Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every week, we’re debriefing the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. We’re off to read the rankings, the power rankings of Drag Race! Who’s on top after this season’s Rusical?
10. Acacia Forgot (last week: 7)—ELIMINATED
I give Acacia credit: she lasted longer in this season than I would’ve expected based on her premiere performance. I’m still not sure why the show invested in her like this when she’s been largely ignored in the edit—although we did get some surprising mean girl vibes in her confessionals this week—but she made good with some solid comedy performances to justify her continued presence in the season. There was no justifying keeping her this week, though. She was by far the worst in the challenge, in a role she fought to play. And while, as Suzie Toot noted, she did her best in the lip sync, Kori King just had an advantage with the song choice and her style of performance. I can’t say I feel we were robbed of more time with Acacia, but I appreciated what she brought to this season.
9. Kori King (last week: 5)
Michelle Visage told Kori this week that there are no small parts, and anyone can thrive in any role. (Remember when Shea Couleé won a maxi-challenge on one verse’s worth of performance as Blac Chyna, simply because she was that good?) Here’s the problem: when basically everyone is good at a challenge, then role size does matter, because you simply get fewer opportunities to stand out. Even Lydia B Kollins had a lot more to work with in their shared portion of the Rusical. I bristled a bit at Kori’s super-cute Dorothy Gale parasol look getting knocked for not being properly glammed up, but upon further examination, it does read a bit flat on the main stage. Overall, not a terrible week for Kori, and she did get out of the lip sync without much issue. But I still think her time is ticking down.
8. Arrietty (last week: 9)
I guess Arrietty was third-worst this week? I don’t blame the judges for not calling out a bottom three, because the gap between Kori and whoever was next on my mental scorecard was huge. I thought about putting Lydia here instead, but I do think it helps a queen to be seen as “outshining” a scene partner in challenges like the Rusical. Arrietty was a good teammate as the Scarecrow, and while she was slightly off-beat, I’m nitpicking here. On the runway, her look was very dark and, as she observed, very Latina—it was basically a perfectly emblematic Arrietty look. It’s nothing unexpected, but after her last couple of runways, I think she was entitled to a safe one. Luckily for Arrietty, with another design challenge on deck, she’ll be well-positioned to pick up another win or high placement, which is likely just what she needs to gain some momentum in this competition.
7. Lydia B Kollins (last week: 6)
She’s not exactly setting the stage on fire every week, but Lydia is managing a competent run so far. Her only major foible was in RDR Live, and she quickly redeemed her poor performance with what remains the best individual lip sync of the season. I had hoped for a bit more from her in a Rusical based on that lip sync, but this was a Rusical where characterization and vocals mattered more. She was solid as the more animated of the Flying Monkeys, but the competition was stacked. Meanwhile, her storyline with Kori is coming to the fore in a big way, which has me nervous. I can’t imagine Kori outlasts her, so maybe her boyfriend’s elimination will give her a second wind in the competition?
6. Lexi Love (last week: 3)
I am very close to getting off the Lexi Love train. And that absolutely kills me. I loved her in the premieres, what with her pledge to “smoke and toke” the drag nepo babies in the competition. I still very much enjoy her on the runway, and I appreciate when we get Lexi Love Lore Drops. But I fear she’s running out of steam. She wasn’t bad as the Lioness this week, but similar to in the remixed Drag Race moments challenge from a couple weeks ago, she missed the tone of her number. The Lioness literally talks about her rage in the lyrics, but there was nothing angry or fiery about Lexi’s performance. Lexi is very clearly a superstar, as she shows every time she gets a confessional. But I’m increasingly skeptical that Drag Race as a competition is the right format for her to demonstrate just what makes her a star. I hope she proves me wrong, and quickly.
5. Lana Ja’Rae (last week: 10)
This was by far Lana’s best week in the competition so far. While she once again presented us something she claimed was different for her—when hasn’t her runway been different for her?—her vampiric gown really did look beautiful. (Complete with the wig Luxx Noir London wore when she won her first maxi-challenge!) But where she really shined was as the Tin Woman. She was the best of her group, nailing the choreography, sounding great on the track and getting the characterization exactly right. Lana came into this season with a lot of hype, and this performance is the first time I’ve seen her demonstrate exactly why. If we see more of this Lana moving forward, she may be an unexpected threat to make it all the way to the end.
4. Suzie Toot (last week: 8)
Just as Lana rises, Suzie seems to be falling. Yes, she was in the top this week, and seemingly a close contender for the win. (I didn’t totally understand the call-out order, in which four queens got the kind of complimentary introduction that tends to be given to queens contending for the win, but two of them were called safe before Suzie and our eventual winner was.) But Suzie’s edit is sinking like a rock. She went from being portrayed as a lovable underdog to cocky and delusional in no time. Simply put: this is not how the modern Drag Race edits winners. It especially doesn’t edit them as such if they don’t actually win the challenge they’re cocky about. A Rusical was set up for Suzie to win, but the fact that another queen came in and snatched the victory is a sign that Suzie’s fortunes are turning. The only question in my book at this point is if she gets Plasma’d mid-season, or if she hangs around a while before she’s sent home before the finale.
3. Jewels Sparkles (last week: 2)
Jewels feels like the biggest beneficiary of Suzie’s edit free-fall. If, before, it felt like Suzie, Lexi, Onya Nurve and one of the pageant queens (Sam Star or, before her elimination, Crystal Envy) were the likely final four, I’d say Jewels now feels like a safer bet than either Suzie or Lexi. Granted, I’d like her to actually win a challenge before I get too comfortable with that prediction. And I’m still waiting to get absolutely blown away by a Jewels runway—this week’s funereal look was nothing we haven’t seen before, unfortunately. But Jewels fought hard to get the Good Witch role, immediately making good by delivering what was the best comic performance of the episode. I increasingly get the sense that Jewels is savvier than most of her competition. Take her Uta Hagen-inspired preparation for Snatch Game: did she actually need to prepare that much? Of course not. But does her commitment demonstrate that she’s taking Drag Race seriously, even if in silly fashion? It sure does. Same goes for fighting for the “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three”-inspired number: she knew it would be a showstopper, and she stood her ground to get it. Onya is still the queen I’d say is best-equipped to win Drag Race, but Jewels is the one who prepared the most. I think we’ll see the fruits of her labour soon.
2. Onya Nurve (last week: 1)
She’s a goddamn superstar. Nothing else to be said. Onya lights up the stage every time she steps on it. She was frankly underrated by the judges this week; I’d have named her and Jewels as Sam’s clear runners-up. As Harlem Dorothy, she was Broadway-level ready, with terrific vocals. I’m not sure why Jamal Sims was harping on her for taking a minute with the choreography during both judging and deliberations. As Courtney Act once said to Lucian Piane (remember him?), she nailed it on the night. That’s literally all that matters. On the runway, I really liked Onya’s sunny parasol look, but I didn’t love her wig choice. Even as great an Onya stan as I can admit that she still has some tweaks to make on the runway—but if that’s the worst I’m saying about her at this stage, in this competition, then you can go ahead and write her the check.
1. Sam Star (last week: 4)
Sam is hot on Onya’s heels, though! Not only did she snag her second win, but she basically speed-ran Trinity the Tuck’s “pageant queen who learns to loosen up” story arc. It was actually impressive how effortlessly Sam implemented the judges’ (frankly, shitty) critiques from the previous week. If Jewels is the most prepared and Onya is the best-equipped, then Sam is the most adaptable. I love how Sam framed her pivot as simply accepting permission to let it all hang out; it frames this new side of her not as some absurdly quick growth, but simply the judges getting to see a side of her that she previously hadn’t displayed. She was a blast as the Cher-inspired Wicked Witch of the East, and she looked unbelievably gorgeous on the runway in “Southern Belle from Hell” regalia. This was Sam’s week, even more so than her first win, and she locked in her spot in that hypothetical final four. Applause all around: Sam Star is making good on her last name.
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