The BEST episodes of Ink Master season 5

Every episode of Ink Master season 5, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Ink Master season 5!

An estimated 40 million Americans have at least one tattoo. So who is the country's preeminent tattoo artist? Ink Master is the first-ever tattoo competition series featuring some of the nation's top tattoo artists on a quest to determine who is the best at their craft and win a huge cash prize. The stakes are high as the artists showcase their irrevocable artwork on real people's bodies. The dramatic tension is ever-present as the artists will ultimately face the opinion of the living canvas who now bears a permanent souvenir of the Ink Master etched into his or her skin.

Last Updated: 3/21/2025Network: Paramount+Status: Continuing

8.10

175 votes

#1 - Firing Squad

Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/2/2014

Artists battle for the top four spots; a top artist designs the tattoo that determines who stays and gets a shot at $100,000.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.93

161 votes

#2 - Head to Headache

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/16/2014

Josh ignites rivalries and sparks fly. Two Artists receive an advantage no one in the competition has ever had and their cutthroat strategy.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.92

178 votes

#3 - Up in Smoke

Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/11/2014

Josh causes a controversy that could get him kicked out of the competition for good. The Artists tattoo amputees where their limbs once were.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.88

122 votes

#4 - Fight to the Finale

Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/9/2014

The last four artists battle it out with emotional outbursts, explosive fights, incredible tattoos and total fails.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.85

198 votes

#5 - Three's a Crowd

Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/14/2014

Artists must work in teams to take on Oliver's specialty and put one of their own on the chopping block.

Watch Now:Amazon

7.81

209 votes

#6 - Virgin Blood

Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/28/2014

Jason's anxiety could take him out after virgin canvases get their first tattoos.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.81

181 votes

#7 - Cold Blooded

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/4/2014

Artists use blood for ink in the Flash Challenge, then go head to head against guest judge Tommy Montoya; Emily goes over the edge.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.73

126 votes

#8 - Ink Live

Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/16/2014

The final three artists reveal their 35-hour back tattoos; all 18 rival artists return to spill details on rivalries and one artist becomes Ink Master.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.71

156 votes

#9 - Cheek to Cheek

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/7/2014

Artists must complete 12 hour gluteus maximus tattoos, but when they must finish each others' tattoos, Emily plays dirty. Also, one artist experiences a medical emergency.

Watch Now:Amazon Apple TV

7.68

140 votes

#10 - Geishas Gone Wrong

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/23/2014

Artists feel the pressure when they tattoo Nunez's specialty; one artist loses his cool, while the others move closer to $100,000.

Watch Now:Amazon

7.65

147 votes

#11 - Glass on Blast

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/30/2014

The artists must make art by sand blasting glass while trying to survive working in teams; when the artists tattoo head-to-head, rivalries explode; Emily makes a new enemy.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.59

143 votes

#12 - Painstaking Portraits

Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/25/2014

Artists go head to head tattooing the same portrait on two family members. Some family members are left with jacked tattoos as the portrait subject overlooks.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.55

183 votes

#13 - Pin up Pittfalls

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/9/2014

Semi-nude models and a game changing twist; Josh is back with a vengeance and rivalries flare.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.54

149 votes

#14 - Heads Will Roll

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/18/2014

The opportunity to ink football player Deangelo Williams as he honors his mother who dies of breast cancer; a medical emergency after head tattoos sends a canvas over the edge.

Watch Now:Apple TV

7.49

206 votes

#15 - Ink My Oosik

Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/21/2014

The artists must scrimshaw walrus penises and face their pickiest canvases to date; one artist loses their cool and another is eliminated.

7.39

190 votes

#16 - Inking with the Enemy

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/2/2014

The nation's top tattoo artists compete for a grand prize.

Watch Now:Apple TV