S07.E10: Shipwrecked

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Competition is more intense than ever before with only six Artists remaining. Alliances are tested as the remaining Artists must tattoo in teams of three. The battle continues for 100K and the title of Ink Master.

[Inkmaster0345]

Interesting episode. I like the fact that the challenge was something totally new, but the judging was unusual. What's the point in doing the tattoo at all if the teams get to pick which artist is going up for elimination? Are we supposed to believe that, had the tattoos not turned out well, the judges would have decided which artists would have been up for elimination? Seems like they were dead set on the teams choosing the artist from the beginning. 

I have no problem with the artists volunteering for the showdown. Say what you want about Cleen, but it's actually one of the things I like about him. This is a tattoo competition and he's willing to put his neck on the line and tattoo anytime, anyplace, and against anyone. 

Didn't love either showdown tattoo. Michael's eagle was definitely tough and well done, but it just didn't have a wow factor to me. If you only have 6 hours to work with, i'd like to see you go smaller and put in some bells and whistles rather than a large, but plain eagle. I love Jesse's creature tattoos, I would even go as far as to say that it was my favorite part of season 2. This just wasn't my favorite showing from him. As the judges said, he had a pale canvas and could've done a bright and dynamic creature. His creature was creative, but it was a little dark and didn't have the feeling of fun and playfulness that most of Jesse's designs have. I have to wonder how much not being able to conceptualize a creature beforehand on paper hurt his creative process.

As a funny little note: the guys who weren't involved in the showdown probably had the easiest day in the history of ink master. Hell, all James and Matti did was shade a single tattoo. 

Super awesome final 5. 

[PepperMonkey]

I don't get to watch this because of my work schedule. And our cable company doesn't participate with Spike's on demand.

So... who went home?

[azshadowwalker]

1 hour ago, PepperMonkey said:

I don't get to watch this because of my work schedule. And our cable company doesn't participate with Spike's on demand.

So... who went home?

Jesse went home. 

I was worried for Anthony, but it was fair that he and Jesse volunteered to go to the bottom. After Cleen voted for himself, Anthony had an out and didn't take it. I think that impressed the judges. I respect both of the guys a ton for doing it. As for the elimination tattoos, I get that what Jesse does is recognizable. It's just not something I would want.  I hate New School. This time, the colors were awful. Didn't he do one like that in his season with muddy colors, or was that another New School guy? 

With Anthony's back story, I am wondering if they are setting him up for a finale run. I hope so. 

Edited May 4, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[Muffyn]

Jesse's final tattoo was so odd.  Usually I hate the reaction shots from the other contestants, but I kind of enjoyed the WTF looks when he was explain his creature.  I was scared Anthony was going home.  I am glad he's staying.  He is talented and one of the nicest contestants we have seen. 

[zxy556575]

I continue to hate that the veterans were allowed to stomp in and take over the season, but can't really blame them personally. Still hoping against hope for an Anthony win. Contestant statements like, "I must win the $100K for my life to go on," are never a good sign, however.

The judges' looks of shock and surprise when Cleen nominated himself made me laugh. Dog forbid their little pet would be up for elimination after all their biased machinations to keep him there.

Edited May 4, 2016 by lordonia

[qtpye]

Anthony looked fine in his button down.  It also helps that he acts like a total gentlemen.  I hope even though he does not win this, he has enough clientele to start an amazingly successful career.  I usually hate sob stories, but what he said about his sister was really touching.

It was also nice that Christian genuinely likes Anthony and wanted to protect him because of their friendship, not just because of the alliance.

[azshadowwalker]

Anthony's got a kid, a fiancée, and a disabled sister. He grew up and works in a town with a high poverty level where most people live paycheck to paycheck, if they are that fortunate. Lots of violence. Lots of drugs. I believe he grew up on the west side of town, where (along with the south side)  all of those things are even more pronounced.  I can see where he's coming from about what the money means to his life. 

Edited May 4, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[psychoticstate]

12 hours ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

Say what you want about Cleen, but it's actually one of the things I like about him. This is a tattoo competition and he's willing to put his neck on the line and tattoo anytime, anyplace, and against anyone. 

I agree with this.  Cleen isn't afraid to tattoo and that's admirable. 

This was a nail biting episode.  Anthony is my absolute favorite but I've always liked Jesse too so I was sad that one of them would be going home.  I didn't understand the hostility Christian and James were showing Jesse.  He was on their team for heaven's sake and they were told the team would be judged as a whole so wouldn't you want to work well together and turn out the best possible tattoo?  For that reason alone, I feel the judges should have dinged Christian and James for not adapting to work with Jesse.  His style may not be very everyone but he's clearly a very creative, talented person and he wasn't sporting a head the size of the Coliseum like St. Marq.  Another prop for Cleen that he didn't criticize Jesse and was at least respectful toward him.

I really, really like Anthony and I hope he makes it to the finale.  He seems like such a nice, genuine person who is concerned about his client and his work, not just the competition.  May not bode well in the end for being Ink Master but it makes me want to fly to Tucson to have him put ink on me. 

Also loved seeing the bromance with Christian and Anthony.  I'm glad that Christian didn't turn tail and throw Anthony under the bus in any fashion,despite being on opposite teams (although, again, doing it to Jesse made no sense to me since at that time they didn't know they would be sending one artist down for elimination.) 

[SunshineSquid]

I really enjoyed this episode. It was nice to see less bickering, and more manning up. The mood has shifted and it seems like these guys really like each other for the most part. I'm more interested in watching a show like that! Did they show the reaction of Jesse's client? She didn't seem to have many tattoos, and his design is something that not everybody would like. Is it me, or do all his designs incorporate a cartoon version of his face? That broken fish is him.

[AlliePK]

Anthony is so talented.  His eagle was actually really well done, especially it being drawn with no reference.  I was fine with Jesse going home.  His new school (ugh) tattoo was muddy, had no color saturation, and was actually boring as hell.  Of the remaining inktestants, I love James Vaughn.  He's such an odd man. And of course, Anthony.

Edited May 4, 2016 by AlliePK
making sense is always nice.

[hkit]

For the life of me, I don't understand why Jesse and James didn't discuss putting up Christian. With either him or Anthony, going home, it would have ended the alliance (that Christian never shuts up about). 

[Nutjob]

Quote

Of the remaining inktestants, I love James Vaughn.  He's such an odd man.

So do I! When he started crying and just kind of brushed it off, it melted my cold heart a little. There's something about a tough guy who talks like a southern auntie that just kills me. Heh. I'd be happy if either he or Anthony takes this.

[candall]

I disagree about the eagle being good.  Except for the head and the right foot, I thought it was a mess.  The left foot had a four-talon hand instead of the three-back and one-forward they were all talking about.  The lump at the apex of the wing joint was more like a big oversized thumb than a feather.  The wingtips were freaky bizarre--with red points coming off the top side of each feather, one side looked like like manicured fingernails and the other side more like perky upturned nipples.  That would cut you like a razor.

 

Don't get me wrong, I feel the same way about Anthony as everyone else here.  I don't like New School and if someone told me I'd be getting the snaggle tooth and google eyes, I'd burst into tears.  But if someone's given the license to draw an imaginary creature, and it can have one goofy little foot sticking out of its body, then the fucking colors are whatever he says they are, regardless of how well a particular skin tone might have shown a brighter palette.

I liked the muted tones, anyway.  They suited the beaten up nature of the creature and pulled the whole thing back a step from Hanna-Barbera territory.

 

I'm happy to see Anthony survive, but I think Jesse got shafted in Megan Jean-size proportions.

[psychoticstate]

53 minutes ago, hkit said:

For the life of me, I don't understand why Jesse and James didn't discuss putting up Christian. With either him or Anthony, going home, it would have ended the alliance (that Christian never shuts up about). 

This is a good point.  With Christian gone, that would leave Anthony as the sole newbie and the veterans would surely have yet another advantage.

I think Christian buddied up to James and got in his ear.  James didn't seem to have any issues with Jesse prior.  Regardless, I don't think Jesse would have won since he's very strong with New School but weaker in other areas.  Christian seems to be stronger all around and I would have chosen to eliminate him first.

[qtpye]

Quote

 Of the remaining inktestants, I love James Vaughn.  He's such an odd man. And of course, Anthony.

James's "Yee Haws" and "Woo Doggies" would have seemed so annoying on anyone else, but it really seems like who he is.

Cleen stepping up made me remember I liked him once.

I had no idea Anthony had to overcome such hardship.  Good for him that he remains such a honorable guy despite of it.

As James would say "Anthony gives me the vapors" (though probably not about Anthony).

Edited May 5, 2016 by qtpye

[Muffyn]

1 hour ago, candall said:

I disagree about the eagle being good.  Except for the head and the right foot, I thought it was a mess.  The left foot had a four-talon hand instead of the three-back and one-forward they were all talking about.  The lump at the apex of the wing joint was more like a big oversized thumb than a feather.  The wingtips were freaky bizarre--with red points coming off the top side of each feather, one side looked like like manicured fingernails and the other side more like perky upturned nipples.  That would cut you like a razor.

 

Those are some seriously hard nipples! 

[azshadowwalker]

4 hours ago, hkit said:

For the life of me, I don't understand why Jesse and James didn't discuss putting up Christian. With either him or Anthony, going home, it would have ended the alliance (that Christian never shuts up about). 

I am getting the feeling that the alliance is less important now beyond moral support. We haven't seen a flash challenge or skull picks in a couple of episodes. Hopefully it stays that way. I think they didn't turn on Christian because both Christian and James share a low opinion of his style. I can't say that for sure, but I definitely got the impression that they think he's a lesser artist. 

I think Jesse didn't go against Christian for the same reasons Anthony didn't go against Cleen when he had a chance. They all heard the critiques. It would have looked bad to vote for an artist who got better feedback, especially when someone had already put himself up for elimination based on a bad critique. 

Even if I had a thing for New School and didn't have a thing for Anthony, I think I would have gone the same way the judges did. It just wasn't visually appealing to me. The goofy creature is bad enough, but I can only imagine what those colors are going to look like down the road considering how they look now. The technical aspects of line work were also better for Anthony, which seemed to be the point they decided on. 

[grumpypanda]

The set up of this season is driving me crazy. I like James but it hardly seems fair that he's in the final five and he's tattooed exactly three tattoos and two of them were not even whole tattoos. So far he's done a Japanese dragon (his specialty), one wing and the outline of a ship.

Anyway, I watch this show because I like looking at tattoos so it always bums me out when they do team challenges because it's less tattoos to look at. 

I think Jesse's work is interesting but I can't imagine having some huge random  crazy looking creature permanently tattooed on my leg like that. I would feel kind of stupid with that thing on my body.

[Mamarazzi]

This was such a great episode. I loved the humanness of it. It seemed they were all just being themselves and put aside a lot of the bravado and posturing. I loved the story Jessie told about his creature - such a creative mind. But I'm glad that Anthony won and hope that he wins it all.

So when they were in their teams of 3 and the judges said Christian...Jessie, James, did anyone else want the judges to say, "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light! Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

[Rancide]

I'll stick up for new school.  Love it, love Jesse.  I have no tattoos and never seriously considered getting one until this show introduced me to new school.  I still have no tattoos, but I'm at least now contemplating the idea.

I love Anthony, but I thought Jesse had the better of this face off.  Was sorry to see him go.

[cpcathy]

My eyeballs must be broken, because I actually liked Jesse's tattoo.

[Inkmaster0345]

On a totally unrelated note, I really hope this show decides to move off of the master canvas idea for the finale. It's not a good way of determining a winner. Given a lot of time and full creative license, it's almost impossible to see enough differences in quality to crown a justifiable winner---with the exception of Jason vs Cleen (when Cleen totally blew it), the favorite going into the finale has always won--there's no drama to it. I would like to see them move back to the format they used way back in season one: the finalists do 2 tattoos, one of which they have creative freedom on and the other is something they are told to do, just like the other challenges. In this way they are forced to go head to head with one another on a similar subject matter, and they also get to show off and wow the audience with their own original piece. Given the strength of this field, it's unlikely to believe that any one master canvas will stand above the rest. If you give any of the final 5 a master canvas, all of them are going to hit it out of the park, and the judges favorite (Cleen) will end up winning regardless. I'd rather see them issue the contestants a direct challenge and have them battle it out, that way the final reveal can at least be partially apples to apples instead of comparing 2 totally different tattoos. 

[azshadowwalker]

Well, I didn't have Kruseman pegged as a winner. I totally thought it was Matt vs Chris, and was pulling for Matt. I would have to look more closely and rewatch to see if that's anomalous, though. 

[Inkmaster0345]

9 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

Well, I didn't have Kruseman pegged as a winner. I totally thought it was Matt vs Chris, and was pulling for Matt. I would have to look more closely and rewatch to see if that's anomalous, though. 

True. Kruseman was not obvious. And Jason pulled an upset over Cleen. But Steve, Joey, and Scott were all obvious winners in my mind. Season one was a little different since the finale had a different format 

[qtpye]

Quote

On a totally unrelated note, I really hope this show decides to move off of the master canvas idea for the finale. It's not a good way of determining a winner. Given a lot of time and full creative license, it's almost impossible to see enough differences in quality to crown a justifiable winner---with the exception of Jason vs Cleen (when Cleen totally blew it), the favorite going into the finale has always won--there's no drama to it.

It's almost like the whole point of this season is to right that wrong.  It horrible that Jason is a crowned Ink Master, but he only won because Cleen ignored that the last piece had to be rendered in Photo Realism.  Again, this is on Cleen.  He banked that his superior skills would allow him to ignore the rules of the challenge and he was wrong.

It almost feels like there is no way they will not hand Cleen the victory, which is a shame, because many of the other remaining artists are also very talented.

[azshadowwalker]

It reminds me of some of the do-over wins they've had on Project Runway All Stars. I'm thinking Mondo here, and I hated that season for this very reason.

Edited May 6, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[psychoticstate]

14 hours ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

On a totally unrelated note, I really hope this show decides to move off of the master canvas idea for the finale. It's not a good way of determining a winner. Given a lot of time and full creative license, it's almost impossible to see enough differences in quality to crown a justifiable winner---with the exception of Jason vs Cleen (when Cleen totally blew it), the favorite going into the finale has always won--there's no drama to it. I would like to see them move back to the format they used way back in season one: the finalists do 2 tattoos, one of which they have creative freedom on and the other is something they are told to do, just like the other challenges. In this way they are forced to go head to head with one another on a similar subject matter, and they also get to show off and wow the audience with their own original piece. Given the strength of this field, it's unlikely to believe that any one master canvas will stand above the rest. If you give any of the final 5 a master canvas, all of them are going to hit it out of the park, and the judges favorite (Cleen) will end up winning regardless. I'd rather see them issue the contestants a direct challenge and have them battle it out, that way the final reveal can at least be partially apples to apples instead of comparing 2 totally different tattoos. 

A big old WORD to your post.

I hate the master canvas idea.  I think it encourages the inktestants to go way over the top, to put too much stuff in, in order to wow the judges and account for the 600 hour tattoo.  I've always wished the judges would take the America's Next Top Model format and evaluate and critique tattoos from the entire season, rather than base their decision on this one, overblown tattoo.

I think Jason's upset over Cleen was criminal.  Even though Cleen disregarded the photo realism, he was clearly the better artist. 

[azshadowwalker]

I think the thought process is that all the finalists went through the same process to get to the end. So, the finals are a showdown. I can see the argument against that, but I am okay with it. I watch a lot of sports, and the best team doesn't always win the championship. It doesn’t matter what they did to get there; it matters what they do once they're there. On Survivor, the better player can lose a challenge at final four and get sent packing. Same thing there. I also remember hating that Kruseman was allowed to ignore the challenges and end up going through and eventually winning. Cleen knew what he needed to do, but thought he could ignore it and do something easier for his skillset. I hate when someone takes the easy way out and still wins, and I think that would have been the case if he'd been rewarded after ignoring the rules.