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. A Roast of Ross Mathews gave one queen a needed moment of redemption before the finale, but also sent two other queens packing.
7. DeJa Skye (last week: 5) — ELIMINATED
Flyers of the DeJa Skyes are officially grounded. There’s no pretending DeJa didn’t have an absolutely disastrous week: her roast was terrible, her runway was ill-fitting and decidedly not a tutu and her lip sync was the worst of the three. This was a clean sweep out of the competition for the Fresno queen. It’s funny: I never had any illusions that DeJa could win this season, but I fell in love with her nonetheless. She brought such joy to the show, and a sense that amid everything else, drag is fun. I’d love to see her back for an All Stars season, sure, but I’d also just be happy to see her on the road, bringing the house down on tour. Until we fly the DeJa Skyes again.
6. Jorgeous (last week: 6) — ELIMINATED
Alas, all good things must come to an end. I really fell for Jorgeous in the last few weeks of the competition, just as Ru seemingly lost interest in his chosen one. He tried his best by laughing at all of her jokes in the roast (even as literally no one else was laughing), and threw her a lifeline by asking if she was having fun. But when Jorgeous couldn’t even fake like she had a good time, it was seemingly curtains for the Nashville queen. I can’t see Jorgeous ever coming back for All Stars as a competitor—those seasons are even more comedy-based than regular seasons are. But do I need her back as a Lip Sync Assassin as soon as possible? I sure do!
5. Daya Betty (last week: 2)
Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” may not have been the most Daya Betty song in existence, but it was pretty close! She got a lip sync song that played to her strengths, and actively worked against those of her opponents. That was a recipe for Daya staying, even after a roast set in which every punchline took far too long to get to. I would be very surprised if Daya managed to win this season at this point, but it is notable that her villain edit has all but disappeared. That’s a good sign that she may be making the finale: since Season 10, Drag Race has really tried to make all of its finalists seem like viable options for the win. If Daya can turn it out in a Lip Sync for the Crown tournament, who knows? But she’s definitely still the safest bet to go home next week.
4. Angeria Paris VanMicheals (last week: 4)
I keep trying to talk myself out of the fact that somewhere in my gut, I have a feeling that Angeria is going home next week. As I said, Daya is the safest bet to go, and Angie’s dominance in the early season should be more than enough to secure her a spot. But narratively, Angeria has by far the weakest case to make the finale: we’ve heard almost nothing about her life before Drag Race compared to the other members of the final five and while she gets lots of confessionals, they’re almost always about other queens, not herself. We saw the same dynamic with Ginger Minj in All Stars 6, which contrasted with how Kylie Sonique Love constantly made the case for herself in confessionals. And look how that one turned out!
In this challenge, I thought Angeria was actually among the better roasters: half of the challenge is about attitude, and she sold her jokes well. But on the runway, her neon yellow-green gown wasn’t my favourite, and it didn’t really have a tutu. Not the strongest note for Angeria heading into the final five, and thus I wouldn’t be shocked if she goes home before the finale. (I’d just be massively disappointed not to see her there.)
3. Willow Pill (last week: 3)
Don’t let this ranking fool you: at this point, I pretty strongly believe Willow is going to win this season. She may skate the runway themes week after week (while wearing visually stunning garments, mind you) and she may only have one win, but she’s clearly got Ru’s favour, especially with Jorgeous gone. Plus, her drag mother, Yvie Oddly, also won with one maxi-challenge victory on her resumé. I do still worry about Willow in a Lip Sync for the Crown, but I’m betting she’ll have enough prepared to get her through.
This week, Willow’s roast was among the best, and I think she might’ve taken it if not for Bosco. But I’m placing her lower than Lady Camden solely based on their runway looks. Hey, look at me, using runway as a determining factor! What am I, the Canada’s Drag Race Season 1 judging panel?
2. Lady Camden (last week: 1)
I’ve been a Lady Standen for a while, but I can say it without exception at this point: I’m fully rooting for a Camden win. Her roast and runway this week only affirmed my belief that she has the stuff to go all the way, dumb echo joke or no. And if there’s one queen I trust in this top five to turn it out in a Lip Sync for the Crown, it’s Camden. (She’s already faced off against Angeria, Bosco and Daya once apiece!) Why I shy away from saying she’s going to win, though, is that the narrative is not on her side in the way it is with Willow. Even Bosco has a more compelling story: nearly eliminated, but came back to win the whole thing. And the amount of All Stars upside with Camden also makes me think they may want to save her win for a later season. We’ll just have to see how the finale turns out—if, of course, Camden makes it there. I think she will, but with this close of a race, anything could happen.
1. Bosco (last week: 7)
She’s back on top! Bosco recovered from a truly terrible few weeks with another maxi-challenge win, and it came at just the right time. Her roast performance was assured, confident and in command—and it helped that she had some of the best jokes of the night. On the runway, she also broke out of her bra-and-panties rut with a unique take on the tutu category. It wasn’t quite as polished as Camden’s, but it showed a real sense of who Bosco is as a queen.
I’ve been mentally counting Bosco out of the race for the crown, partly because I do find it hard to get behind her win when it took a golden chocolate bar for her to stay in the race. But the bigger factor is that, with three lip sync losses to her record, I’m just not sure I believe she can prevail in a Lip Sync for the Crown tournament. Maybe she shocks us all, but unless the finale format changes (a finale I do believe she’ll make it to), I’m predicting Bosco will fall short of winning it all.
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