S09.E15: Marathon to the Finale

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

The top four shops battle it out in a tattoo marathon for the three spots in the live finale.

[dstann]

How do you think they will do the finale?  Will each artist get to do their own piece? I think it could be interesting if each shop had to do a back piece, but the back is split in half, and each artist is only allowed to tattoo on one half of the back.

[Diane Mars]

On 16/09/2017 at 6:10 AM, dstann said:

How do you think they will do the finale?  Will each artist get to do their own piece? I think it could be interesting if each shop had to do a back piece, but the back is split in half, and each artist is only allowed to tattoo on one half of the back.

Not so sure.... It seems a good idea on the paper, but as everyone has "his hand", even with using exactly the same design, inks, etc, the line between both parts will be noticed... And, except for a design which will require this split, it won't give any good results, as it seems totally impossible -for me, once again- to have the "same hand" than your partner :(

[Diane Mars]

And here's the preview :

ETA : And I really like the 1st challenge ! That's a cool idea !
 

Edited September 18, 2017 by Diane Mars

[azshadowwalker]

Damn. I can't wait to see these. Still a few hours to go for us in MST. 

[2727]

Was Doom's hot rod really praiseworthy? The circle outlines on the front tires were particularly janky. I would have been  pissed if anyone but Unkindness went home, whether one team or two was passed through on the first round.

Pretty good tattoos all around, with Christian's eye and Old Town's snake being highlights for me.

Edited September 20, 2017 by 2727

[azshadowwalker]

As it should be. Finally Doom is gone. These are the teams that have risen above. If Tommy couldn't be here, these are the three teams that should have been in the finale. 

DJ bringing up that they deserve the final because they have been there longer Was kind of bogus. Christian has played this format, so that complaint is not going to sit well. His first season was even more tilted towards the vets, who got to choose the style and didn't have to compete in every challenge. DJ should have known better. 

Edited September 20, 2017 by azshadowwalker

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My two favorite quotes from this episode:

Katie: "Illustrative fantasy"? Sounds like nerd porn.

Matt: Either way, everyone's going to look like a dickhead or an idiot.

This week's challenge was a good one to decide who goes to the finale. Despite the lip service to this show saying you have to be well rounded, we have seen some contestants who just kept doing their style week after week. This challenge required the shops to show some versatility in their skills.

Ha, Doom FINALLY admitted that he is dragging Erin down. No shit, Chet, no shit. Glad to see you've finally come to the same conclusion that most of us came to months ago. On a related note, gawd, this season feels like it has been going on forever.

Although Erin did drop the ball a bit this week, I give her a lot of credit for refusing to join Doom in his temper tantrum/name calling. She has clearly been here just to tattoo, not to play mind games or be petty. I wanted someone to step in after he threw something. Not only is he childish but there is no need to start getting violent with the only person who has supported your subpar ass all season.

DJ can STFU with his "I want to go to the finale more than anyone else." One of my pet peeves is whenever people on reality shows say that. How do you know how much anyone else wants something? Until you invent a machine that can measure how much someone wants something, then STFU with your assumptions.

While in theory, I get that the vets (especially the last few teams) had an advantage because they weren't as worn down by having to do all the earlier challenges, it's not like Christian or Cleen had anything to do with that. The format was all the producers, so it's not like the vet teams were bending the rules or flat out cheating to get that advantage. For that reason, DJ whining about how it wasn't fair just made me roll my eyes. You're barking up the wrong tree, dude. To me that's like when a customer complains to the cashier about how expensive something is. The person you're bitching to had nothing to do with that decision and doesn't have the power to do anything about it, so save your breath.

It's unfortunate that the team format (1) kept Doom around this long (2) essentially got Erin sent home after she carried his ass all season. Her final tattoo was really beautiful. The drawing, the colors, the details - all really great. His hotrod? Average at best. And of course he was stupid enough to think that finishing a tattoo way before time was up was a good idea. This is what decides if you go to the finale and you're going to just sit around twiddling your thumbs?

Edited September 21, 2017 by ElectricBoogaloo
Because violet isn't the same thing as violent.

[hkit]

I feel like I've been on an island all season about disliking DJ, and now I can point to a perfect example of why. I've always gotten the impression that feeding his ego is a full time job. He does not know how to be around people who aren't constantly kissing his ass. 

 

I would love to see Erin get a shot on a solo season. She was severely handicapped all season long and never complained. Her talent is off the charts. 

[lampwick]

As soon as DJ did that building tat on the natural disaster episode, I thought this was his to lose.  It seemed to me week after week, he was the best - only with this last challenge with the eye so subpar to Christian's, do I now think it might be possible for him to lose.  I don't have any tats so I thought maybe I'm missing something because it seems so many here thought it was Christian's or Cleen's to lose.   I've seen every episode of every season, and now that we're at the end, I'm reminded how the design it absolutely critical in the final - in fact I think that counts for more than 75%.  DJ has the advantage of not having lost before like the others.   That bodes well for him I think.  

[qtpye]

I am actually happy with the final three teams.  I actually think Black Cobra has the most balanced team abilitywise.

I like Katie and am fond of her cupie doll look.  It is nice to see that a woman does not have to be a size 0 to look good.

Did that asshole, Doom, just throw something at Erin (who is his boss) and then call the judges motherfuckers?

I hope he enjoys being unemployed.  Without Erin he would have been eliminated by the third or fourth episode.

[2727]

At least we got an explanation of how the finale tattoos will be done. Seems fair enough and will force both team members to contribute equally to the back piece. It wasn't clear to me how the live tattoos will factor in. I certainly feel better about the judging being more unbiased with Cleen gone. I'm pulling for Black Cobra.

I'm live streaming TV these days and can't stomach a 90 minute finale with no fast forward, so am counting on you guys to take the hit. Hopefully the stupid Spike site will deign to upload a couple of photos afterwards.

Edited September 20, 2017 by 2727

[azshadowwalker]

5 hours ago, hkit said:

I feel like I've been on an island all season about disliking DJ, and now I can point to a perfect example of why. I've always gotten the impression that feeding his ego is a full time job. He does not know how to be around people who aren't constantly kissing his ass. 

I think DJ is an ass. I will definitely not be driving to Scottsdale for work by him (especially when we have better artists in Tucson). My support for the team has always been about Bubba. I think he is pretty awesome. 

I did love that DJ finally ran into Christian's sore spot and got eaten up and spit out. It's not like DJ and Bubba were part of the original teams, either, so I don't know what the hell he was even talking about. They got brought into that alliance because the mediocre newbies who originally made it up were already gone. 

@lampwick, not sure whether you mean DJ has an advantage of not having lost on this show. He came in second on Best Ink, so he does have the experience of coming up short. I am sure there's a lot of overlap in the viewers of both shows, and the judges have seen his work in the competition format. 

@qtpye, I am also pulling for Black Cobra. Matt and Chris losing to Kruseman still gets me. Katie is right that Matt got screwed. She's also a good tattooer and cool lady. I would be happy to see Basilica win, because I will never stop loving Christian's ballerina in his finale. That final should have been Christian vs Anthony once the popular vote went down. The placement of Cleen's chest piece still gives me nightmares. The vet-heavy jury and MJ were a bunch of idiots. I would not hate Bubba winning, but really don't want to see DJ win. 

Edited September 20, 2017 by azshadowwalker

[hkit]

40 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

Matt and Chris losing to Kruseman still gets me. Katie is right that Matt got screwed. 

I think Matt and Katie are extremely deserving - Christian too. I just cannot see the show screwing Matt or Christian over a second time by not judging their final piece. Of course, I also couldn't see Cleen not being handed the victory, so I am probably wrong. It'll be interesting if they eliminate down to the final 2 again on a popularity vote. 

[CheezyXpressed]

The episodes that don't have a flash challenge seem to be my favourite ones on this season.

I think Doom realized that he had no chance and was frustrated that his artist's choice was the weakest one in the group. He freaked out and took it out on Erin who remained calm. It sucks, but I get it. What he did last week was worse than this. I do feel bad for Erin though. What a horrible time to have an off day. I'm glad to see just how much Bubba grew. In the beginning of this season it did seem like DJ did everything, but Bubba has improved after each challenge. His studying has really paid off.

I can't root for him though, because Black Cobra is really the team to beat here. Matt and Katie both compliment each other well and they're really strong tattooers. Last week it was mentioned that they never won anything, but they were robbed during each of those and were consistently on the top. I do like Noelin though and hope he does well. Christian too.

[Charlesman]

I thought it was great that when Nunez started criticizing Doom's tattoo, Erin piped up and said she thought Doom should have done it differently too. "Yeah, I said we should do that." Threw him under the bus just like he did to her last week. Nice teamwork!

[belligerent]

I also wish Erin had been on a different season where she wasn't as hobbled by Doom. I don't think he's so much terrible as he is really significantly inexperienced. It's almost like they approached this season like the Master/Apprentice one but this was something that required two masters or near-masters. They might have done okay on the Masters/Apprentices season. I like that Erin refused to join in on the namecalling. Doom, you guys still have to work in the tattoo industry and pitching a fit at people in it is probably not going to keep professional relationships very friendly.

A major advantage the vets had this season that wasn't really gone into on the show was that it's very likely the canvases have seen the vets' seasons. Somebody who's been on a previous season had the advantage of being able to say, well, I was a finalist on this show before so if you trust me, you'll get a really sick tattoo by a famous artist. The newbies couldn't really do that, which meant any time a canvas wanted something wacky, they had more of an uphill battle to climb to talk the canvas off the mountain.

I guess I'm rooting for Matt and Katie? They're the only team where I don't dislike one of the artists.

I also figured out what Christian reminds me of. A big angry american badger (not as docile as eurasian badgers). I think it's the face tattoos and general demeanor.

[candall]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 4:15 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

a related note, gawd, this season feels like it has been going on forever.

Because it has.  Fourteen shops and 28 artists?  I'm exhausted.

 

Confused when the judges complained that Noelin needed to "punch up the color" in his little pixie girl.  He had the most contrast between the fuschia hair and the green skin--his was arguably the best of the four.  But, wait. . .

"Hmmmm, let me ask you a question, Dave.  Is it too late to give them both a spot?"  Oh, there we go.  It all makes sense now.

 

How come I can't find the eye on the best Inkmaster snake EVER?

[dstann]

9 hours ago, candall said:

Confused when the judges complained that Noelin needed to "punch up the color" in his little pixie girl.  He had the most contrast between the fuschia hair and the green skin--his was arguably the best of the four.  But, wait. . .

"Hmmmm, let me ask you a question, Dave.  Is it too late to give them both a spot?"  Oh, there we go.  It all makes sense now.

 

How come I can't find the eye on the best Inkmaster snake EVER?

I thought Matt's fantasy fish girl was easily the best, they even liked DJ's better than Nolan's,  so I have no problem with that decision.   For me it was the eye tattoo.  Why was it hands down Christians?  To me Matt's was just as good, I thought that was the the tattoo that they used to make it a draw.

 

To me it kind of looked like the snake had 3 eyes

Edited September 22, 2017 by dstann

[candall]

5 hours ago, dstann said:

To me it kind of looked like the snake had 3 eyes

LOL.  It had three upper fangs for sure.

[azshadowwalker]

On 9/20/2017 at 5:12 PM, belligerent said:

 

A major advantage the vets had this season that wasn't really gone into on the show was that it's very likely the canvases have seen the vets' seasons. Somebody who's been on a previous season had the advantage of being able to say, well, I was a finalist on this show before so if you trust me, you'll get a really sick tattoo by a famous artist. The newbies couldn't really do that, which meant any time a canvas wanted something wacky, they had more of an uphill battle to climb to talk the canvas off the mountain.

We have seen this before, though, so I am not sure they needed to go into it. This season is just a rework of Christian's first season. 

[belligerent]

i think it probably would have detracted from the narrative the show is trying for this season if they had touched on every way in which the decks were arguably stacked. if you start off with a bunch of non vets and then none of them make the finale, you don't want to bring attention to ways in which the competition might have been more difficult for them. they already had the contestants bringing up every other thing that they felt was unfair.

a lot of the original shops weren't that great or only had one good artist, or weren't consistent. i just wish they'd stop bringing people in midway. let your vets show up at the same time as the new people and let them fight it out from the beginning instead of bringing them back like mini-bosses you have to defeat. doing it the second way probably amps up the interpersonal drama more so i'm sure that's why they do it that way.

[Inkmaster0345]

On 9/20/2017 at 5:15 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

On a related note, gawd, this season feels like it has been going on forever.

1

It's been almost 3 MONTHS since Tri-Cities tattoos was finally eliminated.....and they were the FOURTH team to go home! 

Generally speaking, I don't care for this season's format much. Do any of us really know how good some of these artists actually are? Is Noelin a good tattoo artist? Did Aaron actually improve at all between this season and his original season? Was Erin potentially one of the single most talented artists in the history of the show? Because most of these tattoos are collaborative efforts it's very difficult to pinpoint this season's artists on the talent spectrum. I prefer a normal style season where we are able to get a great feel for all of the competitors. 

As many people have said--Ink Master should have just done an all-star season. At the very least raise the competition to a point where they can compete against the veterans. In season 7: Anthony, Christian, Megan Jean, etc. were talented enough to be a real threat to the vets. None of the rookie teams this season were all that great. I feel like the show cast Blank Anchor in the hopes that they could be that team (remember all the talk from Black Anchor, the cast, and the judges about how their shop was already "world famous") but when that didn't pan out they were left with Erin and then a bunch of mediorce. 

With that said- I think this will be a great finale. Probably the first 3 man finale in the show where at least one of the artists isn't an obvious choice for 3rd place. If I had to guess I would say 1) Basilica 2) Black Cobra 3) Old Town, although I am rooting for Old Town as I think Bubba is a great story. No doubt that DJ is the better artist on the team, but Bubba got absolutely crushed on his original season and has looked incredibly respectable during this season. Good for him.

The "Live" finales are always super clunky and awkward. The judge's dialogue is so painfully scripted that it's hard to watch with the volume on for the first 2/3 of the finale. Don't even get me started on the live tattoo cutaways and the survivor like chatter from the cast while we wait for the last 10 minutes to start judging the back pieces.  

[aussieinsydney]

On 20/09/2017 at 9:21 PM, hkit said:

I would love to see Erin get a shot on a solo season. She was severely handicapped all season long and never complained. Her talent is off the charts. 

        I'm with you on this. I'd love to see Erin on the next season. C'mon Ink Master, make it so!

 

On 21/09/2017 at 1:49 AM, qtpye said:

I am actually happy with the final three teams.  I actually think Black Cobra has the most balanced team abilitywise.

        I'm happy withe final three, but I'm cheering for Matt and Katie. They definitely compliment each other well and have awesome talent, both individually and combined.

[azshadowwalker]

On 9/23/2017 at 5:17 PM, Inkmaster0345 said:

It's been almost 3 MONTHS since Tri-Cities tattoos was finally eliminated.....and they were the FOURTH team to go home! 

 

I didn't realize it had been that long. Truth is, I don't care, though. This has become my favorite competitive reality show, and I like watching the art. So three or four months is fine. Besides, people watch scripted shows that long. There's really no reason for unscripted to be shorter. 

[AlliePK]

14 hours ago, aussieinsydney said:

        I'm with you on this. I'd love to see Erin on the next season. C'mon Ink Master, make it so!

 

Maybe she'll show up on that Angels show?  I don't have any inside info on that, but Erin is a really good tattooer and deserves more recognition as something other than the DoomCarrier.

[Inkmaster0345]

13 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

I didn't realize it had been that long. Truth is, I don't care, though. This has become my favorite competitive reality show, and I like watching the art. So three or four months is fine. Besides, people watch scripted shows that long. There's really no reason for unscripted to be shorter. 

Absolutely agree. They could make a season with 100 artists, whittle it all the way down to one and have a losers' bracket to boot and I would still watch every minute. Just an observation. It's actually funny that I have difficulty remembering some of the teams that came and went quickly. It almost feels as though it was a totally different season back when Black Anchor and House of Monkey were kicking around. 

[azshadowwalker]

9 hours ago, AlliePK said:

Maybe she'll show up on that Angels show?  I don't have any inside info on that, but Erin is a really good tattooer and deserves more recognition as something other than the DoomCarrier.

I think Angels was shot before this season aired, so it would surprise me. I also think they really want to focus on the friendship between the four women. 

[AlliePK]

It was shot before this season aired (over the summer), but I believe after this season shot (minus the live finale).  The "angels" go head to head with tattooers who are trying to earn a spot on IM10. They are going up against men and women tattooers.  I think it's too soon to see Erin again, but one never knows.

[Galloway Cave]

On 9/23/2017 at 5:17 PM, Inkmaster0345 said:

The "Live" finales are always super clunky and awkward. The judge's dialogue is so painfully scripted that it's hard to watch with the volume on for the first 2/3 of the finale. Don't even get me started on the live tattoo cutaways and the survivor like chatter from the cast while we wait for the last 10 minutes to start judging the back pieces.  

I learned my lesson after the first live finale and just record and view later. I FF through pretty much everything, watch the parts I am interested in and end up spending about 15 minutes of my life on the episode. Perfect.

Looking forward to the Angels Season.