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. A disappointing Snatch Game leads to a shocker of an elimination, while a frontrunner racks up another win.
11. Crystal Envy (last week: 3)—ELIMINATED
I’ll admit, while I bought into the theory that Crystal’s “professional” edit would come back to bite her, I didn’t expect it would happen now. Especially when she landed in the bottom two against Lana Ja’Rae, I figured it would take her completely bombing to be sent home. But in retrospect, it seems like Ru just never really connected with Crystal. If there’s anything Ru can say to a queen to really damn them in modern Drag Race, it’s that they take themselves too seriously. Crystal tried to (cue the Loosey LaDuca) let loose; if successful, it could’ve given her a storyline. But you could actually see Ru and the judges giving that storyline to Sam Star this week, which left Crystal with no place to go narratively. I’d still have saved her over Lana—I don’t think the lip sync was definitive enough in Lana’s favour to overcome the disparity in their track records—but Ru disagreed. See you on a vs. The World, Crystal!
10. Lana Ja’Rae (last week: 11)
Lana skated awfully close to elimination this week, and for her Rosa Parks Snatch Game, it would’ve been a deserved one. While I get that her first joke got grabbed from under her by Ru, she knows how much the host loves saying “Is the bus still running?” Did she really not anticipate that Ru might ask her first? More to the point, was that all the material she had prepared? I’m not of the mind that there’s no way to make Rosa work as a Snatch Game character (Quinta Brunson actually presented some really good ideas in critiques), but Lana’s impersonation was a total misfire. I’m a little surprised Lana stuck around after losing her wig in the lip sync, usually such a no-no, but she overall was more in tune with the song than Crystal was. I just don’t see much of a path forward for Lana to succeed in this competition based on what we’ve seen from her so far.
9. Arrietty (last week: 1)
I kinda feel for Arrietty here. She nearly got eliminated, had this big come-from-behind victory moment by smashing the Ball and then just wound up in the bottom three again. Deflating! I can’t quibble with the placement, though, even though I wish another queen had gotten the low spot instead for their own personal growth. (More on that in a second.) I actually understood Arrietty’s strategy with playing Cupid as a dim baby: at its best, the characterization would allow her to avoid thinking too much on her feet and rely on predetermined material. The problem is, even in Snatch Game’s hobbled modern form, quick thinking is still prized above all else. And none of the material Arrietty brought with her was particularly funny. Still, Arrietty redeemed herself with a genuinely great runway, and one of her worst challenges is now firmly behind her. I do worry for her on an inevitable roast challenge, though.
8. Suzie Toot (last week: 6)
Suzie’s poor performance in Snatch Game is one thing; her absolute delusion about that performance is another. I mostly said my piece about her Ellen Greene in my recap’s final thoughts, but I’ll just add that I’m not sure the character was the right choice to appeal to Ru, either. Have we ever heard Ru talk about Little Shop of Horrors? And we know he has a general allergy to theatre queens. If you’re going to go with an old-school choice, better to appeal to Ru’s sensibilities, otherwise your references are going to go over his head, your fellow queens’ and the audience’s. (No matter how many “isms” you supposedly throw in there.) I ultimately think Suzie’s surprisingly great iron maiden runway kept her from critiques this week, but I’d actually have appreciated it if she got negative notes. I think Suzie needs some guidance to prevent her delusions from taking over, and I’m not sure merely a safe placement is going to offer her the chance to course-correct.
7. Acacia Forgot (last week: 10)
I’m not sure I’ve written enough about how Acacia is just quietly turning in safe comedy challenge performances. They’re not spectacular by any measure, but she’s able to do just enough in every one of them to avoid being anywhere near the bottom two. Only the premiere talent show and Ball challenges have tripped her up. She’s surprisingly competent. Granted, I thought her take on Trisha Paytas was basically a nothingburger, but she carried herself well and didn’t let Ru see her sweat—which went a long way in this group. On the runway, she served a military look for the Nailed It runway, with swiss army knife nails to match. It was actually pretty cute! I may not always remember Acacia in my recaps, but she’s made it through seven episodes and to the top 10 without much trouble. That’s not too shabby.
6. Lydia B Kollins (last week: 9)
I thought Lydia’s David Lynch was a really good “solution” to the problem that Snatch Game poses for queens not great at comedy. Lydia knew David would be strange and stand out from the pack, but she also had a clear idea of the character and came prepared with enough jokes to survive. Again, in another Snatch Game, this might not have been enough, but she was lucky to be competing against a weak field. Her long-nailed runway look was kind of cool, but I don’t think the whole concept came together well. This is a bit of an issue with Lydia’s looks: she’ll have one or two features that are impressive, but then there’s just a very basic garment underneath. (This was also true of her puppet jockey look last week, which I mostly liked but got pilloried on social media.) I have grown to really like Lydia, but I think we’re consistently seeing that her drag and her drag persona need a little more time to cook before she’s fully ready for the big leagues.
5. Kori King (last week: 7)
I am gagged to report that Kori was robbed of a top placement this week. Granted, of the two we’ve seen, she delivered the inferior Big Ang Snatch Game performance, but still! She was funny, both off-the-cuff and with prepared material. She looked absolutely absurd, but few of the actual looks were good this go-around. (I’m still terrified thinking of Crystal’s Nicole Richie paint.) On the runway, I can’t help but feel like her French mime runway was for another category, but she just added French tip nails to make it fit “Nailed It.” It was a cute enough look, but much like most things with Kori in this competition, it just didn’t feel at the level of everyone else. Kori has a ton of charisma and confidence, so I’m not sure why she’s failing to stand out in the crowd—but at least this week, I’d have given her kudos over at least one of the top queens.
4. Sam Star (last week: 2)
Sam got remarkably negative critiques for a queen who I would call, technically, the third-strongest performer of the week. Ross Mathews practically lamented the fact that Sam had scored in the top. As the critiques went on, I understood more what the judges are trying to do: with Crystal out the door, it’s time for Sam to step up as the pageant queen who needs to cut up. They’re basically trying to revive Trinity the Tuck’s Season 9 storyline and make it Sam’s. Ross’ comment about Sam’s syringe nails runway revealing “a little freak” inside Sam waiting to come out? It’s honestly too obvious. I hope Sam can rise to the occasion, because if she can’t, she might find herself going the way of Crystal.
3. Lexi Love (last week: 5)
I can’t make heads-or-tails of Lexi’s placement this week beyond feeling that the judges just wanted to finally talk to Lexi. Her Gilbert Gottfried impersonation was a total failure to launch, and while it was entertaining to watch her swing and miss repeatedly, that’s hardly enough to justify a high placement. Neither was her Cher nails runway, which, while cute as hell, wasn’t in the top half of Lexi’s runways from this season. But hey, Lexi has been giving us lore drops and drama in the werk room, so I can understand the judges wanting to finally have a chat with her. I just wish they didn’t trample all over the idea of what makes a good Snatch Game in order to do it.
2. Jewels Sparkles (last week: 4)
Though I dock points for doing a fictional character, I add even more points back for Jewels being one of the only queens who seemed to understand how to play Snatch Game. She came prepared with an idea of her character and a prop (the foot!), and she really surprised me by being so decidedly not like her usual persona. I’ve been very high on Jewels’ performances so far this season—besides, ironically, the one that landed her in the top two—so I’m glad to see her finally get some kudos. I liked the overall impression of her bionic spine-inspired runway look, but I wish the corset fit better. In total, though, this was a very good week for Jewels at a time when nearly everyone else had a mediocre-to-bad one. Small victories!
1. Onya Nurve (last week: 8)
Another one, thank you! Onya Nurve may have gotten on the nerves of much of the fanbase after last week, but she promptly followed that up with another definitive victory. It’s becoming clear to me that Onya is simply better equipped to succeed on Drag Race than her competitors. If we wanna talk about the four qualities required of America’s Next Drag Superstar, she has Charisma out the wazoo, she’s Unique in her approach to drag among this crop, she is the living embodiment of Nerve and she’s an incredibly Talented performer. Run her the prize money and crown, RuPaul! Her Eddie Murphy was the only truly competent, non-original character Snatch Game of the lot, and her ’90s-inspired runway, complete with nail chandelier hair (an incredible description), was a smash. Onya’s a superstar. While I enjoy quite a few of the other queens, I just don’t see anyone as poised to win the competition this season.