The Apprentice 5 Corner Office and Mailroom Assignments, Episode 6

This week the candidates had to write a song about Arby’s all-natural chicken, focusing on the point that Arby’s has a corner on the all-natural chicken market. Synergy won again, putting all of the necessary facts in their jingle, while Gold Rush faltered, even though they were finally getting along. PM Bryce took Lenny and Lee (who sat out again for Yom Kippur) to the boardroom, where he proceeded to battle with Trump until he got himself fired.

Gold Rush

Bryce, Bryce, Bryce. I put Bryce in the mailroom two weeks ago for doubting his idea on the Grape Nuts challenge. That means he was already on thin ice with me, and you can probably tell from reading my articles that I don’t let go of things like that very easily. This week, Bryce got off to a good start, trying to get his teammates to let go of their personal issues so they could work together for the next task. After that, though, everything started to go downhill. Gold Rush was late for their meeting with the Arby’s executives, so they couldn’t talk to them about what exactly they were looking for in the jingle. This put the team at an early disadvantage.

Bryce oversaw the task well, but it was in the boardroom where things really got out of hand. First of all, he took Lee in with him, despite the fact that Lee didn’t contribute to the task at all. Apparently Bryce didn’t pay much attention last week when Dan was criticized for not taking Lee to the boardroom. Bryce should have taken in Leslie and Charmaine, who wrote the jingle, the thing on which the entire task hinged. Then Bryce spend most of the boardroom arguing and attempting to talk over Trump. Many people admired him for this, but you have to remember that this is ultimately a contest to get a job working for Trump. Why would he hire someone who spent so much time standing up to him? Trump wants a “yes” man. Bryce isn’t it. He’s out, and he gets to do mass mailings for the week.

For the second week in a row, I can’t think of anyone to place in the corner office for Gold Rush. Bryce was obviously not even a contender. Leslie and Charmaine wrote a jingle that lost the team the task. Lenny at least tried, but he didn’t do much to help the team. Tarek tried as well, but I didn’t see many extraordinary actions out of him, so I don’t think he deserves this prize. That leaves Lee, who wasn’t even around for the task. I could give him the corner office just for the heck of it, but like the others, he didn’t do anything spectacular to deserve it. So once again, the corner office remains empty.

Synergy

Before this episode aired, I tried to think of which remaining candidates hadn’t had a turn at being project manager yet. When I tried to think of all of the members of Synergy, I kept forgetting Michael. That’s not good. True, Kendra flew under the radar for much of the first part of season 3, but we at least saw her working (and doing a good job). Even when she wasn’t standing out on her team, she was contributing to their wins. Michael might be doing the same, but so far we haven’t actually see him do anything. He rarely speaks, and when he does, he sounds like he’s been spending all of the time he’s not on screen trying to figure out what to say. Michael is so inconspicuous that he’s forgettable. So this week let’s forget about him while he toils in the mailroom.

I wasn’t sure if Sean would shine or crash and burn this week. When I heard Synergy’s jingle, though I figured he would be okay. Sean’s leadership was pretty good - he wasn’t overbearing (like Dan) but he didn’t sit back and let everyone do his or her own thing without organization (like Theresa). I think he’s also learned some things from past seasons of the show. For one thing, he made sure the whole team met with the Arby’s execs so they knew what they wanted. The Apprentice itself is a good tool for project managers to use; where else would you learn what Trump is looking for in an employee? Sean was smart to apply what he’d seen in the past. He seemed to lead easily and didn’t step on any toes while getting everyone to work together. I hope he enjoys the corner office (and Betsy can pay him a visit if she wants).

Week Six Tally:

I’m very unimpressed with Gold Rush. Even when they win, it’s not because of anything spectacular that they’ve done. Probably their most successful project manager was Charmaine, and look at the mistakes she’s made, especially this week. Even with the team’s newfound love for one another, they’re going to have a hard time going up against the powerhouse that Synergy is turning out to be. Unless the teams are switched up soon, Gold Rush is in a lot of trouble.

Gold Rush

Corner office: Lee (1), Lenny (2), Leslie (2), Charmaine (2, 4), Tarek (3)

Mailroom: Tarek (1), Summer (1), Lee (2), Theresa (3), Bryce (4, 6), Dan (5)

Synergy

Corner office: Allie (1), Roxanne (2, 4, 5), Andrea (3), Sean (6)

Mailroom: Brent (1), Stacy (2), Andrea (4, 5), Michael (6)

Jenn Brasler is an Assistant Editor of Reality News Online and an aspiring writer from Falls Church, VA. You can e-mail her at luckyjenn@hotmail.com. If you can think of someone who should have gone into the corner office for Gold Rush, let her know!

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