The Apprentice 4, Episode 2: Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Car

My boyfriend Josh says that he would fire Markus because he’s a disaster and a distraction. Markus says that he’s not in the clique and blames Chris for their loss. Chris starts to explain why it was Markus’s fault, and Trump interrupts him, saying he figures Chris will bring Markus back. Chris agrees that he will. Trump tells him that’s not such a good idea, since Markus was the only one who disagreed with their bad decisions. Trump says he believes in team loyalty, but in this case, you have to admit that Markus was right.

Carolyn says that they didn’t lose because of distractions, but because of a lack of creativity. She asks who was in charge of it. Chris says he handled the video and Mark did the print ads. Clay says he would fire Markus, because among other things, he talks too much. Trump asks James who he would fire. James thinks they could have done more market research and says he would fire Chris.

Trump asks Chris who he wants to bring back to the boardroom, and he names Markus – and only Markus. Wow, just like last week! Trump questions his decision. But that’s what Chris wants to do.

The candidates leave. George thinks Chris made a critical error by only bringing back Markus. Markus, though, needs a muzzle according to George, but is not the reason they lost. George is on tonight!

Markus and Chris return. Trump expresses his amazement that Chris only chose Markus- why not Mark, since he admitted his fault in two critical mistakes. Chris says that throughout the task, the team would be moving forward, except for Markus, and he constantly had to reel him in. Markus says he was marginalized, and after some prodding, Chris admits that’s true. George wonders if Markus could have performed well if given the chance. Chris argues that Markus kills team synergy.

Trump asks Chris why he didn’t bring back Mark, who so clearly has responsibility for the loss. Chris says that he agreed with Mark, so “his mistake is my mistake.” Fair enough. And honestly, while Mark made some bad decisions, I think choosing not to use a capital I is not a firing-worthy mistake, especially since the rest of the team agreed with him. Trump’s choice is really between Markus, who is a bit of a mess, and Chris, who was the leader.

Trump says this is a tough choice. He thinks Markus is “a disaster,” but on the other hand, Chris made an emotional decision, rather than a business decision, as to who to bring back to the boardroom. Trump gives the table a mighty slap and fires Chris. Chris looks sad, and Trump tells him he has potential. He then adds that Markus won’t last long. Markus says he’ll prove Trump wrong, then can’t leave well enough alone, throwing extended goodbyes to Trump, George, and Carolyn. Markus! Shh!

Trump says he hated to fire Chris, but George reminds him that Chris brought it on himself. In his final cab ride, Chris’s focus is Markus. He gives a long metaphor about how they’re on a boat, and Markus isn’t rowing with the team, but rather drinking a martini and chatting with the captain.

Next week, Rebecca’s ankle seems to be broken. Plus, the candidates have to teach senior citizens how to use electronic equipment. Ooh, can we have them bring my grandmother so she can learn how to use her computer? I’d feel bad about saying that, but hey, she can’t figure out her computer, so it’s not like she’s going to read this. Also, I love you, Mimi! (It never hurts to send out some love.)

A few thoughts on how things are going so far. We haven’t seen a lot of superstars yet, but there are two candidates who I think have real potential. Mark, despite his many mistakes this episode, seems pretty sharp. He was wrong about the question mark and the lower case I, but he had solid reasoning behind it and was willing to take responsibility for it. And I think after this task, he’s learned a big lesson about not being too cocky. The other candidate who is impressing me is Alla. Marshawn put her in charge of the commercial, and even though she admittedly didn’t know what she was doing, she ran with it and did a great job. I like her and will have my eye on her in the future.

As for Markus, he is indeed a mess. Chris might have been able to get rid of him if he’d taken a slightly different tactic. Instead of stressing that he was a distraction, Chris might have had more success if he’d said that Markus is not a team player. He went against the team by talking slogans in the meeting, after everyone agreed not to do so. He put down the team’s ads in front of the judges. They need a unified front, and because of Markus, they don’t have one. It still might not have worked, but Chris might have had a better chance. Well, that’s it for this week. See you all next Thursday night!

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. Now that you’ve finished the article, she’ll tell you that the title of this episode was “There is no I in Team.” See? Gives it away, doesn’t it? She can be reached with any comments at betsywasser@gmail.com

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