‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 13, Episode 14 power ranking: She’s so ‘Lucky,’ she’s a star

Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Saturday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. The final four remained a final four going into the finale, likely leading to a Lip Sync for the Crown in two weeks’ time. Which queen stands the best chance of winning it all at season’s end?

4. Kandy Muse (last week: 4)

My take on Kandy remains that she is nowhere near as bad as her critics make her out to be, but she is also not as impressive at Drag Race as her biggest fans say she is. She is incredibly charismatic, albeit divisive, and she can perform with the best of them when her back is against the wall. (Both her “Call Me Maybe” and “Strong Enough” lip syncs are among my favourites of the season.) But on the runway and in challenges, she has faltered more than anyone else in the top four. It is reasonable to assume that Kandy has the worst chance of winning going into the finale.

Still, if the finale format is the Season 9 to 11’s Lip Sync for the Crown, I wouldn’t put a lip sync win past Kandy. As the final one in this episode showed, she has the dance ability that the other girls don’t—Rosé can move, but it can come across a bit choreographed in comparison to Kandy’s more fluid movements. If she throws in some stunts and reveals to amplify what she already does as a performer, I could easily see Kandy making the final lip sync.

I don’t, however, think she would win in such a scenario. The informal rule seems to be that, while the first lip syncs are judged more purely on merit (think Peppermint beating Trinity the Tuck to “Stronger” in Season 9), the final lip sync is where Ru makes his decision based on the season as a whole. And while Kandy has been entertaining to watch this season, her track record and performances just aren’t comparable to any of the other finalists’.

3. Rosé (last week: 1)

For all the talk of Rosé letting her guard down in this episode, I feel like this was actually a bit of a step back for her in that regard. She spoke about how casual her “Inside Drag Race” conversation was with Ru and Michelle Visage, but it was easily the most formal of the four. Kandy and Gottmik kiki’d and laughed with the judges, while Symone got personal and emotional. With the ending in sight, it seemed like Rosé stepped back a bit into her professional comfort zone.

There are two ways to read this. One: The show’s investment in selling us the “Casual Rosé” story indicates that they want to keep her winner edit alive going into the finale. Two: It’s actually a set up for a potential All Stars run—having learned to let go a bit in her first season, Rosé comes back more ready to compete than ever. And judging by the edits of both Gottmik and Symone, I’m leaning towards the latter. While they’re both getting emotional moments with Ru, plus plenty of fun banter (especially Gottmik), Rosé is moreso getting respect.

Again, anything can happen in a Lip Sync for the Crown finale. I never would’ve expected Sasha Velour to pull a cascade of rose petals out of her wig. And as a professional who thinks about every detail, Rosé could absolutely come the most prepared. But even if she makes it to the final lip sync, she probably needs to be facing off against Kandy at the end to take home the crown. She’s a star, and she’s grown in this competition—but of everyone left, she’s my best pick for being able to come back and wreck an All Stars season.

2. Symone (last week: 3)

Symone’s whole performance this week was very Symone. Her interview with Ru and Michelle was honest and emotional, to the point of perhaps overstating her struggles relative to her successes. (She’s been hard on herself all season, clearly feeling immense pressure to do well in this competition.) Her verse was a slow burn, packed with charisma. Her dancing may not have been the absolute best, but she did a nice job with Jamal Sims’ choreography. Her final runway was drop-dead gorgeous, and another iconic look for her collection. And her speech to her younger self was powerful, filled with memories of both pain and triumph.

In a vacuum, I would call Symone’s not just a winner’s edit, but one of the strongest we’ve ever seen. Her excellent challenge performances, beautiful runway looks and vulnerability both in confessionals and with Ru have made her the star of this season. She’s had some stumbles, yes, and has had to lip sync for her life twice. But she’s turned any difficulty into a chance to shine, from killing all of her lip syncs—be they for her life or the win—to impressing in a wide variety of challenges. She has the resumé to win this whole thing.

Symone has been my favourite all season long, and she’s done nothing but make me happy to have her on my TV screen week after week. The crown would be a perfect fit atop her head, and I know she’d make for a terrific America’s Next Drag Superstar. But as I indicated last week, if I have to make a from-my-gut winner pick, I don’t predict she’ll be victorious in the finale. Part of that is based on who I think will win, and the other part is about how many times we’ve seen her lip sync now (five! five times!). Can she surprise us in the finale with new tricks? Because it may take some ingenuity to bring something new to the stage.

1. Gottmik (last week: 2)

I said Symone’s was a winner’s edit “in a vacuum,” because I don’t know how anyone can look at what’s been happening with Gottmik in recent weeks and not think she’s getting the most glowing winner’s edit of all. In their interview, Gottmik and Ru’s banter was off the charts, with both genuinely having a great time chatting. Ru kept coming back to how charmed he was by her, both in the interview and later on the runway. Speaking of which, if it felt like Gottmik didn’t get the emotional moment that Symone did in the interview, she certainly got it on the runway, as Ru spoke through tears talking about her supportive parents and what Gottmik means to young kids watching her.

Moreover, Gottmik was actually my favourite in the challenge. Her verse went hard, and she kept up with it throughout, tossing out some great lyrics (“Boys, girls, and in between, it’s time to crown your queen”) that made her less impressive verse from “Condragulations” seem like it came from a whole other queen. She wasn’t quite as precise in the dance choreography as Rosé, but she had such a sense of fun in her movements. It was infectious; it’s so easy to have a blast watching Gottmik have a blast. Combined with a fashionable-but-campy final runway, this was a home run episode for Gottmik.

At this point, I would be equally satisfied with either Gottmik or Symone as a winner. They each would offer so much as the new reigning champion, and have done more than enough all season to secure the crown. Honestly, were I still not reeling from the ADR-plagued double crowning of Monét X Change and Trinity the Tuck in All Stars 4 (“Winner winner two chicken dinners!”), I might pitch a double crowning for the two L.A. dolls. 

I will say this: If the double crowning was intentionally planned, like the one famously filmed for Bianca Del Rio and Adore Delano in Season 6 (but ultimately went unused), I think I’d be on board. I wouldn’t want it to be a regular development, and I’d be happy with either Gottmik or Symone winning alone, too. But just this once, maybe we can have America’s Next Drag Superstars.