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With three weeks of drag behind us, how are the ladies of RuPaul’s School For Girls stacking up? Not too differently, as it turns out – just one big drop and one minor rise. We’ve now seen dancing and acting – will we see a more fashionable challenge next, or an intellectual one?

#1 Violet Chachki (avg 1, was #1, 1)
Yes, I still have Violet in the top spot. Why not? I don’t agree with the judge’s tepid reaction to her acting, nor do I blame her for it after Kennedy’s failed leadership. Her fashion is still impeccable (even when I’m not loving her prints), she can dance, she’s not afraid to learn lines, but nobody likes her. That combo worked fine for Jinx, but she was also a very different queen who was well-liked by the audience – which makes a difference once you arrive in the final three.

#2 Ginger Minj (avg 3, was #3, 4)
Though this runway fashion was not her best ever, Ginger is emerging as the funniest cast member and one of the most solid performers. What matters most is how self-aware she is. It is going to take a lot for her to go wrong in a challenge – it will have the be the case of the judges just not loving her concept, rather than her failing in some way. I don’t love some of her cattiness in this episode, but that just means if Violet missteps for a second Ginger will be on her.

#3 Max (avg 5, was #4, 9)
Max continues to shatter the old lady mold each week while still being an old lady, if that makes any sense. And, she turns out to be a professional-caliber performer. I get the sense she has a college degree from her well-trained response to the theatre challenge, which is going to bode well in the intellectual hurdles. I worry slightly about her runways, which so far have been composed of disparate pieces. At some point she will need to deliver straight-up glam. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E3 – “ShakesQueer”

Can you effectively read a queen after one episode? I’m not so sure, since the only season I got to watch without knowing the winner first was last season – but, eventual winners do have a way of standing out in their first appearances either in look or personality.

How do these ladies rank after a single engagement? Let’s take a look.

#1 Violet Chachki
This queen’s fashion ranged from simply pretty to avant garde, she’s fishy (i.e., like an actual girl), she dishes great commentary, and she won the first challenge. Welcome to a world with a target on your back, girl. Now we need to see that personality – she could be one who wilts under the lights of the theatrical challenges. If not? Major danger, and a suitable follow-up win for a younger queen after Adore didn’t quite make it.

#2 Kennedy Davenport
This is the experience of a Coco Montrese without the constant self-sabotage, and her fashion sense is impeccable so far. Plus, she’s apparently a dancer? She’s going to be a polished force to be reckoned with (although I have to wonder about her sewing after that circus tent resort wear). Also, clearly there’s a good story to be had in a more-experienced, black, southern, curvy winner. No way she misses the final three if she can stay consistent.

#3 Ms. Fame
So very fishy, but we’ll see if she has the performance chops for the more personality-driven challenges. While I suspect she’s a fierce competitor, I could see her pulling a Trinity Bonet and feeling she’s above one of the challenges or a Courtney Act where she just doesn’t realize she’s not the best. Without Tempest in the ix I get the sense she is going to be the remaining seamstress to reckon with. However, that ridiculous first outfit shows she’s capable of the occasional misstep and bad paint job, which could be her undoing.

(Here’s where I’d have Tempest. So sad.) [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E01 – “Born Naked”