The Skin Wars Season 2 finale does the usual finale stuff – we get a recap of each contestant’s journey on Skin Wars and each contestant gets a message from a loved one from home. The moments are weird with the judges watching them. It’s like “hey, we’re going to watch you have this emotional moment with a look of passive indifference.”

For the final mini-challenge, the artists have to paint something on the bottom of 2 models feet in an hour & a half. Some models are ticklish, which adds another layer of difficulty. These paints should be inspired by their message home. Avi painted a hummingbird.

Lana created Koi fish.

Aryn created a bat.

Avi’s hummingbird is the mini-challenge winner.

So for the last Skin Wars challenge of season 2, each artist has to paint a design on 5 models that creates an illusion of a single image. They get 7 hours and 2 assistants to help them. Of course they’re some of the other painters. In the house now are Fernello, Kyle, Cheryl Ann, Rio, Rachel and Dawn Marie.

As mini-challenge winner, Avi gets to pick first, so he goes with Kyle. Aryn gets Rachel. Lana gets Dawn Marie. Avi’s second helper is Rio (damn Avi is lucky). Aryn gets Fernello. Oy. Ticking time bomb Fernello. And Lana gets Cheryl Ann.

Why not crown Avi now? Why put Aryn and Lana through this?

Aryn wants to do the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly. Lana is doing a blue crab holding a pearl in its pincers. Avi is creating a chameleon that’s created from 5 different animals. Part of the challenge is picking a pose that the models can hold for an extended period of time.

Fernello thinks of himself not as a helper, but as an artistic consultant. Way to commit to your overconfident character. Cheryl Ann thinks Lana is headstrong. AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! That’s funny. She’s in charge, Cheryl Ann. Let it go.

Let’s cut to the paints.

Lana’s crab – hey guy on the right! Get your head up next to your arm. Or your arm up to your head. Be a pincher man! You did it in the workroom. Help Lana out. Craig Tracy also didn’t dig the pearl, since it wasn’t pinched in the pinchers.

Lana wants to win so she can open her own studio and spend more time with her daughter. I kinda doubt that opening her own business will lead to having more time for her daughter, but I wish her luck with that.

Aryn’s paint in caterpillar mode. I wish the body models had tucked their heads a bit more so that the pink stripe was continuous up the back of the body.

Aryn’s paint in butterfly mode. Craig Tracy wanted more of a butterfly shape with this pose. Aryn doesn’t get asked why she should win the competition, so I have a feeling she’s out. She mentioned earlier in the episode that she’d like to work fewer jobs but that’s never a winning answer.

Avi’s individual animals – a scorpion, cheetah, monkey, frog and a flamingo in the center.

Avi’s collective animal – the 5 become 1 big chameleon. Robin has issues with the center – she finds it confusing and unclear. Avi gets asked AGAIN what he would do with the money. He’s going to Israel! How many times does he have to say he hasn’t seen his mom & he wants to take time to go to Israel!

As I suspected, Aryn is eliminated first. The judges seem to be saying that Lana’s was technically better but Avi was more creative. In the end, the season 2 Skin Wars champion is Lana.

WHAA??!!!!??? After all that setup? After all that ‘he’s got to win to visit his mom in Israel’ stuff you DON’T give him the final prize? Seriously? I mean, I liked Lana too, but I think Avi was a bit more consistent.

What did you think? Did your favorite win? Did you enjoy seeing Fernello & Cheryl Ann again or did they make you batty? Will you be watching Skin Wars season 3, if there is one? Anyone interested in a recap of the one-off Skin Wars Fresh Paint happening next week?