'RuPaul's Drag Race' S11 Week 4 Power Rankings

This was a pretty great week for Drag Race, but I'm way more interested in what it revealed about the competition moving forward. This race is starting to get pretty tight and we may be just a few short episodes away from having to make some devastating cuts. However, the cream is really starting to rise to the top and this week showed exactly which queens are here to stay. Fair warning, the rankings didn't change much this week as most of the bottom queens are losing momentum while the top queens are taking a massive lead over their competitors. I'll be looking to the next week's main challenge quite a bit to determine which queens toward the bottom of the ranking could really prove they belong here.

Saying Goodbye to Mercedes

This was inevitable, as Mercedes has just simply not been able to perform at the same level that the other queens have. She's extremely lovable, but her performances in the main challenges have just been forgettable while her runways were all too predictable. This was a good week for Mercedes though, as she got plenty of time in the spotlight in the edit and gave herself the opportunity to speak on a very important subject: her religion. While the conversation wasn't very detailed, she had her chance to speak which is what she needed. I'll miss Mercedes, but she was the obvious choice to go home for me.

The Rusical

The Rusical wasn't as good as last weeks challenge by any means, but it was still pretty good! I did start to get bored towards the end, but all of the queens did a satisfactory job, as nobody really messed up the choreography. All the bottom queens were criticized for not being memorable or for their characterization being off, not messing up the lines or unable to do the choreo. It was pretty funny, there were some stand out roles, but it was truly the queens themselves that shined, not the comedy of the script.

11. Ra'Jah O'Hara (Prev. 11)

Ra'Jah had another pretty bad week, but I just can't get myself to dislike her or throw in the towel. Something about her is magnetic, it draws me in and forces me to watch her. Even when she's fumbling the choreography in rehearsals, losing her wig in a lip-sync, or doing a poor job of leading her team, it's just still interesting to watch. I think she's the easiest pick to go home next, but I'm not so sure she will be. Queens who are getting edited clearly as villain rarely leaves early in the competition. Next week appears to be a "monster ball" that will really push Ra'Jah out of her comfort zone and this will be a sink or swim challenge for her. Her first design challenge creation was pretty basic and all of her runways since have been somewhat critiqued or forgettable.

10. Shuga Cain (Prev. 10)

Shuga is fading into the background far too much, and she needs to have another good week as soon as possible in order to avoid being put in the bottom for being unmemorable. Her performance in the main challenge was a standout, her runway was hilarious, but the edit is just not favoring her at all. I remember having a similar complaint about Honey Davenport the week right before she went home, which could be bad news for Shuga. I think she's funny, and she's not really failing in any specific category, but the other queens are just overshadowing her. This is when I'm starting to realize that this cast is particularly strong and we won't have to wait as long as I initially thought to begin sending some amazing queens home. Shuga's funny, charismatic, and has yet to be bad in any challenge, but she's just not getting the attention some of the other queens are, so she needs to step it up fast. Next week is a ball and based on her creation the first week, she may not have a chance, which saddens me to say.

9. A'keria C. Davenport (Prev. 9)

A'keria is the exact opposite of Shuga, as while she's fading into the background in the challenges, she's remained very present in the edit, which makes me believe that she could be around for a while. I don't remember her in the challenge, but her runway was a standout and she's working the confessional gig like it's her job. I think she'll have another great week next week as her first runway creation was highly praised. Since the theme is horror, she could really step out of her box and prove to the judges that she's versatile and can do more than just be gorgeous. In fact, I'm counting on her doing just that.

8. Plastique Tiara (Prev. 8)

Plastique was forgettable this week, plain and simple. I do think her performance in the musical was funny, but her runway seemed unpolished and predictable for her, as the wings just seemed a little off. I remember being blown away by how different her second runway looked from the first, but it seems that was a vast departure from everything else we've gotten. I don't have much to say about Plastique, as she's doing just well enough in every category so far to get by. I have a feeling that if she doesn't step it up, the judges will get restless and throw her in the bottom for being predictable. Like A'keria though, she could really shine next week and go out of her comfort zone, but I'm less certain she'll be able to pull it off. Unlike A'keria though, she has had more times in the top while A'keria has faded every episode since the first week.

7. Ariel Versace (Prev. 6)

Ariel struggles in this week's main challenge, but ultimately pulls it together and does a pretty great job when it counts: the main stage. However, as the leading lady she could've really taken it there and gotten a win this week, but I think she did the best she could so I won't knock her for that. Ariel's drag is getting predictable for me as well, and she needs to really embrace next week's challenge in order to prove that she belongs in the upper echelon with the high-performing queens this seasons. Her runways so far have all been pretty similar, particularly the wigs, as they've been the same style with different colors. However, last week she had a strong performance and this week she managed to pull it together, so she's holding strong over four of the girls who had to lip-sync last week.

6. Scarlet Envy (Prev. 7)

Scarlet is quickly emerging as the villain of the season for me, and I'm not sure what to make of it. I guess we can start with her performance this week, as her character in the main challenge was pretty static while her runway look was beautiful but didn't have the polish it needed. She redeems herself after last week though and fares the strongest of the 6-way by winning the mini-challenge, assigning roles very fairly, and getting praised by Ru for this. I was genuinely impressed with her insistence of giving roles to girls that they could shine in, not just because they wanted them. Ru seems to like Scarlet, which is why she gains traction this week and finds her footing.

5. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo (Prev. 4)

Vanjie may have faltered this week, but I don't think anybody expects her to leave in the next few weeks. The Alyssa Edwards comparison is spot-on, as even watching her unable to read a teleprompter is hilarious. Her performance this week was undeniably poor for Vanjie, as her runway look was looking expensive and gorgeous but familiar to her previous looks while her musical character was just a little bit off. She wasn't anywhere close to landing in the bottom this week, as Mercedes and Ra'Jah were the clear losers. I do fear for Vanjie in the ball next week as she'll have to go beyond her usual glamour and silhouette that she has discovered and stuck to this season, but I have high hopes for her. This could be a turning point for her, as we've seen great queens land towards the bottom and immediately decide to kick it into high gear.

4. Nina West (Prev. 3)

Nina shines this week, as she continues to do well in all areas while also getting a chance to speak and share tons of personal history. This is the type of editing you expect to see from a girl who is about to go home or who is here for the long haul and the latter is where I see Nina. Her runway was pretty elegant compared to everything else we've seen from her and her musical performance was one of the standouts for me. She spoke up a lot about politics this week as she was simply one of the few queens who was qualified to do so. Nina continues to build momentum despite losing a placement, but she's very quickly separating herself from the queens towards the bottom of the ranking. I do worry for her because next week is another design challenge, but I think since it doesn't lean towards glamour, she'll be able to have fun with it.

3. Brooke Lynn Hytes (Prev. 2)

I'm not completely blown away by Brooke Lynn this week, but damn the judges are giving her the critiques of a queen who has what it takes to win this whole damn thing. She's clearly held to a much higher standard than the rest, as the judges give statements to the effect of, "Welcome back to the top, where you belong." The judges are loving Brooke, and her storyline with Vanjie is allowing her to stay prominent in the edit. Their relationship becomes more solidified this week, but I'm still unsure of where it's headed. Her choreography in the musical was easily a standout for me and her runway was pretty great, although the judges loved it more than I did. She continues to separate herself from the rest of the queens, and it's clear that she's going to be around for quite a while.

2. Yvie Oddly (Prev. 1)

I don't know what else to say about Yvie at this point, as she just keeps managing to do what she does, gaining absolutely shining critiques from the judges in the process. Her runway is yet again show stopping, but I found her performance in the main challenge just above average. Ru just plain and simply loves this girl. Nobody else in the competition is like Yvie, and I think a Sharon Needles comparison is simply too obvious, it needs to be made. I'm nervous for Yvie in next week's challenge though, because it seems absolutely perfect for her in every way, which means that anything other than perfection just simply won't be good enough for the judges. It's her challenge to win, but I've learned to never expect the obvious.

1. Silky Nutmeg Ganache (Prev. 5)

Silky finally gets the praise on the main stage that she needed to stake her claim in the competition, and it was a big one. She doesn't make a single misstep this week, besides maybe protesting against the Oprah role too much. She doesn't just give up like she did last week, she delivers and is highly rewarded for it. The judges love everything about Silky, and she is another one of those queens who continues to separate herself from the pack. I do have some concerns for Silky though, as she doesn't seem to perform at her best when given a role or having to do something she doesn't like. This week in Untucked, she said that she was able to snap out of it right before the performance, but last week she wasn't able to manage that and was outshone by Ariel. That could be dangerous for Silky in the future, but as for now, I'm pretty assured in saying that Silky's gonna be around for a while.

Final Thoughts and Future Expectations

This next week is going to be one of those challenges that push a bunch of queens outside their comfort zones and proves which ones are here to stay and which ones are the next to go. Queens like Yvie, Brooke, and Silky are just furthering the gap between themselves and the other queens, while many of the other ones are slowly shrinking away. It would be interesting this upcoming week if many of the lower-ranking queens got praised, but I would be surprised if Brooke and Yvie don't do well in a design challenge.