The Apprentice 4 Episode 13 - The Final Showdown
Each of the finalists must manage a massive charity event: one a celebrity softball game, the other a star-studded comedy show.
The conclusion of the final two tasks; a cast reunion; the boardroom hiring of Trump’s newest employee. Season Finale
It’s Randal and Rebecca.
We’ve finally gotten to the last episode. Both candidates look like they’ve got some trouble.
This show is partly live and partly prerecorded. It starts with Trump, Carolyn and George taking a limo to Alice Tully Hall live on the show. Robin is there and takes Trump’s coat. There’s a packed hall with a really enthusiastic crowd.
Trump says that over 1 million people applied for The Apprentice.
Trump says that last week we saw that rain was threatening Randal’s game and Rebecca was having a hard time with her show.
Trump asks the crowd who they prefer. Both Randal and Rebecca get a loud cheer. Trump says he hasn’t made up his mind yet. I think I actually believe him.
After the intro credits we go to Rebecca, Capital Edge.
Joe Piscopo cancelled at the last minute in the last episode. They are now desperately trying to find new talent for free.
Excel, Randal, gets rain for his event. It’s questionable if they can even play their game. Randal says he should have had a contingency plan. Randal says he will decide whether or not to play at 11:00. Randal is very optimistic. He says it’s drizzle, not rain.
Capital Edge got Pete Dominic from the Gotham Comedy Club, an MC from the club. Pete sounds confident but they are featuring him with bassoon music in the background which usually signifies the person is not great. He sounds ok to me.
Excel gets to the ball club. They are calling for rain throughout. 100% in the morning. 70% in the afternoon. It’s looking bad. Even if they play, the area will be a mess for the VIP’s. So Randal is improvising an indoor event.
They are cutting out the silent auction and have the live auction for Autism Speaks.
This is making for a pretty exciting finale.
“Responsibility”. Trump is live discussing Responsibility. He says a good leader can step up, take responsibility and make the best of it.
Rebecca is getting goodie bags together. Yahoo wants no outright solicitation. So they have put a donation envelope in the goodie bags. It’s not great. But it’s better than nothing.
Randal is meeting with the CEO from Outback and with the commentator, Jim Kerr.
Alison Singer, from Autism Speaks, is concerned how well their messaging is incorporated into the event. That is how she will measure success. Randal feels that Alison is very bothered. She does seem a little high maintenance. I would think she might be a little more grateful for Outback and The Apprentice giving her major national attention. Maybe she feels she needs to play the event a little hard ass. She is probably an analytical type of person. These people are sometimes called “Thinkers” in behavior assessment tests. They hate improvising. This event is all about improvising now. That is likely to not fair well for Randal’s review. Her behavior type is going to be hard to impress. But Randal is doing a good job, considering the circumstances.
Each candidate is having a live party… Rebecca’s in Chicago and Randal’s in Newark.
Trump brings out all of the candidates from this season.
capital Edge: Chris wants the Yahoo sign to “smack them in the face.” Chris is concerned about the signs from The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Randal feels the event is chaos. Alison Singer is concerned because people are coming in 45 minutes. She is also concerned about losing checks.
Randal says that Mark, John and Marshawn were excellent team members.
Randal is very calm and collected. He says that the pieces of the puzzle are coming together.
Rebecca also looks strong. They have Yahoo-tinis, Yahoo blinking ice cubes. There is only one sign for The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Carolyn is concerned that the event is too Yahoo. She is also concerned that Rebecca will be able to raise any money for the foundation. She has really been given some bad setups. Yahoo wouldn’t let her ask for donations and Glaser gave her one sign.
Randal goes out to meet Trump from his helicopter. He goes over some bullet points he wants to show Trump. This guy is unstoppable. How does he manage to be able to meet Trump, give him a mini presentation all the while, being in charge of running a major event? He is spectacular.
Randal: The event looks fun. Randal gives a presentation about the importance of the autism event. He is an excellent speaker, he is a “rock star for autism.” He’s just a star.
He tells the audience that Trump is a humanitarian. Trump says that Randal has everything well under control.
The celebrities for the event are:
Sugar Ray Leanard
Jerome Williams
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
They hold an open auction event. Alison Singer says that Randal was able to express that autism has reached epidemic proportions.
Rebecca meets with the executives. She is hoping that the donation envelopes will do the trick. Trump calls ahead to say he’s on his way.
Trump discusses “Respect”. “Always treat your boss with great respect.” He sets up the scene to see how Rebecca treats Trump. Trump says the event is hard to find. I kind of feel a bit bad for Rebecca. Some things appear to be out of her control.
Trump told people to go down and get ready for the comedy event. The show is starting a half hour before the event was to happen. The MC and comedians are a bit shocked and off set. Trump thinks the event might be a bit disorganized. Rebecca says that Trump was the biggest wild card of the event… hence the “Respect” comment. I think he was a bit insulted that she insinuated he caused her difficulty. Rebecca should have controlled Trump a bit better, let him know the schedule instead of letting him control the schedule. “Mr. Trump, our event is going to start in 45 minutes, but would you be willing to say a few words to the people here?” That would have done it. But he didn’t know the schedule, so he made it up.
Rebecca’s event is a bit uncomfortable for me. That’s where they begin. Jake Glaser speaks and says that his mother would be happy with the event. Pete Dominic, starts and rips George quite a bit. He is a judge of the event. George says he’s been married for 53 years. The comic also rips George. It seems like he likes it.
Randal’s event raps up and says his teammates really stepped up for him. He hugs them all. He loves his team. That’s the quality of a great leader. He is grateful that they just wanted to see him succeed. Randal says he felt humbled and relieved after the event.
Rebecca’s event raps up. She thanks everyone for coming. They hand out the gift bags at the end. Rebecca feels that the event supported her charity very well. George speaks really highly of the event. Rebecca says she has no regrets. She also feel strongly about her teammates.
Oh crap! I think I didn’t Tivo this right. I might have lost a few minutes. I was behind a bit and my Tivo stopped recording at 10. Sorry if I missed anything too good. I’m at the point where Rebecca and Randal get dressed and head to the boardroom. She feels this could be the toughest boardroom ever.
Rebecca’s hopping is hard to watch. I wonder how things would be if she hadn’t broken her foot.
Their teammates meet with Trump.
Josh says Randal was a phenomenal leader. Trump says Randal’s event raised about $11,000.
Rebecca’s team is trying to support the fact that Yahoo didn’t want them to make an overt request for money. Trump says that if he were Yahoo he would make a major contribution to the Glaser Foundation. Technically, Rebecca’s team made no money. George asks who was running the event. I don’t know if you could have forced Yahoo to let them ask for money. Although, that should have been the stipulation. And Yahoo had never done a charity event before. They might have taken some direction.
Randal’s team says that they were taken in a similar direction with his sponsor. But he was able to get the open auction.
Marshawn says that Randal is without a doubt a better candidate.
Carolyn says that Rebecca handled the event very well. Carolyn says that Randal didn’t handle the event as well. Carolyn says not having a Plan B is a major mistake. George says he didn’t recognize the celebrities. He said they should have been put on stage. Randal’s team says that was intentional.
Trump wants to know if Randal is tough enough to make it in New York. He says that he is very laid back.
Trump says that Rebecca is tough and stood up for Toral against what everyone else said. Trump really like that. Toral says that Rebecca is a better human being than her. Rebecca is 23 and really tough.
Trump says he’s stuck with two stars.
The fact that Rebecca is 23 is really pretty amazing.
Rebecca and Randal go into the boardroom.
Randal says he deserves to work for Trump because he has an undefeated recorded and has really set himself apart. Rebecca is not afraid to stand up for what she believes.
Rebecca didn’t meet him at his car.
Rebecca didn’t raise any money. This is a big concern being that it’s a charity event. Rebecca felt that Yahoo was the client. That might be a mistake.
Trump says that Randal has had better events. Trump wants a list of auction items. Randal says he liked the stars out in the crowd. Randal had no Plan B.
Rebecca has a 1 and 2 record.
Randal is a Rhodes Scholar and from MIT. Wow. Rebecca says he is weak on looking at the larger objectives.
George says that both did a good job. Carolyn says also that they both did a lot right. She was really impressed by how connected they were with their teams.
The Yahoo event was better. But the Autism fundraising was better.
Maybe my mom is right… they both get hired. I’ve never really heard them discuss both candidates so positively.
Now the show is live. Rebecca is a financial journalist. She speaks with a lot of companies. She works with a non-profit called Pivot Consulting (I couldn’t find their web site)
Rebecca comes out without crutches. It makes her look really strong.
Randal went to Oxford and MIT. He now works with BCT Partners. The crowd chants “Randal , Randal”. When he walks out he says, “Let’s make it happen.” He is so cool.
Marshawn says that their has never been an easier choice than Randal. She speaks very eloquently of Randal. Jennifer M. is a Randal supporter. She says that he is a natural leader. Alla says she sees nothing out of Rebecca. Randal is in a different league. That’s rough.
Rebecca is strong. But Randal is unlike anyone I’ve ever seen. Quite frankly, he shouldn’t work for anyone other than himself. Why would he want to work for Trump? I wonder what the reasoning is. Maybe it’s bigger than I think. Condoleeza Rice got her name on the side of an oil tanker. Randal will never get a building named after him as long as he works with Trump.
Dan Rosensweig, Chief Operating Officer of Yahoo says a few words. Yahoo donates $100,000 to be split among both charities. That’s a wise move. They really looked scared by not allowing any fundraising at their event.
These are the projects:
Trump is building Trump Plaza in New Jersey. It’s a $400 million complex.
They are expanding the 3 properties in Atlantic City. This will
Randal wants the AC project and Rebecca wants the New Jersey project. That’s ideal for both of them being hired.
Carolyn can’t believe Randal didn’t check the weather.
“If there is a concrete wall right in front of you, walk right through it,” Rebecca quotes Trump.
Randal says he runs business and Rebecca writes about business.
Randal goes back to the fact that he won all three of his projects where he was project manager. Rebecca’s record was not nearly as good. This is a good point. If that doesn’t play a part of this then why have we sat through the last 13 weeks?
Randal must win. The only question I have is if Rebecca gets to go along too. More and more, I think that’s the path.
Trump says he based his life around really good people. Trump says this is very important for him. Trump is very impressed with Randal’s education. Rebecca too has a great education. Trump is impressed how she handles pressure. The broken ankle was a major hurdle.
Trump says he is dubious of Rebecca’s loyalty. I like the fact that she’s loyal. But who she is tied to.
Trump says Rebecca is outstanding but Randal is hired. Randal says that she is outstanding. Trump asks Randal if he should hire Rebecca. Randal says there is only one Apprentice. And therefore he shouldn’t hire her. So Trump doesn’t hire her. That’s cold. He wants to win. That is really a crazy twist.
It may be ok. Maybe Randal doesn’t think she deserves it. Maybe he feels they wouldn’t work well together.
What do you think?