S09.E10: Freak Show

[ElectricBoogaloo]

A "barbaric" foundation challenge is judged by Oscar-winning makeup artist Robin Matthews. That's followed by a trip to the circus as the seven remaining artists compete to dazzle the judges with their freak show-inspired makeups.

[Winnief]

Great comeback for Ben-the Human Peacock really was awesome.

 

Nora continues to be the Mistress of Consistency

 

Meg's departure was past due.  She has flashes of brilliance but (probably owing to her youth,) makes too many mistakeths. 

 

Personally my pick for the final three would be Ben, Nora, and Stevie.  Though Stevie's slot might be filled by Scott or Jarold, but Ben and Nora in the finale for sure.

[Frozendiva]

Moon Girl was unfortunate. The monkey/Inside Out creation was just as bad.

The human peacock was well done and deserved the win.

Ben and Nora are the two front runners now. Nora's consistency and her ability to correct her work if it is not working/good time and resource management may give her a slight edge.

[Irritable]

I'm really liking Nora to take this whole season home.  She's great.

 

Every season I adore seeing how the contestants always help each other out on this show.  I've never been a fan of the whole "do whatever you can to destroy your competition, bathe in their blood, laugh heartily at their failure" mentality that is embraced on other reality programs, and it's nice that these people just respect one another as peers without all the drama of "enemies", attitudes and dick moves.  They just do the best work they can, and hope it's better than everyone else's.  Ahhhh, so relaxing for me as a viewer to not have to dislike any of them for being shitheads.

 

I didn't love what the contestants were given to work with this week.  The freak show concept as a whole had a lot of potential, but the characters they had to create were not only uninspiring, but in some cases almost seemed detrimental.  Icicle Irma?  The fuck was anyone supposed to do with that?  Especially coming off of last week when they already did a challenge showing people exposed to extreme cold, so they couldn't use an idea like Irma had a condition that kept her body temperature at 32 degrees and made her frosty or frostbitten, because it was too close, too soon, too same.  Moon Girl?  Of course his was terrible, because how could it not be?  I did think there were some decent possibilities with Inside-Out Joe (Tom?), like his intestines and organs could have been on the outside, he could have held his beating heart in his own hand, eyeballs out, etc.  The skinless face was another example of too close, too soon to last week, when the same thing was done by someone else, and his also happened to be much better. 

 

The Human Peacock did nothing for me.  I felt like I must have been looking at something else when the judges were talking about it being some of the best work they'd ever seen on Face Off.  Granted, it was another concept with very little room to be creative, but while I thought the execution of his idea was fine, it didn't strike me as anything special, especially to compare with other great work that has been done on this franchise overall.

 

Mackenzie's metallic dress with quilted scales was awful.  Good lord. 

Edited September 30, 2015 by Irritable

[Madding crowd]

Mackenzie's dress was awful. She seems like a nice person, but never looks quite real to me. I thought some of the choices they ended up with had no way to be good. Inside out man would probably disappoint the judges no matter what (although I personally feel that peeled back skin is just as much inside out as visible muscles), and Moon Girl couldn't be anything but dull. What could you really do to make a freak show moon girl?

 

I liked the peacock guy but mostly because he was a fully realized character including his costume. Nora's guy was OK but his face didn't seem like he could be a real person at all. The others were certainly stretching it, but you could see a real human underneath. I wish Ben would have smiled a little when he got the win-he seems so emotionless.

[Rammchick]

Mackenzie's dress made her look like a gold crocodile, complete with belly scutes. Not the sexiest look in the world.

I'm in agreement about Ben's not being as good as the judges made it out to be. The skin texture was rough and didn't make sense to me.

[GaT]

So, nobody is talking about the fact that Scott used a dental dam for his sculpt? Is that something the show supplied, or something he happened to have in his wallet?

[Mr. Simpatico]

Can't disagree with anything this week. I would have given it to Ben's Peacock and sent Meg's Inside Out Man home. I think Nora is a cinch to make the final 3 but I'm not so sure about who else. Evan seems like low hanging fruit at this point. It's just seems like a matter of time. 

 

I wonder if we would have gotten better make-ups if it hadn't been random (and the contestants had been able to choose) or if they had been given more leeway in choosing their own character from a Freak Show. Nora was right when she was talking about how many times can you see the same Lobster Guy on the show and though the make-up was bad (I did laugh at Glenn's "Party City" comment) "Inside-Out Oscar" was going to be tough for Meg in any case.

[niklj]

I didn't love what the contestants were given to work with this week.  The freak show concept as a whole had a lot of potential, but the characters they had to create were not only uninspiring, but in some cases almost seemed detrimental.  Icicle Irma?  The fuck was anyone supposed to do with that?  Especially coming off of last week when they already did a challenge showing people exposed to extreme cold, so they couldn't use an idea like Irma had a condition that kept her body temperature at 32 degrees and made her frosty or frostbitten, because it was too close, too soon, too same.  Moon Girl?  Of course his was terrible, because how could it not be?  I did think there were some decent possibilities with Inside-Out Joe (Tom?), like his intestines and organs could have been on the outside, he could have held his beating heart in his own hand, eyeballs out, etc.  The skinless face was another example of too close, too soon to last week, when the same thing was done by someone else, and his also happened to be much better. 

 

The Human Peacock did nothing for me.  I felt like I must have been looking at something else when the judges were talking about it being some of the best work they'd ever seen on Face Off.  Granted, it was another concept with very little room to be creative, but while I thought the execution of his idea was fine, it didn't strike me as anything special, especially to compare with other great work that has been done on this franchise overall.

 

I was initially excited when I heard the concept, but this week turned out like American Horror Story: Freakshow did--a big ball of disappointment. I like how they described freak shows as ways to entice people in only to be disappointed once they get inside, because that's exactly what happened here. MOON GIRL?! HUMAN...PEACOCK? What about old standbys like the Human Reptile? Human Pincushion? Pinheads? Werewolves? Half-Man/Half-Woman? SO MANY THINGS THEY COULD'VE DONE and they go with Icicle Woman whatever the heck that was supposed to be.

[Ms Lark]

Mackenzie's dress made her look like a gold crocodile, complete with belly scutes. Not the sexiest look in the world.

Agree it wasn't her best look ever, but gave it a pass since it was in keeping with the theme. While Mac may have a little input on her outfits, I'm sure that decision came strictly from Wardrobe.

 

I'm really liking Nora to take this whole season home.  She's great.

I've come to the same conclusion. Girl is made of win!

Edited September 30, 2015 by Ms Lark

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Dear Ben and Jordan,

 

It's called elephantiasis, not elephantitis.

 

 

So, nobody is talking about the fact that Scott used a dental dam for his sculpt? Is that something the show supplied, or something he happened to have in his wallet?

They have huge sheets of dental dam in the workroom. Someone else used it earlier this season and I giggled then too.

[Thog]

 

I wish Ben would have smiled a little when he got the win-he seems so emotionless.

Yes, at the beginning when I hadn't yet learned names I kept referring to him as "Sad Mustache Guy." But I really, really like him and his work, so it's always a treat when a smile pokes through. I agree it should be him and Nora at the end, as long as there are no more major mistakes from either of them.

 

I wouldn't have hated Mackenzie's dress if some of the scales didn't seem to be wearing off.

[Primetimer]

A circus-themed challenge lets the designers get really, really weird.

Read the story

[Monty9]

Irritable

 

Every season I adore seeing how the contestants always help each other out on this show.  I've never been a fan of the whole "do whatever you can to destroy your competition, bathe in their blood, laugh heartily at their failure" mentality that is embraced on other reality programs, ..."

Especially because in the other shows their "strategy" is usually stupid and won't really help you anyway (see Big Brother, America's Next Top Model). In this show if someone can't get their face out of their mold, are seriously behind etc.etc. that really could send your competition home but they help anyway.

[CherZ]

Loved the winning look this episode.

 

Not a Meg fan, like somebody said in another topic she irks me some, but she seems nice. Didn't think hers was too terrible but she was about due to go home anyways.

 

Not a Stevie fan either but she did the best she could with Icicle Irma - that freak name made no sense.

[Jesse]

Totally agree with those who have said they didn't get the effusive praise of the peacock guy and also those who are Team Nora. 

 

Dear Ben and Jordan,

 

It's called elephantiasis, not elephantitis.

 

 

I'm assuming that like me, their main exposure to that term/condition is from the Breakfast Club. "Elephantitis... of the nuts!"

 

I was initially excited when I heard the concept, but this week turned out like American Horror Story: Freakshow did--a big ball of disappointment. I like how they described freak shows as ways to entice people in only to be disappointed once they get inside, because that's exactly what happened here. MOON GIRL?! HUMAN...PEACOCK? What about old standbys like the Human Reptile? Human Pincushion? Pinheads? Werewolves? Half-Man/Half-Woman? SO MANY THINGS THEY COULD'VE DONE and they go with Icicle Woman whatever the heck that was supposed to be.

YES. Why so many weird made up things? 

[GaT]

They have huge sheets of dental dam in the workroom. Someone else used it earlier this season and I giggled then too.

I must have missed that, you would think they would call it something else like "plastic sheeting" 

[snakenax]

I guess i'm the only one who saw Mackenzie's dress and immediately went 'Wow, she's wearing a King Ghidra skin dress'.

[PepperMonkey]

Yay, Meg is finally gone, I can relax, and I have no idea why!!! I'm the one who said she irks me and I have no real reason for it. I think because she seemed to be in the bottom a lot and was only saved more than a few times because someone else managed to have a slightly crappier look that week. But anyway, she does seem perfectly nice and I wish her well going forward.

 

I LOVED the subtlety and story of Nora's Lobster Larry. She got kind of lucky in that of all the freaks, hers made the most sense, but she just continues to soar above the competition and I'm really rooting for her to win it all. Not only that, but she seems so warm and gracious. Although, nearly every contestant ON Face Off has pretty much been that way from the first season/ cycle.

 

In other news, Peacock Boy? Icicle Irma? Moon Girl? Good gods, who came up with those freak show concepts? Evan did miss an opportunity with the Moon girl, though; when he first started talking about acne and pock marks, I thought, ooo that could be cool, but then he had to add the sliver of meteor and make her face the shape of a moon pie. Just, no.

 

Nora, FTW, still!!!

 

Oh yeah, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Mackenzie's dress was terrible. Girl always looks so good in jeans and whatever when they're doing the foundation challenges and walking through the workroom. Why in the hell do they make her wear stretch burnout velvet and bandage dresses for judging???

Edited September 30, 2015 by PepperMonkey

[LoneHaranguer]

 

I must have missed that, you would think they would call it something else like "plastic sheeting"

It's usually rubber.

[Vicky8675309]

I'm happy Meg is finally gone. I was worried they were going to manipulate the focus challenge to keep her safe (but I did like her focus challenge warrior make up). Glad Nora kept her Lobster boy different from the one that was on American Horror Story: Freak Show. I'm hoping for a Scott, Ben and Nora finale. Or maybe the younger blond guy--can't remember his name.

[Kaoteek]

It's funny, but I'm just not as wowed by Nora as most of you. I don't really know why, I don't even dislike most of her work, but she doesn't really stand out from the rest of the pack, and I'm often just shrugging at the praise she's receiving on a regular basis.

 

Anyway. This week. Loved the peacock, for a simple reason : it was the only one that I could believe would be in a real freak show : it wasn't a weird unrealistic hybrid, a bloody monster, or the ice queen, it was just a difformed guy who looked like he turned his handicap into a stage character, which is exactly what freakshow people do.

[The Cake is a Pie]

I didn't see anything the judges saw in the peacock guy. The skin looked rough and the coloring was flat. I would have given the clear win to Nora. Lobster boy wasn't that great either, but it was the best of a pretty craptastic set of entries. At least her surfaces looked smooth and polished.

Did I miss something last week and was Evan not granted immunity for his win? No one ever gets eliminated for a foundation challenge, so wouldn't his immunity carry over to the spotlight challenge? Which means Scott and Evan both should have had immunity? I would have been fine with either Evan or Meg getting eliminated, though. They were both on borrowed time.

[sourpickles]

I notice not many people talked about the primitive challenge, which I hated. Those pastels, really? Alright, then. I've gotta agree with the total lack of true freak ideas put forth, but I will say most people did the best they could with what they were given. I'm still on the fence about Nora but then again, I'm on the fence about the whole season. Can see her going to the finals, though not sure with who else. Seems like everyone has consistency issues. The Dracula/peacock thing was insanely bad. And, with Moon Girl, it would have been nice to see a play on the werewolf.

[call me ishmael]

I'm normally a big Nora fan but I didn't get what anyone thought was so special about this look.  I think that the model really sold it and made it seem like a much more complete makeup than it was.  But basically she did very little and having the wires off the mouth didn't do anything for me.  I would have thought Scott's and even Stevie's were more interesting.

 

I'm sorry to see Meg go.  I think that she had real talent.  But she has been so inconsistent and that one was so horrible.  But I would have given her the foundation challenge so what do I know.

[Lorimac]

Getting to this a couple of days late, but I had to comment - on the MacKenzie wardrobe issue!  This has been percolating for a while in our house but the rose' snakeskin dress this week really took the cake. Teenage Couch Son continually cracks jokes about MacKenzie because he sees her as this completely random element in the Face-Off framework. They needed a moderator, and Couch Hubby thinks that in order to get Michael Westmore, they had to hire his daughter.  I don't know.  I agree with the commentator who said that MacKenzie looks great in the casual outfits that she wears during the Westmore Walk-about, and she seems very pleasant generally, but then they pour her into some skintight sparkly spandex number that makes her look like a cougar wannabee.  Does she really need to be all dolled-up to host the judging?  Would the Facetestants feel less respected if she showed up in a nice pair of pants and a cozy sweater to the Reveal?  Somehow I think she could take control of the wardrobe issue, and demand dresses that are sourced from somewhere other than the Victoria Secret's catalog, circa 1985.  Still, I would not mind if she came along if I ever got to have drinks with Ve!

[April Bloodgate]

It's been said by many of you already, but I agree that 1) this could have been an awesome challenge, but they gave them terrible concepts to work with; 2) I don't understand the praise for the peacock at all; and 3) Nora is definitely my favorite to win. I didn't think the lobster was that great conceptually, but it was well-executed and the best of a weak showing this week. 

 

I also didn't care for Mackenzie's dress, but it was better than seeing her in yet another bandage dress. I don't know who's styling her, but I think they're doing a terrible job. The dresses are almost always the same sleeve and hem length, and usually not pretty.

[mlp]

I like Mackenzie a lot.  Unlike some women hired to host things, she seems like a very nice and sincere person who is also very attractive.  Unlike, for example, Giada, she manages to look and act like a lady even when her dresses are too tight.  I don't really care what she wears. 

 

I think this is a weak season overall.  I like Scott best followed by Ben.  I'm lukewarm about Nora, partly because she goes out of her way to look awful.  Glenn can get away with it because he has credentials.  Nora not so much.  In any event, no one has begun to stand out like a DIna or Laura.  I didn't get the lobster at all.  The only thing that made me think "lobster" was the poorly done claws.  I didn't really understand a drab peacock either but at least I knew what it was.

[RedHackle]

Mackenzie's metallic dress with quilted scales was awful.  Good lord.

 

oh thank gods.  I was afraid I was being petty and shallow.  To be honest, I generally loathe most of what Mackenzie wears.  I hadn't wanted to say anything as I hate that a female host of a show is judged on her clothing, but frankly, I truly hate the checked shirts that both Tim Gunn and John Oliver favor, too, so there. But anyway...

 

Thought this was sort of an odd and lame episode.  In the Foundation challenge, my first thought was 'what, no female warriors?"  Then they removed their shirts and I thought, okay, I understand now, but seriously - just making them all male instead of coming up with a different way around the issue t was a very lazy way to handle it, I thought. Also, did we even get to see Nora's warrior at all?  It's not like there are a jillion contestants left - they could have spared five seconds to give us a glimpse.  Also, like others, I agree with the judges this week.  Except for Nora's and Ben's, the others were so weak. I really think this is the worst season of this show.

[Texasmom1970]

The judges shoukd have sent MacKenzie home for that horrendous dress. That was they worst thing about this episode. I was okay with Meg going home, she was talented enough just never loved anything she did.

[diebartdie]

Nora is really "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" poor thing. She is very talented but she does not yet have the depth needed to really be amazing. Give her a year or two and she will really be all that. I thought Peacock Boy was incredible, what many of you are seeing as rough is actually an outstanding skin texture, lots of pores and whatnot. I laughed when Glen called Meg's "some straight up Party City shit right here", too funny and so true. Good episode, I think Nora and Ben are the ones to beat.

Edited October 2, 2015 by diebartdie

[paramitch]

Arghgh, I really felt like this challenge was lopsided and agree with those who found the concepts completely random and badly conceived. I wish they'd gone with real-inspired concepts instead -- the bearded lady, reptile man, monkey boy or mermaid or conjoined twins, etc.

 

While I think Meg was doomed regardless because she still has so much to learn, I do think she and Evan had a much harder challenge with "Inside-Out" and "Moon Girl" than the lucky folks who got the "Elephant Lady" or similar. I also felt bad for Stevie because that Icicle challenge was just dumb (especially on top of the super-recent hot/cold challenge).

 

I'm still on the fence about Nora but then again, I'm on the fence about the whole season. Can see her going to the finals, though not sure with who else. Seems like everyone has consistency issues. The Dracula/peacock thing was insanely bad. And, with Moon Girl, it would have been nice to see a play on the werewolf.

I thought Nora's was just okay, but that's pretty much what I've thought of her work all season. I like her and think she's talented, and she's obviously a really cool, funny person, but I like her as a contestant more than I like her actual work, which to me so far ranges from fair to good. She has never blown me away, as even Meg did for instance in a few challenges.

I'm also on the fence about Nora's constant waffling on her concepts at the beginnings of challenges. While I like that she is willing to reset and regroup, it's become a constant thing with her, where she will envision something, realize she can't complete it, and then completely change the concept. It may just be the way she deals with the structure of the show and challenges though, and I do imagine it's difficult to be presented with "You have 30 minutes to create a character! Go!"

So I like Nora but am still waiting for lightning to strike there. I just think she's affable and likable and a decent artist thus far. But I still hope she'll do something dazzling in the challenges to come.

 

I would have thought Scott's and even Stevie's were more interesting.

 

I'm sorry to see Meg go.  I think that she had real talent.  But she has been so inconsistent and that one was so horrible.  But I would have given her the foundation challenge so what do I know.

I agree -- I loved Meg's thought process on the foundation challenge and actually thought her concept made the most sense -- it was raw and primitive but also beautifully evoked contours and wounds as well, just in the paint.

But I do think Meg needs to get more training, and to progress for another year, and at that point, she'll probably do really well. I think she's incredibly creative, and I always enjoyed how self-aware and articulate she was in her talking heads. I liked that she was aware of when her work wasn't good enough, she just didn't always know how to fix it, and that's something time and experience will rectify.

 

Another contestant I feel this way about is Stevie. She's so uneven, and I think that's because she's simply undertrained -- she has had so many misfires (often due to technical and execution errors) yet I also think she's truly very creative and innovative, and that once she gets a bigger foundation beneath her, she'll be a great makeup artist. On the plus side, at least she can paint and do beauty makeups as well, too.

 

 

Teenage Couch Son continually cracks jokes about MacKenzie because he sees her as this completely random element in the Face-Off framework. They needed a moderator, and Couch Hubby thinks that in order to get Michael Westmore, they had to hire his daughter.  I don't know.

 

As someone who lost a parent a few years back, I love that McKenzie gets to work so closely on "Face Off" with her Dad -- that's got to be such a special experience, and they always seem like they enjoy the show so much together.

And I really don't think McKenzie was just brought in to get to Michael, who I'm sure they could have involved with or without her. I do think her name certainly was one aspect of her being chosen as host, but she's one of my favorite reality hosts, and I'm so often touched at her kindness and real emotion toward the contestants. Her real feelings of sadness or empathy in saying farewell to each is always very affecting, and helps to be one of the things that sets the show apart for me. Instead of the snide, nasty "Pack your knives and go," she compliments them and tells them how much they will be missed.

 

Speaking of contestant farewells -- it is interesting to me that this season, far more than any other I can remember, the judges aren't saying "Goodbye -- we know you'll do great things in the industry!" but instead are (quite tellingly) consistently saying, "Goodbye -- you just need a little more training and then you'll be great!" 

I'm enjoying the season anyway because I love this show, but this is a weak crop of competitors overall, and it's apparent that a good half weren't quite ready for the challenge yet.

[Christi]

Love Nora..yet hate Justin Beiber..

Odd

[Quality]

The Peacock was great. It was the only one that looked like it could be real. Like, someone might actually have a deformity like that, and a circus would take them in and give them the "Peacock" schtick.

[Portia]

I thought the peacock looked like Michael Ian Black on a really bad day. Just me?

[Jynnan tonnix]

I found this episode weird. The challenge seemed to be to create a character which truly looked like what they were billed as, even into a fantastical way, but the most praised seemed to actually be those which really were more subtle, with things like skin conditions which could actually be conceivable ( though I guess Nora's lobster did have those antennae - even if the face still didn't read lobster - and actual claws). I actually thought the elephant lady and Icicle Irma came closest to the idea of "freak" as something outside of a mere deformity. Plus, the whole idea of freaks as simple physical deformity came off as a bit politically incorrect, so it seemed that the whole concept of them being more beyond the pale would have come across a bit better.

That being said, I did really like the detail work in the peacock character. The roughness didn't particularly bother me In fact, I thought it a little less rough, in ways, than the eerily similar character of "The Great Cock" in the beginning of this year's season of The Magicians. I had to wonder whether the one was an inspiration for the other, or even whether Ben was working on the show.