Welcome to Canada’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Friday, 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. With just five queens left in the race to become Canada’s Next Drag Superstar, we might once again be looking at a new frontrunner in the competition.
6. Irma Gerd (last week: 6)—ELIMINATED
As predicted in previous weeks, only Irma or Vivian Vanderpuss could last in the competition for much longer. They were just too similarly matched for a theatre/comedy queen slot, and as the Rusical demonstrated, Vivian was better suited for the former half of that designation. Irma just couldn’t keep up with the choreography; as she joked in critiques, she’s more of a musical theatre “listener” than a practitioner. And while she did her best in the lip sync, Gisèle Lullaby had a much more controlled interpretation of the song—not to mention two maxi-challenge wins to her name. No, this result was obvious, and in Mini-Untucked, it seemed like even Irma herself had a feeling.
5. Gisèle Lullaby (last week: 5)
Gisèle landed in the bottom two mostly by circumstance this week. The judges weren’t too harsh on her Rusical performance, and they actually loved her runway. But considering she and Irma were duet partners in the challenge, it made the most sense to have them lip sync against each other. When it came to that lip sync, Gisèle demonstrated a real poise and strength in her movement that I think will serve her well in future potential lip syncs. I don’t think we’re getting another Lip Sync for the Finale (which is a shame, because I loved that twist), but in the event that there’s a final Lip Sync for the Crown, I like Gisèle’s chances.
4. Jada Shada Hudson (last week: 2)
After she built up a lot of momentum in last week’s episode, Jada hit a speed bump this week. Like Kimmy Couture last week, Jada got the critique that her runway is just not on the level of the other queens, and in Mini-Untucked, she acknowledged she felt the same. I do think her runways have a been a weakness of Jada’s all season long, but as we saw with the Paint category last week, she’s incredibly capable of delivering a strong look. She could really use a showstopper next week in the Masquerade Ball to cement her spot in the finale. In the Rusical, her vocals were on point, but she still got dinged for not shining in the way that the judges expected. I’m less confident in her as a frontrunner than I was just days ago, and as a Jada fan, that bums me out.
3. Kimmy Couture (last week: 4)
Much as I’ve enjoyed Kimmy this season, I’m very glad that the judges were finally explicit in calling out her repeated silhouettes. Like Vanessa Vanjie Mateo in Season 11 and Bosco in Season 14, Kimmy has relied on the same style of garment week in and week out—not quite as simple as “bra and panties,” as the judges put it, but not much more complicated. In a very strong runway season, her lack of range has proven frustrating. But what has been much more impressive is Kimmy’s range in the challenges. She killed the choreography this week, and delivered the right mix of bitchy and comedic in her performance. Were next week’s challenge anything but a ball, I’d be reconsidering my guess that only she or Miss Fiercalicious can make it to the end. But it does feel like this season has been setting up a final battle between them, and I think it likely comes next week.
2. Miss Fiercalicious (last week: 1)
And make no mistake, I am certain Fierce is winning any such showdown if she is indeed in the bottom next week. Fierce has also been a major character throughout this season. She’s had an almost Violet Chachki-esque run, annoying her castmates in the first half of the season before a reckoning (remember that Previously On dedicated to her?) causes her to shift her behaviour. Then, almost immediately upon doing so, her fortunes in the competition turned a major corner. Not only did she win last week’s challenge, but she was very close to winning this one as well. Her number in the Rusical was a great spotlight moment for her, as she both sounded great and acted the hell out of her performance. And on the runway, as a sea creature, she delivered something truly unexpected. Was it quite the right fit for a dystopian category? Maybe not, but she sold it. And the judges are clearly all in on the Fierce train.
1. Vivian Vanderpuss (last week: 3)
However, while Fierce did well, she already had a challenge win. And Vivian, whose arc in the back half of this season has been all about wanting to win, also did well. The “I Didn’t Just Come Here to Tan” number was cute in the Rusical, but Vivian really turned the dial up to 11 in it. That, more than just doing what’s assigned to you, is really what judges look for in challenges like these. On the runway, her surreal take on a jackalope as a futuristic drag queen was high-concept, but it really worked for me as a departure from her previous looks. No, as much as I think Fierce is walking out of this week as our potential new frontrunner, I can’t argue with Vivian’s win. And with not so much as a low placement on her track record, she may be a dark horse to sneak into the top finalists during the finale.
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