As Randal, Rebecca, Felisha, and Alla sat in a restaurant in Grand Central Station toasting their final fourness, I knew that I was in for an interesting episode. I’d predicted early on that Randal and Alla would make it to the end, but I didn’t anticipate Felisha and Rebecca’s staying power in this competition. I initially predicted that Rebecca was toast for defending her trainwreck friend, Toral, who was fired early on. However, Rebecca saved herself by realizing that Toral was a disaster and admitting as much to Mr. Trump in the boardroom. Her performances since then have been mixed; she finally garnered a win on this week’s task, but her other two turns as project manager in episodes three and nine resulted in losses. She’s also shown that her confidence can waver. In particular, during this week’s episode, she had a mini freak-out when Carolyn walked in and asked how it took her and Randal to put together their video for Microsoft Live Meeting.
Randal, with his string of wins as PM and rock solid confidence, is a shoo-in as the next apprentice. I know that anything can happen in the final task (witness Tana and her bitchy turn last season), but unless Randal really screws up, I can’t imagine that the Donald would choose Rebecca over him. And above and beyond their respective performances this season, Randal has so many other advantages over Rebecca: he’s eleven years her senior and has the most impressive academic credentials of any player in the history of the show. And he’s a romantic–how adorable was it to see him kissing his wife, who paid a surprise visit on his reward boat ride around Manhattan? But when it comes to business, Randal has proved again and again that he can keep his cool and be a professional, even when grieving for his grandmother or dealing with a chucklehead like Markus.
Speaking of chuckleheads, what the hell happened to Alla this week? I did not expect to see her join Felisha in the taxi ride down Fifth Avenue. However, I think Alla’s plan to “destroy” Felisha in the boardroom ultimately led to her demise. Although Felisha remarked that Alla had the capacity to be a warm and caring person, I never saw that side of her throughout the season. I was particularly appalled by her comments this week regarding Felisha’s sensitivity and self-doubt. Alla stated that she looked down on people who get depressed and called Felisha’s tears “pathetic.” Now, I know that the Donald isn’t exactly a fan of crying, either, as was evident at last season’s finale when he repeatedly chastised winner Kendra for shedding a few tears of joy after she completed her final task. However, I don’t imagine that Trump is cold-hearted enough to see an emotional person as pitiful. Hell, he even consoled a weeping young Chris last season after he fired him. Alla doesn’t appear to have any compassion, so in the end, I was pleased that she got cut.
Even though I felt for Felisha this week, I knew that she wasn’t going anywhere but home. Although she tried to make a comeback after Carolyn’s remarks that she was one of the weakest remaining players, it was clear that Felisha had a lot of lingering doubts about herself. She had the added challenge of trying to manage Alla, who essentially refused to take a back seat. Alla has done this before on a number of tasks (the Star Wars promo, for instance), but it usually led to a win, so she didn’t need to explain her spotlight hogging ways in the boardroom. Felisha finally called her out in this, and Alla got vicious. Unfortunately, Felisha let her emotions get the better of her in the boardroom, resulting in Trump’s proclamation that she wasn’t tough enough to work in New York City.
I’m not sure why the Donald sees tears as such a huge sign of weakness–to me, they show that a person is human rather than robot. That’s not to say that someone who never cries is the real world equivalent of C-3PO, but cut the criers some slack already! Maybe I feel this way because I tend to cry easily and still consider myself tough (I do, after all, live and work in New York, so there, Donald). When I see others break down, my reaction is typically one of sympathy rather than disgust. And weeping isn’t necessary an indication of sadness; it can signify anger, frustration, joy, and an overwhelming outpouring of any type of emotion, really. Honestly, Felisha had been put through the wringer, both on The Apprentice and in real life, a fact she hinted at while dining with Alla at Typhoon. Who could blame her for tearing up?
I wasn’t expecting to see two more people go this week. I know that Trump pointed out at the beginning of the season that the candidates were in for a 13-week interview, so if I’d done the math, I would’ve been able to anticipate all of this multiple firings. And I don’t necessarily feel that anyone was unjustly canned, although I initially felt bad for Mark, James, and Josh, who were let go with Jennifer on the Dick’s Sporting Goods task. I had a special affinity for Josh, who essentially served as the hilarious narrator of the season, and was sorry to see him go even though he royally screwed up.
Now, with only two left, it should be interesting to see who screws up more on the Herculean tasks that Trumpo is sure to dump on them. In the past, I haven’t agreed with his decision to assign different tasks to the final two, as it makes it more difficult to be objective on who did a better job, but I sincerely doubt that he’s going to break with that tradition. And as for the surprise promised at the finale? I haven’t the foggiest idea. A female fan offers herself to Adam? Brian proposes to Jennifer M.? I can’t wait.
