"The Butt Stops Here" - November
11 We start
this episode in the usual guessing game, and someone
finally guesses right. The correct guesser is Jennifer,
who says that Chris was going to get canned anyway - it
was just a matter of time. Well, that was pretty harsh.
Harsher still is Ivana, who is still steamed at the
now-departed Chris. As she tells Jennifer that he saved
her, Jennifer replies with, "I'll take it." Heh. Ivana
thinks that Jen has a 'hypnotic fem-bot spell' - and
that Chris fell for it. Wes tells Jen that she knows how
to dog someone out in a nice way. Everyone laughs, but
Jennifer stays conspicuously silent. Hmmm...
The next morning, Wes answers the phone as Robin tells
them all to meet at the Levi's building. Donald, Carolyn
and Bill Rancic (subbing for George) arrives to tell
them the next challenge - they need to create a catalog
for Levi's to show that they are selling more than just
jeans. They will be showing the catalog to Levi's
President Robert Hanson, and the team who creates the
catalog that Robert likes the best wins.
Kevin is the manager for Apex and Wes is the manager for
Mosaic. Because the sides are uneven (5 - 3), Wes is
told to send someone over to Apex. It looks like they
finally get a chance to get rid of Maria, as Wes sends
over... Kelly? Wha? Kelly thinks that Wes got rid of him
because if they go to the Board Room, Kelly will crucify
him, Maybe that's true, and maybe him and Andy butt
heads, but Kelly, who hasn't done anything wrong yet, is
significantly better than Maria, who even lied to them
in the last episode. I have a feeling the team is going
to royally pay for this move...
Jen, Ivana and Kevin are thrilled that Kelly is coming
to them. Kevin finally gets to be the pm as they discuss
the catalog. Kevin talks about how they have to showcase
Levi's versatility. Ivana suggests that they create a
'Fit Wheel', which would be a jean selector wheel of
different sizes. That is an excellent idea - which Jen
doesn't get and Ivana is agonizing over. Maybe it's a
blonde thing. Ivana, who isn't blonde, is venting. "If
you want a corporate lawyer, hire Jen. If you want an
out of the box thinker, do NOT hire Jen."
Wes was very happy of the team as Mosaic sat down to
collect ideas. He may be second guessing that as Maria
goes off the topic and starts talking about the photo
shoot, adding that she has experience in layout and
magazines. She says that no one else has that sort of
experience and she wants people to step out of their box
to create the task. Meanwhile, they have no direction as
Maria looks to take charge. This gets many people
annoyed - Sandy included. "It would be an awful, stupid,
ridiculous idea to just leave Maria in charge of it." It
looks like the claws are coming out quite quickly on
both sides.
Apparently, the kittens will be scratching this episode
as we get to the Trump Lesson of the Week - 'Never
Lose Your Cool'. You should never lose your cool -
unless you are acting and are trying to do something to
get them to work harder. Never lose your cool unless you
have a reason for doing so. Meow.
Apex goes to the photo shoot, and Kevin was thinking
that people would be much more comfortable if normal
people are wearing the clothes, instead of supermodels.
They put themselves in the campaign - and they
emphasized the butt shot. They were all blown away by
Jen's modeling - and Ivana thinks she would make a
great... model, snickering at the thought. "You want
them to act at the drop of a pin, and that's what she
does." Ivana is great at the insults, isn't she?
Mosaic uses real models for their photos. Wes admits
that he doesn't have much experience, but Maria does -
and she promptly takes over what Wes is doing and orders
the models around. She usurps Wes and directs, insisting
that she has the experience. Remember when Kelly
diverted everything to Sandy for the Bridal Suite
challenge? Wes should have done just that, instead of
letting Maria run the ship without control.
Andy complains that they need to take 3-5 pictures per
shot - and Maria is taking 20 pictures per shot. Andy is
appealing to Wes to do something, as they are running
out of time, but when Wes approaches Maria, she sticks
her finger in his face and tells him to back off - and
then continues with the shoot. Later on she remarks
"Give me bitchy or give me death." Well, she's given us
the former and I am sure that the rest of her team want
to give her the latter. Sandy is distressed, saying that
she would have told Maria to leave the area - but Wes
just lets her run the show and I am sure he is wondering
if it's not too late to take Kelly back to his team.
Maria FINALLY completes the photo shoot as Mosaic goes
up to Yellowfin Graphics Design for the catalog. Sandy
wants to see what the catalog looks like, but Maria
won't show them, adding that she is designing the
catalog. Sandy calls her a control freak and with no
other input on the catalog except Maria's, this can't
possibly be good. Sandy and Andy still complain about
their lack of contribution when Maria shows up - and
they get into it. Bill comes in to watch the catfight
between Maria and Sandy, which can't be good for morale.
Andy is upset at Wes for not reigning in Maria when he
needed to, Sandy is upset as she tells Maria that she is
a control freak. and Maria is upset that Sandy called
her a control freak and is being unprofessional about
her attitude. Wes, the project manager, doesn't appear
to be upset at all - and that's something that everyone
should be concerned about.
After 20 minutes of bickering, Maria FINALLY apologizes
and tells Sandy that she won't dismiss anyone from any
rooms again. She then breaks down into tears and leaves
the room, convinced that no one is her friend - and then
says that she is not here to make friends, but is here
to win. Well, maybe that attitude is why you aren't
making any friends.
Ivana has made friends with the Yellowfin designers, and
she gets the second idea of making the fit wheel short
enough to fit in the pocket. Jen, who still doesn't
understand the concept, wants to see the final project.
Kevin is frustrated that Jen doesn't get it and he is
forced to give her busy work while the rest of them is
doing work. Jen thinks that she is being scapegoated
because she has never been in the Second Boardroom. She
thinks that Kevin and Ivana are the weak players on the
team and that Ivana has a grudge against her. Ivana
counters that by saying that every task, Jennifer gets,
"more blonde and blonde, and she's getting more prissy."
She says this in front of Carolyn - who is blonde. Oops.
The Donald decides to go down to Levi's and see the
presentation. If he was in Wes's room, he would not like
to see Wes going into the presentation with a different
brand of pants on. Andy tells him that he should either
switch into jeans or wear a full jacket and tie, but
Maria says that he is fine the way that he is. Andy
shrugs as Wes makes the presentation to Robert, Tracy
King (Vice President - women's division) and Nick Ko
(Vice President - men's division).
Wes starts the presentation for 2 minutes - and then
Maria does exactly what she's been doing the whole
episode - taking over. While she leans over and gets
into Robert's personal space, Maria sexes up the
presentation, which makes Andy and Wes cringe. They are
cringing even more when Maria talks about her love of
butt shots and even Robert is starting to cringe. Wes
says that Maria took charge of the project - and let Wes
down. Robert also calls Wes on not wearing Levi's jeans.
Maria tries to cover it up, but Robert isn't buying what
she is selling and this spells all sorts of trouble for
Mosaic...
...especially, since, Apex, who are all wearing Levi's
Jeans AND Levi's T-Shirts. Kevin was fired up - maybe
too fired up, as he was sweating, which Jen disliked -
as he talks about Perfection and the 'Perfect Fit'.
Ivana talks about the jeans - and the jean wheel, while
showing off their pictures in the catalog. Robert asks
how they came up with the idea, and answering it is...
Jen, who had no clue on the conception of the wheel, yet
talked about it. A stunned Ivana can only watch as Jen
takes credit for the idea - and even Kevin is upset.
Ivana decides to cut in on Jennifer when she starts
giving wrong information - and she is visibly annoyed at
her. Meeeeeow.
Donald comes in with Melania - wearing Levi's Jeans, of
course. Robert says that Apex took the idea and nailed
it perfectly. It's not as sexy, but it was a good job.
Mosaic's idea was sexier, but they didn't deliver as
clear of a message and didn't come up with the
diversity. Therefore, Apex wins. Donald asks Robert who
did the best job - and he said Jennifer, which an irate
Ivana says doesn't have one working creative brain cell.
The personal asides will have to wait, as their reward
is to spend some time with Billy Joel and listening to
him perform. That is a nice reward, as they meet Mr.
Joel, as Kelly describes him as an American icon. They
talk to Billy about his show as he shows them the
Travelator - which has his band go up and down during
the performance. Billy Joel plays music from 'Moving
Out' and he implores them to take risks.
Speaking of risks, Maria sets out a very risky campaign
to get rid of Wes, saying that if they don't follow her,
she will label them as sitting on their @$$e$ because
they didn't do anything as she led the show. Of course
she is neglecting that the reason for that is because
she didn't them go anywhere near the show, but I
digress. "Operational Misfit, lack of leadership, lack
of direction, and the only person in the group that lost
twice." Wes realizes this, and he knows that he has a
lot to defend. He says that Maria has a lot to defend -
and says that she needs to be fired.
As we go to the Board Room, we see that no one is
wearing Levi's Jeans (heh) - but they are all much more
formal. Donald was wondering why there weren't good butt
shots, adding that the only person who wore jeans with
them was Melania. Maria immediately goes after Wes, who
says that Maria overpromised and underdelivered. Sandy
says that Maria took over the project, while Andy talked
about Maria needing guidelines - which Wes never gave
her. Wes says that he tried to give direction, but Maria
says that Wes didn't plan and execute, adding that Wes
never wore Levi's jeans.
Donald noted that Andy never spoke during the
presentation - and he should have, since he was a debate
champion. How come? Andy responds that he learned is not
when to talk, but when to listen, and there was too much
talking, but not enough listening. Donald liked the
answer - and asks Wes who he is going to bring in. Wes
says his whole team, and Donald accepts that.
Carolyn starts off the deliberations, saying that Wes is
a bad leader. Bill says that Wes can't control the crew,
but adds that Sandy is underutilized and Maria can't
seem to work with anyone. Donald tells him that he needs
to go back to Chicago and be more utilized there. Heh.
Maria and Andy both say that Wes is a lousy leader. Wes
talks about the 'Back Off' incident, to which Carolyn
replies that he should have benched her, as if someone
did that to her, they would no longer be working for
her. Wes says that he wanted to, but couldn't afford to
lose 25% of his work force, which is a valid point.
Donald asks Wes who he would fire, and he says Maria,
because she can't be an effective producer. Donald tells
Maria and Wes that they both did horrible - Maria for
not listening to anyone, and Wes, for not reigning in
Maria. So I'll let the Donald take this one... "Maria,
you're fired... and I just have to do this, I have no
choice... Wes... you're fired also."
Well, I didn't see that coming. Neither did Wes, who's
mouth is agape. They both stare daggers at each other as
they leave. Both Carolyn and Bill think it was a
no-brainer, as Trump says that Andy needs to step up to
the plate. What's the worst part about this? Maria and
Wes have to take the SAME cab out of the Trump Tower,
giving them even more time together. I have a feeling
they didn't share any huggy time - evident by Wes saying
that he would have at least liked his own cab. Heh.
Let's see who else didn't get any huggy time from The
Donald as we see the standings -
So Far, So Good - Kelly, Kevin
So Far, Not So Good - Ivana, Jennifer M.
In Trouble - Sandy, Andy
You're Fired - Maria, Wes
Well, we now have another imbalance - a 4-2 advantage
for Mosaic. That will get fixed next week, but who's
going where? And who, thanks to project manager
exemption, gets to go to the Final Four? We'll all find
out in 7 days. |