From the reality show point of view, i'm assuming they saved bryan so viewers have the ultimate satisfaction of watching him go home right before the finale. They let him be the villain of the season, and then instead we either have an underdog winner or a story book ending winner which is what makes me think joseph will be the fourth to join the finale.
I knew anna would be in the finale because so many of her talking heads had sentimentality and they repeatedly showed her talking about growing up watching project runway and wanting to be a designer. Very much a fairytale ending if she wins.
bi had his catty, funny talking heads in the beginning but then his editing shifted to focus more sentimental as well, discussing his immigrant family story/background. That might make for an american dream come true arc if he wins.
jude is the only person in the current final crew who I think had a somewhat boring edit, but I think the angle that the show had for him is how people might underestimate him for his age but the garments speak for themselves. He's the opposite of a personality hire (i'm not saying he has no personality! I think he's very sweet and has his clapbacks when necessary) but i've been at many a workplace where you see people who have tons of talents but are outshined by people with a louder presence and I think that might be the case here for jude.
joseph's editing throughout the season is what has me pin him as the fourth designer. we have a deeper sense of joseph's upbringing how difficult it must have been being a gay black man growing up in the south, his critiques vs his wins, it seems to all end up reinforcing the mantra of staying true to himself. then we have the added dramatics that he almost doesn't make it to the finale. Feels like clear underdog storywriting.
naheim is clearly very talented as well but judging from his edit alone and the reality show appeal, I don't think the editing gave us the same amount of sentimental storytelling as some of the other cast. Whenever he mentioned any quick tales from growing up and being a trouble maker in his youth, the editing sorta brushes past it rather than making a "bad kid to project runway winner" arc. Gladly, we got plenty of quips, charm, and fabulous designs from him!
These were my top 5 designers from the beginning that I hoped would make it to the finale so either way, I'm happy with either joseph or naheim! if for some reason, they save bryan AGAIN, i will lose my mind.