Ink Master: Angels review: Did Sparks defeat Kelly Doty?
You can argue that the voting system again showcased some of its flaws. To us, Kelly was the clear winner of the final tattoo. Her design was certainly weird and wacky, but there was something about seeing an awkward bird with an Army helmet that will stick with us as one of the most memorable tattoos of the entire season. It was technically sound, but she had an uphill battle here. Sparks had a great tattoo as well, there’s no doubt about that — there were just some anatomical issues holding it back slightly. Yet, this was an Angel Face-Off all about supporting veterans, and he’s a veteran who just so happened to create one of the most patriotic tattoos that we’ve ever seen. We’re not shocked that it was hard for either the voting public in Austin or the other eliminated artists (Kat Herrera and John Dame) to not give him the win.
We have to say that Sparks is one of the most-likable winners to come out of Ink Master: Angels this season. Not only is he a great artist, but he’s got this backstory as a father and a veteran that makes him fairly easy to want to cheer for moving forward. Also, he just so happens to have a great voice in the confessionals that we could listen to all day. He conveys what he is doing with a lot of enthusiasm and clarity. He’s somewhat reminiscent of Cleen Rock One or Christian Buckingham, two of the Ink Master franchises biggest-ever personalities, in that regard. We haven’t seen him show off either of their penchants for conflict, but he’s got the same sort of presence. He’s the sort of artist who could be featured on more than one Ink Master season if he does a good enough job and makes it fairly far in the competition.
Overall, this was a really strong episode since all of the artists were incredibly talented — we legitimately believe that John or Kat would’ve made it to the Angel Face-Off in some other cities where there was some weaker work being produced. The second challenge, (where Sparks and John did new-school tattoos themed around bats) was a personal highlight — especially when Sparks opted to give his bat a tattoo muscles, and then also a taco for no real reason other than that he likes tacos and Austin has some great ones. This is the sort of random creativity that we love to see on this show.
CarterMatt Verdict
If Ink Master: Angels keeps episodes like this coming up, we could be in for an amazing season 1 finale! It’s a bummer that we are getting near the end of the road for this season.
Do you think the right artist advanced on Ink Master: Angels on Tuesday night? Share now in the comments!
Meanwhile, be sure to visit the link here to see highlights from the rest of this season or like us on Facebook for additional updates regarding this show or others we cover. (Photo: Spike.)