‘Ink Master’ season 6, episode 5 review: Dave Kruseman, Earl Noble front and center for big decision

We have lost some very strong artists very early on during this season of “Ink Master”. Last week we lost MV during detail week or what we affectionately like to call it a giant promotion for Spike TV’s new series called “Tut”. We get that “Ink Master” is a great platform for advertising product, but this was a little much. Anyway this week is a brand new challenge as the remaining artists battle it out.

Flash Challenge – While it is sometimes a little bit hokey to have every week centered on a specific thing, ingenuity worked well this time to give us a chance to see some different art than what we are accustomed to. This challenge was no exception, as it forced the remaining artists to think outside the box and find a way to create new shapes on the human form using black-lights and body paint. Somewhat invasive, sure, given the canvases that they had to work, but the results were interesting and rather cool.

It would be nice to see a little more of an element of surprise to this, since it felt like a runaway from the very beginning. Big Ceeze has years of experience in a similar field, and despite he and Craig Foster’s tension over what happened to Miami, they worked together well here to win.

Elimination Challenge – The decisions made with skull picks this week were the determining factor for who went home. Craig seemed to be more of the main decision-maker, and it turned out that giving Earl Noble a guy who wanted a wolf tattoo on his armpit was a little much. The guy was not handling the pain well, and he refused to have the tattoo moved at all. We don’t know why the guy wanted a wolf on his armpit, but whatever.

This was an especially sympathetic exit for Earl given how we thought most of the artists did a good job, though Dave Kruseman really didn’t seem that interested in going along with what the theme for the challenge was. He just did a tattoo that he thought would look good, and because that was suddenly more important to the judges this week than following the theme, Earl went home. Wait, where’s the consistency here? Flash back to a couple of weeks ago, and everyone agreed that not fulfilling a challenge was enough of a reason to send Miami home. Who’s to say that Kruseman will balk at another challenge next week, and not follow what the competition requires? If this was “MasterChef,” would you stay in the game for making Gordon Ramsay a steak when he asked for chicken? It just doesn’t make sense, and even Kruseman seemed at times like he was ready to go. We should make it clear that his tattoo was probably the better-looking of the two, but following the criteria should be a factor in the equation.

It really enrages us to see the judges going back to their old ways of a few seasons ago and not keeping things consistent across the board. Miami Burgess going home for not fulfilling a challenge, but them keeping Kruseman is ridiculous. Why aren’t all of the artists held to the same standard? Episode grade: C

Do you think Kruseman should’ve gone home for not fulfilling the challenge and who do you want to win this season of “Ink Master”? Leave us a comment below and tell us your thoughts. If you want more news on the show, including interviews with the artists, podcast, reviews and previews, then head over to the link here. Also, if you want more great TV news sent straight to your inbox then be sure to sign up for our weekly CarterMatt newsletter. (Photo: Spike TV)