Episode Recap: The Gatekeepers

When the artists walk into the lab and see McKenzie standing in front of a wingback leather chair and chaise lounge, they wonder if their greatest fears are going to be used against them in a government-run psychological warfare experiment. Then they realize they're on the other competition show, tuck that idea away for the next hit YA fiction series and get ready to kick ass on a Foundation Challenge where they create a character based on a Rorschach inkblot.

Guest judge Eryn Krueger Mekash, who recently won an Emmy for her work on The Normal Heart, loves the dynamic colors that Jasmine used on her DayGlo demon as well as the strong ties to the inkblot shapes, but Meg's use of actual sponges on her mermaid character is the true standout. Meg tears up when Eryn names her the winner; having immunity in the Spotlight Challenge is CLUTCH!

For said main event, the artists fish blindly in a sack for a key that will determine their partner ... as well as the gate that will be the inspiration for their galactic guardian/extradimensional monster duo (classic pairing). Jason and Ricky both take the term "Face Off" literally and scrape the clay off their life casts after a few hours, starting over. Their second drafts are better but the loss of time bleeds forward into the mold room; they then have to run in polyfoam (that’s the icky kind of foam, nobody likes it, it eats its own boogers), and Jason gets to Last Looks without evening having his pieces PAINTED, y'all. He slaps a weird Big Bird-looking headdress on his Mayan feathered serpent character ... and we agree with Ve when she says it looks like a teenaged girl lizard going to a rave. Like, we wouldn't have said it, cuz we're nice, but …

Libby hearts Meg but is wary of their partnership, since Meg has immunity. She decides to do a boar/hyena hybrid as the monster character, and though Meg and Mr. Westmore both caution her that her anatomy skills will have to be on point, she feels like it's the right choice. She is wrong. The facial contours don't say boar or hyena and the paint job isn't doing it any favors, and ultimately Libby's sculpting choices send her home. The judges cushion the blow by telling her that her ambition is a virtue that will one day lead her to the skills that will make the hyena/boar hybrid demon possible. Never give up on the hyena/boar dream! #lifelessons

Nora and Jasmine make an awesome team; they're totally simpatico in their vision for the challenge, and lean on each other's strong suits to make the best guardian/monster pair they can. Nora soaks up Jasmine's paint advice, and Jasmine lets Nora's form genius have free reign. Their makeups are yin and yang, with special praise going to Jasmine's choice to do the guardian's face as a full beauty makeup with no prosthetic and Nora's added touch of slime to the toothy slug monster.

Jordan and Ben also have a great time as Spotlight buddies and their characters go together like peanut butter and jelly, with their matching horns and complementary color schemes –- just different enough to be dynamic! Because Jordan did such an enormous amount of work –- fabricating a headdress, chest piece and funky Greek-inspired battle skirt -- he wins the challenge this week.