‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 13, Episode 10 power ranking: Two of hearts

Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Saturday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. A Freaky Friday-esque challenge prompts the dolls to make each other over to look more like themselves. Two opposites find themselves at the top of the pack, while two favourites have to lip sync against each other.

8. Denali (last week: 2) — ELIMINATED

Well, this sucks. Denali had really been rising in my estimation over the past few weeks, and it felt like the edit was rising alongside her. But alas, because her makeover of Olivia Lux was just okay and because Olivia’s makeover of her was the worst of the lot, Denali wound up in the bottom two. I’m not sure even a less restrictive dress would’ve helped her in the lip sync: “Shackles (Praise You)” is not a song designed for Denali’s usual dance-heavy style of performance. I might still have given her the win over Olivia, but I don’t think it was a blowout. See you in All Stars, queen.

7. Olivia Lux (last week: 7)

Is the polite diva’s reign in this competition destined to end early? Though she has two maxi-challenge wins, Olivia’s trajectory is on a decided downturn after a poor showing in Snatch Game and being the obvious eliminee this week. She was saved in the lip sync, but again, I don’t think one queen clearly out-performed the other. I’ve been a big fan of Olivia’s—at her best, she shines in a way that can’t be taught. Unfortunately, her light has felt dimmer in recent weeks. She needs to recapture what makes her great to get back in a power position in this competition.

6. Tina Burner (last week: 5)

Were this challenge not judged in teams, my guess is Tina would’ve been lip-syncing next to Olivia and likely would have gone home. Her makeup job on Rosé was kind of a mess, though she did do a decent enough job embodying Rosé in her own walk. She’s just not building any momentum, and that’s a dangerous spot to be in with just seven queens left. There’s a way she wins the next episode and slides into the final six—particularly if Olivia has another off week —but I doubt it at this point. I think Tina’s time in this competition may be burning out.

5. Rosé (last week: 3)

Fun fact: This is actually Rosé’s first brush with danger throughout this whole competition. She and Gottmik were the only queens left to not even log a low placement before this week. In any other judging format, she would’ve been fine. Her work on Tina and her own presentation of Tina’s drag were enough for a safe placement. But because of the judging by teams, the two of them were next in line to lip sync behind Denali and Olivia. Still, I don’t think Rosé should fret: She’s doing very well, and unless she suddenly gets Denali’d, she’s not in immediate danger.

4. Gottmik (last week: 1)

The fact that Gottmik is number four this week speaks to how strong the results were among the top queens. Gottmik did a really nice job translating the signatures of her drag—the white face, the exposed chest—onto Kandy, and what’s more, she really sold Kandy’s attitude on the runway. Had Symone and Utica not knocked it out of the park, Gottmik and Kandy would’ve been entirely solid choices for the win. I grow more and more impressed by Gottmik every week. I’m still Team Symone, but if either she or Gottmik wins this season my L.A. heart would be very proud.

3. Kandy Muse (last week: 6)

I’m really impressed with Kandy for not letting Denali’s critique of her on the runway slide. As Denali herself said in Untucked, she had no confidence in what she was saying, and Kandy knew it was wrong to let linger in the air. Ru and the judges seemed excited by Kandy’s confidence, too.

There was a debate earlier this season in Untucked over whether Kandy was confident or arrogant. While I was worried that Kandy didn’t have a solid understanding of her place in the competition at that point, her brush with elimination seemed to give her a much-needed dose of perspective. She’s still passionate about her work, but she’s using that passion to defend herself, rather than stew every time she’s not in the top. You can feel Kandy’s pride in her drag, and her strong work this week is proof she has many reasons to be proud.

2. Utica (last week: 8)

Well damn, Utica! This was such a pleasant surprise. You can tell winning the lip sync last week really lit a fire under her ass: She got over her fears about being put in Symone’s drag and paid an amazing tribute to her partner. I cackled when she so easily got Symone’s walk down pat, and she nailed it in her actual runway presentation.

Her makeover of Symone was weird, wacky and most of all quirky—all the signatures of Utica. I’m undecided on whether this week represents a real change for Utica, or if it’s just a blip in her trajectory. I hope it’s the former; she’s got the skills to make it to the end of this competition, and if she can keep channeling some parts of Symone, she may be able to get to the finale.

1. Symone (last week: 4)

Symone is back on the throne with her third win. It’s not that she has been doing poorly, really—outside of the Rusical, she’s been in the top once, got a lot of fan praise for her Harriet Tubman in Snatch Game and has consistently stunned on the runway. But she hasn’t been dominating in a way that makes the season boring. She’s been vulnerable, let her guard down and allowed herself to try new things even when it freaks her out. This week was a tremendous example of that. Her makeover of Utica was nothing short of masterful, and her own presentation of Utica’s drag was performance-art-weirdo in all the best ways.

There’s been a lot of discussion about exactly how sewn up this season is for Symone, particularly after Ru’s adoring “star quality” critique in the winners’ circle premiere. Since then, queens like Rosé, Olivia and especially Gottmik have made their own cases as to why they deserve the win. But while I’m excited about those queens, too—especially Gottmik nowadays—I remain steadfastly a Symone stan. She’s got the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to win this whole competition. She just needs to avoid another slip-up like in the Rusical. If she can manage that, I pity anyone who has to compete against her in the finale.