak herself into the final four, but she’s going to have a bitch of a time cracking the top three.

#7 Jaidynn Diore Fierce (avg 10, was #11, 12, 10)
Let’s be real: as soon as fashion starts to matter, this girl and her one-piece swimsuit dresses are out. That said, she’s one of the few players to show growth, and it’s been right in front of Ru’s face every time. That’s going to count for a lot when she hits her first lip sync, but she needs something even more drastic to break into the top six.

#8 Ms. Fame (avg 7, was #8, 8, 3)
More like Miss Delusion. Fame is adequate at many things and terrific at none of them except for perhaps accurate reads. Her fashion sense is questionable, her leadership qualities are mushy, and she is always leaving a piece of tape hanging off of her handsome brow. There’s no way for her to win this competition, but she’s marginally more interesting than the two ladies below her.

#9 Kandy Ho (avg 9, was #10, 11, 7)
Kandy showed her cards in Untucked this week, where she confessed to never having a concept and just planning to be pretty. She’d be a contender in Season 2, but ever since Raja and Sharon the higher concept of your look can be as important as your prettiness. Her serviceable challenge performances have kept her in it so far, but unless she has a secret talent she’s in major danger as soon as Pearl gets gone.

#10 Pearl (avg 8, was #9, 7, 6)
Why did we keep Pearl over Trixie? I have no idea. She’s been drifting downward in ranking each week. Her fashions don’t push the boundaries and sometimes just don’t come together. She’s not a great performer. What’s left, really? There was no reason to keep her rather than Trixie, who despite some self-defeating tendencies had a lot more potential. Now we have to watch Pearl and Kandy wrestle each other for the bottom next week.