‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8,’ Episode 3 power ranking: Let’s get Wild

Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Power Rankings! Every week, we’re debriefing the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. The Supermarket Ball produced some stunning produce-based looks—but who ultimately won out?

10. Mrs. Kasha Davis (last week: 9)—ELIMINATED

Kasha choking up on her exit line—“There’s always time for kindness”—was genuinely devastating. I feel like she had so much more to show, and wasn’t properly appreciated for what she gave while she was there. (I’m still annoyed she didn’t place high for RDR Live, butterfly-net look be damned.) However, there’s no real argument that Kasha should’ve stayed this week. Her Supermarket Supermodel look was the worst of the whole ball; hard to come back from Ts Madison openly telling you how much she hates it. And when it came time to plead her case to Jessica Wild, Kasha all but gave up. Still, it’s hard to argue that Kasha didn’t deserve better from her return to the show.

9. Darienne Lake (last week: 10)

This was a close call for Darienne, since the vote between the queens was just 5-4 (although Jessica winning the lip sync made that point moot). She’s gotta break out of this rut and fast, because I think the next time she lands in the bottom, nothing’s going to save her. And I’ll be damned if we don’t see a Darienne lip sync this season! But her performances this season haven’t lived up to what we know she’s capable of—it seems far-fetched that she could make a comeback at this point.

8. Jaymes Mansfield (last week: 6)

Jaymes’s runways are falling into a familiar pattern: a lot of the same fabrics and silhouettes, almost always referencing a housewife look or Old Hollywood, and paired with blond wigs. She got to show a bit more range this week with the “cookie monster” (not to be confused with Cookie Monster) look, but unfortunately, that wasn’t my favourite. It’s obvious the show has big plans for Jaymes this season, so I don’t think she’s going anywhere for a while. I just hope to see more from her that lives up to her pre-season hype. Perhaps an acting challenge could be what puts her over the top?

7. Kahanna Montrese (last week: 5)

I talked about this in the recap, but a great pair of first two looks in a ball challenge are basically a waste if your self-made look fails to impress. That’s what happened to Kahanna this week, who absolutely slayed her cow and banana looks (especially the banana look) only to turn out an underwhelming Supermarket Supermodel garment. The colour scheme was particularly odd, a UCLA blue-and-yellow mix that she had a matching wig for. But it wasn’t enough to land her anywhere near the bottom, so Kahanna lives to slay another day. We’ve got another acting task looming, though …

6. Heidi N Closet (last week: 2)

I’m not in agreement with Heidi herself that she should’ve been in the top this week. The milkman look, while cute, wasn’t the most original take on the Legen-dairy category. I did really like the strawberry pants on her Fruity Patootie look, and the construction of her Supermarket Supermodel look was quite impressive. But the shape and colour scheme of it didn’t quite work for me. To quote Luxx Noir London, it was a clear “high safe” in my eyes. You can tell Heidi is quickly getting over this competition, though. Her threatening to quit in Untucked was quite revealing. I hope for her sake that she can stand out as we know Heidi can in the acting challenge next week.

5. Alexis Michelle (last week: 3)

Once again, I’d have put Alexis in the top for this challenge, and even had her in contention for the win. Her blueberry look for the second category was particularly stunning, and I loved her serving something so different with the biker cow Legen-dairy look. I think, like Kahanna, where she lost it for me was in the final look: it was well made, but just a bit too simple in terms of the silhouette. Still, in a week with a lot of stuff-on-a-bodysuit fashion, kudos to her for making something different. It should’ve easily landed her a high placement.

4. Kandy Muse (last week: 7)

Like with Jaymes in the premiere, the editing of Kandy’s critiques seems to have turned what should’ve been a low placement into a high one. That is, of course, quite silly: Kandy served two bodysuit looks for brought-from-home categories and delivered an underwhelming foil skirt for her Supermarket Supermodel runway. (I will admit, she complimented the skirt well with the top piece and a great wig.) I enjoyed Kandy a lot on her season, and I’m glad to see her back, but I almost wonder if she returned too soon. I don’t think we’re yet seeing the growth that would make her a threat to take it all at season’s end.

3. LaLa Ri (last week: 4)

I do, on the other hand, think we’re seeing that growth with LaLa! Granted, she was handed a redemption storyline this week with the ball—she’s in a good position considering her failure on this challenge in her original season was such a clear and memorable one. But even with that aside, I really liked the three silhouettes she delivered on the runway. I know the final look was perhaps a bit shorter than many would have liked, but I really enjoyed it—it looked editorial in a way not many Drag Race runway looks come across. Plus, her mug and bald head looked absolutely stunning. Of those selected as tops and bottoms this week, LaLa would’ve been my personal choice for the winner.

2. Jimbo (last week: 1)

While I didn’t mind Jimbo’s output this week, I was surprised at how low-key it was relative to her showing in UK vs The World’s RuPaul Ball. Her Legen-dairy look, as Heidi noted, didn’t really seem to relate to the category—it was a white look with some accoutrement on it. And while she looked great in her Fruity Patootie look, and she stood out for not just serving a fruit-based look, I do think she skated the category too much to justify it. All that said, I get her top placement based on the last look. It may have been a bodysuit, but the way she constructed the garment with lettuce really made it look alive. It stood out, and in a ball with 30 looks, that’s the most important thing.

1. Jessica Wild (last week: 8)

While I am beyond delighted by Jessica’s win this week, I’ll admit, I don’t totally understand it. Her Froot Loops runway was cited by JoJo Siwa as her favourite of the week, but it was a pretty simple garment—just a cute idea. Her berry acai look (“Love that drink!”) was a great callback, but I didn’t like the outfit itself. And the final look was once again just a bodysuit, although she did style the hell out of it. Again, thrilled to see Jessica come out on top, but in a week of wonky judging, her victory was the latest oddity. She knew exactly what to do in the lip sync to secure the $30,000 prize, though. Ru loves a bouncing breastplate—hello, Yara Sofia’s talent show!—and it was the right call for a “Coconuts” lip sync. Jessica has become the first big winner of the season, and I would be surprised if it’s her only moment of victory.