Well folks, that was a pretty good week 4. This is the last week of the preliminary rounds, "the end of the beginning" as Winston Churchill might have said after we revived him with smelling salts. Next week comes The Snatch Game, which is when things start to get really interesting. So it's a good time to take stock. The first thing to note about the first four weeks is how deep a field we have this year. Last year at this time we still had Gia Gunn, and Laganja Estranja to eliminate. By the time the dust had settled, Joslyn Fox would sleepwalk into 6th place . I think everyone in these Power Rankings, including the eliminated Trixie Mattell is better than the Terrible Two. And all but one or two of them are better than Joslyn.
The depth of the field means we can't be too critical of a queen going up for elimination. A lot of the decisions at the bottom end are on a razor's edge. There were actually no truly weak runway outfits this week, and the judges had to resort to criticizing Kandy Ho for not being original enough. That's harsh when it seems like the bottom queens in past seasons were struggling to put together basic outfits at this stage. Anyway, on to the rankings!
11.) Trixie Mattel (-1) (OUT)- Speaking of harsh, it turns out Ru liked Trixie even less than I did! Still her judgement was basically sound. Trixie's whole raison d'etre was comedy and she wasn't very funny on the show. I'm sure she is funny in real life but it wasn't working for her here, and that just killed her. When Courtney Act wasn't funny, she could cruise on looks and glamour. Even Bianca had her authority and basic competence to fall back on. Trixie had no net. She's like one of those relief pitchers whose one killer pitch stops working. All of a sudden, they're not only not an All-Star talent, but people begin wondering how they even made it to the highest level of competition in the first place.
10.) Kandy Ho (-1)- Boy, Kandy has looked like a dead queen walking for a few weeks now. One almost feels like she should have been the one wearing a Marie Antoinette outfit this week. But she escapes the National Razor once again. It surprises me that Ru didn't throw Kandy up as the sacrificial lamb against either Trixie or Pearl. There's at least a ghost of a chance that we could have seen something out of Trixie in the next few weeks, but I feel like we've seen all we're going to get from Kandy.
9.) Mrs. Kasha Davis (-1)- I'm not a huge fan of Kasha, but she's quietly put up a few good weeks in a row which can't be ignored. I was surprised the judges went for the money dress, which was not terrible, but was my least favorite among the excellent crop of runway looks this week. The problem with Mrs. Kasha is that she seems very old. She's only a few years older than Darienne Lake or even Bianca, but her age and experience seems to have ossified her rather than giving her confidence and vitality. I don't get excited by the prospect of seeing her perform, and she doesn't seem to have the capacity to surprise.
8.) Jadyn Diore Fierce (+3)- Jadyn had a good week this week, and did an uncannily good impression of Bianca Del Rio for someone who does not have a similar style at all. However, I thought her runway look was one of the weaker ones, and it seems to be of a type with the other outfits she stole from Janet Jackson in the Fat Elvis phase we all somehow missed. Still, she seems like the most improved queen of the first few weeks, and might be someone to watch if she continues to move forward.
7.) Miss Fame (-2)- Pretty ain't gonna be enough this year.
6.) Pearl (-3)- Spare us the crocodile tears, Pearl. (Or actually I guess they were snake tears.) You tried to pin the Tan With You parody on Trixie when you thought it was a loser.
It was a bad week, and the 2nd week in a row being low for Pearl, which isn't a great sign. I think the lip synch showed us what Pearl could be if he ever got going, however. He had the intense eyes of a silent movie star. The dress was incredible and the performance was genuinely compelling. More of that, please!
5.) Katya(+2)- Here comes Katya...Her lead performance in the Tan With You video was excellent, and she seems to be one of the funnier queens of the bunch. She recalls Alaska without all the bullshit and self-importance. I'm genuinely intrigued by what we'll see in Snatch Game from her. I'm guessing we'll finally get to see an Eastern Bloc character. She's wisely kept that powder dry, and a convincing performance could vault her into the top competitors.
4.) Violet Chachki (No Change)- Violet had an excellent performance as Adore Delano, and had a daring runway look. (But stop relying on that body!) Still, I can't help but think Violet's petulant attitude will hold her back in this competition. It's hard to believe, but she and Max are the same age. Max a vision for the parody, took control, and accepted responsibility. Violet again externalized and seemed like a bratty little child. It's this lack of maturity that, for now, is keeping her out of the top three.
3.) Kennedy Davenport (+3)- Kennedy won the challenge and was beautiful on the runway. It was nice to see her back in the saddle.
2.) Max (-1)- Again, it's striking that Max to immediate control of the project for his group even when there were no assigned leaders. He gave himself the hardest part, and, despite the judges' criticisms, I thought he did a good job with his Courtney Act impression. (On the whole, it was the most successful of the parodies.) I'm not sure we've ever seen anyone do "artistic" drag really successfully on the program, but if Max can pull off the high wire act for the whole season, he'll be a tough out.
1.) Ginger Minj (+1)- The Minj is relentless, though. She hasn't looked close to placing in the Bottom 2 at any point this season, and she made me laugh out loud twice in this episode. Where Max is a molecular gastronomic delight, Ginger is steak frites with a glass or two of Cote Du Rhone. The former has the potential to be transcendent, but the latter will never let you down. It should be an interesting season.
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