How Did Joseph McRae Make the Project Runway Season 22 Finale? His Comeback Explained

Joseph McRae entered “Project Runway” Season 22 with something none of the other designers had: recent experience of being eliminated from the same competition. One year after finishing ninth in Season 21, McRae returned as the only designer from that cast given another full shot at the title. His second run was hardly smooth. He won challenges, clashed with fellow contestants, faced criticism from the judges and repeatedly found himself at the center of the season’s biggest debates. By the end of Episode 9, even making the finale appeared uncertain.

Episode 10 finally settles that question. After Anna Molinari, Jude Mikulencak and Bi Pham were named as the first three finalists, the judges decided there would be room for one more designer. That fourth position goes to Joseph, sending him into the final challenge alongside three contestants who had already secured their places.

For Joseph, simply reaching that stage represents a dramatic change from where his first “Project Runway” experience ended.

Related: Project Runway Season 22 Episode 7 Ending Explained
Related: Who Are the Project Runway Season 22 Finalists? Anna, Jude and Bi Are In, One Spot Remains

Joseph McRae’s Season 21 Exit Was Unusual

Joseph first competed on “Project Runway” in Season 21, where his run ended much earlier than it does this time. He finished in ninth place following the unconventional materials challenge.

What made the elimination particularly memorable was the way the decision was made. Joseph landed in danger, but the judges were not ultimately responsible for deciding which contestant would leave. Instead, the designers were given the power to vote among the contestants at risk, and Joseph received enough votes to be eliminated.

That left his first season without the kind of straightforward runway elimination most contestants receive. Whether the vote was based entirely on that week’s work or also reflected how his competitors viewed him remained open to interpretation.

When Freeform announced Season 22, Joseph was specifically introduced as a returning Season 21 designer. The show did not bring him back merely for a guest appearance or an alumni challenge. He was placed among the new cast and given another opportunity to compete from the beginning.

Joseph himself was careful about how he framed that return. Before the season, he said he did not view coming back as a simple “redemption story.” His intention was to reveal more of the thinking and identity behind his work rather than erase what had happened the previous year.

Joseph Quickly Proved His Return Wasn’t Just a Second Chance

Season 22 gave Joseph results that his first run never had time to produce. Early in the competition, he won a challenge after presenting a colorful look that received praise from Heidi Klum, Law Roach and the guest judges. Rather than spending the opening weeks trying to survive, Joseph immediately established himself as someone capable of winning.

His momentum continued during the NFL team challenge. As head of the Carolina Panthers team, Joseph worked with Aaron Potts and Naheim Muhammad, and their group was named the winning team.

Those results mattered later because Joseph’s Season 22 story became increasingly complicated. At one point, the contestants were asked to identify the weakest designer remaining in the competition, and several chose Joseph. He pushed back by pointing toward his record, arguing that the work he had produced did not match the idea that he was clearly the weakest person there.

It was an uncomfortable echo of Season 21, when his fellow contestants had played a direct role in sending him home.

Battle of the Seasons Became Joseph’s Biggest Test

The connection to his first season became impossible to ignore in Episode 7, “Battle of the Seasons.”

Several Season 21 designers returned to compete against the Season 22 cast in another unconventional materials challenge. That was already significant for Joseph because an unconventional challenge had ended his original run. This time, the result was considerably different.

Joseph created a look using discarded technological materials, including Christmas lights, and received some of his strongest feedback of the season. Law Roach, who had challenged Joseph at other points during Season 22, viewed the design as a significant improvement and one of the night’s stronger creations.

The episode effectively brought Joseph back to the circumstances of his previous elimination but allowed his design to change the outcome. He was no longer the contestant whose unconventional look sent him home. He had survived long enough to demonstrate that the same type of assignment could produce some of his best work.

Joseph Still Had to Survive a Difficult Final Stretch

The road to the finale was not suddenly easy after that. During the “Dancing with the Stars” challenge, Joseph designed for Ezra Sosa and was assigned the jive. His look landed among the bottom group, although he survived the elimination.

Episode 9 then created an even bigger problem. The remaining six designers had to create two looks for a modern bride, and Anna ultimately won the challenge. When the finalists were announced, Anna, Jude and Bi were the first three names called.

That appeared to leave Joseph, Naheim and Bryan Barrientos out of the finale.

Heidi Klum then revealed one final twist. The judges had decided that a fourth designer deserved to advance, but Episode 9 ended without revealing who it would be. The Season 22 finale opens by providing the answer: Joseph McRae.

Why Did Joseph Get the Fourth Finale Spot?

“Project Runway” does not initially provide a lengthy explanation establishing a mathematical ranking between Joseph, Naheim and Bryan. The confirmed answer is simpler: after evaluating the remaining designers, the judges chose Joseph as the additional finalist. His season-long record nevertheless makes the decision understandable.

Joseph had already won an individual challenge, helped lead a winning team and produced one of his strongest pieces when the competition returned to the unconventional materials format that had previously defeated him. His work was not consistently at the top, particularly during the final weeks, but he had established a recognizable point of view and enough strong runway moments to remain in contention.

Most importantly, Joseph’s return did not end as a replay of Season 21.

He came back to “Project Runway” as the only returning designer among a record 22-person Season 22 cast and made it all the way to the final four. Now, instead of watching the competition continue after an early exit, he gets the opportunity he missed the first time: presenting a capsule collection with the title on the line.

Whether that second chance ends with a Season 22 victory is a separate question. Reaching the finale already makes Joseph’s second “Project Runway” run considerably different from his first.