The Apprentice 3, Episode 2: Your Ass Doesn’t Know the Difference

In the boardroom, I assume Carolyn and George are dressed for the same formal event as Trump is. George’s silver tie is cool, but Carolyn looks gorgeous in a simple black dress and dangly earrings. But I digress. John wisely chooses not to waive his exemption. Brian says that they lost because his team did not cooperate. Just as my man John predicted, Trump asks Brian if that wasn’t his fault, since he was in charge. Brian agrees that it was, he takes responsibility. Trump asks if he should fire Brian, and Brian says he should. Well, this could make for the shortest boardroom ever, Trump says. Does everyone else agree?

Kristen, of course, does, and says that Brian had no organization, and didn’t make a budget. Trump says Kristen gave him a hard time, and Angie nods vigorously at that. Shouldn’t Kristen listen to her project manager? Kristen says that she didn’t respect Brian. Brian claims that he wanted to talk to Kristen about the budget, but that she wanted to go to Target instead. Kristen says that’s not true. Carolyn asks Brian if he had a budget, and he says he did. George says that knowing they had $20,000 to spend doesn’t count as a budget, so Brian admits that he didn’t have one. There wasn’t enough time. George wants to know if he had a timeline. Brian says he did, but it got messed up. Further questioning from George reveals that Brian didn’t have a timeline in the first place.

Audrey says that Brian was a bad leader, and that if he didn’t like the way Kristen was handling the money, he should have had her step aside and given the job to someone else. Brian goes off on a long tangent about how he never told anyone to go $%@^ themselves and says that was the first time he cursed. Carolyn says, “I would suggest you don’t do it in this boardroom.” John says that Brian has sworn while on the task, such as when the two of them were arguing. Not to mention the fact that Brian dropped the f-bomb over dinner with Trump after the last challenge.

John goes on to say that Brian is abrasive and tends to rub people the wrong way. Brian maintains that no one else on the team could have done better. Trump points out that buying new toilets and not new carpeting was a bad decision and was Brian’s. Craig says that Brian’s leadership was lacking and that he no longer respects him. Trump also no longer respects Brian. Part of being a good leader is convincing your team that you’re great, and Brian certainly did not.

Chris says that Brian was not organized, then out of nowhere, he starts yelling about how he never told anyone that he had hands-on experience at refurbishing. Angie says that she’d fire Chris over Brian, since Brian has more leadership potential.

Trump is shocked at the state of the team. Brian says he never gave up. Carolyn can’t believe he’d say that, since everyone just saw him say that Trump should fire him. Trump says at this point, the boardroom is really just an exercise for them. To the surprise of no one, Brian is fired.

After the candidates leave, Trump says that Brian was arrogant and not smart. Carolyn says that it was a waste of their time. This was an incredibly easy decision. And seeing how nastily this team can fight, I am all the more impressed by how well John managed all of them in the first task. I’m telling you, people, keep an eye on John. He’s going to do well.

In his cab ride home, Brian thanks Trump for the opportunity and says he enjoyed the dinner. He says he was a great negotiator and believes he’ll cross paths with Trump again. I’m sure that if Trump needs to get a plastic Viking hat for a good price, he’ll call Brian. Brian then says he wishes his team luck, that they’ll need it. That’s all he has to say, and while the rest of the credits roll, Brian says nothing and stubbornly refuses to look at the camera.

Next week, one candidate will quit. The narrator says we shouldn’t make any assumptions… which made me assume that it won’t be Verna. We shall see!