Ink Master Scott
Gentle Jay believed that Scott traced the warrior tattoo during episode 9 of "Ink Master." Spike

Season 4 of “Ink Master” has been intense from the start, and the drama has only been building. Six contestants remained going into episode 9, but a shocking discovery threatened to send one tattoo artist home.

Since the beginning of Season 4, Scott Marshall has been a frontrunner for the “Ink Master” title. By winning flash challenges, the Chicago artist has been taking advantage of the opportunity to assign human canvases – giving contestants he doesn’t like or finds to be a threat the more challenging pieces.

Sausage has made it very clear that he’s fed up with Marshall’s attempts at sabotage, but Gentle Jay took things one step further in episode 9. The latest elimination challenge required the artists to tattoo a warrior on their human canvas … and Gentle Jay became suspicious that Marshall was cheating.

“I realize that I’ve seen that before,” Gentle Jay explained to the cameras of Marshall’s warrior tattoo. “If Scott is stealing images he shouldn’t be here.”

After doing a little research, Gentle Jay brought his discovery to Halo and Sausage. And the pair agreed that Jay should bring it to the attention of the judges during the elimination. But Jay didn’t get the reaction from the judges that he was hoping for.

After getting ripped apart for his own tattoo, Gentle Jay let his anger get the best of him and told Peck, Nunez and Navarro that Marshall has been working with an unfair advantage. Marshall immediately defended himself, claiming that he didn’t do anything wrong and that Gentle Jay was just at “the end of his rope.” And Peck took Scott’s side!

Defending Marshall, Peck explained that all tattoo artists must collaborate with other images in order to create an original design. “Did he or did he not make changes?” Peck questioned Gentle Jay.

Peck added that there is a difference between “real similar” and “exactly the same.” And Nunez and Navarro agreed with him, putting an end to the conversation.

Needless to say, Gentle Jay was not happy with the outcome. Especially after Scott told Jay that maybe his tattoos would look better if he followed his lead. And Peck expressed a similar opinion during the judge’s private critique. Peck told his fellow judges that Jay’s trees would have come out better if he had only used references like Scott.

Matty ended up winning the challenge, and when it came down to the elimination Gentle Jay ended up in the bottom two with Melissa Monroe. But in a surprising move, the judges chose not to send anyone home. Instead they offered the pair a second chance to fight for the “Ink Master” title.

What did you think of episode 9? Do you think Scott was cheating? Take the poll and let us know your thoughts by sending a tweet to @AmandaTVScoop.