My prediction for final two: Trace and Piers. Steven has been shown to be incapable of selling, so may well go next. Carol hasn’t actually shown any skills beyond being a still-ridiculously-beautiful woman. Lennox – another nonentity (in a business sense) who’s had good luck in the team he’s been on.
I think it’s going to be Piers and Carol. Trace is a good teammate and can be creative, but he has shown no leadership ability or real business sense. Carol is a better sales person than he is and she’s getting a clean edit.
I thought Trace showed a hint of sleaziness in how he wanted to conceal the information about his team’s cut rate paintings so that their prospective buyers wouldn’t know how much they were getting gouged.
He also showed a lack of humor about the kiss from Piers that made him look like a redneck. It’s not really mentioned on this show, but Adkins is a right wing, global warming denying, Muslim bashing, Bush loving Republican “morality” expert in his politics. Having seen him express his political views elsewhere (and they reside at the Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity depth of reflection) makes it hard for me to root for him.
Oh, phooey. I’ve been digging him, obviously, and now must turn against him. (I took his reaction to Piers last night more as confusion than homophobia – I could have been wrong about that.)
Bummer. 
Maybe he just doesn’t like men grabbing him from behind and planting surprise kisses on his neck. No homophobia is required for that to be the case, and it doesn’t make him a redneck. I wouldn’t like that either. One doesn’t have to want to be gay in order not to be homophobic.
It is my opinion that Dio has grossly misrepresented Trace’s political views, framing them in a bizarre random and hateful rhetoric.
The only Muslims he has ever “bashed” are the fundamentalist ones, and that was specifically because they teach children to solve problems with violent suicide and murder. He is tolerant on immigration and other racial and cultural issues. On immigration particularly, he has written, “We don’t need to round people up and deport them. We don’t have to be in any way inhumane. And we really don’t need any new laws.”
Nor is he a “Bush loving Republican”. About that, he has written, “I’m incredibly frustrated with the state of American politics. If there were a viable third party, I’d seriously consider joining it.” All this can be found in his book, A Personal Stand. He has been shot in the heart at close range with a .38 pistol by his wife. He has ridden out a hurricane on an oil rig where he worked. He has taken enough shit from life without having more shit flung at him for no good reason.
Damn, now that’s a country singer.
Yes indeed!
Okay, I’m back to loving Trace – and it will be interesting to see him go mano-a-mano with Piers in the finale.
How are they going to explain just dumping Carol and Lennox, though?
I thought I heard Trump say last night, “I just want to see these two battle it out.” to the assembled group. But I figured it would be Trace and Lennox, because Trump seems to have a big thing for Lennox. I don’t get it, but maybe it’s because I’m not a boxing fan.
ETA: Trace and Lennox? I’m not seeing that at all.
They haven’t announced which two it will be yet. Clearly Piers will be one. Clearly Carol will not be the other. I’m guessing Trace for the other, because other than being famous, Lennox isn’t bringing a lot to the table, whereas Trace not only thinks outside the box but always steps up to the plate.
I am definitely looking forward to seeing who the last two will be – and what excuse is presented for just dumping two of them unceremoniously.
I just hope to God that whoever ends up being the Final Two, they do not bring Assorama back to help on one of the teams. For the love of all that is holy, keep that psycho bitch off my TV!
Early on in this thread, Mullinator said that Gene Simmons might be the best player in the history of the show. I think it’s clear now that Piers is the best player in the history of th show. Has anyone ever dominated task after task after task the way he has? He’s like 17-0 as PM (and he’s always the Project Manager whether he is or not). He has to be one of the final 2.
The other one looks like it might be Trace but I’m not sure if it’s justified. He’s 0-2 as PM. He’s a great teammate and everybody likes him but he’s not that great as a leader. Carol’s probably better.
If Piers faces off against Trace in the F2, I think Piers kills him unless Trump handicaps him by giving him Omarosa. Then again, Piers would probably just immediately bench her if that happened.
I expect we’ll se an edit of Trace’s team talking about how much they love him and how much they’re going to bust their asses for him while we’ll see Pier’s team complaining about how arrogant and abrasive he is. At the end of the day, Piers is just much more competent and efficient than Trace but the final tasks are always set up not to produce a clear winner. We always just get the respective employers for the tasks talking about how great they both were, then we get the teammates pitching whoever they like and generally basing it on their own personal bullshit rather than anything substantive. Then Trump will pick a winner based on whatever crazy whim takes him at the moment. By all rights, Piers should be the winner but Trump might pick Trace just for the “aw shucks” act.
I hasten to add it was his ex-wife who shot him. He seems to get along pretty well with his current wife.
His book was interesting…I never would have read it normally (I don’t think I’d ever heard of him before The Apprentice), but I saw it at the library the other day and picked it up. He struck me as pretty thoughtful guy…I don’t agree with everything he says, but he’s no racist. He’s an old-fashioned, rednecky kind of southern guy…which he would gladly admit to…but he’s a hardworking, honest, salt of the earth type. Has had a lot of problems, but has overcome them.
I thought last night he showed why he was upset about Piers kissing him…I think he really didn’t get what the point of it was. Once Piers explained it to him, he looked like “oh, man, I get it now, but why’d you have to drag ME into it?”
As far as the final two are concerned, I think the only one who has a personality to really be a leader is Piers. I think everyone likes Carol, Lennox, and Trace, and they all seem pretty smart, but I don’t think any of them really have the business background to really succeed at this kind of thing. I suppose Trump will pick Piers and Trace.
For the record, Trace’s first wife shot him in self-defense. By his own admission, he was an abusive drunk during his first marriage and had threatened her in a drunken rage before she shot him.
He went through rehab and is allegedly sober now but I think I still sense a lot of anger underneath the shy, silent cowboy act.
Yes…thank you for adding that, I shouldn’t have left that out of the story.
I agree…I think he even alluded to that last night with one of his comments. He said something about the reason he’d held back as much as he did was because of trying to raise money for his charity.
I’ve never seen any Apprentice show at all but I caught the subs episode this weekend (guess it was a repeat.) At the beginning it showed that annoying Omorosa lady getting fired and I saw Trace Adkins, that English guy, and a Baldwin brother. That was enough to make me think “Hey, this might be interesting.” Wound up sticking around and watching the entire episode. Pretty interesting except for how drawn-out the firing part was. I’ll definitely watch the next (2?) episodes to see who wins.
Interesting episode but it looks like they’re trying to screw Piers (who’s the best player this show’s ever seen) and put in the fix for the American cowboy to win. No way Trace deserved to be there ahead of Carol.
Trace’s reserve was starting to slip a little bit this week (or at least the edit was) and we started to get some glimpses of the asshole within. He pulled out that stupid line about how he’s “fighting for his kid” again, like nobody else there is plyaing for charities, or even charities involving family members. Piers is playing for wounded vets and his brother is an Iraq vet but you don’t hear him constantly trying to exploit it the way Trace does. Not only that, but Trace isn’t really “fightinmg for his daughter” in any literal sense. Her well-being does not depend on this show and it’s dishonest for him to talk like it does. If Trace really cares so much about food allergies. he can donate some of his own millions.
I also didn’t like the way that Trace kept carping about what a horrible person Piers is and making comments about “how he plays the game,” when Piers has played the game nothing but fairly. he might not always be polite but he hasn’t been unethical or deceitful and he hasn’t stabbed anybody in the back or ever been dishonest in the boardroom. Where does Trace get this big moral high horese and what was that bullshit about calling Piers a “chihuahua” whoa’s all bark “but isn’t really dangerous.” He’s been kicking your ass the whole game dude.
I didn’t even like it when Trace was being so sneering and superscillious with the Backstreet Boys. I know they’re lame but it was unprofessuional. Plus, is wearing a cowboy hat around inside a New York City office building any les retarded than wearing fingernail polish?
I don’t hate Trace, I can appreciate his good qualities and quiet charem and I understand why people like him, but I don’t like the heavy handed edit of the white hatted American Vs. the moustache twirling foreigner. I think Pires actually nailed it when he said 'I’m not really that bad and Trace isn’t really that good." That’s pretty much how I feel. Their “characters” are being tweaked and exaggerated in way that isn’t really accurate for either of them.
Incidentally, in the teasers for next week, they showed Trace’s wife and kids showing up to surprise him. Piers has a wife and kids too. I hope they show up as well.
It was clear that Trump’s decision was straight show-biz – “I’m firing you, Carol, not because you don’t deserve to be in the final two but because these two will make for better TV.”
I couldn’t freaking believe that Piers took “Stevie B.” as his first pick – what a worthless pile of BS that man is. I also couldn’t believe Trace took Marilu over Carol – who’d finished third overall, while Marilu was – seventh? eighth? (final 4 + Stevie B + Omarosa + Tito? was he before or after Marilu?)
Entertaining hour; I’m looking forward to next week’s two-hour finale. This overall turned out to be a much better season than I expected – nice after I’d sat out the last two.
Remember that the editing of the show isn’t under either one’s control. Certainly, last night the show made a big deal of his charity. Piers made a very nice gesture in reserving twenty tickets for wounded veterans (although the cynical explanation is that he realized the need to rehabilitate his image).
Well, he did send Vinny Pastore out as a spy.
New question: Is Stephen Baldwin deliberately trying to sabotage Piers? Couldn’t he have gotten his brother Alec to fly in? Or at least Billy? Or Adam? Or Tito?
I think the Backstreet Boys thing was pretty funny and pathetic, they all came off as whiny primadonnas. I was starting to doubt Trace a little but he really took charge in the planning. He’ll do what he needs to keep the Backstreet Boys happy.
Marilu didn’t look too happy to be rushed through her selections.
I don’t know how fair this whole thing is, expecting both teams to get celebs to an event on one day’s notice.
I was thinking that too.