'Ink Master: Turf War': Judge Dave rescues Jason from elimination and fans agree he deserves a second chance
It was a whirlwind of a time for folks at 'Ink Master: Turf War' this week. It began with the elimination round, in which each of the teams was tested on adaptability.
To realize this, judges Dave Navarro, Oliver Peck and Chris Nunez tasked the tattoo artists with the challenge of working with other artists of the same team.
This meant the team would have to work on different tattoos when they begin but every hour, each individual would move on to the next tattoo to take it up from it has been left. What's more, the style and subject matter had to be completely different for each artist. This was bound to create inconsistencies. But the contestants didn't give up.
After the panel critiqued the finished designs, they declared Team Mid-West - Frank Ready, Jerrel Larkins, Severtson - safe for staying true to the challenge, creating designs that were not only consistent but had their line work on point.
Unfortunately, the judges couldn't zero in on one good tattoo because there were none. Team South, comprising Jason Elliott and Jordi Pla, had an advantage because it only had only two of them but there was no cohesiveness seen.
The contestants were then presented with a twist, in which each team had to discuss and single out one weak artist who would be up for elimination. Jimmy Snaz, Raul Ugarte and Jason were picked as the not-so-strong ones.
However, the judges thought they were all talented and deserved a second chance which got them to the face-off round. They were all asked to make a tiger head in American traditional style.
Jimmy's turned out to be the best, Raul's minor slip-ups were ignored but Jason's patchy coloring had the judges turn up their nose against it, which led to his elimination. It was a shocker. However, he was later pardoned by Dave and given another chance so he can prove himself in the coming rounds.
Meanwhile, fans think saving Jason was a good move because although he may be annoying, he is a solid artist with some fine skills.
"I'm not surprised Jason got pardoned. I am surprised that he was 'sent home' in the first place. He’s annoying for sure (I think that's just for the cameras — I bet he is actually really nice) but his work is solid. Plus they can’t leave Jordi by himself #InkMaster," a fan shared
Another pointed out: "Savage! That's a great pardon. Jason is a hell of a tattooer." while a user tweeted, "Do I like the judge’s pardon? I can’t tell.... Isn’t the show suppose to have shocking moments like that? Yet, it does save one of the better artists. Guess I’m torn. #InkMaster."
Catch all the new episodes of 'Ink Master: Turf War' on Paramount every Tuesday.