Ink Master (2012–…): Season 13, Episode 7 - Head Spin - full transcript

male narrator: On the last
episode of "Ink Master"...

- As far as the West goes,

you guys drew a line
and that's fine.

But as soon as you drop the
ball, I'm right [bleep] there.

You just keep losing teammates,
one after another.

- Who just went home?
- Our first one.

narrator:
In the flash challenge,

the Midwest aimed
to retake control of the game.

- The winner
of the flash challenge is...

the Midwest.
- Yes.

narrator: In the elimination
tattoo,



the Midwest
fired on their enemies.

- [whispers]
I'm excited for you guys.

You are [bleep] today.

narrator:
But their plan backfired.

- The farther I get
in my tattoo,

the more worried I get.

I didn't come all
the way to New York to go home.

- I don't want to see you
go home either.

narrator:
In the elimination,

Raul, Jordi, and Jordan

were the bottom three
artists.

- Seeing the three
of these things together,

the one that has the least
amount of contrast to me

is Jordan's.



- I dislike
that kraken immensely.

But to pick a baseball bat
that's not a baseball bat....

- The perspective
on the drawing,

it looks like a glass,
it looks like a pin.

- It doesn't
look like a bad application.

For me, Jordan is safe.
- She is not safe.

- Jordan, you do not
have what it takes

to be Ink Master.

narrator: 12 artists remain,

but only one will earn
a $100,000 prize

and the title of Ink Master.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- One of the bigger teams
can be losing a player,

or the smallest team
in the house

could be losing its only
other [bleep] team member.

So, from then on,
we'll just call it East,

Midwest, West, and Jason.

- Yeah.
- [laughs]

[door opens]

- It was pretty brutal.
- [bleep] brutal.

- Oh, that's a horrible
[bleep] sign.

- Yeah.
- What's up, man?

- Can't stop,
won't stop.

- So that shit was crazy.

- I did not [bleep]
see that coming, at all.

- None of us did.

Put people up in the bottom
against Raul, they go home.

- That's for sure.
- I'm pissed.

I should've [bleep]
been down there.

Jordan,
now that she's gone, like,

I don't know--everybody
better [bleep] be ready.

So nobody better drop the ball,
because you will go home.

- Welcome.
Only 12 artists remain.

Four in the West,
three in the Midwest,

two in the South,
and three in the East.

As this turf war
constantly changes,

one thing remains the same.

Only one of you
will earn $100,000,

a feature in "Inked" magazine,

and the title of Ink Master.

- Right.
- Once again, today,

there is no flash challenge.

- Shit.
- I get nervous

every time he says that.

- Your next elimination tattoo
is starting right now.

- [bleep]
- And this week,

we're testing adaptability.

- Ugh.
- It's not a good word.

- Different skins,
different styles.

If you're unable to adapt,
you're not an Ink Master.

You don't deserve
to win this thing.

- There is no better test
of adaptability

than working
with other artists

on multiple tattoos
at the same time.

- What?

- At the same time?

- I don't even know
what that means.

- For each artist still
remaining on your team,

you will get one canvas.

Every hour,
you must switch tattoos

within your team...

- Oh, my God.
- Seamlessly picking up

where your teammate left off.

- Are you [bleep]
kidding me?

- I feel a headache coming.

- Just like musical chairs.

Everybody designs a tattoo,

everybody starts that tattoo,
and then every hour,

round robin.

- We'll be doing
four tattoos.

- Yeah.
- You've got to be kidding me.

- [bleep] I have four [bleep]
people on my team.

That means I not only have to
tattoo four different tattoos,

but four different people,
four different skin types,

and then I have to come in
and try to do

what the last guy did,
and then I don't even know

what else is gonna happen,

because it's
probably gonna happen,

because it's adaptability day,

and they're really
trying to [bleep] with us.

- But that's not all.

- It never is.

- Part of being adaptable
is being versatile.

- Here it comes.
- So, today, every tattoo

your team does must be in
a completely different style.

- Oh, my God.
- What?

- What the [bleep]?

- I would rather eat glass.
- Subject matters

should be completely different.

Style should be
completely different.

Yet, it should look like
one person did them all.

- It's gonna be
a good day, boys.

- Wow.

- You will win or lose
as a team.

If even one artist falls short,

your entire team
will be at risk.

- This is gonna be a crazy day.

- Your human canvases
have been randomly assigned,

and you'll have six hours
to tattoo.

Get started designing,

and we'll send in
your canvases.

Good luck.

- All right.

- All right, guys.
- Let's go.

- The big thing about this
adaptability challenge

is it is a team challenge.

The whole team
has to adapt together.

- So we all have
pretty different styles,

but I think we're gonna
have to

go outside of the box
a little bit.

- A team game plan
and team communication

that everybody knows
what's going on

with all of the tattoos
is very important.

- I think neo,
neo traditional on one.

- Neo. And I was thinking
about maybe the skull morph.

- If we're gonna do 'em,
they gotta be perfect.

- This is the one time that
we actually have an advantage

on a challenge
because we only have to adapt

to two different styles,
and that's it.

- Perfect.
We're gonna kill this shit.

- The West
has four different artists,

and they're mainly
black and gray artists.

So now they have to come up
with four different styles,

and they have to be
distinctly different.

- Hey, what about

American traditional?
- Yeah, that's great.

- Yeah, that's perfect.
- Okay, we have one.

- Are you guys down
for lettering?

- I mean,
I'm down for lettering.

- Raul, do you want
to draft up something,

like black and gray realism?
- Black and gray realism,

for sure.
- Are we all good with that?

- Yeah.
- I did have one other drawing.

A crazy [bleep] spider.

- Dude, you don't have
anything simpler than that?

- It's not that complex.
- It's super complex.

- At this point
in the competition,

just doing the ask
is not enough.

You have to go above
and beyond

and show that you
are a real threat.

- Is there any way
I could talk you out of doing

those polka dots
on the side?

- That's gonna make it look
real plain.

- Let's see what
you got, Jimmy.

- I got this.

- It's a [bleep] sick piece.

- You've already got
some renderings right here.

- That also would be
really [bleep] fun in color.

- What is our third style
gonna be?

- We got like kind of
a black and gray face thing.

That would be the furthest
from any of our styles.

- Everything that we can make
different is gonna help us.

- I mean, I can even get
a [bleep] skull

with a [bleep] wing
morphed out of it type thing.

- Oh, I could tattoo that.
What are you thinkin', Frank?

- I don't know--I'm a switch
hitter here as far as that goes

so I can hit whatever
we need to do.

- I have an idea for
a traditional piece.

I want to do
a goblin Jimmy Snaz.

- Really?
All right.

- [bleep] are you guys
thinking about doing?

- We're gonna do that.
[laughter]

- I hope you guys do do that.
[laughter]

I love that the Midwest
is paying homage

to Snaz Daddy
on this tattoo.

I've seen a lot
of pinups done in my day,

but that's probably the best
dressed one I've ever seen.

I like it, cool.

[laughter]

[rock music]

♪ ♪

- Okay, artists,

you have six hours to prove
adaptability as a team.

And your time begins...

now.

[indistinct chatter]

- Today, each artist
on the hour will switch,

and they have to pick up
where the last guy left off.

- You got three people
tattooing you today.

- Well, we're gonna try
and make it an easy one.

- These artists
have to show adaptability

by not seeing transitions
from artist to artist.

It has to be seamless.

That makes this extremely
difficult

for anybody who's a weak link.

- K, do you think
that I need to,

like, bring this out?

I've got to move this thing,

'cause he's got such
a muscular thigh,

the image is distorting.

- Muscle definition there...
- Yeah.

- It could go here.

- That's eating into
my outline time.

And now I'm not sure I'm gonna
get this outline done

in the first hour.

I am stressed, queen.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Five hours left.

Switch artists.

- I did not finish
the line work.

- I didn't think you would.
- I got the fat lines in.

Just--God damn it.
- That's fine.

- This challenge
is [bleep] insane.

I'll see you in a couple hours.

- We're not the biggest team
in the house anymore,

so we just have to be smarter.

Jerrel,
come on over here next.

I got the top of the hair
to outline, and that's it.

- Okay.
- In a tattoo where the idea

is to be cohesive,
like one person did it,

you got to be able to start
on a part of a tattoo

and finish that part before
the next person comes in.

So that's what we're doing.

- Wait, I thought you were
gonna black out the tips.

- Like, we can easily add that.

- I think we should.
Even this edge light,

you know what I mean,
shade it up to the edge.

- Uh, Angel...
- What are we doing with

the background?
- Well, that's what--

- Angel.

- We are scrambling
like crazy right now.

It's like everyone's speaking,
and nothing makes any sense.

Just these last two petals.
I just ran--

- So it's already set up?
- Yeah.

- To make someone else's image
come to life

without fully
communicating with them,

that's where the stress
comes in.

Hiram, are you going here?

- I'm going with, uh, Bob.

- So I guess this is how
it's gonna be today.

[intense music]

♪ ♪

- Four hours left, guys.
Switch artists.

- How was it over there?
- Good.

Finished the line work
and started working on

on the black.
- Yeah.

You got a shirt and hat.
Nice.

- So what made you
wanna do this?

- Made me want to what,
tattoo?

I've just always really
liked challenges.

I didn't really know shit
about tattooing,

but once I got into it,

I realized
how challenging it was,

and that's what
made it fun for me.

In the household I grew up in,
we were pretty poor.

We'd run out of food,
and I was the oldest,

I just felt like I needed
to do something about it.

So I started stealing,
out of necessity,

all the way up until I was 16

when I decided
maybe I should stop.

I fought really hard
to be who I wanted to be.

So no matter what,
I can't give up.

I have to keep pushing forward.

♪ ♪

- Three hours remaining.
Switch.

- Give me a little game plan
with your spider.

- Work on the tongue first.
This is the purple

that you're gonna
use right here.

- Yeah.
- But mix it with white.

Make sure the purple
is lighter than the blue.

All these areas are dark red.

Mix black with this red,
kind of like blend it in

with like
this lighter red.

- Oh, my God.
This spider drawing is cool,

but it is bonkers.

- And then all these
tiny little...

chh, chh, chh, chh,
chh, chh.

- You can't micromanage
every detail of a tattoo

when you're sitting
across the room.

You got to let go, buddy.

♪ ♪

- Two hours remaining.
Switch.

[energetic music]

♪ ♪

- I'm like, real happy
and proud about my team.

I feel like we actually got
an advantage at this point,

because we got used to
working a small team,

and we realized, like,
real fast

that we were gonna
have to depend on each other

where I feel like some
of the other teams, like--

- Had players
that were kind of like

trying to take the lead.
- Yeah.

- This is your final hour.
Switch.

- If you want to talk to me
about anything

you have in mind...

- He went into a highlight
that I left skin on purpose.

The front arm
was a lot more visible.

- That was my bad.
I thought you wanted that.

My team thinks
nothing of me.

- Back here, this guy, there
was a skin highlight there.

- Jordan never made me
feel like that.

- Yeah, so we gotta go back
in this little area there.

- I'm pissed--Jordan
shouldn't have gone home,

and because of that,

I just have this new fire
underneath me.

Everybody can get
out of here--everyone.

My team, alliances,
like, I don't care.

There's a whole new Jerrel
coming your way,

and it's gonna shock
everybody

because I'm not playing
any games.

- Five, four,

three, two,

one.
That's it, machines down.

Time is up.

No more ink.
- Hell, yeah.

- Yeah.

- Crispy clean.
- What?

Da-um!

- No one would dare do
lettering, you know?

- Apparently not.

- We just overcame that,
you know?

- Yeah.
- This challenge.

- This tattoo is symbolic
of our journey.

Boom, boom, boom.
- Killed it.

- Do you think lettering
is like a six-hour tattoo?

- Lettering is nice,
but is it not a cop-out?

That gonna hold up?
- No.

- If it does,
I'll be [bleep] incensed.

- Shit ain't solid.
- Right, I know, I see--

- Shit ain't solid--I looked
at it close in person.

Maybe it's not
supposed to be solid,

so maybe they do win.
- This is about to get spicy.

- This war is just
getting started.

- That makes me nervous.

[intense music]

- Team's getting smaller.

With less people, I'm starting
to get a better feel

on what we're all doing
individually.

I feel like Jerrel,
if given too much freedom,

he makes the decisions

that are probably gonna
cost us eventually.

- Dicey moves here
can sway really far

in one direction or the other.

- I'm not worried about
his ability as a tattooer.

- He is solid.
- Not at all.

- But there are little things
we have to fine-tune

if we want to be as strong
as we can be to compete.

- In the moment,
we all have decisions

that we have to make,

but if those decisions
lead to more questions,

that can be a problem.
- We have to be

on the same page.

The further we get
into this competition,

the smaller the room
is for error.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

- Today you had to prove
your adaptability,

tattooing multiple tattoos
in multiple styles as a team.

Let's see how you did.

Midwest,
let's start with you.

What three styles
are we looking at?

- We got traditional,
we've got like an illustrative

and then black and gray.
- Let's have a look

at the black and gray tattoo.

- Tattoo's very legible,
it's very big, it's very bold.

Lotta nice gradation between
the black and the skin.

It's a weird thing that
the skull was able to maintain

all of its bottom teeth but
yet lose all of its top teeth.

- I'm gonna call that
bad hygiene.

- What is going on
on the right side

that's not on the left side?
- This filigree.

- It doesn't match the wing,
so you guys miss it on that.

- Let's take a look at
the illustrative tattoo.

- It's a funny drawing.
It has a cool dynamic to it.

- This light green color
and fade from black

is very smooth
and very saturated throughout.

Overall, I like it.
- Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Let's have a look

at the traditional tattoo.

- It's very legible,
it's very clean.

One line weight,
black shading, color,

open skin, anywhere
you look at your fades,

you have nice
whip shading throughout.

The Jimmy Snaz goblin is cool.

- Overall, how did
the Midwest do as a team?

- Each individual tattoo
looks like one artist did them,

but I just am not in love
with the designs.

- I see shortcomings
in each one,

but I also see shining points
in each one.

I think overall,
it's a pretty good team play.

- Thank you.
- All right.

- West, you're next.

What styles did you choose?

- We did lettering,
black and gray realism,

American traditional,
and an illustrative piece.

- Let's have a look
at the illustrative tattoo.

- I love the design.
I don't like the tattooing.

There's a lot of color play
here that is just strange,

and because there's no real
heavy black, it looks dull.

It looks like an old tattoo.

You guys missed
a great opportunity

with a great drawing.

- Let's have a look
at the traditional tattoo.

- I love the outline
in this tattoo,

and I love the green
and the red in this tattoo.

But a different color of brown

and a little bit more whip
on that shading

would've made
a big difference in this face.

- The shading in the neck
makes me feel like

she went to a tanning booth
and covered her face.

That part I'm not a fan of.

- Let's have a look
at the black and gray tattoo.

- The wing that goes up
looks just like gray mush.

Nothing about this tattoo
is terribly applied,

but it's,
as far as the whole piece,

it just doesn't go together.

Teamwork on this tattoo
seemed like it was nonexistent.

- And the lettering tattoo.

- It is not the most
legible lettering.

- The overcome
becomes overcrowded.

The V is just crouched in.

Also, your opening letter
has to be your fancy letter.

It can't look like
the rest of the writing.

You've got to get
a lot more creative.

- Let's talk about the West
overall as a team.

- There's a lot of lack
of adaptability

in all of the tattoos.

- Just looks like multiple
people had their way

with whatever
they wanted to do here.

- Well, that was rough.

- East, you're next.
- All right.

- What styles
did you guys choose?

- Color illustrative,
American traditional,

and black and gray surrealism.

- Let's have a look at

the black and gray
surrealistic tattoo.

- This tattoo is really stark,

really graphic,
very legible piece.

Very simple design,
but it also is very strong.

The black is rich,
super saturated.

I love the shading
that you get in the face,

kind of the stone texture
like a broken statue.

The application on this
tattoo is really nice.

You really hit it in this one.

- Let's have a look at
the illustrative tattoo.

- It does get a little bit
lost in what's happening here.

There's a lot of color
matching

with the tan and the pinks.

It makes it a little bit
less legible of a design.

- None of the black
in this tattoo

from outline to shading
to solid to anywhere,

looks like the team that
just did the last tattoo,

so major inconsistencies
in that.

- Let's take a look
at the traditional tattoo.

- Where the black is
whip shaded, it's nice.

The areas where it's colored
in solid it's not as rich.

- It definitely looks like
several hands at work here.

This red is so nicely
punched in,

then I move down to this row
of wings that are black,

and it's just not.
- There's a couple of

missed opportunities here
to really punch it in

and make it super definitive.

- Guys, how do you feel
the East did overall as a team?

- The best tattoo overall
would be the black and gray,

because it looks
like one person did it.

Who sunk the black
in the rose?

- Who did the traditional?

- I did a lot
of the traditional black.

- You're not the same
with yourself.

- I think there's something
about working on

somebody else's design that is
a lot more nerve-wracking.

- It's adaptability.

You got to color 'em
the way you color 'em.

- South, you're up next.

Let's look at
the neo traditional tattoo.

- Very cool illustration.

You got a lot
of nice line work,

but the skin tone is
where you really fall short.

The color of skin tone
in that forehead

is different than the color
of skin tone in the nose

which is different than
the color of skin tone

that's in the cheek.
- In the cheek, there's like

four different colors
that I can count in there.

It creates mud.

No more of that.

- What was the other style
you guys did?

- Kind of like a modern
trash polka.

- The whole thing is bad-ass.
I like the design a lot.

- But the challenge of you
trying to make each other

tattoo the same,

you kind of camouflage that
whole part of the challenge,

because everything goes
every which way but loose

in this tattoo.
- I disagree.

- One inch apart is totally
different tattooed style.

- To be able to pull them
together

is still adaptability.

Does that tattoo look good?
- Is the tattoo overall

aesthetically pleasing? Yes.
Did you show me

a technical thing that both
of you can really hone in

and be versatile
and be adaptable to?

I don't know.

- As a canvas,
looking at these two,

they both look really
attractive.

- I still think,
if we're judging adaptability,

they just did basically
abstractness.

- Well, I'm pretty sure

that Jordi had to adapt to
Jason on this in a big way,

so that screams adaptability
to me.

- Thank you, guys.

- All right, judges.

It's time to determine
which team

had the best tattoos
of the day.

- I don't have
a best of the day.

[dramatic music]

- Oh, my God.
- I don't see it.

No one team busted out.

To be fair to every one of you,
why am I gonna pick a winner

if I don't see one?

- But if you pick one team that
was overall most consistent

and most adaptable
to each other--the Midwest.

All three of these tattoos
do look like

they could've been
done by one person.

I don't see that much
adaptability

in the other teams.

- You don't
see adaptability in the South?

- No.
- They look like

one person did them.
- I do not agree with that.

- I agree.
I think so too.

- Shit ain't solid.
- Right, I see--

- Shit ain't solid.
I looked at it close in person.

Maybe it's not
supposed to be solid,

so maybe they do win.
- You gonna let me talk here?

- Yeah.
- [mouthing] Damn!

- My problem with
voting for the Midwest

is that winged skull.

- I don't like the design
of the teeth

and a couple other
little things,

but as far as
how it's tattooed,

you wouldn't guess
that three people

took their time
working on that.

Do I think that these three
are the best three tattoos

we're ever gonna see?
No.

But for this challenge,
most adaptable to each other,

my vote is for the Midwest.

- Thank you.

- I love the South,
but I'm going with the Midwest.

- Whew!

The judges have decided

the best tattoos of the day
goes to the Midwest.

- Good job, guys.
- All right.

- Yes. Whoo!
- Congratulations.

- Congratulations, Midwest.

You are all safe
from elimination.

- [bleep]
- Please take a seat.

- Now we don't know what
the [bleep]'s gonna happen.

- West, South, and East.

That means someone from
your team will be going home.

- [bleep].

- Your team may have
lost the battle today,

but this war
is just getting started.

- All right.
What's it gonna be?

- To make it to the end,
you must eliminate the weak

to keep the strongest
team standing.

- That makes me nervous.

- Today,
the power is in your hands.

- What does that mean?
- I don't know.

- We'll have to find out.

- Each of you as a team
must discuss and decide

which artist
on your team was the weakest.

- Oh, [bleep]
- No.

- The artist
that each team nominates

will be put up for elimination.

- This is a sick,
twisted game.

- Who was the weakest link?

You should be smart about it.
You should be fair about it.

Your decision's going to send

one of your fellow teammates
home.

- The strongest team
is gonna help the most people

make it closer to the end.

Do what you gotta do.

- [whispering]
This is about to get spicy.

- This is gonna get
[bleep] weird.

- Head back to the loft.

You have a tough decision
to make.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- All right, before we say

who we're putting up
for elimination,

does anybody, you know,
want to?

- I will, and I'll fight,
and I'll try to win,

but truthfully, like,
I don't want to.

- I feel like
it's an obvious choice.

The only thing I've been
considered for is the bottom.

Clearly,
in the grand scheme of things,

I'm the weakest link.

- I don't want to throw you
down there

if you don't believe more
than an 80% chance

that you're not
gonna end up on top.

- I don't know that
I have the best chance.

I think I definitely have
a fighting chance.

- What if I went down there?
Because I'm strong,

I can do a bunch of
different stuff.

- There's no reason
for you to.

- I'm just saying, like,
there's different options.

If we pick the weakest link,

and the other people
pick their strongest link,

it's just gonna ultimately
lead to one of us going home.

If we pick a strong link,
and they pick their weak links,

one of them are gonna go home.

- I just think
it's a no-brainer

that I have to go down.
- But if it's black and gray,

I feel I can hold my own.

- Your black and gray
is better than mine,

but I'm more versatile
than you are.

- Yeah, but I mean I wouldn't
be afraid to go down either.

- As a returning veteran,
it's just my responsibility.

It's one of those things that,

regardless whether you
make it to the end

of this competition or not,

it's what kind of person
you are in this competition.

I got a three-year-old
at home.

- Yeah.
- And what kind of example

would I set if I say,
hey, it's okay

to let somebody else
take the fall

when you were supposed to
be the leader?

The right thing to do
is to let me handle this.

- I want to make
the best decision

that we can to ensure
that we stay together.

Put me down.
- No, no, no [bleep] way.

Like how are we literally
gonna stand our team

and say that
you're the weakest link

and put you down there?
- Coming back to compete for me

is cleaning up the mess
I made in my life,

facing my [bleep] problems.

For me, getting
to the finale is everything.

That's my one shot.

But I can't do that

if I'm hiding behind
my team members.

- You're the strongest
artist on the team.

Is it fair that you now have to
go down into this competition

as the weakest artist?
- Just vote me down.

I got you guys.
- We don't know

what the [bleep] we're
getting ourselves into,

So whoever goes down there
needs to be ready for anything.

[intense music]

♪ ♪

- Today, your team's tattoos
were lacking in adaptability.

It's now up to you to decide

which artist on your team
was the weakest.

South,
let's start with you.

Which artist are you
putting up for elimination?

- Both were my designs today,
so I'm going.

- I have a lot
of respect for Jason,

and I feel confident
that he can pull through.

- Fair enough.

- Jason, please step forward.

- Right.

- West, which artist are you
putting up for elimination?

- As a team, we don't
necessarily believe

that we have a weak link.

- I appreciate these guys,
but my vote is for myself.

- Why did you vote yourself?

- Angel's won tattoo of the day
twice.

These guys have both been
considered multiple times.

I've been in the bottom twice.
I don't think it would be fair

for them to risk themselves
to save me.

- I understand.
Raul, please step forward.

Finally, East.

Which artist are you
putting up for elimination?

- We need to make
a decision.

- It's not a decision
that I agree with,

but, uh...

- Jimmy.

- It's getting sticky.

- I'm voting myself down too,
Dave.

- All right, Jimmy.
Please step forward.

All right, Raul, Jason,
and Jimmy.

It's survival of the fittest,

and one of you will
be going home.

Tomorrow, the three of you
must face off

in a six-hour tattoo
proving your adaptability.

- Here's the catch.
- [bleep]

- Today, the power is in
the hands of the winners.

Midwest, because your team
proved your adaptability

and is safe from elimination,

you now have the power
to assign the style

and subject of the face-off
tattoo.

- Didn't see that coming.
- I think it's safe to say

that the way
this day has played out,

nobody saw it coming.
- Yeah.

- Take a minute
and discuss as a team.

- Okay.
- All right?

- What style and subject
have you picked

for the face-off?
- I'm going to give my man

the best chance he has
of staying in the house.

So, we're going with American
traditional tiger heads.

- American traditional
tiger heads.

- Yes.

- I feel like everyone
on the line can do traditional,

so if you guys come out
on top and Jimmy goes home,

I'd rather him go home
on something [bleep] dope.

And if he wins, he's here.

- Let the games begin.

- If I want to win this thing,

I've got to beat
Jimmy eventually anyway,

so might as well
start at it now.

- [kiss]
- Everybody should know

exactly what
they're going in for.

Do your best tattoo, man.

- Make it the hardest
decision we've made.

- The face-off is set.
In this turf war,

there's no room for error.

Show any signs of weakness,
and you will be going home.

Head back to the loft.

Get ready for tomorrow.

♪ ♪

- It's a tough one, man.

I don't think you
should've been in this fight.

- This is definitely
a curve ball.

- Oh, shit.
- No [bleep] way, man.

- I mean,
I still look at these things,

and I'm just like,
this is wrong, this is wrong,

but I've just got to understand
that it's the style.

- Yeah.

- American traditional
tiger heads?

This is my comfort zone,

and nobody today is gonna draw
one the way that I'm going to,

and that's a fact.

- Yours just is crazy.

But looking at that one,
I'd be like, man,

that looks like Jimmy Snaz
drew that sucker.

- Well, that's the point.

Everyone thinks
this is all I can do.

But now,
it's all that I can do.

So I need to make sure that
I can do it [bleep] perfect.

Looks good.
- Thanks, man.

I don't know how like

straight up American
traditional it is,

because that's
just not how I think.

I'm just gonna try to
keep it as simple as possible.

- You're right there, dude.

And now there's
a shit-ton of pressure on me

to make sure that I don't
just outdo these guys

but that I have to
[bleep] smoke 'em.

Ready to send
this mother[bleep] home?

- It's gonna be a fun, fun day.

- All right, artists.

This is your last chance

to save yourself
from elimination.

You have six hours to tattoo

an American traditional
tiger head.

And your time starts...

now.

- Let's have some fun, man.
- Yeah, let's do it.

- This is a face-off
between three people

doing the same subject
and same style.

- You can take the day off now
if you want to.

Jimmy's gonna kill it.
- That doesn't mean

I won't kill it--Jimmy's gonna
get beat eventually, right?

- Keep it simple--the more
you add to this challenge,

the more you're gonna be
judged on.

- Raul, what are these lines
in the tongue?

- Between the teeth.
- I don't think it makes sense.

- I would take out
both of these ripples

and then just solid fill red.

Make it as simple as you can.
- Cool.

- Bold, simple,
clean tiger head--safe.

This is Snaz day.
You're a bad bitch,

and you know it.
- Tell me I'm a bad bitch.

You're a bad bitch,
Jimmy.

- ♪ Party time ♪
- Let's do it.

- Now or never.
- Ready as

you're gonna get, huh?
- Yep.

♪ ♪

- That thing looks solid.

- This is an intimidating
fight.

- If they're
testing adaptability,

you're the one, buddy.

You're really adapting here.
- Adapting?

I'm a black and gray
realism tattooer.

I am not super proficient
in American traditional.

- Keep doing exactly
what you're doing.

- I'm just cleaning up every
little [bleep] nook and cranny.

Not only do I have to battle
two veterans

in this competition,

but now I've got to do a style
against one of the veterans

who specializes
in American traditional.

It could take a miracle
for me to pull this one off.

[exciting music]

- Five hours, guys.

Five more hours.

[tattoo machine buzzing]

- Are you getting
a little cold?

- I'm fine.
- You're fine? Okay.

- Yeah, Jimmy's leaning on me.
I got his body heat,

so it's nice.
- There you go.

- That's the Jimmy Snaz
experience, man, really.

The tattoo
is just like a souvenir.

Me and K are the cups
in the support bra

that is team East
for Jimmy today.

- Could you do me a favor?

Could you put this piece of
hair, like,

behind my ear, or [bleep]
do something with it

because it's getting
[indistinct].

- Jimmy's the heart and soul
of our team, man.

So, yeah, absolutely.

I'll tuck your hair in.
- Thanks.

- You're a bad bitch.
I'm here for you.

Back in my day I had
a friend named Jimmy Snaz.

That was a crazy mother[bleep].
- Right?

- This is the second time now

that the Midwest has catered
a challenge towards Jimmy.

I don't think I can out-tattoo
Jimmy in his own style.

But luckily, I just have to
out-tattoo Raul.

So you think Raul's
gonna win?

Who's gonna go home,
me or Jimmy?

- I don't know.
We'll see how you do.

You always trip
at the end.

- I trip at the end?
- Yeah.

- I do not trip at the end.

- Jason does not know
how to whip shade.

- No.
- Not at all.

- Not at all.

- I didn't think
about it before.

- Oh, I did.
There's things that are

not where you would think
they would be

with how technically
sound he is.

- Two more hours, guys.
Two more hours.

- I have three sons.
My twins,

they just all had
their birthday party,

and while I was here,
but my wife's a neat freak,

so, like, oh,
I don't envy you that mess.

- Ah, no.
- Being away from my boys

is like one of the hardest
things I've ever done.

No matter how hard
something might seem,

I've got to lead by example.
I've got to show them

when you start something,
you finish it.

- What do you think about the--
about that green in the eye?

- If it was my call,
I would probably do a yellow.

- I think on those
parts of the cheek

where you left them
completely skin,

you should whip there
and whip there.

- Yes, I do think that.

- You're not going to know how
far you can go unless you try.

[intense music]

♪ ♪

- Five, four,

three, two,

one.
That is it.

Machines down.
Time is up.

No more ink.

- Yeah, that thing looks great.

- It's a pretty sexy tattoo.

- This thing is solid.
- I'm so stoked about it.

- It's mean and it's tough.

- Looks awesome, man.
- It's not too bad

bad for a black and gray guy.

- I think it's a close
[bleep] round.

- Yeah. I feel like there
are enough areas

in a couple people's things
that might make this

a closer round than we
thought it was gonna be.

- If Jimmy or Jason goes home,

it changes everything.
- Yeah.

- You got handed a golden
ticket, basically.

- I'm not gonna say I didn't.
That's definitely my style.

But I still had
to step up my game.

- I mean, here's the thing,
though, is that traditional

is only gonna carry you
so far in this competition.

I'm capable of doing much
more past traditional.

- Now, here's the deal.
As good as you [bleep] are,

when I saw that thing up close,

I saw shit that
didn't look like you did it.

- Here's the thing
is that you guys aren't judges.

You guys are just
[bleep] competitors.

And you're not
even that good a competitor.

So if you want to sit there
and run your mouth

about some flaws
that you saw in a tattoo...

- I literally thought you were
gonna show up and kick ass.

- I felt like I did kick ass.
- Jason, we assumed

that you would be safe.

And now we don't know
that you're safe.

- Today, you faced off
in a battle for survival.

You were being tested
on adaptability.

Raul, Jason, and Jimmy,

based on your work,

one of you will be packing
your machines.

Raul, we'll start with you.

- Real simple, real bold.

You hit the mark on
traditional style look.

You have a strong,
simple color palette,

nice saturated black,

and then you have areas of
black whip shade in the nose,

black whip shade in the lip.

That's the kind of whip shade
that we're looking for.

- Wow.

- But the third eye is strange.

Your drawing
has this really wide gap,

and then your circles
on those eyes,

you kind of lose it,
especially on the left one.

And I do wish that
the brown of the tiger

wasn't in his teeth.
That's very bizarre.

- I'm not so familiar
with all of the rules.

That was just an aesthetic
decision I made.

- I don't want you
to take this the wrong way,

but this is the most legible
thing you've shown us.

- Yeah,
I figured that was coming.

But any compliments from you,
guys, I'll take that all day.

Next up is Jimmy.

- What I love about
this tattoo is the black.

It reads very graphic
and it really stands out

on this person's skin.

I like how stark
and how open it is,

how much open skin
you rely on

to really capture
the look of this thing.

- It was stressful
trying not to overthink it

and also knowing
that these guys are gonna

bust their asses to compete
with what I do.

- I love the confidence
in this tattoo.

You see that whip shade,
it's right off the red lip,

and the one that's right
off the chin, that's the look.

It's just solid black,
and then, whoosh,

very consistent, very strong.

very rich.
I mean, it looks so perfect.

- Thank you.

- Next up is Jason.

- I like the illustration.

It really has
that vintage look to it,

but I wish you would've

whipped out
your color to the edge.

That brown,
I wish that was just kind of

fanned out a little bit.

- There's nowhere where
you fade from brown to skin.

It's just filled in,
and it just looks patchy,

and then there's very
little whip shading at all

in the tattoo.

- I'm just a little
confused about those lines,

that shading style.
What is that?

- Well, like I whipped it out,
and it kind of, like,

accentuated the whips
a little bit.

It's a stylized thing.
I like that it didn't look like

all the same thing, you know?

- That, for me, is a little
bit of a question mark,

especially because we're
looking at American traditional

and I would think
that would be something

that would be important.

Okay, judges,
it is time to determine

who is going home.

- It's a tough one, man.
Three good tattoos.

Going by the textbook,
instantly,

Jimmy's out of the running
to go home.

Jimmy's is the most
well-applied.

- So Jimmy's safe.
- Sweet.

- Yes!

- So it comes down between
Raul and Jason.

- Jason, the brown is
really where you lose me.

It's a weird way
to not have a whip or a fade

or just a standard
traditional look.

My vote's for Jason.

- But I have to say,
design-wise,

Jason does
a better illustration.

When I go to Raul's,
that eye, man,

I can't get past that thing.

My vote's for Raul.

- The three eyes
for me are strange.

I like Jason's drawing better,

but whip shading is
the foundation of traditional.

Raul, given just with that bit
of whip in the nose,

is why you're here.

Today it's gonna be Jason.

- Holy shit.

- The judges have decided.

Jason, you do not have what it
takes to be Ink Master.

- I don't think you
should've been in this fight.

- I mean,
if I have to be on a team,

I'm not gonna let
a teammate take the fall.

So regardless the outcome,

I still would've put myself
down here.

- You've done really strong
tattoos in this competition.

This is definitely
a curve ball.

- Well, thanks, man,
I appreciate it.

- Please pack your machines
and close shop.

- [bleep]

- I don't feel like
that I did a bad tattoo today.

My biggest downfall is myself.
I like doing weird,

abstract,
out-of-the-box stuff.

But probably better to fly
under the radar.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Jason.
- Hey, what's up, man?

- Let's have a talk.
- Yeah.

- I know you struggle
with shit,

I know you
struggle with the rules

where you're kind of putting
your own shit and everything,

which is cool, but if you
want to be back in this game

and you want to do things
to get to the finale,

I would pardon you right now.

- Really?
- If you want that.

- Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, I--dude,

I want to ride to the end.

Absolutely, man.
- I understand, bro.

- [indistinct, bleep].
- Unpack.

As of now,
you are officially pardoned.

- Hey, thanks, man.
- Don't let me down, brother.

- I'm not.
Whoo!

Oh, those guys are about to
really hate me now.

[intense music]

♪ ♪

narrator: On the next episode
of "Ink Master"...

- Whoo! Y'all didn't think
I was gone, did you?

- Now it's me versus
everybody.

They try to take
my teammate out?

I have to make sure
I cut everyone's throat.

- I need
to kick it up a notch.

- Yeah, for sure.

This team crap?
Like, no.

- Your enemies are my enemies.

- I think we should
shake things up.

- It's a balance of power.
- Where's the bam?

Where's the zing, zing?

- I have no idea what
I'm looking at.

- It's flat.
It's boring.

You've got to push
the envelope.

- Misery loves company.