[Project Runway - 'Finale, Part 1']

With only a week to go before the finale of 'Project Runway' the contestants fought for positions. Heidi announced that they had $9,000 and six weeks to create a ten-piece collection. Clearly it was not enough time or money for these contestants to create anything breathtaking or amazing.

While Season Six had the same budget, those designers had a lot more time to think about their collections. These contestants needed time to go back and think about things longer. Andy had the biggest handicap because the fabrics he ordered arrived three weeks into his six-week process. Some of Tim's visits seemed too last-minute, where you couldn't save a sinking ship.

I finally appreciated the evolution of Gretchen throughout the season. While her clothes maintained the hippy/granola aesthetic, her bitchy and aggressive nature covered up the fact that she was having trouble at home. She looked like she was closer to the other finalists than she did in the first few episodes, and she was all hugs at the end of the episode.

Andy - Wai'anae, Hawaii - There was this amazing banter between Andy and Tim about Chinese catfish and unattractive men. Whenever you put Tim outdoors, something funny is bound to happen. Andy's inspiration came from the Buddha Garden in Laos, which explained his take on green and grey combinations where the statues met the grass. His materials were hand-woven and sourced from Laos and Thailand, and I'm sure he had all the correct receipts. Tim didn't have much physically to see, so he gave the generic "don't make a hot mess" critique.

Michael - Palm Springs, California - We met Richard, Michael's partner, and it seemed odd that we got the story of Richard outing Michael (with the precise date!) to his family accompanied by a picture of the two at a bar drinking. I thought that the story was a bit too personal to tell to America. To Tim, Michael created design diarrhea when he made 18 looks -- ironically the six rejected looks had shades of stomach-pink. Interestingly, he wasn't nervous when Seth Aaron made 20 last season.

Mondo - Denver, Colorado - Did anyone realize how amazing Mondo was for having black-and-white tiled floors in his workspace? Mondo's inspiration had a Mexican undertone with a bit of Dia de los Muertos. He probably designed original screen prints after remembering when Irina had to remove the pictures of Coney Island in Season Six. Tim agreed with most items except for a Pepto Bismol pink junior's pajama. It probably would have helped Michael's diarrhea problem. I love how at dinner, Mondo's mother Gerri, admitted to Tim that she tried to get Mondo to be "normal," but Mondo was just Mondo.

Gretchen - Portland, Oregon - Gretchen was not the same Gretchen we met: She was devastated and looked a bit defeated. Tim paralleled that with how he was in a relationship and couldn't get over it. (Who would hurt Tim Gunn? He's amazing.) Tim held up a diaper and Gretchen used the word "natural" and I couldn't help but laugh about natural diapers. It was nowhere near April's triple panty and would be turned green, so I didn't have much trouble with it.

We returned to New York City and Tim arrived at their hotel with the dreaded velvet bag, only to reveal that Hilton Hotels was giving the finalists trips for two to Hilton establishments in several vacation spots. We see several Hilton logos and some more name dropping. I now have an urge to find a hotel with Travelocity, purchase luggage at Sears (or Macys), stay at a Hilton, use Dawn for my dishes, and eat Subway.

Of course, there was a twist: The designers had to create a new look for the judges to compliment two other looks in their collection. Sadly Andy and Michael didn't understand the concept of getting the judges to want more. The contestants had $300 for more fabric, which Andy didn't end up using, and two days, in which Mondo -- like he's done in most two-day challenges -- scrapped his day one dress. Tim went around critiquing the contestants on the second day and he basically told Gretchen, Mondo and Andy that they would make it to the finals and Michael would choke under the pressure. I really could have stopped watching the episode then and not missed much, since all of the collections will be seen next week.

For the runway, the contestants had a random assignment of models, reuniting Mondo with his original model Eyen. He also lucked out with one of the better walkers: Ife, Peach's original model. There was no mention of any of the outfits needing any tailoring, probably because most of the tailoring would be done with their finale models. Imagine if a dress had to be taken in for this week's runway only to find out that your model next week had wider hips? That would be painful.

As the models walked down Andy won me over with that shade of green and how the shadows of the pleats created nice depth. Michael had great flow to his dress, but the feathers in his second dress were oddly uneven so that there was a strange hourglass effect. The back of Gretchen's new look had parachute-ass: What's the appeal of having a sling bag near your back? Finally, Mondo still could do no wrong with patterns, though the long dress would have looked better without sleeves.

There were no guest judges this week, and rightly so, as Heidi, Nina and Michael have seen the contestants' growth from the beginning. Mondo was criticized for the turquoise top and for walking the fine line between wack-a-doodle and chic, but he had the boldness and theatricality to put on a good runway show. Andy was critiqued on the headpieces and for his bikini having an odd under-boob cape. The bikini was probably not the best choice to wow the judges with. Gretchen's outfits were called "crunchy granola" by Nina, and Heidi thought that the models should have worn high heels. (But let's face it: Heidi wants every model in high heels no matter what the occasion.)

The judges seemed set from the get-go and that Mondo and Gretchen were safe even before this finale week. Andy was the last to be called safe. It was heartbreaking watching Michael fall apart after being eliminated. It was odd that he kept getting the 'The Little Engine That Could' edit this whole season, only to falter right at the end. His sobbing was just painful to watch. This may be insensitive, but shouldn't a 27-year-old man with a partner (one step above "boyfriend") be more stable about himself and less worried about what his parents will think? I wish Michael the best and remind audiences that his collection was a decoy piece so he technically did show at fashion week.

Did you think the right designer was eliminated? Who do you think will win the finale? Who's excited to see Casanova one final time in the reunion segment? Leave your comments below.

'Project Runway' airs Thurs., 9PM ET on Lifetime.