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. Now that we’re at the top 10, it’s easier to determine who is breaking out from the pack.
12. Orion Story (last week: 9) — ELIMINATED
As mentioned plenty in this week’s recap, there just wasn’t a way this episode was ending without Orion going home. Her energy wasn’t quite right for this competition, and I wish the show had demonstrated a bit more restraint before immediately bringing her back two weeks ago. (Honestly, if they had to bring someone back, why not have Daya Betty and Orion lip sync for a chance to reenter the race?) Still, did the edit really need to bury Orion as thoroughly as it did? She was going home anyway! At least she got a great exit line in: “Y’all got it the first time.”
11. Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté (last week: 11) — REMOVED
Such a bummer (and a genuine shock) to see Kornbread go, but I’m glad she got so much time in the first few episodes of this season to win fans over before her departure. I’ll be interested to see when and how she comes back to the series; not automatically giving her the pass to Season 15 seems purposeful. Perhaps she’s headed straight to All Stars? Or across the pond for a future UK Versus The World season—maybe even against her fellow fan favourite gone-too-soon queen, Victoria Scone? The world is Kornbread’s oyster, and I have no doubt that however she comes back on our TV screens, she’ll be as much of a force as the first time.
10. Jorgeous (last week: 10)
It was lovely to hear more about how Jorgeous got her start in drag this week, explaining that her family has been incredibly supportive (even coming to her shows in bars before she turned 18!). I’ve mocked Ru’s far-too-quick “born to do drag” blessing, because it’s too associated with Ru picking an early favourite (like when he said it to Krystal Versace). But I do think there’s truth to it beyond just Ru’s favouritism: Jorgeous is really talented at the art of drag, in a way that belies her youth. Her very strong lip sync this week was greater evidence of that. However, her work in the performance challenges is consistently under par, and her wordy, uninspired work in the PSA this week was no exception. How will she fare in next week’s design challenge?
9. Jasmine Kennedie (last week: 8)
Honestly, flip a coin between which queen would be the one to lip sync against Orion. Jasmine was pretty dreadful in the ad, with her cadence going from Count von Count, as Michelle Visage noted, to ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Where I think she scored above Jorgeous, thus ultimately keeping her out of the lip sync, was on the runway. That corset was a dream, and Ru was right that it looked like something right out of Alyssa Edwards’ wardrobe. In other news, if Untucked is any indication, the other queens still really don’t like Jasmine. I’ve yet to see something from her that was egregiously bad; it seems there’s just a mid-level annoyance with everything she does at this point. Kornbread may have offered up a “no hard feelings” olive branch in her exit video to Jasmine, but the other queens aren’t on that wavelength.
8. Daya Betty (last week: 5)
I’m placing Daya this low largely because of her egregious misread in Untucked that her teammates could be in the bottom. That speaks to one of two things: either she doesn’t have a good read on what will work for the judges, or she was reacting out of a place of jealousy. The latter isn’t a great look, but it’s not as big of a deal in the competition. But the former could be worrisome—we’ve seen plenty of queens over the years not grasp what the judges want from them and go home early for it. (In this vein, I do get why Daya wants critiques, but that’s a path Jan walked to an eighth-place finish once before.) In terms of her output this week, I thought Daya was pretty middle-of-the-pack all around: her runway was okay, and while she was in the strongest group, she was the weakest of the trio. She at least achieved the distinction of surviving her fellow first-out returnee sister this week.
7. DeJa Skye (last week: 3)
I thought DeJa would do better in this PSA, considering how effective she was in the acting challenge last week. But she got in her head a bit, and unlike with Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Michelle Visage’s attempts to get her out of her funk didn’t stick. On the runway, her pastel bunny look was too many ideas in one, and in Untucked, she was pretty snippy with everyone else in the room. Not a great week for DeJa! Were it not for Daya’s misread of her teammates’ performance, I’d probably have put DeJa below her. They’re both struggling to stand out at this point.
6. Kerri Colby (last week: 12)
Well, Kerri got ugly—or at least, as ugly as Kerri could ever look. The returning first-out queens laughed about her calling herself ugly, but I do admire that she’s listening to the critiques. On average, this week was a pretty poor showing by most of the cast, so Kerri scores in the top half of the power ranking by virtue of simply trying to respond to what the judges have told her so far. She was second to Angeria in the Tempest DuJour group, too, but missed a couple of moments that could’ve been major laugh lines. A better episode for Kerri than last week, but not quite a triumphant return to form.
5. Maddy Morphosis (last week: 6)
I am once again surprised by Maddy, who was one of the funniest in the PSA this week and turned out a stunner of a Spring Has Sprung runway. She wasn’t the only one to interpret spring as a rainy season—challenge-winner Bosco also did it, with a reveal—but the way she used fringe as rain made for a striking visual on the runway. Unfortunately, as has been well-noted by the fandom at this point, Maddy cannot walk properly while modeling, which makes even her best looks read flat in presentation. True, being able to model walk is not a requirement of drag, but it is a requirement of Drag Race. I worry she’s going to get called out on her runway stomp soon—if she can’t fix it, that may be what ultimately sends her home.
4. Willow Pill (last week: 2)
Hilarious that Willow’s worst week so far involved her being one of the best in her PSA group and having the best runway look of the week. Doing the house headpiece for her Spring Has Sprung garment would’ve been lovely enough, but the “Help!” written in red on the back gave her presentation that signature Willow wink. At this point, my money is on Willow to win the season; she’s not performing the best so far—that’s Angeria—but she’s doing really well, and is getting the bulk of the narrative focus (especially now that Kornbread has left). Combined with Ru’s obvious love for her, I think she’s got a one-way ticket to the endgame.
3. Lady Camden (last week: 7)
This is a really nice development for all my fellow Lady Standens out there. She made it back to the top-scoring group, and was a major character of the episode for the first time all season. I mentioned in last week’s power ranking that things could’ve gone either way for Camden based on her edit so far, and I did get worried when the show suddenly started focusing on her desire to win. If anything, I think Camden is walking out in even better shape than a win would’ve gotten her: now that she’s been tasked with speaking louder, she’s got a bit of a growth arc ahead. One other note: I don’t think Camden is getting the credit she deserves on the runway. All of her looks have a distinct POV, and they’re campy without being costumey. I’m impressed!
2. Angeria Paris VanMicheals (last week: 1)
Though she was pretty clearly third of the top three this week, owing to some construction issues with her Cardi B-inspired runway, I still think Angeria is at the top of the pack. She’s so naturally funny that she’s going to find her way into the high-scoring group whenever there’s a comedy-slanted challenge. (I’m very excited to see who she does for Snatch Game.) Fun fact: by never placing below high in her first four episodes, Angeria has had the strongest start to her run in the flagship Drag Race series since Season 1. In that season, Ongina also won two challenges and scored high twice before being eliminated the very next week in a shocking boot. Let’s hope no such misfortune comes to Angeria—she’s too good to lose!
1. Bosco (last week: 4)
Condragulations to the Seattle queen on her first win! I truly have done a 180 on Bosco; I just needed her to demonstrate that she could wear something outside her range before I got completely on board. She’s a wry, funny confessionalist, and she finds ways into challenges that allow her to deliver different kinds of performances every week. We’re seeing some pretty great range from Bosco, and it’s a pleasant surprise. I think she’s still pretty clearly outside of the Angeria-Willow dominance of the season, but if anyone can fully work their way into the top, it’s going to be her.
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