The Apprentice, Episode 3: Put up or Shut Up

This week’s episode of The Apprentice begins with everyone wondering who won’t survive the previous episode’s visit to the boardroom. Most are pretty confident that Sam will get the axe, but Ereka wonders if he can “weasel his way out of this.” That question is quickly answered when Sam and Nick return – Jason is gone, and Sam lives to fight another day.

Everyone is shocked to see Sam again. Troy muses, “Old D.T., he’s connected with that guy.” He figures Trump must see something in Sam that he likes. Meanwhile, Sam lingers in the hallway while the rest of the group hangs out in the kitchen. Sam is offended. He says, “I’m not moving until someone comes and greets me at the door.” He says that when he goes to his parents’ house, someone greets him at the door. I’m sorry, but Sam is making no sense. If you go to someone else’s house, then, yes, you should expect someone to greet you at the door. But if it’s your own house, you should just go on inside. Sam is under the impression that everyone is talking to Nick because they like Nick better. But the reason Nick is surrounded by people is that Nick walked into the house, found the others, and stared talking to them. It’s just that easy.

Nick says that Sam’s performance in the boardroom was brilliant. He thinks, “Either Sam is incredibly brilliant, or he’s half nuts.” Sam’s actions seem to support the “half nuts” theory, as he is still in the hallway and has chosen to remove his shoes and pants. In an interview, Sam says that his “wild man” antics are not just strategy. Whatever, dude; put your pants on.

Troy has a different perspective on things. He says, “We are playing this game wrong.” He thinks that Trump likes Sam and has given him so many chances because he’s a risk taker who the other guys don’t like. If the guys made their feelings about Sam less obvious, Trump would be less inclined to keep giving him chances. Bill says that Sam has “entertainment value,” but he’s had enough of it – he wants to win a challenge. Bill boldly suggests that they make Sam their next team leader. Either he’ll prove himself to be the genius that he claims to be, or he’ll fail miserably and they’ll be rid of him. Bill says, “It’s time for Sam to put up or shut up.”

Meanwhile, Jessie calls a meeting of all of the women to talk about the tension between Ereka and Omarosa. She says very calmly that she’s worried that if they’re divided, and if there is constant bickering, they will not work well as a team. Ereka nods, but Omarosa immediately takes offense. She says that she does not want to sit in a group and have this conversation. If Jessie has something to say to her, she should talk to her alone, not in front of everyone. Katrina chimes in to say that she has been embarrassed by the squabbling between the two women. She says that when they argued in front of a pilot at last week’s challenge, he looked utterly disgusted with them. Omarosa has had enough of this conversation, and gets up to leave. Katrina says that Omarosa never lets her talk and always talks over her. Omarosa leaves the room.

Omarosa comes off incredibly badly in this exchange. I think that Jessie was well within her rights to call this meeting. Omarosa and Ereka’s arguing has been a real distraction during the challenges and has made it harder for the women to come together as a team. Jessie also never showed any indication of taking anyone’s side or telling anyone that they were wrong. She held both women equally accountable. Ereka looked like she was willing to hear it, but Omarosa chose to storm off. That doesn’t exactly prove Omarosa’s point that she’s better, smarter, or more mature than the others.

With Omarosa gone, the meeting dissolves pretty quickly. Kristi suggests that they try to ignore the conflict and move on. In an interview, Amy says that in general, women tend to hold grudges. Men, on the other hand, can yell and scream at each other, but they’ll get their anger out of their systems and move on. I think, for the most part, she’s right.

The next morning, the Trump phone rings at 6:00. The candidates are to meet at the Westchester airport at 8:00. Katrina wants to talk to Omarosa about the Ereka situation before they go. Omarosa says that Katrina should have said something to her before, since they are roommates. Katrina thinks it would have been fake to say something before, and Omarosa counters that it was fake to talk in front of the group, but not in front of her. I’m really not following why either of those things is particularly fake. Maybe Katrina is nice to Omarosa when they’re alone, but then in front of the group, confronted her, which Omarosa found fake. Maybe Katrina meant that even though they are roommates, they have no special bond, so it would have been fake to have a heart-to-heart with her.

Regardless, the conversation has taken a turn for the worse. Katrina points out that unlike Omarosa, she gets along with everyone. Omarosa says, “I did not come here to make friends.” I’ve watched enough reality TV shows at this point to know that the minute you find yourself saying, “I did not come here to make friends,” you are officially the bad guy. Katrina tells Omarosa, “Life is too short to be a bitch,” and that she will never be successful if everyone around her hates her. Omarosa counters that she already is successful; she has gone from the projects to the White House. Katrina counters that she’d rather be less successful and still be able to look herself in the mirror every day. In an interview, Katrina says that if Donald Trump is looking for someone who will manipulate and backstab others to win, Omarosa is that person. Omarosa, on the other hand, thinks that Katrina is being naïve for trying to make friends rather than trying to win.