'Ink Master: Turf War': Arlene Salinas has been asked to leave and viewers nod in agreement
This week's 'Ink Master - Turf War' was all about legibility. It was a real test for some as the judges - Oliver Peck, Chris Nunez, and Dave Navarro - wanted to assess the tattoo artists on the basis of their linework and how cohesive their designs can get.
Eliminated contestant Arlene Salinas from West has been struggling since the very beginning. She always thought her skills were being downplayed and she wasn't being given enough opportunities to show what she really is.
But there were instances that went against her. Arlene suffers from Narcolepsy, which results in losing muscle tone. For her to recover from one of the Narcolepsy episodes, she has to be in a calm environment but that's hard to find in the midst of a competition series where the cameras are constantly rolling and contestants are at it with their whirring tattoo machines. In one of the previous episodes, she informed the judges about her condition and how she had to finish her design while facing immense difficulty.
As a result, Emac, one of the other contestants reeling at the bottom was shown the door in the previous episode. Today, Arlene was asked to leave on basis of her poor line work.
There were plenty of blowouts in her design and even the angle wasn't right, reportedly the handle of the knife was on the wrong side. In her defense, she had to work with a very tough skin and to make things worse, the person getting the tattoo wasn't sure about the angle of the knife and wanted it to be at an angle from where he can read it right.
However, she has always had issues with linework. The last time she was ranked at the bottom, her compass rose had the most inconsistent lines yet she was given a hall pass and that could be because she was almost into tears about her condition and how it stops her from being at her A-game all the time.
Meanwhile, fans are relieved that Arlene has been eliminated from the show as they feel she's a lot of excuses to defend her poor performance.
"Arlene: I’m stronger than I realized Also Arlene: *used every excuse in the book as to why she didn’t perform well and never took responsibility* #InkMaster," a fan expressed. "Thank god! Bye-bye Arlene. No more crocodile tears #InkMaster," another posted. "Arlene was dancing near the bottom this entire time. I think she could have easily gone home before this. I'm just glad Jordan is staying. Her personality just makes the show better. #InkMaster #TattoosDay," a viewer tweeted, while another wrote: "Yes! Arlene is gone! Justice has been served! #InkMaster."
Catch all-new episodes of 'Ink Master: Turf War' every Tuesday on Paramount Network.
