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. We’re down to the final four as we head into the finale—but who will be Canada’s Next Drag Superstar?
5. Vivian Vanderpuss (last week: 1)—ELIMINATED
Gotta be tough for Vivian to not only fall short of the finale by just one episode, but also to go home on her first stint in the bottom two. The fact that she was one of only two seamstresses left in the competition and the challenge was a ball has to hurt as well. Unfortunately, this was a ball challenge that favoured presentation and concept over being talented with a sewing machine. And Vivian got the same critique Utica Queen did once upon a time on Drag Race U.S.: too much goofy personality on the runway can dull the impact of your garments.
When it came to the Lip Sync for Your Life against Kimmy Couture, this one was no contest. Vivian tried, but Kimmy was served a dance-heavy song that she could probably slay in her sleep. Looking at this week purely statistically, Vivian’s swing from being the only queen not to lip sync and tied for the second-most wins to being out of the game is a wild one. But if you actually look at how it happened, it makes total sense.
4. Kimmy Couture (last week: 3)
I’ve been saying for a few weeks that the finale felt like it would include Gisèle Lullaby, Jada Shada Hudson and then one each from two separate pairs: Vivian and Irma Gerd, and Kimmy and Miss Fiercalicious. So I guess I should be surprised that Kimmy and Fierce are both in the finale, although as noted above with Vivian, it makes sense when you actually see it play out. Yes, Kimmy had the clearly worst output of the group this week, although I personally really liked her Masc4Mascara look. But she slayed “CTRL + ALT + DEL” in the lip sync, and any result that sent her home after that would’ve been incorrect.
There is some argument to be made that Kimmy has enough of a winner’s edit to clutch this crown. Her mirror moment this week provided her a substantial bit of spotlight (albeit an incredibly heartbreaking spotlight), and she’s separated enough from Fierce that I think she can stand on her own as a character. However, her win was so long ago, and we’ve seen a lot of what she can do as a performer through her lip syncs. I think a Kimmy crown is unlikely, to say the least.
3. Gisèle Lullaby (last week: 5)
Yes, Gisèle has two wins and one bottom-two appearance, which gives her the exact same track record as the past two winners of the show. But two things make me believe her odds are a bit worse than the pattern would indicate. For one, her winner’s edit has been basically nonexistent. She’s had no real arc in this competition, something that both Priyanka and Icesis Couture have had. For the other, Gisèle is not the only one to have this track record—Fierce does, too.
Had Gisèle locked up a third win this past week, I’d be feeling better about her chances for the crown. However, at a crucial moment, Gisèle’s sewing skills failed her—the judges weren’t likely to be kind about that unfinished hem for her. Gisèle also got the dreaded “too helpful” edit in the ball, with the judges knocking her for doing too much for others. Could that conceivably be switched around to something positive for Gisèle? Maybe! But this is not where I’d put my chips on for the win at this point.
2. Jada Shada Hudson (last week: 4)
Gut still tells me Jada is winning this. I will admit, this is a lot harder to predict than a lot of other recent seasons. Even with Pythia vs. Icesis, while I worried my bias was leaning me the wrong way, I still felt like the edit was more clearly with the Ottawa queen. This time around, I’m guessing with less material (one fewer episode hurts!), and with a major underdog story in play that could threaten Jada’s arc. But I keep going back to just how fawning the judges have been about Jada this season. Even when she’s not been the best, they’ve spoken with such hope for and belief in her. They feel invested in her journey, and they’ve gotten so emotional when she does well (like Traci Melchor did a couple weeks ago with Jada’s Paint runway).
I think her better-than-expected performance in this ball will give her a major boost, too. Yes, the reveal runway was a bit of a flop. But her “Pimp Daddy Jada Shada from the Bronx” look, as she put it, was outstanding, and she turned out quite the glamorous final look as well. Had she managed a better second look, I could’ve seen her taking the win this week. And as long as she doesn’t falter in the challenge, I could very much still see her taking the crown.
1. Miss Fiercalicious (last week: 2)
However, if there’s anyone with the momentum—and momentum does sometimes matter!—it’s Fierce. I would be more worried about her chances if I thought Canada’s Drag Race gave even a moment’s thought to who the viewers would prefer to win, but considering they didn’t even ask us whose #Team we’re on, I think they’re content to make their own choices. Thus, I’m not sure Fierce’s divisive fan reception is going to matter much at all. Instead, I think her growth in the competition, as well as her role as one of the season’s main characters, may pay off big for her.
If her work in the finale is anything like her work in this ball, she’ll also totally deserve the crown. I absolutely loved her tribute to Mathu Andersen in the Masc4Mascara category; beautifully rendered, but with a perfect twist in the back. Her Josephine Baker reveal in the second round was stunning, and her final look was to die for. She won this ball handily, and she’s right to declare herself a frontrunner. I think I just barely give Jada the edge, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Fierce is actually Canada’s Next Drag Superstar.
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