The Apprentice 2, Episode 10: Here Come the Brides

The candidates in the suite mill about, wondering which of their brethren is about to make that lonely cab ride home. Andy asks if Trump seemed to be leaning one way or the other. Jennifer says that it might be Raj, but she thinks Ivana will be the one fired. That might be a bit of wishful thinking on Jennifer’s part. Jennifer goes on to say that Ivana doesn’t offer much to the team, and worse, she can be disruptive.

As if on cue, Ivana returns to the suite, followed by Kevin. Jennifer’s disappointment is easy to read on her face. Andy says that there’s really no question that Raj should have been fired – he was the one in charge and they only had half a house at the end. Ivana says that their team is divided, and that Chris, who is about to be their project manager, doesn’t believe in them.

Chris tells everyone what happened in the boardroom – that he told Trump that the team as it stood couldn’t win because they had no chemistry. Not to mention that Trump was so unimpressed with that little speech that he told Chris he had to be in charge of the next task. Chris says that it’s “sink or swim” for him now. He believes that by telling it like it is, he actually came across as strong. Huh, that didn’t show up on my TV. I should get that fixed.

Chris gathers the team together for a pre-task meeting. He says that it’s clear that none of them are friends, but this is business and they need to work together. Jennifer says that she likes and respects all of them, which is totally not true, as she clearly cannot stand Ivana. Ivana says that instead of complaining about how other people are doing, they should all look to come up with solutions. Jennifer says in an interview that she thinks their conversation was productive, but she has her doubts about whether Chris can lead a group of people he doesn’t respect.

At Mosaic, Kelly says that he’d like to be the project manager because he thinks he’s the most capable. Andy says that he would like the chance, if they’re willing to give it to him. Maria says no, they won’t put him in charge. In an interview, Andy says that he thinks the rest of the team still doesn’t think he’s capable because he’s so young, but he’s going to keep on trying. In the end, they decide once again to pick names from a hat. I can’t help but notice that Maria never volunteered to be in charge. I give Sandy a pass, since she was in charge last week. Sandy picks a name at random, and Kelly is the lucky winner. Andy looks sad. Poor little guy.

The Trump phone rings, and the shirtless guy of the week (this time Kelly) gets it. The teams meet Trump, George, and Carolyn at Tavern on the Green. There, Trump tells them that at least one wedding is held there every week. I bet that’s both really beautiful and really expensive. Trump says, “I know something about weddings,” since he’s had two so far and is planning a third. Maybe the third time’s a charm. The teams will each be given an empty retail space and will have two days to create a bridal salon. The team that makes the most profit wins. Trump points out that Sandy, who owns her own salon, has an advantage in this task… but that also means that there will be a lot of pressure on her. Actually, there’s not that much pressure on Sandy since she was project manager of a winning team last week and is therefore exempt. Still, Sandy looks very excited about the task, and her team looks excited to have her on board. Chris mutters curse words about the unfairness of it all.

Ivana and Kevin check out Apex’s space, and they’re happy to see that it’s nice and big. Ivana thinks it has a lot of potential. Chris thinks they should pack the place with vendors and offer to split the profits with them.

Mosaic is at the suite making plans. Sandy suggests that they start talking to owners of salons to get inventory. Kelly divides the team into two groups. He, Sandy, and Andy will check out the store and get the merchandise. Maria and Wes will handle promotion. Sandy suggests that they call TheKnot.com to get a list of all of their registered brides who live in the New York area. That’s brilliant.

Andy says that Kelly’s strategy is pretty much to defer to Sandy. By doing so, they’ll win the task and Kelly will get next week’s exemption pretty much for free. Well, that’s true, but can you blame him? Wes snickers to himself and wonders how Chris will do at selling wedding gowns.

Well, we’re about to find out. Chris starts calling vendors, and his usual gruff attitude is not getting him very far. One after another, everyone seems to be hanging up on him. He tells one woman that they’re going to have an ad the next day. She asks what good an ad tomorrow is going to be if the sale is tomorrow and says thanks, but no thanks. Hey, she had a point! That doesn’t stop Chris from calling her a nasty word, though. He says that the task is almost impossible. Ivana cannot believe her project manager has thrown in the towel so early. Chris slouches in a corner, looking absolutely miserable… except for a happy face drawn on his knee.

And in direct contrast to that, we get our Trump Lesson of the Week: “Believe in Yourself.” Yes, the slogan that didn’t quite work for Butch in Survivor: Amazon does guide Donald Trump. Clearly, a man who names everything he owns after himself has no problem at all believing in himself. Hey do you think Chris believes in himself this time around? Could this be a hint at how this task is going to shake out?