Power Rankings

We’re six weeks into the competition and just a girl or two away from a field where everyone has truly come ready to slay. The ranks have shuffled since last week. With next week bringing a slightly belated Snatch Game, who is ready to shine?

#1 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #1, 2, 2, 3, 4)
Everything is coming up Ginger for yet another week. Her runway was middling, but she’s one of the best actors in the history of the show as well as one of the all-time funniest queens – oh, and one of the best strategists, too! I’m over her cattiness in Untucked, which might be getting full of itself, but she’s a prohibitive fan favorite despite (or because!) of it. If she has her suitcase stocked she is going to cruise through to the finals. That makes her the queen to beat, and definitely the most-favored in Snatch Game.

#2 Violet Chachki (avg 2, was #4, 1, 1, 1, 1)
I am willing to accept that I might be the sole Drag Race viewer that is obsessed with Violet Chachki, and I do not care. I live for her every second of screen time. After a bit of a miss last week she was back in fine form this week with one of the best performances and runways. The judges don’t seem to get it, but I can’t understand why. Is it just the missing personality? All she needs is one little shake-up from Ru and we could have a clear and undefeatable front-runner on our hands. However, if there’s any week where someone lacking in self-awareness is at risk, it’s Snatch Game. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E06 – “Ru Hollywood Stories”

How do the queens stack up after five weeks and a second comedy challenge in a row? There’s one major shake-up and one tiny climb compared to last week.

#1 Ginger Minj (avg 2, was #2, 2, 3, 4)
Ginger delivered another powerful week and did it without a single word of cattiness, as she seems to have realized it was an old defense mechanism booting up. Plus, her one major faux pas – her forehead – got tagged by Michelle. Can anything stop another mean-spirited, funny, older, ginger queen from taking the top-spot? Maybe just that she’d be a shorter and heavier clone of Bianca, plus her occasional non-eleganza fashion.

#2 Max (avg 4, was #3, 3, 4, 9)
Max has solidified her grasp on the top three with another team win where she coached the other girl to success and another beautiful runway. Is there anything this queen can’t do well? Maybe fend for herself, but we’ll have to see. She also needs to break out the major glamour and show some personality, to anticipate two knocks that will be coming her way soon. (I enjoy that she drinks water in Untucked – wouldn’t want liquor to get in the way of her performance!)

#3 Kennedy Davenport (avg 3, was #4, 6, 2, 2)
Kennedy remains in striking distance from the top, and I’m starting to learn to tell the difference between her occasional laziness and her frequent dry, dry, dry humor. I still say we have’t really seen all she’s supposedly capable of. Maybe a solo challenge will bring out the fighter, and there is nothing to clock about her gorgeous face and hair week after week. If she keeps it up and doesn’t commit another major act of self-defeating passive-aggression as she did with Shakesqueer, she’s going to make the top three purely on lack of errors.

#4 Violet Chachki (avg 2, was #1, 1, 1, 1)
The mighty has fallen, but not too far. Violet didn’t really miss the mark this week, but her lack of ability to edit was on display in her routine and in her exchange with Ru. Also, her lack of padding and chest was back again. If she really wants to be the polished, sassy young winner that Adore was not she needs to up the charm factor, and right now she’s up against a trio of total-package queens who are much more self-aware. But, they don’t have the suitcase she does, or the pretty face. It’s going to be a fight to the finish.

#5 Katya (avg 5, was #5, 5, 6, 6)
This should have been Katya’s breakout week, but two things got in the way. First, the punch she packs as a comedy queen can be a little over the top – and that’s a thing that can give Ru some pause. Second, her fashion is getting samey – floor-length glitter dresses with a slit. We need to see some style insanity like her week one runway compared with a performance where she is completely confident, and despite her being a prohibitive fan favorite I’m starting to fear those two stars will never align.

#6 Ms. Fame (avg 7, was #8, 8, 8, 3)
Was Fame’s blip of goofiness this week a sign that she’s going to loosen up? Will she ever not put a useless piece of tape on her brow? Was the chicken story and her crying so hard she was laughing in Untucked the sign that the real her has arrived? There are so many questions about this queen. She might be the personality I’d most like to spend time with (Katya is a little much), and it seems like it’s coming through on the runway, but how is she going to prevent herself from being Courtney Act Part Deux? (Courtney was at least legitimately slap-sticky underneath the beauty). And, when are we going to see her get truly fierce with the competition? She has in her favor that we’ve hit comedy and singing already, and she’ll be a beast in the makeover that always shows up around the 5-6 queen mark. She will just have to survive lip syncing on the week of Snatch Game (because that’s going to happen).

#7 Jaidynn Diore Fierce (avg 9, was #7, 11, 12, 10)
Poor sad Jaidynn. Here’s a queen who prepared most of the skills she would need for the competition and is hugely likeable, but just does not have a suitcase to support her run. Whether it’s lack of budget or lack of taste, she doesn’t have the runway fashion to keep her in the game. And she has another heavy queen and another black queen who are each besting her every move. Yet, she could crack the top five purely on charisma, uniqueness, nerve, talent, and lip sync, even if she keeps on being the Most-Busted Queen.

#8 Pearl (avg 8, was #10, 9, 7, 6)
Is a one week come-to-jesus enough to turn around Pearl’s sinking performance in this competition? TBD. Even if we get the silly Pearl we met tonight over and over again, she’s such a weirdo when it comes to her bustiers and her massively drawn-on boobs. What other challenge is she going to win? How is she going to knock off someone like Katya in a lip sync? I want to root for her, but I’m not sure I’m willing to give up on another queen first.

I was sad to see Kasha go this week, but with an average of nine this was her time.

#9 Kandy Ho (avg 9, was #9, 10, 11, 7)
It’s a crime that this queen didn’t get the cut this week. Unlike Pearl, who has a deep vein of influences but a subtle way of showing it, Kandy is a shallow pool. She hasn’t brought a single memorable thing to this competition yet other than her cube-hair, and she interviewed on Untucked about being “tired” and “over it.”

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. [Read more…] about RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings, S7E04

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”