This season: Sixteen plucky Apprenti left behind one set of broken dreams and flocked to Trump Towers to have another set handed to them by Donald the Duck Hair himself. There were catfights, gladiator costumes, doggie disappointments, cheating scandals. Last week, Trump reignited the sex wars for a QVC task. PM Liza and Brandy won, so four were narrowed to three with Steuart's elimination. Now another firing looms on the horizon...
Liza, Brandy, and Clint sit in the waiting area as Trump deliberates on the final verdict. Liza recalls the many attacks she's faced and is proud that she at least made the F3. Brandy says her passion got her through the emotional travails. Trump calls everyone back into the boardroom. Clint says with absolute confidence that one of the women will be fired. Credits.
Boardroom. Trump asks Brandy why he should hire her. She rattles off a five-minute monologue of her greatest hits, from moving out of the house as a teenager and financing all of her top-tier schooling to working with senators and high-power business and legal professionals. She thinks her personality, drive, and experience are a good fit for the Trump Organization. Trump asks her which of her opponents is weaker. She goes in through the back, saying Clint is stronger. Trump turns to Clint and asks why he should be hired. Clint launches into the same Clint of All Trades speech he used last week to vanquish Steuart. He calls himself a "CEO in a box," saying he can fit in anywhere that Trump decides to place him. Trump asks which of the ladies Clint deems stronger, and he says Brandy has the edge.
Finally Trump turns to Liza, acknowledging that she's hung in there pretty well given the many attacks on her. Liza says this show is about second chances and hope. She thinks she embodies these ideals. She points out her Kenyan roots and how she has accomplished amazing things in America. She says working with Trump would skyrocket her career. Trump tells her she's already been boosted by the show, as have Clint and Brandy. Trump asks Liza who is the weakest at the table, and Liza says Clint is stronger. Trump finally begins to announce the decision he already made. He says Liza didn't play well with others, even though he saw a lot of promise in her. He tells her she's outstanding but needs to get along with other better, then fires her. She walks out on what she considers a bad note and tears up that Trump had a bad impression of her social skills.
Back in the boardroom, Trump congratulates Clint and Brandy before sending them back to the suite. They arrive home to a lovely spread and a bottle of champagne. They toast to the competition as Clint interviews that Brandy's beauty, smarts, and education are no match for his "Rocky Balboa spirit." Brandy acknowledges Clint's strengths but says she won't back down. Both competitors predict they'll be getting help from former competitors. Clint tries to suss out who Brandy wants for her team, but she's not falling for that old trick again.
The day, the Final 2 meet Trump, Don, and Ivanka on the greens of Trump National Golf Club. Ivanka tells them their one team will organize a gala dinner and concert featuring Liza Minnelli. Don says the other will host a VIP golf tournament with Kathy Griffin. Trump brings back the most recently fired Apprenti, who have been divided into two teams, and tells the F2 they can either pick a team or a task. He gives first dibs to Stephanie, who thinks she'll do well at either task with Liza, Stephanie, and Anand by her side. She explains that she didn't want to chance working with Mahsa. Clint is joined by Steuart, Poppy, and Mahsa, who refuses to give Clint a hug because he "is not square with Jesus" after he called her a liar. She promises to put it aside on the task, though.
Since Brandy determined the teams, Clint gets first pick of tasks. He opts for the Liza Minnelli dinner concert. He says he got the team and tasks he wanted, so now he's ready to show Trump that he can handle unusual challenges and knock them out of the park. Bring on the diva histrionics of Liza with a 'Z,' which is how I shall heretofore refer to her so as not to confuse with Apprentice Liza. Speaking of whom, Trump tells Brandy she has a bit of an advantage with Liza on her team. Then he beckons her over to show off the skills she learned on the Kenyan women's golf team. She says she hasn't played golf in a while because she can't afford it, but her powerful swing begs to differ.
Team Clint heads to its conference room to start planning. Steuart immediately steps up, saying he's worked with catering since he was 14. Mahsa offers that she's good with decorations. Clint tells her that's under Steuart's purview and basically pawns her off, which frustrates her.
Elsewhere, Team Brandy starts brainstorming. Brandy admits she's never attended a golf tournament and will, therefore, be relying heavily on her minions, specifically Liza. Stephanie worries that Liza's forgetfulness is going to be problematic but remains hopeful that if Liza can succeed at any task, this would be it. Liza meanwhile looks forward to proving herself as a valuable team member since Brandy doesn't even know the most basic elements of putting on a tournament.
Liza Minnelli's manager arrives to meet Clint and check out the accommodations for Liza with a 'Z'. He runs down her rider and is very specific about things like her chair height. The manager warns Clint that Liza with a 'Z' is very persnickety about details, and Clint promises nothing will be overlooked.
Team Brandy. Brandy and Stephanie tour the facilities with the golf pros and meet all the people helping them make the tournament row smoothly.
Team Clint. As Poppy runs down the rider, ordering a specific humidifier, Clint takes charge of the event's printed materials, which he adamantly believes need to be as elegant as Liza with a 'Z' herself, not to mention the "white glove service" of the Trump National Golf Course.
Team Brandy composes the shopping list for tournament prizes, which Team Clint will announce during the dinner. Anand thinks a gift card is a better prize than golf gear, which the competitors will already have. When Don visits to check in, Brandy gives a fairly vague description of their progress. Don warns them never to "meet" guests' expectations, but to exceed them. He worries that Team Brandy is a little "loosey-goosey" with their decisions and recognizes putting Liza in a power player position could be a detriment if the team falters. As he leaves, Don throws in a jab: "Anand's going to be there monitoring cheaters, right?"
Team Clint. Steuart outsources the catering for Liza with a 'Z' since the course kitchen is busy with the dinner. Don visits and asks Clint why he chose the task. Clint explains that he wants to do something unexpected, which Don deems a good strategy. He says Clint's tasks will all come down to flawless execution.
Anand and Liza head over to a golfing store with $25,000 to make up the goodie bags. Liza continues to insist on giving golf equipment as prizes, even though Brandy and the other teammates agreed that the golfers in the tournament would probably already have high-end equipment and, therefore, appreciate gift cards more. Anand defers to Liza's experience with some reservations, and they buy the golf sets as well as gift cards. What was that about not playing well with others, Liza?
Back at the course, Steuart goes over the spatial organization of the room and stage. Clint thinks the buffet should be in the other room to ensure all 550 diners have enough space at their tables, but Steuart thinks it will create a bottleneck at the door between the rooms. Clint ultimately goes with Steuart's plan but worries the event will be a disaster since he didn't go with his gut.
Liza and Anand return to the club to tell which prizes they bought. Stephanie is frustrated that the gift certificates, which were intended to be $1,000 apiece, have been downgraded to $20 in favor of the equipment. She thinks the gear they bought will seem cheap in comparison to what the golfers already own. Brandy is angry that she's been undermined and that Liza and Anand wasted four hours buying things she didn't want, especially since now there's no time to return them.
Just after Clint sends Poppy and Mahsa out to get all the remaining items on the rider, Steuart receives an e-mail that the outside caterer is backing out. It's 6:30 PM, so everyone else is closed for the day. Steuart calls them to try to amend the situation, but the guy won't budge, so Clint tells Steuart to hang up. Clint worries that if Liza with a 'Z' isn't pleased, it could ruin him.
Team Brandy makes a speakerphone call to Kathy Griffin to brainstorm how she can best be used in the tournament. They ask if she can do 15 minutes of golf-related humor -- a scenario that pretty much sounds like a miniature nightmare to me. Kathy thinks 15 minutes is too long for a pre-tournament slot, so they agree to leave it open-ended with some introductory remarks and jokes along the way. Brandy tells Kathy to ask for Stephanie when she arrives at the club. Kathy immediately lights on the fact that Stephanie is a bitter, fired reject, and they all have a good laugh.
Over on Team Clint, Steuart flounders in finding a last-minute caterer. He finally settles on someone, and the guys breathe a big sigh of relief. He says, "In high-stakes situations, you can't let the situation get you." I think that last clause might be a useful motto for all the young ladies who have the misfortune of crossing paths with a certain future has-been from the Jersey Shore.
Team Brandy calls Trump that afternoon to speak with Trump about his preferences for the tournament. He asks to golf with Liza, totally disregarding how much that will sap Brandy's manpower. Even Liza is concerned, but Brandy recognizes that she can't so no to Trump. She resigns herself to having yet one more obstacle to overcome.
The day, Team Brandy handles the 11th-hour finishing touches on the tournament. After the chance to sleep on it, Brandy puts a positive spin on her predicament, saying that if her team succeeds with one less man it will be that much clearer to Trump that she is the best person to hire. As Brandy gives Stephanie marching orders about coordinating with the photographer, Anand gets a phone call from the photographer, who explains that Brandy didn't tell him the tournament was at the club's Westchester location, and he's at another club two hours away. Anand explains his team thought having shots from the event would be a personal touch for the golfers, but now it looks like that's in jeopardy. The photographer can't promise he'll make it in time, but tells Anand he'll call him back. In the meanwhile, Anand calls Brandy and apprises her of the situation. Stephanie thinks Brandy made a huge mistake and says they don't have time for that kind of screw-up.
Things also reach a fever pitch for Team Clint when Poppy spots that Liza Minnelli's name is spelled with only one 'n' on Clint's signage. Forget the cold cuts, cowboy, that's a major mistake. Mahsa calls it a fireable offense but doesn't linger in her gloating. Instead, she calls the printer and asks if he can fix the mistake in time for the dinner. While she negotiates the upcharge, Poppy notices that the same typo is on a card that will be placed on all 550 seats. Worrying they won't have enough money to fix these mistakes, Mahsa calls Clint to problem solve. Clint walks up to the office, unaware of the ax dangling above his head.
week: Finale! Will Brandy stand tall even though she's been short-changed by Trump? Will Liza with a 'Z' eat Clint for her gala dinner? Who will pull out all the stops? Who will join David Gest in the annals of reality show losers rode hard and put away wet by Liza Minnelli? Who will become The Apprentice?