The Apprentice, Episode 12: Mile-High Club

I just want to take a minute to say how much I loved the attitudes of all three men in the boardroom tonight. All of them respected each other, no one put anyone down, and there was no rancor or ugliness when Troy made his decision. As the opening credits of the show remind us every week: it’s not personal; it’s business. No one took anything personally, and after so many very nasty boardrooms it was a breath of fresh air to see such civility and good sportsmanship.

In the boardroom, Trump says that he’s surprised by Troy’s decision. Carolyn says she’s not. She thinks that Kwame’s approach is very textbook and doesn’t stem from experience. Bernie says that Troy has great instincts, but can be a loose cannon. He needs to mellow out and get some experience. Kwame and Troy joke that they should be wrestling. They hug before heading back inside.

Trump opens with, “So, Kwame, your friend screwed you.” Troy explains that Kwame is fantastic in a supporting role but that over the past twelve weeks, Bill has had some great ideas. Trump notices that Troy is reading from his notes and tells Troy to get rid of them. Troy continues and says that while Kwame has made some good contributions, he hasn’t come out of his box yet. Kwame agrees that he has been a steady performer. Trump says that he’s not a leader, and Kwame argues that he has been project manager three times. Trump says that even then, he was rather laid-back. Carolyn adds that even when he’s in charge, he doesn’t really lead. Troy says that he has instinct and guts, which cannot be taught, no matter what your education. Trump interrupts and says that education is not a bad thing.

Trump says that he has to choose between a Harvard MBA and a guy with just a high school diploma, but with some terrific talents. It’s his toughest decision ever. He thinks that Troy can be a bit of a livewire, and if he’s going to run one of Trump’s companies, “the consequences… could be costly and devastating.” As a result, Troy is fired.

I can’t believe it!

I couldn’t help but notice that throughout Trump’s long speech about his decision, we never actually saw his face. We saw Troy, Kwame, Carolyn, and Bernie’s reactions, and we saw the back of Trump’s head, but we never actually saw him say those words. That makes me think that they dubbed that speech in later, so I wonder what he actually said. I don’t think there’s a scandal in there or anything; just some interesting editing. Back to the show.

Troy and Kwame hug and say they love each other. As Troy heads for the streets, Trump says that he’ll be a huge success one day, but he’s not ready yet. Trump says that it was a tough decision. Carolyn adds, “Good for him for lasting this long.

This is the first time I’ve really been surprised by Trump’s decision. I honestly thought that Troy had this game in the bag. He’s smart, he’s resourceful, he’s charming, and he could sell you a bottle of Trump Ice in a monsoon. Troy is also the only candidate who bothered to work with Sam instead of around him. No manager can count on having a staff made up completely of fantastic talented people, and it’s the hallmark of a truly great manager if he can get a good performance out of a difficult employee. Troy did that with Sam. Troy took some risks, sure, but he also made some tremendous saves for his team. He was the one who won the Trump Ice challenge for his team with his idea to sell the water a month in advance. He completely charmed the celebrities in the auction challenge, and although his team didn’t win that challenge, they would have fared much worse without Troy.

Kwame, on the other hand, really hasn’t done much to stand out. He did a great job last week by letting Troy and Bill run the show, but that technique wouldn’t have worked if he hadn’t had such all-stars at his side. He also led Protégé in making the big mistake of choosing the wrong artist in the art challenge. But for the most part, Kwame has faded into the background. He’s not a leader, and he’s not an idea man. He’s smart, and he’s capable. I like him, and I respect him, but Troy was a much better choice. I think Trump made the wrong decision. Is Troy a bit of a live wire? Well, compared to Kwame he is, but you have to take some risks if you want to win big. Kwame (with the exception of choosing the bizarre artist) wouldn’t take big risks.

I’m disappointed, but I don’t doubt Troy will come out of this on top. I’ve read that he has already gotten job offers in the event that he didn’t win, and now he can write his own ticket instead of being pinned down by a one-year contract with Donald Trump. Still, I’ll miss Troy. He was a lot of fun to watch. Troy, if you’re reading this, I want you to know you did a great job.

Next week is the penultimate episode of The Apprentice, and it looks like a good one. We’re down to the final four candidates, but two of them will be fired in the first half hour. And NBC has two little words for us: Oma. Rosa. Omarosa is back – look out! If you can’t wait until then to get your Omarosa fix, check out her induction into the Reality TV Hall of Shame! See you next week.

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

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