The Apprentice L.A. - Aired Jan. 21 - Commentary

Don't worry. We will talk about that ending. For my money, it was one of the best endings of any Apprentice ever. It didn't come close to the greatest of all where four people were fired, but it certain outshines the majority.
As a result of winning last week's challenge, Heidi and the rest of Kinetic Corporation got to rest and relax at a luxury hotel, the name of which I'm not going to give because I've been burned before. Free product placements galore in my lengthy Treasure Hunters recaps, but did I get any swag? No! That, and I can't remember the name of it. It certainly did look luxurious though. Throughout the episode they kept cutting to the team relaxing with refreshing drinks, getting massages, and lounging by the pool.
Bastards. Rubbing it in my poverty-stricken face. Just for that, I'm not going to talk about the luxury day for the rest of this commentary.
Instead, let's get right to those daring go-getters at Arrow Corp! Because they were the only team competing, they had to split into two sub-teams. Trump asked who would like to be the captains, and Aaron jumped in without giving a second thought! And the other captain?
Being project manager can be a scary thing. A losing PM is the most likely to be fired unless an underling screws up significantly, and nobody wants to be fired. However, you can't win at the end unless you've actually stepped up to be PM a few times. That's why I was shocked that, after Aaron, nobody wanted to volunteer. So the Donald had to offer it to someone, and he asked Michelle. In the hot seat, she had no choice but to say yes, not that she had any choice anyway! After last week, she should have been looking to prove herself, so she should have been itching to be PM this week.
Unfortunately for her, it looked like the last boardroom really shook her. Most people don't want to hear that others don't like them, and think they're a drain on the team. But instead of using this to give herself strength, I don't think I've seen a PM this wishy washy in a long time. "So what do you think of this idea? I won't go ahead with this unless everyones behind it one hundred percent! I feel I need to go to the bathroom, but I want your input on that." It was horrifying cross between wanting to have her teammates like her and wanting to cover her ass in case they lost. Sad, so very sad. Michelle, you looked just like My Name is Earl's Jaime Pressly, but now you look like her empty, lifeless doppelganger. If only there was a way you could get our respect back, even just a little.
One of the things you can count on with The Apprentice is that the team that gets the most airtime is inevitably the one that loses. So trust those scamps to throw us for a loop by giving both teams pretty much equal time! Both had their bumps, and even though it looked like Michelle's team was doing worse, you never can tell when it's all based on customer satisfaction. Maybe they lucked into a tour group who was enjoying the experience and gave them high points!
An argument I often make on The Apprentice, Survivor, and Big Brother (it's not as important on The Amazing Race, but it still helps) is WATCH THE DAMNED SHOW! When several seasons have come and gone, there is no excuse for not having done some homework and seeing what has worked in the past and what has failed miserably. What's worked before? Getting out there and asking the customers themselves what they want (point in favour: Aaron's team). What has failed miserably? Wandering aimlessly with no plan at all (point against: Michelle's team). You can't fault Michelle for a malfunctioning microphone, but you can SQUEEEEEEE blame her for SQUEEEEEE having no SQUEEEEE plan and having the whole SQUEEEEE tour look like she was SQUEEEEEE winging it.
Aaron's team definitely earned their win this week. Michelle earned a lot of my respect back in the boardroom.
In the history of The Apprentice, only one other person has ever quit. But Michelle was the first who was a project manager and the first to do it in the boardroom.
Trump did not like this one bit, and he let her know it again and again. He did his best to belittle her choice and call her a quitter, but I thought she made a great choice.
Does Donald Trump have more money under the cushions in his sofa than I will ever have my whole life? Yes. But that doesn't mean he can't be full of crap. Very often in life, resigning is the best option, and more often than not it's a better option than being fired. Seriously, who are you going to hire, someone who resigned from their last job or someone who was given the sack?
If Michelle went back into the boardroom with the rest of her team, they were going to spend the whole time tearing her apart. There was also no chance that she wasn't going to be the one fired. Why spend needless time being attacked by people who already didn't like you anyway? And even if she pulled out a miracle and made it through, they were going to keep bringing her back again and again until the axe is finally lowered.
I don't know how much was editing, but she also looked like she was pretty much ostracized in camp. In cold, wet, miserable camp. Even if she wasn't ostracized completely, it was very clear that the others didn't like her. So why put herself through that?
She made the right choice, and I applaud her for it. And if it meant another teammate would be fired, all the more power to her! Watching their reactions to this possibility was priceless. The fear and hypocrisy made for a frothy brew indeed. How dare she don't allow them to attack her and ensure her ouster, and now in her place one of them might go instead? The injustice! Can't she think of them instead of doing what's best for her?
Hee hee! But sadly it wasn't to be. Trump decided that nobody was going to be fired that night.
Whatever else happens in your life, Michelle, despite going out early, you went out memorably and with your head held high.
Good for you. Seriously.