Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Power Rankings! Every Saturday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. After an underwhelming improv challenge, one queen rises in the rankings, while another moves into pole position as a would-be frontrunner.
Raja
Current Star Count: 0
Maxi-Challenges Won: 0
Lip Syncs Won: 0
Raja got another shout-out during critiques that ultimately went nowhere, as she continues to sit at zero wins and zero stars. She actually seemed annoyed by it this week, as when Ru called the non-winning girls to take a seat, she responded by asking if Ru was sure. I do think we’re getting a Raja win sooner versus later this season, but it’s also clear that the judges were not prepared for what a fan favourite Raja is this season. She could easily be a frontrunner at this point, instead of at the bottom of the pack.
Yvie Oddly
Current Star Count: 0
Maxi-Challenges Won: 0
Lip Syncs Won: 0
I’m sad for Yvie that she didn’t get the win this week, because she put in the work as the Big Bad Wolf. Yes, there was some of her bogeyman from the Snatch Game in there, but not so much that it felt repetitive. Instead, it feels like Yvie is really building a comedic “character” of sorts, similar to what BenDeLaCreme does: the roles are different, but there’s a baseline between them. Unfortunately, I do think Yvie’s lack of jokes kept her from taking the lead in Ru’s eyes, so she was relegated to a high spot. On the runway, while I do think Yvie’s overall look was a bit simple, her spikes and shoes were so amazing. It’s one of those runways that’s most impressive when you just sit back and think how damn hard it must be to walk in.
Monét X Change
Current Star Count: 1
Maxi-Challenges Won: 1
Lip Syncs Won: 0
The less said about Monét’s performance this week, the better, I’d say. She was unmemorable in the sketch, which is disappointing, especially considering she was familiar with the “Justice”-style improv challenge from All Stars 4. Much better was her runway look this week, which was indeed very Vivienne Westwood, and was impressively constructed as two dresses put together. Not her best week, but she had her moments.
Jaida Essence Hall
Current Star Count: 1
Maxi-Challenges Won: 1
Lip Syncs Won: 1
Jaida got perhaps the funniest joke off in the entire sketch—she called the Big Bad Wolf “this shitty asshole over here,” but when reprimanded by Michelle Visage for her language, she rectified: “this shitty fucking asshole over here.” It’s a good bit! Jaida’s full of them this season, and I’m thrilled to see her sense of humour shining through. I was worried after her Prince in Snatch Game didn’t seem to thrill the judges the way it should have. Jaida is also slaying week in and week out on the runway; her spikes look this week was incredible. I’m liking where Jaida’s trajectory is going so far, and I hope next week’s commencement address task offers her a chance to secure another star.
Shea Couleé
Current Star Count: 1
Maxi-Challenges Won: 1
Lip Syncs Won: 1
Shea had the extra bit of difficulty of sharing her performance space with two other queens—Raja and Trinity the Tuck—and being the first of the three to plead her case. She did get some good lines out as Halle Beary (“As a Black bear, I cannot call animal control!”), but she got lost in the shuffle of an increasingly chaotic sketch. On the runway, Shea went with an alien look that I wouldn’t count among her best. I’m eager for Shea to have another breakout week like she did in the premiere. So far, it feels like she’s set a very high standard for herself, and hasn’t quite been able to reach the same level yet.
The Vivienne
Current Star Count: 1
Maxi-Challenges Won: 1
Lip Syncs Won: 1
This was a terrific week for The Vivienne, who got the spotlight in the way Shea, Jinkx Monsoon and Jaida did in the previous three episodes. She got plenty to do during the sketch, and made a meal of it with multiple, increasingly absurd accents. On the runway, the judges were breathless over her spikes look; I appreciated it, but it wasn’t my favourite of the lot. Where I did really like her was in the lip sync, as well as in her plunger gag when she got to block Monét. Her fake-out pretending to give it to Jaida really got the girls good, and thoroughly entertained the judges. A very nice breakout moment for Viv!
Trinity the Tuck
Current Star Count: 1
Maxi-Challenges Won: 2
Lip Syncs Won: 0
Considering how funny Ru finds Trinity, I’m surprised she didn’t do better this week. In the sketch, her pseudo-Michelle Visage/ pseudo-Cher impersonation as the witch from “Hansel and Gretel” was an odd choice, and I’m still confused where those costumes came from. On the runway, she interpreted spikes in an interesting way, coming out as a vampire with a stake through her heart. I appreciated the creativity, and the runway looked great. A decent week for Trinity, if a bit underwhelming coming off her two wins in a row.
Jinkx Monsoon
Current Star Count: 1
Maxi-Challenges Won: 2
Lip Syncs Won: 1
As I mentioned in my recap, I get that Jinkx was doing improv well, catching all these small moments to build new jokes. The problem is I didn’t think any of those jokes were all that funny, and she went with a character that only gave her so much room to manoeuvre. Hers and Jaida’s characters were also a bit too similar for my liking. On the runway, her porcupine look was interesting, and I particularly loved the wig. But she’d still not have made the top for me this week. Still, good for her—she’s got the best track record now, edging Trinity out by virtue of her one lip sync win. We’ll see how long she can hold the pole position!
Why you can trust Xtra
