Original subtitles

[Narrator] Previously on Ink Master...

[Anthony] Today is not the day to leave the glass half empty.

[Pony] Don't you fucking drip on me.

[Narrator] In the flash challenge...

Oh, God, I have so much to go.

[Narrator] The Young Guns came out swinging.

[Woman] Lock it in.

That looks like a 5th grader did it.

[Ryan] James and Steph.

[DJ] Dare I say boring to me.

[Nikko] I kinda like the Young Guns.

This thing's looking at you like, "Come on in,"

and they slide down a pool of blood.

[Joel] The winner of the flash challenge

is the Young Guns.

We all have a common enemy in this competition.

[Narrator] In the elimination tattoo...

James and Anthony should be worried

'cause we're coming for them.

[Narrator] Face tattoos left nowhere to hide.

[Woman 3] Even shaving is getting it

to be red and inflamed.

[Anthony] Good tattoos go home now.

I'm just trying to make sure that I do the best good tattoo

[Jade] If I don't figure this out, I'm going home.

[Narrator] In the elimination,

Anthony, Cat, and Jade were the bottom three.

When I look at them, all three together,

I see a little bit more tricks in Cat's.

When I look at Anthony's,

I see some weight and aggression.

Jades, if it was just that mandala,

those feathers weren't there, totally different outcome.

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

[Narrator] Five artists remain,

but only one will earn a $250,000 prize

and the title of Ink Master.

[rock music]

Only one Young Gun left.

Sucks to have seen Jade leave.

I do actually wanna feel really, really happy

about making it this far and being the last Young Gun,

but today's just a little bit of an off day for me.

You deserve to be here.

Are you feeling guilt?

It's what postpartum depression looks like.

I don't think it's a surprise to anybody here, though,

that this is the last five standing.

-Thanks, Pony. -Honestly.

-I started in the bottom. -[Anthony] So did Pony.

[Pony] Same, I was...

[Anthony] So you're not the only one.

[Cat] How are you guys feeling?

Are you feeling confident being four OGs strong

or are you feeling intimidated by each other?

[James] I'm intimidated by everyone here.

But I'm also excited 'cause I love challenges.

This is what the game is about. Is it gonna hurt? Fuck, yeah.

But it's not gonna change your life

except for making us stronger.

[Stephanie] I feel like this is a true competition

because I think we're all strong in areas

and it's cool to be able to do this with you guys.

Now the competition has started.

[dramatic music]

Damn. Why are there ten?

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

[Joel] Welcome. We started this competition

with 16 artists.

And now only five of you remain.

Just the awkward five.

You now have a one in five chance

at winning $250,000

and the title of Ink Master.

So close.

But the fight to the finish is going to be a brutal one.

Only three of you will secure your spot

in the finale.

And two of you will be eliminated.

Crazy,

This is a double elimination.

Here we go.

Wish you guys luck. You're gonna need it.

Being an Ink Master is all about versatility,

not matter how long you've been tattooing.

Yeah.

You must be able to tattoo any style

any day.

To earn your spot in the finale,

you must create the ultimate

mashup tattoo.

I love mixing styles.

I'm actually really excited.

Mashups is a great way to show versatility.

You get to do two different kind of styles

and make them work.

It can go really right,

but it can also go really wrong.

Today, your fate is completely up to the skulls.

Luck of the draw.

On the table are 10 skulls

with 10 different styles split into two separate groups.

Each of you must pick a skull from each group

to determine the two completely different styles

you must incorporate into one cohesive tattoo.

Zoinks.

[Stephanie] This challenge is wild.

We're literally leaving it up to chance

what two styles we're gonna get.

Let's see where fate takes us.

There is one more thing you should know.

Come on.

[Joel] Your mashup tattoos must speak for themselves

because the judges will score these tattoos

without knowing which artist tattooed which mashup.

-Even Steven. -Yep.

[Tambe] You got some wacky shit up there.

It's gonna be difficult.

And most important thing with these mashups

is how to utilize these two completely different styles

to give one overall feeling.

One by one, please pick one skull

from each group to determine your mashup tattoo.

And, remember, do not show the judges.

The picking order has been randomly assigned.

Anxiety through the roof right now.

Stephanie, you're up first.

Ooh.

Literally, the one style I didn't want to get.

I love being creative.

I can't do that with American traditional.

My mind is blank.

Seems kinda happy and sad.

That was a happy-sad.

I just don't know how to be super creative

with these two styles.

I wanna know.

Not giving anything away.

Anthony, you're up next.

Sweaty palms.

Don't fuck it up.

Sweet.

Neo traditional, clear color, full of lines.

That's my jam.

Womp, womp, womp.

Fine line tattooing, it's soft, it's delicate.

Cool. [laughter]

Guess I'll take it.

It's not my jam, but that's my jam today.

James, choose your fate.

Swing and a miss.

It's not a good start.

Instead of one turd, I got a turd pile.

[whimpering] [laughter]

[James] Don't like watercolor. It's not in my wheelhouse.

I don't know how it looks.

I don't know how to apply it.

I don't, don't, don't.

Literally, worst-case scenario.

Next up, Pony.

All right, take this bad boy.

Cool.

I can work with that.

It's like two sides of the same coin.

Cool.

New school is all about breaking art conventions.

And surrealism is about bending reality,

so how do you even tell those two apart?

[Joel] And, finally, Cat.

Please pick your skulls.

[Man] Tough choice.

I wanted that one.

That feels so much better,

that I know Japanese is in my hands

and not anywhere near the Tex guys.

I just got the two best styles.

I'll take it.

"I suck." "No, you suck more."

"I suck."

"It's okay. Let's merge."

Sorry, I'm losing my mind right now.

The mashups are set.

You will have six hours to show us what you're made of

and to secure a spot in the top three.

Two of you will be packing your machines.

Nice to know you guys.

Get to work on your designs

and we'll send in your canvases.

Good luck.

This challenge is a doozy.

I can't imagine a harder challenge

than mashing up two styles that you didn't choose.

[indistinct chatter]

[Stephanie] All right, let's hear it.

-[Anthony] What you got? -We saw that reaction.

-I have watercolor. -I knew it.

-Bio-mech watercolor. -Yeah, isn't that cool?

You bet ya.

Bio-mech watercolor?

I thought I had the worst.

-No, I have the worst. -Yes, you do.

These artists are the top five in this entire competition.

If anyone could take this challenge on,

it should be them.

Gotta wrap my head around this.

For biomechanical and watercolor,

it's a dead zone.

I don't think no one has ever tattooed these styles together

in the history of tattooing.

Doesn't make sense working these together.

Biomechanical is robotic organic flowing matter

and watercolor is just mimicking watercolor paintings.

This is a lot to put in one tattoo, man.

If this tattoo is supposed to get me to the finale,

I could be screwed.

[dramatic music]

-Hi, I'm your human canvas. -I'm Stephanie.

So today we are mixing Japanese and realism.

[Man] That sounds good.

This is what we got, man.

A biomech water with a mermaid in there

and this is gonna be watercolor.

-Sounds good. -Sound good?

Artists, you have six hours

to earn your spot in the finale.

And your time starts now.

All right, just wanna try this on here, man, okay?

These mashup tattoos are extremely difficult.

These artists have to combine two styles

that normally don't go together

and make a tattoo that looks like one design.

I'm excited.

I think the judges will appreciate my ingenuity

with geometrics.

And this tattoo's gotta be badass.

This is a double elimination.

The fun and games are over.

Now it's time to tattoo your ass off

and show us why you should be in that finale.

-Let the fun begin. -[Man] All right, we got this.

My mashup involves neo traditional

and black-and-gray fine line.

Fine line, I'm gonna apply into the flowers

just to help frame it out.

The fine line stuff is pretty soft.

Fine line tattooing, that's complete opposite thinking

of how I put my own tattoos on skin.

It's delicate, soft, it's hardly in there.

But I'm super glad Stephanie, Cat, or even Pony

didn't get fine line

because they do a lot of delicate tattooing.

I took away one of their strengths.

But I've gotta make this one of my strengths.

Artists, there are five hours left.

[Cat] My tattoo is a dragon head

that's half Japanese and half black-and-gray realism.

What's difficult about this is that

dragons are not real.

This light and these shadows

and this subject matter doesn't exist,

so I have to create it and make it look realistic.

[Man] What made you leave California?

[Cat] Settling down,

so now I have a baby.

I am going through postpartum depression right now.

I feel really guilty. I'm missing milestones.

I'm missing a lot by being here.

It's all gonna be worth it, though.

We are so close.

Now I need to pull out all the stops

and try to make this happen.

[Woman] Are there any rules for new school?

It's the little more loose style.

And surrealism is like realistic

but with unrealistic features.

I'm going to make this skull and crossbones,

and rip it out of my sketchbook,

and make it look like it's actually sitting

on my canvas' leg.

If I don't nail these shadows

and put them right where they belong,

it's going to ruin the entire illusion.

There are three hours.

My strong suit is my color abilities.

So I want to do a tattoo

that has a really cool colorful glow.

What glows in American traditional?

A lantern.

This one's very time-consuming, all those little shapes.

Inside the lantern,

I'm tattooing the geometric design negative

so there's a glowing color on the inside.

Blue or yellow are the only two colors

that I keep going back and forth with

for the flowers.

We are so close to the finale.

This is the one tattoo that's gonna guarantee I make it.

I think I'm gonna do them blue.

Those are little sploosh splashes.

[James] My tattoo is a mermaid

painted in watercolor

with biomechanical finger waves around it.

How many watercolor tattoos have you ever done?

I can't believe how fucked I am right now.

This is the tattoo that's supposed

to get me to the finale?

But at least I could pull off things that I'm confident in

which is great composition, good shading,

solid coloring, and a pretty face.

There is one hour remaining.

[rock music]

Do you know how many minutes we have?

[Man] It looks like one.

Five, four, three, two, one.

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

That's gonna do it.

[Woman] Oh, my gosh.

-I'm fucking stoked. -[Woman] I love it.

Check it out, man.

[Man] That looks awesome.

You didn't notice James was really struggling

during his design time.

That's funny, you wake up so stoked.

No, it's gonna be a great day.

Biomech watercolor. [James laughing]

I think the watercolor threw him off a little bit.

We'll see how things go.

But two people are going home,

so it's even a little more nerve-wracking.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

Well, this should be fun.

[Cat] I'm pretty nervous.

That challenge was definitely weird.

There were a couple things that I was hoping I wouldn't get.

Like biomech watercolor would've been insane.

I'd like to say it's my kind of watercolor.

-[Pony] Here we go. -Bring it on.

Yesterday, the artists

had to mix two completely different and random styles

to create the ultimate mashup tattoo.

We have no idea which artist did which mashup tattoo

or even which two styles they had to mash up.

Three spots in the finale are on the line.

It's kinda sweaty.

[Joel] Artists, there's one more thing you should know.

Here we go again.

It's one thing to be versatile.

But to be Ink Master, you must be

the most versatile artist in the room.

To prove you deserve a spot in the finale,

you must create

a second mashup tattoo.

-God! -What the fuck?

[Joel] In the same two styles

and the same subject

that another artist tattooed yesterday.

Holy shit.

Are we fucking tattooing today?

[Joel] Yesterday, the skulls handed you your style.

Today, you get to choose.

Give me Steph's, give me Steph's.

Long as I don't have to do the same one, I'm happy.

Once again, your tattoo must speak for itself

because it will be critiqued and scored

by the judges without knowing who created which tattoo.

So it's a blind critique then.

Based on both the tattoo you did yesterday

and the tattoo you do today,

two of you will be packing your machines.

Same.

Start designing and we'll send in your canvases.

-Good luck. -Wild.

They're all really fucking good.

[Stephanie] Anthony's is really cool.

[Pony] It's neo traditional, you killed that fox.

[Stephanie] I can't compete with that.

I kinda wanna try James'

just so that I'm not playing it safe.

I have a really good idea for what you did.

The biomech watercolor is the most challenging

and I think it's gonna be able to showcase adaptability

and creativity the most.

I think so. I guess I'm choosing James'.

I'm choosing James'.

[Cat] I can't believe we're offering ourselves

to do watercolor biomech.

Nobody wants to do a cool piece of paper?

[contestants laughing]

Fuck, if you just didn't do a realistic dragon.

'Cause dragons aren't realistic.

I'm gonna do the fucking dragon.

It's not fucking real.

Got it.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna get to it

-and start designing. -Same.

You bet your ass I'm gonna do a dragon.

I gotta try to find a real picture of a statue.

-[Anthony] Yeah. -There's your realism.

Fucking clever fuck.

Redemption time.

Now it's time to blow some minds and kick some ass.

[dramatic music]

-[Woman] I'm your human canvas. -I'm James.

We're working on a traditional lantern

with geometric shapes.

Okay, all right.

Artists, it's time to out-tattoo

one of your competitors

with a second mashup tattoo.

You have six hours to prove you deserve a spot

in the finale, and your time starts now.

[imitates mariachi trumpet]

This elimination tattoo is yet again another mashup,

but this time, the artist gets to choose

who's mashup they wanna tattoo

and out-tattoo.

I just realized I'm using the exact same color palette

that James did.

You're getting directly compared to another artist,

that could ultimately knock you out of the finale.

[Cat] I'm gonna blend these grips down.

This is where strategy comes into play.

You could pick something

you're super comfortable with at home

that you could really shine on,

our you could outdo somebody you think didn't do the best.

I like that. That looks pretty solid.

[Tambe] This is where your heart starts pounding.

You're sweating.

You forget everything you know about tattooing

'cause you just wanna make it to that finale.

All right, all right, here we go.

The competition is at a point

where it is fucking pretty tight.

Everyone's been at the bottom once.

And then everyone's got a tattoo of the day.

But I think versatility goes a lot longer.

I'm choosing Pony's mashup

because I think Pony forgot the surrealism aspect of it.

He just did the realism.

[Pony] The little bone is crazy.

Well, that big bone, I should say.

[Anthony] I'm going to do the skull and bones

in a very exaggerated style

but also slowly dissolving and dissipating

into butterflies.

The surrealism is dreamy.

It doesn't really make sense.

[Pony] You do know what you're doing.

[Anthony] I'm fucking trying.

Thanks, Pony, for choosing skull and crossbones

because I get to fucking crush you

with something I'm stoked on.

[Man] What's your favorite style to do?

[Pony] Usually, black and gray realism,

but I like bouncing around.

I don't like to just do the same thing over and over.

I'm gonna play it on a safer side

because I know I can pull off American traditional

and geometric.

Traditional is great

because you really hone in your skills, your foundations.

After seeing Stephanie's lantern,

I felt like I could make that thing glow a lot more.

[Stephanie] You've done more traditional tattoos.

[Pony] For real, right?

This tattoo is gonna remove any doubt from the judges

that I am the most technically sound tattooer

in the room.

You have four hours remaining.

[James] My spot in the finale is not guaranteed yet

especially because of my biomechanical

watercolor mashup tattoo that I did yesterday.

I wanna see your dragon.

[James] Just trying to keep up with you young kids.

I'm not gonna play it safe with just a face.

I'm gonna do more of the body of the dragon,

better composition,

and a way better realistic wind in the background.

This tattoo is my last chance.

There are two hours left.

A little watercolor biomech.

We're reinventing the wheel again.

You can't reinvent it twice.

Apparently, you can

'cause I'm doing a different line and shapes.

I am not a biomechanical expert.

I've done a lot of watercolor before,

but I know I can do a better

biomechanical watercolor lady face than James.

And I'm intrigued by it, honestly.

If I don't choose something really difficult this time,

it's gonna be looked at like a copout.

You show me how it's done, right?

[indistinct]

Never thought I'd be saying that like,

"I'm doing biomech watercolor today."

Why would anyone in their right mind

pick the mashup of biomechanical and watercolor

when there's other better options?

I'm washing some opaque-y colors over the top of it.

-[James] Pretty. -Thanks, bye.

James chose to do a lady face in his tattoo,

so I'm gonna tattoo a lady's face

turning into a robot.

I feel like today hit the challenge

and it looks really freaking cool.

James got the hardest ask

and I feel like I can tattoo it stronger than he did.

And today's my son's birthday. I'm missing it.

[Woman] Oh, how old is he?

Three.

The mom guilt is feeling more real than ever.

The only thing that's making me feel comforted in this situation

is knowing that, when he gets older,

he's gonna look back and be rooting for me.

Five, four, three, two, one.

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

-Sweet. You wanna take a peek? -Sure.

[imitates whip] Oh, yeah.

Holy shit, dude. Is that a cool dragon?

[Woman] He's a cool dragon.

Oh, my God. I love the colors.

Never thought I'd be attempting biomechanical watercolor,

but here we are.

I think we all tattooed watercolor differently.

But you guys did do less biomechanical.

Both of Cat's pieces were aesthetically pleasing.

And I think one of James' pieces was not aesthetically pleasing.

So that makes me feel like he might be in the bottom.

[James] Steph's feeling pretty confident.

-[Cat] Yeah, she is. -Reality check's coming.

[dramatic music]

[dramatic music]

Ready to rip off this Band-Aid?

We've got two tattoos each,

so it's gonna be a lot of ripping.

-Here we go. -Buckle up.

[Joel] So the artists had to prove their versatility

with not one but two mashup tattoos.

Round one, the artists had to pick skulls

to determine the styles they had to mash up.

Rip that Band-Aid off, please.

Round two, the artists had to pick a mashup

they wanted to tattoo from round one.

Based on these tattoos,

three artists are going to the finale.

It all comes down to this.

[Joel] Let's bring up the first tattoo.

Oh. Here we go. That's me.

[Ryan] I love how both individual styles

are absolutely distinct.

[Tambe] You see the realism and Japanese in it.

[Nikko] That color's super solid, super saturated.

Those lines are super clean.

It's a crispy color tattoo.

That realism's dope too.

[Tambe] This is amazing realism.

It has great three-dimension

and really beautiful textures in it.

This artist released the dragon within themself.

-Yeah. -[Man] This is sick.

Oh, my gosh. I was seriously so loving this one.

[Joel] Let's see the next mashup.

That's mine.

[Joel] This artist drew American traditional

and geometric.

I like the geometric inside the lantern

and I like the negative flame in there.

[Nikko] The lantern color is really cool.

Inside, it almost reminds me of stained glass.

[Ryan] But I don't like the blue flowers.

It's the wrong color.

It's busy and complicated.

[Joel] That being said,

they did it American traditional style to a T.

I agree. I should've just kept it simple

and done traditional flowers.

Hopefully, it'll get me to the finale.

[Joel] Let's see the next mashup.

There's my golden jewel.

[Joel] This artist picked biomechanical and watercolor.

-What a weird combo. -[Nikko] Really difficult.

[Joel] This tattoo looks beautiful.

And I definitely see watercolor.

I think it's a gorgeous tattoo.

[Nikko] I really like the biomechanical side.

These bug-like robotic waves turned metal.

And then I like that the watercolor woman

is holding onto one of them

and interacting with these bug-like things.

Creates this world.

That was the smartest part about this tattoo

because there's interaction between the styles.

[James grunts]

Well, James, gotta hand it to you.

First time watercolor, you're welcome.

That went way better than I thought.

[Joel] Let's see the next tattoo.

Oh, here we go. That's mine.

[Joel] Neo traditional and fine line black-and-gray.

Where's the fine line black-and-gray?

[Joel] You don't think those flowers

look like fine line black-and-gray?

[Nikko] I think they're fine line.

Those lines are finer

than the ones around the fox.

[Tambe] Fox is beautiful.

[Ryan] This fox is beautiful.

It's elegant. It has so much flow.

Even the pose and the position of the fox.

It's a big, beautiful tattoo.

-The fox is so nice. -Thanks.

It's no watercolor.

[Joel] Moving on.

That's mine.

[Joel] This artist chose new school and surrealism.

New school would be the skull.

[Ryan] What's the surrealism aspect of it?

I almost feel like this tattoo

hits more realism than surrealism

because of the shadows and the way they fall.

They look so realistic.

Even if you look at how all the paper

is ripped on all of the edges.

[Tambe] Like fuzzy.

[Nikko] Cool, yeah, it has a different texture.

-[Ryan] I love the paper. -[Nikko] Those are cool tricks.

[James] It's cool paper, man.

That's a cool, cool trick.

I'm fucking pumped about it.

[Joel] So that was round one.

Now we move on to round two.

In round two, the artist could pick

any tattoo that wasn't their own.

Same styles, and same subject.

Round one, their fate was all determined.

Round two, they get to choose their own fate.

[Joel] Yeah. All right, let's bring up the first tattoo.

Okay. Mine.

[Joel] This looks like it's the new school surrealism.

It's crazy how the butterflies are breaking off the skull

which is a really cool surrealistic idea.

Definitely exaggerated proportions on the skull.

The color put in super solid.

It's a cool mix.

You killed me on that one.

No, lie.

[Joel] Let's look at this side-by-side

with the round one tattoo.

[Tambe] The second one, both styles

are really definitive.

The first one, it's hard figuring out

how surreal it really is.

I mean, that tattoo is so badass, though.

That's what all our guts feel like.

Just an explosion of butterflies.

Yeah.

[Joel] All right, let's look at the next round two mashup.

[Nikko] This piece is sick.

Super smooth black-and-gray realism

on that back dragon.

Foreground really clean.

That teal is so saturated.

And this front dragon

just has so much emotion to it

and it's different and modern.

The dragon's real wonky and cool.

I love the spine. Scales are sick.

I love the belly. It's got a lot of personality.

It tells a story to me in a really cool way.

[Nikko] The illustration is just cool to look at.

[Joel] Let's look at it

up against the other Japanese realism tattoo.

[Ryan] Two completely different styles

when it comes to the illustration,

but these are pretty neck-and-neck.

[Tambe] These are two badass artists right here, man.

[Cat] Well, here I am

with my tattoos head-to-head against James, twice.

[Joel] All right, let's look at the next round two mashup.

That's me. Here we go.

[Nikko] Did anyone think we'd see

more than one watercolor biomechanical mashup?

-Definitely not. -I definitely did not.

[Tambe] It's a cool illustration.

The chest panel on it, got that bio-y feel.

I do see the watercolor in the face.

[Ryan] This absolutely hits both styles.

[Nikko] I just don't really understand the background.

I'm picturing this tattoo without the background.

Afterthought.

[Ryan] It doesn't look watercolor or bio

and I feel like it takes away from both of those styles.

At least he said I hit the two-step.

[Joel] Let's look at the next tattoo.

Is this another bio watercolor?

[Joel] The styles don't scream as loudly at me.

It's not as obvious to me.

Maybe it's the face of a futuristic robot lady.

-This is a gorgeous tattoo. -Yeah.

[Ryan] From the highlight under the eyebrow,

how it dips into the shadow,

and then gets lighter again

as the eye rolls out.

And I do like the circuit board feeling of it

to make it feel digital.

[Joel] Let's take a look at all three.

[Nikko] The first one is blatantly those two styles.

The middle is a great design,

but I have to search for the styles I'm looking for.

And the last one, I like the design the most.

[Ryan] This tattoo is incredible.

[Joel] But is it a mashup?

[Ryan] Does it hit those styles?

At least I did something that I love

and I feel like represents me as an artist.

Just looking at all three of these

makes me giggle.

It's so different.

[Joel] So let's take a look at the last mashup tattoo.

That's mine.

[Joel] Someone chose the lantern.

[Nikko] I love the gold. It's got a lot of tricks.

And light source, which is really difficult in traditional.

I like how they did fireflies with no geometric in them.

[Ryan] The geometric is in multiple spots,

but it's definitely more balanced.

[Joel] Let's look at it side-by-side

with the other lantern from round one.

[Ryan] They both hit American traditional.

They both hit geometric.

[Nikko] I do think the second artist

edged up the first artist

by taking it to that next level.

[Anthony] There you go, Pony.

They had me down in the dirt, ready to be buried,

and then they're like, "This fucking lantern's sick."

All right, that's it. We have to score

each one of these tattoos individually.

[Tambe] This is tough 'cause they all crushed it.

[Joel] Based on these tattoos and their scores,

three artists are going to the finale.

Two artists will be going home.

Can we get it over with already?

Artists, we'll call you in

when the rankings have been tallied.

It's out of our hands now.

One of us, if not both of us, are going to the finale.

Well, hopefully.

[James] After the watercolor tattoo,

I did feel a little defeated,

but it's still not over,

and, hopefully, I get a chance.

[Stephanie] I didn't want it to be so close

that I wasn't sure if I was gonna make it to the finale.

If I make it, it's just barely.

-We came so far. -[Stephanie] I know.

We've got one more step.

For my own validation, I want to win this.

I've been tattooing for 14 years

and I want to know

that everything that I've poured into this

-is something. -[Pony] It's paying off.

In the beginning, my mom, she was like,

"I just hope it's a phase you're gonna grow out of."

Be an engineer. Do anything but tattoo.

[Pony] Yeah, that's funny. My mom thought the same thing.

When I got my first tattoo at 14,

then I told her that's what I wanted to do.

She just did not want me to tattoo

and now she's one of my biggest fans.

And I think this will make them even more proud.

My mom is going paycheck to paycheck.

She's just trying to make ends meet.

[Stephanie] So this would make a difference,

a huge difference, for your mom

if you were able to win this.

Yep.

We both have a lot riding on this competition.

[dramatic music]

This week, you had to prove your versatility

by tattooing not one

but two completely different mashup tattoos.

That was a wild one.

Based only on your work,

each of your tattoos have been scored by the judges.

The combined scores of both of your tattoos

will determine your rankings.

The three artists with the highest rankings

will secure a spot in the finale.

Are you guys ready to find out the results?

-Yep. -Let's go.

I don't know if I'm ready.

Yeah, we're in the same boat.

Please reveal the highest-ranked tattoos.

Yeah, of course.

Those are your tattoos, James, I take it?

These are mine, yeah, I'm stoked.

[Joel] Congratulations, James.

You secured your spot in the finale.

It's been a long ride, but it's worth it, man.

Just the adrenaline that's pumping through me right now,

it's insane. [indistinct]

Both of these are killer tattoos.

[James] Right on.

Please reveal the second-highest ranked tattoos.

Fucking hell, that's...

-Wow. -These tattoos are sick, dude.

[Anthony] This is wild.

I'm just stoked I get to be in the finale with my father.

So that's pretty fucking rad.

First time in Ink Master history

father, son competing against each other.

I treat him like an equal, so I'm super happy.

The wife said, "Just don't fight."

We're still family after this.

'Cause we're gonna fight.

[Joel] Congratulations, Anthony.

You have secured your spot in the finale.

Thanks, guys.

Three artists remain, but there is only one spot

left in the finale.

Please reveal the lowest-ranked mashup tattoos.

That artist will be eliminated.

[dramatic music]

Not surprised.

Pony, you do not have what it takes

to be Ink Master.

I knew it was my time.

This competition is crazy harder than I thought it was gonna be.

It's been a blast.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.

You did a bunch of badass,

solid, clean fucking rad tattoos.

You are a master of your craft.

Right on. Thank you.

Please pack your machines and close shop.

[Pony] It's a bummer that I didn't make it to the finale

but thrilled that I made it this far.

Being forced out of your comfort zone,

doing tattoos that you normally don't do,

you get to test yourself.

I think I passed this test with flying colors.

I'm definitely more proud of myself now

than I was before coming into this competition.

[Joel] Stephanie and Cat.

Based on your work,

one of you will be competing

in the finale.

One of you will be packing your machines.

Please reveal the third highest-ranked tattoos.

That artist will secure the last spot in the finale.

Whose tattoos are these?

Those are mine.

Cat, congratulations, you have secured the last spot

in the finale.

Good job.

That means, Stephanie, you do not have what it takes

to be Ink Master.

I definitely pushed myself as hard as I could

and took on the hardest ask.

I really am proud of what I came up with.

I'm bummed it didn't make the cut.

[Ryan] I think that's the best thing

that can happen in this competition:

going out on a tattoo

that you actually feel strongly about,

and you should feel super strong

about both of these tattoos.

This competition has changed the way

I'm gonna approach tattooing forever.

So I'm so grateful.

You're really pushing your boundaries

and I think you should be really proud of yourself.

Stephanie, please pack your machines

and close shop.

Thank you, guys.

I'm feeling crushed.

I thought what I did was enough

to get me to the finale.

But I learned so much doing this competition.

I truly am so proud of myself for what I created here,

and I can't wait for the world to see what I can do next.

James, Anthony, and Cat, congratulations.

You are headed to the finale.

Now it's on for real.

Here we go.

But only one of you will earn $250,000

and the title of Ink Master.

Pull out all my tricks on this one.

Head back to the lounge.

-Whoo! -We're here!

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Anthony] Holy shit, that was...

That was intense.

Time just stood still.

My heart was fucking beating out of my face.

I don't know if anybody could've guessed

that a Young Gun would be in the finale.

You got lucky.

Still representing. Getting lucky each week.

[James] I feel like I can finally breathe,

but I know it's more shit coming,

so I don't know how excited I should be,

but, yeah, this is pretty cool.

Oh, man, time to take out your whole family.

Oh, yeah, okay.

Already being cocky.

Manifest, manifest.

[rock music]

Congratulations. The three of you

have earned your spot in the finale.

Two OGs.

-I'm down. -[Joel] And one Young Gun.

You too.

But only one of you will walk away

with $250,000 and the title of Ink Master.

Wish you guys luck. You gonna need it.

To prove you deserve the title,

you must now face a brutal test

of skill and endurance.

What does that mean?

Sounds exhausting.

[Joel] You must create

a 24-hour backpiece.

Holy fuck.

In two back-to-back 12-hour sessions.

That's brutal.

Twelve hours of tattooing on day one

and 12 hours of tattooing on day 2.

Have you ever done that before, Cat?

Yeah. It's not fun.

I've never done it.

You can tattoo any subject you want

in any style you want.

Sweet.

[Nikko] Twelve hours two days in a row

takes a titan.

So this should be the best tattoo

that you've created all season.

Come into this thing not just with a strong design,

but with a strong game plan.

[Nikko] This is your opportunity to shine

like the amazing artists and stars you are.

There is one more thing you should know.

-There it is. -Bring it on.

Being an Ink Master is about

more than just proving your strengths.

It's about proving that you can overcome

your weaknesses.

Better not be a watercolor thing.

For your second master canvas...

What?

You will have 12 hours

to create a tattoo on the leg.

We already have to do a 24-hour back piece.

This is 36 hours of tattooing.

That's insane.

And the opposing team

gets to call the style and the subject

that you must tattoo.

Shit.

-Bring it on. -Cat.

The remaining Young Gun,

what style and subject must James tattoo

for his 12-hour leg tattoo?

How mean do I wanna be?

Black and gray photorealistic lion.

Horseshit.

You get to do your favorite thing in the world.

Tracing.

Black and gray lions? Yeah. Realistic? Yes.

Photorealistic? This is where the wheels might fall off.

All right, OGs,

take a moment to discuss

what style and subject Cat must tattoo.

[Anthony] Cat, you've proven that you can do a lot of thing,

but you still got a weakness in there somewhere

that we gotta figure out.

Yeah, all right.

Hopefully, you're fucking ready 'cause we're coming for you.

OGs, what style and subject must Cat tattoo?

American traditional.

And the subject is gonna be

a lion.

This will be an interesting one.

It's a lot harder to be really impressive

with American traditional.

They're supposed to be straightforward tattoos

that are super simple.

I'm not known for super simple.

And, finally, Cat, what style and subject

must Anthony tattoo?

How about they do the same thing,

photorealistic lion, black-and-gray.

Sweet.

That dog pusher was my first-ever

true realism tattoo.

Obviously, she knows that,

but I have to make this a $250,000 lion.

The second master canvas tattoos have been set.

Two master canvases, 36 hours of tattooing,

only one Ink Master.

Now is the time to pull out all the stops

and blow us away.

Here we go.

Start working on your designs

and we'll see you at the finale.

-Psyche. -Good luck.

Two more people are just in my way.

One of them's James and the other one's Cat.

It's fucking go time.

Anthony is one of the toughest competitors

in this competition.

He may be my son,

but if I have to beat him to win the title,

so be it.

I was scared to even apply a tattoo

when I first got here

and now I'm going against

the two people in this competition

that everybody has been intimidated by.

I need to pull out all the stops

and try to make this happen.

I think this finale is gonna be epic.

I can't wait for this back piece.

I get to prove actually

what an Anthony Tex tattoo looks like.

I thought they just all look like James Tex tattoos.

Sorry, Cat, but I think you used up all your nine lives.

I draw, too. You're not the only ones.

Let's get out of here.

What do you guys got in those bags, just hopes and dreams?

[James] I hope you guys shit the bed.

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

I'm competing against some titans right now.

They're father, son, so I'm up against the family.

So much is on the line. This is what I came here for.

[James] This is the time to show every trick I have

and leave it all in the skin.

It all comes down to this.

[music]

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