Welcome to Canada’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Saturday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of Canada’s Drag Race Season 3 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. The cast is delivering the drama this season—never forget Winkgate—but how are they faring in the fight for the crown?
11. Miss Moço (last week: 11)—ELIMINATED
Alas, what seemed obvious last week came to pass, and Moço was eliminated on her second trip to the bottom. All due respect to Moço, who I’m sure is a terrific presence in Toronto’s drag scene, but this just made me regret that Halal Bae went out last week. Part of smart judging on Drag Race is understanding when someone has potential in the competition, and I thought it was pretty obvious last week that Halal had more than Moço. I do think her final runway was a great moment to go out on, complete with the scream. Brad Goreski made a great point that she made the presentation really come to life. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to save her from this early departure.
10. Jada Shada Hudson (last week: 3)
On the one hand, Jada immediately hitting the bottom two after a strong start in the premiere is worrying. I would’ve personally put Irma Gerd there instead, since the worst I could say about Jada was that she and Moço lacked chemistry together. But this challenge was very specifically not judged in teams, and Irma made far more flubs, I think Jada could’ve skated to safety. That said, it would’ve been a close call—considering what a personality Jada is, and how naturally funny she is in the workroom, this was no doubt a disappointment. However, Icesis Couture famously lip synced in Episode 2 last season, and look how that ended up for her!
9. Irma Gerd (last week: 9)
The thing about branding yourself as a comedy queen is that, unlike most of the other “types” on Drag Race, you really can’t fuck up your specialty challenge. A runway queen can wear something not to the judges’ taste. A theatre queen can get saddled with an underwhelming part. An impersonator can pick the wrong character in Snatch Game. But being a self-described comedy queen and not landing any jokes? Not to mention repeatedly stumbling over your own lines? That’s rough. I will say I thought her face in her Discordia runway look was beautiful, but I agreed with Brooke Lynn Hytes that the garment didn’t give chaos in the way it should have. Still not quite seeing it from Irma, on the whole.
8. Kaos (last week: 2)
Speaking of chaos: Kaos! This looks like a harder fall than it is—Kaos did fine, she just didn’t stand out in a way she’d need to to keep her first-episode momentum going. She, like Jada, didn’t do enough with her opportunity to give a speech, although I really liked both her challenge and runway looks. I’m not panicking for her by any measure, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see her have to lip sync sooner versus later.
7. Bombae (last week: 4)
Similarly to Kaos, Bombae didn’t do anything wrong this week, she just didn’t have the kind of follow-up one might hope for after her premiere. The benefit for Bombae is that she has a clear story arc from here: her drag mom was sent out first, and now she’s here to fight for her family. Also a benefit for her is that Bombae’s looks are so spectacular. Her take on a Kathakali dancer was sublime this week, and stood out from the pack during what was already a very strong runway. I would be very surprised if we don’t see Bombae win a challenge in these next couple of weeks.
6. Gisèle Lullaby (last week: 8)
Gisèle is the first in a line of queens who I could’ve seen at the top this week in favour of Miss Fiercalicious and Kimmy Couture. She was great in her team with Chelazon Leroux, and her forest goddess look was really striking. The two things that put her a step below the others for me is that she didn’t get a speech to take the spotlight, and I do think Chelazon overshadowed her in their pairing. Still, a very good week for Gisèle altogether.
5. Lady Boom Boom (last week: 1)
Winning the first challenge means Boom Boom would’ve had to really steal the show to snatch another win—and while her speech delivered while lying on the stage was a terrific moment, there were others that did about as well (if not better) than she did. So she gets a nice bit of momentum added to her already strong start, but doesn’t get considered for the win. Not a bad result! One thing I want to note is Boom Boom’s runway look: her take on Cupid was surprisingly detailed, from the body makeup to how the fabric hung on her body. I was really impressed; yet again, Boom Boom has shown us a new character that feels distinctly different than what she’s shown previously. She’s a real chameleon.
4. Vivian Vanderpuss (last week: 6)
I’m personally shocked Vivian wasn’t in the top this week. Her comic timing and jokes were excellent, and moreover, she shone even brighter being paired with the flailing Irma. I also really liked her take on Freya, the Norse goddess, with her wig being shaped into cat ears. Vivian’s being underrated by the judges so far, and I think if she continues to do well, that could work to her advantage. Everyone loves an underdog story! However, there’s also a world in which she gets the full Jan treatment by the judges—for her sake, I hope we’re heading toward the former.
3. Miss Fiercalicious (last week: 10)
Look, I’ve recapped every damn season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. I get it. Fierce is a reality TV storyteller’s dream. She will fight with her best friend over nothing, then do surprisingly well in a challenge with her and then turn on the queen who paired them and accuse her of sabotage. This queen invented a whole controversy over a wink. She is giving the energy that the show needs, and I can’t blame the producers for realizing just how necessary she may be to a fulfilling season. What I will say is that, despite her very cool Oshun look on the runway, I’m ultimately glad that she was not the winning member of her pair. She was okay-not-great in this challenge, and her even getting a high placement over queens like Vivian and Boom Boom is silly. But hey, a little boost for an already confident queen leads to delicious Untucked drama, and you can’t be too mad about that.
2. Chelazon Leroux (last week: 7)
I mean, let’s not kid ourselves: Chelazon was by far the best in the challenge this week, as the only queen who nailed both their presenter banter and their speech. She also looked so cute during the Who-Knows Awards, in stark contrast to her too-simple-for-Brooke-Lynn runway look. I thought that conversation was interesting: I got what BLH is saying about there not being a lot of drag to Chelazon’s looks, but I also admire simplicity. I think the judge and hostess gave her a fairly easy way out by telling her to focus on accessorizing—we’ll see if she takes the hint. But yeah, #Chelarobbed this week.
1. Kimmy Couture (last week: 5)
I have gone from thinking Kimmy’s win made absolutely no sense to largely accepting it, while still feeling like Chelazon deserved it more. Kimmy had the more naturally funny flow to her banter during the challenge, and while her goddess of the sun runway wasn’t the best of the lot, her explanations for it were hilarious. “I don’t know who the fuck she is,” she said during the runway narration, and she later said she just Googled a sun goddess when explaining to the judges. Hilarious! Kimmy managed the rare feat of overcoming a slow start in the workroom, and also channelled her natural sense of humour into a win. Would I personally have given it to her? No. But I get why she won, and I’m hopeful that this is the start of a big arc for her in the competition.
Why you can trust Xtra
