‘Ink Master’ season 8, episode 14 review: Was Kelly Doty or Nikki Simpson eliminated?
Before we get to the big “Ink Master” season 8 finale in two weeks, we still have a few more episodes to get through. On the last episode we lost Kevin LaRoy even though he had the skull pick, showing that wins don’t always mean winning the overall game. There’s only 5 artists left and Nikki and Kelly are the entirety of team Nunez so the female’s have a strong chance of all being in the finale together.
Elimination tattoo: There is no flash challenge and the name of the game this week is consistency as they transform the canvases into cyborg tattoos which is something that Nikki is worried about since it’s a style she’s been avoiding for years. They are working as teams (team Nunez and team Peck) and will all tattoo at the same time and they will be judged as a team. Every hour they must switch tattoos with another team member, picking up where the last artist left off.
Team Peck gets the skull pick after a random draw and Ryan is conflicted about how to play this. Is it smart game play for Ryan to give her own team the tougher tattoo to ensure that at least 2 women are guaranteed to be in the finale? She feels that she can go up against Gian and Nate and come out on top, so taking the tougher tattoo and throwing Nikki and Kelly the easier canvas is a real option. Unfortunately with Nate and Gian on her team, she couldn’t pull it off even if she wanted to.
Judging: Team Peck did a great job transforming their canvas into a cyborg, but Kelly and Nikki gave their canvas a skull without any mechanical elements to it. With no jury of peers, this is solely the decision of the judges and they decided that team Nunez lost mostly based on the fact that they didn’t meet the challenge. Nikki and Kelly are forced to tattoo against each other to see who is going home as the female alliance loses another member.
Nikki vs Kelly: Team Peck chooses he subject matter and they pick a gypsy girl for them to tattoo and prove their consistency skills to the judges. What we really liked to see was Ryan supporting both of the women and helping them both in any way they need. After seeing both of these gorgeous tattoos we are so disappointed that we had to lose either of these women.Their tattoos were just brilliant, really beautiful. The judges had a VERY difficult time choosing a winner and we really had no idea how they were going to pick someone to go home. The judges were divided and it came down to Oliver’s vote and with that we lost Nikki.
There have been some things that we really liked about this team twist, but there have been some problems. Because of the teams and the way some of these challenges are set up we have lost really good artists this season and watched other artists that probably should’ve been eliminated already go further then maybe they should’ve. If they decide to do a team twist again, it would be better to see the teams dissolved at the top ten and just let it be everyone for themselves. Episode grade: B-
Are you happy with the artists going to the finale of “Ink Master” season 8? Leave us a comment in the box below.