The Apprentice 5, Episode 12: Marry Me, Ivanka

Synergy has 1-1/2 hours to go. Tammy says that Wal-Mart is full of signs, so they need a good one. Roxanne’s sign is way too small. Roxanne admits it may have been too simple, but “ultimately, I got the sign delivered, so I don’t want to hear [naughty word] about signs.” Wow, I remember when I used to like Roxanne. Her refusing to take responsibility for the task delegated to her is not winning her any points with me.

Sean calls and begs Adrien to come with a blank ceiling, no matter if it’s wet. Lee wants to start working on anything they can do. Lee puts up the wrap with tubes and duct tape. Sean says if Adrien shows up, “keep him away from me.”

Synergy’s display looks nice. It’s got black drapes from floor to ceiling. Inside are chairs for lounging, plus big screened TVs showing what the Xbox can do. Tammy says that the vision and layout are all hers. She tells the executives that it’s an entertainment theme, showcasing the X-box as an award winning project. The setting is comfortable and not too high tech. It’s hard to read what the executives think.

Gold Rush looks pretty junky. The wrap, which the guys put up with duct tape and a whole lot of hope, is really sagging. There are exposed wires everywhere. The inside, though, looks pretty cool. Everything is branded with the Xbox look. They not only have the big TVs, they also have a bunch of other compatible projects. Sean is not happy at all with how things look, but they push on. Jay from Microsoft thinks it’s a bit crowded. Sean says it could be bigger. After the presentation ends, Adrien shows up with the roof. Lovely!

The teams arrive at Microsoft to meet their fate. Ivanka and Bill can’t wait to see how this plays out. They both have strong opinions. Trump asks how everybody did. Sean says that they missed the mark in implementation. Allie is now more confident hearing what Sean had to say. Ouch.

The executives start with the women. Synergy’s environment is inviting, a great hangout. The problem is, it’s not a place to make a high-end purchase. Nothing grabbed you or pulled it together – no price points, etc. Gold Rush looked unfinished, but they created a retail-friendly environment, showed prices and products, and was shop-able. They agree that it worked. Despite Gold Rush’s execution, they win.

I’m really happy with this outcome. It shows that Jay and Steve had some vision. Even though Gold Rush’s project wasn’t quite finished, they were able to see how strong it would have been if they’d had just a little more time. Tammy’s display was attractive, but had too soft a sell, especially in an environment like Wal-Mart, which is not exactly known for its subtlety.

For their reward, Sean and Lee will take a private jet to California to audition their voices for the movie Over the Hedge. And, away they go! Sean thinks that British people in cartoons tend to be evil. They arrive at Dreamworks. Jeffrey Katzenberg greets them. Sean says he has both creativity and business acumen. They preview the movie, which they love. Then, they audition for bit parts in the movie. Lee is not too good. Sean isn’t much better, but says he was feeling the part. Still, they will have tiny parts in the movie. They both loved the opportunity.

Synergy hangs out at the suite and is really jealous of the reward. Allie says she loves Tammy, but someone has to go. It was Tammy’s vision. In an interview, she says Tammy was the PM and made it all about her, so there’s no choice. Roxanne says Tammy wants it to be her show. She’s not sure if Tammy will fight or not. Allie hopes it’ll be clean. Roxanne says that based on “the world according to Tammy,” it won’t be. Tammy thinks Roxanne did a terrible job with the signs. Did she sabotage her? Has she been riding Allie’s coattails?

Synergy arrives in the boardroom. Tammy says she wanted to be project manager again to gain his respect. Allie says she was a good project manager in terms of operations, but lost the big picture. Roxanne thinks this was a hard task for them because of Tammy’s leadership. Tammy says she felt strongly about her vision and was disappointed that it wasn’t successful. She wanted an entertainment theme and a sense of excitement. Trump says it looked like a cheap third rate liquor lounge. Sounds like the kind of place Simon Cowell would claim a bad American Idol auditioner might find success.

Tammy wanted a place where people might hang out, say husbands dragged to Wal-Mart with their wives. Trump says it was hard to find the price of anything. Tammy blames herself for that. But she couldn’t count on her team to execute what she had to do. Roxanne was in charge of signage and says she did what Tammy asked. She repeats that Tammy said the project was all about her. Roxanne says that Tammy walked off and ignored her. Tammy says she got nothing from either of them. Allie smirks and looks disapproving as hard as she can while Roxanne and Tammy argue. Roxanne says that they all choke sometimes. Trump disagrees. Tammy says the other two gossip all the time.

Ivanka says that Allie has been rolling her eyes and not saying anything. Does she have something to say? Because now is the time to say it. Marry me, Ivanka. That was seriously one of the most awesome lines in the show ever. I totally love her for calling Allie on that passive crap. Ivanka is awesome.

Allie denies it, but Ivanka says it is what she’s been doing. Bill says that Allie rolled her eyes at him and it really rubbed him the wrong way. Allie apologizes first to Bill, then, almost as an afterthought, to Tammy. Ivanka says that Tammy takes things personally. Trump says he takes things personally too, and holds grudges. Ivanka says that’s true. Trump says not to worry about it.

Tammy says Roxanne was the worst. She brings Allie down. Allie and Roxanne disagree. Roxanne says she’s a straight shooter. Trump says she doesn’t get along with others- such as Tammy. Roxanne thinks Tammy is attacking them. Bill says it’s the opposite- the others are attacking Tammy.

The fabulous Ivanka says Allie’s not saying anything- what was Allie’s involvement? Ivanka is unclear as to what Allie contributed- positive or negative- to the task. Man, do I love Ivanka. At this point, my husband suggests that maybe Ivanka would like to live in our guest room. She could just follow us around, suggest ways that we might be more efficient, and make really intelligent statements, all while wearing fabulous clothes.

Allie repeats that it was Tammy’s vision. Trump asks Allie who’s better- Roxanne or Tammy. Bill laughs at it, since we all know what her answer will be. Of course, Allie picks Roxanne, but says she’s friends with both of them. Roxanne says that Tammy is using her as a target because she wasn’t a yes man. Allie’s more diplomatic, Roxanne says. Tammy says Roxanne is riding Allie’s coattails. Roxanne points to her record as PM. The two yell over each other. Trump says it’s enough. Tammy agrees both of her opponents are tough. Have they teamed up on her because of lack of leadership? Tammy is 1-3 as PM, but argues that at least she stepped up. She says she’s not over her head and remained calm despite not having support. Trump says she didn’t have control over her team and wasn’t respected. Allie blinks hard. Roxanne says that she wanted them to make the final four. But Tammy wanted the project to be all about her. Ugh, no she didn’t! She wanted it to be about her, meaning that she wanted her team to work with her to carry out her vision. Since her team failed to help her at all, it didn’t end up being about her at all.

Trump says that they missed the mark with lousy design. Tammy says she wanted other suggestions and got nothing better. Trump says she was a bad leader with bad design. Tammy is fired. I wait patiently for him to fire the other two while he’s at it, but no such luck. Allie says “no more eye rolls” as she leaves, and Trump kicks her out of the boardroom. Thanks, Trump! Tammy puts on her beautiful green coat and leaves. Trump thinks it was a tough decision and Ivanka and Bill pretend to agree.

Tammy is disappointed that she didn’t make it farther. Maybe she didn’t have a big enough personality. She’s a problem solver, not a problem creator. She thinks Allie and Roxanne will crash and burn in a non-sales related task.

Honestly, I would have been happy if all three of them had been fired this week. Tammy was the one who came up with the ineffective idea. Although it looked pretty, it really was a bad design for the task they had in mind- so bad that they lost to a display with visible wires and duct tape. But instead of offering better options or contributing anything helpful whatsoever, Allie and Roxanne made snide comments about Tammy and the project and rolled their eyes. Oh, I’m sorry- “raised eyebrows” and “pointed my eyes in an upward direction.” Roxanne’s signs were all wrong, and what did Allie do again? I have no idea. I guess now I’m rooting for Sean, but truly, the only person I’m really cheering for now is Ivanka.

I’ll see you next week for the final four!

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