Last week, TLC took viewers to the intriguing world of tattoo artistry in Miami Ink as the motley crew worked on a bunch of new clients, including several artists, a tourist, a musician and a basketball player, while tattoo shop co-owner Ami James stressed out on the business.

“Through Thick and Thin” opens with an attractive young lady who enters the tattoo shop to ask Chris Nunez and James if they can serve as judges for a bikini fashion show, and obviously, the boys agree to do it.


Shortly, Joni Anderson, an artist, requests Ami for a tattoo of one of her favorite paintings.  Joni, who plans to get more tattoos of her paintings in the future, tells Ami that he's the first person other than her husband to touch her in 17 years as he places the stencil on her back.  A surprised Ami doesn't know how to react to her revelation.

Ami and business partner Nunez talk about the shop and Ami says that he's stressed out.  Given that the business is still down one permanent artist since the exit of Kat Von D, who now stars on her own reality series LA Ink, Nunez makes a suggestion to stop hiring guest artists and start hiring a full-time person.

Nunez works on a Swedish tourist named Madelene, who wants to have a bright pink “rose with an attitude” on her lower back.  On the same spot, she already has a tattoo of leaves on a vine but doesn't like it and hopes that her new tattoo will make the old design more appealing.  Halfway through her tattoo, she gets dizzy and sweaty so Nunez gives her a break and then continues working on her after she felt better.  She reveals that she shares a bed with her roommate back in Sweden, which prompts Nunez to imagine a kinky scenario.

Meanwhile, Chris Garver's friend Troy is in town and they hang out to play some pool.  Garver reveals to Troy how much he misses New York.  Talk about bad timing, he ponders on asking Ami if he can divide his time between New York and Miami.

As for Darren Brass, he works on Julie, who wants to have a tattoo on the side of her hand to celebrate her 10th anniversary as a tattoo artist.  Julie, who already opened her own tattoo studio, gets a tattoo needle with flames and is very pleased with Darren's “tidy and brilliant” job.  She also mentions that Darren is one of the artists she admires.

Darren meets up with Ami with some unfortunate news about his aunt who is suffering from Parkinson's disease.  Although Ami curses the timing, he grants Darren's request to take a month off to visit her.  Now, Ami has to start looking for someone to fill in Darren's absence as well.

Stacey, another artist, wants Ami to do a tattoo of a rose with crossbones.  This design comes from her boyfriend who made it when her best friend died in a train crash.  Upon seeing the design, Ami complains that it looks like an “oyster” instead of a rose and refuses to do it as is.  Nevertheless, he gives her a book of flowers to choose from.  Fortunately, she is pleased with Ami's design, which is tattooed on her shoulder.  According to Stacey, the tattoo serves as closure for her to move on with her friend's tragedy.

Darren encounters a musician named Isaac who asks him to do a tattoo of a cartoon samurai with a guitar, which signifies the changes he has made from being out of shape and drinking too much to having a healthier lifestyle.  Additionally, Garver works on Ricky, a basketball player who is partially deaf, with a tattoo of a shark busting through his skin.  Ricky explains that the tattoo is in honor of his friend who died.

At the bikini fashion contest, Ami and Nunez take pleasure on their judging duties as the girls strut their stuff on the walkway.  The episode wraps up as Nunez tells Ami about a new space that's opened up, which is bigger than their current location.  While Ami is reluctant to take on the extra work load, Nunez insists on taking care of it.  Ultimately, Garver drops his request to go to New York and a distressed Ami flares up before walking out of the shop to cool off.

Don't forget to catch back-to-back episodes of Miami Ink, LA Ink and London Ink, along with the first-ever Battle of the Inks tomorrow on TLC.


-Kris De Leon, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of TLC)