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Eighteen men and women have been chosen by the most powerful man in real estate for a 15-week job interview, in which only one can be named president of one of his companies.

Who will Donald Trump choose as his next Apprentice?

Who's fired this week? Check the Apprentice 2 Portfolio!

Recaps by Gordon Pepper, GSNN


FACT FILE:
Host: Donald Trump
Assistants: George Ross and Carolyn Kepcher
Creator: Mark Burnett
EP: Mark Burnett, Donald Trump, Jay Bienstock
Packager: Mark Burnett Productions, Trump Productions.
Airs: Thursdays at 9:00pm ET on NBC


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"Bringing Down the House" - November 4

Have we seen much of Sandy during the last few episodes? As a matter of fact, have we seen her throughout this series? The answer is, not much, but we do finally see her, as she talks to Wes about who is getting booted this week. Wes says that he would be stunned if it wasn't Elizabeth, while Andy says that if she defends herself, Raj goes home.

She doesn't. The rest of them come back and tell them that there was not even a second stage this time around. Raj, the person on the frying pan, was selected as Project Manager this time around. He speaks to Kevin in terms of how to be a better Project Manager than he was last time - and although he was decent last time, he knows that his existence in this game will depend on how well he does this time. The other person to be selected as project manager is... Sandy! We FINALLY get to see what Sandy can do... or if she sucks, what she couldn't do as she gets shown the door.

Everyone meets up at Park Avenue for the next challenge, and they meet him in front of a construction site. The site's work is still in progress, and everyone meets at the roof of Trump Park Avenue (the old Delmonico Avenue). Everyone is in hard hats - which could be a sign of unity - or he just doesn't want to see a return of Omarosa Syndrome.

The team is joined by Carolyn and Matthew Palmeri, subbing for George (and Bill). They won't be working on this building, though - they will be working on two houses in Long Island. Each team gets $2,500 to renovate the houses. The team that gets the better appraisal in value in terms of percentage wins.

There is a twist, as from the Donald - "In life, you have to work with people that you don't like, so what we're going to be doing today is bringing you a couple of assistants that in the past you haven't gotten along with very well. For this task only, I am going to bring back the first four people that I fired."

With that, Rob and Jen C come out to work with Mosaic, while Bradford and Stacie will be working with Apex. Some of those people look like they'd rather be jumping off the roof than to work with those people again.

Jen C. says that she should not have been fired - and that Ivana should have. She adds that Trump even told her to give him Ivana that she could have fired - and she didn't do it. She says that she took Stacy R. and Elizabeth with her, and apparently she knew what she was doing because they are both fired. She even tells Ivana this, and we see that Jen C's charming personality has come back.

Also coming back is Stacie, who is pissed off at Ivana as well. She speaks to Chris, who tells her that instead of being vindictive, this is a good time for her to clear the air. Instead, she goes right after Ivana, calling her a liar and wondering how she got the impression that she is crazy. Ivana tells her that everyone thought that she was a threat and she needed supervision. Stacie continues to verbally barrage Ivana, and fed up, she storms off. Stacie then says that she wasn't going to get into it until things got personal. Well, Stacie, you started to make it personal with Ivana, she took it that way and fired it right back at you, as I thought she didn't make any personal comments against you. Remember when I said that she got a raw deal? Well, after seeing more of her, that deal may have been more well-done than raw.

As Chris continues to calm Stacie, we see Trump's Lesson of the Week - 'Control Your Contractor'. Donald says they are smart, and you have to know how to deal with them. If you don't play it tough, they will pick your pockets and you won't even know what happened.

With that, the teams look at their dilapidated settings. Apex sees the room and tells Raj that they need a bathroom and a living room. Raj wants to condense one of the rooms to make it 3 bedrooms instead of 4. Jennifer thinks it's a mistake to do so, because that will lower the value of the house, but Raj overrules Jennifer and Kevin and proceeds to start tearing down the wall.

Jen says that Rob lack's common sense. Chris is complaining to the camera that the team isn't acting like a team, and that Jennifer is trying to be an individual and causing problems. Chris also says that the team lacks chemistry. Raj says that smashing a wall will be easy, but Jen is looking at the big picture, and I think she's right.

Sandy is confident that she will not make the same mistakes that the other project leaders have made. Wes meets a contractor, and he is being strong as he tells him that everything has to be done by 2pm on Sunday. The contractor says to let him see the house, and they do so. Kevin says that he got a contractor from a referral from a brokerage. Carlos (Kevin's suggestion) comes in - and he isn't looking too sure. Raj is very nervous, but they take him because it's on Kevin's recommendation. Jennifer is nervous because Raj and Ivana are taking down the wall, and she just looks on.

Rob, who thinks that he has something to prove, is working his butt off to try to make the outside look nice. He can't do anything to stop the rain, though, and as it falls, Sandy is getting into it with the contractor. She is upset because they won't do things in the bathroom. Andy notices this, and he suggests that they get a new contractor. Sandy agrees, and they find one who was suggested by the locals in the neighborhood. John Jr. is the new contractor, and he brings his whole family in for one big love-fest. They have the workers working, while the landscapers are watching the workers work. All Sandy has to do now is just check in on them, and she likes what they are doing - she is just keeping faith that they are ding it well. All we get from Kelly is that if this fails, then it's Sandy's fault. Can Kelly be more productive than just standing around, complaining that if things don't get done, it's the project managers fault?


Over on Raj's side, he finds something to complain about as the bathroom is far from done. The contractor says that he will get it done - right after he is finished eating the tacos. They do last second cleanings, as everyone else is cleaning the house. Carlos is done - but when Raj comes in, he notices that none of the appliances have been fitted or set in yet, and he is getting very worried.

The time is over, the houses are done, and it's time for Mark Walberg and his three judges to check on everything... oh wait, wrong show. Sandy feels very confident, as she shows everyone the house. She should be, as everything looks nice. They installed new carpeting, a new bath and they doubled the appliance space in the kitchen. She says that not adding a bathroom on the second floor is the key, because they didn't want to cut corners and wanted everything that they could complete, to be completed perfectly. The appraiser seemed impressed.

It's time for Raj's house. He tells them that he left a lot of space so that the people who could move into the house could decide what to do with it (read - they didn't get everything they wanted done in time). They go up the stairs - and they see the carpet has paint all over it. He explains this to them, which results in Carolyn mouthing to him that they should have put some sort of covering OVER the carpet. Oops.

The bigger oops comes up when the go into the bathroom, and it isn't completed yet. The appraiser also wasn't happy that they chopped it down from 4 bedrooms to three bedrooms and an unfinished bathroom, and even Matthew says that the decision to eliminate that fourth bedroom is going to cost him. In his defense, Raj says, "I'm in the Real Estate business. This is a Real Estate task. It's a must win, in my estimation." In that case, Raj, let me show you to the 'You're Fired' door.

Both teams walk into the Donald's room, and they await the report. Apex original appraisal - $385,000. New Appraisal - $412,500, which is an increase of 7.4% Mosaic - original appraisal - $390,000. New Appraisal, $430,000, which is an increase of 10.26%. Rob is ecstatic, which the Donald notes. For working on houses, the winning team get to visit a nice house - hosted by Denise Rich. Jen C. and Rob get to join them - but then they have to leave, because, according to The Donald, they were already fired. Heh.

Sandy's team gets to go via helicopter, as they see the New York skyline. They go to Denise's house, which is worth around 20 million dollars. They tour the house and the beach, and Andy is thrilled to be there, as working hard makes this feel better. Andy's team is certainly on a roll...

...but Raj is rolling downhill, blaming himself for the loss and for not firing the contractor. Jennifer notes this - but she also notes that it's getting near the end of the competition, and you want the workers left, not the people who are flying under the radar. The target - Ivana, as Jennifer says that she doesn't contribute, and she'll help him get rid of her. She goes after Ivana, who tells her that she is pulling her own weight and that her talent is only to stick numbers in an Excel Spreadsheet. She is even more concerned that Ivana will cost her the next time she is Project Manager, so she wants her out. Granted, the point is taken, but she has now given Ivana time to plan for her defense.

Can she use it at the Board Room? Donald is dressed up as a tuxedo, because he has to present an award, so this will be a 'formal firing'. Heh. Raj is asked what happened, and he said that he picked the wrong contractor, it cost him the challenge, and he takes the responsibility up to that point. Raj is digging his own grave, but Bradford tries to save him by going after Kevin as the person who should be fired because he selected the contractor that screwed everything up. Kevin says that he did, but doesn't think he should be fired and Bradford goes after him too.

Donald asked Jennifer how Stacie was doing, and she said that Stacie did a great job and that she was a hard worker. The Donald agrees and tells her that her work should be complimented - until Ivana opens her mouth and says that Jennifer told her to take Stacie off the windows because she wasn't doing a good job. Donald goes after her and asks why she has to be nasty - and you can insert your own Ivana joke right there. Nasty? Yes, but also smart, because she needs to undermine Stacie's credibility just in case Stacie decides to go after her, and she can't do it if she says that Stacie did a good job. Still, that's a tough route to go as Donald tells her that it was uncalled for and it was begrudging.

In terms of the contractor, Stacie says that at the beginning of the job, the contractor was doing fine, but then he slacked off at the end and he did a bad job. The Donald, after asking Bradford if he wanted to be like him (to which he says yes, because he's got a hot girlfriend, which got everyone laughing), asks him who he would fire. He says Ivana, because she's a good business person, but not a good leader. That's not looking good for Ivana - and it's looking worse for her as Raj selects Kevin and Ivana to go with him to the Board Room.

Before they leave, Chris wants to make a point. He says that the team is going to keep losing because there is no chemistry there. He says that as long as the team stays the same, they are going to keep losing. That upsets the Donald, who automatically designates him as the next project manager, and Carolyn, who quickly responds with, "I don't care how bad the team is, fix it!" With that, the Donald asks Raj if he wants to bring in Chris as well, and that seems to be an open invite to bring him in to get canned, but Raj says no and I think the only shot that Raj had of staying in the game just went out the window.

Everybody leaves (including Bradford and Stacie) while the Donald deliberates. Carolyn appreciates that Raj took responsibility, but Ivana was a hard worker and Kevin worked as well. Matt says that she agrees with Carolyn, and that Raj didn't deliver on his vision. When Raj. Ivana and Kevin show up, Donald asks Raj how come he brought Ivana. Kevin is wondering why he is there as well, and Donald says that he's there because he selected the contractor. Kevin tries to get out of it, but Donald isn't buying what he's selling and Kevin almost gets caught in a lie, and admits he did pick the contractor.

Raj asks Ivana what she's done, and she says that she plugged holes that Raj has made, adding that he needs adult supervision. Well, the line worked well to get rid of Stacie, why not Raj? He counters by being condescending to Ivana, but Donald tells him that he made the holes of combining 4 bedrooms into three bedrooms, not firing the contractor and not making sure the work got done, and compounding it by selecting someone he doesn't like instead of someone who's fault it was that things didn't get done, then compounded it even more by not bringing in Chris, the person who could have been the scapegoat. Raj tries to counter by saying that he's not going to be a politician and get a sacrificial lamb for him, but Raj seems to neglect the fact that much of business is based on politics, and he will learn that lesson by being the next one fired.

Raj made too many mistakes - and he keeps making the mistake of treating women like they are meat by asking for Robyn's phone number. He doesn't get it, and if he is wondering why he doesn't get any women, all he has to do is to watch all of the episodes to see why.

Let's see who gets it - at least on the ratings board , as we get to the half-way mark -

So Far, So Good - Jennifer M., Kelly, Andy, Sandy
So Far, Not So Good - Wes, Kevin
In Trouble - Maria, Ivana, Chris
You're Fired - Raj

Next week - Chris gets to swim - or sink - as project manager as they work on a bridal project. We'll see in seven days who is holding the bouquet - and who gets caught with the dead roses.

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