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| All photos courtesy Syfy. |
Evan's won two in a row and Kevon was eliminated, saving us from having to type his stupid name again. Let's do this.
Foundation Challenge! Using weapons as an inspiration, create an indigenous warrior character make-up to reflect that weapon. The guest judge for this challenge is Robin Matthews who won an Oscar for her minimalist makeups in Dallas Buyer's Club. Her advice? Apply the make-up to the entire upper body to sell it without chest pieces, highlighting scars and ritual paint. You've got two hours and winner gets immunity in the next Spotlight Challenge. Go!
It's an interesting challenge but borders on cultural insensitivity with the theme and with only two hours allotted, the risk of caricature is high.
Top Looks
Meg
Scott
Winner
Scott
Spotlight Challenge
The artists walk into an old-timey freak show. Nora says they're 'stoked' but I'm pretty sure that's not the word she was looking for. They will be taking a sideshow act and creating a fantastical character that would have actually 'wowed' the audiences back then but, you know, now seeing as how we're all reluctant to suspend our disbelief.
Nora - Lobster Larry struggling withe concept, Start over
Meg - Inside-Out Oscar
Jordan - Elephant Amy
Stevie - Icicle Irma
Ben - Human Peacock, The Presenter of the Show
Evan - Moon Girl
Scott - Twisted Tom
Of course we lost our satellite signal at this point but I imagine the following transpired: Evan struggled for an idea, Scott was competent and confident, Meg flailed around, Jordan jumped right into fabrication, Nora was momentarily stymied before getting her feet under her, Stevie's confidence wavered and Ben's newfound focus gave him immediate ideas.
Satellite's back and so is Mr. Westmore! He gives the usual good advice and they all vow to follow it. Scott as usual is ahead on molding and it's really nice to see him taking full advantage of his immunity to go big and bold. Evan is super lost and discouraged, also as usual. He decides to start over and we all shrug uncomfortably. Meg is not the last one in the mold room but because she can't catch a break, her mold is stuck. Scott helps her out, proving the point that "Face Off" is the best reality competition out there as no one wants to win because someone else failed. Also, paying it forward. Not helping is akin to swinging away on a 3-0 fastball: you can do it but it's a total dick move.
Application Phase
It's the weekly Running of the Artists. Ben and Evan both end up with mangled face pieces but only one despairs. I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Paint like the wind fellas. Meg needs a killer paint job so naturally goes for magenta. Nora's face piece goes on smooth but with the hand pieces, she might not get to the detail she wants. Face piece issues aside, Ben's feeling really good about his color palette and the feathered collar. Stevie's model is lacking any icicles and she's got a lot to do in Last Looks.
Last Looks
Time to get your paint on, gang! I'm actually always amazed at how much they get accomplished in the final hour.
Reveal Stage
Scott - The love child of Sloth and Chucky
Nora - A French greaser lobster
Ben - If Odo was a Vegas showgirl
Stevie - Frozen 2 1/2 - Elsa needs an exorcism.
Jordan - A penile probiscous is a bold choice.
Meg - Gorilla Grodd is aware that liver is to be eaten, not worn, right?
Evan - Ellie May Clampett on a bender.
Judges like Ben and Nora's but Glenn is not a fan of Meg's and Evan is pretty much screwed.
Safe
Scott, Jordan, Stevie
Top Looks
Nora - The judged liked her background story and she had a clean application with good forms.
Ben - Neville really liked the craftsmanship and the balance and profile. His creation was humanoid and sold the fantastical, nailing the nuance of the challenge.
Bottom looks
Meg - The face more closely resembled a monkey without skin, not inside out. There was too much going on in the makeup *coughmagentacough* and a host of sculptural problems. She's been in the bottom looks too often so this is probably the end of the line for her.
Evan - He tries to sell the story but alas, there is no beauty in this grotesque. Evan owns his failure and cries and we all drink our drinks.
Winner
Ben
Eliminated
Meg
McKenzie was not overwhelmed with grief but the judges were encouraging so she'll have career success in the makeup industry.
The wheat has been separated from the chaff now so it's time to bring the 'A' game each challenge. Scott has been very consistent and Nora seems to be peaking at the right time. The pressure is on for the remaining six contestants in next week's evolution challenge 'Beyond The Expanse' at 9 p.m. ET only on Syfy.