This week on Face Off the Judges compete against each other, with a crew off Face Off all-stars. A $5000 donation will be made in the name of the winning Judge to the charity of their choice. Glenn Hetrick is competing for North Shore Animal League. Ve competes for A Window Between Worlds, an organization that uses art to help women and children overcome trauma. Neville Page competes for The Orangutan Foundation International. For this 3 day challenge, the Judges must pick 2 chess pieces that will be the inspiration for characters in a stylized fantasy film setting. One character is to be pure and pristine, while the other is evil and twisted. An element to keep to the Life & Death theme set for this season.

The Teams

  • Knight & King-Glenn Hetrick: Laura-Season 3 Finalist/Season 5 Winner, Wayne-Season 4 Finalist
  • Queen & Rook-Ve Neill:  Conor-Season 1 Winner, Roy- Season 3 Semifinalist/Season 5 Finalist
  • Bishop & Pawn-Neville Page: Miranda-Season 2 Contestant/Season 5 Finalist, Anthony-Season 4 Winner

Day 1, Conor & Roy having worked with Ve Neill on The Hunger Games films seems like a slight advantage for her in this competition. Knowing if you work well with someone is a definite edge. Conor thinks that the concept of the Evil Queen has been overdone, and opts for a pristine Queen instead, but Ve vetos his idea. She has always wanted to create an evil queen. Roy gets started right away on fabricating the armor for Ve’s Rook.

Neville decides to take a scifi angle with his characters, and Glenn Hetrick goes the greek myth route, with a half man/half horse for his knight.

It doesn’t take long for the Judges to feel the heat, working under the time constraints that the contestants must face weekly.

Laura and Wayne create the sculptures for Glenn’s pieces, and they are incredible.

Day 2, Ve works side by side with Roy, making castle stones. Neville, being a perfectionist, worries about time. Midday on day 2, he still hasn’t gotten to casting. When Ve comes back to check on Conor, she’s frustrated to find that he created a complete cowl, leaving no room for the long red hair she had just decided her character has to have. Neville uses all his teams hands to do the molding work, getting himself back on track by the end of the day, and Ve decides that she can work with Conor’s design.

Day 3, Neville starts the day on top, with all his molds coming out perfect. Ve works on make up, while the rest of her team scrambles to finish the costuming. As with most of the challenge thus far, Glenn delegates the majority of the work to Laura & Wayne.

It’s a little disappointing to see that Ve’s Queen’s face is only a beauty makeup. A move that the Judges would have criticized had it been done by one of the contestants.

Neville’s team feels nervous, seeing that the others have had time to pre-paint, while all their pieces are bare. He is the first Judge to acknowledge just what they ask of the contestants on the show. When Mackenzie comes to the workroom to call the one hour mark, all 3 Judges keep their faces in their work, forcing her to yell and whistle to get their attention. Neville’s team hopes for a miracle.

Judging

Each Judge must vote for a makeup other than their own, and should there be  a tie, Lois Burwell & Michael Westmore will decide upon the winner.

Winner: Neville Page

I was a bit disappointed in the paint job on Neville’s Bishop, but his pawn sculpture was really unique and lovely, save for the unglued seem right above the eyes . Laura & Wayne’s sculpture work and casting was truly beautiful. Ve’s pieces were pretty, but I was a little disappointed in her characters as well, they didn’t seem much more advanced than the regular contestant’s work. I will say that other than Neville’s Bishop, it was fantastic to see paint done right. Based on the character’s alone, I believe that Glenn should have won the Judge Match. Neville & Glenn gave credit to their team’s work, and delivered touching praise. In the end, there are really no losers this week since awareness was raised for worthy causes.