But before any shopping or sketching happened, Tim answered my question from last week regarding the inequality between the teams. Rather than let the Dream Team get picked off, he decided to shuffle things a bit. Stanley and Layana hopped over to the Dream Team, and Michelle joined Team Keeping It Real.

Each team had to create a cohesive line, and Stanley proved to be a great addition to the Dream Team by immediately giving them a direction – 1950s Dior. Team Keeping It Real, on the other hand, identified no such starting point, instead going with “well, let’s all use flowers.” Good times.

For once, the Dream Team seemed to have a solid handle on things while Team Keeping It Real crumbled. Joseph Aaron even said he wanted “flowers that look like brains and eat the model.” Sounds glamorous. Tim seemed to agree with Michelle, in that “it’s as if everything is designed by crazy people.”

The runway results were surprising based on the course of the season so far – but not so much when based strictly on this episode. The Dream Team’s line was stunning, between Samantha’s tulle-and-leaves skirt, Matthew’s surprisingly well-done mop top, and Stanley’s very retro, very Dior dress.

Over on Team Keeping It Real, both Patricia and Joseph Aaron showed dresses hindered by an overabundance of mismatched flora. I was also saddened by the hip bulges plaguing Daniel’s look. Add in the lack of cohesion, and this line just wasn’t as good, even if the judges didn’t seem to dislike it as much as I did.

The shake-up seems to have been a good thing – a leveled playing field means the weak links on each team will be at risk at some point or another.

Let’s see if the Dream Team can keep it up, or if Team Keeping It Real manages to rally for another win. Talk to you then. Auf Wiedersehen for now.

By Jess Huckins, Staff Writer 

Do you prefer the switched-up teams? Let us know in the comments below, or tweet us at @ruelala. 

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