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. Runway showdowns give us a clear pecking order for the week, but the top of the list is far out ahead of the rest.
12. Briar Blush (last week: 12)—ELIMINATED
Poor Briar, going out being accused of faking fainting and mocked for misusing the word “squabble.” For someone who seemed like a major narrative force, this early ending is surprising—reminding me of the early departures of would-be villains like Stephanie Prince and Tiffany Ann Co. on Canada’s Drag Race. Briar had a rough time all episode, from getting dragged in every direction in the cold open to passing out on the runway because of fucking sepsis. Judging purely on the challenge results, I can’t disagree with Law Roach’s criticism after he tore into Briar’s look. By the time she landed in the lip sync, and didn’t really know the words again, the writing was on the wall. “Briar Blush Is Going Through It” could only end one way. See you on All Stars, queen.
11. Kenya Pleaser (last week: 5)
I’m gonna be honest, I almost put Kenya at #4 just because she made me laugh so much in this episode. I get that Kenya is not performing at the level of America’s Next Drag Superstar in the competition, but she’s fucking incredible television. Asking for a “good, nice, rough, nasty top”? In the view of Jesus? Reacting to the challenge prompt with “Bitch, that’s when the diarrhea started”? Referencing “Imma worry about Heidi”? She had me howling the whole runtime, and I am so grateful. Her look was a real miss relative to the prompt, but an improvement from the premiere design challenge. Still, she could’ve walked out in the worst outfit I’ve ever seen on Drag Race, and you know what? I wouldn’t care. As she proved in the lip sync, she is a superstar, and I am ready to stan no matter where she places this season. Love her to pieces.
10. Discord Addams (last week: 7)
I kinda feel for Discord that Ru hyped up her walk last week, only for it to be used as the reason she landed in the bottom three this week. Truthfully, I thought her look was worthy of the bottom three all on its own, but I do agree that the way her walk dragged it down even further made for poor presentation. What I will give Discord major props on, though, is that she’s proving to be a really good sport. When Law said, “You came out looking like Cher but walking like Sonny,” she was delighted! Half of Drag Race is how well you play along with Ru’s game, and Discord is proving herself to really understand the importance of going along to get along. I think it’ll make Ru and the panel more likely to look favourably upon her in the future, should she start racking up some high placements.
9. Darlene Mitchell (last week: 3)
I think Darlene is lucky the judges decided to make an issue of Discord’s walk this week, otherwise she may have been in the low-scoring slot. The overall average was quite strong, and the judges found enough things to nitpick that she would’ve been an easy one to penalize for it. There were things I liked about her look, particularly the clever idea to include the floral print on the bottom of the skirt. But for the second week in a row, Darlene got knocked for her footwear choice. I think Darlene has real potential, and Ru seems invested in her. I personally think she needs to be a bit more consistent outside of her “trailer trash drag” lane to have a shot at going all the way. Right now, I’d argue she reads as someone who makes it surprisingly deep in the season, but not to the finale. I hope she can prove me wrong!
8. Myki Meeks (last week: 6)
Here, Myki returns to her reserved eighth-place spot. I’m really enjoying Myki’s off-show content—did you see her Lea Michele number that was making the rounds the other day?—but I’m still waiting for her to have a breakout moment on the show. I’m almost getting Xunami Muse vibes from her at this point: A likable presence and a good confessionalist who just keeps turning in safe performances before an inevitable elimination. I didn’t think Myki’s look was bad by any measure this week, but I agreed with Michelle Visage on the blue illusion and with Ru on the over-accessorizing. It’s always almost there with Myki, but not quite. And that is why she shall remain in eighth position.
7. Mia Starr (last week: 10)
Mia really did a great job this week, but she had the misfortune of going up against the obvious challenge winner. I thought her look was a bit too much of the Lil’ Kim inspiration and not enough of the Katy Perry, but I understand wanting to give the judges the moment of the exposed boob. And they all loved it! Moreover, I’m glad that Mia had a major role in the narrative this week with Briar. If she just had the fight at the start of the episode, I would worry that Mia was being painted as a new villain, but she had a beautiful moment of connection and sharing stories with Briar later on. I adore Mia, and I’m hopeful that she’ll continue to take center stage in the story of the season. There’s something really special about her.
6. Athena Dion (last week: 9)
Finally, Athena catches a break in this competition! Although, it was looking dicey for a second. That sewing mistake looked like it would really fuck her up. Luckily, she made it work, and even had a laugh about it in the process. (“Why do I do this to myself? I love to be a woman in crisis.”) My concerns remain about Athena’s arc relative to her drag (grand)daughter’s, and I almost wondered if Jane Don’t’s confessional about Juicy always needing help was some foreshadowing. We’ve seen Athena so far specifically avoid dispensing help to Juicy Love Dion, but might it be a moment where she finally does so that proves to be her undoing? I don’t think we’re getting all these confessionals about them not being attached to each other for no reason. Maybe I’m overthinking this, but I can’t help but think their fates are intertwined.
5. Juicy Love Dion (last week: 1)
Props to Juicy for a pretty significant turnaround from the last design challenge—although it’s clear that she got an assist from Jane. I thought Jane made a really good point in saying that eventually, the help for Juicy is going to dry up. If Juicy can’t keep up the standard she’s setting now in the later part of the season, I could see her disappointing Ru and being sent home for it. For now, at least, she seems to be in the host’s good graces, as he obviously favoured her over Briar for their win. I will be interested to see how Briar’s departure affects Juicy, since the two were clearly getting close. Perhaps her elimination is what sends Juicy back to Athena, suddenly putting a target on their back as a close duo?
4. Nini Coco (last week: 4)
Nini and Myki made for the most definitively middle-of-the-pack group this week. Ru liked both their looks, but found neither of them worthy of top or bottom mention. I feel comfortable keeping Nini over the Dions in the power ranking, but I would like to see her rise to the top again soon. The premiere was a month ago now, and queens like Jane and Vita have been taking up more space in the story than Nini has. Also, considering Nini won the first design challenge, a just-safe placement has to be considered a bit of a downgrade. She’s up this high because of the structure of the episode and her relative performance in the competition so far, but I’m eager to see what she pulls out in the talent show.
3. Ciara Myst (last week: 8)
Ciara with the unexpected but deserved top placement! Love to see it. I thought Ciara did the best job of really interpreting the spirit of her inspiration looks, not just the materials. Where Kenya really slipped up was bringing none of the Lady Gaga spirit to her look, while Ciara had it in droves. Using the denim as a beef wrap of sorts was so clever. I don’t think it was the strongest garment outside of the brief, but it was the best response to the problem that the challenge presented. I wouldn’t have been mad with Ciara taking the win … were it not for the unbelievably dominant performance of our actual victor.
2. Jane Don’t (last week: 2)
Jane is hitting Angeria Paris VanMicheals levels of early season domination. I found this garment much more impressive than her premiere look, which I thought was more a feat of styling than anything else. The judges loved the Mame reference, but I loved how integrated the two fabric styles were in a way that felt organic most of all. I’m glad we were not once again subjected to Jane crying over being in the top, though. In a season without many real frontrunners, Jane is making a real case for herself as the one true lock for the finale. But hey, I’d have said the same thing about Suzie Toot last season.
1. Vita VonTesse Starr (last week: 11)
A huge and richly deserved congratulations to Vita! This honestly wasn’t even close. Vita’s look was drag, in all the ways that a garment made on the spot on Drag Race can be. She demonstrated an incredible amount of work without making the garment feel laboured. She perfectly incorporated both inspirations in a way that did not feel literal, but still obviously brought them both to mind. She styled the hell out of herself, taking the whole presentation to the next level. Yeah, no doubt about it, this was a smash. Very happy to see Vita finally take a design challenge win, and hopeful that we get to see her perform at this level in other challenges this season as well.
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