This week’s Face Off challenge was out-of-this world. After traveling through a corn field maze, the fourteen remaining contestants found themselves standing in the middle of a crop circle and surrounded by suitcases.
Host McKenzie Westmore explained that inside the black cases were aerial photos of crop circles, each with “a dire message that an alien might have been trying to communicate.” Westmore broke the group up into teams of two, as randomly selected by the show. Various messages that had to be incorporated into their creations included: “We need water” (Corinne Foster & Niko Gonzalez), “Gravity changing” (Chloe Sens and Graham Schofield), “Polluted & toxic environment” (George Schminky and Bethany Serpico), “Our sun is dying” (Cat Paschen and Matt Silva), “We have ice caps melting” (Tanner White and Daran Holt), “Overcome with disease” (Daniel Phillips and Tess Laeh), and “Global famine” (Tyler Green and Rashaad Santiago). “Make sure the judges see evidence of your alien’s dire circumstances in your make-up,” advised Westmore.
After the design phase, the artists jumped right into sculpting. Though things didn’t go smoothly for everyone. Nearly immediately, Paschen and Silva butted heads. Paschen said she felt that she and Silva hadn’t settled on a clear design in advance of the lab. They fine-tuned their tribal, African-inspired life form, but kept changing their vision along the way–losing time in the process. “I don’t want it to look too elephant-y,” she told Silva, who patiently listened to her feedback. Paschen was unhappy with its ears and face. For his part, Silva seemed flustered and told the cameras they were having difficulty communicating. Midway through, mentor Michael Westmore stopped by and provided everyone with feedback–though Silva ultimately went against his advice and painted his creation a tad darker than recommended.
Elsewhere, Sens and Schofield had their own struggles ahead. By day two, Sens battled a case of indecision. Schofield said he didn’t want to rush her, but she still hadn’t finished sculpting the face–setting them back time wise. Schofield acknowledged that her indecision made him nervous. Meanwhile, on application day, Schminky and Serpico discovered their cowl was ripped in the middle. They found a way to mask it, but it was still a major setback for the duo.
Eventually, judgement day arrived. Writer/director/producer Scott Stewart (Priest, Dark Skies. Legion, Syfy’s Defiance) was introduced as a guest judge, then it was time to face the panel. Foster and Gonzalez were named the top team with Foster singled out as the challenge winner for being–who the judges felt was–the driving force behind it. Meanwhile, Paschen & Silva found themselves in the bottom with Paschen declaring, “I didn’t agree with some of the painting decisions.” The judges said it was a solid concept, but thought it was lacked in terms of sculptural details and its paint job. Schminky and Serpico also faced the chopping block. The judges said their alien looked great from a distance, but that it lacked close up.
Ultimately, Serpico was sent home after the panel attributed her alien’s weak facial sculpture solely to her. She fought back tears as she left the stage.
EW caught up with Serpico about what it was like being a part of the show, what she would have done differently in her challenge, and what she’s been working on since filming wrapped.
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