Previously: Cesar Millan visited and judged as the team's built hotels and spas for dogs. There were disgruntled candidates on each team (David and Tyana), but the men lost and Octane team leader James was eliminated. Back in the suite, Steuart talks about how much he can't stand David, and that he'll tell him if he comes in. (He was the only one who'd stand up to the psycho in last week's boardroom.) David comes in, all high-fiving everyone else and acting like a creepy frat guy, but he tells Steuart what bullshit that was for him to "throw me over the bus." Wade really wants to be project manager, but Clint says he wants it, too. Clint makes fun of Wade behind his back, but Wade just says he didn't want to create bad feelings. We have the full "Money, money, money" credits back. With slow talking James gone, there must be time for them now.
Tyana has her winners' reward: She meets Russell Simmons. He gives her some advice and platitudes about business and how to get rich. On her way out, he hands her an envelope from Trump. She cries as she reads the letter, which is a $10,000 gift card to Calvin Klein. Wow, she must really like Calvin Klein. Trump greets the idiots in the morning, and starts talking to them about the popcorn business. He says 17 billion quarts are sold each year. He introduces Hitesh, CEO of a company called Popcorn, Indiana. Hitesh says they want to reach out to those who are missing out on their awesome popcorn using the internet. So the task is to create a guerilla marketing stunt that they'll make it into a video. The winner will have made the video most likely to go viral. They'll be working with "viral video hotshot" Charlie Todd. Clint tells Trump he's Octane's PM, and Trump seems disappointed it's not Wade, after his boardroom promises. Mahsa's going to boss around the women. Oh, wait, she does that every week anyway, but this week it will be her job.
Mahsa tells her team she's going to be bossy, so please don't take anything personally. They look up Popcorn, Indiana, and find out it's a very wholesome family, so they won't do anything vulgar. Charlie Todd shows up and tells them he's the founder of Improv Everywhere. He gives them some tips and shows them for videos. He does the same thing for the guys. Clint says it has to be uncontrived, and then he platitudes "go big or go home." The women are having ideas about doing something in a movie theater or a gym. Tyana doesn't like any of the ideas, and she says that, but she doesn't offer any ideas. They end up going with the gym idea: They're going to have someone working out and eating popcorn. I'm not sure how that's viral or guerilla, but whatever. Mahsa sends Liza, Poppy, and Tyana to find wardrobe, because they're no use to her in her presence.
The guys seem to have decided on an idea of a giant popcorn fight, but Wade hates it. He thinks it's not appropriate for kids, which is ridiculous. Kids invented food-fights, didn't they? David's wildly eating a bagel, when it rips half of his tooth out. They send him away to take care of it, and everyone's supportive. Except Steuart, who says that if he were only missing half a tooth, he'd stick around and help the team. He says David's going home if they lose, and Steuart will be overjoyed in that case.
Fortitude. Mahsa decides to let Liza, Poppy, and Tyana do something creative, so they're not mad. But Tyana thinks Mahsa realized she wasn't giving them enough responsibility to pin on them in the boardroom, so she flipped it and put her friends on "food and stuff," and put these three on creative. Which means recording people working out with flip cameras. Octane is working outside, on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Steuart's playing a prankster, who runs around and gets couples involved in a popcorn fight. Ivanka pays a visit and then tells us she doesn't know if this viral video has the potential to be hilarious. Don's visiting Octane; he thinks Mahsa's doing a great job because she looks like a director. Which means she's a bossy jerk, basically. He does notice some team members are quiet, so she might be taking too much control, which might make it hard for her to say anyone else is at fault if they don't win. The guys are finishing their final scene, with a giant crowd gathered. Clint says that if this thing doesn't go viral, he doesn't know what viral is. Wade says if they lose, it will be purely on concept, which will be Clint's fault.
The teams watch and edit their videos. Wade still thinks the popcorn fight is pretty in-your-face for kids. Tyana thinks the footage they're choosing isn't funny and brings it up, but Mahsa says there's no time to change it up. Mahsa interviews that Tyana said this so she would be safe in the boardroom, but Tyana cries in her interview that she's on Mahsa's side and can't imagine them winning, which is so frustrating. Charlie and Hitesh sit together to watch the videos: Fortitude's "Lunch Break Workout" -- basically one guy eating popcorn throughout a workout, as everyone ogles him, and he finally shares with them -- and Octane's "Kettle Corn Chaos" -- in which Steuart runs around and throws popcorn in people's face, then they pick up the bag and find out it's Popcorn, Indiana. It ends with a giant fight in the street and then Steuart sitting and eating popcorn with "To be continued..." Charlie and Hitesh think the ladies' idea was quirky, and the guys' was funny but a little violent. Charlie thinks it's a tough choice, because they're both good. I'm not "viral video hotshot," but I think the choice is tough because neither is that good.
Boardroom. Trump asks Clint if he thinks they won; he does, because they made a spectacle. Anand agrees, and says Clint was a breath of fresh air as a leader. Trump asks Wade why he didn't lead, and he says he didn't want to create problems so he let Clint do it, but he's leading week. Trump asks Steuart if David was a problem, but Steuart tells Trump about David's "dental malfunction." David gives us graphic details about his tooth being pulled apart by the bagel. Mahsa plugs her ears. Steuart says he thought they had an excellent team, since David wasn't there, and he's confident they won. Trump turns to the ladies. Mahsa thinks they did excellent, too, and she thinks they won. Brandy's also confident in their video. Trump asks if anyone doesn't love the video, and Tyana raises her hand. Mahsa calls her the biggest and weakest member of their team. Trump asks if Mahsa would take all the shit she's talking back if they win, but Mahsa wouldn't; she's not fake. Mahsa talks over Tyana, and finally Trump says Tyana can talk. She says she thinks they lost.
Trump wants to see the women's video. They all giggle, though none of the guys or the Trumps do. Mahsa says she loved it, but the guys don't see a stunt in that video, so they think they won. Trump watches the men's video. The men and Tyana laugh, but Mahsa isn't impressed. She thinks it was disrespectful to the product and that it wasn't a stunt. Steuart's like, "We only shut down Fifth Avenue." Trump points out that Tyana laughed at it, and Mahsa tries to dismiss that with the reasoning that it is "because Tyana's evil." But Trump's not having that. THANK GOD. Tyana says it was way better than their video, because it was an event. Clint says that in the rain, they had people standing out into Fifth Avenue to watch, shutting down the street.
Trump asks Ivanka for the pros and cons of the men's team. She repeats what we already know: The video was funny, and it was a large event. But the tagline was hard to hear (because everyone shouted it together at the end), and the video was a bit violent with the product. Don says the women's concept was clever and fun; they liked the irony. But it was a little casual, contrived, not guerilla, and didn't go far enough. Trump says Hitesh chose the men's team. Clint's going to meet Steve Forbes as his reward. The men are sent away. On the way out, David says, "Minus one tooth, we still prevail." That's pretty big talk from the team that's lost the two weeks.
The women are in the boardroom, and Trump asks Tyana what happened. She says he saw what happened, and she tried to get them in the right direction. She thinks the executive was correct, and the men did a better job. She says their video wasn't an event, and Ivanka tells Tyana she's focusing on the right thing. Mahsa starts talking about how little time she had to film, but Ivanka interrupts: "Are you a bad time manager?" Mahsa tries to say no, but Ivanka butts in again: "Everyone had the same amount of time." I love Ivanka for this, because Mahsa so needs someone -- and it needs to be a woman -- put her in her place. She thinks she can stomp roughshod over everyone, but she can't mess with Ivanka.
Mahsa babbles about how she had everyone help with creative, but Liza rolls her eyes and points out they were actually put in charge of the shopping list. Trump asks if Liza really blames the project manager. She does. Trump asks Mahsa why he shouldn't fire her since she's saying she did everything and it wasn't good. Then he asks Stephanie, who says she'd fire Tyana. He's baffled: "She's the one who didn't want to do the concept." Stephanie says she didn't have any other ideas, and Don wonders if Mahsa would have even listened to anyone else's ideas. Brandy agrees that Tyana shouldn't have complained unless she had a better idea. Brandy certainly thinks Mahsa did a great job.
Trump asks Liza whom she would fire, and she hesitates, then says she'd actually fire Tyana, because she checked out during the business editing. The guys watching in the suite are as shocked -- as are Tyana and Trump -- and think Liza's just afraid of Mahsa. Which I don't disagree with. Kelly's spouting platitudes about how, in business, you have an obligation to give 150 [sic] percent every time. Poppy even thinks Tyana was too negative during the editing, and Ivanka tells her that the concept was chosen and she had to move forward with her team, not check out. She argues she didn't. Then Don steps in and asks if Tyana's disagreement is really the reason they lost. He asks if they had taken it a little farther, wouldn't they have won? They all, even Mahsa, say yes, but he tells Mahsa that while he was there, he saw her telling people to tone it down and not go as far. She calls him "Mister Don Junior," and blames the actor she was telling to tone it down. Mahsa chooses to bring Tyana and Liza back to the boardroom. They sit awkwardly in the lobby, since now everyone basically hates each other.
Back in the boardroom, Trump asks if Mahsa really thinks Tyana's evil. She says she's weak, and has been since the beginning, which is why everyone on the team wanted her gone. Trump says that is true, but Tyana says it's because she's the only one who spoke up against the idea. I wish she'd say why it's really that way, though: Everyone is afraid of Mahsa. Ivanka says it's easier for them to choose the project manager without upsetting her. Liza nods in agreement, and says that you either show up or go home. Trump tells Tyana the executive did like the idea, but felt it wasn't taken far enough.
Ivanka tells Mahsa that she's had very strong opinions about the project managers, and now she lost as PM. She asks her if she thinks she's weaker than she thought, and Mahsa gets indignant: "Absolutely not." Ivanka: "So you don't think this was a failure on your part?" Mahsa admits a little bit of fault, and then Liza jumps in again. Trump says it's amazing to him that Liza, who Mahsa attacks all the time, is defending her. Liza says she's not defending her, but Don asks if Liza's afraid to go against her. She says she's not, but Tyana finally yells over the other shriekers that they're all afraid to go against Mahsa. Mahsa says they're not afraid, and then Trump asks why they would be. Mahsa says she's tough (explaining why they're afraid contradicts what she just said about them not being afraid, doesn't it?). Trump stops her and says the worst thing is people who say they're tough, because they usually aren't. She looks contrite. Trump asks Tyana what she has to say. Tyana says she was against the concept from the beginning, but Ivanka and Trump point out the executive liked the concept. Trump goes on and on about how he can't ignore that every single person was against her -- even Liza who doesn't like Mahsa. He fires Tyana, who shakes her head and leaves without even thanking him. Back in the boardroom, Trump says that wasn't easy, and the Trumplets agree.
Taxicab confession (as -- get this -- Liza and Mahsa hold hands on their way back to the suite): Tyana thinks Trump did not make the right decision, because Mahsa should have been fired. She says he had no choice, though, when the whole team turned against her. She feels like she gave everything she could, and wouldn't change anything. Then we find out what she'd doing now: She went back to real estate, so she wants us to look her up and hire her. week: Fashion show! And you'd think that would be a lock for the women, but it looks like everyone sucks.
DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, thinks this show is keeping David and Mahsa around to torture her -- but, really, she'd prefer flagellation. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.