Daniel Franco follows his bliss...off the show (again)

Tonight's episode resulted in the sad auf wiedersehening of Daniel Franco. Daniel was the first eliminated contestant last year, but came back to try again this season. While Daniel has talent, I think he's too much of a perfectionist to excel in the tight time constraints of Project Runway. But, to his everlasting credit, Daniel refused to sell out his team. He took full blame for the failure of his designs.

"Team" you say? Yep. Tonight contestants designed a lingerie collection. Each designer sketched and presented a concept to Heidi, who chose the top four. In turn, those four designers chose a team of two from the rest of the contestants. Here's how it broke down:

Daniel Vosovic pitched a menswear-inspired concept of "Revenge". The idea was that women would use their ex-lover's clothes to create new, sexy lingerie. Daniel V.'s team consisted of Andrae and Zulema.

Daniel Franco charmed Heidi with his romantic lingerie perfect for "lovemaking", not sex. Chloe and Kara completed Daniel F's team.

Santino had a cheesy idea that was basically "sexy St. Paulie Girl". Nick and Emmett helped him out.

Finally, Diana's concept combined flowing chiffony-like fabric with bondage. Guadalupe & Marla rounded out the team.

Right from the start, it was obvious Daniel V. was going to win. He was the only designer with a truly strong idea. The rest of the designers were, to be charitable, a mess. Diana's clothes looked like Jay's swimsuit from last season only with ugly drapes attached. Santino's "Sound of Music" styles were both hideous and impractical. Daniel F's romantic vision really looked more like something an aging madame would wear.

I think Team Vosovic and Team Diana functioned very well. Both leaders were good at communicating what they wanted as well as soliciting ideas from the rest of the team. On the other hand, Santino was a complete control freak who almost immediately tried to blame Emmett for the problems with his collection. Daniel F., on the other hand, drove his team crazy with his constant (and last minute) changes.

On the runway, it was Team Vosovic in a runaway. I didn't love the clothes, but they were truly the only ones that anyone in their right mind would have worn. I was disappointed by the fabric the team chose. It was all black. I think they could have used the same designs, but done some of them in a tweed or even tried to turn a vintage t-shirt into a sexy nightshirt.

Diana's team was a clear second, which brought it down to Team Santino vs. Team Franco. All of the remaining designers were clearly afraid that this might be a team elimination. As an aside, that really would have sucked. I didn't want to lose Nick or Chloe because someone else sucked. When it got down to the nitty gritty, Nick and Santino were quick to point the finger and Emmett, while both Chloe and Kara blamed Daniel F. Daniel, on the other hand, refused to sell out his team. He took full blame for the collection.

Sadly, Daniel's integrity lost out to Santino's creativity and the sweet Mr. Franco was out again. I'll miss Daniel. I don't love his designs, but I did love to watch the sparkle in his eye and his own confidence in his vision. He'll be missed.

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