The Apprentice 3, Episode 2 Extras: Under Pressure

I’m actually enjoying this extra footage more than I did last season. It’s giving a lot of interesting insight into the contestants.

We start in the middle of the episode, with Brian and John’s discussion on the veranda. There isn’t much additional footage here, but John says that Brian is insecure. Brian says that he is good at reading people and wants John to be honest with him. John replies that he’s being honest by calling Brian’s behavior “silly.” Brian accuses John of acting the way he is because it’s part of the game. John denies this, saying that he wants to win. I’m not entirely clear on what Brian’s trying to say. I think he’s in denial and doesn’t want to be blamed for his horrible leadership skills.

Next we see Magna fixing up their hotel. Erin says that Verna hasn’t done anything all day; she’s only worked on customer service. Hey, Erin, where’s your pink bath mat? I wanted to laugh at it again. Michael says that Verna started working at 2 p.m. and it’s now 4 a.m., but she’s not finished with everything she was supposed to do. Verna goes to help Bren paint; he says that he’ll show her how, but she needs to put her purse down. Verna declines, saying that the purse has a lot of money in it. I think Verna’s seen the past two seasons of this show.

Michael says that Verna wanted to be the accountant because it’s another job that doesn’t require physical work. Verna complains about something and Michael, who’s standing at the door to the room, tells her to be quiet since she had an easy job all day. Verna tries to talk to him about customer satisfaction, but he just wants her to paint. Verna interviews that she’s not getting the support from Michael that she needs. She asks why Michael is making her paint when he’s just standing outside the door, making wisecracks. I thought the same exact thing. She thinks that Michael is setting her up to be a scapegoat in case the team loses.

In an unaired scene, Bren tells us that Kendra found a place where Magna could get everything they need for all of the rooms. In fact, they can get $13,000 worth of furniture for $7,000. I’d love to know how Kendra found out about that. Bren says that the place won’t deliver, but this point becomes blurry later, so I won’t dwell on it. Anyway, Bren and Danny are sent to pick everything up in a U-Haul. Unfortunately, this place is two hours away and neither of these guys has ever driven in New Jersey before. Oh, dear. You don’t want to drive in New Jersey if you’re not from New Jersey. It’s a really bad idea, for you and the other people on the road.

Danny and Bren’s first problem is that they can’t find the right highway. There are a billion highways around that area, but not the one they need. Bren says that there’s nothing he’d rather do on The Apprentice than try to find a furniture place in New Jersey. He adds that the “Yankees” are crazy for the way they design their roads. Danny halfheartedly agrees with this, probably not wanting to mention that he’s one of those Yankees.

Bren and Danny arrive at the furniture store after two and a half hours of driving. That’s not too bad. However, it’s 1 p.m., and the guests will start arriving at the hotel at 5 p.m. Danny thinks that Net Worth is going to win, since he and Bren have to load up the furniture, drive back to the hotel, and unload everything in just four hours. In the U-Haul on the way back, Bren blames Michael for not letting them pay extra to have the furniture delivered. Danny points out that if Magna manages to win, Michael will wind up with immunity. Bren says that if they win, it will be in spite of Michael, not because of him. They’ve probably already lost, and now they just have to figure out who to blame.

In the middle of the night, Verna has her little breakdown. She says that she’s overcome by the pressure of being perfect and her fear of failing. In the morning, Bren learns that Verna has quit, but instead of trying to talk to her, he decides that he needs to take care of the customers. Verna leaves, and Bren says that no matter how well they performed the night before, the guests are going to receive bad service now and they won’t give them a good review.

Carolyn arrives at Magna’s hotel and Erin offers her breakfast. Danny announces that Verna left and Erin is surprised. Carolyn asks where the pressure on Verna came from, since Magna said that they were getting along so well. Danny carefully says that Verna was alienated from some of the members of the team. I’m far from liking Danny, but I have to give him points for not pointing fingers and naming Michael as the main problem. He says that he feels bad for Verna.

Carolyn tracks Verna down and is very sympathetic. She drives Verna back to the hotel as Verna voices over that you can’t succeed if you’re stubborn. She stopped being stubborn when she got in the car and learned that she can’t do everything. (This is the lesson she told Carolyn she learned.) Erin complains that Verna had the easiest job and couldn’t handle it. I can’t wait for the Pink Bath Mat Princess to get hers. She’s almost as annoying as Kristen. Bren says that it’s not difficult to imagine Verna cracking under the pressure.

Alex, however, says that there’s no excuse for the way Verna reacted. Her actions hurt her and the rest of the team. Erin denies that Michael is out to get Verna. Verna talks to Michael and apologizes; he assures her that they’ll win. Danny is impressed by Verna’s return, but Erin is still upset.