The Apprentice, Episode 11: Eye of the Tiger

Trump cuts to the chase: whose dumb idea was the car thing? Katrina admits that she mentioned a car. Trump asks whose idea it was to give away just a rental. Amy says that she can’t remember who. Oh, you can’t? Well, I can. It was Amy’s idea. Amy’s exact words were, “We can pay for a weekend car rental of a luxury vehicle.” Just for the record.

Amy chooses Katrina to go to the boardroom with her.

Mark says that Katrina was blasé and uninspired all day. Carolyn agrees, but says that Amy made some big mistakes. Trump brings the two women back in. Carolyn asks Amy why she spared Nick. Amy says that Katrina and Nick did equally on the task, but that overall Nick is a stronger performer. Katrina counters that she has been underestimated and says that Amy cut her off at the dealership when they were negotiating the promotion. Katrina says, “I’m not the kind of person who’s going to wrestle somebody to be a star.” Trump counters, “Sometimes you have to.” He’s absolutely right, and in a fierce competition like this one, you absolutely should.

Katrina says that she was using her charm to get a deal from the dealer. Trump asks her if she believes in using her “womanly charm” to get what she wants. She says she does. Amy says that all of the men use their charm to get ahead, too. I think that those are two very different things. Troy uses his charm to show people that he’s a hell of a guy and to make them feel comfortable and as if they can trust him; Katrina flirts, giggles, and wears short skirts to show people how cute she is.

Katrina then tells Trump that she thinks Amy picked her because of her relationship with Nick. Trump had no idea anything was going on and says he’s surprised. Amy says that it was not a personal decision to bring Katrina to the boardroom. Katrina says that she thinks Amy and Nick are playing each other. Trump asks Amy how she feels about that, and she says it’s fine. She insists that Nick is not her boyfriend. Really, all we’ve seen them do is flirt. I don’t think they’ve even kissed yet, so I think Katrina is making way too much of their relationship.

Carolyn points out that Amy saved Nick, who she claims is the stronger competitor. If she wants to win, why not try to get rid of him? Amy says that she wants to keep the best players on her team. Not to mention the fact that if Amy had chosen to save the weaker player, she would have been savaged for it. She then points out that as project manager, she has won four challenges. Katrina dismisses it as luck, but Trump has made up his mind. He has to make his decision based on past performance, so Katrina is fired. As Katrina takes the down elevator, Carolyn says that Amy has proven herself much more than Katrina has. Trump agrees.

In her final words, Katrina says that she thinks Amy is using her relationship with Nick strategically. She thinks that the remaining men should open their eyes, because Amy is going to manipulate all of them until only she remains.

Did Trump make the right choice? The car rental idea was a really bad one, and worse, it was the only real idea Versacorp had. And, as we know, it was Amy’s idea. Katrina had some plans that would have generated more excitement for Versacorp, but she didn’t present her ideas well and she didn’t fight for them. Just saying, “Tiger!” isn’t enough. You have to say, “We can get a tiger from the show for free, and we can use it in this way to attract customers.” But even if Katrina had her way and those tigers were surrounded by belly dancers, Versacorp still would have lost because of Bill’s success with the VIP players. In this task, none of the players on the losing team really sank the ship, so Trump had to look at past challenges. The evidence was clear. Amy had been undefeated for the past ten tasks and had been chosen by her peers several times. Katrina, on the other hand, has suffered some embarrassing losses, including a real estate challenge that should have been an easy win for her. Trump absolutely kept the best candidate.

Next week on The Apprentice, tension is high as we are down to just five candidates. Can anyone beat powerhouse couple Nick and Amy? The task involves high-end real estate. And there are only two episodes left before the finale! I’ll see you here next week.

Betsy is the Assistant Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com.

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