The Apprentice 2, Episode 9: Destruction and Rebuilding

Looks like Jennifer herself is unwilling to go under the radar, because the very next thing we see is Jennifer confronting Ivana about not contributing. Ivana disagrees, and the two argue. Jennifer says in an interview that she hopes she intimidates the other people on her team because she wants to be known as someone who expects people to take responsibility for their actions. Ivana says that she worked very hard on the task and says that her hands are sore from it. Jennifer scoffs, “You lost dismally as project manager, and you’re barely contributing. You think you’re going to bring me down?” Man, if Ivana doesn’t get fired, Jennifer has now made it next to impossible for the two of them to work together, which is not smart. Jennifer concludes the segment by saying that she’s going to back Raj. She thinks he’s smart and a good leader.

In the boardroom, Trump is sporting a tuxedo. He explains that he has an event after this, and admits, “I’m dressed a little formally for this firing.” He asks Raj what went wrong. Raj says it’s simple – they were over-promised by a contractor who under-delivered. The contractor did a bad job, and Raj says that ultimately, he hired him and is responsible.

Bradford says that Raj is the best natural developer. Trump doesn’t think so – having four bedrooms in the house was better than the three that Raj left them with. Bradford then says that he admires Raj for taking the blame for hiring Carlos, but that Raj hired him on Kevin’s strong recommendation. Kevin admits that’s true. Then, Bradford tells Kevin to admit it. Um, he just did, Bradford. Looks like you were preparing that next line instead of listening. Bradford says that they needed a better contractor. Well, we can all agree on that.

Jennifer says that Stacie did a great job on the task. Trump, perhaps feeling bad for the whole “Stacie is mentally ill” debacle, makes a point of saying how well Stacie did on the task and that she deserves everyone’s praise. I’m sure that doesn’t make up for the fact that a bunch of people confused “unpopular” with “dangerously unbalanced” on national TV, but at this point, Stacie looks like she’ll take what she can get.

But then, Ivana pipes up that Jennifer asked her to have Stacie quit working on the windows because she wasn’t doing a very good job. Trump asks the question we’re all wondering: “Why are you so nasty?” He says, and I agree, that it was totally uncalled for. Poor Stacie had to deal with the stigma of all of the bad things everyone said about her before, and she desperately wants to redeem herself. Why can’t Ivana just let her have it? Jennifer says Ivana is being begrudging, and Ivana actually tries to argue with her. Trump tells her, “Leave it alone.” Yes, please do. Stacie then says that she thought Carlos the Contractor was good at first and seemed like a go-getter.

Trump asks Bradford, “If you were me,” then goes on a short tangent about how Bradford wouldn’t want to be him, as Bradford is younger and better looking than Trump. Bradford grins and says that Trump has a pretty good looking fiancé, so he actually wouldn’t mind being Trump. Shut up, Bradford. Anyway, who would Bradford fire? Bradford names Ivana. She’s great at working out business plans, but in action she doesn’t contribute much.

Trump dismisses Bradford and Stacie. He asks Raj who he wants to bring back to the boardroom, and Raj names Ivana and Kevin. Before he heads back to the suite, Chris says he wants to make one point. Trump asks him if he’s sure, since he has absolutely nothing to gain from this. Chris insists, and tells Trump, Carolyn, and Matt that the chemistry on the team is horrible, and if things go on as they are, they will lose again. Carolyn immediately accuses him of being disloyal, and she’s totally right. Trump gives Raj a chance to also bring Chris to the boardroom after that remark, but Raj declines. Trump doesn’t like Chris’s statement at all. Carolyn adds, “Don’t tell us about it. Fix it.” Go, Carolyn! Trump wonders why Chris would feel the need to say that at all, and tells Chris that he will be project manager next week to show what he can do.

Remember at the beginning of this article when I said that I didn’t find Chris obnoxious and overbearing? Glad to know that the universe has righted itself again.

Chris and Jennifer leave, and Trump asks Carolyn and Matt what they think. Carolyn likes that Raj took responsibility for his actions, thinks Ivana worked hard, and that Kevin picked a lousy contractor. Matt agrees with her about Kevin and Ivana, but thinks Raj didn’t execute his plans well.

Raj, Kevin, and Ivana return to the boardroom, and Trump asks Raj why he picked Ivana. Ivana immediately chimes in, saying she’d certainly like to know why she and Kevin were picked. Trump again says what we’re all thinking – that Kevin was an obvious choice because he recommended the contractor. Also, shut up, Ivana. Trump asked Raj why he picked you, and if you’d let him, he’ll tell you why. Then you can argue with his reasoning. Kevin denies choosing the contractor, and Raj and Trump tell him that we all know better than that. Kevin then admits again that he did recommend Carlos, to which Trump says, “And that was a big mistake.” Matt says that if he were to recommend a bad hire to Trump, it would be his fault.

Ivana says that she “plugged holes” in Raj’s vision. Raj says that was his job, and that he didn’t need Ivana to do it too. Ivana then says that Raj “requires adult supervision.” This is now about the 100th time Ivana has used that line. She actually used it earlier in this very episode about Stacie. It must be the only criticism she can think of to use, because I have no idea how that might apply to Raj, ever. Regardless, Trump thinks Ivava shouldn’t be there.

Trump goes on to say that Raj made a lot of mistakes – backing a bad contractor, taking out the fourth bedroom, and not bringing Chris to the boardroom. Raj is fired. Trump says, “Too many mistakes. Go.”

Well, I liked Raj, and I think he’s definitely a better candidate than Ivana, for example, so it’s a shame he’s not still in the running. But he definitely made some key mistakes that lead to the team’s loss. He could have fired Carlos, hired more people like Andy did on the other team, or badgered Carlos more insistently to get the job done. And while it’s admirable to take responsibility, Raj didn’t go about it quite right this time. He should have said that he hired Carlos on Kevin’s recommendation and taken responsibility for not getting rid of Carlos, not for hiring him in the first place. I also think that knocking down that wall was a big mistake. Not only did losing a bedroom affect the value of the house, but it was also a time-consuming project that may have taken resources away from finishing that bathroom. The bathroom should have been the focus. Sadly, it made sense this week for Raj to go.

Luckily, Raj isn’t exactly crying into his scotch. Before he gets in the elevator, he asks Robin for her phone number. She tries to ignore him, and he asks if she has a boyfriend. Finally, he says, “All right, I’ll be back,” and heads downstairs. Our boy Raj has a sense of humor. He’ll be just fine. Raj, if you’re reading this, I like your style. Raj heads to the street and loads a cab with his suitcase full of bow ties, two-tone shoes, and canes.

In his confessional, Raj says he learned to be consistently on the attack. He wishes he’d gone after Kevin and Ivana more strongly, but that he’s a gentleman. He ignored his own good sense. Then, he says that he thinks Robin was intimidated by him. “But, I’ll get it at some point.” Way to leave us smiling, Raj.

Next week, my least favorite candidate Chris is in charge… of a bridal salon. Oooh, awesome! I hope that my other least favorite candidate, bridal shop owner Sandy, takes his jerk down. And does one team get into some kind of accident? Plus, we’re promised a “boardroom beating.” I am so there.

Betsy is the Associate Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.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 reality TV, be sure to check out SirLinksALot!