Episode Recap: Monster High

At Mattel, they do small things in a big way, so when the artists reach their headquarters, they know it’s gonna be a massive challenge. They meet Natasha Berling, VP of Design, and she and McKenzie tell them they’ll be bringing Monster High characters to life in advance of a potential big screen debut for their world.

Monsters make people scream, usually, but right now the only screams we hear are screams of excitement. Keaghlan and Melissa top the scream charts, so great is their love for this world of daughters of famous monsters. They grab Cleo de Nile, daughter of the Mummy. In order to dramatize her delicate features, they sculpt a full face prosthetic. Mr. Westmore notes how tricky that can be, but they feel confident they can pull it off… until reveal day, when they literally pull it off the model and whisk on a beauty makeup, instead.

Emily, also a huge fan, knows in her bones she’s meant to create Draculaura, and grabs the wee doll for her and Tyler to share. They bump up the vampire’s everyday, casual look for her Sweet Sixteenhundred party. Her look is equal parts Victorian Gothic and daydream bubblegum happiness.

George and Cig have absolutely ZERO foreknowledge of this franchise, but they don’t let that stymie their imaginations. For Laguna Blue, daughter of the Sea Monster, they push the concept from the simple, sweet-faced doll to something more creature-tastic: Namely, a blue girl with fins, gills, and a swept-up hairdo a tsunami would be jealous of. To ready themselves for their first foray into beauty makeup, they practice on each other, each making their partner look like, in George’s words, “a clown hooker.” If that’s not friendship, we don’t know what is.

Ben and Evan also fall into the camp of “don’t know what these dolls are about”, but the character they choose, Skelita Calaveras, is a sugar skull skeleton and a blank canvas for creativity. When they apply the skeleton prosthetics to the model, Evan asks the unlikely question, “Can your edges be too thin?” The answer is no, dem bones look awesome.

Adam and Logan are trying to split the difference between pretty girl and Yeti with Abbey Bominable, but the challenge of making a simian face look delicate takes almost a full day. They’re way behind schedule and not feeling good about it. Rachael and Gage like their initial direction for Venus McFlytrap but they don’t love the final look of her beauty makeup (kinda flat, not so beauty-full). Cat and Niko want to add some curled-up fur to Claudine Wolf, but the transfer process looks rushed and arbitrary. She’s got a cute face, though, so…!

We know what you’re thinking… Where’s the twist? That element that makes this week’s challenge soooo much harder? The answer appears on the reveal stage, when instead of the Terrible Trio judging the winner, it’s a focus group of Monster High super fans! The artists wait and watch backstage as these discerning strangers pick apart their creations. Their favorites: Ben & Evan’s Skelita, Emily & Tyler’s Draculaura, and Cig & George’s Laguna Blue. Natasha Berling is there to choose the ultimate winner (Cig & George!) who will be shouted out on all of Mattel’s Monster High social media accounts. Plus, they get immunity in the next challenge! Big ups!