Ep 1. The Ink Will Speak For Itself

After a long wait, Ink Master is back with its 12th season, and it’s not taking it slow. In the first episode, named “The Ink Will Speak for Itself”, there are 18 contestants who take on the first challenge of the season: photorealism. The episode starts with all the tattoo artists walking into the Ink Master studio, where they are greeted by the judges: Dave Navarro, Oliver Peck, and Chris Núñez. After welcoming them, Dave explains the format of this season and how they will be eliminating tattoo artists every week until they have their winner.

The first challenge is where the nerves start. The contestants will have to create a photorealistic black and grey tattoo of a statue. The statue is of a woman with her hair in her hands, and she is crying. It’s an emotional piece that produced a lot of drama from the artists before they even began sketching. They are all allocated their own statue and given only six hours to do the tattoo.

As the contestants start, we see a range of attitudes from them. Some are confident and feel they know exactly what they need to do to win. Others are nervous and shaky, not holding the machine steady enough, and making mistakes. The judges walk around while the contestants work, giving their advice, and Chris Núñez even insults one of the artists who he feels is being too slow. As the time starts winding down, the nerves start to build as they see their time running out. They all rush to finish the tattoos.

When time runs out, the judges do their walk around to see what they have produced. A few contestants are immediately in trouble because they have technical issues. However, there are still a few great tattoos, and the judges are astounded by the level of talent exhibited in this new crop of contestants. They select the best tattoos, and the artists responsible for them are safe, but the worst is eliminated.

The elimination process is a whole other beast. As the judges choose the bad tattoos based on technicality and design, they call three of the contestants forward. They are the trio who produced the worst tattoos, and they will then face the possibility of being eliminated. Dave Navarro says that they have to plead their case as to why they should stay, and only one will be saved. So, the bad tattoos are analyzed by the judges, and they decide that it's time for one of the contestants to go home. The moment of truth comes when the winner is chosen, and the eliminated artist has to pack up their things and say goodbye to their fellow contestants.

The episode ends with a preview of what is to come in the next few episodes, showing the drama that will come as some contestants struggle to keep their heads above water while others rise to the top. Overall, it is a great start to the season. The contestants are all talented, and the judges are clearly excited to see what they all can do. The drama is there but kept at a reasonable level that doesn't overshadow the tattoos produced. It looks like Ink Master season 12 is going to be as exciting as the last ones, and fans can expect this season to be jam-packed with excitement and emotions.