I was expecting each member of the winning team to nominate themselves and take the bullet for the team. But none of them even did that.
From there I was expecting maybe they’d draw straws.
The Piers-Hamburguesa tiff seems to be the only drama this show can muster and they seem to be milking it for all it’s worth. Don’t know if it’s real or not but I’m sure the producers are doing more encouraging of it than discouraging and both of them seem to have no problem letting the cameras roll so they can get their face time.
Ordinarilly, I would agree, Hampshire. But Piers Morgan isn’t easy to manipulate. He’s a hard-core hard-ass thick-skinned entrepreneur who lives on risk and conflict. I think the hatred he has for her is genuine, and her knack for pushing buttons is legendary. If there was any manipulation at all by the producers, it was simply the choice itself of these two being on the show together.
On the firing thing, I believe Donald was thinking in Art of War terms. The other team, while winning, imploded on a scale that would have closed a company down. Better to have a team that can get you 25 grand tonight and another 25 grand tomorrow night than a team that gets 35 grand tonight and then stops working.
I agree. I respect all of them for not trying to turn on each other and offer someone up as a sacrificial lamb, but Trump has always fired someone, even when the outcomes were MUCH closer than the one last night.
Two possibilities I was thinking during the final boardroom scene:
Trace – no, he didn’t do anything obviously wrong, but he was the PM and it is ultimately his responsibility. I’d be sad to see him ago, as he’s grown on me, but that’s how the game is (or has been up to now) played.
Take a cue from Piers, and just fire the one who raised the least amount of money. I have no idea who this was (I’m guessing Marilu), and it may not be entirely fair, but at least it’s objective.
This is an argument for firing Piers or Omorosa. I don’t think it’s an argument for firing no one.
Well, okay, but in your second post it seemed like you were trying to explain what Donald was thinking. Since he didn’t fire anyone, he must have been thinking something different. Or not thinking at all.
I do, too…he’s clearly shown himself to be the best businessperson in the group. Baldwin has the occasional good idea, but he’s too much of a buffoon to be a good leader. Trace has had amazing creative ideas, but I’m not sure that’s enough to win. Carol and Lennox seem to be the types who figure if they don’t get invovled too much, they won’t get fired…which will work for a while, but probably won’t win you the whole thing. Despite Omarosa’s claim that Trump loves her, I’m not so sure he wants to be known as the guy who never fired her (this time), so I’m not seeing that happening. I’m not getting much of a vibe from Tito at all.
I was highly amused at how impressed Trump was that the sweeper picked up the nuts and bolts, and then gave Trace credit for that demonstration. They had the bowls of stuff ready for him to throw on the carpet…I don’t think he actually came up with the idea! But I do love Trace, though…he did an outstanding job. I loved that he’s like this cowboy dude, demonstrating a sweeper and talking about how his kids make a mess in the house. He was so authentic.
I was even more amused with Lennox’s deadpan delivery of “What I really want to do is direct.”
There were a lot of funny moments in this one, actually…found myself laughing out loud at some of the quips.
One thing I thought was monumentally stupid was the “negotiation” that was supposed to happen if both teams wanted the same product…there was nothing to negotiate! In the Broadway ticket challenge, that made sense, because they were each getting 3 shows, so if the both wanted one really badly, they could offer two that they both wanted, but not as much. THAT is negotiating. Having to flip a coin because you both want the same thing and there’s nothing to trade for it is not.
I gave up giving anyone credit for original ideas when they tried to make me believe that two professional fighters and a country singer from rural Tennesee came up with the idea of using Cleopatra and Mark Antony on a bed with candles in a room with a flat screen TV and a cellphone to sell mattresses.
Piers’ management skills far outpace anyone elses, and Adkins performs like a pro, and I think Trump rewards the manager.
Trace is a songwriter, which means he’s more creative than his cowboy image might indicate. We’ve seen that he’s got a pithy, economical poetic sense which is typical of songwriters and which has lent itself well to advertising slogans.
I do agree that Piers is the one who consistently shows management and leadership ability. Trace is a steady teammate with some helpful assets (voice, demeanor, creativity) but he hasn’t really been a take-the-wheel kind of guy.
I get the sense that Trace really is just doing this for his charity, is comfortable going along for the ride and just isn’t an aggressive enough person by nature to really want to lead any charges. Piers seems like he doesn’t know how not to take charge. It always feels like he’s the PM even when he isn’t.
The problem with Piers is that he’s had not one but two people refuse to work with him any more. Omarosa is, of course, a complete whack job. The Baldwin, however, though somewhat eccentric – and though his reasons for refusing to work with Piers are kind of sketchy – isn’t a complete whack job.
Regardless of their reasons or their relative or absolute insanity, though, two people flat-out refusing to work with Piers has to reflect badly on Piers.
Plus – remember the Rancic-Perdew corollary! Trump pointed out Piers’s flop sweat last night. Bad edit = not gonna be the winner.
Piers refused to work with Omarosa, it wasn’t the other way around. “Stevie B.” didn’t like being called on his hypocrisy.
I don’t think either of those fights has any bearing at all on how Trump sees Piers, especially since he’s hardly the first person who ever hated Omarosa (and since Trump initmated last week that he would have liked to fire her after her cheap shots at Piers’ family).
I pretty much agree with your list except one position: what makes Jennie Finch more famous than Tito Ortiz?
Tito fights on pay per view and cable tv in front of millions. The only reason I even know Jennie Finch exists is because my wife played college softball.
Well, Tito lasted as long as he deserved to, perhaps a hair longer – god, I felt bad for him doing the presentation of the ad, that was so clearly not something he was comfortable with. He seems like a nice enough guy, but way outgunned by Stephen. (Steven?)
The TV listings before the show said something about one team going out for drinks at the start of the task – WTF?
Good point. I gave Jennie the nod because she seemed pretty well exposed during the olympic run a few years ago, and I assume more people watch the olympics than pay per view fights. And personally I hadn’t heard of Tito, so there you go. I can certainly see it both ways though.
How has Omagrossa been over the last two episodes? After that nightmare a couple weeks ago (when Trumpy ended up not firing anyone), I haven’t had the motivation to watch the show on the DVR. Now I see she has survived another week. Is she at least getting a little less screen time?
It seems so obvious that Trump is firing them in reverse order of how much ‘good televsion’ he expects to get from them. Of those four, who is the least interesting? Bingo.
I loved how they showed Omorosa’s weaseling so clearly.
Omorosa: “I want this one”
Trump: “The project manager’s head will be on the line.”
Omoroas: “Shouldn’t you take this one, Tito?”
Heh.
And then her attempts to deny the sequence in the boardroom Did the woman REALLY not remember how it was? Or did she just hope it hadn’t been caught on tape.
I also think her great idea of the three barechested guys in the ad would have bombed just as badly. It’s an ad for a cosmetic item aimed at women – what the hell does a country singer with a guitar have to do with moisturizing your skin?
Piers had a really good point about the other team’s ad, too. WAY too much small point text. Nobody wants to read long ads, just an eye-catching image, a sales point or two, and turn the page.
I can certainly see it both ways though.