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| The Wayne-lien. Courtesy Syfy. |
I think we can all agree that the fourth season of Face Off has introduced us to some amazingly talented individuals. The final four; Eric Fox (37), Anthony Kosar (26), Kris Kobzina (41), and Wayne Anderson (27), vied for the coveted position of being in the finale in this Defiance-themed episode.
Emerging from the minds that brought us Battlestar Galactica and Caprica, Defiance will premiere on Syfy this April 15 at 9 p.m. and is also a video game that launches on April 2. It takes place in the year 2046 in the town of Defiance (formerly St. Louis). After years of war, aliens and humans are forced to co-exist. Some species include Liberata, 99ers, Biomen, Sensoths, Bulges and Mutants. The Spotlight Challenge was for the artists to choose two creatures and imagine that they procreated. Their hybrid creation is the outcome of the union.
Here were the choices: Anthony (Liberata/Mutant); Kris (Bioman/Mutant); Eric (Sensoth/99er); and, Wayne (Liberata/Bioman).
After Kris, Wayne, and Anthony took a surprise trip to the Defiance set in Toronto for inspiration and a meeting with make-up artist, Allan Cooke, they headed to the Lab. Eric couldn’t go on the trip due to "family" reasons. Of course, this leaves viewers questioning why he couldn’t cross the border.
Lab Work
The first day of this huge and crucial challenge involved sketching out their designs and including elements they want their creatures to possess. Eric starts off on a bad foot with this challenge and is not thrilled with his concept. He seems worn down and is really missing his family, even though he does not want to let them down by failing at the challenge. He even described his mechanical Bigfoot creature as Harry and the Hendersons meets Robocop. That doesn’t sound that bad!
Michael Westmore’s walk-through mainly involved telling the guys that size really does matter in this challenge. He also told bummed out Eric that longer hair is the key for success in his creature. At the end of the day, Eric ends up feeling a little better about RoboMonkey.
The ten hours allotted on Day Two looked like a stressful race that involved finishing sculpts, cleaning out molds and lamenting about having to use poly foam instead of foam latex. Whatever any of that means, we’re pretty sure viewers weren’t too envious about what they were going through.
Anthony ended up in the best shape and ahead of the game while Wayne struggled with his molds and time management and ended up doing his paint job during Last Looks. Kris’s appliance ripped and he ended up in a panic; luckily, it all worked out for him. Eric’s confidence appears to be waning but he ends up producing a pretty cool looking final look.
Reveal
In addition to the regular judges (Ve, Neville and Glenn), guest judge tonight was producer and director of Defiance, Michael Nankin. All four looks were out of this world and when the judging ended, it left viewers wondering who would be eliminated. It was the least obvious elimination all season.
The judges described Wayne’s Bioman/Liberata hybrid as, pleasing to the eye, having an appealing sculpt, but a mediocre paint job. Eric's "Monkey Miner" was liked by Glenn and disturbed Nankin in a good way, but Ve hated the hair. Kris’s green-eyed, green-toothed, brawny Mutant/Bioman had a cool and scary vibe that Ve called "bitchin."
Anthony’s Mutant/Liberata hybrid was the top look, however, and was deemed the best combo of the two creatures. All of the judges thought this to be the most successful look and named Anthony the winner of this challenge. This win for Anthony also comes with the opportunity to shadow the special effects make-up department on Defiance. He was obviously thrilled to have this opportunity!
Unfortunately, it was Eric’s hybrid that sent him back home to his family. It was arguably the most heart-breaking elimination. The bond these guys developed was obvious and Eric’s goal to take care of and make his family proud, was inspiring. His tearful goodbye elicited this quote from Anthony, "You pushed us all to go farther."
Next Tuesday, March 26 at 9 p.m. ET, is the finale (in Las Vegas!) and will be broken down into two parts. "Living the Dream: Part 1" will have Anthony (26), Wayne (27), and Kris (41), creating a waterproof make-up that must withstand the rigors of the Le Reve: The Dream show at The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.