Ink Master: Angels review: Did Tim Furlow defeat Gia Rose?

Do we have our most controversial showdown on Ink Master: Angels to date? If you are to buy into the judges’ sentiment on Tuesday’s new episode the answer to that question seems to be “yes.”

What’s funny in general is that this is probably the third straight week where there’s been a somewhat controversial end to the episode. With the previous two franchise newbies in the Angel Face-Off, we easily could’ve made a case for them joining season 10. (Check back at our CarterMatt review of the episode last week — we don’t think Graydon Payne deserved to beat Nikki Simpson, but that’s in part just because Nikki had one of the best tattoos we’ve seen on any version of this show.)

Tonight, Tim Furlow managed to beat Gia Rose thanks to the support of his fellow Atlanta artists and the home crowd, who certainly seemed as though they were on his side from the beginning with his lion-with-dreadlocks tattoo. It was a cool design, but we agree somewhat with the other Angels that the dreadlocks didn’t look nearly as good as the lion part of the tattoo. To call that a shame is putting it lightly. While Gia’s tattoo may have been a tad crowded in spots, it was technically far more legible and well-done. She should’ve won this battle.

Does that mean that we’re angry about Tim winning? Hardly, and mostly because the other two tattoos he did were both pretty darn phenomenal. His rose in the first round was super-proficient and we give him all the credit in the world for crafting a great pin-up in round 2 — there were errors, sure, but don’t you know how hard it is to tattoo good pin-ups in this franchise? It’s the downfall of so many artists on Ink Master proper. He created a Southern Belle that fit the theme and he got many of the difficult parts (including the face) done well.

Tim’s also a good addition to season 10 simply from the vantage point of pure likability. He’s a humble guy with a good story — he quit tattooing for a year before getting a better apprenticeship and made it into his craft. This is a guy who put in the work and was self-aware enough to know that his early stuff wasn’t great. Not every artist admits that. This is especially true with this franchise, given that we do have a tendency more often than not to run into people who are convinced that they are the second coming.

CarterMatt Verdict

In terms of the formula, we would like to see the show tinker with it a little bit more — at this point, for example, we know that the first challenge is going to be doing a two-hour tattoo on a strange part of the body, and that there is going to be some sort of emotional component to the Angel Face-Off. We certainly would like more of the latter, but why not mix it up across rounds?

With this being said, Ink Master: Angels is a good source for not just quality tattooing, but also debates as to the best tattooing and the objectivity of art. Different people see different things when looking at the same image. The reactions here do make it fascinating, but we do wonder still about the bias that some of the home crowd can have for the local artist.

Do you think that Tim Furlow should’ve beaten Gia Rose? Share in the comments section below!

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