Celebrity Apprentice, Episode 6: The Hydra Juggernaut

Trump asks Baldwin whom he would fire. He says he’d base it on a task-by-task basis. Trump counters that he past always enters into it; you can’t forget past tasks. Heh. It seems like Trump always asks Baldwin a “theory” question, and then disagrees with the answer. In retrospect, that was a clue how things were going to proceed.

Baldwin adds the team worked great together, but from what he saw, Marilu had the most questionable performance. Umm… you missed most of the task, dude! Omarosa picks up on that and says it’s hard to communicate with Marilu when she gets into full-speed mode.

Trump starts to probe for whom Omarosa might bring back to the final Boardroom with her. She says it will have to include Steven “by default,” because he didn’t contribute a full day’s work and she cannot measure his performance. Don Junior points out that he wasn’t a factor in the decision that made them lose.

Trump compares that response to Gene Simmons in Episode 3, and says, “Nely was the beneficiary of that, in all fairness.” He adds that he thinks bringing Steven back is a mistake, but it’s her decision.

Trying not to make even more enemies than she has already, Omarosa asks if they can all face the final decision together because they have been such a team together. Nice try… but for reasons that are unclear to me, Carol and Marilu nod their agreement! Nely is immobile, perhaps stunned because she can’t believe how well Omarosa picked up the “Kumbaya” spirit from her. However, George is shaking his head and Trump isn’t having any of that either. No sale… Trump wants two names.

Forced to choose, it’s Marilu and… Nely. What, her worshipful, loyal, toady Nely? What in the name of Donald Trump put that name into her head? In the suite, the men are sure Omarosa is going home.

Trump tosses them out and solicits input from his aides. Don Junior has no real help, but George comments that TV producer Nely ought to have seen they were astray and taken corrective action.

Asked why she chose these two, Omarosa says she didn’t get sufficient creative feedback from Nely, and Marilu didn’t communicate well because she doesn’t listen. Trump finds the source of that comment amusing and Trump Junior calls it “the definition of irony.”

Omarosa blames both of the other women for a lack of creative guidance. Nely and Marilu are just sitting there, taking it.

Trump comments that Nely has been lucky not to be fired twice. Finally, Nely fights back. She points out that Gene Simmons didn’t bring her back to the Boardroom because “he thought I was excellent,” and that wasn’t her being lucky. She points out that Trump keeps bringing it up and doesn’t see why he can’t see past it. Trump responds that Gene made “a critical mistake” in not bringing her back to the Boardroom.

Nely adds that in fact, no one has ever brought her back into a final Boardroom. She again wonders why that topic keeps coming up, and Trump says, “Because I always revert to the past.” That’s true – he told Baldwin that earlier!

But we’re done. Nely is fired.

As they leave the room, Trump tells Omarosa that she needs to step up, because Piers is killing her. Even she admits that is true.

In the cab ride, Nely talks about her charity, Count Me In, which helps female entrepreneurs.

Next week: team switch-ups. Omarosa and Piers together on the same team... who didn’t see that coming? Lennox and Carol have front-row seats, meaning it’s Marilu, Baldwin, Trace, and Tito on the other team.

My Comments: Nely’s time ran out. I credit Omarosa for dodging another entry in the Reality TV Hall Of Shame by picking up on Trump’s hints and calling Nely back to the final Boardroom.

For those who are unaware, Gene Simmons has now been officially accorded a Reality TV Hall Of Shame Moment for his disrespectful exit from the game in Episode 3. Click here to read relive all the gory details.

My thanks to reader “Kate,” who last week sent me her thoughts about the Empresario shoe campaign while I was still working on the recap. She said it better than I was going to, so I incorporated her thoughts with mine to produce the opinions you read here.

Here’s some thoughts for next week. One, I can’t see anyone breaking into a final four of Baldwin, Piers, Omarosa, and Marilu, but I could be wrong. Do you?

Two, how about those new teams? Who will win the next battle of the Rolodexes? Who is the more creative group?

Readers are invited to share their opinions at the eAddress below. And next week, join me here for a recap of all the new action, sprinkled with my own reactions and opinions.

Brian lives in Toronto. He spent a couple of decades working in middle management at The Prudential, primarily hiding behind the coffee machines in generally unsuccessful attempts to avoid his pointy-haired bosses. He can be reached at uncle_bto@rogers.com. He’d like to hear your opinions and promises to respond to all serious email.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent articles on this show at our The Apprentice page and take a look at our sections on Project Runway and The Biggest Loser. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about The Apprentice, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: The Apprentice!