Ink Master (2012–…): Season 13, Episode 9 - Artistry on the Line - full transcript

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

- It is East, Midwest.

Midwest, East,
100% they are together.

- Your enemies are my enemies.

announcer:
In the flash challenge...

- Looks like the West

is still figuring out
what they're doing.

- Just don't let the West
to see what we're doing.

announcer:
The Midwest and East alliance

fought to gain control
over their enemies.

- The winner of this flash
challenge is the Midwest.



Congratulations, guys.

- Awesome.
- Yeah.

announcer:
In the elimination tattoo,

the West and South
were targeted.

- They're gonna come for us.

announcer: But the East
struggled to survive.

- I actually
don't like coffee.

Could you change it into, like,
a jar of jam?

- My team's definitely
in hot water here.

- I'm stressed out.

announcer:
In the elimination,

Jessa, K, and Jordi
were the bottom three artists.

- You've gotta push
the envelope.

- I'm exhibiting
the brightest color,



especially if I look
at Jordi's tattoo.

I am--
- You have the worst outline.

- Jordi's, man,
the bottom part of this tattoo

is one of the illegible
tattoos of the day.

That's one of the big killers.

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

[epic music]

♪ ♪

announcer:
11 artists remain,

but only one will earn
a $100,000 prize

and the title of Ink Master.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- [sighs]
That was my last team member.

Like, that was,
that was the end of team South.

Now it's just team solo.

- From one perspective,
you can say that, like,

you're down a bunch of hands,
and it's just you,

but we all came in here

thinking we were gonna be
by ourselves anyway.

- Yep.

- So in a way, like,
your kind of untethered.

- You know, there's been
a weight, like, on me,

coming in and having to be
a returning veteran

for a team of people.

I think there's a part
of me that's kind of thankful

that I'm on my own now.

- You get to be
a true wild card,

and I have no clue
what you're gonna do.

- I don't even know
what I'm gonna do,

but there is an excitement
that kind of comes in

to knowing that I can make any
decision that I want to make.

♪ ♪

- What the hell?

- Are we going fishing?

- Welcome.
11 artists remain.

Four in the West,
three in the Midwest,

three in the East, and only
one artist in the South.

The teams are definitely
getting smaller,

but ten artists still stand in
your way of $100,000,

a feature in "Inked" Magazine,
and the title of Ink Master.

- This week,
we're testing artistry.

- Nice.
Hell, yeah.

Artistry is what I live by.
It's tattooed on my jaw.

- Artistry is what makes you
a unique person.

If you don't have artistry,

you're most likely gonna work
at a used video store.

- Today, you must create
an incredible work of art

that is literally suspended
in thin air.

- What the [bleep]?
- Well, this'll be fun.

- Using nothing but
hundreds of thousands

of multi-colored buttons
and transparent fishing line,

you must strategically string
button after button

to bring a mind-bending,
suspended masterpiece to life.

- What the hell?

- This shit just keeps
getting crazier.

- Yeah.

- I can't even sew a button
on a shirt.

We're literally sculpting

on a million different pieces
of string,

with thousands upon thousands
of buttons.

Does that not sound insane
to anyone else?

- A single button out of place
can destroy the entire effect.

- [bleep] buttons, bro.

- There is one more thing
you should know.

- Of course.
There's always one more thing.

- In times of war, sometimes
you must cross enemy lines.

- What the hell?

- For this flash challenge,
your team will battle

alongside another region,

and together, you will
win or lose the advantage.

- So much for being
just a team.

- I just like our core four.

- I was looking
at these buttons,

thinking there's no way that
I'm gonna be able

to pull this shit off,
so I'll take some extra hands.

'Cause it's just me.

- To determine which regions
work together,

you'll draw skulls.

On the bottom of one
of the skulls is an X.

Get the X,
and you will get to pick

which region you want to work
with this flash challenge.

- Better get that damn X.

- The picking order
has been randomly assigned.

Midwest, you get to draw
for the X first.

[tense music]

- Come on, big daddy,
get that X.

♪ ♪

- East, you're next.

♪ ♪

No X.

- You had one job.
- I know.

- West.

♪ ♪

- Damn.

- All right, obviously the X
goes to the South.

Jason, come on up,
do the honors.

♪ ♪

- What region would you
like to team up with?

- [sighs]
I can pick West.

It evens the amount of people
facing off against each other.

My other choice would be
to pick one of the other teams

and sabotage their project,
but that guarantees

that there's no way
that I have skull pick.

I'm gonna go with West.

- The West it is.

All right, South and West,

you will be working together
as one team, and that means,

Midwest and East,
you'll form the second team.

- This is gonna be dope.
All right.

- The winners of this flash
challenge will have the power

to assign all
of the human canvases

in the elimination tattoo
together.

- You have seven hours,
and your time starts now.

[rock music]

- This week,
we're testing artistry,

and for this flash challenge,
just to get a concept

and a strategy is gonna be
the hardest part

about this design.

- So I was thinking, like,
a volcano,

with like a smoke ring,

'cause you could suspend that,
with lava,

with lava just shooting out.
- I also thought of jellyfish.

- I do like the idea
of a jellyfish.

This one is so organic--
- And moving.

- That it's gonna be
kind of harder to mess up.

- I love this idea.

I'm gonna color organize
the buttons.

- All right, cool.
While that happens,

I want somebody, if we can,
just to put a couple on there

and see how it goes.

Jerrel's usually really
efficient with that stuff.

- Tougher challenges like this

really push people
to the limit.

- I want to see here, I want to
go around and hear everyone's.

What are you thinking?

- I was thinking
about jellyfish.

- Jellyfish would be cool.

- Would jellyfish be
recognizable, though,

as a jellyfish?

We could have
a Jack in the box.

- I like the fact
that they're boxes,

and I got an idea
for that in a second.

Jerrel?

- I haven't heard
half your guys' ideas.

- Cool.
What are yours?

- I was thinking about a hand,
like a 3D printer,

like going like this.
- Not a hand.

- Yeah, so.
We get an artistry challenge,

and my opinion
doesn't matter to 'em.

I have artistry tattooed
right across my jaw

for a reason.
Come on.

I work fast, so just lay it
out so we can [bleep] do it.

- I'm going to get everything
else out of the way.

- You have to work up
and then down,

out, and then make the shape.

- We need to know the grid,
so we can figure out the grid,

and then we can slide
and remove things at will.

- I mean, it's one of
those things just gonna--

we have to freehand.
- I think Jason's right.

This has to be more, like,
eyeballed and freehanded.

- Exactly.

- I don't trust Jason
by any means.

Any opportunity he has,
he might [bleep] us over.

They're literally
making a grid.

- But do they have
any buttons on yet?

- No.
- Nothing.

I think that they're gonna
greatly underestimate

how long it's gonna take
to put any kind of buttons on.

♪ ♪

- We got four feet,
it's 48 of these [bleep].

If we were to use ten of them

for the circumference of the
thing, that's almost a foot.

- Well, let's call it 18,

because that's relatively
divisible in the same terms.

- Where do you get
this mathematician from?

He's a genius.

- I have a state medal
in the mathematics competition.

- You what?
- It's dumb.

- I wouldn't say that's dumb,
I think it's impressive.

You want to talk about dumb
things, I'm your guy.

- Five hours to go, everybody.
Five more hours.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Okay, wait,
what's going on here?

- We're putting on a few.
- Uh, don't do that yet.

- What do you--
- We don't--

I don't think
we have one on yet.

Wait, hold on.
- Just do your thing.

Let's be mathematical
about this shit,

and take our [bleep] time.
Let's do that.

- Something seems up
with Jerrel.

He's showing signs of
not being on the same page

as the rest of the alliance.
We need to stick together.

How you feeling?
- [bleep] irritated.

I feel like everybody thinks
I'm, like, [bleep] stupid.

- This challenge
is very mentally taxing,

and I'm trying to
help the team

and make sure that
they all feel good.

I don't think
we've talked about it yet,

but I also have
anxiety sometimes,

so I'm going to take
a step back for one second.

♪ ♪

- This tentacle's, like,
almost not making any sense.

They're all [bleep]ed up.

That's all tangling
up together.

- I guarantee
this is a huge knot now.

- We get to the point
that we don't even know

what we're doing.

- Oh, my God.

- The more we try
to rush through it,

the [bleep] messier it gets.

♪ ♪

- I can't imagine
that this is the way

that the Midwest
usually works with each other.

Jerrel's ready to flip tables.
I mean, this is insane.

- How we doing?

- Just trying to, like,
tie it and hold, you know?

- [sighs]
Okay.

- Daddy Snaz is gonna
have to get in there

and get some shit done.

[imitates child] Ooh, buttons!
[laughter]

- Okay.
- Here comes something.

- Wait, is Squishy back?

- I like buttons.
- [laughs]

- What kind of things
do you like to button?

- No, not that again.
My God.

- [laughs]

Daddy's got the sauce!

- This is your final hour,
guys.

Final hour.

♪ ♪

- How many idiots does it take
to make a yellow ball?

- Mm-hmm.

We already have
more art than they do.

Let's not make it today
that they do.

♪ ♪

- Five, four,

three, two,

one.
That's it, time is up.

This challenge is over.

- Well, I had to work
with team West today, but--

- I definitely hate you guys
less than I hate those guys.

- Yeah, yeah.
- We'll take it.

- Yeah.

- All right, guys, it is time
to critique your work.

West and South,
let's start with you.

- In an artistry challenge,
using a free form

and choosing a jellyfish
is a very wise choice,

because at least you have
all that flow

and that movement to it.

But I don't know that anybody's
going to look at it

and immediately
say "jellyfish."

Could be octopus,

could be something
that's free form in the sea.

- And I like that you swung
for an idea that was suspended.

It's almost as if
you created this whole thing

into a tank
that has this jellyfish.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Looks like a jellyfish.
- Yeah.

- I mean, it's hard.

- East and Midwest,
you're up next.

- On artistry,
I don't think you're doing

some elaborate image, but it
does work out to be legible,

and you do get a sense
of the shape of the box

in a 3D image.
I think you made a smart play.

- Can we all just look at
Angel's face when we win?

I wanna see Angel
do her scowl.

[scowls]
- Shut the [bleep] up.

- All right, judges,
it is time to determine

a winner
of this flash challenge.

- For me, artistry
falls in the creation.

To come up with a plan
that was more recognizable

plays stronger.

- Part of artistry has got
to be the finished product

being legible.

My vote is for
the Midwest and the East.

- Yes.

- My vote is for
the Midwest and the East.

- Thank you.

♪ ♪

- The judges have decided,

the winner
of this flash challenge is

the Midwest and the East.

- Thanks, guys.
- Thank you.

- Thank you very much.

- This is bullshit.

We've got to stop them
from winning

any more flash challenges.

We've been on the defense
for three weeks now.

- Congratulations.

You'll have the power to assign

all of the human canvases...
- Yes!

- In the elimination tattoo,
together.

You can all head back
to the loft.

- Let's do it, huh?

- We're getting the ribs.
It's a given.

- Shots fired.

- I'd like to go
a little overboard.

- I'm not worried about Jason.
- [laughs]

[suspenseful music]

- As an artist,
I respect you,

and I'm at that point
where I don't know

who to talk to on my own team
because my team is starting

to not listen
to what I'm saying.

During the flash challenge,

every idea I had
kind of just was ignored.

- In my opinion, like,

you're a way better artist
than K and Jessa.

If they're just listening to
their advice over yours

when you're on their team,
that's kind of, like,

weird that they'd be like,

well, we're just gonna trust
this other team.

- It's starting to really
[bleep] piss me off.

Look, at the end of the day,

I would rather compete
with true artists.

- Mm-hmm.
- The West has that.

So for me, personally,

what I'm not going to do
is protect K.

She should've gone home
way before Jordan.

- Oh, yeah.

[tense music]

♪ ♪

- Welcome to
the elimination tattoo.

Based on your work, one of you
will lose your shot

at the title of Ink Master.

- At least it's not
a double elimination.

- Remember, both Chris and
Oliver still have the power

to pardon one artist each.

If an artist receives a pardon,

they will immediately reenter
the competition.

- Can't count on that.

- Today, you must tattoo...

♪ ♪

a pinup.

- Pinups.
- Boy.

- We are looking for a full
head-to-toe pinup tattoo.

- [bleep] full body?
- Full body.

- I've never done a pinup
in my life.

When you have to do a face
that's the size of a quarter,

that's not a fun face to do.

- Some of the worst disasters
we've seen in this competition

have been on pinup day.

Anatomy, proportion,
the way things fit together.

It's supposed to be

an attractive, beautiful,
appealing tattoo.

It's supposed to look human.

- Make your tattoos pop, guys.

It's your safety,
and it can also be your demise.

- Remember, the team whose
artist wins tattoo of the day

will select one other team
to form the jury of peers.

Together,
both teams will deliberate

and put one artist
up for elimination.

- Fair enough.

- Let's meet your canvases.

♪ ♪

Midwest and East,
you won the flash challenge.

You now have the power

to assign
the human canvases together.

- Want to go, hot stuff?
- Let's do it.

- I love when the Midwest
has skull picks,

because every single time
they do,

they think
they're screwing me,

and then I end up doing
really well.

- Sup, man.
What do you wanna get done?

- New school Colorado
snow bunny,

holding a snowboard.

- That's pretty cool.

- Detroit motor city pinup

with impact wrench
with an air hose.

- Detroit motor city pinup.
Is that a style?

I don't want it.
I don't even know what that is.

- Mardi gras pinup,
with beads, on my calf.

- A million perfect circles
next to each other?

Are you kidding?
No thank you to the beads.

- New school Las Vegas pinup

with a poker background

on my ribs.
- Okay.

On your ribs?
- On my ribs.

- Holy [bleep].

Poker chips and a background,
and it's on the ribs?

This one is going over to
the West, I can guarantee it.

- American football pinup
on my ribs.

I've been lied to before.
I don't know.

- Yeah, you guys are always
lying about the ribs.

Tell me something that's
gonna make me believe you.

- I don't want a hairy pinup
on my leg.

- Fair enough.
- Wow.

- We're getting the ribs.
That's a given.

- Listen, if you get ribs,
just tell them no.

You can't do a body
on the ribs.

It's [bleep] stupid.

- For me, I say
Bob, Raul, and Angel

should get the hardest ones.

I'm not worried about Jason.
- Me either.

♪ ♪

- All right, we got this.
- All right.

- Having the skull picks again

is the best kind
of double edged sword

you could ever have.

- You're gonna have fun.
- Okay.

- It hasn't always worked out.

- Here you go, brother man.
- Thanks, man.

- But having the ability
to choose

instead of being
given something

is something
I will choose every time.

- [laughs evilly]

- Canvases, one by one,

please read the artist's name
on the bottom of your skull.

- Frank.
- Yes, sir.

- Kelly.
- Hi.

- I want to know who took
the damn snow bunny,

because that's
the best one up there.

♪ ♪

- Jason.
- You're welcome.

- Wow.
Sweet.

Thank you, man.
I appreciate it.

- Jerrel.
- Hey.

- K.
- Hi there.

- Jessa.
- Hey.

- Jimmy.

♪ ♪

- Hiram.
- Gotcha, brother.

- Damn.

- Gonna have to do
a lot of explaining, bro,

because I have no idea
what you want.

- Or me, I think.

♪ ♪

- Raul.
- Right here.

- Oh, shit.
- Shots fired.

- God damn it,
another rib tattoo.

I am sick of being handed
some bullshit.

- This guy,
he definitely seems like

he's adamant about the ribs.
- He is.

- Bob.
- Yep.

- There it is.
- I knew it.

Always giving me
the ribs.

- Better him than you.

- Angel.
- Hi!

My team has two rib pieces,

an old guy,
and this other biker dude

who looks like he's gonna
beat Hiram's ass.

I think that was a shot fired.

- You'll have six hours
to tattoo a pinup.

Fail to create a dream girl

and you can kiss your dream
of $100,000 good-bye.

Good luck.

- In this challenge,
we're looking for more

than just a standard,
traditional pinup.

We're looking for artistry.

- I'd like to sometimes go
a little overboard.

- Do something amazing
with the clothes,

do something
with the background.

- When you think Mardi Gras,

like, you think, what,
like a mask and, like, beads?

- I like the mask idea.

- One of the biggest problems
we see on pinup day

is crazy anatomical mistakes.

The structure of the person

has to be
aesthetically pleasing.

If something is a little bit
off, it's totally [bleep].

- First thing's first,

about whether or not
you want it on the ribs.

It's one of the most painful
areas on the body.

You're not gonna get
the best tattoo.

You want the best tattoo,
maybe that lower leg

or something like that, maybe
you could get more out of it.

- We could do that.
We could do that.

- All right, I appreciate that.

- I'm not afraid
to tattoo your ribs,

if you confidently can
tell me that you could sit

to the maximum of six hours--
- I gotcha, I gotcha.

- Without moving, you know,
just staying calm.

- Okay, yeah.
- Then I'm totally down.

- All right.

- I keep getting thrown
these rib tattoos,

and, you know, I'm tired of it.

I'm not gonna change
the rib tattoo,

and I'm gonna show
everybody in the room

that I'm not afraid
to tattoo ribs,

and I can do a [bleep] clean
and solid job.

- We're staying on the ribs,
man.

- We got to do ribs,
we're gonna do ribs.

It's gonna be--it's gonna be
a battle for both of us.

- Having her, like,
hold an impact wrench,

and then obviously it has,

you know, an air hose,
connected going into it.

- Honestly, I have no idea
what my--what my canvas wants.

He's saying a lot of words
that I don't--

that I'm not able to catch.

- With the rat rod itself,

and then the air hose
going basically,

like, around her nipples.

- Every time
he talks about something

that is already complicated,

he adds more things to it.

- And then I don't know
if it's possible

to get a car in the background.
- It's too many stuff.

We're not going to be able to
accomplish that in six hours.

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- I'm a little bit over it
at this point.

- Just go simple.
Don't overthink it.

- I'm just stressed out,
and I'm gonna end up

stressing everybody else out.

- You're gonna stress me out
more if you go home.

Just do a good, clean tattoo,
you'll be fine.

- It's a little wide for her.
She's so narrow.

- Yeah, and this leg

doesn't look like
it would make sense now.

- K does not have what it takes
to be in this competition,

unless Jimmy's there
holding her hand,

guiding her through
everything she's doing.

- The way I see it, it's like,

her leg needs to come up,
like, there or something.

- It's a tricky one.
- K is screwed.

♪ ♪

- All right, artists,
you have six hours

to create
a pinup tattoo,

and your time starts now.

- All right, brother.
- Let's do this.

- Stand natural for me.

- Pinups are very tough,

because there's very small,
little eyes,

a very small,
little nose,

dainty little fingers,

so every drop of ink you put
on the skin has to be perfect.

- I think that's a good spot.

- It should be cute.
It should be attractive.

It should be beautiful.

That's what makes a pinup
a pinup.

- Perfect stencil, dude,
it's gonna be a good day.

- If a pinup's ugly, she's not
coming to meet my mom.

- All right, here we go.

[tattoo machine buzzing]

[rock music]

♪ ♪

- I'm losing my [bleep] mind
right now.

Why the [bleep]
am I overcomplicating it?

You think, like, the ruffles
in the skirt look cool,

or should I just take them out?

- You can do them, just don't
whip them like crazy.

- Yeah, no, this is a lot more
than I'm gonna, like--

- Simple and clean.

- Thank [bleep] for team East,
because I would be

overcomplicating the shit out
of this.

You don't always have
to be the first one to start.

I need to buckle
the [bleep] down

so that I can do this tattoo.

- Have you always wanted
to be a tattoo artist?

- Yeah, I was really young when
I found out what tattooing was.

My dad's, like,
really covered in tattoos.

- Oh, nice.

- The first time that I ever
went to a tattoo shop,

I went with my dad for one
of his appointments,

and it was just
like sensory overload.

All these colors,
and all this art everywhere.

It hit me hard.

Here we are now,
tattooing a pinup on your leg.

- Yeah, true.
[laughs]

♪ ♪

- The face is the most
important part,

because that's right where
they go into, there.

- Can't jack up the face, man.
- No.

Pinups are not my thing,

but I do a ton of faces
and portraits,

so with that, I'm good.

You doing okay?
- Yeah.

- Only thing I'm worried about
is my canvas looks like

she's not feeling too good.

- [coughs]
Excuse me.

- She's coughing
every now and then,

and she's just real fidgety.

- I'm like, burning up,
and stuff.

- Are you?
- It was before I came though.

It's not because of the tattoo.

- If you [bleep] up a line
at all, you can't fix it.

I need my canvas
to stay still.

- Four hours.

Four more hours to go,
everybody.

Four hours left.

♪ ♪

- Actually, I had a pinup girl
on me, and got it covered up.

The guy did a horrible job.

This canvas was
definitely a shot at me,

but guess what, man?

I'm a canvas whisperer.

We came down from [bleep]
10,000 elements to three.

I'm having a lot of fun, bro.
- Good, man, I'm glad.

- Even when I came to
the states with no English,

I still were able to survive,
you know?

Because I'm able to create
this interaction

where people trust me.

♪ ♪

- Now we're definitely glad
we didn't go with the ribs.

- Yeah, definitely.
- That shit is no joke, man.

- I was trying to take it
easy on you,

because it is a rib piece
that we're trying to get done,

and normally, we'd take
multiple sessions on those.

I didn't come into this
competition to show that, like,

I could tattoo a thigh
every day.

[bleep] it.
I'm going to show them that

I can tattoo
any part of the body.

It'll be grand
once it's done.

It'll be worth
every second of pain.

♪ ♪

- Have you been doing this
for a long time?

- Tattooing?
- Mm-hmm.

- I've been tattooing
for three years.

- Oh, wow.
- Yeah, yeah.

So I'm the--I'm the baby here.

- Aww.
- The greenest one.

I mean, I'm one of the oldest
tattooers here,

but one of the least
experienced.

- Really?
- Yeah.

- In this competition,
might assume that I have

a lot more time under my belt,

simply because I'm one
of the oldest people here.

But I have the least amount
of experience

compared to everybody else.

Obviously, like, these lines
are my weakest lines,

so I'm wondering if
I should shade one way on it.

- You can, like, bring it,
like, shade from that way,

like down like that?
- Yeah, yeah.

- You can.
- Yeah.

- I don't know why
she wanted this tattoo,

because she has issues pulling
lines in the first place.

K needs to go home.

- Three hours remaining.

Three hours remaining, guys.

♪ ♪

[tattoo machine buzzing]

- Oh, [bleep].

[coughing]

- You get tattooed and
you're not feeling too good,

it makes it even worse.

I was smart.
I did the face first.

- Glad you saved those boots
for last, man.

- It's a tattoo that I knew
I could pull off

in two and a half hours.

Yeah, I'm not
gonna tattoo you anymore.

- Oh. You're not?
- No.

As a tattoo artist, you have
to know when enough is enough.

So, we're gonna call it
right there, okay?

- Okay.
- It's a good tattoo.

It's done well.
I just hope it's enough.

- Thank you. Best.
- Have a good day.

I hope you feel better, okay?
- I think it's a winner, man.

[sniffles]

- [bleep] crazy.

- This is your final hour.
One hour left.

♪ ♪

- Aren't you glad
I didn't say rib?

- Oh, I'd of told you no.
I'm not that nice.

This is a competition.

I'm trying to stay
in this bitch.

I'm not trying to go home.

So, I think I know
why I got this canvas.

I think that they know, by
giving me a more simple idea,

that there's a bigger chance
that I'm going to hang myself.

I feel like if
they're too straightforward,

then something's
got to be added.

So, that's usually where
I start to fault at.

- Is yours
probably the biggest,

from what you've seen?

- No, in fact,
mine's even the lesser detail,

but that's because
I want legibility.

The power has been
in the Midwest

and East for far too long,

but somebody on one of those
teams will drop the ball.

It's gonna happen.

♪ ♪

- Five, four,

three, two,

one.
That is it.

Time is up.
Machines down.

No more ink.

- Okay, queen, this sassy
southern belle is done.

- So what do you think?

- I'm glad I chose
black and grey.

Even though I only had
three hours to do mine,

I know I'm safe.
- Who do you think is not safe?

- I don't think
K's gonna be safe.

- I love her.
I think she's so beautiful.

- Oh, she's gorgeous.
- Yeah.

Whoo.

- There's an inner struggle
between the teams.

- What they've set up
is destined to self-destruct.

- Small, little things
play big tricks.

- This face is a mess.

[suspenseful music]

- The girls on my team,
they're in trouble.

I'm trying to figure out
what I can do

for my team, to help them.

- That's why I gravitate
towards you, Jimmy.

I see how you lead your team,

and I know you guys
have been fighting

the entire way through.

- Yeah.
- When someone's in the bottom,

it always helps to have
somebody in the top.

If we can get
tattoo of the day,

then we have the opportunity
to make a play down there.

- I'm still in attack mode.
- Sure.

- You know, that shit didn't
end with those skull picks.

- Whoever is next to
K and Jessa,

if they're down there,
they're not coming back up.

- We got to keep hitting
the West,

because they need to
lose somebody.

- Let's get it.

♪ ♪

- Today, you had to show
artistry, tattooing a pinup.

Let's see how you did.

East, let's start with you.
Jimmy.

♪ ♪

- Sup.

- Yeah, I really like
this illustration.

I love the skin tone
in this tattoo.

Leaving the shirt almost
completely open works,

because the shirt
is surrounded by color.

- You're really leaning on
leaving a lot of open skin now.

You could've colored
your stars,

just little details to make it
look that much more finished.

But the overall,
this is a great tattoo.

It's a good job.
- Thank you.

- Good job, Jimmy.
- Thanks.

- Jessa.

♪ ♪

I don't understand this shoe
that I'm looking at.

I don't see how this
leg and knee is coming out,

and then swooping down around,
and coming straight down,

but in front of the other leg.

I don't know where that's
coming from,

and how it's making that turn.

- For a very simple drawing,
it has to be right.

You did those two brown lines
that come to the nostrils,

and gave her zero nose.

You definitely show some
technical problems here today.

- K.

♪ ♪

- Today's the day to do small
details and do a cute face.

I think you do that.

But if you're gonna have
a hiccup in a line,

hope it's not somewhere
like right on her chin.

Since it's right there,
it's jumping out.

From her waist up,
she's super cute.

Her proportions look right,

and then the shape of that
thigh going into the knee,

it doesn't look like
it's hers.

- It raises some questions,
anatomically.

♪ ♪

Midwest, you're next.
Jerrel.

♪ ♪

- Hi, guys.
- I really like this girl.

I especially love

the dark strip of shading
that you have down

the center of her leg
that pushes out.

That light source
is beautiful.

And the way that you get
that nice, gentle soft texture

in the shirt
really shows well.

You're really shining
on this one.

- Thank you.
- That's what's up.

- Yeah.
- [laughs]

- Frank.

♪ ♪

- I like the image,

but the way you
try to render this face,

it's not gonna be long
until this face is a mess.

You'd be much better off with
just the lines of the lips,

just like you did
the line of the eyebrow.

Little black line,
little black line,

and be done with it.
It's so small.

You just take it too far.

- Kelly.

♪ ♪

- The tattooing
is very smooth.

That outline, see how
black that is, everybody?

That's how the line's
got to look to win.

- The whole thing
is really adorable.

Really nice job.
- Thank you.

- Good job, Kelly, man.
- Thanks, guys.

- Next up is the South.
Of course, that means Jason.

♪ ♪

- This tattoo looks messy.

It's weird because you have
super clean, rich black

fading out to bright color
in one area,

and then right on the other
side of the tattoo,

you have a sketchy
not solid black,

with that chalky-look color.

Your application's
not consistent,

even in an area
that's only two inches away

from where you did
really nice application.

It's got to be consistent.

- It went better than
I thought it was gonna.

- Yeah, yeah.

- West, you're up.
Bob.

- This tattoo's really clean
for the ribs.

Your outline on this
is very nice.

I like the divot
in the center of the arm,

and I really love the helmet.

Nice, light, dark black shaded
on the bottom.

- You prove yourself
in this tattoo.

- Good job, Bob.
- Keep 'em coming, Frank.

- [sighs]
- Raul.

♪ ♪

- What's going on, fellas?

- I like this little
crazy, cute drawing.

- I love the skin tone,

just not afraid
to go rich and dark.

And the way you put in
the blue highlights

really make this thing pop,
man.

Super cool tattoo.
- Thank you.

- Hell yeah.
Killed it.

New school excellent.

- Hiram.

♪ ♪

- Her face is great.

On a face this small, keeping
the eyes black like that

really sinks them in
and makes it look great.

- You do have a couple
of wonky lines

going on in the tire,
but overall, man,

I mean, that's a tough tattoo
to pull off,

and I think you do
a great job with it.

- Thank you.

- Angel.

- I really, really
like this illustration.

The color play works great.

I like the way
the legs are shaded,

because it gives it
that sheer look.

- With the stockings and the
strap, you're paying attention

to the pressure
that this strap

is putting on to the skin.

That's a great testament
to your artistry.

- I'm glad you noticed it.
- I noticed it right away.

- [bleep].

- All right, guys,
time to determine

who had the best
tattoo of the day?

- I will say this is one
of the best pinup days

we've ever had.
- You guys killed it.

- All right.
- Hey, guys.

- Jerrel is definitely
in the top today.

This thing is unique,
it's done beautifully.

- And I love Angel's.

Everything about this tattoo,
the drawing, the color play.

Angel's is a much tougher
tattoo to do.

- Yeah.
- But Jerrel's,

the cleanliness is undeniable.

♪ ♪

My vote's for Jerrel.

- My vote's for Jerrel
as well.

- Jerrel.

- Unanimous.
- Thank you.

- Damn.
- Look at you, mother[bleep].

- The judges have decided

that the best tattoo of the day
goes to Jerrel.

- [bleep].

- He's got artistry
on his face.

- That means the Midwest
will form a jury of peers

with one other team.

Jerrel,
which team do you choose?

♪ ♪

- Is there a question
about this?

- Probably none.

- East.

- The Midwest and the East
will form the jury of peers.

You must deliberate
and put one artist up

for elimination.
- All right.

- You can head back
to the loft.

♪ ♪

- I don't think Jerrel should
have won tattoo of the day.

I mean, I think Angel
has a way stronger tattoo.

- Regardless of what we think,

he's won tattoo
of the day twice,

and even though that
he's doing better than Frank

in the competition,
his team

is not giving him
as much credit as he deserves.

And the decision-making

is all going towards
Frank's decisions.

- I mean, some people
just want to be loyal

to whatever
the alliance is...

- Frank wants to be loyal
to the East.

Frank didn't give him
any chance

to even deliberate that today.

- But that means that
there's an inner struggle

between the team,
and it's definitely gonna cause

a rift between that alliance,

and possibly the core
of their team.

- We were so worried about
gaining the power back,

and it's almost
better this way.

What they've set up
is destined to self-destruct.

All we have to do right now
is just kind of help it along.

- Oh, yeah, just put
a little fire under it.

- Yeah.

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- We, the Midwest, along with
the East, as the jury of peers,

are here to decide what artist
to send up for elimination.

- Right.

- Like, I know it's your guys'
job to protect each other,

but at the end of the day,

I have to be true
to how I feel.

My vote is for you, K.

I just feel like
there's application issues

that hurt the design.

- You guys can vote me down.
I'll do it.

I'll [bleep] scrap
down there.

- When it comes down to it,
we have a voice.

Are we owning our own shit

and putting ourselves
on a silver platter,

or are we pointing out
the flaws in the room?

Because there was more than
one person with flaws here.

- It's true.
- It is about strategy.

You might have a chance
to send Jason home,

and he is a strong player.

- Strategy doesn't necessarily
work so well anymore.

I have to stick true to
how I feel in certain matters.

- And I respect your decision,

but I mean, face for face, the
design of K's, I like better.

- The thing that bothers me
the most about Jason's tattoo

is that we gave him exactly
the piece that he wanted,

and he did nothing with it.

- I want to play
with integrity,

but at the same time,
it's my job to protect my team.

- So, today we're testing
artistry with pinup tattoos.

- Today I see the East
in a lot of trouble.

- We're talking about K.

- That dark walnut brown.

It looks scribbled over
with a crayon.

And then the red in the flame?

Worst application of the day
right there.

- Also Jessa's
is very challenged.

- The nose with those lines

causes for a weird
sunken-in face.

- We're testing artistry,
and this seems to be a miss.

Let me ask you guys this.

I'm not understanding why Jason

as an artist isn't consistent.

- He is confident
in his stuff,

and the second
he gets something else,

it goes out the window.

- Color saturation in 70%
of the tattoo is terrible.

- It's wild.

- So, the Midwest and the East

are deliberating right now,

and they're gonna put an artist
up for elimination.

- And we've yet for a team
to send someone

of their own team down
when they're deliberating.

- Today would be the day that
I would expect that to happen.

♪ ♪

[door opens, shuts]

- All right, jury of peers,

which artist are you sending
down for elimination?

♪ ♪

- The jury of peers
has decided

to send to the bottom...

♪ ♪

Jason.

- All right, in the bottom,
we'll see Jason, K...

♪ ♪

And Jessa.
See ya'll downstairs.

♪ ♪

- I'm ready.

They call me an asshole
for a reason.

Just letting you guys know.

- We're all gonna be down there
fighting for our own cause.

- Let's go face the music.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- Today, you were being
tested on artistry.

Based on your work, one of you
will be packing your machines.

Jerrel, why did the jury of
peers vote Jason to the bottom?

- The jury of peers voted
Jason to the bottom

because of the applications
used in his tattoo.

The saturation issues,
the line work issues.

- I feel like Jason does
better tattoos than this,

and that is why
we voted that way.

- First look at the tattoo,

I think it's cute,
and I think it's legible.

Do I think it's the worst?
No.

- It comes down to
the style of shading you do,

and really, you just
don't commit to your tattoo.

- Maybe I stumbled today,

but I also know--
- But you--you--

- Hold on a second,
I'm not finished.

Mine's probably
the better of the three.

There's just some really crazy
anatomical issues

on the other two,

and then one of them's
just really overworked.

- K, the biggest issue
is the application

that's in this
big stand-up bass.

It's the color choice,
and the way that it goes in.

- As soon as
I started doing it,

I knew that it had been
the wrong choice.

I didn't want to give you guys
just a pinup.

- All three of you on the line

hit some
very strong shortcomings

against a field that was
really, really talented today.

- Jessa, the artistry
is not the problem here.

I look at most of the lines
in the tattoo

and see that
they're not punched in,

and see that
they're not solid.

- I started, like,
an hour late,

just because I re-drew a lot.

I'd love the chance
to keep getting better,

because I'm a little bit
more comfortable every time.

- Do you think you can
get out of your head?

- I think I've been
getting out of there, man.

♪ ♪

- All right, guys, time to
determine who's going home.

- I see all three having
complications in application,

but Jason's drawing
is more dynamic.

- My vote is not for Jason.

♪ ♪

- So, we're looking at
between K and Jessa.

This is between
the East and the East.

♪ ♪

- There's a little bit of
rough application in Jessa's,

but the roughest application
of the day is in K's tattoo.

My vote's for K.

- Application aside, just in
terms of anatomically laid out,

my vote's for K.

- K.

- The judges have decided.

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

- It takes a lot of guts and a
lot of courage to show up here

with only three years
under your belt.

Congratulations
making it this far.

- I am just incredibly grateful
to have had this opportunity,

and you guys are all
my [bleep] family.

- Come here, girl.

- Please pack your machines
and close shop.

[epic music]

♪ ♪

- I'm sad to leave, but I'm
very proud of the fact that,

as hard as it was for me,

like, I pushed as far
as I could possibly go.

I've learned so
much since I've been here,

and I feel like
this is a beginning for me.

♪ ♪

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

- It's every artist
for themselves.

- Oh my God.

- We want to start
seeing you swing.

- Throw me a pitch.

This is my chance to take
someone home from the West.

- I think it's time
to retaliate.

- I'm a shark.

If I smell blood,
I'm coming for it.

- This thing is jacked.

- To bet your safety
in the competition,

it's a tough gamble.

- She just quit.
She's--she's done.

- What?

- Might as well have just

bought me a plane ticket home.

[bleep]

[rock music]

♪ ♪