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. While the results of Snatch Game of Love Island are across the board quite strong, the lack of recognition for one queen reaches the point of absurdity.

9. Mia Starr (last week: 8)—ELIMINATED

Well, this blows. To be frank, I do think that when a queen just utterly bombs a challenge, especially when no one else really does, their past performance becomes less relevant. And make no mistake: Mia bombed. She had the chance to save herself in the bottom two, but while Mia has demonstrated herself to be a capable lip syncer, I don’t think “Head Over Heels” was her best work. That all said, I do think Mia had a lot more to show in this competition, and her opponent in the bottom two is surviving on borrowed time. If anything, I think this might’ve been an occasion for a BenDeLaCreme-style save from Season 6 or Kandy Muse-style save from Season 13, where Ru keeps a top competitor even when they clearly lose the episode. Sadly, Ru wasn’t inclined to do that, and thus we lost Mia far earlier than I expected. I’m really going to miss her, and I think both the show and the competition will feel her absence quite significantly.

8. Kenya Pleaser (last week: 7)

Though I love her to pieces, and I’m never going to be mad about more Kenya on my television, this really was her week to go. She’s just not serving what the judges want, and the past two weeks—in which she delivered a genuinely very good performance (in the political ad) and a not great, but not terrible one (in Snatch Game)—have proven that in stark relief. I don’t really understand why Ru decided to keep Kenya around this week. Yes, she delivered her best lip sync performance yet, but does he really think Kenya is suddenly going to meet his expectations of her? I think her Chaka Khan runway for the ’80s Ladies category was actually the more egregious sin, and an indication, like a lot of her looks this season, that she just doesn’t have the runways to compete at this level. Why not let her go, and come back to All Stars more prepared? I dunno, guys, I’m puzzled by this one.

7. Juicy Love Dion (last week: 9)

Man, Ru fell out of love with Juicy real quick. She has two wins! And suddenly Ru is out here saying he has no idea who she is. Where did that come from? I think the more valid criticism of Juicy’s run so far is that she’s gotten a lot of help from the other queens, and when that help vanishes, she struggles. Jane Don’t basically presaged this in the second design challenge, when she helped Juicy but said in confessional that she wouldn’t be able to assist her forever. Lo and behold, this week Jane said she couldn’t help Juicy with her Snatch Game material, and she landed in the bottom. Now that Auntie Mia is gone, (grand)mother Athena Dion is Juicy’s last real lifeline in the competition. Circumstances have led me back to my question from very early in the season: which of the Dions will survive their seemingly inevitable bottom two showdown?

6. Darlene Mitchell (last week: 3)

Darlene disappointed relative to what I expected from her in this challenge. Mrs. Claus was a lame character choice; Darlene is someone who could absolutely handle impersonating a real person, so it was disappointing to see her go down the fictional-character route. And then she didn’t really do much with her! “Horny” is not enough of a trait to play for a whole Snatch Game, even when it’s a Snatch Game of Love. Her breaking repeatedly to laugh at Nini Coco’s David Attenborough didn’t help matters. I much preferred her take on Dolly Parton on the runway—why not try Dolly in the Snatch Game? Not one of Darlene’s best weeks, honestly.

5. Athena Dion (last week: 5)

I feel like Athena moreso figured out a solution to a problem than delivered a good Snatch Game—which, much like her strategic gameplay during Rate-a-Queen, speaks to how she is playing Drag Race well. Like, “Greta Onassis” is a nothing character, but it was something she could do well enough to avoid critique from the judges. I actually am struggling to think of anyone who has played the show itself in such a smart way—maybe Willow Pill? That’s obviously good company for Athena to be in, but suffice it to say that Ru seems much less invested in Athena than she was in Willow. What Athena does bring every week is a real polish on the runway, which I think is keeping her afloat even when she can’t find strategic leverage. Still, I think it’s only a matter of time before the panel makes their decision between Athena and Juicy, and I worry that even if she survives, Athena’s fire to win might be extinguished if Juicy goes.

4. Discord Addams (last week: 4)

I mean, what the hell? I really do think Discord could’ve won this week. Her being called just safe is absolutely wild, because when you think about it, it’s hard to pinpoint what she did “wrong.” Both of her physical transformations, as the pope and as Reba on the runway, were great. Every single joke she told in Snatch Game got a laugh. Her idea of her character was maybe not the most novel, but it’s an idea that’s won Snatch Game before (see: Trinity The Tuck’s Lucifer). I think it was smart to go with “The Pope” as a concept instead of any particular pope—it allowed her to still do a “person” without being tied down to impersonating one specific individual. The joke about the crucifixion being her favourite yoga pose was maybe my favourite gag of the entire challenge. I actually need Ru to explain in the next episode why Discord missed on being in the top here, because she was fantastic.

3. Myki Meeks (last week: 1)

This was a fun week for Myki, and I did really like her Drew Barrymore—but she’s the one I would’ve replaced Discord with at the top. While it was a vast improvement on Willow’s take on Drew in Season 14’s Snatch Game, and a genuinely strong impersonation, she was still lacking a bit in the punchline department. She was funny, just not as consistently so. As I said in my recap this week, if we’re going to continue with the idea that Snatch Game is ultimately about making Ru laugh versus celebrity impressions, then Discord outperformed Myki in that regard. If it’s going to be the opposite, then Ru owes it to both the queens and the viewers to communicate that clearly. More than anything, though, what would’ve knocked Myki out of the top three for me was her Olivia Newton-John runway look. It was just way too literal, and the judges’ preference for dragged-up versions in categories like this is well-documented. Not a bad week for Myki by any means, but I do think her high placement was misjudged.

2. Jane Don’t (last week: 2)

Whatever complaints one has about Jane’s dominance becoming a bit rote, certainly you can’t quibble with her actual performances. Her Truman Capote was pitch-perfect, a great take on a character right up Ru’s alley. She even had Brooke Shields, who knew Capote, raving about her “homage” to him! She also looked typically great on the runway. I do think her not winning this week was fair—I think both Nini and Discord outdid her—but unlike last week, where I quibbled with Jane being in the top over Discord, she was clearly among the best performers this week. Here’s my question, though: at this point, Jane has consistently finished in the top, but has yet to secure a win since the girl groups. What will it take to bump up Ru’s clear respect and admiration into such love that he gives her another victory?

1. Nini Coco (last week: 6)

And she’s back in the game, folks! Nini’s win was impressive this week, a real match of great Snatch Game and terrific runway look. It takes a rare queen to embody David Attenborough and Cyndi Lauper in the same episode and do both beautifully. But more notable to me is that Nini finally got the kind of season-encompassing praise that has so far eluded her. Ru calling her a powerhouse and a surprise is exactly the kind of thing Nini’s edit needed to get back on track, and she’s now looking like a far more serious threat for the crown than just a week ago. I knew my faith in her after Week 1 wasn’t misplaced! I don’t think she’s a lock for the finale just yet, but with both design and Snatch Game wins under her belt, she’s starting to look like some other iconic former finalists: Aquaria in Season 10, Gigi Goode in Season 12 and Gottmik in Season 13. Though only Aquaria won, that’s still very good company—and has got to be a comfort heading into the last handful of eliminations of the season.