'RuPaul's Drag Race' Power Rankings: On This Day, God Said 'Let There Be Shade'

For a while there that this season of Drag Race was splitting neatly between the contenders and the pretenders. Now, we've either entered the misdirection-plagued middle section of a reality TV season ... or this talented crop of queens is shaking up the pecking order a little bit.

It seemed for a while there that this season of Drag Race was splitting neatly between the contenders (Bianca, Ben de la Creme, Courtney Act) and the pretenders (Trinity, Laganja, Joslyn Fox). We've either entered the misdirection-plagued middle section of a reality TV season, where the producers try very hard to convince you that your favorites might get shockingly eliminated, or else this talented crop of queens is shaking up the pecking order a little bit. Early on, Milk seemed like just the kind of avant-garde queen who would ride the "uniqueness" part of RuPaul's show motto all the way to the finale. Now, she's sashayed away, losing a lip-synch battle to an on-point Trinity K. Bonet.

Meanwhile, Courtney Act might be slipping (another bikini in lieu of actual drag?), Darienne Lake is letting the bitch jump out, and Joslyn Fox might be our second- or third-favorite queen. What a world. The same kinda world that subjects viewers to drag queens rapping in a "'90s style hip-hop" video, we suppose.

The Tops

Adore Delano: After making great leaps forward last week, Adore burrowed even further into our hearts this week, once again showing great charm as the resident busted-but-trying queen, and every time the competition brushes up against something she actually is good at, she shines all the brighter. We don't know what goes on in Azusa, but Adore picked up enough hip-hop style to fake her way through that music video. And her unique little runway walk -- we'll call it Epileptic Catwoman -- helped her snag the win, despite Michelle Visage once again harping on those mid-length dresses.

Bianca del Rio: Adore's other big contribution of the week was that she really cracked the outer shell of Bianca's bitch routine. Not that it was all that difficult to see the actual human being underneath Bianca's constant stream of shade, but Adore drew an arrow to it: Bianca's that girl who says she hates you and doesn't want to hug but she loves you anyway. Enough of this mushy crap, though. Bianca has a whole Lil' Mama thing happening in the music video, and her caftan realness is the class of this week's runway. She still seems like the best bet to win this whole season.

Joslyn Fox: Joslyn has snuck up on us this competition If this were early-seasons Survivor, Joslyn would be the the Colleen or Elisabeth: someone that is adorable, likable, seemingly not a threat but could win the whole thing if they make it to the finals because everyone likes them. Queens, if you are not coming for Joslyn Fox, you are making a huge mistake.

Verses

Darienne Lake: Previously, we fretted that Darienne's interview-room sniping at Milk might foretell a descent into Delta Work-style bitterness. Now that Darienne has started to come for Ben de la Creme (who coincidentally is coming off of a challenge win that put her at the head of the pack), it seems more and more likely that when Darienne is threatened, she retreats to the shade. It was enough to help her win the library mini-challenge but not enough to rescue her piss-poor hip-hop skills. Calling DeLa stuck up won't erase those twin glares of failure from Eve and Trina, Miss Darienne.

Ben De La Creme: We are split on this one. Joe still likes DeLa, but I (Alex) think De La is stating to come off a bit smug. That in-character exchange with an out of character Darienne Lake just rubbed me all kinds of wrong. Perhaps it's the Lake effect, but I don't think her Maggie Smith was as great as De La thinks it is. Nevertheless, DeLa is very talented, probably is going to be the final four, and is forever destined to bother me until the end of the season.

Courtney Act: We've said it before, so we're glad Ru is echoing our sentiments: Courtney is resting on pretty. If there's anything we can't abide, it's a queen who relies on pretty.

Bottoms

Laganja Estranja: You could see this coming a mile away. What's the one challenge you'd expect Laganja to try WAAAAY too hard at and ultimately fail at miserably? The library is open! Surely, the words you want to hear after you're finished supposedly slaying your competition are not "Thank you, Dr. Seuss."

Trinity K. Bonet: Trinity has a lot of sob stories. She has HIV, has mom that has had some health problems, and at times, seems like one of the most vulnerable people on the show. Everyone wants to root for Trinity. The hard part is that Trinity has tried her very best to come off as whiny, and it's overruling our kinder impulses. 

Milk: It's useless to cry over spilt out-lipsynched Milk. So, instead we will just say that Milk out of drag is the most attractive man this show has ever seen (hopefully this counts for something?):