Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every week, we’re debriefing the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. Though we technically met the whole cast this week, we’re focusing on the seven who performed in this episode.
7. Acacia Forgot
If you’re going to do a live performance of a song for a Drag Race talent show—and you really shouldn’t, unless you can sing opera—you best make sure every element of the performance is perfect. Unfortunately for Acacia, it wasn’t flawless, and the other seven queens judged her quite harshly for it. I’d have a couple of other performances under Acacia’s, but I also can’t be bothered to protest this result too loudly. I feel for Acacia, though: knowing for a whole extra filming period that you’re going to have to Lip Sync for Your Life at the end of the episode has gotta be agony.
6. Joella
I am generally unenthused about Joella, formerly known as Joella Perry. Her looks are fine—I actually liked her entrance look quite a bit—but her talent show performance was so incredibly basic. Simply lip-syncing to an original song isn’t enough: give some stagecraft, some concept! Even Megami had the “Protect Queer Art” posters! More than that, though, Joella seems to be turning herself up to 11 in an effort to be more entertaining, and I never think that’s a good idea. Drag Race fans have shown time and again that they connect to authentic personalities who can back up their talk with talent: think of recent fan vote winners like WIllow Pill, Anetra and Nymphia Wind. If Joella can’t peel the layers back and show us more of who she is—her as a person, not as a KatyCat—I worry about her longevity in this competition.
5. Arrietty
I have her higher than Joella because I think she has more potential in the competition, but Arrietty would’ve actually gotten my seventh-place ranking in Rate-a-Queen. Her performance had no levels to it. Even non-drag dance performances should have some fluctuation, but especially in a talent show like this, you need to up the ante. I did really like her runway look, though, and if that’s what saved her from the bottom slot, I totally get it. It brought the drama in a big way, and I hope to see more of that from Arrietty moving forward.
4. Lydia B Kollins
Ru really likes that the “B” stands for “butthole,” huh? I would love to ask Ru why this particular naming choice delights him so much when he could barely stand to say “Tessa Testicle” on Global All Stars. (Not to mention him avoiding saying “Rileasa Slaves” at every turn on Drag Race UK, but that’s a conversation for another day.) Anyway, I’m intrigued by Lydia, even though I think she needs a bit more development in her ideas. Her Iron Maiden alien concept on the runway was strong, but felt like a bit of a hat on a hat. I’d almost have preferred more commitment to the Iron Maiden idea without the alien twist. Her puppet number was weird as hell and kinda didn’t go anywhere, but I admired the swing. I could see her going out second or making it to the finale—there’s a high level of variance here.
3. Lucky Starzzz
I’d have put Lucky in the top two on my personal Rate-a-Queen scorecard, and I was a little surprised she didn’t land there on the show as well. At the end of the day, Lucky and Jewels both did very typical modern Drag Race talent numbers, each owing a bit too much to “Burger Finger,” so I can understand how the queens wanted to vote for one and not the other. The best performance of the week was pretty clearly ahead of the pack, so this was more about which of these two would join Suzie Toot in the top. Still, Lucky’s clearly got the goods. I imagine we’ll see her in the top again soon.
2. Jewels Sparkles
Point of personal privilege: I hate that her first and last names are both plural. Jewel Sparkles, good. Jewels Sparkle, fine, although you still get that double-S sound in the middle. Jewel Sparkle, I get not going with it, too basic. But Jewels Sparkles? A lot of S-sounds in a short name! Anyway, Jewels did well this week, and while she did her best in the lip sync, Suzie’s unconventional approach just outfoxed her. I have a feeling we’ll see her back in the winners’ circle soon, though. She’s getting prominently featured in confessionals, which makes me think she’s in this for the long haul.
1. Suzie Toot
Huge congrats to Suzie on picking up the first win of the season! Her distinctive tap routine helped her stand out from the pack while still staying within the lip sync-or-bust metagame of the modern talent show. Michelle Visage is gonna be coming for her about her makeup, but I actually think she could benefit from that if she can give the judges a growth arc with her mug later in the season. And most impressive to me, Suzie proved she can win a lip sync, even when the song isn’t in her wheelhouse. That should keep her out of danger for quite some time—and could make her a real threat to win it all in a Lip Sync for the Crown scenario. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: right now, it’s a great first step for the Toot.
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