"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. |