Power Rankings

A dull final challenge did nothing to shake up our ranks, though it did eject Kennedy from what looked like a surefire trip to number three. Here’s where we wind up, with the odds for each girl to take the win.

Here’s where I get to crow a bit – aside Fame’s strong showing in week one and brief Max insurgency, I’ve had Violet and Ginger pegged for the finals all season long, including last week. Furthermore, I’ve been obsessed with Violet since her nude walk of confidence down the runway on week one.

Now that they’ve reached their goals, what are the odds for their wins?

#1 Violet Chachki (avg 1.66, was #1, 1, 3, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 1, 1, 1)
Her odds? 8:5

I think everything will be coming up Violet in the finale. She is like an Adore Act / Courtney Delano mashup in many ways (except singing) – young and a little dumb but growing every week, plus fishy and high fashion yet not afraid to make a fool of herself. That’s a pretty compelling combo for Ru the starmaker, and Violet makes for a different kind of winner than we’ve had recently. When it comes down to it, she never left a detail unfinished this entire season – even her arguably weakest moment in the John Waters performance was controlled down to the thrusting choreography.

Why isn’t she a lock? This girl will go down as one of the most dominant queens in the history of the show, but so were the non-lip syncers Alaska and Courtney Act – and neither of them got the win. Sometimes dominant can be boring, and detailed runway looks aren’t everything. More than that, Violet showed a certain lack of imagination as a performer that doesn’t bode well for a champion. Also, there is the specter of Tyra Sanchez still haunting Ru – another fashion-forward and generally flawless young queen who fizzled after taking the crown.

#2 Ginger Minj (avg 1.9, was #2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
Her odds? 2:1

No one has ever walked in the Drag Race door as equipped for the win as Ginger except for perhaps the past two winners, Jinx Monsoon and Bianca Del Rio. Therein lies the problem. Ginger’s no Jinx – a magnetic star of Broadway caliber – and there’s a real risk is that she’s just Bianca Del Rio 2.0 – southern, red-headed, comfortable acting and proficient enough in dancing and singing, and wickedly funny. She might not be an insult comic, but that does sound a heck of a lot like The Return of Hurricane Bianca.

However, Ginger also has the big queen angle working for her as well as her unique “Glamour Toad” look, which was never same-y but always consistent. Its hard to imagine a big queen who will ever be a more beautiful woman and viable winner than Ginger.

Why isn’t she a lock? Ginger has some self-defeating tendencies when faced with a challenge. Her pagaent-centric vision of drag could be a little small-minded for Ru, as evidenced by the final boot of Kennedy. Plus, now that RuPaul has had the chance to see the entire series and fan reaction to it, this might not be the lady she wants to represent her brand for an entire year.

#3 Pearl (avg 6.33, was #4, 5, 6, 6, 5, 7, 8, 10, 9, 7, 6)
Her odds? 8:1

True to her namesake, Pearl is a rare jewel worked up from just a little piece of grit. The problem with that narrative is that Pearl isn’t all that rare or shiny. No final three queen has ever presented fashion as boring, repetitive, and just-plain-busted as Pearl, and finalists have seldom been so weak all across the board when it comes to talent. Yet, there’s no denying Pearl has a certain it factor, and it’s that factor that Mama Ru is so drawn to.

Can she really win? I can imagine some contexts where RuPaul decides neither of the other ladies represent the future of drag, but that involves a major roll of the dice that Pearl keeps growing and pushing the envelope. What’s the risk for Ru taking a chance on a queen on a positive trajectory and beloved by much of the audience? Potentially losing credibility with the hardcore fans of this show, who keep the buzz alive for the looky-loos who arrive each season. Yet, nothing could be worse for the show than this dud season as a whole, so why not end it on a cavalier note?

This week’s challenge changed up our top spot compared to last week, eliminated a dark horse, and seemed to emphasize the futility of rooting for a certain fan favorite. The fight for the top has become so tight we’re going to start using decimal places in our average scores this week – only .1 separates our top two, but the gap gets much wider after that.

#1 Violet Chachki (avg 1.8, was #3, 1, 3, 2, 4, 1, 1, 1, 1)
Violet is back in the top spot with a second challenge win, a humanizing performance, and still no trip to the bottom two. If you put any stock in the editing forming the story of a queen, she is the one with the most momentum – we’ve seen her personality change and her abilities grow. With next week sure to be a solo challenge, it will be the true test of if she has what it takes to go all the way. It could also be a safe chance for Ru to put her in the bottom two against Pearl, which would be an equalizer heading into the top four.

#2 Ginger Minj (avg 1.9, was #1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
Ginger’s run has an air of inevitability after being saved again after a dreadful performance, but the shine is definitely off of this big queen at this point in the game. We’ve seen her fail, make excuses, and attempt to throw other queens under the bus. That’s not a great look on a potential winner, especially after a pair of very kind and gracious superstars. Ginger will be on stage at the finalé, but really needs to play to her strengths and likability in the next two episodes if she wants the crown.

#3 Kennedy Davenport (avg 3.2, was #2, 3, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6, 2, 2)
Kennedy is finally willing to show off some of her strengths with a bold dance performance, and she truly might have what it takes in both fashion and performance to knock off any of the remaining queens in a head-to-head performance. Yet, despite how much the judges enjoy her, there’s very little excitement about her run – it feels like just another pageant. Her one risk of not making the final three is simply lacking a convincing argument for Ru as we go down to the wire. We’ve already seen her go for inexperience over safety once with Sharon over Chad Michaels – and Chad was one of the most impeccable queens in the history of the show. Kennedy can’t claim that.

#4 Katya (avg 4.8, was #5, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6)
Katya gets another win, but does it mean anything? Despite being the breakout star of the season, RuPaul has never shown a shred of excitement around Katya aside from telling her she’s addicted to anxiety. It’s as if Ru was expecting a gimmick queen due to Katya’s Russian theme, and when she didn’t show up with it Ru just gave up on crafting another narrative. Every single fan of the show would tell you Katya should be in the final three, but Ru didn’t know that when she made her decision last summer. If she truly goes out at the fourth spot the fan backlash will be impressive.

Here lies Trixie with her average of five. She absolutely deserved another week to play compared to Pearl.

#5 Pearl (avg 6.9, was #6, 6, 5, 7, 8, 10, 9, 7, 6)
It’s time to go home, Pearl. While this lady is super likeable, she has one of the weakest fashion senses of a top five queen. Ru is pushing hard for a caterpillar-to-butterfly transformation here, but Pearl is more like a snake that molts – we’ve seen her grow, but she hasn’t fundamentally changed into a new thing.

This week we got another funny challenge, and while the challenge itself didn’t shake things up too much compared to last week, Ru’s judging decisions did. What queens performed well but worsened their outlook?

#1 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #2, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
As she hits the three-win mark we have Ginger back in the pole position and guaranteed for the final I was an early fan of her fashion, but I’m noticing a distinct lack of willingness for the judges to tag her on anything at all! Is this a free pass for a bigger girl who finally brought a closet full of silhouettes that can compete? Or, is that when she’s performing live her personality actually the biggest thing in the room?

#2 Kennedy Davenport (avg 3, was #3, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6, 2, 2)
Kennedy flew under the radar again this week, but much like Ginger the judges are seeing something special about her that isn’t shining through on this side of the screen. What fascinates me is the SHEER NERVE of her playing it coy this far into the competition. Any subtle performance or runway could easily yield another lip sync! I don’t think we’ve ever seen another competitor as unflappable, and none of the other queens are coming for her at all. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E09 – “Divine Inspiration”

We’re now past the halfway point in the season, and thanks to Ru’s ingenious method of bringing a queen back we didn’t even get any inflation. What we did get was a shake-up! Every queen is in a different position compared to last week, and not just due to Trixie’s return. However, as we inch closer to the final the top three seems more solid than ever. Will any of the top trio be unseated?

#1 Violet Chachki (avg 2, was #3, 2, 4, 1, 1, 1, 1)
Violet continues her ascent to likable, young, talented queen, and as the only queen not to hit the bottom (aside from Fame – we’ll get to her in a minute) she is back as the competitor to beat. This is the Adore story with a redemption arc and sans messiness, and it’s pretty damn compelling. Given that Ginger would be a repeat of Bianca’s mean red-head vibe, she ought to be getting a bit scared of an upset. Violet has some weak spots, but one of the next three girls are going to have to overcome some flaws to upset her march to the top three. And, not for nothing, but I discovered via YouTube that Violet is a lip sync addict who at one point was debuting a new song in her act almost weekly. She’s one of the few queens who could potentially survive a lip sync against Kennedy at full power.

#2 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
Despite hitting the bottom, Ginger really only descends a spot due to Violet’s continued strength. Why? Two words: Sasha Belle. Even though the silly idea this week was all Ginger, we’ve never seen her miss the mark on execution before and probably won’t again. Also, the “I don’t sew” came off as protesting a bit too much given the snugness of their costumes. If anything, I think a trip to the bottom ensures her trip to the finals as we seek to avoid a repeat of last year’s two never-bottom-two girls making it to the end. Plus, she’s an able lip sync artist who would only be slayed by a dancer dropping splits left and right – but, there’s two or three of those girls still in it. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E08 – “Conjoined Queens”