‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 13, Episode 7 power ranking: I’m a boss

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. A new take on the Bossy Rossy improv challenge from Season 10 charges the queens with giving us improv comedy to bring the house down. Whose comic stylings are a toot, and who will get the boot?

10. LaLa Ri (last week: 5) — ELIMINATED

This is such a bummer. An understandable bummer, but a bummer regardless. LaLa had pretty clearly given up on her chances this week, looking despondent on the main stage during critiques and in Untucked. She turned out a strong lip sync, but she still went home. I would love to see LaLa come back for something like Secret Celebrity Drag Race: She’s such a fun personality, and so incredibly warm and likable, that she would be a great fit as a celebrity’s drag coach. It feels too soon to talk about getting her on All Stars, but I absolutely need more LaLa Ri on my TV screen.

9. Elliott With Two Ts (last week: 4)

I have been honest from the start that I don’t really get what the edit is doing with Elliott. She’s not intentional enough to be a villain, and while I do appreciate her opening up about her depression, that’s the first time I feel like we’ve been let in on anything real about her. She’s felt more like a storytelling device (voted out! but back in! in the other group!) than an independent character. While I might’ve gone the other way, I don’t think her beating LaLa in the lip sync was a major robbery. She did quite well. And I also liked her beaded look on the runway. Maybe there’s more of a journey for us to take with Elliott. But at this point, I just assume she’s next out.

8. Utica (last week: 9)

I am officially calling her just Utica from now on. That feels right.

Couple of rough weeks for Utica, huh? She slayed the Bag Ball and probably should have won, but she’s now landed in the bottom three twice in a row, and really should’ve been bottom two this week based on her performance. Her runway seems to have saved her, although I will stick to my conspiracies that her inability to win a lip sync in that dress probably played a significant factor. I’m still on Team Utica, but I’m waiting for her to kick it into high gear.

7. Denali (last week: 8)

I am officially Worried for Denali. That Untucked edit gave me major Jan vibes: She’s feeling under-recognized, under-appreciated and officially over not getting the credit she wants. (Funny that I get that vibe more from her than Jan’s actual drag sister, Rosé.) Either she’s about to win again and break through, or she’s going to start to struggle in the competition. She was fine this week in the challenge and stunning on the runway, but her safe placement was ultimately correct. I’m not that concerned about her going home if she hits the bottom two—she’s shown she’s one hell of a lip syncer—but who knows? I’d have said the same about LaLa.

6. Rosé (last week: 2)

While Rosé is getting the same kind of Untucked edit as Denali, I’m less worried based on the streak she’s spent at the top. I’m guessing we’re heading towards a moment where Denali and Rosé, two close friends, start to diverge, one doing well and the other struggling. And I think Rosé is the better-positioned to thrive. Like last week, Rosé outshined Denali, at least in the challenge. (I vastly preferred Denali on the runway this week.) She’s super funny, and really goes for it when it comes to physical comedy. I’m betting Ru is noticing and appreciating, and just waiting for the right moment to finally give her a win. Perhaps the upcoming Rusical—the challenge Jan so infamously didn’t win—will give Rosé that chance?

5. Gottmik (last week: 7)

I give big points to any queen who wins the Reading Challenge, since it’s such a hallmark of the show. It’s like winning Snatch Game. (Which, can you believe we’re at the Reading Challenge before Snatch Game? I don’t remember that ever happening outside of an All Stars season.) Gottmik was solid in the challenge and on the runway this week, with an anal beads latex look that recalled Latrice Royale’s latex runway in All Stars 4 (albeit with a very different silhouette). She wasn’t going to win this week, but she did solid work in a challenge not explicitly tailored to her fashion-forward strengths. A good Gottmik week.

4. Tina Burner (last week: 3)

Tina was pretty clearly fourth in the pecking order, standing out in her skit with Elliott but not having enough of a character to skate into the top. (I probably would’ve put her there above Kandy, but either would be a clear third to the top two.) She also gave us a runway look without her usual fire-y colour palette! To quote Kelli from Insecure: “You know what that is? Growth.” Tina’s probably set to cruise to the endgame, but as of right now, I can’t quite see her as a threat for the top four. Something in her edit suggests she’ll be cut right before the finale. But we’ll see!

3. Kandy Muse (last week: 10)

A big bounce back up the ranking for Kandy after her brush with elimination last week. I think a large part of what landed her in the top three this week was her runway: It was a gorgeous look, complete with one of the coolest hats Drag Race has ever seen, and it represented a major step up for Kandy. She was also pretty good in the main challenge, riffing with Ross Mathews and Symone with aplomb. She just wasn’t quite as impressive as Symone—although, to be fair, that’s an impossibly high bar to clear. I do think the high placement is a good sign for Kandy moving forward. She’s shown that she can listen to the judges and recover, and that’s a major credit to her.

2. Symone (last week: 6)

Conceding that I am fully in the tank for Symone, and that it is incredibly hypocritical of me to make this argument when I said Gigi Goode getting to three wins too quickly showed production favouritism: I think Symone could’ve won this week. She turned out a stunning beaded look on the runway, which Ru literally called one of the best looks in Drag Race herstory. Her improv in the maxi-challenge was naturally funny, both in content and timing. And she was in her head about it! The fact that she did so well in the Reading Challenge was just icing on the cake. After a couple of weeks out of the spotlight, Symone came roaring back, and I’m quite hopeful she’s here to stay.

1. Olivia Lux (last week: 1)

My Symone stanning aside, there’s no doubt Olivia killed it this week, earning her second consecutive win. She slayed as a mime just out of Mimeology, nailing the physical comedy in such a smart, funny way. She also looked totally adorable on the runway, serving an entirely different look than the one she gave us last week. Olivia’s impressive as a runway chameleon; I don’t always love her looks, but I love that she shows us new characters every time. At this point she is the closest competition for Symone, and Ru’s clearly taken with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if this season turns into a battle between these two all the way to the end. And if it is, it will be the most charismatic battle you could imagine.

All tea, no shade: Join us every Friday at 4 p.m. EST for our Facebook livestream of Kiki with Kevin.