Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Power Rankings! Every week, we’re debriefing the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. The Rusical challenge comes at exactly the right time, shaking up the rankings and injecting some healthy drama into the proceedings.
7. Jaymes Mansfield (last week: 3)—ELIMINATED
This is genuinely a shock to me. Kandy Muse chose to send Jaymes home on her second trip to the bottom, against someone (Kahanna Montrese) who was only saved by Heidi N Closet’s quit the week before. And the group vote would’ve sent her home, too! To be frank, though, I think the queens made the right choice here. Jaymes’s drag was showing the same issues every week: it was either repetitive, poorly fitting or both. Those are the kinds of problems that don’t get better as the competition goes on, because queens have to rely on what they brought to the competition. (Remember Vanessa Vanjie Mateo’s seemingly infinite bodysuits?) And while Jaymes had turned in a couple of solid performances this season, notably in last week’s Snatch Game, she also had obvious foibles in her performances—her dancing in the season-opening girl groups challenge, for instance—overlooked by the judges.
I don’t think Kahanna or Jaymes really has a shot at winning this season, but Kahanna is the more likely of the two to fall back into the bottom. If you’re Kandy, why not take the shot at Jaymes while you have the chance? As for Jaymes, while I’m sad for her that she’s out, she noted that this isn’t the only way for her to win. After all, she’s quite popular online—might we be looking at our winner of the Fame Games?
6. Kahanna Montrese (last week: 7)
Kahanna has been touched by an angel, girl—twice! She was quite literally voted to go home by her fellow competitors last week, and yet both Kandy and the other queens decided to pivot to another decision. She is still here on borrowed time, and unless she becomes the new Roxxxy Andrews, I can’t see her lasting much longer in this competition. The difference, of course, is that Roxxxy had close allies repeatedly refusing to send her home; I don’t know who’s going to keep Kahanna safe moving forward. I do think Kahanna did well this week; she was just outclassed in a challenge in which basically everyone excelled. On the runway, Kahanna’s range remains remarkably limited, but the judges don’t seem to care. As long as they don’t turn on her repeated Vegas showgirl looks, her only real concern should be the challenges. Unfortunately for her, with another improv task on the way, she has plenty to be concerned about.
5. Alexis Michelle (last week: 2)
Going from nearly winning the Rusical in Season 9 to placing safe for it this go-around has to be rough for Alexis. Indeed, she looked a little stunned when Ru sent her back to Untucked during critiques. Personally, though, I’d say it was a fair placement. Ru wasn’t going to call four top queens in a group of seven, and Alexis gave the fourth-best performance. So why is she in fifth on the power ranking this week? That’s more to do with who’s right in front of her than anything else—but I will say that Alexis being only one of two queens left (the other being LaLa Ri) without a win is a vulnerable spot. Can the theatre queen take the spotlight in next week’s improv challenge?
4. Jimbo (last week: 1)
It’s funny: this week featured what was probably Jimbo’s worst performance in the competition so far, and it’s the episode in which I felt most endeared to the Canadian clown. Already this season we’ve seen Jimbo consciously act less like a capital-C Character, and vote more consistently with the group, than she did in UK vs The World. This week, we got to see her vulnerable side, as she expressed frustration over her repeated lip sync losses. It’s this kind of thing that can really flag who’s a contender in the competition; recall Jimbo’s last two runs, which were largely devoid of these kinds of moments. (The only one I can really think of was her getting emotional at receiving werk room feedback from Ru in UK vs The World.)
As for this episode: Jimbo did everything she needed to do to survive the Rusical. She picked a character that was right in her wheelhouse, delivered an interesting and character-driven vocal, and nailed her steps on the main stage. It was nowhere near enough to win with this crop, but it was sufficient to keep her well out of harm’s way. And with that speed bump behind her, I think the runway is clear for Jimbo to dominate the rest of the season—starting with next week’s improv challenge.
3. LaLa Ri (last week: 5)
This week was exactly what LaLa needed in this competition. Her performance in the Rusical was fun and well done, but it was also highly memorable. I’ll be thinking about her slapping bit for weeks to come. The tough thing about LaLa’s experience so far is that, for as good as she’s been at times, she hasn’t had anything more memorable than her iconic bag look from Season 13. This was a good start, and gives me hope she can have an even more potent signature moment in a future episode. Still, like Alexis, she really needs it—it’s dangerous this late in an All Stars season to be walking around without a challenge win.
2. Jessica Wild (last week: 6)
Were I judging, I’d have given Jessica the win this week. I’m a little shocked she resisted the rock song at the start, considering what a strength that genre is for her. (Colour me shocked that Leland asked if she had any experience with rock; she won that very challenge in Season 2, sir!) Jessica has a ferocity and commitment as a performer that not only makes her watchable, it makes her good at what she’s doing. She matched the excellence of her Rusical performance with the glamour of her runway, a gorgeous but not exact take on Grace Jones’s iconic hooded Alaïa dress. This week was Jessica’s in terms of the performances—but another queen also did quite well, and had the narrative to match.
1. Kandy Muse (last week: 4)
Congratulations on a major win for Kandy! While I personally would’ve ranked Jessica ahead, I fully understand Ru’s choice—Kandy definitely wins for most improved from her original Rusical. Kandy didn’t get the title of “producer” without earning it, and you can see her spinning the wheels to build her own Rudemption from the start of this episode. Before roles are even assigned, she reminds us of her near-elimination in Season 13 on the Rusical (“Kandy wait!”), and fights hard to get the most iconic role in this episode. Is she technically the best dancer or singer of this lot? No, but she commits fully to the performance, and lives up to what the “No Wire Hangers Ever” number should be.
She admittedly didn’t have the toughest competition in Angeria Paris VanMicheals (consider that others’ opponents this season have included such queens as Aja Labeija, Pangina Heals and Jasmine Kennedie), but Kandy nonetheless slayed during “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You).” Kandy served sex in a way that perfectly fit the Grace Jones song, and it earned her the second $30,000 tip of the season. That should make for a nice down payment on that boat she’s been wanting since Season 13! And this episode as a whole is a reminder that, while she’s largely coasted on her alliances for the first part of this season, Kandy’s a fighter. She’ll eliminate tough competition and do it looking fierce.
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