Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every week, we’re debriefing the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. RDR Live demonstrates which of the queens is ready for primetime—and who still needs a bit of time to cook.
13. Mandy Mango (last week: 13)—ELIMINATED
Alas, poor Mango. The full-time nurse’s run on Drag Race was on life support from the very first week, and nothing she did was able to change her trajectory. She got the Amish butter-churner character all wrong—I was shocked when it was revealed that the titty-fucking bit was her choice—and I really hated her deer runway look. Why was there a pile of mushrooms randomly bunched at the bottom of her cape? Why weren’t they integrated throughout? She did well in the Lip Sync for Your Life again, with even Briar Blush herself admitting she thinks Mandy won, but I think Ru was just done with her. A bummer run for a queen who seems like a delightful person.
12. Briar Blush (last week: 4)
I do not like seeing my beloved Briar in the bottom two! Although after her performances this week, I can’t really dispute the results. I thought she was passable at best as Athena Dion’s inner saboteur, but there were so many opportunities to go bigger there. Her line readings were also really wooden in contrast to Athena’s. The bigger issue for me was the QNN News Update segment, in which she was the worst by a mile. I have some thoughts on Ciara Myst’s choice of role this week, but as anchor, she at least delivered the lines right! Also, I don’t get why she avoided going with a black swan for her runway look. It would’ve read so much better. Briar was out of her depth this week, and while I’m glad she was ultimately called safe, I’m concerned for her longevity—particularly since she didn’t really turn it out in the lip sync.
11. Vita VonTesse Starr (last week: 5)
I’m actually a little surprised Vita landed in the bottom three, though I do think it was the right call. The show can sometimes be a bit permissive of flat performances from queens that are doing well, especially if everyone else in the scene is good enough to wave them through without comment. But yeah, Vita easily could’ve landed in the bottom two this week for that performance. She just gave nothing throughout. I also didn’t love her runway: While I get that it probably needed the headpiece to really read “zebra,” it took it to a costume-y place for me. Not a great week for a queen I would call one of the heavy hitters in this competition.
10. Mia Starr (last week: 2)
I don’t think Mia was bad this week, but I don’t think this is the kind of performance you want to see from a queen who just nearly won a challenge. Mia’s just not gaining any momentum yet. When the only real focus moment you’re getting in an episode is Kenya Pleaser talking about how much you laugh, you’ve gotta be wishing for more. Honestly, hers and Discord Addams’ roles in the sketch were just non-starters. A sketch about butter-churners is going to see the churners stand out, not the colour commentators. I did really like her pink poodle runway, though! Very cute, very her. I like Mia! I want more for Mia.
9. Athena Dion (last week: 12)
Similarly, I have no real faith in Athena’s narrative potential at this point. She’s getting heavily featured in the episodes despite just-okay performances, which could indicate that she has a growth arc ahead. But we’ve never seen a growth arc from a queen at Athena’s legend status. Especially with Juicy Love Dion winning this week, I’m seeing the writing on the wall that the (grand)mother must fall for the daughter to thrive. As hostess, Athena was perfectly fine, but she should’ve held onto the mom role from QNN News Update. It was just the better role! On the runway, though, Athena did look stunning in her white barn owl look. That runway was her best moment on the season so far, and if she can start pulling out some performances at that level, there may be hope for her yet.
8. Ciara Myst (last week: 10)
I question Ciara’s wisdom in picking a role that was basically written to be upstaged. True, Jane Don’t turned out to be particularly great in the mom role, but even if she was half as good, the point is for that character to be bigger than the anchor. Plus, we know well at this point, after four incarnations of RDR Live, that the writing for the QNN segments—which are clearly modeled after Weekend Update—is the worst part of this challenge. They just don’t get Weekend Update! On the runway, I really dug Ciara’s chameleon look. It was fun to see her really embrace the prosthetics for the first time, and the tongue element really elevated the garment. Not a bad week for Ciara, but a puzzling choice of character.
7. Discord Addams (last week: 6)
I’m bumping Discord up a bit from where her performance should’ve landed her purely on how well she handled Ru mocking her walk. I would’ve expected her to be a bit more sour about it, considering how defensive we’ve seen her be in the past (i.e. after she didn’t land in the top in the premiere). But she leaned into it, appreciated Ru’s fandom, and I think that attitude will pay off in the long run. No one in Discord’s group for the challenge was particularly good besides Darlene, but Discord wasn’t the problem. On the runway, I really liked her albino alligator look, particularly the “human handbag” prop. It was different, and she had a good idea, but she didn’t overdo it. Probably my favourite look from Discord so far.
6. Myki Meeks (last week: 8)
Myki gets a couple bumps up the ladder from her traditional #8 slot for being a great scene partner for Juicy. I didn’t think she was robbed of a top placement for her Young Michelle—partially owing to her outfit, it felt more like a character based on Madonna than Michelle—but she helped coach Juicy to where she needed to be. As a result, their scene was probably the strongest of the lot, though it wasn’t my personal favourite. On the runway, her Mugler reference cheetah look was tacky in the best way. I’m ready to really embrace Myki, but I’m waiting on one true knockout performance from her.
5. Kenya Pleaser (last week: 7)
Kenya, Nini Coco and Vita’s segment was my favourite of RDR Live, and I credit its success to how committed Kenya and Nini were. She had the right instincts to pick a scene-stealing role, and she came along at just the right time to give Lipstick Lovers a second wind. Unfortunately for both her and Nini, the top three were pretty clear, and it’s very rare that Ru throws out extra top placements. I also thought Kenya looked great on the runway in her tiger look (cackled at “I’m a pimp tiger from around the way, bitch”). Kenya’s star is definitely on the rise, but I’m hopeful that she starts landing in the top soon.
4. Nini Coco (last week: 3)
I fully admit to being a big fan of Nini’s at this point, but I will stand by giving her yet another high power ranking despite being called safe! Like I said, the Lipstick Lovers sketch was the highlight of the challenge, and Nini understood the tone perfectly. She really kept the scene going when it was just her and Vita, and then she worked well with Kenya when she joined the action. Moreover, I loved Nini’s poison dart frog look on the runway—the fit was perfect, and the colours were gorgeous. So far, I think only Jane is running ahead of Nini in the competition, especially after Vita’s trip to the bottom three this week.
3. Darlene Mitchell (last week: 11)
Quite a turnaround for Darlene after last week’s bottom four appearance, and a well-deserved one, too! Based solely on the challenge, Darlene would’ve been my pick to win. She understood the character, nailed the physical comedy and was the funniest in her group by a significant margin. Do I think Ru fixated on the “flats” (insofar as you can call cow hooves “flats”) in her runway look to justify not giving her the win? To an extent, yes. Still, this was a great week for Darlene, and a necessary readjustment to her trajectory.
2. Jane Don’t (last week: 1)
I (Jane) don’t totally understand why the Seattle queen had such a breakdown over doing too well. She talked about fears that the other queens would make her a “target” or dislike her, but that seemed to be a pretty uncharitable read of this group. So far, save for Nini in the premiere, they’ve been largely supportive of the queens who are doing well. I almost wonder if Jane wasn’t being a bit meta here, worrying that doing too well early would risk her coming across as unfairly favoured by the judges among the fandom. Regardless, Jane’s top placement this week was basically inarguable. She was tremendous in her scene, and based on the judges’ critiques, probably should’ve won the week. (I did not like her macaw runway as much as the panel did.) But hey, if being high was enough to send her for a loop, imagine what winning two of the first three challenges would’ve done to Jane’s psyche!
1. Juicy Love Dion (last week: 9)
The judges almost sold me on this win through the critiques, and I do think Juicy deserved a high placement. To some extent, it felt like she benefitted from muted expectations, but I give her props for taking Myki’s coaching and really figuring out the character. Do I think she was better than Jane or Darlene in their sketches? Not particularly. But I admire that Juicy gave what was actually a pretty subtle performance judged on a Drag Race scale. She didn’t go crazy over-the-top with the Michelle Visage impression, but it was still clear what she was doing. That, combined with her real stunner of a pangolin runway, makes me understand her victory. And hey, I’m a sucker for a surprising win. Jane winning girl groups and Juicy winning sketch comedy? Why not!
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