The Apprentice 4, Episode 7 Extras: When Will Markus Stop Talking, Clarice?

We start out with the surviving candidates in the suite, waiting to see who will come out of what they don’t realize is a Boardroom massacre. I think Brian even wonders if everyone has been fired. At midnight, no one has come back, so everyone goes to bed. Time of death, 12:00.

Then we go back in time (ooh!) to before 12:00, when everyone is still sitting around and waiting. Brian seems to be a little sleepy. Markus notes that this is a first. Rebecca says, “It’s over, isn’t it?” Brian doesn’t want to believe that his buddies are gone. Markus asks if the Boardroom was brutal, but Rebecca tells him that it doesn’t matter, since things could have changed after they left. She says that she and Brian don’t know anything about what’s happening there now. Markus wonders why there are four people in the Boardroom instead of three. Brian is a little irritated and repeats that they only know what Markus knows. I have to say, I’d probably be asking the same questions as Markus.

Markus interviews that with four people in the Boardroom, they have to assume that one will come back to tell the story. Except this isn’t a horror movie, where one person survives (and, of course, is targeted again in the sequel). He says that everyone has basically disappeared, like aliens. He’s taking my horror movie metaphor a little too far. Markus continues that the point of the Boardroom is that someone gets fired, so if four people go home tonight, it’s better for him. I was thinking that, too - it’s only beneficial for the remaining candidates if four are taken out in one fell swoop. Marshawn and Rebecca head to bed around 11:40. This is about the same time that Alla says they’ll declare the others done at midnight.

Fast forward to Capital Edge brainstorming. Shhh, Markus. Adam pulls him aside and tells him to focus.

Capital Edge talks about sex. Okay, that sounds bad. They’re talking about their topic for the task. Adam is a little hesitant to teach a class about sex. He interviews that Clay is attracted to racier topics. He tells the group that he doesn’t want the discussion to get too graphic. Clay starts talking blue, which makes Adam blush.

More Capital Edge. They share what they’ve learned from their research. Shhh, Markus.

We see the Trump Lesson of the Week again. Yeah, we got it the first time. We’re supposed to get to the point.

Even more Capital Edge, as we see them working at the suite at night. Well, Adam is working. Alla and Clay are running around like little kids. Adam asks if they can be professional and get some work done. Alla replies that they’re just taking a little break. Clay gives Adam a “quote” for the presentation, but it’s actually a distasteful joke: “What’s a Jewish porno? 10 minutes of sex, 50 minutes of guilt.” Shhh, Clay. He says it’s “all in good fun” and pats Adam on the back. Oh, yes, the “just kidding” excuse. Apparently you can say anything and get away with it as long as you tack on that it’s just in fun.

Adam is reasonably concerned because everyone is goofing off. He asks everyone if they can act like they’re in the “war room,” even though they’re at home. Markus interviews that Adam is an accountant, not a leader. He’s scared to lose, so he’s doing what he knows best, which is trying to control everything. Everyone meets and tries to have a discussion. Felisha interviews that everyone is all over the place and Adam is having a difficult time keeping everyone and everything together. Poor Adam. That’s not the last time I’ll say that this week. I think that with a different team (or at least without Clay and Markus), he could have done really well on this task.

Over at Excel, Randal is pulling an all-nighter. He says that he hasn’t slept for 48 hours, but the presentation isn’t finished, so he has to keep working. Everyone else is in bed. I think they finished their own sections but Randal had project manager tasks he had to attend to before he could do his part of the presentation. Randal says he’s nervous and doesn’t want to lose. If they do lose, he’ll be in the Boardroom and will have to explain why their class failed.

We see Excel’s class, which is, appropriately, excellent. We also see Capital Edge’s class, which is not so excellent. Shhh, Clay.

Excel gets their Michael Kors reward. Marshawn is enjoying it the most. Michael notes that the women have pulled a lot of clothes to try on. Rebecca informs him that they’re actually all Marshawn’s. She interviews that she wants Michael to take care of her. Usually she goes for clothes that are affordable and simple, but she wants something special now. Randal puts on a white suit and Michael says it’s “a little Italian movie star.” Marshawn says this is the best reward yet. Oh, Marshawn. Everyone says that. You only think this is the best one because you didn’t get free diamonds last season.

Capital Edge traipses to the Boardroom. Trump asks Adam for the name of the class, because Trump likes to make people talk about sex. I really could have lived the rest of my life happily without having to hear Trump talk about sex. Anyway, this leads to the start of the “sex is good” conversation. Adam admits that he’s not really comfortable with the topic. George asks why he stuck with it, then, and Adam says that he thought it had potential for educational value and entertainment. He says that they were able to connect with the people in the class and make them more comfortable.

Trump asks why Adam didn’t go with accounting instead. Adam hilariously says that it’s boring. Hee, he thinks talking about his own profession is boring. Awesome. Trump asks if sex isn’t boring. Adam replies that it’s interesting. Carolyn speaks up that Capital Edge lost on their presentation and education. They were entertaining, but she couldn’t tell the point of the class. Adam says that they were presenting both sides, the good and bad of sex in the workplace.

As we move into the “whose fault was it?” portion of the Boardroom, Adam points the finger at Clay and his Jewish comment. He says that it was important for the team not to make the presentation too provocative. Carolyn asks what exactly they were teaching. Alla says that they were teaching how to deal with sex in the workplace if it happens. Felisha adds that people in the class got the sense that it does happen, and now they can handle it with class. Trump has never heard of “classy sex in the workplace.” He’s clearly working in the wrong place. (Like I would know - the walls in my office are so thin that if anything were happening, everyone would know about it in two seconds.)

Carolyn asks Adam if the worst salesperson isn’t the one who doesn’t believe in his or her product. Adam replies that he does believe in the product. Carolyn points out that he has no experience and isn’t an expert on the topic. Usually I agree with Carolyn, but this week, she says a lot of things I disagree with. You don’t have to have experienced something to teach about it. Consider writers who write about topics they have no firsthand knowledge about. Adam doesn’t have to have sex to be able to talk about it.

Anyway, Adam says that they researched. Carolyn says that he couldn’t become an expert in 24 hours. Professors don’t teach classes after studying for 24 hours, and people paid for this class. George says that if he reads a book on anatomy, he can’t just go perform surgery. No, but… sex isn’t surgery. Granted, I’m about as much an expert as Adam is, but I’m pretty sure I’m right about that. Trump agrees with George that this isn’t about book learnin’.

For some reason, Trump asks Markus for his opinion. Ten minutes later, Markus has still not completed a coherent sentence. He says that there was no educational factor in the group’s topic and he thought it was condescending to teach about sex. He thinks that dealing with sex in the workplace is common sense. Adam notes, and everyone agrees, that Markus never said anything to them about these beliefs. Markus says that the others are covering themselves. He always tells it like it is (when he can get the words out, at least). Trump asks how he liked the Learning Annex. Markus says it was good. Trump brags that he broke a record there, for having the most people attend a class. He talked about business, but if he’d talked about sex, maybe he would have had 100,000 people in the class.

Trump wants to know who caused the loss. Markus says that Clay exposed homosexuality as an issue. This leads to the revelation (to Trump, anyway) that Clay is gay. Moving on, Markus says that there was no “cross-section of New York” in the class and he would have liked to teach about time management. Alla thinks this is funny. Carolyn asks Markus what his role was on the task. Markus: “Uh….” George: “Move to strike as unresponsive.” Markus says that Adam was always on his back. Yeah, because you suck and he didn’t want to lose. Adam decides to bring Clay and Markus back to the Boardroom.

George: “Clay is bad.” Trump: “I like Adam. Markus talks too much.” Carolyn: “Markus likes to say, ‘I told you so.’” Adam, Markus, and Clay come back in. More sex discussion. Trump wonders if Adam put himself in a bad position by talking about sex when he’s not familiar with it. Adam says that he might have, but he made it productive. More sex talk. Adam says that he’s come a long way. Clay says that Adam and Markus are weak. Carolyn asks Markus again what he did on this task. She accuses him of always trying to cover himself. Adam says that Markus wasn’t focused and didn’t do what he was assigned to do. Trump agrees. Clay says that Markus comes up with one idea, and that’s it.

Trump asks the guys about Alla. Clay says she’s a godmother (I’m guessing he means a fairy godmother). Trump says that she’s smart; the other guys adamantly agree. Trump asks if Alla is tougher than Adam. Clay says she is, since she told Adam everything to say in the Boardroom. Adam stands up for himself, disagreeing. Adam argues for himself very well. Trump asks if Alla is tougher than Markus. Clay reveals his belief that he and Alla are the toughest candidates. Yeah, it was real tough the way you talked to her like a gal pal last week. Clay thinks that Felisha is a follower. Adam says that the rest of the candidates aren’t necessarily followers, they just value Alla’s opinions. That’s part of what makes her a good leader.

Trump asks Markus why the team lost. If these people want to get home for dinner, they need to stop asking Markus questions. Markus says that Clay offended people and was making sexual innuendos. Except that argument doesn’t hold water, since sexual innuendos are fine in a class on sex. Anti-Semitism, however, is not, and Trump isn’t happy about Clay’s Jewish comment. Adam says that the comment may have contributed to the loss, but Clay did apologize. He continues that a lot of provocative comments were made, but George points out that THE CLASS WAS ABOUT SEX. For some reason, I’m not as squicked about George saying “sex” as I am about Trump saying it. Maybe because now I know that Trump went home from the Boardroom and made a baby. Adam says that they could have kept the comments tasteful. George says that sex by itself is provocative.

Adam’s not good with sex. Got it, Trump. Trump tells the guys that he likes all three of them. Markus talks too much, Clay “talks too stupid,” and Adam may talk too little. Adam interjects that he listens, which I think was a nice touch. Trump asks Adam who he should fire. Adam names Clay. Trump notes that Adam said Clay wasn’t anti-Semitic. Adam: “That doesn’t mean he’s not an idiot.” Wait, that was me. Adam actually says that Clay might have come across that way to the audience.

Markus thinks that he rocks. Trump wants to know how he could rock when his team lost. Markus says that he championed a better course. Trump says that Markus always has an excuse and uses too many words. He says that Clay isn’t anti-Semitic, which makes him happy. Clay is horrible and Adam is inexperienced. Adam argues for himself again. I’m glad, because the whole inexperienced thing never works for me. Why did Trump pick him for the show, then?

Trump says that the team’s problems with Markus are some of the big reasons Markus can’t work for him. Therefore, Markus is fired. Trump wishes him good luck. Markus replies that he doesn’t think Trump means that. Way to burn your bridges, Markus. He says he was railroaded. Trump just wants to go home.

Markus’ exit interview is surprisingly coherent, and he actually makes some good points in it. He says that he thought he would be a good apprentice because he’s a problem-solver, he brings value, and his best strength is his creative and open mind. He often critiques himself and his thoughts, which is a plus and a minus. He brings up the “green with envy” situation and says that his loyalty was questioned afterwards. He thinks that his being different is misconstrued as being too talkative. He doesn’t want any of his ideas to be taken away in order to make his point succinct.

Markus claims again that he told his team that the sex class wouldn’t work. He says that having sex with a person who blabs is a problem - isn’t discretion or indiscretion really the bottom line? They also could have talked about retaliation after a breakup. He thinks that Trump made a hasty judgment about him during their phone call on the first task. He wanted to give some background and didn’t realize that Trump just wanted a one-sentence answer.

Markus continues that he thinks Trump wanted him gone from the second week, and even told him as much. (He actually said that he didn’t think Markus had much time left.) Markus says he was a bull in a bullfight and everyone knew it. If someone didn’t take him into the Boardroom after the team lost, that person would have been a fool. Markus was the easy answer. When he was fired, he realized that he had to do something different. He’s going home, and he’ll be sending Trump a letter containing an overview of how he saw things on the show. He says that Trump will have the opportunity to reassess what Markus has to offer for his business. He thinks that eventually he’ll get a good job and Trump will be sorry.

Next week: [Insert Star Wars theme music here.]

Jenn Brasler is an Assistant Editor of RealityNewsOnline and an aspiring writer from Falls Church, VA. You can e-mail her at luckyjenn@hotmail.com. She can’t believe Markus is the most coherent of all of the ousted candidates so far.

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