All language subtitles for Ink.Master.S17E08.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH

* MTV *

[Narrator] Previously on
Ink Master: Hometown Heroes...

Armor up and be ready
for a battle.

[Narrator]
Life-changing tattoos

transform the competition.

This is a fucking feel good day.

You must transform a scar.

I'm looking to get my, sorry,

preventative
double mastectomy scars

covered on my chest.

We got your back,
we here for you.

-[tattoo gun buzzing]
-Ah, fuck.

-I know, it's quick, quick--
-Yep.

[Narrator] Safety from
elimination was on the line.

[Matt] Can you imagine trying
to fix the scar

and then leaving him
with a half-finished tattoo?

[exhales stressfully]

[Narrator] One by one,
their tattoos were ranked.

There was a tie for
the highest-ranked tattoo.

Kyra.

[DJ Tambe] Maybe the best rose
that Ink Master has seen.

-[Man] Dang!
-Let's go!

[Ryan] Oh, Matt!

[Nikko] How the fuck did you do
that in six hours?

[Narrator] The three artists
with the lowest-ranked tattoos

had to face off for
their lives.

May the best man win.

Damn, I was just going
to say good luck.

I don't need luck.

[Boushee] This is a test.

You better fight to the death.
That's it.

I'm not fucking going nowhere.

[Narrator]
In the elimination...

I really like Seth's ingenuity.

It's unique.

I also love Isnard's
bubblegum skeleton.

[DJ Tambe] The drawing's
super cool.

Boushee putting that lady face
inside a crystal ball

was really unexpected.

But I wish there was just one

stark, big highlight
that really defined that glare.

Flattens out a bit.

The judges have decided,
Boushee,

you do not have what it takes
to be Ink Master.

Thank y'all for the opportunity,
man.

-Your boy out of here.
-[all laughing]

[Narrator] Six artists remain,

but only one will earn
a $250,000 prize...

-All right, let's get it.
-Yes.

[Narrator] ...and the title
of Ink Master.

[theme music]

-How you guys feel?
-Top six!

That was fucking brutal, man.

[Isnard] I'm used to bullshit
already, that's all.

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie,
watching that was scary, dude.

Seeing all of you guys do
the best pieces

I've seen this whole competition
is wild.

I think you rattled a few people
by doing that tattoo.

It's a good reminder
that this is fucking it.

This is top six,
we're fucking rolling

right into the endgame
at this point.

Right now is where
it really starts to heat up.

It's either our best shit of our
lives or we could be going home.

[dramatic industrial music]

[surging industrial music]

-Oh shit.
-[Seth] Okay.

[Joel] Welcome.

-What's up?
-[mixed greetings]

The six of you have outlasted

nine other artists in the battle
for $250,000.

Still standing.

But now you must fight harder
than ever

because only one of you
will bring the title

of Ink Master back
to your hometown.

Everyone else can French kiss
this money goodbye.

It's coming back to Montreal
with me.

[Joel] This is your final
Flash Challenge.

-Oh.
-Yes.

[Joel] This week,
we're testing...

[music crescendos]

Precision.

-All right.
-Okay.

Precision is the perfect blend
of accuracy and control.

A boxer using perfectly placed
jabs and feints

can set their opponent up
for a knockout blow.

[Joel] Today, you must create

a colorful work
of art using only...

packing tape.

-Fuck!
-[laughter]

I don't think
it's gonna be easy, bro.

How can we make art with tape,
bro?

Tape is tape. It's not art.

[sucks air] Fuck.

Working on a four foot
by eight foot sheet

of clear Plexiglas,

you must precisely apply layer
after layer of various colors

of packing tape to bring
your image to life.

[Matt] There's so much tape.

There's enough for Seth
to pack his bags on this one.

-Precision is key.
-Of course.

[Joel] Or every crooked line,
every bubble,

and every misstep will be
illuminated for all to see.

Whoa. Wait.

Just gonna shine a light
on every mistake.

For this Flash Challenge,

you will be working
in teams of two.

Ooh.

-Okay.
-Okay. That's different.

-Kyra and Matt.
-Oh.

Last week, your tattoos tied
for the highest ranked.

[blows raspberry]

You will now each get the power
to pick your teams.

Yeah, a little bit of a reward.

Well, we can't be together.

Oh, poor you.

The picking order
has been randomly assigned.

Kyra, you're up first.

Which artist other than Matt
do you want on your team?

[suspensive hip-hop music]

Um. I choose Isnard.

I work really well with Isnard.
He's so creative,

and he's really good
at listening to my ideas.

Big dog.

Matt, you're next.

I'm gonna pick Luka.

-You're on color theory, buddy.
-Yeah, color.

We've been on so many challenges
together that we speak

the same language when it comes
to Flash Challenges.

We got this.

That means, Seth and Keahi,
you will form the third team.

-Seth, man.
-Fuck, yeah.

Fucking awesome.

He's so laid back and easy
to work with.

This is gonna be fucking sick.

All right. The teams are set.

The winners
of this Flash Challenge

will have the power
to assign all the human canvases

in the elimination tattoo
together.

Let's go get it.

-You have four hours...
-Whoa.

...and your time starts now.

-[Isnard] All right, you guys.
-[Luka] Go.

-All right.
-[Keahi] Let's figure this out.

Did you have any ideas first?

[Keahi] Uh, not anything
super solid.

Precision is everything
in this challenge.

I think if we just create
with some straight lines,

it's gonna help us
to be precise.

Tape is difficult.
That shit is sticky.

You should see me try
to wrap a present at home.

Making art with this stuff,
it's gonna be ridiculous.

I only did the crocodile
because we could layer, like,

dark leaves in the front,

and then things can get
way lighter in the back.

You have to think about
the time, too.

[Luka] My first thought
was buildings

with the lights
through the windows,

and then you go to something
more mountain and sun.

That's a lot of detail.
I mean, so detailed.

This is
the last Flash Challenge.

I'm looking for something
different, so, hopefully,

they ain't packing their boxes
and going home.

What about the snail?

If we're gonna make
just the snail,

let's make it, like, the coolest
graffiti snail we've ever seen.

[Isnard] Okay.

Because if it's wonky,

they're gonna stop thinking
about precision, right?

They're gonna be like, "Oh,
you meant to do that, right?"

[Luka] So sunset,
super high contrast,

and everything that
is front is super dark.

Well, that's why
I was thinking trees

because all you do is layer.

I know me and Matt struggled
in the past.

I know how to work with him.

[Matt] Do mountains and a river.

Anything that is closer to us,

fully black, and then go
full color behind it.

[Matt] Slow down on me, Luka.

I can see your lightbulb
light up.

-You're not the one to tell me.
-[Matt] [chuckles] I know.

I'm sure we can pull this off.

I think Seth and that
are gonna do some tattoo design

-that's really clean.
-[Luka] Yep.

[Seth] Maybe you had, like,
a hannya mask with the eyes open

so that,
as the light shines through,

the eyes are glowing.

For me, I was even thinking,
you know,

how sometimes those neo-lotuses

will have, like, the light
from the inside.

Oh, dude.

You know me with neo flowers,
man.

I fucking love it.

Seth and I are known
for being more executors

than creative leaders.

The hannya mask is cool,
but if the eyes are

the only part that's interacting
with the light,

then I would almost say lotus
over the hannya mask.

We have to come up
with something

that we can be
super precise with.

I think you talked me into
the lotus.

[Keahi] We're gonna do it.
We're gonna do it.

It's time to roll.

Think we need a ruler now.
Fuck it.

[Matt] Pause, stretch,
pause, stretch.

[Luka] [whistles faintly]

Dude, precision
is gonna be sick.

-Okay.
-[Kyra] [laughing]

Dude, it's so hard to get it
fucking flat on here.

Artists! Don't get stuck.

You have three hours.

[tense music]

So we go the mountains up
to here

and maybe not equal.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We gotta cut them out now.

We can't have a flat,
boring fucking landscape.

We have to win by precision
and color theory.

It's gonna be the water
and the sky

that's gonna be translucent,

and the rest
is gonna be super solid.

We've gotta push back
the mountains,

and we've gotta pull out
the translucent in the water.

And the way to do that is
to layer on both sides.

That one line has to be
straight.

There's no coming back.

-We're ripping this stuff off.
-Yep.

[rock music]

[Seth] Oh, God, dude.

Dude, I am losing my mind.

I can't get this fucking tape
off the glass.

It is so sticky.

I'm trying to peel off corners.
Nothing is working.

Damn, this shit is crazy
to work with.

[Kyra] It's easy for us
to see the line work

when we know the shape.

It is so hard
to line up this tape.

[Isnard] It doesn't matter,
actually--

[Kyra] It doesn't
actually matter.

If we cover it with line work,
we're safe, right?

[Isnard] Uh-huh.

There's so many layers
to this piece.

All right, I'm gonna shake this.

It's like fixing mistakes
as we go.

So I think, like, throw
an eye there.

[Kyra] I'm getting the idea.
If we get the thick line work,

it looks so cool and comical.

There are two hours left.

[Matt] Yeah, we gotta move.

[tense music]

We gotta do the mountains first.
I reckon we do a tree each,

and we do mountains each,
and we go over the top.

-So, white?
-Yep.

[Keahi] What else do you think
we need?

Do we go just, like,
two small orange ones?

Like, one, two?

I'm gonna let you make
the decision.

It's definitely a struggle not
having a very big creative voice

in this Flash Challenge.

It's like we put the two,
like, workhorses together,

and it's like, "Ah, shit."

Because our image is
a little bit more simple,

we really need to make sure

that we're applying it
as clean as possible.

It's fucking looking good, dude.
Crushing it on that side.

-There is one hour left.
-Fuck.

Better book ass now.

[Keahi] They all have
full boards.

Yeah. Fuck.

[Kyra] We gotta finish
this background.

[Isnard] I thought it would be
cool to do a lot of them,

-but I think it's too much.
-There's not enough time.

It has, like,
a stained glass kind of feel.

[Seth] Yeah.

[Luka] Starting to panic.

[Kyra] Oh, chill.

It's coming.

From the sounds of it, we're not
the only ones feeling the heat.

Five, four, three, two, one.

That's it. Time's up.
No more tape.

-Shit.
-Good stuff, man.

-[Keahi] Sheesh.
-Simple, but precise.

[Keahi] Dang, you guys
went for it.

-We tried to do too much.
-We did way more

-than we should've.
-Nice thing for us.

We're gonna have to sell
the cleanliness.

Sell the shit out it, yep.

How long does it take
to use tape?

-Forever.
-[blows raspberry]

[Joel] All right.
It's time to critique your work.

Kyra and Isnard.

We chose to do a snail,

and, honestly,
I think we snailed it.

I like the snail. Looks fun.

I like the precision
in the shading in the shell.

It's cool that you put
different layers of purple.

[DJ Tambe] The shell having
that light source

and then jumping
to the snail's body,

I think it flattens out.
I would have liked to see

some kind of texture
in the snail.

I do like the crumpled-up effect
on the snail's belly,

how it's all weird snail texture
coming up,

forming that cool little shape.

But that doesn't
repeat anywhere either.

I don't know really what's going
on with the mouth.

[Isnard]
It's like little antennas.

It looks like you got
his mouth like,

you know, I don't know, like
making a face or something.

[DJ Tambe] You guys tried to do

this nice black outline
around it,

but I don't think
it's super precise.

Is this snail a fail,
or will this snail prevail?

I guess we'll find out.

[Joel] Matt and Luka.

There's precision all over
the place in this.

Using the black as
the tree silhouettes

in the foreground was so smart

because they can be
absolutely solid.

You've even brought
some texture into the trees,

almost like the light
is hitting it.

I love the sunset colors
in the background.

Even though it's flat lines
of tape,

it gives the effect
that it's not.

It's very smooth-looking.

I love how you precisely created
the reflection

of the mountains and the water,

which is really cool with tape.

I never thought I would say
I liked a landscape,

but I think you guys hit
precision on this one.

I think it's really boring.

Damn.

But it's very precise.

[Luka] Good job, dude.

-Yeah, I had so much fun.
-[Joel] Keahi and Seth.

I like how precisely
it's cut out, man.

It's so clean.

[DJ Tambe] The way you cut out
these lines

in between everything to create
an outline, that was smart.

Using a perfect circle
is really impressive.

I love how precise you were
in the shapes of the shadows

that you put in the purple.

I do think it should
have been symmetrical.

That leaf on the bottom left
is missing.

[Ryan] It just looks a little
lopsided, a little unbalanced.

[Joel] It does do something
that's interesting to look at,

which is the cast shadow
that it creates on the floor.

[Nikko] It almost looks better
in the reflection.

That's a really cool touch,
different from what we've seen.

There's nothing going on.
It's just like a sticker.

Judges, it's time to determine

the winner
of the flash challenge.

[Ryan] On a day where we're
testing precision,

the snail can escar-go home,
guys.

[all chuckling]

I enjoyed looking at
the snail more than the others.

-[Ryan] What?
-I did. It was more fun.

I mean, I thought there was
a lot of precision

in Seth's and Keahi's piece.

You know what I mean?
As far as cutting it out

and, like, the gaps in between
the petals.

The lotus definitely had
more precision.

But I do think it was missing
a petal on that left side.

And you have to be precise with
your composition as well.

For me, the landscape showed
precision all over the place.

[Nikko] The precision in
the trees I thought

was really cool
in the silhouette.

Everything had texture to it,
and it was different textures.

To create that
with tape was pretty cool.

So my vote is absolutely
for the landscape.

Awesome.

My vote's for Matt and Luka.

They created a foreground,
middle ground, background,

and had a lot of precision shown
in their piece.

Good job, bro.

My vote is for
Team Seth and Keahi.

The cast shadow needs
to be recognized.

No one else did it.

And I think that feature
was strong enough

to put it over the line.

[Matt] Congratulations.

That's two votes
for Matt and Luka,

and one vote
for Team Seth and Keahi.

Cool.

My vote is for...

[dramatic music]

-...Matt and Luka.
-Thank you.

-Yes.
-Good job, buddy.

The judges have decided

the winner
of the flash challenge

is Matt and Luka.

-Last one together, mate.
-Yeah, last one.

Congratulations, Matt and Luka.

You will have the power
to assign all the human canvases

in the elimination tattoo
together.

-Ooh.
-That's going to be interesting.

Feeling cheeky.

[Joel] Head back to the shop

and get ready for
the next elimination tattoo.

-Yes.
-All right.

Now I'm finally back on top.

[Kyra] Good job, landscape boys.

You do not want to be
on the other side

of those skulls this week.

[tense music]

The last skull pick.

This feels like the most
important moment

of the competition.

Absolutely. Everyone is strong.

Isnard's one of
the biggest threats

just because he's one
of the strongest.

He's creative.

And I think he can adapt
to most challenges.

On precision day,
we know that, sometimes,

Isnard is lacking
in the technical side.

Yeah. Then we go for Seth.

Seth's pretty precise
in what he does,

but then with a bad skull pick,

it could be pretty fucked.

We can be so naughty with this.
Oh, it's going to be so fun.

Oh, it'll be fun.

[dramatic music]

-Welcome.
-What's up?

[Joel] As the number of artists
in this competition falls,

the pressure rises.

Ain't that the fucking truth?

In a competition this tight,

even the tiniest misstep

could send you home
empty-handed.

I hope some people start
tripping the fuck up.

Today, you must tattoo not one,

but two micro-realistic
postage stamps.

-Oh! [laughs]
Fuck!

Oh, you're fucked!

Micro-realism is very hard.

Not only is realism by itself

one of the hardest styles
that you can tattoo,

but now you have to do it
with really teeny tiny details.

For this elimination tattoo,
each of your postage stamps

must be smaller than two inches
by two inches on the forearm.

-Oh, my goodness.
-Damn.

Two by two is like
the tiniest thing

probably I ever have done
in my life.

It's like this size.

Oh, my God.

Micro-realism requires you

to use really tiny
needle groupings.

The tinier the needle,

the more likely you have
to rip up the skin.

Bringing the scale way down
and having

a real legible, readable tattoo
at the same time,

it's difficult.

You got to keep it simple,
clean,

and make sure not
to over detail.

[Nikko] Just make sure
these tattoos

don't send you
like the postmark home.

Oh, shit.

Honestly, I don't feel great
about micro-realism.

I'm used to doing these huge,
elaborate sleeves,

and this is the exact opposite
of what I do on a daily basis.

I'm so happy to have skull picks
for stamps.

-Such an advantage.
-Zero room for error now.

Remember, the artist
that wins tattoo of the day

will join
the judges' deliberation

and have the power
to help decide

which three artists to put up
for elimination.

50-50 chance of being
in the bottom right now.

Let's meet your canvases.

[thrilling rock music]

Matt and Luka, you won
the flash challenge.

You have the power to assign
the canvases together.

Wow, that's going to be so fun.

[Joel] Make sure to aim
with precision

or your shot
could go undelivered.

Awesome.

We've got the power,

but I have a fucking memory
like a goldfish.

For my first tattoo, a jaguar.

And for my second tattoo,

a Scottish castle
with a storm rolling in.

I don't know what's harder,
this micro-realism tattoo

or having to remember
all this shit that they want

in these little tattoos.

Black-and-gray pyramids
in a desert.

And a cityscape

with some mountains
in the background.

Mount Fuji covered in snow with
a red torii gate and a pagoda

and Whistler Mountain
during winter.

That's a good one, yeah.

A Hawaiian beach sunset
with sea turtles,

palm trees, and hibiscus.

And a European deli meat
window display.

[Luka] You can have a couple
of ham,

maybe a salami,
but you're definitely not going

to get the whole market.

Black and gray London street
scene with pops of red.

And for my second,
a colorful rocky mountain scene.

Some pine trees in there,
like a stream going down.

A color realistic
Maui beach sunset.

Damn, that's cool.

For my second one,
a ornate Thai Buddhist temple.

You good?

I'm going to send the worst
tattoo to the best guys.

All right, that was a blur.
I don't remember anything.

[Luka] Yeah, it's tough.

Isnard, Seth, for sure they're
going to get the worst pick.

[Matt] Yeah.

-And if you want to save Kyra...
-[Matt] Yeah, I'll save Kyra.

-[Luka] Go black and gray.
-[Matt] All right, let's go.

Let's see what we got.

[Luka] Kyra and Keahi,

we're going to give them
really good skull picks.

-[Matt] Black and gray.
-Black and gray, yeah.

If Keahi and Kyra's tattoos
are good.

-[Matt] Maui beach.
-Yeah.

Isnard and Seth
have nowhere to hide.

[music crescendos]

Canvases, one by one,
please read the artist's name

-on the bottom of your skull.
-Matt.

-Kyra.
-Hi.

No, Luka, Matt.

You fucked me.

I really don't want
a black and gray tattoo.

That's what I've been doing

predominantly throughout
this competition.

And that could definitely
send me into the bottom.

I thought I was throwing
a bone there on that one.

-Luka.
-Yes. I'm excited.

Seth.

Yeah, awesome.

He's a silly sausage.
He deserves it.

-Okay.
-Isnard.

What up?

Ugh!

There's a lot of little detail.

But, again, I'm going to prove
them wrong and I'm going

to do something so kick-ass,
they'll be like, "What?"

-Keahi.
-How's it?

[thrilling music]

You will have six hours
to create two perfectly precise

postage stamps
on your canvas's forearm.

Hell, yeah.

Sign, seal, and deliver
expert precision

or you'll be packing
your machines.

[exhales stressfully]

Good luck, guys.

[rock music]

All right. I'm Kyra.
Nice to meet you.

You want to come with me?
Let's talk about your ideas.

The Egyptian pyramids
and the other one, Vancouver.

You go to the beach,
you can see downtown.

You can see the mountains.

Mountains, a beach,
the city skyline.

We need to simplify.

I do like how you want
to represent Vancouver.

-The planes are kind of cool.
-[Man] Yeah, the sea planes.

-Sea planes?
-I've been on a sea plane.

-That's pretty cool. Okay.
-I like that a lot, actually.

Black and gray
is the hardest part.

[Seth] The one
was the delicatessen.

What was the other one?

Like, a Hawaiian sunset beach
scene.

Okay.

And then sea turtles,
palm tree, hibiscus.

Because it is micro,
each one has to fit within this.

If you try to put too many
details in too small a space,

the details can blur together.
It won't be that good anymore.

This Hawaiian tattoo
is really for my mom

and I think the hibiscus
represents her the most.

[Seth] Oh, okay.

[Woman] If we have to pick,
like, one element, it's that.

-for sure. Yes.
-Yes.

[chuckles]

[Isnard] You say you want
a London.

I would like it to have a taxi
in there if possible.

And then also, of course,
that iconic telephone booth.

Don't forget, if you start

putting a lot of things,
it looks like a mess.

Oh, okay.
What happened to the turtle?

She said the hibiscus
is more important.

I would have done the turtle,
personally.

I would have done the turtle.

[Woman] Does he always talk
that much shit?

Oh, yeah, his ego does
the talking for him.

-All good, Isnard?
-Yeah.

Just thinking about the...

Yeah, it's all good.

-Oh, you sound nervous.
-Pssh.

Let the games
of the mini tattoos commence.

[surging industrial music]

No one else is doing
black and grey.

It's crazy to me that something
so small takes so long.

I'm just gonna start pouring out
some colors.

We're at the point now
where it's like

even good tattoos go home.

It's like, "Oh, shit."

Artists, you have six hours
to deliver

two perfectly precise
postage stamp tattoos.

And your time starts now.

-Here we go.
-All right.

Okay, this is the moment.

Hopefully, these artists
are wearing

their prescription glasses
today,

because they got a
two-by-two square to work with.

Oh, that's a lot of lines
to decipher.

Don't freak me out like that.
[laughs]

Micro-realistic tattoos
are hard.

Just got a little smudgy
at the bottom.

You're taking something

that would be
in a highly detailed big image,

and you're shrinking it
all the way down.

[Keahi] Today is not a good day
for smudge.

[Man] [chuckles] No.

So you gotta be mindful
of where to put that detail

and when to take it out.

Here it is, man.

If you're an artist that likes
doing these huge back pieces...

[Matt] I love the detail
of that face. It's weird.

[DJ Tambe] Get ready.

Today, you're creating
a back piece for a hamster.

-[Man 2] Perfect.
-All right, let's go.

[rock music]

Starting with the more
technical, detailed one.

[Man] I noticed that, yeah.
Make sense.

Just to like fucking make sure
we get it, you know?

With bigger tattoos,

you have a little bit
of wiggle room.

You can hide some
of your mistakes,

but the opposite is true
for micro-realism.

You have nowhere to hide
with this tattoo.

Mr. Montreal over there,
he does realism.

So, if anyone's gonna be
comfortable, it's probably him.

[tense music]

[Matt] How much have you
got done, Luka?

80% done on the first one.

-[Matt] What?
-[Isnard] Nah.

We've not even hit one hour.

Okay, just come on now.

I'm gonna put every realistic
trick that I have

into this piece.

Folds, rips, because I want

to show the judges
that I can be on top.

What?

You're going for it already.
Take it easy.

The other one's gonna be
more tricky.

This is what I do,
so if I end up in the bottom

for something like this,

that would feel
fucking horrible.

It's so small.

Artists, there are
four hours left on the clock.

[tense industrial music]

The micro part of it is the part
that is like,

-"Whoa, this is intense."
-[tattoo gun buzzing]

I've got to fit in all
of these cheese wheels,

organ meats,
sausages hanging like garland,

all within this
tiny little space.

It could go wrong
really quickly.

Oh, dang.

You got the meat market.
Tiny, tiny, wow.

-Little sausages.
-[Seth] Precision, right?

Precision, man. Right on.

[Seth] I mostly just wanted
to get

the German deli stuff
done first,

and now
the flower's gonna fly by.

There's no fucking way I'm going
home on a deli tattoo.

[Man 3] Nervous right now?
Is this like--

[Kyra] Absolutely not.

I do realism,
so I can do micro-realism.

Yeah, I guess
it's just like realism,

but on a smaller scale
and more detailed.

[Kyra] Yeah, kind of like that.

I'm really worried
that I'm at a disadvantage.

Color, kind of, like, to
the eye, beats black and gray,

so I have to do the best black
and gray I can possibly do

just to get that edge, I guess.

And then you kind
of warped one a little bit?

Yeah, I just didn't want things
to look so static.

To actually do a tattoo

representing my hometown
is really cool.

"Vancouver girl
wins Ink Master."

That sounds kind of nice, yeah?

[tattoo gun buzzing]

You feel like they threw you
a bone a little bit, though,

with giving you Hawaii
and all that?

You know, working in Waikiki,
we've definitely done

a few of these
little sunset tattoos.

But that temple's the one
that got me.

'Cause it's so intricate
on such a little scale.

I'm in the top six right now.

I've fought every step
of the way

to keep myself
in this competition,

but I still haven't won
tattoo of the day,

and I'm really pushing for it
with this tattoo.

I need to make Hawaii proud

and prove that I deserve
to be here.

[tense music]

Wow, is that the smallest little
animal portrait you've done?

-It's 100% the smallest.
-Wow.

[Matt] I have to do a castle,

and what they are made of
is fucking bricks.

Thousands of them.

I try not to overcomplicate it.

When it's so small, you've got
to pick your battles

on which bricks you want
to pull out.

There's so much room for error
to not know what it is.

It can be a fucking muddy mess.

I'm trying to figure out
what I want to do

with the edge of the paper.

I just gotta make it look real.

You've got two hours
for two stamps.

[dramatic music]

How is it working
with this tiny stuff?

Man, like, I'm, like,
uh, freaking out.

My normal style, I draw lines
to give some dimensions to it.

In realism, you don't have
no outlines anywhere.

This is wild for me.

I was just worried
about finishing this one,

but I'm finished now.
I'm familiar with this.

[Ryan] Is that a little tack
holding it down?

Yeah, I was like,
"How can I stand out?"

[Ryan] Yeah, half of you guys

are going to be
in the bottom today,

probably on good tattoos.

Thanks for the positivity,
you guys.

Well, no.
Just a friendly reminder.

[chuckles] Oh, my God.

I'm going to nail this.

There is precisely
one hour left.

[Seth] Hey, guys,
remember when we all said

we were going
to be done in like a few hours?

Yo, I don't remember saying shit
about that.

[laughing]

-[Man 3] I love the red.
-[Kyra] Right?

[Man 3] It's like so subtle,
but it's so good.

I can't believe that half
of these artists are going

to have to be in
the bottom three this week

because I don't see
a single bad tattoo being done.

[DJ Tambe] This one's going
to be real hard.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, who's going
to make it to their destination?

Who's going to get lost
in the mail?

-You know what I mean?
-Send with a kiss.

You good, Luka?

-[Luka] No.
-[laughs]

[Matt] Here we go.

[Luka] Oh!

Five, four, three, two, one.

That's it. Time's up.

-No more ink.
-Yee-haw!

Done, buddy.

-That is micro.
-[Man 3] Sick.

[Woman] I can literally just
like pluck them off

and put them on a piece of mail.

[laughs]

[Woman 2] I absolutely love it.

-[Isnard] Yeah!
-[Woman 2] Yep. [chuckles]

Final five, here we come.

Did you see Isnard's?

From what I saw,
it wasn't looking realistic.

He went more illustrative.

So maybe it was a good strategy.

-[Matt] Yeah.
-[Luka] We'll see.

[surging industrial music]

[dramatic music]

Today, you had to show precision

with micro-realistic
postage stamps.

[exhales stressfully]

Let's see how you did.

All right. Here we go.

Matt.

[Matt] Far out, straight out
of the gate.

I like the edges of the stamps.

That perforation
and that realistic stamp edge

tells the story of it being
a stamp

without having to explain it
too much.

This portrait of this jaguar,
all these cool textures.

You pulled off this detail.

Tiny. It's really amazing.

The castle and the hills
on top are really nice.

I like the water.

[Ryan] I mean,
talk about precision.

You have actual little blocks
indicated in there.

These tattoos are awesome.

You fucking crushed.

Seth.

[tense music]

You had one of the hardest asks
doing all this meat.

You know,
you pulled it off successfully.

It reads as like, you know,
sausages and meat and cleaver.

[Ryan] The little wheels
of cheese,

I love the gray tones in them
to really make them look white,

bright, and pop.

But the flower could have been
a little punchier.

Some of the greens get
a little washy in areas

and doesn't have
that solid vibrancy.

One thing that I don't love
is the fold.

It doesn't look
realistic to me.

It kind of just
folds over completely.

It's a little exaggerated.
It loses that realistic feel.

Kyra.

[industrial music]

These remind me of old stamps.

The realism part
is the red stamp on top.

That is just like
the perfect little addition

with the little half of
the city's names on there.

The depiction of Egypt in
the bottom is super cool.

It's super successful.

These camels have shading
in them and textures.

I love the reflection of
the shadow of them walking.

It's just a great little photo.

The plane reads really well.

I do see that the top one's
a little skewed,

warped a little bit. What was--

I curved the whole stamp
at the top

because I thought it would be
fun and different.

[Nikko] It kind of takes away
from it a little bit.

[DJ Tambe] But you killed
these tiny details.

Super precise.
These are great tattoos.

Thank you.

Keahi.

[industrial music]

That little temple
is very, very impressive.

Cropping it and choosing

a really recognizable view
of this

was the smartest way to go,
and you crushed.

The top sunset is sick.

You nailed the tones in it
and the reflection.

It looks like a postcard.

[DJ Tambe] I love the tear.

Really tiny detail,
but it looks realistic.

But coming off of that tear,

the stamp gets
a little unrealistic.

They look like they're too close
to the skin tone.

[Ryan] Paper is white.

You have the white
in that little three cents.

So if you show white
in one area,

it makes the border
of the stamp look flat.

[Nikko] You hit precision
in the centers of them,

but, on the outside, they could
have been a little bit

more clean and just deliberate.

Isnard.

[suspensive music]

I love the color and the white
and the balance

of gray and everything
that you put in those borders.

It's awesome.
The landscape is great.

The trees and the reflection
are really, really lovely.

Pulling off this intricate
phone booth shows precision.

That's a lot of little details
to render that small.

I like the way the red repeats
itself from the phone box

to the stamp to the pin.

That little thumbtack
is crazy realistic,

even the little metallic stem
that goes in.

I personally think you hit
the ball on this one.

Solid, clean, colorful.

-You did a great job.
-Thank you, guys.

-Pushpin!
-[imitates light pistol fire]

-Luka.
-[industrial music]

You put in so many little tricks
to make the eye believe

that these are folded
and crumpled and torn,

which is really impressive.

I really love the mountain.

The color with the shadows

looks really cool
with the trees.

The top one, Mount Fuji,
I feel like I'm there.

It has that perfect lighting.

I love the perforation.

It has a really realistic look
to it,

like a stamp would be.

I guess if I'm being honest,
the safety pin just kind

of gives me the creeps
because it looks like it hurts.

Maybe that means
it's really good.

This is what it means.

[laughter]

The fact that I look at it
and keep going like, "Ah..."

[DJ Tambe] It does look like
there's a bump, right?

It looks like it's red, right?
It looks like it hurts.

-[Joel] Good job.
-Thank you very much, guys.

Judges, it's time to determine

who had the best tattoo
of the day.

I think Matt's
was pretty amazing.

The closer you get
to that Scottish castle,

the more you're like,
"Holy shit!"

Every single brick

is absolutely indicated,
and it's near perfect.

-[DJ Tambe] Yeah.
-Matt's a killer, man.

It definitely looks
more stylized

than realistic, though.

Luka hit micro-realism
in the folds and the glares

and the perforations
and the shadows.

My vote for tattoo of the day
goes to Luka.

-Thank you.
-My vote is for Matt.

This is a hard choice,

but my vote goes for Luka.

It's a little bit closer
to micro-realism.

That's two votes for Luka,
one vote for Matt.

Both super precise,
great tattoos.

Going back to the challenge,
micro-realistic.

My vote is for Luka.

Thank you very much.

The judges have decided the best
tattoo of the day goes to Luka.

[Matt] You got one
in the bag, buddy.

That means, this week, you will
join the judges' deliberation

to help decide
which three artists

to put up for elimination.

Matt's gone.

[laughter]

Everyone else can head back
to the lounge,

and we will call you back
when we have a decision.

[Keahi] Good job, bud.

[surging industrial music]

[Keahi] Everyone is so good
at this point.

It's only going to get closer.
It's only going to get harder.

I'm not ready to go home.

My wife is super strong.

Like, she's holding it down
for us.

My girls are pretty young.
I miss them.

I'm sure they miss me,
but it's like--

I knew you missed them.

I miss them so much,
but if I were to go home

and not accomplish everything
that I set out to accomplish,

I feel like I would
have wasted the time

that I'm away from them.

That's the whole reason
I'm here, to get this money,

to give them a better life.

It definitely reminds me
of my own dad.

My parents provided so much
for me,

and like, growing up,

the Asian stereotype around
tattooing, you know how it is.

Yeah, always kind of a toss-up
if we're going

to get our parents' backings.

When I said, "Hey, look,
I'm going to tattoo,"

-they actually supported me.
-Wow.

I want to prove to my parents
that I'm going to be okay,

that they didn't make a mistake
by trusting me.

Yeah.

[Kyra] That's why
I'm so competitive.

I want to prove to them
that I made it here,

but I also made it to the end.

-It's getting real, man.
-Yeah.

[rock music]

All right, so, today,
the artists had to do

micro-realistic postage stamps.

Luka, who would you put
in the bottom?

My brain goes straight away
to techniques and fundamentals.

Technically, Keahi maybe
was lacking a bit.

It's a bit light on the outside.

-I could see that, too.
-I see that.

In that top one, he's got

all this really punchy, nice,
bright color.

It makes the bottom
look really washy.

I just don't see
the confidence in Keahi's

on the outside of the stamp.

-[Joel] The outlines?
-Yeah, they just look too light.

I'm leaning towards Kyra.

The top stamp is skewed
in an entirely unrealistic way.

[Nikko] Inside, they're
really successful.

Really realistic
black and gray.

How come she didn't do that
on the outside?

Yeah, there's a big difference

between the borders
and the inside.

It's solid, though.

And I think it's a better tattoo
than Seth for the technique.

[DJ Tambe] The flower could
have been way more punched in.

Lacks tons of saturation.

The fold at the bottom kind
of killed the realism for me.

[DJ Tambe] Yeah.

There's something I can't place
that's missing.

I think we don't know
if it's stamps or photos.

[DJ Tambe] Yeah, I think
they could be postcards.

[Ryan] If you're not going to
make it look entirely realistic

with all of the textures,
and the rips, and the folds,

something has to indicate
that they're stamps.

It's very hard to try
and split hairs here.

[Ryan] Half of the competitors
are going to be in the bottom.

And all six tattoos are awesome.

All right, Luka,
why don't you go get them?

[tense music]

The judges have decided

that the three artists up
for elimination are...

Keahi.

Kyra.

Seth.

Fuck, I didn't see
that last one.

-I'm shocked.
-You fucking struck lucky, huh?

Somebody had to go, so...

[Isnard] Hey, guys, good luck.

[Matt] Good luck.

I have no idea what's going
to happen.

[dramatic rock music]

Today, you were being tested
on precision.

Yep.

Based on your work, one of you
will be packing your machines.

Good luck, fam.

Good luck, guys.

Keahi, the reason
you're on the bottom three

is because the outside border
wasn't readable,

didn't seem as confident
as the inside.

That outer border definitely got
away from me a bit.

I thought it would be kind
of weird to just pack white.

Just having, like, an outline
on the bottom

would have really helped
in just putting white

as, like, a beveled edge.

Realism, it's not something
that I do very often.

But I definitely put a lot

into the micro-realism portion
of it.

It's not bad tattoos, man.
Just missing those little parts.

Kyra, you're in the bottom today
because the choice to skew

the top stamp was a little off
when we're testing realism.

Maybe I was just trying to be
a little too creative,

especially when I should
have just stuck

to what I knew
as a realism artist.

You also outlined
the entire top stamp

and made it look like it has
an illustrative sort of effect.

I do stand by this piece.

I do think it'll stand the test
of time.

And if I was
to add a drop shadow,

I feel like I could make this
make sense.

Seth, you're in the bottom
because of your lack

of saturation
in that top stamp.

[Seth] I was
a little bit surprised.

Even though there was
some issues with the tattoo,

I don't think that this was
bad enough to send me home.

It's a hair
between you guys right now.

[Joel] Bottom three.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Judges, this is not going to be
an easy decision.

All three
of these are good tattoos.

Seth's reads
as the most realistic.

You obviously know
it's a 3D paper object

that's sitting on top of skin.

[DJ Tambe] I totally agree.

Looking at Kyra
and Keahi together,

the problem
is the outside border.

[Nikko] Keahi's, the bottom
outline on the top stamp,

it's not even consistent.
At least Kyra's looks confident.

[DJ Tambe] But it doesn't
look realistic.

[Ryan] Why would you skew
a rectangle

to make it have a shape
that it doesn't actually have?

[DJ Tambe] They don't look like
realistic stamps

stuck to the skin,

like you pulled them off
an envelope.

[Ryan] Keahi's has some of

the coolest
micro-realism tricks

that were done today.
The rip at the bottom.

The corner folds up
on the bottom.

Whereas Kyra tried to make
her tattoo unique.

It looks like the stencil

got fucked up
when it was placed on the arm.

Why would you do that?

[thrilling music]

My vote is for Kyra to go home.

My vote is Keahi.

He executed the colors
and the pictures

in the stamps really well.

But the borders of the stamps,
they get lost.

Keahi's decisions to lean

more into realism
hit the challenge more.

My vote's for Kyra to go home.

[Joel] That's one vote for Keahi
and two votes for Kyra.

Look, I'm at that point
where I'm splitting hairs.

My vote originally was going
to be for Keahi.

But I will agree
that that skewed part of Kyra's

makes me wonder
what's going on.

My vote

is for Kyra to go home.

[dramatic music]

[Joel] The judges have decided,

Kyra, you do not have what
it takes to be Ink Master.

[indistinct]

But, yeah, I mean,
I'm just happy

to have competed.

This was like
the challenge I wanted.

And it was so cool to have it
at this point in my career.

You're a beast.

You did some of the most amazing
tattoos in this competition.

But it only takes one challenge
to take some of the best out.

I wish you all the luck
in your career.

-Keep doing what you do.
-Thank you.

Please pack your machines
and close shop.

[Kyra] I learned a lot
during this competition.

I'm coming back
to Vancouver a stronger artist.

I mean, I'm six years in.

You don't want to see me
six years later.

Don't worry.
I got that big dog in me.

I still got it. [chuckles]

[Narrator] On the next episode
of Ink Master...

[DJ Tambe] Who wants
that finale spot that bad?

[Man 4] How's the pressure been
this season?

Pretty fucking rough.

This is the first time I feel
like I can go home.

[laughs]

There is one last thing
you should know.

-Didn't see this one coming.
-Holy shit.

There's no fucking way
that I'm going home.

[rock music]

[music]

[music]