S09.E16: Shop Wars Finale

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

In the live season finale, the final three shops compete with one another for $200,000 and to be the first to hold the title of Master Shop.

[Kelda Feegle]

Please don't let this start with Dave swinging from flesh hooks - I love ya Dave but keep that shit off my tv m'mkay?

[azshadowwalker]

Ugh. I hate to say it, because having DJ win just irritates the fuck out of me, but it was the right decision. Good for Bubba, and glad to have another Arizona winner, I guess. 

I think Black Cobra went too bold. Very hard to read. 

Basilica went with skinny arms and huge tits. Big breasts in a tattoo is so damned boring. 

The show was the smoothest live finale we have seen. Good for everyone. 

So excited about the upcoming seasons. First, the Angels, then Anthony back for season 10. They must have been living in my head to come up with that. 

[Charlesman]

Meh, I didn't care much for Old Town's so-called "sticker". Bring on the Angels and season 10.

[azshadowwalker]

Forgot to mention how much weight Katie has lost. She looks good, but I wonder how she lost so much so quickly. 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Color me surprised about Black Cobra being the first Finalist to the final two.  I didn't like that mandala on the front of the thigh AT ALL.  Maybe it wouldn't have bothered me on the side of the thigh like the other two shops?  Mandalas just remind me of that Spirograph game from the 70's.

I really can't stand DJ but I thought Old Town's black and gray back piece was stunning.  

[Kelda Feegle]

I like mandalas in general but I didn't think the leaves worked with it. I want to know where Katie's weight went and how.

Either team as winner would have been ok with me.

[qtpye]

5 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

Ugh. I hate to say it, because having DJ win just irritates the fuck out of me, but it was the right decision. Good for Bubba, and glad to have another Arizona winner, I guess. 

I think Black Cobra went too bold. Very hard to read. 

Basilica went with skinny arms and huge tits. Big breasts in a tattoo is so damned boring. 

The show was the smoothest live finale we have seen. Good for everyone. 

So excited about the upcoming seasons. First, the Angels, then Anthony back for season 10. They must have been living in my head to come up with that. 

 

2 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

Forgot to mention how much weight Katie has lost. She looks good, but I wonder how she lost so much so quickly. 

 

18 minutes ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I like mandalas in general but I didn't think the leaves worked with it. I want to know where Katie's weight went and how.

Either team as winner would have been ok with me.

I don't know about you guys, but I am starting to grow very fond if the awkward weirdness that has become the Ink Master live finale.

Katie with a little less weight and straight hair looks a lot like Britney Spears...who knew?  I always thought she was a pretty girl.

Aaron seems like a nice guy, but I sincerely hope he is color blind, otherwise there is no excuse for that Pepto Bismol pink suit.

Basilica and Black Cobra both made the same mistake.  They tried to put every thing and the kitchen sink in those back pieces.  It resulted in both the works not being clear and having to warp shapes in order to fit it into the natural shape of the back.  They also did not take into account that their canvasses were not the most giant men in the world.  I am a small short woman.  I know anything I put on my body has to be scaled down from the average person size or it will not look right.

Sarah, from the first season must be pissed that she is not on the angels show. I respect her skills but her personalty has not been endearing and she always seems to have a chip on her shoulder.

I am surprised to say that I actually enjoyed this season.  I will definitely be back for more.

[hkit]

This was a let down. I wasn't a fan of any of the final pieces. A few random thoughts:

• Guess we can thank Trump for the politicization of Ink Master and the anthem. Dave did slay it, though.
• Katie looked stunning. I didn't even notice the weight loss - the straight hair is very flattering on her.
• DJ didn't talk much, which I prefer.
• I never want to see Tri State or Made Rich again. Can add Thom to that list as well.
• Katie's mandala may be my favorite tattoo of the season.
• I thought Christian's black and grey was way better than the old town ink face. It did look wonky.
• Was disappointed in the Black Cobra pieces. They were hard to read.
• Dear Ollie, don't spend 2-3 minutes pointing out a tattoo's flaw, then declare it "bulletproof" a bunch of times.
• Audio has been worse in the past, but still is difficult to watch.
• Cannot wait for the Angels!

[cpcathy]

Decent finale.

Katie did look gorgeous, good for her!

I think I loved Old Town's B&W more than anything I've seen this year. It was stunning, When I draw, I draw people, so I adored it in every way.

Basilica, geez....Lilith is from the bible (I suppose?) With enormous fake tits? She looked like a fairy of some sort. The tattoo would have worked so much better if the tits had been little natural ones. Did  they have silicone in biblical times? I'm not much of a prude, but yes, the boobs irked me so much.

Didn't even notice the color pieces, that B&W from Old Town stole the show for me.

[Fex]

Does it make sense to say that Katie looked fantastic, but I hated her outfit. I don't love a jumpsuit, but sometimes they work. This was not one of those times, for me.

I liked Christian's live tattoo best. When they announced the live vote results, I thought Katie and Matt were lucky. No way they would've made final two, otherwise. I liked them all season, but thought they were out-tattooed last night.

Dave killed the anthem, and I would be happy if he always performed a song rather than a disgusting stunt, lol! Noticed some people on the stage kneeling, but couldn't make out who.

[candall]

Dave was very sexy and Devil Went Down To Georgia.  Easy to imagine a long red trident tail slipping around from the back.  Much sexier than Home S&M meat hooks.

Peck, less sexy.  Is that last year's blue jacket, or did he pit out a new one?  And usually I don't mind his toothpick, but he had something extra-long going on tonight--a Finale Toothpick?   I always laugh when he goes ponytail-free for formal occasions.  Okay, Rapunzel.

 

I'm happy with the winners.  I loved the big face.  (Also loved that the backpieces went down to incorporate the butt-and-beyond.)  I thought the dragon had some problems, but the problems with the hawk wings were worse. 

With the luxury of all those pre-tat hours available to you, wouldn't you do a full-color mockup of your piece, pin it to the wall, study it, make sure everything scans and curls and connects realistically?  Sneak in an ornithologist or your buddy who used to have a parakeet?

 

The show was altogether more enjoyable since they learned from the past and controlled the chaos pretty well.  I appreciate that they finally showed the third five-thousand hour backpiece.

But you guys are lucky Christian and Noelin weren't finalists--you don't have to scroll past several paragraphs of me complaining about that woman's arms and hands.  Win!

[qtpye]

2 hours ago, candall said:

Dave was very sexy and Devil Went Down To Georgia.  Easy to imagine a long red trident tail slipping around from the back.  Much sexier than Home S&M meat hooks.

Peck, less sexy.  Is that last year's blue jacket, or did he pit out a new one?  And usually I don't mind his toothpick, but he had something extra-long going on tonight--a Finale Toothpick?   I always laugh when he goes ponytail-free for formal occasions.  Okay, Rapunzel.

 

I'm happy with the winners.  I loved the big face.  (Also loved that the backpieces went down to incorporate the butt-and-beyond.)  I thought the dragon had some problems, but the problems with the hawk wings were worse. 

With the luxury of all those pre-tat hours available to you, wouldn't you do a full-color mockup of your piece, pin it to the wall, study it, make sure everything scans and curls and connects realistically?  Sneak in an ornithologist or your buddy who used to have a parakeet?

 

The show was altogether more enjoyable since they learned from the past and controlled the chaos pretty well.  I appreciate that they finally showed the third five-thousand hour backpiece.

But you guys are lucky Christian and Noelin weren't finalists--you don't have to scroll past several paragraphs of me complaining about that woman's arms and hands.  Win!

Christian is usually such a master of black and grey, that the tattoo was a giant WTF for me.  It really was not finale level work.

[Jal]

6 hours ago, hkit said:

This was a let down. I wasn't a fan of any of the final pieces. A few random thoughts:

• Katie's mandala may be my favorite tattoo of the season.

Completely agree. I don't have preferences for styles of tattoos, and it was stunning. Perfect choice of colours too. I thought Black Cobra deserved a spot in the final two based on that tattoo alone.

I didn't care for any other tattoo in the finale.

Edited September 27, 2017 by Jal

[Galloway Cave]

3 hours ago, candall said:

butt-and-beyond.

Back Butt and Beyond, the new Tat shop coming next spring near you!

I was happy with Old Town winning but that means I won't be able to get near the shop for the next year.

4 hours ago, cpcathy said:

Basilica, geez....Lilith is from the bible (I suppose?) With enormous fake tits?

That's exactly the same thought I had! If they were trying to stick closely to the story, she should have had smaller natural boobs. Can you imagine every woman who sees those things on that guy's back from here on out? They are even bigger than life sized.

Fast-forwarding let me watch the finale in 25 minutes. Seems like there was more time spent on tats this time rather than fighting. I'm also glad Dave let that 80s side shave grow out. That is one hot man.

[TVbitch]

Oh Dave, having to point out to the ladies that they are hot and bangin'. Only you could get away with it. Would have liked to hear the deliberations. Love how they all praised each b/w and then basically shredded them when re-evaluating them to pick the winner. 

For me, all the tattoos disappointed compared to previous seasons. I was bummed Black Cobra did not kill the back pieces, they were just way over-stylized or something. I didn't find any of them that pleasant or awe-inpsiring to look at. 

All in all, the crowd, the noise, the chaos --the usual shambolic mess I expect from the live finale. 

[CheezyXpressed]

I liked how all of the black contestants were kneeling down, but Aaron (not Anthony) hand his hand on Made Rich's shoulder to still show support. The lady with Old Town who kept facing the wrong way was funny, but her arm game was a thing of beauty. I'm definitely jealous. Katie lost a lot of weight and was looking great in her jumpsuit.

I thought the back tats were kind of weak for Old Town. The face was stunning, especially the eyes, but I didn't like the stuff around it and their colour piece wasn't anatomically correct. Black Cobra went too bold and dark and it just didn't translate well. I liked their artwork and they did well all season, so it was sad to see them drop the ball here when I know that they could have done a lot better. I thought visually Basilica did best. They did have issues, but I thought they were minor compared to the other two teams. Katie's leg tattoo was my favourite one of the night. That was just beautiful.

Old Town winning is okay, since it means that Bubba redeemed himself, but I dunno...

In the end, I couldn't watch it live, but it worked out since I could skip all of the fighting that happened. It made the show a lot more enjoyable for me.

[Inkmaster0345]

Wasn't super duper blown away by any of the finale pieces this time around. My favorite finale tattoo in the history of the show is still easily JCD's cartoony back piece from season 5. Don't think I'll remember any of these when I think back a few years from now.

Assorted Thoughts:

Loved that Bubba won. Great redemption story for him. We've never seen someone who got the boot earlier than later come back and have any semblance of success until Bubba did it this season. Very cool that he came on the first time, took his knocks, learned from his mistakes, and then came back better than ever. Did DJ "carry" the team? Who cares. Bubba won a couple of faceoff tattoos and ultimately he won his way there. End of story. 

Didn't like the style of Black Cobra's tattoos at all. "Bulletproof outline"? Hell, some of those outlines were an INCH thick! It was so over-stylized in their traditional wheelhouse. I found both pieces to be incredibly hard to read despite the designs actually being pretty simple.

I give Old Town props for showing off and doing 2 very different things with their finale tattoos. I don't think that going for a "cohesive" image was a smart play by black cobra and basilica. I think it's way smarter to do two very different styles and prove that you are truly an Ink Master rather than "we had 2 canvases' entire backs and the freedom to do whatever we wanted so we did 2 huge traditional birds". Meh.  

Has anyone noticed the ridiculous support for Cleen and Basilica on social media? Go to any post on twitter or instagram and it's nothing but "robbed this" and "bs that". I guess that public is really into the "hardass" tattooers. 

Hate hate hate the social media vote. All season long they judge based on quality and then suddenly in the finale they make a massive decision based on popularity. I still think that Christian would have beaten Anthony had it not been for the social media vote that shot Anthony straight to the finals without any deliberation. Anthony is so popular that he was always winning that fan vote. 

The evil-yet-sexy back piece motif is so cliche and overplayed by now for these finales. Christian's arm sleeve was so creative and unlike anything we've ever seen in his original finale, yet this time his idea wasn't even remotely unique. No idea what he was thinking.

Next season sounds interesting. I like that they're trying something new but don't really have enough info to make a judgment. It sounds to me sort of like the seasons of Survivor in which a former competitor would come back to be the captain but also actively participate themselves??? Based on Steve and Anthony's banter I couldn't decide if they were talking about "winning" as in winning as the team captain or as in individually winning. Anybody have any info? 

 

Overall, I thought this season was a very nice showing for Ink Master. With all of the returning artists, I felt that the quality of tattooing was much higher this season than last. Hopefully, they can carry this momentum forward in season 10.  

[Inkmaster0345]

Sorry for the double post--Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for making this discussion board what it is. It's always fun to see others' opinions and interpretations and how they stack up with my own. For those of you who are newer I certainly hope you stick around, and for those who have been around awhile, I look forward to seeing you again in a few months!

 

Until January!

 

Cheers

[azshadowwalker]

24 minutes ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

 

Next season sounds interesting. I like that they're trying something new but don't really have enough info to make a judgment. It sounds to me sort of like the seasons of Survivor in which a former competitor would come back to be the captain but also actively participate themselves??? Based on Steve and Anthony's banter I couldn't decide if they were talking about "winning" as in winning as the team captain or as in individually winning. Anybody have any info?  

My feelings are that it's Peck v Nunez revisited, kind of like this was a revisiting of the return of the vets. I don't think they will be actively competing. This is an improvement, if that's the case, since I really disliked mentors also judging. We will see if I am right. 

Edited September 28, 2017 by azshadowwalker

[CaptainCranky]

As with most judging it's pretty subjective. Old Town seemed very  inconsistent over the whole season and to see them win seemed strange.

Glad to see Basilica eliminated. Got tired of Christians BS over the whole season.

My favorite over the whole season was Black Cobra.

I thought Erin from Doom might be the best single but her partner was weak. Didn't deserve to be on the show.

Edited September 28, 2017 by CaptainCranky

[candall]

42 minutes ago, CaptainCranky said:

I thought Erin ... might be the best single but her partner was weak. Didn't deserve to be on the show.

Yes.  It took weeks for my brain to lock in that the Unkindness Art woman, Erin, was consistently doing excellent work.  When they finally decide it's time for another female winner, I hope she comes back.

I have to confess, though, that "Doom Kitten" is my favorite out of all the wonky, macho, misspelled and ridiculous names.  Kind of too bad a man calling himself Doom Kitten didn't turn out to be a force to be reckoned with, a contend-eh.

[Rancide]

10 hours ago, Fex said:

Dave killed the anthem, and I would be happy if he always performed a song rather than a disgusting stunt, lol! Noticed some people on the stage kneeling, but couldn't make out who.

I can help you out.  It was literally every black contestant except Picasso (who may not be black?  Unclear).  Standing:  everyone else.  It was weird.  Weirdest of all was that idiot ES (whose PARTNER was black and was kneeling) jumping up and down trying to get everyone in the audience to stand up.  No one has to kneel if they don't want to, but I did think the side of the room where the non-kneelers were standing quietly with their hands down by their side was more unobtrusive than the side where everyone except the kneelers had their hands aggressively over their hearts (except the moron jumping up and down in the back trying to get others to stand).

[Kippy]

How can a person aggressively hold their hand over their heart?

[Fex]

1 hour ago, Rancide said:

I can help you out.  It was literally every black contestant except Picasso (who may not be black?  Unclear).  Standing:  everyone else.  It was weird.  Weirdest of all was that idiot ES (whose PARTNER was black and was kneeling) jumping up and down trying to get everyone in the audience to stand up.  No one has to kneel if they don't want to, but I did think the side of the room where the non-kneelers were standing quietly with their hands down by their side was more unobtrusive than the side where everyone except the kneelers had their hands aggressively over their hearts (except the moron jumping up and down in the back trying to get others to stand).

Thank you! I just recently got a DVR, and I sometimes forget that I can pause and rewind live TV. I'll get it eventually...

Someone above mentioned that another contestant had his hand on a kneeler's shoulder in support, which is really nice.

[Apatee]

Hate that they made a huge tattoo irrelevant to the finale yet again. It's ridiculous to have someone put forth that amount of work/effort for it not to matter in the end. I thought Basilica's color piece was gorgeous, sucks it was for naught because the show has to have a twitter vote. While Katie had the best live tattoo, I found their back pieces very underwhelming. Overly bold and messy, while also being uninteresting/safe designs.

Good to see Old Town as a winner. Bubba's hard work (paired with DJ's talent) really paid off. They were actually in the competition for a good while, so hats off to them.

[azshadowwalker]

6 hours ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

Sorry for the double post--Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for making this discussion board what it is. It's always fun to see others' opinions and interpretations and how they stack up with my own. For those of you who are newer I certainly hope you stick around, and for those who have been around awhile, I look forward to seeing you again in a few months!

 

Until January!

 

Cheers

Not coming back for Ink Angels next week? 

[dstann]

17 hours ago, qtpye said:

I don't know about you guys, but I am starting to grow very fond if the awkward weirdness that has become the Ink Master live finale.

 

The finale is just so bad every year, I don't know why they don't change the format.

12 hours ago, qtpye said:

Christian is usually such a master of black and grey, that the tattoo was a giant WTF for me.  It really was not finale level work.

Comparing Christian's 6 live tattoo to his 35 hour back piece was just so different levels of quality.  Maybe Nolan is not as good as Christian so they had to alter the design so Nolan could do it.

Did anyone else notice in Basilica's logo that they were established in 2016? wow what a long and prestigious history that shop has to be brought onto ink master.

10 hours ago, TVbitch said:

For me, all the tattoos disappointed compared to previous seasons. I was bummed Black Cobra did not kill the back pieces, they were just way over-stylized or something. I didn't find any of them that pleasant or awe-inpsiring to look at. 

 

Black Cobra's color piece may have been my favorite of the night.  I liked the style and I thought the application was really smooth.  I think they should have done something different with their black and grey to show a bit of diversity.

[aussieinsydney]

I was cheering for Black Cobra, so I'm bummed that they didn't win. I thought their back pieces were too line heavy and hard to read.

Old town ink's pieces were nice, but I wasn't really wowed by any team to be honest.

I'm not really getting the gist of next season. So Steven and Anthony are mentors like Peck and Nunez were last season? If so, then boring!!! Ink master needs to come up with a fresh formula.

[Rancide]

6 hours ago, Kippy said:

How can a person aggressively hold their hand over their heart?

Well, as an initial matter, they seemed like they were facing out (i.e. in the direction of the cameras) rather than facing towards the back of the stage, which would have been the direction of the music and what the flag code suggests is appropriate (at least when there is no flag to face, which did not seem to be the case here, unless you count the flag graphics on the screens, which would also have been at the back of the stage).  Also, 99% of the audience was standing up and shouting, cheering, and waving their hands in the air, so it didn't seem like there was some sort of an "all rise for the playing of our national anthem" kind of announcement that encouraged people to quiet down and observe the traditional anthem-like rituals.  It seemed more like a rock concert kind of atmosphere, which I have to assume was intentional since 1) live studio audiences almost always have off-screen "applause" and "quiet" cues, 2) I can't see these particular producers having planned a silent, applause-free intro to this particular show.  Basically, the handful folks on stage standing at attention with their hands over their hearts seem to have been literally the only folks in a room full of what looked like several hundred people to have assumed that posture, which is what made it look like a statement to me, whether they intended it that way or not.

I don't particularly care if folks wanted to make a statement (again, with the exception of that idiot ES, whose statement appeared to be "fuck you"), but it's still a statement.

[dstann]

1 hour ago, aussieinsydney said:

I'm not really getting the gist of next season. So Steven and Anthony are mentors like Peck and Nunez were last season? If so, then boring!!! Ink master needs to come up with a fresh formula.

I am kind of hoping there will be more mentors, like say 4 mentors each with a team of 4, or even 8 mentors each with a team of 2.  Dave revealed so many "surprises" its hard to remember if he said there were only 2 mentors.

[Diane Mars]

On 28/09/2017 at 11:19 AM, aussieinsydney said:

I was cheering for Black Cobra, so I'm bummed that they didn't win. I thought their back pieces were too line heavy and hard to read.

Old town ink's pieces were nice, but I wasn't really wowed by any team to be honest.

I'm not really getting the gist of next season. So Steven and Anthony are mentors like Peck and Nunez were last season? If so, then boring!!! Ink master needs to come up with a fresh formula.

Have a look at the Tattoo Angeles thread, you'll get some answers for the next season of Ink Master ^_^

[PepperMonkey]

Cleen didn't win? And he wasn't even IN the finale?

NOW I can watch. :)

[qtpye]

11 hours ago, PepperMonkey said:

Cleen didn't win? And he wasn't even IN the finale?

NOW I can watch. :)

It was awesome, Peck and Dave refused to let his janky tattoo skate by, while Nunez was desperately pulling at strings to save his mancrush.