Babe. I got Ru, babe. This week, the queens paid tribute to ageless (Thank You Dr. Zizmor!) icon Cher, and we shuffled into the top six. I say shuffled because after last week’s fiery episode, this week felt a little lukewarm by comparison.

We also said goodbye to one of the most interesting, revolutionary queens the show has featured when The Vixen was sent home. Much has already been written about the way she framed racial politics on and off the show, and her healing moment with Asia was touching if not a little foreshadowing.

To Cher Is Human

The Legend of Cher is stitched into the very fabric of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Obviously, she’s a gay icon and in particular one from Ru’s era, so it’s no surprise that Cher has come up time and time again on the show.

No-one would dare do her on Snatch Game after professional Cher impersonator Chad Michaels secured his position in Drag Race royalty with what is one of the best Snatch Games of all time. Cher’s icon status has popped up plenty of times, notably in season seven when Cher’s son Chaz Bono and mother were part of a main challenge.

To put it plainly, Cher is big news on Drag Race. So a whole challenge in her honour should be pretty awesome, right?

*AIR HORN*

*AIR HORN CUTS OUT*

WRONG!

Am I the only one who is a little underwhelmed with the actual performances this season? There’s something not quite there about the casting mix which means when we get to the main challenge, we rarely drop into fifth gear. Maybe it’s a combination of showrunner woes and casting, but the content of the main stage challenges this year has been eclipsed by the workroom dynamics. I guess you can’t have it all?

Also, since when is a measure of drag queen’s worth how good her Cher impersonation is? And why, in the youngest and most racially diverse season to date, would you choose to showcase a gay icon whose fame has waned since her late 90s comeback… 20 years ago? Why indeed, Ru?

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Oh, and Kameron won for looking the most like Cher, and they made Monet wear a Native American headdress in a number about how cultural appropriation didn’t exist in the 70s. Can’t wait for next week’s “You Betta Pay the Cost to Deny the Holocaust” challenge.

Top Six!

How are we at the top six already? Time flies when you’re desperately praying that a person of colour will triumph over the systemic barriers enforced by RPDR. Let’s take a look at who our top queens are, how they’ve fared, and how far they might go.

1. Aquaria

Wins: Two

LSFYL: None

Aquaria is technically doing the best this season, with two wins and no LSFYLs. The NYC queen turned up with a lot of expectation on her tiny, birdlike shoulders and week to week she has been delivering. With a Sharon Needles drag mother pedigree and a cubic fucktonne of followers already behind her, if Aquaria doesn’t make the top four, even the top two, I’d be very surprised.

2. Eureka O’Hara

Wins: Two

LSFYL: One

From crutches to catchphrases, Eureka is on the edge of glory. A Eureka victory would be the first time a big girl has taken home the crown, which has been a bit of a sticking point for some. Assuming Ru repeats last season’s top four all-in lip sync finale, it’s hard to imagine Eureka not making it all the way. Whether she wins is another story, but unless she literally screws the pooch onstage, she’s in the top four.

3. Kameron Michaels

Wins: One

LSFYL: None

Yes, somehow Kameron Michaels is third highest queen, with one win and zero lip syncs. Flying under the radar is easy when you’ve got no heartbeat? I don’t even know anymore. Maybe Kameron can win? At this point in how things are rolling out week to week, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kameron became a new judge ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

4. Asia O’Hara

Wins: One

LSFYL: One

Asia has won one, and lost won, so she’s on a pretty even keel. Although I do think a win counts for more than surviving a lip sync? Maybe I’m just biased. Or crazy to think wins mean ANYTHING anymore. I can’t see Asia going past top six or top five. Despite her being a old school queen who knows how to turn a runway look, she has repeatedly shown she’s not much of a main challenge performer. And it do take performing skills to get that crown.

5. Miz Cracker

WINS: Zero

LSFYL: Zero

Miz Cracker is basically on All Stars layby at this point. Not only is she coming up dud with main stage challenges, she can’t even land a joke properly on the show. You can see her (very brilliant) brain working, and in theory it’s all there — but there’s just something not quite baked about this cracker (do you bake crackers? I am a terrible cook). Cracker’s youth and inexperience is definitely showing, but you know she could come back and be another Aja on All Stars 5.

6. Monet X Change

WINS: Zero

LSFYL: Two

Watching Monet and Cracker together, you realise that between them there is one great queen who could win RPDR. But Monet, like Cracker, has stumbled more than she has sprinted this season. It’s little things, like the details on this week’s runway, but they all add up to a queen who isn’t quite there.

Basically, after Eureka and Aquaria any of the other queens could make it to the top four, but none of them have fully proved themselves worthy. Will we get a revenge challenge episode where one of the eliminated queens gets a second chance (Vanjie)? Could that destabilise the delicate power balance? Will Miz Cracker land a joke? Only time will tell.

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RuPaul’s Drag Race is fast-tracked from the US on Stan. Read more Drag Race recaps here.

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Nic Holas has written for The Guardian, Sydney Morning Herald, Archer Magazine, and Hello Mr. You can find him on Twitter @nicheholas, or in his role as co-founder of HIV movement The Institute of Many.