Project Runway Rundown: A Sweet Challenge

Is it just me or has it seemed like forever since the last new episode of "Project Runway."

Since the last installment, I've been through Christmas, New Year's and a bus trip to New York City and back, so I was looking forward to a new episode of one of my favorite reality shows.

I was especially excited when I saw the designers were to take their inspiration (and materials) from the Hershey's store in New York. Not only had my girl Erica and I been in the very same store a few weeks earlier, but this was the season's first off-the-wall challenge. We all know that just because you can make a dress out of trash or plants it doesn't mean you're going to win this competition, but these weird challenges are still fun to watch.

On the other hand, they're probably not nearly as much fun to participate in. After, once again, arbitrarily switching models around and being woken up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. by Tim Gunn(it's official, he is ALWAYS wearing a suit), the designers went to work on the Hershey's store following a robotic intro from the Hershey's rep (what was up with that lady?)

Out of all the designers, only brave Jillian decided to work with edible materials, grabbing up every Twizzler in sight while her competitors grabbed banners, stuff animals and candy wrappers. Chris warned the audience at home (but not Jillian) about the difficulty of working with edible food — such as, getting really fat like him. (I keed, I keed.)

Anyway, Jillian predictably had trouble working with the Twizzlers (pictured, left, and they ARE tough sons of bitches), while, at the other end of the spectrum, Chrisitian finished his Reese's Peanut Butter Cup wrapper dress early and spent the rest of the time criticizing, I mean helping, the other designers with their work. He seems to be really nice to his fellow designers in person, but trashes them in his camera confessionals. Although I hate two-faced people, it's smart strategy.

One of the people needing help was Sweet P, who, well, she had no idea what she was doing. The low point came when Tim Gunn said her skirt looked like a coffee filter or a Maxi pad and he was exactly right.

During the first day of work, we also learned that Elisa had been run over by a Porsche(!) in London(?!) and had been in a coma for five days. Since this was kind of a downer, it was up to my girl Erica to make things right, and she did by simply stating "that explains a lot." So true.

Even though much was made of Jillian not being able to finish her garment after struggling through the first day, she caught a break when it turned out her model could sew and was willing to help. Meanwhile, Sweet P continued to stress out (she does that a lot), and Ricky mentioned that this week he was "throwing caution to the window" — and I'm pretty sure he wasn't kidding.

The runway show was entertaining as the designers mostly came up with very competent pieces from their unconventional material. Still, the judges were right on when they said that a lot of them didn't really emphasize the fun part of working with candy. Christian — who ALWAYS visibly shits a brick when he's not the challenge winner — made a perfectly good and chic brown dress that so much fun and was mostly just brown and peanut butter cup wrappery.

So, it was no surprise that Rami and Jillian (with two of the most colorful outfits of the night) along with Chris (who finally edited himself), found themselves near the top. Personally, I thought Jillian's outfit was a little (ok, a lot) on the slutty side, so I was happy to see Rami (my pick to win the whole thing after the first week) win this week's challenge.

At the bottom we had Elisa, who designed some sort of Hansel and Gretel disaster that I didn't get. To me it looked like an ugly brown dress with floaties. She was joined by Sweet P's plain outfit and Victorya's frumpy, joyless nightmare. That doesn't even include the bizarre fairy-with-a-stick-up-her-ass walk Victorya had her model do. Personally, I thought Victorya's was the worst (poorly done AND boring), but she seems to have gotten a pass for past performance.

That left the bottom two between two women I thoroughly enjoy on the show, with Elisa being eliminated and presumably being sent back to her home planet. I'll miss her kookiness, but also her graceful personality, which was on display even as she was being sent home. But mostly her kookiness.

So what'd you think of this episode? Do you like the crazy challenges, or the ones more grounded in reality where they have to use, um, fabric? Was it just me or was guest judge Zac Posen ready to jump there and just eat up Rami's dress (or Rami)? Finally, who's going to be the next to go? I'm worried for Sweet P, who's really funny, but just doesn't seem to be as confident, or as good, as the other competitors. I hope she turns it around.