First I need to say, I am loving this all-stars season. This show has been had two disastrous seasons in a row and I know lots of viewers who were on the verge of giving it up. Who could blame them? Two years ago our winner sent down moldy-looking granny panties and flimsy garments that wouldn't even make the racks at Wal-Mart. Last year our winner could barely sew. Remember when this show focused on talented designers capable of making interesting fashion? Well thank goodness that, for the most part, that's exactly what we've gotten from "All Stars."

Last night's challenge was the first time this season that I got even a little worried that the show might be pulling back toward the black hole of suck brought to you by Lifetime. The task - design a fabulous cocktail dress for timeless fashion icon Miss Piggy - was certainly fun. And most of the designers took it in that spirit (with the notable exception of that bitch Anthony, who nearly sprained his eyeballs from rolling them so much). But the judging was wacky to me. This may have been partially due to the absence of Isaak Mizrahi, temporarily replaced by the costume designer of "Gossip Girl." He had some entertaining banter with Piggy, but I wondered if perhaps the PTSD he must suffer from working on a show that sucktacular might have contributed to the selection of top and bottom designs.

When they announced the six designers with the highest and lowest scores - Austin, Kenley, Mila, Rami, Gordana, and Michael - I honestly could not guess who would end up in the top and who would be in the bottom. I really think it could have gone either way, depending on what the judges were looking for. The instructions were to go over-the-top with the challenge - they were designing for a pig puppet, for Henson's sake - and Austin's look was definitely that, with two giant bows bouncing on the side of his dark gray dress with dark pink accents. The judges disliked the combination of colors, and I could see where they were going there. I think if both the pink and gray had been brighter it would have looked fresher. Miss Piggy was concerned that the dress wasn't functional. Could she hula hoop in that dress? Austin argued that the bows would actually help keep the hoop up. Touche.

Mila's modern-mod dress was really cute and totally her, but as the judges noted, too Wednesday Addams for Miss Piggy. I like Mila and I think she does some really interesting thing with her materials. She's a smart, serious designer. But "fun" has never been her forte. Her dress was the least "Piggy" of the bunch and I expected that it would send her home. (I have always suspected that, even though she came in third her original season, Mila would be an early boot this time out.)

Rami found a bubbly pink and orange polka-dot print and created a ruffly dress that looked like something out of a Mexican wedding to me. (I was especially getting that vibe whenever his model was standing next to Austin in his bizarre mariachi outfit.) Really fun dress, but very young, and I thought it might read too costume to the judges. But they loved it.

They also loved Michael's sleek, sexy dress in a dark-but-sparkly print, with a massive ribbon/bow contraption taking up one side. It's an interesting dress, but to me it was very dated - very late 80's, early 90's - and nothing about that look said Miss Piggy to me. The judges told him flat out that the styling was all wrong, with the black leather gloves and heels. It was like something out of a Robert Palmer video. (Brief tangent: how excited am I that Michael's model is Leslie from "Top Model" Cycle 6? I always thought she was very sexy but was hampered by a lack of personality and that dreadful walk. She seems to have gotten the last bit under control, it seems.)

Kenley was confident that she would win with her dress, a pink-and-white giraffe print with a busted bust line and full frilly skirt, topped with a giant wad of tulle as a "hat." It looked ridiculous and girly, but again, that's what I expect from Miss Piggy. The judges liked it, but had concerns about the construction of the top. Miss Piggy liked the hat, which could be repurposed into a pot scrubber. True.

Lastly, Gordana created a flowy dusty-rose gown that NotTimGunn worried would look too much like a nightgown. I did at first too, but I thought it looked fine on the runway and, in a certain way of thinking, more Miss Piggy than pretty much anything else in the challenge. It was basic but classic, and something I could see Piggy wearing in one of the 80's Muppets movies. The judges thought it was a fine dress but that it missed the challenge. I really don't agree with that. I think there were several other dresses in the mix (Jerrell's musty flapper-ice skater, Mondo's heavy-looking wrapping-paper that fit terribly, April's Tim Burton black-on-black number) that were way less successful than Gordana's.

But it didn't matter, because Gordana was out. When it came down to her and Mila I assumed Mila was a goner - how do you argue that a flowy pink gown is less Piggy than a mod-looking black-and-white number? It was then that I started to wonder if the show has something like a predetermined order of elimination. So far the designers that have been cut could be classified as "low-hanging fruit" - they're good, but were never going to win this competition. Their eliminations are easy to justify. But I don't feel like, in this case, the cut was based on the work we saw on that stage.

That goes double for the win, which went to Michael Costello. Of the three dresses placed at the top of the pack his was easily the least on the mark for this assignment. Again: chic, interesting dress. Very pretty. But I can't imagine seeing Miss Piggy wearing it. Rami and Kenley's? Absolutely. Girly! Fun! Flirty! None of that was in Michael's design. His win said to me, "We don't want Rami winning two out of the three challenges thus far, and Kenley had construction issues. You win by default, mostly because people like you." That isn't to say that Michael isn't talented. I really think the man has a gift for making very pretty dresses; he's practically a savant. I just don't think he deserved that win at all.

Next: DVF! A six-hour challenge! How the hell do you make a dress in six hours?