Welcome to Canada’’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Friday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of Canada’s Drag Race Season 2 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. “Screech,” an atypically strong acting challenge, gave almost all the queens a chance to shine. But who shined brightest among the ghouls—er, girls?
10. Stephanie Prince (last week: 6) — ELIMINATED
This is a tough one, based on how promising Stephanie’s output was so far. She could’ve won the first week, and she shined despite a poorly performing partner in the second episode. Alas, her performance was just a bit below par in a week where the average was well above it, leading to her having to lip sync against Synthia. She held her own, but the judges went another way. I liked Stephanie’s energy a lot, and think the show will suffer a bit without her. But in a season with this many great characters, we’re sadly going to lose some big ones sooner than we’d expect.
9. Synthia Kiss (last week: 4)
So far, I would say I’m not quite seeing the hype with Synthia. She sounded great in the Rusical, but as I argued in the last ranking, that didn’t translate to a dynamite performance. Additionally, her first runway (the one she made on the spot) remains her best, as this week’s was among the least impressive. I’m not sure if it’s the struggle of getting back into drag—as we know from her “Meet the Queens,” Synthia had taken a pause before the show—but she’s not standing out as much as her Brat Pack sisters. If there’s a Brat Pack lip sync incoming (and I very much think there is based on this week’s foreshadowing) I could see her being the one to fall first.
8. Kendall Gender (last week: 2)
That said, Kendall’s had a bit of a fall as well—but she had the benefit of an unexpectedly great Rusical performance to buoy her. I also think, unlike Synthia, Kendall actually had some genuinely funny moments in this week’s acting challenge. She’s got a great sense of comedic timing; it actually felt like she was being held more to account for her missing lines in the recording phase than in how she actually did in the final product. (Which always annoys me, but I digress.) I completely agree with the judges about her runway look, though. It was so expected, and as Brooke Lynn Hytes put it, “very Halloween.” She could stand to get out of the box in terms of her looks.
7. Kimora Amour (last week: 5)
As the only queen to have never been critiqued this season, Kimora is fading into the background. Which is a shame, because if her confessionals are any indication, Kimora’s a blast and a half. She’s so witty, so boisterous, so naturally funny—she’d be the life of the party if the camera would stay on her for long enough. In the challenge, I thought Kimora was mostly fine, but probably had the least interesting role of the lot. Her best single moment was stealing Icesis Couture’s character’s fabric after a tragic sewing machine “accident.” I liked her runway, but wish the reveal had been all in one, instead of a separate dress and hair reveal. It just took a bit too long to get to the point—and no one likes waiting for the point!
6. Suki Doll (last week: 8)
After that first episode, I presumed we were heading for a very Suki-heavy season. So imagine my surprise that she’s actually faded further and further out of the spotlight with each episode. I thought she was quite funny this week: her tossed-off “your story will change lives” was perfect. And on the runway, while her reveal was really just a coat, she still served up two decidedly distinct looks. Was either the best? Maybe not, but I appreciate her versatility. I’m hoping this is just a momentary blip before Suki comes roaring back, because I miss her as a primary focus of the narrative.
5. Pythia (last week: 1)
God, Pythia is funny. She just always knows what to say in confessionals, how to conduct herself in the workroom and how to excel in challenges. She had a less interesting role this week, but she still managed some cute bits, and stunned once again on the runway with a devilishly good reveal. I think we can all but pencil Pythia in for the endgame. She’s getting plenty of confessionals and story focus every episode without wasting everything she has to offer—the editors know we’ll be seeing her for quite a while, I bet.
4. Icesis Couture (last week: 10)
I was initially surprised Icesis didn’t get called into the top this week. Not that I’d have replaced any of the top-placing queens, but she was good enough to justify a fourth high-placement queen in my mind. Upon rewatch… I get it. As Jocklyn Strap, Icesis really leaned into the butch, and executed a hilarious bit in which she died by sewing machine—all while blaming her inner saboteur. However, the jokes written for her were repetitive, and she didn’t find many new ways into them. On the runway, I thought her comic book bunny character was cute, but a bit too off-prompt to earn praise. But overall, a very strong return to form.
3. Eve 6000 (last week: 9)
Speaking of returns to form! After a lame (but surprisingly memorable) take on a reveal-loving character in the Rusical, Eve pretty perfectly pulled off a reveal from starlet to sex goddess on the runway. That she did it while in grayscale makeup is all the more impressive—even if said makeup was a bit underwhelming. But what was most exciting to see from Eve this week was her performance as the narrator character in “Screech.” She nailed every monologue, understood the humour precisely and more than earned her top spot. She got needled a bit by Pythia in confessional for bemoaning her less-than-perfect critiques—a very funny Pythia confessional, mind you—but I understood what she meant, especially after hearing deliberations. Brooke Lynn just doesn’t seem sold on Eve, and that poses a risk to her long-term prospects.
2. Gia Metric (last week: 3)
Another week in the top for Gia means that she joins Eve as the only two queens to be critiqued every week so far this season. We’re getting a lot of time with her! Sadly for Gia, there was too much time with her for the judges, as her long-winded response to the judging seems to have cost her the win. Personally, I might have given it to her: her performance in the maxi-challenge was my second-favourite (after Eve’s), and her runway was so dang clever. It wasn’t quite as impressive-looking as Adriana’s but it was more on theme, and it made you think a bit to get it. (Cue Fefe Dobson just figuring it out.) Still, she probably will need to rein in her explanations to actually secure a victory.
1. Adriana (last week: 7)
Congratulations to Adriana on her first win! She earned it, even if she didn’t give my single-favourite performance on either the runway or in the challenge. Her overall package was by far the best this week, though: she served a take on Marie Antoinette that felt distinctly different from those we’ve seen before (most notably Raja’s), even if she stretched the category to get there. And in the maxi-challenge, she committed hardcore, even confusing Brad Goreski a bit about just what her take on his ghoulish side would be. This felt like Drag Race rewarding a different kind of performance—not just what made the judges laugh the most, but what felt like the most interesting take on a character. It’s exciting to see the Colombian queen take the crown this week, and hopefully moves her into the class of frontrunners this season. It’s a competitive crew, but I wouldn’t bet against Adriana to keep pushing herself all the way to the end.
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