Welcome to RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Power Rankings! Every Friday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 3 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. We’ve got our third winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK! How did they fare in the finale, and how do they compare to our other two winners?
RUNNER-UP: Ella Vaday (last week: 1)
Can a queen largely ignored by the show’s edit for weeks ultimately win Drag Race? That was the question that hung over Ella’s run this season. When there were still a good deal of queens competing, Ella was often sidelined, minimized even in the first episode she won (as part of Pick’n’Mix in the girl group challenge). When she did start to get more screen time, it was when there were fewer queens in the competition—everyone left was getting substantial attention in the edit.
For a show that often telegraphs who will be winning early on, Ella’s lack of presence in the “story” of the season was a troubling sign that, for all the merits of her impressive track record, she might not be able to cross the finish line. And Ru’s lack of substantial praise for her stood out as a negative, too: while a dynamite performance earned mostly “job well done” plaudits from the host, even Krystal Versace’s worst moments inspired gushing praise on Ru’s part.
Indeed, that lack of real attention proved to be her downfall, as she lost despite having the best track record in the competition. She joins Bimini Bon Boulash and Divina de Campo in that particular club, and joins Scarlett BoBo—as well as, funnily enough, Kitty Scott-Claus—as the only queens to never score so much as “low” in any challenge but not win the season. (Bianca del Rio and Envy Peru accomplished the same, but of course, both won their seasons.) She can walk out of the competition proud of what she accomplished, even if the finale was a bit of a down note on which to end her run.
RUNNER-UP: Kitty Scott-Claus (last week: 2)
Before seeing the results of the fan vote, I had incorrectly assumed each of the finalists would have some major strength going into the endgame: Ella Vaday would have the track record, Krystal Versace would have Ru’s adoration and Kitty would have the fan support. But it was Ella who got the most response from fans on the show’s various #Team social media posts, leaving Kitty without much of a platform to mount her case for the win. She’s a terrific queen—my favourite of the top three—with a great mix of professionalism and irreverence, and she’d make for a great third winner of Drag Race UK. However, it’s hard to win if you’re not leading in some metric by the finale: Kylie Sonique Love had the fans, for instance, while Lawrence Chaney had Ru’s adoration. (Symone actually had both, plus the track record.)
The judging in the finale unfortunately demonstrated that, for all her prowess and star power, Kitty wasn’t a viable choice for the win. The critiques of her ranged from the muted to the dismissive, aside from the expected plaudits that she’s incredibly talented. I wish we’d heard more about how naturally charismatic Kitty is, and how she’d have stood out in the pantheon of Drag Race winners as a personality queen. But this was not Kitty’s time. I do think she’s in great shape for a potential future second run, though. Kitty Scott All Stars Upside, to say the least.
WINNER: Krystal Versace (last week: 3)
If there’s a lesson to be taken from Krystal’s season, it’s that starting strong out of the gate is not inherently good or bad for a queen’s trajectory. True, Krystal was able to make an impression before either of her fellow finalists, and earned Ru’s adoration from the word “go.” However, it also created a perception of her as overrated within the fandom, and repetitive on the show. Graham Norton and especially Michelle Visage hit her early and often with that critique. It resulted in an unfortunate dynamic in which, if she kept to her usual fashion queen aesthetic, she was dinged for being repetitive, but if she went outside the box, the reviews of her work were underwhelming. As a result, she faded in the competition just as Ella and Kitty rose.
But that was, of course, a fake-out. Like with Lawrence last season, Ru’s early favourite became the winner. If anything, Krystal’s fading helped give her an underdog arc coming into the finale so that when she (predictably) smashed it, it would be all the more impressive. Coming out of the finale, there was just no denying that Krystal did the best. And for that reason, despite the choice being obvious, I think it’s ultimately the right one. Congrats to our youngest-ever winner; long may she reign!
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