The Apprentice 4, Episode 4: Bitch Coat

In the suite, Toral and Felisha argue about the costume thing. Toral says that she has “a personal and spiritual belief about that stuff.” Felisha isn’t buying it, and asks why, if Toral has a religious reason for not wanting to dress up as a giant spoon-wielding blob, why she didn’t pull Felisha aside and say so. In an interview, Felisha says she thinks Toral wanted a bullet-proof excuse for not wearing the costume, so she picked religion. I think Felisha has Toral pegged on that one. We saw Toral’s reaction, and we saw her interviews. She didn’t want to dress up as Zip because it was undignified and embarrassing. She never said anything to imply that she was uncomfortable with it because of her faith.

Felisha reports all of this to Kristi. Kristi agrees that if Toral had a religious problem with it, she should have said so at the time. “It’s not against her religion,” Kristi says, “That’s bullcrap.”

I’m thinking about making a list of things that I think are stupid and forming a religion that prohibits me from doing them. It is against my religion now to do shots of Jagermeister or to wear pantyhose in the summer. If you want to join my religion, now is the time to do it, as I’m offering a discount on tithing.

The guys go on their reward, and Mark says that he’ll be a drag queen any time if it means he can play baseball with some pros. James played baseball in college and impresses his teammates with his moves. The guys have a great time, and it’s certainly better than Martha Stewart’s “victory is its own reward” attitude on Wednesday nights.

The women are still talking about the task. Felisha says that Toral screwed up. Jennifer, though, thinks Toral is not the reason they lost. She tells Felisha that they needed to show a logo and asks who was in charge of strategy. Felisha non-answers that it was such a big job that they all were. Toral says in an interview that the executives were not impressed with their presentation. She says that the team got what they deserved, and she’s happy that “they” lost. Note again that she said “they” and not “we.” Toral thinks the rest of her team is stupid and adds that this is not a popularity contest.

The candidates head to the Boardroom. Trump asks why there were no logos. someone tries to argue that it was on the spoon, but Carolyn’s not having it. George says DQ’s brand was not there. Jennifer says that she tried to tell them to put a logo on his shirt. Marshawn says that it was a group decision to not put a logo on him, but adds that Jennifer did oppose it. I think I like Marshawn. I hope we can see more of her. Trump asks why they didn’t have any logos, and Marshawn makes me like her more by saying there is no excuse.

Toral says that her group is great at putting up balloons and setting up cheese trays, but they’re not good at much else. Actually, last week’s task would indicate that they’re not good at balloons and cheese either. She says that they had no strategic marketing in their decision, and suddenly starts to sound very knowledgeable about marketing for someone who opted not to lead because she didn’t know marketing. She claims that no one listened to what she had to say. The group is politically divided, and the other group of women roll their eyes at her. Toral then claims she wouldn’t wear the costume for “personal and cultural reasons. She adds that a bad decision like that can haunt you. Trump says that he went on Saturday Night Live in a chicken suit, but Toral makes the point that he is Donald Trump and she’s not.

Toral says that she did not want to wear the costume because of “cultural and religious” reasons that she does not want to discuss. Trump says that he respects other people’s religious beliefs, but suspects she’s making excuses. He asks the big question – did she tell the rest of the team that her religion dictated that she not do this? He thinks they would have respected her beliefs. The other women say she did not. Toral says “I believe I did,” which Trump says means she didn’t.

Trump asks Rebecca if she is still a Toral fan. Rebecca says that she had hoped Toral would show leadership on this task, but she did not. Toral says that Felisha claimed to be a “marketing genius,” and everyone else says that is not true. Trump accuses her of making statements and then changing them. Rebecca agrees with the group that Felisha never claimed to be a genius or expert.

Trump asks Rebecca who she would fire. Rebecca says she is disappointed that she didn’t get to see Toral lead. After some arguing, Toral admits that it was a mistake not to volunteer to lead, and she regrets it.

Trump asks Marshawn if Toral is the reason they lost. Toral starts to answer, but Trump shuts her up. Marshawn says that Toral did not contribute. Toral agrues that she was sidelined on the task. She says that they did not have strong background information, and that she had to beg for competitive research. Once again, Toral suddenly seems to know an awful lot about marketing for someone who claimed she couldn’t do the task. Trump isn’t buying it either. He asks Rebecca again who she would fire. Rebecca reluctantly names Toral, saying, “The team won’t work with her on it.”

Trump says that he’s heard enough. He’s not even going to ask Felisha who she’d bring back. Toral is fired. “Go. Out,” he commands.

After the candidates leave, Trump says that Toral divided the team. Carolyn says Toral did not step up to the plate (drink!), and George adds that she should have worn the costume. Also, we don’t see it, but I’d like to believe as Toral leaves, she hands the Bitch Coat to Rebecca, saying, “Give this to Clay. He needs it more than I do now.”

Toral is not the reason the team lost this task – Jennifer is dead right that they should have had a logo on their character. That still might not have given them a win, but at least they would have had a fighting chance. And I can understand Toral’s desire to keep her dignity (even though I myself might not have that same desire), but this week, she was challenged to show the team what she had. She didn’t volunteer to lead the team, so she should have shown them what a great team player she can be. Putting on that Zip outfit wasn’t about big gloves and a silly costume. It was about being part of the team, and Toral refused to do it. Trump was right to fire her.

In her cab ride home, Toral says she takes her “personal dignity” very seriously. She thinks the women on her team are morons, and she wouldn’t hire Kristi or Felisha as her administrative assistant.

Next week, the candidates promote a movie, the name of which Jennifer can’t pronounce. And there’s a shocking ending! I will be on vacation next week, so I leave you in the capable hands of Jenn Brasler. See you in two weeks!

Betsy Wasser steps up to the plate every day as the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She is currently looking for a Bitch Coat of her very own. She can be reached with any comments at betsywasser@gmail.com

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! For more news about this show, be sure to check out SirLinksALot’s Apprentice page!