S11.E09: Tipping The Scales

[thewhiteowl]

The coaches face off; mermaid tattoos take the grudge match to sea.

[Diane Mars]

Preview :

[cherbitrary]

Fell asleep right after judging. Can someone fill me in on the bottom 3 and who was eliminated?

[dstann]

Bottom 3 was Amanda, Tony and Jimmy, Jimmy went home.  They kept saying how Jimmy's tattoo was the least appealing, did anyone else feel the opposite and that it was the most appealing of the bottom 3?

 

Great tattoo by Turk, lets see if it was a fluke.

[psychoticstate]

3 hours ago, dstann said:

Bottom 3 was Amanda, Tony and Jimmy, Jimmy went home.  They kept saying how Jimmy's tattoo was the least appealing, did anyone else feel the opposite and that it was the most appealing of the bottom 3?

 

Great tattoo by Turk, lets see if it was a fluke.

I feel the opposite as well, @dstann.  Out of those three, I thought Jimmy's was the most aesthetically pleasing.  It was a rare clunker for Tony.  

I thought Amanda dodged a major bullet and she should have gone home.  Hers was atrocious IMO.  Very childish looking, for lack of better word, and the mermaid and mermaid baby were butt ugly.  She would have been much better served to follow Turk's lead and show the mermaids from the back.   How Oliver and Dave could have voted for Jimmy to go home escapes me.

It almost seems as though since they sent someone packing from Team Christian last week, it HAD to be someone from Team Cleen this week.  The editing monkeys really gave it away with the focus on Jimmy and his having the discussion with Kyle before judging.  That said (and again), he was really robbed.  He and Tony are so much better artists than Amanda it's not funny.  I feel as though she got a free pass on this one because she's the only female left.  I know Nunez has gotten a lot of crap for his anti-women attitude when he votes to send a woman home but he was absolutely correct on this one.

[CheezyXpressed]

I was surprised by Turk. I don't know if he deserved tattoo of the day, but maybe this will help him tattoo better.

I thought Tony has the worst tattoo. Amanda's one was bad, but there were a lot of problems with what Tony drew. Drawing wise, Jimmy was better but at least now we won't have sibling drama.

[2727]

It kind of ticked me off when Peck told Jimmy at the end that he was a much better tattooer than people still sitting upstairs ... then why doesn't the judging reflect that!? It's 100% on them who goes home. In this case it was Peck disagreeing with the others, but overall the judging continues to be a cluster.

It was good to hear the judges tell Cleen he needs to stop protecting Tiffer.

Assholes they may be, but the coaches again showed how to get it done with their flash challenge tattoos.

[Inkmaster0345]

Turk really annoyed me this episode. Acting like a complete jackass to Christian while he was tattooing only to turn around and tearfully beg Cleen for help during the elimination challenge. Yeah, real tough guy. Also, I don't think he should get a free pass for skipping out on doing a face. You could argue it was "strategic" but to me, it felt more like a struggling artist who desperately wanted to avoid doing the hardest part of the tattoo. It worked out, so good for him I suppose.  

I wonder how frustrating it is for the network that Cleen keeps protecting Tiffer week after week--depriving the audience of what would probably be the best tattoos. 

The show seems to be continuing with their shift from style to subject matter for the elimination challenges. Long gone are the days of Japanese, American Traditional, and portrait day challenges. It seems like every week is now " you have to tattoo ________(insert whacky object)". I've also noticed that guest judges are basically non-existent now--used to be a staple of the show so I wonder what caused the change.   

[2727]

At least I won't have to look at Jimmy's fucking railroad cap anymore.

[NEOhio]

I really dislike the coaches being able to protect one of their players.    It means we may get an Ink Master at the end that has done fewer tattoos than their competitors.   Maybe they would have done badly in those styles or under the pressure?  We will never know. I think Tiffer is pretty great but I haven't seen that much work from him.  He keeps getting to sit out.  Can he do a pinup style mermaid?  Or would he hide the face or jack an arm?   Sure the old style do Traditional, do Japanese, do a portrait was a repetitive season but by this time in the old seasons I knew who was well rounded and who wasn't and who faded under pressure.  Now I'm still not clear on everyone's strengths even the standouts.   There simply needs to be more tattoos by the contestants and less by the coaches.  I know Cleen and Christian can tattoo.  Oh and I agree with 2727, bye Jimmy's cap. 

[dstann]

12 hours ago, 2727 said:

It kind of ticked me off when Peck told Jimmy at the end that he was a much better tattooer than people still sitting upstairs ... then why doesn't the judging reflect that!? It's 100% on them who goes home. In this case it was Peck disagreeing with the others, but overall the judging continues to be a cluster.

I think the bottom 3 this week was correct, I think any of the three could have gone home based on their tattoo so I don't think in that respect it wasn't a major upset that Jimmy went home.  Though I am not sure who upstairs Jimmy is better than.  Maybe Turk though Turk just got tattoo of the day which is more than Jimmy has done.  So yeah not sure who Peck was meaning.  

2 hours ago, NEOhio said:

I really dislike the coaches being able to protect one of their players.    It means we may get an Ink Master at the end that has done fewer tattoos than their competitors.   Maybe they would have done badly in those styles or under the pressure?  We will never know.

I like it better than the first grudge match where the result was all of team Christian was safe.  Maybe there should have been a rule that a person can't be protected more than once, which would bring a lot of strategy into it as to when to protect each player.  

[Kelda Feegle]

7 hours ago, 2727 said:

At least I won't have to look at Jimmy's fucking railroad cap anymore.

Amen to that! and the nasty greasy hair.

Jimmy's mermaid looked very muscular rather than feminine.

Would it kill Cleen to wear a shirt? I HATE his singlets and nipples and singlets.

[psychoticstate]

15 hours ago, NEOhio said:

 

I really dislike the coaches being able to protect one of their players.    It means we may get an Ink Master at the end that has done fewer tattoos than their competitors.   Maybe they would have done badly in those styles or under the pressure?  We will never know. I think Tiffer is pretty great but I haven't seen that much work from him.  He keeps getting to sit out.  Can he do a pinup style mermaid?  Or would he hide the face or jack an arm?   Sure the old style do Traditional, do Japanese, do a portrait was a repetitive season but by this time in the old seasons I knew who was well rounded and who wasn't and who faded under pressure.  Now I'm still not clear on everyone's strengths even the standouts.   There simply needs to be more tattoos by the contestants and less by the coaches.  I know Cleen and Christian can tattoo.  Oh and I agree with 2727, bye Jimmy's cap. 

I agree with this.  I think @dstann has the right idea that if they are going this route, an inktestant can only be "protected" once.  It's a disappointment that we haven't seen Tiffer do many tattoos.

And I really wish judging would be consistent.  If it's all about the challenge, and previous history has no part in it, fine.  Then have it be that way throughout the entire season for each inktestant.  Personally, I'm okay with them using some previous history but if the challenge isn't met, that should be it.  

ETA:  I liked it in previous seasons when the skull picks were random; i.e., the canvases chose the skulls, not knowing whose name was on the bottom.  Frankly, it seems a much more balanced or fair way of assigning them.  The weaker artists will still fall out and you don't  have a canvas wanting a color piece who is intentionally assigned to an artist who can't do color for jack.   

Edited October 25, 2018 by psychoticstate

[2727]

1 hour ago, psychoticstate said:

The weaker artists will still fall out and you don't have a canvas wanting a color piece who is intentionally assigned to an artist who can't do color for jack.

Absolutely. The canvases are intentionally screwed by the show.

That said, if there has to be a jury, I much prefer it when the canvases nominate someone for the bottom rather than the other artists.

[Inkmaster0345]

54 minutes ago, 2727 said:

Absolutely. The canvases are intentionally screwed by the show.

That said, if there has to be a jury, I much prefer it when the canvases nominate someone for the bottom rather than the other artists.

The idea of having a jury on a show in which the judges will send home whoever they want anyways has always been hilarious 

[psychoticstate]

1 hour ago, 2727 said:

Absolutely. The canvases are intentionally screwed by the show.

That said, if there has to be a jury, I much prefer it when the canvases nominate someone for the bottom rather than the other artists.

 

58 minutes ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

The idea of having a jury on a show in which the judges will send home whoever they want anyways has always been hilarious 

Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about the canvases being the jury.  Many times it seems the canvases either don't have a clear and accurate view of their tattoo or they have an axe to grind with the artist that may or may not have anything to do with artistry or technical abilities.  

Having the jury of peers nominate someone is really pointless since it's normally one of the three people the judges were putting on the short list anyhow.  

The best choice might be to have a guest tattoo artist who puts someone up for elimination.  The guest artist would feasibly have no dog in the fight, no axe to grind and would be appraising the work honestly.   Shoot, bring back some previous winners and let them judge.  Anything would be better than the randomness going on now.

[2727]

1 hour ago, Inkmaster0345 said:

The idea of having a jury on a show in which the judges will send home whoever they want anyways has always been hilarious.

Ha! Certainly true. But if the producers insist, my (slight) preference is to hear a discussion among the canvases about what they like/don't like because it doesn't involve stupid game "strategy" and is more in line with my own amateur critiques.

[Sile]

On 10/25/2018 at 12:49 PM, Inkmaster0345 said:

The idea of having a jury on a show in which the judges will send home whoever they want anyways has always been hilarious 

The only time I can see it coming in handy is if you think you might be on the bubble and take the chance to toss someone else on the barbie in your place.

What I'd like to see is blind judging and no producer shenanigans.  Really, Silent Bob and Jimmy were two of my favorites, but I knew they weren't going to send the last two females home one right after the other so one of them were going.  But then the judges wouldn't be able to wander around kibitzing during the challenge and smirking at peoples' work right in front of the canvas (with the exception of Dave, who I think has more respect for the canvases that the rest of them put together).

Also don't understand Cleen constantly saving Tiffer, since he's the one most likely to not need the save.  I really do think he threw his team under the bus, he's been having little tantrums and flounces with his teammates from the beginning.  It also annoys me that he constantly wears that shirt that looks like a Purina Dog Chow bag.  I keep waiting for him to fall down on the floor and have a stagecoach come thundering out of his mouth.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Sile

[dstann]

On 10/26/2018 at 4:54 AM, 2727 said:

Absolutely. The canvases are intentionally screwed by the show.

That said, if there has to be a jury, I much prefer it when the canvases nominate someone for the bottom rather than the other artists.

I always found the canvas jury a bit awkward in that they just got a tattoo that will be on their body for life and then you get a bunch of strangers telling to your face that it is a bad tattoo.  That can't be pleasant.

2 hours ago, Sile said:

Also don't understand Cleen constantly saving Tiffer, since he's the one most likely to not need the save.  I really do think he threw his team under the bus, he's been having little tantrums and flounces with his teammates from the beginning. 

I think protecting your stronger tattooers gives them a greater chance of making to the end as they will be fresher and have less chance of going home when they have that one bad day.  If you save your weaker tattooers only for them to go home the next week it seems like a bit of a waste.

[2727]

8 minutes ago, dstann said:

If you save your weaker tattooers only for them to go home the next week it seems like a bit of a waste.

That's true, too. Be fun if one of the coaches refused the save and made everyone tattoo. That's bad game play but fairer. 

Basically, the save is boring for viewers/me.

[dstann]

8 hours ago, 2727 said:

That's true, too. Be fun if one of the coaches refused the save and made everyone tattoo. That's bad game play but fairer. 

 

Or freak everyone out and save someone on the other team :0

[PrincessPurrsALot]

On 10/24/2018 at 5:13 PM, 2727 said:

At least I won't have to look at Jimmy's fucking railroad cap anymore.

So much this.  Between the cap and the greasy hair, I couldn't stand looking at him.  If I were a canvas, I might ask him to shower before tattooing me.  He looks unclean.  

On 10/26/2018 at 11:55 AM, Sile said:

Also don't understand Cleen constantly saving Tiffer, since he's the one most likely to not need the save.  I really do think he threw his team under the bus, he's been having little tantrums and flounces with his teammates from the beginning.  It also annoys me that he constantly wears that shirt that looks like a Purina Dog Chow bag.  I keep waiting for him to fall down on the floor and have a stagecoach come thundering out of his mouth.

In the immortal words of David Cassidy, I think I love you!