Project Runway Gave Bryan a Huge Power in Episode 6, and His Jude Pick Wasn’t Random

Project Runway Season 22 has repeatedly experimented with rules that allow contestants to influence one another’s fate, but Episode 6 introduces one of the season’s most controversial variations yet. After the designers create red-carpet gowns for Heidi Klum to wear to The Devil Wears Prada 2 premiere, Christian Siriano reveals that the winner will receive more than immunity. Whoever wins can personally choose the three designers placed in danger of elimination. Bryan Barrientos takes the victory and names Bobby Diakonenkova, Naheim Muhammad and Jude Mikulencak, instantly making his earlier tension with Jude relevant to the judging outcome.

The twist does not mean Bryan personally eliminates anyone, because the judges still decide who leaves. However, giving one contestant the ability to determine the pool from which an elimination can occur is an unusually consequential reward. Bryan’s choices become even more complicated because Naheim has immunity, effectively leaving Bobby and Jude as the two vulnerable contestants once the nominations are made.

Why Was Bryan Allowed to Pick the Bottom Three?

Bryan gets the power simply because it is the special reward attached to winning Episode 6’s challenge. Christian announces during the workroom phase that the eventual winner will receive immunity and the right to select three competitors for the bottom group. The show does not provide a larger competition-wide rule explaining why this particular challenge carries that power, nor does it say that future winners will receive the same privilege. It is an Episode 6 twist rather than a standard part of Project Runway judging.

That distinction is worth making because viewers understandably questioned whether the judges had suddenly surrendered control of the competition. They had not completely. Heidi Klum and the judging panel still choose the winning designer, and after Bryan makes his nominations, the panel still decides which nominated contestant should be eliminated. What changes is the stage before that final decision: Bryan, not the judges, gets to identify the three people who must stand at the bottom.

The result is a strategic power that is arguably more dangerous than ordinary immunity. Immunity protects the winner for one challenge, but selecting the bottom three lets that winner potentially expose rivals who otherwise might have been judged safe. Episode 6 does not show a clear safeguard requiring Bryan to choose only the three objectively lowest-scoring garments. That ambiguity is a large part of why the twist immediately became controversial among viewers.

Bryan Chooses Bobby, Naheim and Jude

Bryan’s three selections are Bobby, Naheim and Jude, but they do not enter the bottom group on equal terms. Bobby has struggled with the construction of her gown and openly recognizes during the workroom phase that her technical difficulties are becoming visible. Naheim also has a rough challenge after dramatically simplifying his design late in the process. Jude’s black velvet corseted dress is comparatively more polished, although the judges and commentators find the concept familiar rather than especially fresh.

Naheim, however, cannot go home. Episode 6 begins by resolving the previous week’s paper-towel challenge, where Naheim defeats Jeffrey for the win and receives both a $20,000 prize and immunity. Bryan knows that immunity exists when he selects him for the bottom three, meaning Naheim can receive criticism but cannot become the eliminated designer.

That changes the practical consequence of Bryan’s decision. Once Naheim is included, the real elimination is narrowed to Bobby versus Jude. Bobby ultimately leaves after the judges criticize the uneven construction and execution of her gown, while Jude survives. Bryan does not directly send Bobby home, but his nominations determine the choices available to the judges.

Related: Project Runway Finally Reveals Who Designed Heidi Klum’s Devil Wears Prada 2 Premiere Dress

Was Bryan’s Choice of Jude About Revenge?

The episode strongly supports the idea that Bryan’s selection of Jude is personal as well as competitive. Earlier in Episode 6, Bryan discusses the previous judging round and indicates that he remembers Jude identifying him when contestants were asked to call out weaker competitors. Vulture’s recap specifically connects Bryan’s later nomination of Jude with his stated desire for payback, rather than treating the selection as purely a response to Jude’s dress that week.

Jude’s earlier criticism had not been especially theatrical. Viewer discussion of the previous episode notes that when contestants were pushed to name weaker designers, Jude resisted joining a broader pile-on against Joseph and instead identified Bryan while keeping his criticism focused on the work. That context makes the Episode 6 nomination feel disproportionate to some viewers, because Bryan appears to have remembered the name rather than simply reassessing the runway from scratch.

Still, the episode never establishes that revenge is Bryan’s only reason. Jude’s gown is well made but visually conservative compared with the stronger top looks, so Bryan can plausibly argue that the design belongs near the bottom. The issue is that his prior comments make it impossible to separate fashion judgment cleanly from personal history. That is precisely what the twist invites contestants to do.

Why Pick Naheim If He Had Immunity?

Selecting Naheim is strategically significant because it reduces the number of nominees who can actually be eliminated. Naheim’s garment genuinely struggles, so placing him in the bottom is defensible on design grounds. At the same time, Bryan knows that the judges cannot send him home, which means the third nomination does not carry the same risk as naming another unprotected designer.

Whether Bryan consciously chooses Naheim to create a Bobby-versus-Jude showdown is not explicitly confirmed. The episode does not provide a confession in which Bryan lays out that exact strategy, so presenting it as established fact would go too far. But structurally, that is what his choice accomplishes. As soon as Naheim enters the bottom group with immunity, the judges have only two contestants whose seasons can actually end.

That is why viewers have been debating the fairness of the twist rather than just the fairness of Bobby’s elimination. The concern is not necessarily that Bobby deserved to stay, because her gown had obvious execution problems. The concern is that another contestant was allowed to define which designers the judges could choose from in the first place.

Did Bryan Decide Who Was Eliminated?

No, Bryan selected the bottom three, but the judges retained the final elimination decision. That difference prevents the twist from becoming a direct contestant vote in the style of Survivor or Big Brother. Heidi, Law Roach, Winnie Harlow and Nina Dobrev still evaluate the nominated garments and decide who should leave. Bobby is ultimately eliminated after her gown’s construction and styling fail to convince the panel.

Law even argues during the final discussion that he would rather keep Bobby than Jude because he believes Bobby’s garment could be improved through styling. The other judges ultimately move in the opposite direction, saving Jude and ending Bobby’s competition. That exchange demonstrates that Bryan’s nominations create the situation but do not dictate its outcome.

The distinction also explains why Episode 6’s twist is more interesting than a simple revenge storyline. Bryan gets enough power for his personal relationships to matter, but not enough power to guarantee the result he wants. Jude, the person whose nomination attracts the most suspicion, survives anyway.

Why the Twist Feels So Different From Normal Project Runway Judging

The controversy comes from the fact that Project Runway normally presents runway judgment as an expert evaluation of the clothes in front of the panel. Contestants can feud, strategize and criticize one another, but those relationships traditionally sit beside the professional judging rather than formally determining who enters the elimination group. Episode 6 deliberately breaks that separation by giving Bryan institutional power over his competitors immediately after he wins. Vulture’s critic objected to the twist for essentially the same reason, arguing that it makes personal vindictiveness part of a process viewers normally expect the judges to control.

That does not make Bryan’s selections illegitimate under the rules. He wins the challenge and uses a power the show explicitly gives him, while Bobby and Naheim both have genuine design problems that make their nominations easy to defend. Jude is the choice that exposes the weakness in the format, because Bryan’s prior comments make a purely objective explanation harder to accept.

So why did Bryan get to choose the bottom three? Because Episode 6 intentionally made that authority part of the winner’s prize. Why did the decision become controversial? Because the show then gave that authority to a contestant who had already made clear that he remembered exactly who had criticized him.