RuPaul's Drag Race Season 9 Episode 4 - Power Rankings

Good Morning, Bitches

The queen joined the morning talk show wars and then made sure we weren't sleeping on their naughty nighty runway looks. Which queens rose to the top this week?

1) Shea Couleé

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Shea came through with her workroom entrance promise and completely SLAYED this week. Shea is proving to be an extremely versatile queen. She is giving us high fashion on the runway every single week, while also showing us that she knows how to be campy and funny. Shea is the total package. Her lesbian lover skit with Sasha this week will be one for the herstory books.

Edit: 10

Challenge: 10

Storyline: 6

Shea has consistently the strongest edit on the show thus far. Every episode she has a presence, be it with confessionals, bugging the girls in the workroom, chiming into conversations or just completely destroying the other girls in the main challenge. We haven't seen much vulnerability from Shea however, so if she doesn't start showing us more about her backstory soon, she might start getting critiqued by the judges for that. After her win this episode, she's looking mighty good for the top three.

2) Trinity Taylor

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Trinity goes down one notch from last week, just because she ended up in the bottom two. However, just like Aja, being in the bottom definitely benefited Trinity. Even if Charlie had tried to lip-sync, Trinity would have no doubt destroyed her. These girls this season can turn out a damn performance! Trinity has proven that she can do glamour, she can do comedy and this week that plastic bitch showed us she can PERFORM. So, even though she was in the bottom, I'm giving her big points challenge wise cause that lip-sync was America's Next Drag Superstar worthy.

Edit: 10

Challenge: 7

Storyline: 9

Trinity has surprised the entire drag race fandom. Pre-season, everyone had her as an early out, or claimed that she was "too bitchy". She has proven to be a fan favourite, OWNING her bitchiness, and completely leaving us gagged. Her edit continues to get more and more positive as the episodes go. Also, the dynamic between her and Eureka gives us great drama so I'm sure the producers will keep them both round for a while longer. If Trinity keeps it up, she's looking for a top three spot as well.

3) Sasha Velour

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FINALLY! A breakout moment for Sasha! If you read my past rankings, I criticized Sasha on "taking herself too seriously", but this week, she proved me damn wrong! Seems like Sasha is finally getting comfortable with the ins and outs of the competition and is now showing us her goofy, loveable side.

Edit: 8

Challenge: 10

Storyline: 8

Sasha finally had her moment this week, but, it's going to take a couple more episodes of consistent slaying for her to make it to the top of my ranking. She's slowly opening up more, as we saw with her little tiff with Eureka about eating disorders. If Sasha can continue serving us camp and fun, while still maintaining her vision as a queer artist, she'll go far.

4) Valentina

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Challenge-wise, Valentina faded into the background a bit, to her benefit however. Her overwhelming presence in the last two episodes seemed to have turned some of the fanbase against her, so, taking the backseat for a couple of episodes will benefit her in the long run. She still did overall pretty okay, but her runway was what absolutely gave her some extra points this week cause DAMN.

Edit: 9

Challenge: 7

Storyline: 8

Valentina is still a front-runner, her reconciliation with Aja proves that she has the poise and professionalism of a drag superstar. She's going to continue to be a fan favourite, at this point, I either see her making it all the way to the top three, or getting an EXTREMELY controversial downfall elimination. Stay tuned kitty girls!

5) Nina Bo'Nina Brown

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If this week weren't judged in teams, Nina would have definitely been in the top. Her personality really shined in the talk show challenge, and her runway was giving me zombie Nicki Minaj. She is still one of the most unique girls to ever be on the show, so I hope she continues pushing boundaries and killing the game.

Edit: 7

Challenge: 8

Storyline: 9

Nina got an extremely interesting edit this week, which could lead to either her downfall or push to the top. Although most of her critiques were positive, she was criticized for being "too vulnerable". Nina might not have skin thick enough to make it all the way through this competition, she cried before the judges even started giving her feedback! This is a turning point for her, she can either take that criticism and turn it the fuck out, or let it get to her head and fall.

6) Cynthia Lee Fontaine

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Cynthia surprised this week. After two extremely mediocre episodes for her, I think she finally got her chance to shine. My problem is, she's getting the Alyssa critique of "it's only funny because it's you", and that doesn't necessarily mean she's doing well. It basically means you're such a train-wreck at the performances that it's hilarious. At least the judges live for it I suppose?

Edit: 7

Challenge: 7

Storyline: 7

Her edit was much more subdued this week, no over-use of the 'cucu', definitely to her benefit. A lot of the fanbase has turned on her, claiming that she doesn't deserve to be back, but the show is pushing her storyline. Definitely expect to see Cynthia for at least a couple more episodes.

7) Eureka

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Eureka is doing consistently well in the challenges every week. Never fully standing out, but making it by enough to continue pushing through. I'd say Eureka usually turns in out on the runway, but this week was definitely an exception. Besides Peppermint, she had by far the worst runway outfit, so she gets knocked a couple of points for that.

Edit: 5

Challenge: 7

Storyline: 8

Eureka is getting painted as a villain, which means she probably won't have the fan support to win the season in the end. This will take her far, but probably won't make top three. I'm glad we have Eureka to stir some shit, because this season has given us more drama than the last two combined and it's only episode four, so keep it coming girl.

8) Aja

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After her disastrous challenge look last week, Aja bounced back this episode. She didn't standout, but she definitely took a lot of the judge's critiques and applied them. She led her team to a victory, and softened up her makeup on the runway.

Edit: 6

Challenge: 7

Storyline: 7

Aja came across bitter at the beginning of the episode, but was later on shown apologizing to Valentina for what she said during Untucked and promised to grow from her mistakes. Aja is extremely young, this showed a lot of maturity on her part. She didn't have a massive presence in this week's episode, but I'm hoping her growth storyline continues to play out.

9) Peppermint

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After killing it last week, Peppermint definitely messed up a challenge that I personally thought she would do extremely well at. She just wasn't very well prepared for the talk show, and her runway look was half-assed (which is shocking considering her runways have been pretty stunning so far).

Edit: 9

Challenge: 5

Storyline: 6

Peppermint is still getting the narrator edit, her confessionals have always been a presence in every episode. The producers like her a lot, and are painting her as a fan favourite. What's worrying me is the lack of discussion around her trans identity. I'm extremely curious as to why this hasn't been a big development point for Peppermint yet.

10) Farrah Moan

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Farrah did pretty well this episode, although she faded in the background quite a bit. Honestly I don't remember her much from the challenge, but she definitely slayed the runway.

Edit: 8

Challenge: 7

Storyline: 5

I'm surprised Farrah completely faded into the back this week, considering she was at such a low point in last week's episode. I'm not sure if she's going to get a growth edit anymore, and might just be kept around for her overall cuteness. She's definitely being painted positively though, so the longer she sticks around the better it'll be for her - she just doesn't have any shot at winning right now.

11) Alexis Michelle

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Alexis didn't do anything this week? She was lead anchor in the talk show challenge yet I don't remember her at all, and her runway look was extremely basic compared to everything else the queens were wearing. This is her FOURTH week in a row in which she was just declared SAFE. She has yet to be the worst, but she also hasn't managed to standout to the judges.

Edit: 7

Challenge: 6

Storyline: 3

Alexis is getting completely ghosted by the producers. Next week is a musical broadway challenge, which is right "on" Alexis' alley. If she doesn't pull out a win next week, then that will most likely be her last episode.

Eliminated - Charlie Hides

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Ah Charlie. It was quite uncomfortable watching her completely give up during the lip-sync. Yes, she has come out to say that her rib injury stopped her from giving her all, but honestly, Charlie gave up way before that. She was so down on herself the entire season about her age and this was her downfall. She got into her head about it. Fortunately, I think that she gave us some standout runway moments to remember her by. Her experience and wisdom gave us a unique perspective on the show, and it was heartbreaking to see her talk about growing up gay during the AIDS crisis in the 80's. It was Charlie's time, but she'll surely be remembered.

As we dwindle down to less queens, the show is starting to breathe much more, but it's getting more difficult to say goodbye to these queens. They've proven to be the strongest cast in a while, each bringing something unique to the race. Who do you think is next to go kitty girls?