As you may remember from last week, Allie and Roxanne were both fired last week when, despite their friendship and promises to the contrary, they viciously turned on each other in the boardroom. This week begins with Sean and Lee waiting for someone to return to the suite. Sean begins eating dinner, declaring that he really doesn’t care who returns and whoever it is, he isn’t going to go hungry for her. Finally, the phone rings and Robin summons both Sean and Lee to the boardroom. Lee’s biggest worry is that he isn’t dressed up enough, but Sean is more anxious.
Upon entering the boardroom, Lee and Sean get the good news that both Roxanne and Allie are gone and that the boys are now the final two. They receive their congratulations and then get directions to return to the suite to pick three former candidates for their final task. They will see Trump again the next morning to learn what their assignments will be. Lee can’t help but stop to try a little more Trump butt as he leaves which The Donald receives like an indulgent father, saying, “Frickin’ politician, Lee!”
When they return to the suite, Sean and Lee are surprised by seeing everyone from the season waiting for them. Sean, of course, was most excited to see Tammy. Wonder if she’ll be picked for a team, huh? Lee, wearing an undershirt and a winter jacket in his confessional, declares that he isn’t surprised to be where he is. Sean likes Lee, but not more than he wants the job. Everyone hangs out for a little cocktail party as the finalists start to assemble their teams. Sean goes straight to Tammy and Andrea, saying that he has to surround himself with the best possible people. Brent, Tarek, a guy I can’t remember, and Allie all take the proactive approach in pitching themselves to Sean. Sean is concerned with getting the best people as well as people that get along together. Tarek speaks to Tammy and Andrea, citing his previous jobs at McDonald’s and a sewage treatment center as proof of his work ethic.
Lee starts his “interviewing” by talking to Lenny, who he basically makes a partner; Lenny says that they should choose people that want to work for them and immediately recommends Pepe. Lee then talks to Roxanne, a blonde I can’t remember (Theresa?), and then collaborates with Lenny. Lenny shoots down Roxanne, Allie, Charmaine, Leslie, and possibly another woman. By this point, Lenny has taken over in choosing the team completely.
The announcements of the teams are made. Team Sean consists of Tammy, Andrea, and Tarek while Team Lee includes Lenny, Pepe, and Roxanne. In his speech, Lee states that Lenny would die for Lee to become the apprentice and that he wished he could’ve picked everyone. Both finalists think that they’ve assembled the best teams, and Sean is particularly confused by Lee’s choices, saying that he’s surprised that Lee even knows Pepe’s name. I had forgotten about him myself!
The next morning, the teams get the call to go the boardroom with their new teams. Sean is very excited, hoping that by the end of the task he’ll have the job, the girl, and a brand new life ahead of him. Both teams head to the boardroom, where Trump, Carolyn, and George glad he’s back for the final task! greet them. Donald asks Lee why he chose his team and Lee cites the fact that everyone on the team is passionate about him getting the job. Sean, however, says that he chose the best, covering people with strengths ranging through all facets of business. Both finalists initially choose the same event, a Barenaked Ladies concert, but Lee volunteers to take on the other task, a charity hockey game, while pointing out how versatile he is. Trump tells them that Lee’s team will be Gold Rush and Sean’s will be Synergy. The teams leave, giving Trump the chance to discuss the finalists’ choices. Carolyn immediately asks who the “guy on the far right” is, and they determine that it was Pepe, but can’t remember anything else about him.
Synergy goes to the location of their event, the Trump Taj Mahal, and gets straight to work. Andrea gets started on breaking the task down into smaller parts. They then meet with a representative of the World Wildlife Fund, the charity that would be benefiting from the concert. Then, the team went on a tour and met with the employees that they would work with while seeing the various venues within the hotel that they would utilize. Sean starts to get a little overwhelmed by the vast amount of responsibilities that he will have to orchestrate but maintains his charm with everyone he meets.
In the meantime, Gold Rush heads to a meeting with the head of the Firefighters’ Foundation that will be benefiting from the celebrity hockey game. The first few ideas that Lee puts forth, a date auction, a silent auction, and a yacht ride, fall flat. The representative actually tells Lee that he should aim a little higher and tells him that they want a “Class A” event, not something thrown together with a keg of beer. Lee, however, says that he doesn’t give a crap about the meeting and that he wasn’t hired for a meeting. The representative, however, wants another meeting with some better ideas and tells him that he’s going to need some luck. the politician now?
Gold Rush moves on to Chelsea Piers where the hockey event will take place. Roxanne gets very excited about some of the celebrities appearing at the game, actually doing a little dance. At Chelsea Piers, the team gets a tour of the facilities and Lee started to realize just how much work he has in front of him. Lee puts forth an idea to the Pontiac and the Chelsea Piers execs which gets the go ahead, auctioning off two cars at the event, but while Pepe talked for a minute about the thought of asking a corporate sponsor to match the funds that were raised, Lee never actually asked the question. The exec from Pontiac pointed out that Lee really missed an opportunity there.
Back at Synergy, the team is brainstorming fundraising ideas, including asking for corporate donations. Through the brainstorming session, Tarek sees just how far the flirtation between Sean and Tammy has gone and gets worried about Sean’s focus. It’s no wonder that Tarek noticed it after how the two acted around each other. I hope that you missed it, funnygirl, you would’ve died! After they brainstorm, Sean and Tammy met with someone from the Taj Mahal to discuss the pre-parties while Andrea and Tarek met with an exec from Pontiac to make sure that they were able to keep their major sponsor happy. They learn a little about the cars and exactly what Pontiac wanted to have showcased at the event. Sean and Tammy picked menu for the pre-party while Andrea and Tarek secured two cars for the team to auction off. Tarek pointed out Sean’s mistake in which meeting to attend, questioning whether Sean’s motive behind choosing his own responsibilities was to be with Tammy.
At Chelsea Piers, Gold Rush is having a brainstorming session of their own, creating the program. Lee decides that he doesn’t need to micromanage the program, and also tells Carolyn that he’s surprised at how hands-on he’ll need to be with the guest hockey players. Carolyn isn’t impressed by Lee’s leadership style, saying that he apparently thinks the event is going to run itself. Next, Lee gets a call from Liz, the representative from the charity, in which she expresses her concern at where Lee is with the event. Lee isn’t impressing Liz or Carolyn at this point and doesn’t seem to even know what he’ll be doing for the fundraising. He mentions a silent auction, which Liz had vetoed before, but in his confessional Lee describes Liz as a “tough cookie” and can’t seem to figure out why she’s on his back. Liz really does get on him, saying that Lee is making excuses and Liz decides that she’s going to come to Chelsea Piers for a walkthrough that evening. At the point, Lee is in big trouble, because if Liz decides to pull out of the event, he’s just kissed his job goodbye.
At Gold Rush, Andrea approaches Tammy and tells her that she has been coughing up blood and has to go to the doctor. Tammy tries to ask Andrea to stop at the grocery store, but Andrea gets a nose bleed and doesn’t think she can do it. Andrea gives sort of a conflicting message, first telling Tammy that she couldn’t talk about it without crying, but then saying that she was sure she would be back. Sean is concerned and completely charming as Andrea leaves in near-hysterics. Her absence leaves Tarek very worried about how well the team will be able to perform without her. The episode ends with Andrea walking out crying.
Next week: the season ends, a new apprentice is crowned, and we get to see people bicker in the boardroom for the last time.
Great recap once again jlyl! imo I thought Andrea's thing was so overly dramatic.
I also laughed when Carolyn couldn't remember who Pepi was :laugh