‘Canada’s Drag Race’ Season 2, Episode 8 power ranking: Prom queens

One queen pulls ahead as the dolls become drag mothers to queer teens

Welcome to Canada’s Drag Race Power Rankings! Every Friday, we’ll debrief the week’s new episode of Canada’s Drag Race Season 2 to determine which queens are riding high, and which need she-mergency care. It’s time to see how the makeover challenge shook up the power rankings—and how one queen rose at just the right time.

5. Adriana (last week: 4) — ELIMINATED

The writing was on the wall for Adriana this episode, as she was the only one shown having any kind of problems during the makeover. Friday, aka Bella Donna, was a gorgeous, game participant, but the two looks didn’t go together. (Only Icesis Couture’s looks felt more disparate.) Moreover, Adriana’s multiple recent appearances in the bottom three gave the impression that the judges weren’t that invested in her. Adriana was one of my favourites this season—though honestly I adore this entire cast—so it’s sad to see her depart. But she made it much farther than I expected based on her edit in the first couple of episodes, and that’s a huge credit to her prowess. Give her an All Stars run, dammit!

4. Kendall Gender (last week: 1)

Kendall’s moment of glory last week couldn’t turn into momentum, as she was close to lip syncing once again. She passed through by leaning into the performance aspect with Alex, aka Stormi Gender, which covered for the fact that her garment was the least impressive of the bunch. Had the judges decided to judge on different criteria, she could’ve easily been the one facing off against Adriana. At this point, Kendall is the clear fourth of four in terms of trajectory, track record and her style on the runway. She’s done well, but I’d be surprised if she doesn’t go home next week.

3. Icesis Couture (last week: 2)

Icesis’ may be the most beautiful makeover challenge entry to land a queen in the bottom two. Michaela looked gorgeous as Ruby Couture, and Icesis herself looked amazing as an icy showgirl. The problem: there was absolutely no relation between the looks. And more to the point, they didn’t do anything to sell a familial bond on the runway. Kendall’s looks were completely different, but from the moment she and Stormi stepped out, you instantly got the storyline. I appreciate Icesis for having the mindset that Michaela’s happiness should trump her challenge prospects. That is completely correct, and Icesis was right to go with the red colour her partner requested. But Icesis really should’ve done what Pythia did and whipped up another outfit to match it. Icesis does, however, get major credit for slaying the lip sync, proving once again that she can fight for her life when she needs to.

 

2. Gia Metric (last week: 5)

Maybe it’s because she’s lip synced twice—including in the very first week—or maybe it’s because her win came as part of her girl group’s victory, but I’ve not given Gia proper credit for putting together an impressive run this season. She scored high in the Rusical, an acting challenge, the ball and now the makeover, and she won the girl groups challenge. That’s a wide range of talents, and she’s looked consistently stunning on the runway. She’s got a real argument for the win at the end. So why doesn’t it feel like she’s being edited for a victory? Hell, even Kendall gets more time and focus than Gia does. It’s making me a little nervous for next week, but unless this reunion twist is something really wacky, I imagine Gia will be able to make it to the finale.

1. Pythia (last week: 3)

This season is really coming down to a race between Icesis and Pythia, and I’m genuinely not sure who has the edge. Pythia has the benefit of not lip syncing, but as we saw last season with Priyanka and Scarlett BoBo, that’s not really an advantage in this format. Both are incredibly talented, and bring a real freshness and perspective to their drag. I loved that Pythia was not afraid of her partner’s aversion to drag, and that she helped them find a way into it that was uniquely them. Creating a corresponding look for herself really gave her an edge, too. She and Icesis now both have two wins, and both have received substantial screen time and edit focus. I don’t see Canada’s Drag Race doing a double crowning, but I do think this is going to be a photo finish.

Kevin O’Keeffe is a writer, host, instructor, and RuPaul’s Drag Race herstorian living in Los Angeles, California. His favourite pastime is watching a perfect lip sync.

Keep Reading

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race UK’ Season 5, Episode 3 power ranking: Checking the charts

Which girl group will have the song of the autumn?

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8’ Episode 10 recap: The ‘L’ Word

This season’s makeover challenge provides us our top two—but what comes next?
A queen in black pvc has an exrta pair of hand coming out of her shoulders that hold up her long blonde ponytails.

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 14, Episode 7 recap: All toots, no boots

Ru pulls a prank on the queens this week, but follows it up with a blessing

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 14, Episode 3 power ranking: Rising above the chaos

With two returning queens, 14 total competitors and 42 looks, this ball episode is a lot to keep track of