S07.E15: One Knight Only

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Note to other reality competition shows:  this is how it should be done.

Indeed.  And obviously I don't mean just how the finale should be done, it's how the whole show should be done.  I always feel kind of elated after watching Face-Off not just because it's just so exciting to watch but because it just restores my faith in humanity - high skill levels, genuine camaraderie, low bullshit. 

 

Congratulations to Dina.  I had felt going in that it was between Dina and Cig, but I really loved Drew's headpieces. The antlers were really beautiful.

 

My one quibble with this show is that these finale performances are always so underlit - I assume it must be deliberate, to make up for the fact that while these make-ups may look camera-ready, they're all kind of jury-rigged and probably will suffer some visible wear and tear during the performance.  I mean, I get it, but it's still frustrating not to be able to see them better in action.

 

And my favorite thing of all were the skeleton pants that Rashad wore!  *LOL*

 

I think those were Cig's.

I think you're right, but they reminded me immediately of the Mexican wrestler La Parka who has worn a similar outfit for decades:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&biw=1152&bih=707&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=la+parka&oq=la

[Richness]

Going into the finale, I thought it would be between Dina and Cig for the win. However, I was pleasantly surprised enough by how well Drew did in the finale, that it had me worried. I'd even venture to say that he may have won if it had been based solely on how well his knights fit the life and death knight challenge, and with each other. As it is, I think the overwhelming amount of gorgeous detail and overall performance is what gave Dina the win. Unfortunately, Cig wasn't anywhere in the running with the horrid life knight. If I have any complaints about Dina's work, it's that she's went with the aquatic theme so often, that I was tired of seeing it no matter how good it looked.

 

Regardless, I not complaining about Dina winning, or the continued camaraderie among the contestants. That they're helping out their competition during the finale is such a nice, uplifting departure from the usual drama on competitive reality TV.

 

If I have any complaints about the finale as a whole, it's the return of the previous winners to serve as helpers. As much as I enjoyed seeing the previous winners again, they've had their 15 minutes of fame. The helpers should have come from the current season as they have in the past. I don't care that this probably resulted in higher quality output; it should be about the current season and only the current season. That's why I hated the mixing of newbies and veterans season so much.

 

Related to the eliminated contestants returning to help, why was there only three to choose from? They should have been able to choose whomever they wanted from the entire season, and not just the three previously eliminations. If this and the returning champions were simply an effort to make it feel fresh and different, they failed horribly.

 

On to a few specific people: I wanted to slit my wrists all over again when I heard Sasha squeak out a few simple words. Did Nicole always have blue hair? I thought Keaghlan had returned at first. I enjoyed seeing the slab of hunky beefcake Rayce again.

 

Overall, excellent season. Can't wait till January, though the spoilery stuff has me a little concerned on how it's implemented.

[hincandenza]

Going into the finale, I thought it would be between Dina and Cig for the win. However, I was pleasantly surprised enough by how well Drew did in the finale, that it had me worried. I'd even venture to say that he may have won if it had been based solely on how well his knights fit the life and death knight challenge, and with each other. As it is, I think the overwhelming amount of gorgeous detail and overall performance is what gave Dina the win. Unfortunately, Cig wasn't anywhere in the running with the horrid life knight. If I have any complaints about Dina's work, it's that she's went with the aquatic theme so often, that I was tired of seeing it no matter how good it looked.

 

Regardless, I not complaining about Dina winning, or the continued camaraderie among the contestants. That they're helping out their competition during the finale is such a nice, uplifting departure from the usual drama on competitive reality TV.

 

If I have any complaints about the finale as a whole, it's the return of the previous winners to serve as helpers. As much as I enjoyed seeing the previous winners again, they've had their 15 minutes of fame. The helpers should have come from the current season as they have in the past. I don't care that this probably resulted in higher quality output; it should be about the current season and only the current season. That's why I hated the mixing of newbies and veterans season so much.

 

Related to the eliminated contestants returning to help, why was there only three to choose from? They should have been able to choose whomever they wanted from the entire season, and not just the three previously eliminations. If this and the returning champions were simply an effort to make it feel fresh and different, they failed horribly.

 

On to a few specific people: I wanted to slit my wrists all over again when I heard Sasha squeak out a few simple words. Did Nicole always have blue hair? I thought Keaghlan had returned at first. I enjoyed seeing the slab of hunky beefcake Rayce again.

 

Overall, excellent season. Can't wait till January, though the spoilery stuff has me a little concerned on how it's implemented.

 

Yeah, I agree Dina had a "sameness" to her output, especially with the glowy coral reef palette she often used, that wasn't critiqued enough by the judges... but her skill and level detail were still so impressive you couldn't ignore it.  And it's a far cry from poor Rod in season 3, who kept unintentionally sculpting his own face in his creations over and over until finally the judges had to tell him about his sculptural blind spot. :)

 

I think the returning winners as assistants in the finale was used as a setup/tie-in to announcing the format of the new season which (i think we can safely avoid spoilers since it's on the front page of the SyFy Face Off page) has three past winners- Laura, Anthony, and Rayce- as mentors throughout the season, apparently acting as more dedicated Michael Westmores mentor/coaches to some of the artists, a la "The Voice".

 

Similarly, my suspicion is that- knowing they would surprise them with the past winners as the second assistant for the finale- they simply asked each contestant in the top 4 or 5 to rank the other two or three artists they'd most prefer as an assistant, then picked the three that best fit that in all the possible finale 3 scenarios.  I can totally believe that Dina would pick Stella even if she had everyone to choose from anyway, or that Drew would pick George, or Cig picking Sasha.  But who knows? It's not like I've never been wrong before... :)