Ink Master season 11 episode 2 review: Is this a surprise early exit?

Ink Master season 11 episode 2 was a good exhibit A for the fact that we may be in for a rather fun season. While the coach format is basically the same as we saw last time, the artists are new and there is a sort of unpredictability with some of them. Also Cleen Rock One and Christian Buckingham are great entertainment!

Two episodes in, we would say that Angel is in pole position just because she had the #1 seed and we haven’t seen her do a bad tattoo yet … but Tony Medellin is right behind her. He won tattoo of the day, and we know from Ink Master: Angels that he is a super-talented artist. He’s also even-keeled enough that we don’t see him buckling under the pressure (and this is a competition with a serious amount of pressure!). If these two end up being there at the end, it’s hard to be disappointed with that outcome.

Related – Check out our exclusive interviews with Christian Buckingham and Cleen Rock One!

Yet, we do think that there could be some surprise exits this season — losing Gonzo in this episode is proof of that. While we didn’t leave the premiere thinking that he was the best, he came across as a solid tattooer and someone we should be watching out for (also just from an entertainment stand point we feel producers would’ve wanted him to stick around). Unfortunately, you could project that this ending was coming from the moment Gonzo’s tattoo looked unfinished. He got stuck with a difficult canvas in a really difficult spot, and that’s of course one of the things that we’re wondering: Was there a way to change that and give himself a better chance? He was in the bottom with Austin Rose, who had plenty of his own problems, but not on that level.

As a whole, we do think that clocks were a good subject for a first challenge given that there were no real style restrictions and there was a high element of creativity here producing some really beautiful tattoos. The Cleen Rock One vs. Christian Buckingham part of this is fairly secondary since this is still mostly a show about the new artists. They’re nice to have back because they add some intensity to it, and we do certainly like that they are honest about the tattoos that are good and the ones that aren’t on their own teams. Hopefully, that trend continues, even if we’re sure that they are going to defend their team to the death.

CarterMatt Verdict

Losing Gonzo is a blow from the vantage point that we think that he is a solid tattooer and was entertaining to watch, but his elimination is probably a nice reminder to people that you can go home at almost any time, including having a bad day or a tough canvas. Consider this the early wake-up call.

Related – Check out more news, including a preview for the next episode

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