Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Tuesday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. The “Moulin Ru!” Rusical almost sends someone home, but in the end we sit at seven queens for another week.
7. Bosco (last week: 6) — GOLD BAR
The gold bar reveal was destined to annoy me from the second it was first announced, but it came at a particularly unfortunate time. I ultimately like Bosco, and think she deserves a higher placement than seventh. But this whole episode was building to a Bosco elimination: she fought too hard for her part in the Rusical, executed it poorly, got named by everyone else as their pick to go home and got beaten in the lip sync by Jorgeous. And she just barely survived the LaLaPaRuZa the previous episode! It was an entirely fair week for Bosco to go home, but we instead got yet another non-elimination. Good for Bosco, and for fans of this cast sticking around for as long as possible. Bad news for people who miss competitive momentum on Drag Race.
6. Jorgeous (last week: 1)
I am fully signed on for Jorgeous to hang around as long as possible—but only until, say, fifth place. I want her to get as far into the season as she can without making it to the finale because I worry that she would just sweep a Lip Sync for the Crown. And while I’ve grown to very much enjoy her casual DGAF energy (“I didn’t learn shit”), I can’t support a Jorgeous victory on the whole. But imagining a Season 14 episode without Jorgeous is basically impossible at this point: she’s brought ditzy charm, killer lip syncs and as we saw on the runway this week, a willingness to drag a queen if she feels slighted. Saying that Bosco landed “in the bottom three times in one episode” may not technically have been true, but goddamn if it wasn’t a great line.
5. DeJa Skye (last placement: 1)
Flyers of the DeJa Skyes, I have bad vibes about where things are going for our girl. The edit all but ignored her this week before the Rusical, and while her performance was pretty great (especially in her solo section), the judges focused much more on her regrettable runway. If the narrative isn’t invested in her and the judges are putting her in the bottom three for runway alone, the writing’s on the wall. My guess is that DeJa surprised the show with being the clear best in Snatch Game, and so she stuck around longer than they had originally planned. But I would be floored if she doesn’t go home in the next two weeks.
4. Angeria Paris VanMicheals (last week: 5)
For someone who absolutely dominated the first half of this competition in a legitimately unprecedented way, it seems like Angeria’s chance at the crown is falling away—and that is bizarre to me. Angie is a big character, a great talking head with a great personality. Yet as opposed to several of the other queens left (and several who were already eliminated!), we know very little about her life off the show. Her wins came in early episodes more focused on other queens, particularly her supertease win, which was in an episode built around Willow Pill and Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté. And this week, Ross Mathews laid the groundwork for an argument against Angeria making the finals: she’s still doing well, but she’s not as excellent as she once was. I’d be pretty dismayed to not see her in the end, but with Bosco sticking around this week, I’m starting to worry Angie might be knocked out of the race at the last second.
3. Willow Pill (last week: 2)
I actually thought Willow was going to win after watching the Rusical, but quickly changed my tune upon seeing her runway. The idea behind it was cute enough, but the execution was lacking: it was cheap looking, and it barely fit the Mirror Mirror prompt. That doesn’t take away from Willow’s fun performance as the Green Fairy, which was the kind of meaty, one-scene role that can stand out among the crowd. (Think Shea Couleé in “Kardashian: The Musical” as Blac Chyna.) Again, though, Pangina Heals’ note on The Pit Stop that Willow reversed her choreography does alter my initial excitement about her performance. Still, at this point, Willow is my prediction for the win—but I do think one other queen has a narrative that could steal her shine.
2. Daya Betty (last week: 3)
I had a lot of fun with Daya this week—the most I’ve had with her all season. She’s fully leaning into her villainy, keeping tally during the vote for who, between Bosco and Lady Camden, should play Saltine (and even creating a tie vote to make Willow decide!). With Jasmine Kennedie gone, her antics are less focused on just one person, and she’s able to keep the drama light and watchable. And in the Rusical, Daya ably took on the P!nk-esque role of Uniqueness, redeeming her “Get the Party Started” lip sync from the talent show in Episode 2. I wasn’t quite as into her as the judges were (though I did love her KISS-inspired runway) but I gotta give the gal props. Daya’s ending this season remarkably strong, and I’m gonna guess a roast will give her the second win she needs to bound into the finale.
1. Lady Camden (last week: 4)
And it’s another win for the Lady Standens! This was a tremendous victory, and it’s remarkable how, if Camden had gotten her own way, it may not have happened. Mama Zee was just so clearly the best role in “Moulin Ru!”—it just took a pep talk from Angeria for Camden to shake off the bad vibes of her fight with Bosco and commit to it. Still, I co-sign Jorgeous’ take on the argument: Bosco needlessly put Camden down in the process of fighting for Saltine, and Camden was right to not give into that pressure. She basically got the best of both worlds: she stood her ground and she got the actual better part.
Can Camden win? She would have an unusual edit for a victor, having been all but invisible for the first few episodes of the season, but I’m starting to think it could happen! Unlike DeJa, whose moment in the spotlight was brief, and Angie, who had her hot streak early, Camden’s momentum is peaking at the right time. And unlike Daya, Bosco and Jorgeous, when Camden is highlighted in the edit, she’s been a purely heroic character. It’s a Jinkx Monsoon-like edit, just without Rolaskatox coming after her. I do think Willow probably still has the edge, but if she falls victim to a lip sync loss—either in the rest of the season or the Lip Sync for the Crown—Camden could leap her way to the crown.
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