I’m desperately hoping that Jennifer’s “stealing” credit for Ivana’s fit wheel idea does eventually come back to haunt her and keeps her from the final two, but she’s skated through so easily so far, I’m worried. I hope to see the final two coming down to Kelly & Sandy with Kelly being the clear winner.
I’d put money on Kelly winning the whole shebang, but not on who #2 will be. I think Trump has his eye on Jenn, and not in a good way.
I’m going to put on my asbestos undies here, and say that I feel that Sandy is a stronger candidate than Jenn.
Jenn just hasn’t shown me much of anything. I haven’t seen her show leadership. I haven’t seen her be creative. And I especially haven’t seen her throw herself into a task and give it her all. She’s had opportunities to rescue tasks, like in the bridal task, but she hasn’t taken them. She’s a good talker, but her actual job performance has been sub-par. And the one time she stepped up and “rescued” a presentation, she also stepped on toes. She seems to excel at defined tasks that are given to her, especially when they involve presentations or talking with people. She’s a corporate attorney, right? I could certainly see her working for one of those huge soulless NYC corporate law firms, making partner, and generally being a great success in that arena. A lot of being a corporate attorney involves making a good presentation, both verbally and physically. But you don’t necessarily have to be creative or a great leader to succeed there. I just don’t think she’s a great candidate for this particular job.
Sandy, on the other hand, has shown a lot of good qualities. She has proven over and over that she’s a very hard worker. She works effectively on a team. And she succeeded in her two leadership roles. Watching her in the bridal task was very telling. She was quick, decisive, and had no problem telling people what to do and keeping them in line. When she was confident, she kicked butt. She may be hampered by a lack of education, and she doesn’t seem particularly intelligent, but I’m not entirely sure that she isn’t really smart. In her milieu, she shines. And therein lies the big question: Is she adaptable enough to learn a new industry?
So, Jenn is more suitable on paper, but when it comes to doing the actual work, Sandy is better.
Juust kill me.
Spoken like someone who’s never worked in a huge soulless NYC corporate law firm. :rolleyes:
Excellent argument, Green Bean. You articulated a lot of stuff that’s been occurring to me for the last few eps without my being able to articulate it nearly as well. Viz: I’m rooting for Sandy, and I don’t care for Jenn. Why? Well, what Green Bean said!
Final two – might be Jenn, though. The last hurdle is getting past the barrage interviewing, and that’s the kind of thing she does wonderfully, that Sandy doesn’t, as we’ve seen several times. I don’t think Trump will risk having another all-male final two, and Kevin just isn’t as strong as Kelly. There’s no way in hell Ivana will make it past tonight (not and have life worth living, anyway), so the two K’s and Sandy and Jenn will make it to the final four. (Sandy. Yikes. Who’da thunk?) – with Kelly and Jenn the final two, and Kelly the overall winner.
Then apparently you missed the week of the dog grooming task. Not only did she lead smartly and with great aplomb, but she was actually criticized by waste-of-space Ivana for being too hands on. Throwing herself into it, in other words. Giving it her all.
Actually, I have worked in a huge soulless NYC law firm. Email me if you want the name.
Moody Bastard: Yes, she did do well at that task, but IMHO, her performance at that task wasn’t as notable as Sandy’s at her leadership tasks. Plus, we haven’t seen her work especially hard when she wasn’t the PM.
Twix–Thanks. I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels this way.
It seems that you and I are the only ones who see Jenn this way, Moody Bastard, but I’m right there with ya. I think Jenn is extraordinarily composed, thoughtful, level-headed, and forthright.; to wit, she keeps her head when all those around them are losing theirs. She doesn’t crack or sweat under pressure, she knows how to keep her mouth shut, and ALL her PMs have found her to be an asset. Why would they favor her if she sucks?
Ivana has to go tonight. Really. Can you honestly look at her body of work so far and say she remotely deserves to sniff the top 4? Look at the competition.
Kelly - Has been edited as a bit heavy handed, but he hasn’t had any major faux pas, has performed quite well as PM, and is viewed as the strongest male player.
Kevin - Ignoring the flop sweat, he has come across as pretty calm, smooth, decent, and hard-working. This is the guy that got down and dirty with dogs, worked with Elizabeth all hours of the night, and seems to be a go to guy for getting things done on a successful task.
Sandy - Started off extremely slow and almost invisible, but the combination of the other hopelessly pathetic women and 2-3 good tasks in a row at the end has her positioned as a final 4. But, she has no shot of final 2 because in the end, we just don’t know that much about her. She’s on the show, but is easily the most forgettable person.
Jenn M - Spent the first half of the series as clearly the best female. Spent the 2nd half being torn down by those targeting her. But, her task performance has been decent and she is good in the boardroom.
Ivana - The editors overlay her scenes with goofy music, show a lot of mistakes on her part, and don’t exactly hide the fact that no other candidate views her as a threat. This does not bode well because Burnett and Trump wouldn’t exaclty spend an entire series having one of their final golden children holding the role of stumbling/bumbling idiot.
Spoiler time, about future seasons and potential changes to how the game is played.
Apparently Trump will be bowing out, it sounds like after season 3. The rumored replacement? Martha Stewart. I think this could be awesome. Beyond awesome. It opens up a whole new realm or tasks. It gets rid of Trump right about the time we will all be tired of him to the utmost, and is about as good a refresh for a reality series one can have short of changing everything else about it. The comedy gold potential is off the charts. Stewart is in the same place when it comes to a needed image rebuild that Trump was. Sure it might suck to lose George and Carolyn, but that’s not a huge loss. You know Stewart has similar people in her company and if you really look at what George and Carolyn bring to the table, it’s not that much.
Rubystreak, I too agree that she has been impressive in several tasks. I do have to say that her PMing the dog challenge did not indicate her ability to lead a more serious business task. That was the weakest challenge yet and it may be that she got lucky leading that one. There is a good chance that she will be PMing the candy sales challenge tonight.
If so, she would have spearheaded the dog wash and candy sell.
Sounds like she’s doing fundraising for the local high school band! 
As for the special, I liked this one. It was clip show that showed much more original footage than any other Reality clip show I’ve seen. I especially enjoyed Trump’s assessment of why each was fired.
Rob, Andy, John, and Raj came off really well based on Trump’s comments. Even Chris got a few warmish comments.
The dog-piling continued for Elizabeth, Stacy, Stacie, and ESPECIALLY Jenn C!
A few of the interviews even showed some humility and reflection. Raj nailed his own assessment.
As for Mullinator’s Spoiler (which isn’t terribly a spoiler, but better safe than sorry):
I have heard she is in talks for a reality show for NBC. I hope it isn’t this one. It changes the dynamic of the show. It would less about a successful business person hiring a protege and more about “let’s see what Martha Stewart does when she gets out of prison!” We should also avoid Mark Cuban!
Any other suggestions on a possible replacement? If Richard Branson had waited his turn, I’d suggest him!
I’ll take you word for it.
However, I am curious as to what capacity you worked there, 'cause if it was as an attorney your experience doesn’t square with mine. I can think of a lot of pejoratives to throw at those living the large law firm life, but “lack of creativity” and “good presenter but poor actual job performance” are not among them, at least not at the partner level (junior associates, like most entry-level jobs, grind out the dull work).
Indeed, the reason partners at those firms are paid so highly is their ability to find creative solutions to difficult legal problems and for their ability to get the deal done while still protecting their client. Lest we forget, lawyers sell their services on the open market just like Trump sells his condos. A successful private-practice lawyer is also by definition a successful businessperson
Er…I’ll take your word for it. :smack:
Hmmm… maybe I’m making things up, because there were only two or three clips that I hadn’t seen before. VERY little original footage.
I didn’t mean to imply that the “poor job performance” applied to the attorneys in general. I was only referring to Jenn’s performance on the tasks on this show. The attorneys where I worked were certainly more than competent, and perfectly pleasant to work with as well. (I was a legal assistant.)
And while I certainly agree that good attorneys must come up with creative legal solutions, I don’t know that the kind of all-around “big idea” creativity that’s tested on this show is necessary. I expect Jenn to be quite competent in her area, and capable of finding creative legal strategies, but she hasn’t shown that she is a creative problem-solving generalist. As I said, I could absolutely see her making partner. But not managing partner.
And that’s exactly why I said that I could see her working for a huge firm, and not for herself. I don’t see her as having what it takes to be a successful business person.
OK, I’m getting this on the record before it’s too late.
I like Ivana. I think she’s been much, much better than anyone is giving her credit for. She works hard, doesn’t need supervision, and she’s come up with some good ideas. I don’t think she’ll win, but I don’t think she’s unworthy by any stretch, and I’ve got her in the 2 or 3 spot in my rankings.
I did miss one episode this season: the one where she was pm. I’ve gathered that was her weakest performance and she very easily could have gone that week. But she didn’t, and having only seen her performance in the other episodes, I like her a lot. I wonder how many people wrote her off during that episode and have looked at her as dead in the water since.
Here’s where they stand in my eyes:
- Kevin
2/3. Kelly and Ivana (tie because I haven’t figured Kelly out) - Jenn
- Sandy
For what it’s worth, Ivana has gotten a ton of screen time in the last few weeks. I don’t know what to make of that exactly, but they’ve shown her confessionals a lot more than the others. Enough that I’m sick of her damn “Gettin’ Lucky in Kentucky” shirt.
I agree with TheFifthYear to a certain extent.
She is snarky and that gets you camera time.
It is also one of her flaws. She is catty. Fine for reality tv villians, not good for teammates.
She also needs direction. I think she makes an excellent Lieutenant, but not a commander.
That is why I put her in my hypothetical team.
Add to my above post something like, “…but Ivana is hardworking and very good at certain tasks” after “She needs direction”!
I forgot to add the part where I agreed with TheFifthYear!
Sandy and Jenn plotting together on the couch is the sexiest thing I’ve seen on TV in a long time. Rowr.
Can anyone explain explain exactly what Trump said when he explained that this week’s project leaders weren’t exempt from firing next week?
Sandy, about Jenn, the most astute commentary on the woman I’ve heard thus far:
She’s like a mannequin, she’s plastic!
I agree. I know they hate each other but they’ve got a weird erotic tension together. Maybe because of the hostility.