S06.E09: Like a Moth to the Flame

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The artists find themselves painting with fire in the Flash Challenge. A romance between a couple of the artists tests loyalties.

[HunterHunted]

Ugh, Chris is a smug ass. His dumb alliance has no clue that he'll throw them under the first chance he gets. Congrats idiots. I'm glad Marisa is gone; I don't know how much more I can take of Marisa and Tyler: Star crossed inked lovers.

I appreciated that Craig was upset that his canvas might be upset about her tattoo. We usually see far too much ego from the inktestants. His sympathetic tears moved me and I think Craig worked hard to get his canvas something she liked. I also think he bonded with her because he wanted to put out something nice after all of the seasons where everyone talks about dark skin as if it's a curse.

[zxy556575]

Yeesh, the judges were in high dungeon tonight for some reason. I've seen a lot jankier tattoos over the years than these and even thought the one with Neptune looking over his back was nicely done. The canvases approve the drawings before they get any ink so if this guy wanted flowing hair or a different pose he should have said so.

 

Tyler would have left if it was up to me, not because he was emotionally beat down but because his tattoo was muddy and unreadable.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I couldn't believe that Tyler is so clueless and dense that Marissa had to coach him under her breath during elimination. "Stop talking." "You should apologize." "Tell them you will change your attitude." He has a short fuse and a bad attitude. Boo hoo, you have to do tattoos that are outside of your comfort zone. Sorry, dude, this is the SIXTH season of this show. If you didn't realize beforehand that you would have to do different styles and subject matter, then you are a moron. It's not like the first five seasons consisted of tattoo artists coming on the show and only doing their specialty and then they completely changed the format this year.

Edited August 27, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[TattleTeeny]

I didn't love the subject matter, but I do think that Chris's and the short-haired peeing Neptune one looked very nice (the latter despite its issues).

 

I do not get why they gun for each other with the skull picks during the flash challenges--unless, of course, that challenge is actually one that involves real-deal tattoos on people. The other flash tasks are often things that they'd have no way of knowing if their rivals (or even themselves, for that matter) are any good at, like last night's. The skull-pickers have no idea what these people did before tattooing--and if their competitors went to art school proper, they likely had to do all sorts of super-random creative nonsense (I can call it that; I went to "art school proper"). 

Edited August 26, 2015 by TattleTeeny

[azshadowwalker]

Tyler would have left if it was up to me, not because he was emotionally beat down but because his tattoo was muddy and unreadable.

 

The way he talked in front of his canvas was inexcusable. Telling Marissa that he was "over" the tattoo and how much he hated it? Way to instill confidence in the person you're putting that ink on, asshole.

 

I truly hate Chris more every week. Dave is the worst follower ever. If you're an actual tattoo artist, you don't need an alliance. This isn't Survivor, ffs.

[toodywoody]

Tyler would have went home if I was judging. When they showed his tattoo, I said "What the hell is that?" My daughter cracked up because I could not tell what the tattoo was at all. 

 

I hate when these asshats say "well I don't do that kind of tattoo". It is called Ink Master and you should master every kind of tattoo to be a real Ink Master.

 

And you are right, this isn't Survivor. IF you tattoo all your tattoos well and can do it all then you should win.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I didn't love the subject matter, but I do think that Chris's and the short-haired peeing Neptune one looked very nice (the latter despite its issues).

I literally LOL'd at Dave's comment about the latter. Putting the trident in his left hand would have been better. The wreath could have had a little more variety in its design instead of repeating the same shell all of the way around. The judges were correct to say that this week's work was weak.

[Nutjob]

When Chris busted out with the word "alliance" I lost it. I'll be the third to say it--this is NOT Survivor! You have to impress the judges, not each other. Idiots.

 

I guess I'm rooting for Matt and Craig by default at this point. I used to like Dave, but his sucking up to Chris makes me think he might be too stupid for me to like him anymore.

[MrsMoltisanti]

Nunez has it in for Tyler now.  Did you catch the look on his face when he voted for him?  I think Tyler is done for.  Look out.  Little thunder clouds were above  the Nunez head.

[Demented Daisy]

The only person I'm even remotely fond of is Katie (I think her name is -- the blonde).  And that's only because she spoke up about playing by the rules a couple of weeks ago.

 

Otherwise, what a bunch of -- I don't even know.  Half of them are spineless, the other half are bitter.  Not fun to watch.

 

As for this week's assignment -- the hell?  Lightning is associated with Jupiter, not Neptune.  You want them to include a stormy sea, fine, but lightning makes no sense.  

 

But so what else is new?

[thewhiteowl]

That was  lame. Who would have figured that Neptune, of all things, would cause these artists to collectively lose their shit? Not me. Those were some ratched tats.  No, Marisa yours was not badass it was ass bad.  In a sea of bad it was ass. I hope that's cleared it up for you. Tyler's was also ass bad, too bad they didn't leave together.

Chris doesn't have an alliance, he has cannon fodder.  Dave really just wanted to give Chris the win. What an idiot.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

When Chris busted out with the word "alliance" I lost it. I'll be the third to say it--this is NOT Survivor! You have to impress the judges, not each other. Idiots.

The main point of an alliance on this show would be to go easy on each other when assigning skulls, giving the difficult ones to other contestants. That's important because the judges are deliberately incompetent when it comes to factoring in what the artist was up against; if they weren't, there wouldn't be any value to winning the right to assign the skulls (although you'd think the judges would care more about how they look). Potentially, the members could give advice to each other, but there'd be a lot of "blind leading the blind" there.

[Charlesman]

"The thing I hate most about this tattoo is that it's one of the best ones of the night" might be my most favorite line in a long time.

[BigBlueMastiff]

 

"The thing I hate most about this tattoo is that it's one of the best ones of the night" might be my most favorite line in a long time.

This was classic. I laughed out loud, Dave is such a loser, totally deserved it. Who gives a competitor the easiest tattoo, dumbass Dave.

[AnnieBananie]

Is Marisa smart enough to have realized that her under-the-breath coaching of Tyler meant that she'd be going home? (I don't think so, for the record.)

[Nutjob]

I think she was ready to go home, to be honest.

 

 

The main point of an alliance on this show would be to go easy on each other when assigning skulls, giving the difficult ones to other contestants.

I get that, but the worst idea ever is to "align" with someone who can arguably beat them in virtually any type of tattoo style (in this case, Chris) when it's the judges that decide who goes home. All they're doing with this nonsense is handing Chris the win on a platter, because they have no power to get him out once their "enemies" are gone. It just doesn't work in this context unless they're only working with other bottom feeders to get all the top guys out.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

All they're doing with this nonsense is handing Chris the win on a platter, because they have no power to get him out once their "enemies" are gone.

If they don't think they can beat him, they may just be trying to ride to the end while hoping he'll hang himself along the way.

[phoenix780]

I don't think Chris's followers are that stupid for what they're doing.  They outnumber him, they could ultimately have coasted with his support and then turned on him.  I mean, assuming they could ever win a skull pick.  I agree that alliances on this show are stupid, though, because it's always down to the whims of the judges and I think they divide people into weak/strong and set a basic elimination order way early in the series, if not beforehand based on reputations.  

 

The contestant Dave is almost a caricature of a spineless follower, to the point where I feel like I've seen him somewhere before in pop culture.  Closest I can come up with though is he's like Olive Oyl to Chris's Bluto.  I mean, dude seemed to literally gulp in fear as Craig was talking to him.  It's bizarre how...powerless he is.  Makes me think he'll snap one day.  

 

I can't believe it's only the halfway point.  They need some double eliminations or something, especially if they're bringing on some redemption series (one show is enough for me...though I'll watch both I'm sure).

[Merneith]

I thought the painting with fire bit was kind of interesting. I was impressed with the variety & shading that the artists were able to achieve. I often think their quickfires are the best part of the episode. They always come up with something unique.

 

Neptune Contemplating a Urinal will have me laughing for a good few days.

[Rancide]

As funny as it was, I feel bad for the dude with the peeing Neptune.  It was actually a pretty decent tattoo, especially compared to the others, but once someone points out something like that, you can never unsee it.  Poor guy.

[PepperMonkey]

Is Chris still a Marine??? I don't recall it being mentioned this week, so I'm wondering if his marine-ness has been revoked...

 

I can't believe anyone would be in an alliance with him. Kudos to him for exerting that powerful influence over Dave and whoever else, Tyler and I guess Marissa, but they are beyond stupid if they think he is going to even remotely watch out for them. He will probably win this thing and I will never want to see overalls again in my lifetime.

 

I, too, was touched that Craig was obviously upset over other people not liking the tattoo he did for his canvas. I thought it was pretty ugly myself, and I can't believe he did what she wanted, even though he HAD to see it didn't look great. But it was nice to see someone actually caring if a potential customer liked their tat. My heart re-warmed to him just a bit after that.

 

Here's hoping Tyler goes home next week. Dave will probably go soon after that and Chris will be the last surviving member of his "alliance."

[Rancide]

Chris is an obnoxious bully, but his posse is really weak.  Dave is a spineless milquetoast, and Tyler and Marissa are just kids.

[Kelda Feegle]

Does anyone know the actual rules for the canvas jury? Do they have to reach a consensus or just a majority vote? I feel so bad for them when others tell them they think their piece that they like is fugly and jacked.

One very pissed off Nunez :-)

[Hana Chan]

Man, this was a rough week. Even the best of the lot were underwhelming and there were a whole lot of really ugly tattoos on display. No one really shined this week and they could have easily cut half the group without breaking a sweat.

 

Chris's was, for me, clearly the best, but this was an awfully low bar. He met the challenge and his tattoo wasn't totally awful to look at. Dave's was next, only because his color saturation was really well done and his images were well drawn. Other than that, it was a really boring tattoo. All the rest were varying degrees of terrible, from Matt's "pissing" Neptune all the way down to whatever that thing that Tyler was trying to pass off. Craig's would have been much better had he chosen a different color pallet because his art and saturation was pretty good (a lot better than most in the group), but the colors were just really strange and unpleasant to look at. I get that tattooing color on darker skin is a challenge, but Chris certainly showed how to do it last week in the postcard challenge. And looking at the abs on most of the Neptune images, it looks like most of the group forgot about basic human anatomy.

 

Marisa definitely deserved to go home this week and I'm rather proud of how she took her lumps and was more focused on keeping Tyler from talking himself into an elimination than pleading her own case. Her tattoo was just plain bad on every level and her relative inexperience came back to bite her. I think that she's got some real talent and in a few years would really be a contender, but she just doesn't have the background, experience or skill set to be a viable contestant this season. And with most of the weaker artists already gone, there just was no place for her to hide. As for Tyler... he won't be around much longer either if he keeps up with the poor attitude.

 

I'm amused by all the strategizing that everyone seems to be tying themselves into knots over. Chris's alliance is amusing, and he's totally using the weaker artists to his benefit but his success this week wasn't because he had such an easy canvas. I don't think any of the canvases were particularly challenging. Except for the girl who insisted that she wanted something on her ribs, no one was really demanding anything too outrageous. The artists failed because of their own shortcomings and bad choices, not because they got handed a particularly difficult canvas. Maybe instead of worrying how Chris is playing the game, they should actually focus on putting out really strong tattoos regardless of who they get assigned.

[Hana Chan]

Admittedly, I have a lot of sympathy for the apprentices who are still on the show without their mentors (Dave and Craig in particular) because they are already behind the 8 ball. They are less experienced and several of them are still technically in the learning phase of their careers. Asking a woman who's only been tattooing for three years to measure up against an artist who's got at least a decade of experience under his/her belt is a really, really steep challenge. Natural talent helps, but there is no mistaking the value of experience and technical skill that comes with years of doing the job. Duffy, Katie and Tyler are lucky that their mentors are still in the competition to help give them some support (even if they are technically in competition).

 

As for Tyler, I'm hoping that Chris uses some of his Marine leadership skills that he keeps going on about and gives his apprentice a serious talking too. Because Tyler's attitude completely sucks. And he's well on his walk to big mouthing himself right out of the competition.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Hana Chan

[phoenix780]

Marisa definitely deserved to go home this week and I'm rather proud of how she took her lumps and was more focused on keeping Tyler from talking himself into an elimination than pleading her own case.

 

That was pretty cool, like a bit out of an entirely different show.  Usually they're all smirk-y and fighting, like they're really going to persuade the judges of anything by fighting with another contestant.  And it makes me think they had more than just a flirtation out of convenience, 'cause as upset as he was she managed to communicate something to him in a way that he actually heard, and he did what she said.  To me that requires a more legit connection than a dalliance while filming a reality show.  

 

I was a little surprised at how Tyler's comments in front of his canvas didn't seem to impact anything.  If I were that guy I'd have gone after him while on the jury...unless the canvas had headphones on and didn't hear it or something.

[psychoticstate]

Admittedly, I have a lot of sympathy for the apprentices who are still on the show without their mentors (Dave and Craig in particular) because they are already behind the 8 ball. They are less experienced and several of them are still technically in the learning phase of their careers. Asking a woman who's only been tattooing for three years to measure up against an artist who's got at least a decade of experience under his/her belt is a really, really steep challenge. Natural talent helps, but there is no mistaking the value of experience and technical skill that comes with years of doing the job. Duffy, Katie and Tyler are lucky that their mentors are still in the competition to help give them some support (even if they are technically in competition).

 

As for Tyler, I'm hoping that Chris uses some of his Marine leadership skills that he keeps going on about and gives his apprentice a serious talking too. Because Tyler's attitude completely sucks. And he's well on his walk to big mouthing himself right out of the competition.

 

I really wish Ink Master would take artists that have been working for 10+ years and put them against each other.  I really don't want to see jacked up tattoos, I'd like to see good, quality work.  Make it a real contest. 

 

I liked the flash challenge and agree that Dave and Marissa deserved to win.  It's too bad they didn't realize that if they want to have any possibility of winning whatsoever, they need to take out the stronger artists and that includes Chris.  Maybe don't give him the toughest canvas right now but don't give him the easiest either.

 

Tyler is not long for the IM world given that Nunez has his number and will be gunning for him.  I expect him to be all up in Tyler's business next week, the way he was with Kyle Dunbar a few seasons ago.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I agree that alliances on this show are stupid, though, because it's always down to the whims of the judges and I think they divide people into weak/strong and set a basic elimination order way early in the series, if not beforehand based on reputations.

The Apprentice set a template for shows like this a long time ago; a short list of potential winners is cast, and everyone else is cannon fodder, there to create "drama" or to round out a diverse group. Sometimes someone will disappoint enough to be kicked to the wayside early; more rarely will a filler contestant impress enough to get taken seriously.

[Diane Mars]

...I was a little surprised at how Tyler's comments in front of his canvas didn't seem to impact anything.  If I were that guy I'd have gone after him while on the jury...unless the canvas had headphones on and didn't hear it or something.

So,  I've rewatched the scene. No headphones at all

Edited August 27, 2015 by Diane Mars

[Hana Chan]

I really wish Ink Master would take artists that have been working for 10+ years and put them against each other.  I really don't want to see jacked up tattoos, I'd like to see good, quality work.  Make it a real contest. 

 

I liked the flash challenge and agree that Dave and Marissa deserved to win.  It's too bad they didn't realize that if they want to have any possibility of winning whatsoever, they need to take out the stronger artists and that includes Chris.  Maybe don't give him the toughest canvas right now but don't give him the easiest either.

 

Totally agree here. It's not at all an even competition. You've got artists who've been in the business for many years (St. Marq - the jackass - has supposedly been around for 25 years per his Ink Master bio) and then you've got Marisa who's only been tattooing for three years. Granted, she outlasted several veterans, but not by virtue of being a phenom. She just sucked less that particular week and tried to fulfill challenges (which St. Marq and Big Ceez didn't more often than not). And pitting apprentices (and former apprentices) against the artists that trained them is really setting up some artists to fail in the formative years of their careers. The only apprentice that really holding his own against the more seasoned artists is Craig, and I'm really reluctant to lump him with the other apprentices because he's been around in the business for 20 years! That's a far cry from Maria's three years (or Katie's five). There is no substitute for what experience can bring. A newbie can have a lot of natural talent and an artistic eye, but all the little tricks that make a tattoo just come alive or look smooth and seamless (the way St. Marq's black and grey could be) can only come from really putting in the years and learning.

 

And the only way the less experienced artists really have a hope in hell of winning is if the more experienced artists screw up. That's what kept Marisa in the game as long as she was. If Dave or any of the less experienced artists want to have a chance, they need to force artists like Chris (and Matt, Erik, Kruseman and Craig) to make mistakes. Because on even ground they don't stand a chance. They really need to use the skull picks to their advantage (when they get it) and try to knock the stronger artists out. Otherwise it's a waiting game to see what week they get sent home.

[themiki]

Experience is obviously a big help in the tattoo world, but did anyone watch the second (?) season of that other tattoo show Best Ink? The girl that won had only been tattooing for I think five or six years, and she was absolutely phenomenal. Like, too good to be competing on one of these shows. And St Marq has 25 years of experience and still sucks at everything but no-outline-black-and-grey. That being said, the Master Vs Apprentice angle is stupid. The Rivals angle is almost as stupid. If they want to drum up more viewers they should focus on getting better talent on board. I'd way rather watch actual talented tattoo artists compete while putting out amazing work than watch a bunch of mediocre idiots mangle people's skin because they add to the drama. That's probably why Face-Off is my all-time favorite reality competition show... All talent, almost no drama. 

[Rancide]

I'm pretty sure Marissa wasn't cast for her tatooing ability.  But she and Tyler sure bring the pretty, at least for those who are into that look.

[LoneHaranguer]

 

That being said, the Master Vs Apprentice angle is stupid. The Rivals angle is almost as stupid. If they want to drum up more viewers they should focus on getting better talent on board.

Were they trying to drum up viewers, or save some trouble drumming up contestants? They only needed to find half as many talented artists as before by having them each bring somebody they can call their "apprentice".

[candall]

I let a couple of episodes pile up so I'm late with this post, but I must have seen a different version of the winning tattoo than everyone else here.

 

I'm freeze-framed at the 44: minute mark, staring at Chris's Neptune, and this has to be in the top ten anatomical screw-ups for the entire series.  The right arm doesn't even have an elbow and the forearm has a babydoll-size hand attached at the end, like the skit on SNL.  The left arm has an good elbow, but the massive forearm--which is larger than the bicep--is growing wider toward the wrist and must be ending in a giant ping pong paddle hand, which is hidden behind the hip.  If one hand's going to be huge, it has to be closer to us than the other one.

 

(And there's no "foreshortening" technique going on here to explain why Neptune has one arm twice as long as the other.)

 

Instead of a pectoral-deltoid sheath, the arms are attached like a plastic Barbie doll, the face is too small. . .oh, shit, don't even get me started on the horse.

 

If they want to ignore all that because this is a saturation challenge and that's what we're judging, fine, but then don't be giving people a hard time because a thumb is a little bit too long or the hand on the trident has "sausage fingers."  

 

(The thumb coming out of the middle of the palm was so bad it made me laugh, but Duffy did a really good job with an extremely difficult foreshortened perspective and she didn't get any credit for that at all.)

 

I think the episodes are piling up on my DVR because the judging just pisses me off so much I can't even enjoy the show anymore.

*******

 

The flash challenge was fascinating, but I watched it twice and still couldn't figure out exactly how the process worked, so I was already in a bad mood before the Neptunage even started.