Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every week, we’re debriefing the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. This week turns the power rankings on their head, as one of the competition’s frontrunners nearly goes home—and a previous maxi-challenge winner actually does get eliminated.

10. Vita VonTesse Starr (last placement: 5)—ELIMINATED

What seemed unthinkable circa the season premiere felt obvious by the end of this episode. Vita consistently proved herself incapable in any kind of challenge other than design, and she was the clear worst of the week. She put up her best fight in a lip sync yet to Dua Lipa’s “Houdini,” and against a weaker competitor might’ve been able to stay. Unfortunately for her, she was going up against a frontrunner with two maxi-challenge wins who utterly crushed the lip sync. I like Vita, and I’m sad to see her go, but I don’t think there’s any reasonable argument that this elimination is unfair.

9. Juicy Love Dion (last placement: 1)

Oof, what a drop. Juicy was riding high after the Rate-a-Queen talent show, statistically earning the best ratings across both episodes and earning her second maxi-challenge win in the process. But this challenge was a stark reminder of just how much work Myki Meeks put in as Juicy’s scene partner to get her that RDR Live win. Without someone naturally great at this kind of challenge, Juicy had no one to lift her up, and she floundered badly. Still, I’m surprised Ru didn’t keep her safe over Mia Starr, since Ru seems much more invested in Juicy—maybe the host just has faith that Juicy can save herself in any lip sync. If so, don’t be surprised if this is not Juicy’s first time fighting for her life, particularly with more comedy challenges like Snatch Game on the way.

8. Mia Starr (last placement: 2)

Mia’s bottom three placement feels more circumstantial to me than anything else. Basically everyone but the bottom two did, at baseline, well this week, and Mia’s ad was the worst of the good. I do agree with Jamal Sims that not revealing her breastplate for a political ad all about mandating them (sometimes I read back what I write about this show and just laugh) was a bad call. Especially considering her main argument for getting the sketch over Darlene Mitchell was that she has a breastplate! But her character was solid, she had at least one great line (the “food stamps, but for breasts” one) and she delivered her lines well. I don’t think she was ever in real jeopardy of elimination this week.

7. Kenya Pleaser (last week: 3)

I raised my eyebrow when Jamal pulled out a bullshit criticism of Kenya missing “frustration” in her sketch. It was nitpicky to the point of ridiculousness, and we typically only see those from Jamal when the show wants to discredit a queen. (Remember when Onya Nurve being slow to pick up steps in rehearsal, only to absolutely smash it during the performance, was brought up to keep her from the Rusical win?) Kenya’s ad was great! Making the character opposing clown queens an imperious pageant queen—complete with absurd name, “Tasha St. James Alexander Dupree VanMicheals, your reigning Miss International Diva Queen”—was inspired, and her delivery was spot-on. I cackled that the ad was presented by “The Roxxxy Andrews Fund” and the “Jinkx Monsoon Can Still Catch These Hands Organization.” Season 5, you will always be famous! But I fear Kenya has fallen out of whatever favour she had with the judges, and we’re just marking time until she’s eliminated.

6. Nini Coco (last placement: 3)

Colour me a bit perplexed by Nini’s edit. On the one hand, we got some real warning signs this week, as the Rate-a-Queen results reflected that Nini might not be that well-liked in the room, and she was portrayed as being carried by Discord Addams in the production of their ads. But when we got to the main stage, Nini had maybe the best look of the week, got equal praise to Discord for their challenge performances, and generally seems as well-regarded by Ru as ever. So what gives?

I think, to use video game terminology, the show is “nerfing” Nini a bit. So far, she’s had only one real misstep, and that was caused by a medical issue (her voice in the girl group challenge). She has otherwise been pitch-perfect on the runway and solid even in challenges she doesn’t win. But this season is very much being edited as a fluid, competitive race. Previous challenge winners are being made to lip sync for their lives, previous underdogs are on the rise and even Jane Don’t, indisputably at the top of the heap, is getting the strangest “poor little frontrunner” edit. Nini’s consistency would be out of place with the rest, so she’s being given just enough story to make her run feel more uneven than it actually is. I’m knocking her down a bit on the list this week because of this, but I still feel pretty good about her chances to go the distance.

5. Athena Dion (last week: 1)

A quietly solid week for Athena, no? She didn’t get much shine for her Prop 6969 ad, maybe because she was paired with the eventual challenge winner, but I thought it was basically a perfect version of that southern, conservative woman character. (Which, admittedly, is a bit tired as a trope, so maybe that’s why the judges’ praise was more muted.) Athena did everything right this week, including on the runway. I agreed with Michelle Visage, the gold lining on her coat really took the look to the next level. Hilariously, I’d say her performance this week was far better for Athena than the one she won for—but hey, that’s how the Rate-a-Queen cookie crumbles.

4. Discord Addams (last week: 4)

Good things are coming for Discord, I’d say. Ru’s critiques seemed very focused on the idea of Discord breaking out from the middle of the pack, only for her to technically land in a just-safe placement once again. I don’t think the show bothers to include that kind of talk if we’re not going to see a bigger moment of triumph for Discord in the future. Honestly, I’d have put her in the top over Jane this week. Her biblically accurate angel look was terrific, easily her best runway look yet, and her repeated “date a sister” whisper in her political ad was giving “Club 96” in all the best ways. Also, I screamed at her and Nini’s hesitant-but-committed makeout scene. Discord continues to surprise!

3. Darlene Mitchell (last placement: 4)

It was close on my personal scorecard between Darlene and Myki Meeks this week, and I might personally have gone with Darlene. But I think the fact that she didn’t win, plus Jane’s continued dominance track-record-wise (more on that in a minute), means I have to relegate Darlene to the bronze medal here. She’s undoubtedly doing well in the competition, clearly having gained Ru’s favour and making clear efforts to improve in her weak points. Other queens might not make much effort to respond to judge criticisms of their looks—remember Vanessa Vanjie just continuing to walk out in bodysuits in Season 11, no matter what Michelle said?—but Darlene is going to fix her shoe situation come hell or high water. On the runway, I absolutely loved her Rocky Horror-style X-ray look. Dumb and funny, but still well executed. I do believe Darlene has a win coming her way; the question will be if, like Lydia B Kollins before her, it will be one shining moment for Ru’s fave before her elimination, or if she might be able to go all the way.

2. Jane Don’t (last week: 2)

With her high placement this week, Jane breaks Angeria Paris VanMicheals’ record for the most consecutive top-scoring episodes in a row from the start of a season. And, naturally, she does so on a high placement I don’t think she deserved. Jane was very good in her political ad; I loved the running “gonorrhea” joke in particular. But it was much of what we know Jane can already do. For better or worse, succeeding on Drag Race is partially about being able to surprise. In the same way that a queen lip syncing too many times risks spoiling all their tricks, Jane’s consistent success in performance and comedy tasks means we’re seeing her full range of skills quite early. I’d put her ad more in the Athena-Kenya-Nini range of “solid, not spectacular” work than among Darlene, Discord and Myki’s surprising, terrific performances. Ru’s clearly loving Jane, and she may just be unstoppable. But for me, this would’ve been her first dip into safe territory.

1. Myki Meeks (last week: 5)

Revenge of the Meeks is complete. Myki earned her first win with something that felt distinctly her: a silly comic premise (“concerned American citizen Stephanie Miller,” aka “Lollipop”) that she nailed with perfect comic timing and great jokes. The “NO!”/”¡NO!” bit was such an easy joke, but it had me cackling. Then on the runway, while I have to dock some points that the judges couldn’t even figure out what it was without her telling them—Michelle guessing doctor made me laugh—I still really liked the overall impression. Like I said, I do think I would’ve ultimately given the victory to Darlene, but narratively, it’s so satisfying for Myki to take this. She’s fully out of #8 territory on this power ranking; now, let’s see if she can keep up the momentum.