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[This is Rodney, the main author of this blog. I usually reserve this space for Q to handle "Project Runway" but she's out of town. So I'm subbing this week.]

As we hit the halfway point of ‘Project Runway,” the remaining contestants are feeling pressure to lift their game. For some, risk-taking worked. Others bit off more than they could chew.

Several designers kept saying they were in a state of near panic as deadline neared. Even the usually gabby Anthony was quiet. Some barely finished on time – or didn’t really finish but made do with what they had.

The challenge: use one of four elements (air, water, fire, earth) for inspiration. It’s an open-ended concept and some interpretations were loose, to say the least. (Atlanta’s always delightful Anthony used fire and opted for black and gray, as in ashen, instead of the obvious red, which confused Mila in the workroom.)

The two with the biggest problems: Amy and Ben.

Amy, inspired by fire, tried to create an unusual silhouette in which the model’s hair would wrap inside the top of the dress. The dress wrapped like an oversized bowl around her to fit her hair. “Contained chaos,” Amy told Tim Gunn.

But it was just chaos once the final product was out on the runway. Amy said she felt like she needed to try something bold but was aware it wasn’t working. In the end, it looked horrid and she landed in the bottom three.

“She looks like a barmaid serving her hair,” sneered judge Michael Kors.

Nina Garcia wrinkled her nose and said, “It’s just weird.”

Later, Kors noted, “she got stuck with her concept.”

Of the bottom three, which also included a dull “track suit to the mall” combo from Mila, Ben was the only one who hadn’t won a challenge. In fact, he noted that he’d been mostly middle of the pack, not getting much airtime as a result. Unfortunately, his first big misstep was a doozy and led him out the door.

Ben attempted a flesh-colored suit inspired by water and great white sharks that he could not finish properly. And he stitched the pants to make it look like the model was wearing underpants on the outside. The word “jockstrap” came up – not a flattering description but one that stuck.

“A real mess,” Garcia said.

“Jockstrap pants,” mused Kors. “It’s wacky!”

Heidi Klum told Ben moments before she sent him home: “A good suit has to be meticulous. Yours was an amateurish mess. That jockstrap pant detail was unflattering. The shark’s teeth were bizarre and came back to bite you.”

The best, according to the judges: Jonathan, who took a gamble and actually succeeded. He conveyed airy laughter with a romantic white, layered, spring-like dress that matched the model’s skin tone perfectly. It was bold but pretty.

“Romantic and very airy,” Klum told him. “You pushed yourself and it showed.”

This was Jonathan’s first win. “You’re headed in the right direction,” he said of himself. “You just have to keep winning.”

After eight challenges, only Jay has won twice. He’s the midpoint frontrunner. He’s also the only remaining contestant who has not landed in the bottom three after eight challenges.

Anthony Williams quote of the day: “This is not a departure for me using darker colors. Black is not only beautiful but it’s officially presidential.”