Rupaul's Drag Race Season 9 Episode 7 - Power Rankings

9021-Hoe No She Better Don't!

This week, the girls went back to high school in a 90210 inspired acting challenge, and then hit the runway with some hair-raising looks. Which girls got to draguate, and which ones got held back?

1) Shea Couleé

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The most versatile queen in drag race her-story? Quite possibly. Shea is the queen to beat. Shea's role as an asthmatic, didn't know she was pregnant old lady had me wheezing. She isn't only good at drag, she's good at drag race. Swapping roles with Aja reminded me of something Bianca would do in order to play fair and to add onto her resume for the end-game of the competition. Her big hair runway look this week was cute, but nothing to gag-over, so she loses a point challenge wise there. Shea has yet to fully flop a challenge, so the other girls better watch out.

Edit: 10

Challenge: 9

Storyline: 10

Shea's backstory this week was tragic, a necessary exploration to form her as a fully fledged reality character. It humanized her. Even more heartbreaking, Shea's father passed away while the ru-veal of the show was rolling out back in February. You can't help but fall in love with Shea, one of the strongest and fully formed queens to ever compete on the show. Shea's track record and overall C.U.N.T locks her into a top three spot, I'm sure she'll continue slaying to the crown.

2) Trinity Taylor

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Miss Trinity continues to shock! Her performance this week goes down as one of the most hilarious acting moments in drag race herstory, giving me Amy Poehler "cool mom" with a mix of Jennifer Coolidge. Besides her little stumble in the "Good Morning Bitches" challenge, Trinity is the most consistent competitor along with Shea and Valentina. For a pageant girl, she has shown us that she's not afraid to get messy and downright hilarious.

Edit: 9

Challenge: 10

Storyline: 10

Just like Shea, Trinity's backstory this week gave her another dimension. Her edit remains overall extremely positive, as each week passes the fanbase warms up to her more and more. Unfortunately for Trinity, she had an uphill battle to overcome. Everyone was underestimating her and it's taking time for people to truly appreciate her. I think that she's one of the most versatile and unique pageant girls to ever grace the competition, so I'd bet on a top three placement for our silicone princess.

3) Valentina

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If Valentina doesn't win season 9, those All Stars 3 girls better watch the fuck out. Another complete shock, pre-season I expected Valentina to stumble at every comedy oriented challenge. She continues to prove that she's not just always perfect and polished, but she could get crazy if she wants. Both her challenge performance as a boozy high schooler and her stunning lily pad eleganza earn perfect scores from me this week.

Edit: 10

Challenge: 10

Storyline: 9

Valentina's edit is extremely positive, her fan favorite status has officially reached Katya, Trixie, Bendela levels. I'm getting overly worried that there might be a shock elimination sometime soon in which hundreds of thousands #JUSTICEFORVALENTINA tweets are sent out. Only three of the four front runners (Shea, Valentina, Trinity, Sasha) can make it to the top, so it's bound to happen to one of them. For now though, I think Valentina is a safe lock for the top three. She is one of the most visually stunning queens in her-story.

4) Sasha Velour

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Challenge-wise, Sasha gets a sort of mixed review from me this week. I think that her runway look was in the top tier, taking a creative approach to the "big hair" theme. But, I barely remember her from the acting challenge. I think that she was given a good character to really go all out with, and she failed to do so. She definitely wasn't bottom two material, a very safe third to last.

Edit: 8

Challenge: 6

Storyline: 10

There's something about the way Sasha is being portrayed that tells us that she's going to go far. However, she could be a contender for a fan favourite "shock elimination" like Valentina unfortunately. We really got to see who Sasha was this week, exploring the reasons why she's a bald queen and giving her a moment of vulnerability being so close to the bottom two. At this point in the game, these queens are now feeling like real people and have been fully fleshed out. Sasha is a contender for the top, I think she brings something completely original to the race and is more adaptable than many thought she would be.

5) Peppermint

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Pep fell into the background this week, but her SAFE placing was deserved given that she casted every queen perfectly in their role. I don't really have much more to say about Pep challenge-wise because neither her performance or runway stood out as the best. However, I'm still gagged about her last lip sync so I'll just keep on thinking about that.

Edit: 8

Challenge: 6

Storyline: 7

Pep is getting such a positive edit, and is probably the top contender for Miss Congeniality at this point. She is a fierce queen, but she's not winning the crown - seven episodes in without winning a challenge doesn't look good for her chances. Her confessionals are on point, and I enjoy having her on the show, so hopefully she doesn't go any time soon (she also still has her avant-grade peppermint candy look from the super trailer so we know she's safe until we see that but we won't talk about how the trailer spoiled some eliminations cause I ain't bout that life).

6) Alexis Michelle

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Ugh, like I know Alexis won snatch and that would usually solidify queen as a front-runner but there's something just so unbelievably "meh" about her?? This week, her performance was definitely SAFE, but that runway was atrocious. I ain't gunna beat around the bush! Her makeup look liked Tempest DuJour just got out of a damn pool, and that silhouette did her no favours. If runway were taken into account more, she definitely would've been bottom three.

Edit: 6

Challenge: 6

Storyline: 6

She's getting an odd edit, sort of fading into the background, but you also can't forget about how well she did in snatch game. I think she's starting to develop a villainous persona, the way she talks over some of the girls and makes herself out to be such an expert on everything has gotten on the other queen's nerves. So, if Alexis continues to be "meh" challenge wise, I hope that she at least starts to bring some drama.

7) Nina Bo'Nina Brown

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Nina Bo'Nina Knowles Carter... Oh girl... The high caliber of the talent this season really meant Ru had to nitpick who was on the bottom, cause none of the queens completely flopped "Shakesqueer" style. But, Nina's defeatist and self deprecating attitude hasn't done her any good. On a positive note, her runway was a completely GAG, and gave us one of Ru's best puns - "You're acting was too tame, and I ain't lion" (side note: Ru's interaction with the girls this season has been spot on and I love seeing him feel such a love for the show again). There is some arguing over who really won the lip sync, but I'm sticking firmly on team Nina won. Even though they were pretty evenly matched, I think Nina captured the essence of the song a bit more and her lip movements were slightly tighter.

Edit: 5

Challenge: 6

Storyline: 7

I thought Nina would have overcome her inner saboteur by now, especially after her Jasmine Masters snatch last week, but alas, it looks like Nina will continue to knock herself down and get eliminated. I give her a couple more episodes max, just depends how long they feel like pushing her story.

8) Farrah Moan

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Like Nina, my prediction for Farrah was wrong, she is not giving us any sort of growth storyline, and continues to coast through the competition. She wasn't the worst this week, but far from the best. She fails to really excel at anything other than the runway.

Edit: 6

Challenge: 6

Storyline: 5

Farrah is an extremely likeable character. Her whining and moaning isn't annoying, it's oddly adorable. I really want Farrah to do well because she's so likeable and really brings it on the runway, but at this point, she needs to go to make space for the real heavy-hitter of the competition. With next week being a stand-up comedy roast, let's stop lying to ourselves and just admit that she's probably going home.

Eliminated - Aja

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From pre-season potential winner, to 9th place - Aja's under-performance on the show is somewhat of a shock. I think Aja is extremely likeable, and she is a fierce queen, but I just don't think the drag race format was for her. Heck, she's also still incredibly young and could probably slay an All Stars season a few years down the line. I think she really tried to be adaptable and listen to critiques, and you could definitely see her growth over the last few episodes. Unfortunately for her, she didn't really standout when there were so many other queens completely slaying the competition. I think her elimination was justified, and she'll be remembered for some iconic moments such as the Linda Evangelista rant and her Holding out for a Hero lip sync. At least she went out in style, wearing what was probably the best look on the runway that night. Hopefully people explore more of what Aja has to offer outside of the show, because that bitch is FIERCE.

Alright girls, that's it for this week. Next time, the queen's roast momma Ru and the other judges (reminiscent to the season 5 challenge). We don't really have any "comedy" queens left, but so many of the girls left have shown us they could be versatile. Who do you think will take the win next time? Let me know below!