S07.E11: Teacher's Pets

[Rammchick]

 

I think Rachael is a lot more confident than Sasha, as well, and Sasha seems to be torn between having strong opinions and expecting to be directed/rescued by an adult. But she's an adult now, officially, and it would serve her well to act like it. There have been very young contestants on this show before, and none of them have been quite as immature as Sasha IMO. YMMV.

She seems to be a very odd dichotomy.  On one hand, she's an iconoclast, to the point of shunning others' advice, and sometimes it works in her favor (the scary clown doll...or doll clown...one of those), and sometimes it doesn't (the many-eyed Cyclops...oy).  On the other, she acts like a little girl.  So which is the real Sasha?  Is the "little girl" bit just an act to get attention when things don't go her way?  I'm beginning to think so.

[hincandenza]

Noooo!  Aw, damn.  I actually shouted out loud when they said Rachael's name.  Admittedly, it was her worst work... but as much as I love George- he's my favorite personality on this show, possibly ever- he has turned in two really shitty works in a row. 

 

Bad looks:

It's hardly even arguable George should have been in the bottom last week, and this week as well; that's why I'm actually surprised he didn't go home, since his Goblin Jock did not read Goblin, or Jock, and was just a badly done weirdly blocky head piece that was also poorly painted. At least with Rachael, you could see some faun details on a roughly finished makeup, but George's "Doug Oblin" was a complete failure in every way.  That's two weeks in a row he has delivered really poor makeups, and also had trouble visually meeting the challenge criteria.  This was a total mess; I think the wheels came off when he changed the hairstyle to "mullet" because mullet seems more like the kind of kids who get caught smoking in middle school, or hang out in shop class, listen to heavy metal, that sort.  I think a more 1950's crew cut meatheaded "Biff Tannen" look would have been MUCH more successful.

 

Rachael was my other favorite this season, and it shows how laughably inaccurate my predictions are: if you look back over my posts over in these forums the last few weeks, you'd just have to bet on the opposite of whatever I said and you'd make a killing in Vegas. :)  Two weeks ago, the bottom 2 this episode were my "easy" picks to make the finals.  Now one is gone, and the other is reeling.  It's a shame; Rachael is far better than what she gave us tonight, and the judges were dead on that it looks like a badly done demon cheerleader.  Still, I think if her horns had been attached she might have skated by and we'd see George go home.  She had a goo run though, and this was a mess, so can't even be that upset at her selection.  And on a shallow note, she looked especially gorgeous tonight with whatever she was doing in her eye makeup, so I'm gonna miss my voluptuous hottie TV girlfriend. :'(

 

I think if there was any mistake in judging, it was not also putting Sasha into a bottom 3.  Sasha is so vexing; at times fantastic, at times atrocious, but usually that kind of inconsistency is gone at this point.  How do you mess up a cyclops cheerleader and turn out a space alien?!?  I thought she even was going take Michael Westmore's advice... but I don't think she really did.  How hard is it to do a single-eyes beauty makeup, you'd think Sasha would have excelled at that: the challenge for her should have been "Make this model into a stereotypical cheerleader, but such that you still think of her as beautiful with one big eye", and she might have nailed it.  I'd have been more than happy to see her go home instead of either Rachael or George.

 

Good looks:

As for the good looks: I have to gush, but I think Drew absolutely killed it this week.  That makeup was simply fabulous- in every sense of the word, I suppose. :)  He really got an amazing look and feel to that skin texture, it felt believable and naturalistic without seeming doughy or mask-like.  Plus, he totally and perfectly captured the emo look such that I would believe that as a high school character in some kind of "Percy Jackson" style show or movie.  It was an incredibly professional makeup, and I don't know where he pulled that from.  It was incredible, from head to toe.

 

Similarly, Cig has turned out another very solid makeup, and he clearly learned something in the last couple of weeks.  He talked last week about seeing a sameness in his designs- remember that guy from a few seasons' back who never quite realized that every sculpt looked just like his own face?- and this week he must have made a conscious effort to make an emotive piece, so it was less a mask and the model could emote through the makeup.  It was a beautifully rendered nerd-o-taur, with a great shape and idea as well as so many clever and tongue-in-cheek details- the ginger/freckled look, the glistening runny nose, the atomic wedgee and the whole wardrobe... just about everything.  I could easily see this having won as well.  Like Drew's Emo-taur, it looks very ready for camera, and I am less inclined to rip on Cig's all-too-precious personality given that a) he jokes along with George and seems like a cool guy, and b) he turns out consistently complete and decently realized makeups.

 

Misc:

So many good moments I can't really recall them all. George making that crack about how easy (cutting hair) looks at Supercuts, or Lois pointing out Stella's cow-a-taur was because she was female, and especially loved Glenn while looking at Drew's Emo-taur, saying something like "It looks kind of fitted on... but then again, so does my own hair".  Glenn has really become more charming this season, and despite being sad that Rachael is gone- and George looks to be following her soon if he doesn't get his act together- all in all this season has been pretty entertaining, and as always is wonderfully good-natured and enjoyable to watch.

[tpplay]

I have to admit, I didn't much like Cig's make-up this week.  At all.  I liked Drew's - but, somehow, I don't like DREW so much.  Don't know why.

 

I'm relieved that George made it through, although I would have understood had he not.

 

And I'll admit that I am pretty fond of Sasha.  She's clueless.  Which isn't a great quality in a 22 year old but the judges can send her home - and I do understand why they saved her.  She seems to be more talented than she realizes and I believe the reason she can't follow through is that she has no idea where her talent lies and how to capitalize on it.

[snakenax]

As much as I like George as a contestant personality wise, it was kind of sour to see a 'could make top 3 and possible win' contestant like Rachael go who has consistently put out good make ups in favor of George who is ultimately cannon fodder, his best this season has been pretty mediocre and his average is shoddy and rough(a bit like House, but without the awful attitude). But Rachael's was a incomplete make up, and i'm pretty sure every time a incomplete make up has gone up the contestant has gone home. But I much rather would have seen George go, since I know i'm never going to see anything interesting out of him.

 

The EmoFaun was amazing. Especially when the actor speaks, that was absolutely camera ready because it moves well enough when he speaks to not impede speech or look fake. Drew seems more and more likely to get to top 3.

 

I was fine with Sasha's being safe. It didn't really read cyclops or cheerleader, but it was pretty amazing. The color palette, the shapes, the creepiness of the black eyes and how well the model's eyes were hidden. And that lipstick, I don't know how she made that lipstick but that is ridiculously cool.

[picklesprite]

I'm really glad they keep saving Sasha. Her two winning looks have been my favorites of the season. 80% of her attempts can be fails, and I'll still want to see the amazing 20%. To me, she has the potential to be, ultimately and by far, the most interesting and original make-up artist of the bunch--in a few years, maybe. She'll probably never be good at traditional monsters, though; her specialty is probably always going to be "the pretty," to which I am also partial.

Edited October 2, 2014 by picklesprite

[LoneHaranguer]

I thought when she Googled cyclops she found the literal translation for 'round eye' but this isn't a language class, it's a fantasy makeup challenge and they wanted her to recreate the mythological creature.

A simple request to Google gives you the one-eyed version and you have to dig for the definition she pointed to. The only way you can get Google to tell you about cyclops' with more than one eye, is to directly query on that, and even then it fights you. Either this was something she already knew and was going way out on a limb hoping to impress the judges, or she confused a cyclops with Argus, and this was a CYA move.

[OakGoblinFly]

As bad as Rachel's look was, it at least fit the parameters of the challenge and personally I think that Rachel had far more successful looks than Sasha (plus she doesn't have to ask for help every 5 minutes).  I wonder if the "safe" call was to justify the judges' use of the Save on her.

 

Sasha completely missed the Cyclops AND the Fantasy element and there was nothing about her work that said cheerleader.

 

I would have put Sasha and Rachel in the bottom with Sasha sent packing.

 

I am disappointed that Dina was only called safe - I liked her work much better than Cig's.

 

Drew's Emo Faun was perfection.

[snakenax]

 

A simple request to Google gives you the one-eyed version and you have to dig for the definition she pointed to. The only way you can get Google to tell you about cyclops' with more than one eye, is to directly query on that, and even then it fights you. Either this was something she already knew and was going way out on a limb hoping to impress the judges, or she confused a cyclops with Argus, and this was a CYA move.

I'm pretty sure it was her intention from the start, Sasha picked first so intentionally went for Cyclops.

[Nutjob]

I liked Rachael, but I was so worried when I thought George might go that I realized how much I love him. I mean, the whole "Doug Oblin" conversation with Dina alone was GOLD. I know he won't win, but I'll be very sad when he's no longer around to be awesome.

 

That said, I would've given Cig the win. The whole thing was just inspired, right on down to the wedgie. He's a very creative thinker, and I think he has a shot at winning this whole thing.

[Monty]

I was a tiny bit disappointed when Glenn told Rachael that they couldn't consider the ears of her makeup b/c they were obscured by hair; I clearly remember other competitions where the judges have told the designer to pull back a wig or move a draped shirt

That's a really good point. For example, Sasha's winning doll look from last week was put over the top by the scalp details that you couldn't see unless you pulled the hair aside.

[tobysmom]

That's a really good point. For example, Sasha's winning doll look from last week was put over the top by the scalp details that you couldn't see unless you pulled the hair aside.

that's true and a good point.  But, in that case the scalp wasn't a thing that defined a "clown doll" it was just an added bonus. But the ears are the only thing on Rachel's that was "faun" like.

[Ketzel]

that's true and a good point.  But, in that case the scalp wasn't a thing that defined a "clown doll" it was just an added bonus. But the ears are the only thing on Rachel's that was "faun" like.

Plus, ears aren't necessarily covered by hair, so Rachel was making a design choice by covering them, where the scalp detailing Sasha did was, by definition, covered by the doll hair.

Edited October 3, 2014 by Ketzel

[snakenax]

Plus it's just a reoccuring issue on the show of covering over important appliances or sculptural details with wigs/wardrobes. Having a extra detail on the wig, which is what Sasha did with her doll, is different than styling a wig in such a way that it covers up your work.

[satrunrose]

I may just have yelped at the tv when the safe crew was announced. If I had my way it would have been Drew, Cig and Dana top, Sacha, Rachel and George bottom with Stella safe (Stella's was well done, but too much of a mask for me). After I thought about it some more, I think I'm more okay with what happened. Sacha's work was technically good, even if it bore no resemblance to a cheerleader cyclops, while George and Rachel's was a mess. Plus, while I would have liked the judges to have a word with her about following the actual challenge, it does look kind of hypocritical for her to win one week for a doll with a clown face (which some argued didn't really fit the challenge) and get yelled at the next for doing largely the same thing. She does go her own way too much, which will be a problem because if a director asks for a teen cyclops he or she won't be too happy if they get a multi-eyed space alien, but i think a little bit of maturity will help her find the line between out of the box and not in the same zip code. 

 

Some other random thoughts...

 

George: yeah, that was bad, but I did like the mullet. We do call it hockey hair for a reason in Canada. Actually, I wonder if George shouldn't have gone with the Canadian version of the entitled jerk football jock aka the hockey player. It would have fit the models' physique a lot better and been the unique twist he seemed to be looking for. 

 

Dina: I loved her look so much in the make-up room, where I think she went wrong was the costuming. The big hat and drum (and possibly some of the last look painting) seemed to age the character. In the earlier shots it looked a lot more like a wide-eyes baby faced teen than the final product. 

 

Loved Cig and Drew. Drew's model's "don't touch me" made me fall off the couch laughing. 

[LoneHaranguer]

 

She does go her own way too much, which will be a problem because if a director asks for a teen cyclops he or she won't be too happy if they get a multi-eyed space alien, but i think a little bit of maturity will help her find the line between out of the box and not in the same zip code.

The judges are looking for creativity. IRL, I expect that if the director cares, there will be an iterative process, but sometimes they'll just have a vague idea and expect someone else to come up with something original, in which case bending the parameters might be a good thing.

[hincandenza]

The judges are looking for creativity. IRL, I expect that if the director cares, there will be an iterative process, but sometimes they'll just have a vague idea and expect someone else to come up with something original, in which case bending the parameters might be a good thing.

 

I kind of agree- but also kind of disagree.  The judges are looking for creativity as well as solid technical skills; while winning this show means consistency and balance in both areas, the judges have shown in their work lives that they are thrilled to find and hire people lopsidedly gifted in specific areas, such as speed-sculptor Wayne or painter Laura or fabricator Roy, and I think that those kind of people generally last longer in the show than creative idea-people without the same skill level.  You only need one idea person, but skilled craftsmen are vital as well, and I think the judges are very well aware of that.

 

And I also agree that in the "real world", you'd have sketches and ongoing discussions with the director, make iterative improvements, and certainly not be as constrained by this show's artificial time limits.  But in a sense, the Michael Westmore visit is something of a first pass/iteration with the "director", since it's not that far-fetched that his early criticisms will be similar to the thoughts the judges have.  I'm still confused that he told Sasha that it wasn't reading as a Cyclops, she enthusiastically agreed and acted happy for his feedback, and then... I didn't really notice much difference in her final sculpt and what she showed to the Westmores.

 

Judging is inherently subjective, but from what I've grokked watching this show from season 3 on is that they always reserve the right to either praise or condemn a makeup for a specific noteworthy element (exceptional painting on an otherwise weak concept; horrible form language on a clever concept), even if it seems "hypocritical" of them because it shares some similar flaws or shortcomings with other makeups.

 

Sometimes people get sent home because the concept is so completely devoid of any real creativity- such as Damien and his cookie-cutter Spider Clown, which the judges mentioned was decently done but just a completely uninspired idea.  Other times, they will praise a derivative or flawed concept when it is so perfectly done and camera ready; some forum readers hated the clown-doll last week from Sasha, but the judges adored it even though you could plausible argue the concept was unbalanced between clown and childhood fear.  I do agree that at the end of the day, a really clever/creative idea executed reasonably well is probably going to fare better than a boring idea executed beautifully (which pretty much sums up Cig this season: mostly meh ideas, but always beautifully completed sculpts and paints), but I don't think concept/creativity trumps everything else. 

 

In my opinion, Sasha's makeup this week, while it was executed competently well, was a laughable conceptual failure overall because it:

• did not fit in to the "Mythology High" theme in an instantly recognizable way.
• wasn't inspired; even if she'd done the one-eye cheerleader, it still has no clever "hook" like say Manny Minotauri
• looked far fitting the episode 3 "Ancient Aliens" challenges.  A polished space alien, but a space alien nonetheless

 

Was it a bad makeup, out of context?  Nah, it looked decent, so I guess I can see it being safe as "poor idea but skilled and finished makeup/sculpt", where both Rachael and George had bland ideas that also didn't even get friggin' finished.  I still think she should have been in the bottom 3, but they aren't being too rigid on bottom/top counts this season. 

 

Mostly, I think George should have gone home instead of Rachael, because as much as he is charming and funny to watch, his last two weeks' creations are among the worst I've seen on this show.

Edited October 5, 2014 by hincandenza

[Portia]

Finally got to watch last week's episode, and I was 100% on board with Drew's win. 

I really enjoyed this challenge, but I'm still gobsmacked that Sasha was safe. And so was she, obviously. Hopefully she'll be gone soon, once the "save" calculus reaches an acceptable result - they can't auf her the episode after she was saved, and they then have to keep her X episodes after to justify the save, unless she just gives up. I like George, but that's two weeks in a row that he's been seriously subpar, right? I'd have put the band geek higher, and put Sasha in the bottom, just for failing on the challenge parameters so spectacularly, and in defiance of good advice. We already know they don't necessarily care about having the same number of bottom and top looks, so I can't imagine why that wasn't done, unless - save calculus.

I agree with this and so many other good comments above. I had tried to get over being mad about Sasha's save, but this episode underscored that the save should have been, well, SAVED. I think either Rachael or George would have been deserving of it this time around. 

 

I also think this episode also proved that the judges take more than just the single week's work into consideration. I thought George's was the worse makeup, but I felt like Rachael was sent home because the judges just plain liked George more overall.

 

I do understand why Rachael got sent home but I was sorry to see her go.  I've liked her poise and maturity.  I even got used to the purple hair, something I never thought I'd say.  She's attractive enough to carry it off.

 

Once I saw that Rachael was in danger, I started regretting not pulling for her more earlier in the season. I suddenly began appreciating the intelligence that she radiates when she speaks. That will be sorely missed, especially every time Sasha's on screen.  She's like a little yapping dog; I can't even focus on the words she's saying.

 

[band humor] At first my husband protested that Dina was making her band geek a drummer. "Percussionists are cool," he said. "Her band geek should play something nerdy like the oboe." (My spouse is a percussionist--or did you already guess that?) But when her character came out in full costume, he said, "Oh, wait, it's a BASS drum . . . that really IS nerdy." [/band humor]

Edited October 6, 2014 by Portia

[snakenax]

 

I also think this episode also proved that the judges take more than just the single week's work into consideration. I thought George's was the worse makeup, but I felt like Rachael was sent home because the judges just plain liked George more overall.

I would say it showed the opposite, since Rachael has a much, much better track record than George on the show and she got sent home for a piece that was incomplete, pretty much the death knell of any contestant.

 

Mostly, I think George should have gone home instead of Rachael, because as much as he is charming and funny to watch, his last two weeks' creations are among the worst I've seen on this show.

I totally agree, because ultimately Rachael could get to the top three and have a possibility of winning, but unless George busts out unseen before now skills in sculpting, concepting, painting and application he won't make it to top three and if he did it would be by better artists having a bad day, like Rachael.

Edited October 7, 2014 by snakenax

[Portia]

I would say it showed the opposite, since Rachael has a much, much better track record than George on the show and she got sent home for a piece that was incomplete, pretty much the death knell of any contestant.

 

Actually, when I used the term "liked," I was trying to express that George just seemed more like an overall favorite to me, not necessarily based on his individual performances. You make an excellent point about Rachael's incomplete work, though, and you obviously have paid closer attention to the contestants' week-by-week stats than I have. Honestly, Rachael just didn't make much of an impression on me until it was too late. I feel like I should write her a note of apology.

[aradia22]

I'm surprised that the Goblin Nerd character was only safe. I would have placed it in top looks over the Minotaur Nerd which looked odd to me. There was something off about it that didn't fully translate as bull. I really liked the Emo Faun. Everyone else... yeah. They deserved to be where they were. Sasha did the same tree bark thing but her piece didn't look bad. The Emo Minotaur could have been a little better but it was fine compared to the bottom 2 which looked super rough, especially with the paint where they could have saved them a little. I thought George should have gone home.