Not So Suite

By DeAnn Welker

Previously: Nene stirred up some drama on ASAP, but it was nothing compared with the drama Busey was causing with the men. Hope led the ladies to a win, and Busey caused another loss. As much as it pained Trump to get rid of this ratings-drawing mess, he fired Busey. We get a small farewell montage of Busey hijinks. Outside the boardroom, Nene's still pouting about La Toya not wanting to be her friend. Come on, girl! I was starting to love you for not giving a shit about what these fools think, and now you decide to care?

When the men join the ladies in the suite, Meat Loaf tells them all about his flavored meat conversation with Busey from last week. Rich says he sort of misses Busey, but is also glad he's gone. And now there are three racehorses left on Backbone, and he's looking forward to it. They all -- men and women -- toast in the suite to making it this far together. And Lil Jon toasts to Nene, too, wherever she is. O'Jays.

Hope gets to present Best Buddies with $20,000, but first she bowls a little bit with her own Best Buddy, Caroline, and some lady who works for Best Buddies. Amber and Caroline appreciate the check, but Caroline would really like to go clubbing now, please. I mean, this is New York.

The teams line up as a Nene voiceover tells us she does what she has to do and she doesn't hold a grudge. However, she does NOT want to work with La Toya again. She has a pretty funny definition of not holding a grudge. Trump asks the celebrities if he should run for president, and they all think he should. Meat Loaf would even work on his campaign. Trump asks who would not vote for him, and no one raises their hand. Trump says that's a good idea, since he would fire anyone who raised their hand for being stupid. Anyway, he tells them they're at the Trump SoHo, which is amazing, just like all the other Trump hotels. This week's task is to create a conceptual ad campaign for the Trump Hotel Collection. Ivanka says they're creating four-page ads, but each page should have the ability to run on its own. The winning ad will be featured in Saveur magazine. Don tells them that their judges will be Jim Petrus, COO of the Trump Hotel Collection, and James Oseland, editor of Saveur. Eric tells them that they'll be judged on creativity and originality, brand messaging, and the overall pitch to the judges. Trump says Eric and Don will be his boardroom advisers, but Ivanka and Jim will be very involved, too. He asks who will be project managers, and John Rich steps up even though none of the men have an advantage on this task. Rich says he's never stayed at a Trump hotel, because they're so high-end. Star steps up for the women, and she has stayed at several Trump hotels.

ASAP gets to work in their fancy Trump suite. Star explains this task is less about showing off amenities at each hotel and more about showing off the brand of the hotel collection. Star says it's intimidating to do a task for your boss that's so close to his heart, with his daughter leading it. Cue Ivanka and Jim coming in then. Ivanka says it's "fun" to get to be the executive this time. Jim explains that there are five or six brand values they use as filters: Is it uncompromising? Is it absolutely inspiring? Is it glamorous? Is it the best of the best? Ivanka tells them the industry is very generic in general, and Trump likes to be different. Jim wants the message they put out to be a new perspective on things. They give Backbone the same speech: They want to break through the clutter, not show the same ads as everyone else. Jim boils it down to three words: "Live the life."

ASAP. Star tells her team they're not doing any boring service pictures. They're going to celebrate the lifestyle. She brags about all of the fancy traveling she's done and says she knows as much about luxury as she does about living. She comes up with a concept: "Individual elegance. Collective luxury." She wants to show a picture of "ladies who lunch" and one of Hope by the bath. La Toya interviews that none of these concepts are creatively different, but when you're dealing with someone like Star, you can't tell her anything. Star puts different ladies in charge of each photo, and La Toya explains to us that Star thinks like an attorney, so she assigns things in such a way that she can shift the blame somewhere else if they fail.

Backbone. Rich says this is the most challenging task of the season, even if they had more than three people. He tells the other two that when he thinks of Trump hotels, he thinks that he can't afford it and it's for people who land in helicopters and stuff, like Trump. Lil Jon thinks maybe that's their concept -- using a green screen. Lil Jon says he doesn't care about hotels; he just goes there to sleep. He says he's concerned because women are more concerned about the luxury aspects of a hotel. Meat Loaf has an idea about a mirror looking into the future that makes no sense. John Rich says Meat Loaf's a riddle wrapped in an enigma and he has no idea what in the hell he means. Rich says he was just thanking God Busey wasn't here or he'd jump off the building. They decide their concept is "Live the life." They want to get the point across that if you want to feel like Trump, you stay at a Trump hotel, where they're trained to make everyone feel like Trump: "Live the life." Trump's life, I guess.

Star tells us she has the ability to highlight her team's strengths and minimize the weaknesses. She decides to put Nene and La Toya together to run errands, which Nene says she knows was strategic on Star's part. So Nene brings it up in front of everyone, and says that she can't really work with La Toya after La Toya's been throwing her under the table [sic] in the boardroom. La Toya says she only said those things because she really thought Nene didn't like her, which Nene says isn't true. Star says they have time to work this out right now, but then she wants it be done.

Backbone. Eric Trump shows up to check in on them, which Rich says is more stressful than usual since it's a Trump business. Eric asks where they are on the creative, and Lil Jon reads him their concept, which Eric thinks is interesting but longwinded. Then they tell him that they'll have a picture of a man dressed like Trump, but you won't see his head to get the concept that everyone's treated like Trump at the Trump hotels. Eric asks if they think the girls have an advantage on this one, and they absolutely do, but they're not threatened and are "going right at it," says John Rich.

ASAP is using their advantage to wait for Nene and La Toya to sort out their issues. La Toya says she really felt that if she called Nene, Nene would hang up on her. She says that she felt Nene didn't like her, because she rolls her eyes, and she doesn't know how to take that. La Toya tells Nene she loves her and knows she has a big heart, and would like to give her a hug. Nene interviews that maybe she shouldn't be so rough with La Toya. Star tells them all how much she loves working with them, and asks La Toya and Nene if they are okay going together now. They are. Nene says she's still not sure if she trusts La Toya, but she's trying. Star says the boys are really in trouble now, because if you can get five women to work together, you can do anything.

Star sends La Toya away at 1 p.m. and tells them she'd like them back by 3. That's when the photographer shows up to work on photographing the ads. Star starts making calls to order stuff (including Ivanka jewelry, which has to be a wise decision). They're going to wear the jewelry when they're ladies who lunch, and Nene calls and suggests they get manicures since their hands will be in the ads. Star loves the idea, so they all get manicures. Star looks around with their diamonds in the background and manicures happening and guesses the guys aren't doing the same thing.

Clowny music as we cut to the guys, sitting around staring into space. Rich wants them to be quick with the photos. Meat Loaf is going to get "the globe" (whatever that means) while the Jo(h)ns stay behind to continue working on their words. Rich tells Lil Jon he has a sentence here he's not smart enough to write, but he thinks he wrote it: "The Trump Hotel Collection is a group of distinctly designed, architecturally superior luxury icons." They both love it. Rich says that it's a completely different vibe when Meat Loaf is out of the mix, because they're both focused and they work well together. Rich says Lil Jon is a lot more than diamonds in his teeth, dreadlocks, and his persona. He's a smart person with a powerful mind.

Don shows up at ASAP and says his wife wouldn't love that he's sitting on a couch in the penthouse with a view like this with a Playmate. Star agrees. But she can probably comfort herself with some money. Star explains her concept to Don, and he asks when they're filming the bathtub scene with Hope, because he'll be back for that one. Oh man, is he ever his father's son. Star interviews that she feels very confident in the concept, but it's a lot of pressure because it's the Trump family name. HAS SHE MENTIONED THAT?! Don says the women seem pretty organized, but they might be missing the big picture by sticking to older men and ladies who lunch, instead of targeting a younger demographic.

Backbone. Meat Loaf heads off to photograph the butler, which Lil Jon doesn't like, because Meat Loaf has a different idea for the concept. Rich says that Meat Loaf can't do what Lil Jon's doing (putting it all together) or what Rich is doing (writing the words), so he has to be where he is. Meat Loaf directs his model by telling him he's the best of the best, and no one's better than him. Meat Loaf says he finally realizes all he's learned in his years acting and performing now that he's directing a photo shoot. So, a forty-year career has all led up to this one reality-show photo shoot.

ASAP. La Toya and Nene are having a heart to heart in the van. Nene asks if La Toya's going to call her when she comes to Atlanta. La Toya replies that when she comes to Atlanta, she's staying at Nene's. La Toya interviews that she holds no animosity because it's toxic, and she thinks Nene's letting things go too. It's actually sort of cute. Are they the cutest couple or what? Star interviews that she told Nene to get back in an hour and a half when they left, "but I must have been smoking some of those funny-smelling cigarettes," because you know, this is Manhattan and there's crazy traffic. Star says they were delayed in starting the photo shoots because Nene was in charge of the photo shoot with Hope in the bathtub. When they finally get back, Star tells Nene she has five minutes to get started. Nene interviews, "Bitch, you're setting me up." Then Nene tells everyone to shut up and let her work. Star comes in and directs her, and Nene tells her to go away. Star comes back in and asks if they're still doing this shoot. Nene yells at her that they've barely started and she wants it to look right. Nene says no one will snap at Star but her. Then she interviews that if you give her a job, let her do the job because that's how she rolls. La Toya walks out of another room then and sing-songs, "'Cause that's how she rolls." They both giggle. See? Cute.

Backbone. Rich says they're using pictures of the Trump buildings along with their original photography. They start to look through the butler photos, and they are all exactly the same: The guy stands there, stern-faced, staring straight ahead. Rich wonders why take all the photos if they're all the same, and the guy looks like an undertaker. Lil Jon says it's not how he envisioned it. Rich says this was the most crucial photo, and it was supposed to be a butler looking friendly and inviting. Lil Jon suggests chopping his head off, with the arm and the towel. Rich tells Meat Loaf they needed him smiling, and Meat Loaf takes the blame for that, because he wanted the guy's attitude to be that he's the best, not to smile. Meat Loaf interviews that if he'd known that's where they wanted to go, he'd have done it, and he totally screwed up.

ASAP's shooting the ladies who lunch photo now, which La Toya's in charge of. It's the last shot of the day, and Star's appalled when she shows up, because there are no flowers and the food isn't in place. It doesn't look like luxury to her. The lad

ies who lunch in the photo are Star, La Toya, Marlee, and Nene. They all smile and pose, and then ooh and ahh about how cute and happy they look. Working in La Toya's favor here is that Star has such a giant ego that she's obviously going to be in love with this photo that she's in.

Backbone. John Rich tells Meat Loaf the top priority to him right now is that there are no misspelled words. Meat Loaf agrees to go word by word, and then hilariously says, "The. ... I need a dictionary." I'm sure he wasn't actually looking up "the," but still. Rich says he's trying not to do something stupid like misspell a word, which is all Trump will notice. They wonder about minute, conceivable, unparalleled. Lil Jon says they're using words like "Meticulous. M-e-t-i-c-l-l-o-u-s-n-m-e. Meticulous." Buzzer sound. Rich notices they've spelled "guest's" as "guset's." He finds "sophistication" spelled as "sophostication." He says supersede is actually correct with an "s." They print out one page of their spread, and Rich says it's not bad for a three-man team.

ASAP. The ladies are looking at their ad. Everyone's in love with it, but La Toya thinks there is nothing about it that's thinking outside the box. She says they've seen it all before: a lady by a bathtub. A guy giving her jewelry. Their ad is done, so Star's going to work on perfecting the presentation.

day. Backbone's getting pumped up, preparing their speeches. Rich says the plan is to be conversational with a professional edge to it. Rich says their strength is presentation. He says it dawned on him that they're staying at a Trump hotel for this show, which gives them personal experience, which is pretty big. The men arrive for their pitch. Judges Jim and James are there. Rich starts the pitch. He introduces Lil Jon first, who starts reading from his paper. Rich goes , and tells a story about arriving at the hotel with his wife and son. He says it felt incredible as a father to arrive and find a crib with a stuffed teddy bear for his son. Meat Loaf asks Rich if he's ever wondered what it would feel like to be Donald Trump, and then he tells a story about how when he arrived they knew when the last time he was there was, so he felt like Donald Trump. "I live the life." Jim and James tell them "nicely done" and shake their hands. Rich says there are disadvantages to being a three-man team versus a five-woman team, but he feels like the playing field is pretty even after that pitch. The guys leave the room and agree they killed it.

ASAP's turn. Star explains that their presentation is all about luxury, elegance, and style. "We're going to make Trump's name synonymous with luxury." Oh, he'll be so glad, since it wasn't already. She leads her team into the pitch room. She starts the pitch, which is very much like an inspirational speech. They each read words that define "Trump," such as power, glamour, influence, wealth, consistency, serenity, atmosphere, opulence, discreet. Star explains that she wrote a narrative and gave her colleagues words to highlight throughout it. La Toya interviews that everybody's saying a word: "Inspiration! Engaging! Beauty!" Cut back to that happening some more in the pitch room. Back to La Toya: "Corny!" Star dramatically finishes with "Individual elegance. Collective luxury. The Trump Hotel Collection." The judges just thank them quietly, and they leave. Star is, of course, sure she's won because it was so amazing. And now she needs a drink.

Jim and James talk about the campaigns. James says the women's campaign reminds him of those advertisements that get placed under your windshield wiper for sleazy clubs. They also notice that Hope is wearing a towel in the bathtub (and why, really? You'd think she'd be comfortable getting naked for cameras), and the champagne bottle is unopened even though she has a glass of it. Wow, nitpicky! I like it. Jim is a bit nicer, though. He says the name Trump prevails, and it's eye-catching. He says he likes Star's enthusiasm, but everyone shouting out different attributes in the background made him cringe a bit.

They move on to discussing the guy's campaign. James thinks their ads have too many words, which demands too much time of a reader. Jim notices a couple misspellings (they used the wrong discreetly/discretely). He also says the butler arm is very much the traditional advertising that Ivanka told them to avoid. And there's no call to action in their ads: no website or phone number to tell them how to get there. James thought their presentation was too much about their stories, but Jim loved those stories and felt they were coming from the heart. They acknowledge there's a lot to talk about with Trump, and it's not going to be an easy discussion or decision.

Trump shows up to talk with them, and James tells him it was more of a car wreck than an ad campaign. Yikes! Jim says there was a real disconnect on the assignment because the end result wasn't right for a luxury hotel like Trump. He asks about the men's team, and Jim says they had great experiences and they understood what luxury hotels were all about, but didn't talk about the end product. James adds that there is no telephone or website on any of the ads. Trump asks about the women's team, and James says the word "Trump" is very prevalent. Jim says the images are okay, but they're lost in a cacophony of images; they're a mess. Trump says the pitch is a third of the score and asks whose was better. James says the men absolutely made the better pitch. Jim says Star did a great job, but it was a very orchestrated and scripted delivery. Trump says they didn't like either team, but who won? James says there's no winner, but the loser is ...

Boardroom. This oughtta be fun. Trump comes in and asks Star how she likes the Trump hotels. She says she doesn't want to just stay in them; she wants to live in them forever. She thanks him for letting them work out of Trump SoHo. He asks if they came up with a good product, and she gets all confident: "Oh, I think we did, sir." She thinks Trump would like it, it represents him, and he would be proud. Trump asks La Toya how the team did, and she says they worked together well this time. He asks if she's feeling okay because her voice is even softer than usual. She says she's okay, but she's lost her voice a little. Trump asks Hope what she thought of Star, and Hope says she was just great. She says this was a personal task to represent the Trump name. Trump asks her who's the most impressive on the team, and Hope says Star because she delegates and whips things up.

Don would like to ask Nene that same question, since she's often critical of the project manager. Nene says Marlee, who's very smart even though she holds back a little bit. Trump asks her about La Toya, and Nene says La Toya's great and they had a chance to connect. Trump asks if she's holding back, because there's something she doesn't like about her team. She says she felt there was some negativity and like she was being labeled, but they had a chance to talk about it. She says they all agreed there was some phoniness, but instead of going into that, she tells Trump that, to be "really, really real," she felt like a couple of these girls were "crawling up Star's ass." She says, specifically, Marlee and Hope. Trump says it's much nicer now that she lost all the weight. Nene laughs, but Star doesn't seem that amused. Don's having a hard time getting over the visual of crawling up her ass, and the men's team agrees. They're all cracking up. Boys. Trump says he can see Hope doing that, because she's young, but he can't see Marlee doing that. Marlee agrees, and says she likes Star and admires her, but she's not being phony, so she's not kissing her ass. Trump asks if La Toya's not doing that, and Nene says she's seen La Toya really stand up to Star. Nene says it's not about standing up to Star; it's about being a leader and being who you really are. She says she's not kissing anyone's ass even if she likes them.

Trump asks John Rich how he thinks he did, and he says they did very well. He says it was an interesting process to take on that level of workload with three guys, but these guys are racehorses and workhorses so he thinks they did a great job. Trump asks who was the star, and Rich says there are only three and they all took on Herculean-level work, so he'd say everyone was a star. They were a unit. Trump asks what Lil Jon did. Rich says he was in charge of graphic design: connecting the photographs Meat Loaf was bringing and the verbiage Rich was bringing and putting them together. Lil Jon says it was a tough task because there were only three of them, which meant a lot to do. Trump asks if he felt they're at a disadvantage, and Lil Jon says, "Hell, yeah." Then Trump says that everyone in this room is "very, very smart." Notice he waited until Busey was gone to say that. He says that they can have fun and kid, but he's ultimately testing everyone in the room. Then he tells them the bad news: The judges didn't like either team. Everyone grimaces. Although you'd think they'd be relieved that the other team sucks, too.

After a commercial break (how is The Voice not already on? I feel like I've been seeing previews of it for two months?), Trump repeats that the judges thought they all sucked. Trump asks Eric what the executives thought of Backbone. Eric says they thought the ads were on the way to being a great concept, they liked the theme ("Live the life"), and they liked the pitch. However, they thought there was too much copy, and the ads made too many demands. They also thought three of the four ads did exactly what Ivanka told them not to do. They also thought the hotel collection was being pitched to the COO instead of the ads. Also, they forgot telephone numbers and websites. Trump interrupts and says that's a biggie. He thinks that's pretty insurmountable. He asks how they do an ad without that? He says the good news is they didn't like the ladies either...

Don says what they did like about the women is they use of the name "Trump," some of the on-point verbiage. Don says he likes to memorize these, but the negatives were too long of a list so he'll have to read them. The ad was cluttered with a sprinkling of buzzwords. The ad was literal instead of conceptual. There were too many photos. There was no emotional connection. There were technical problems with the ads. The pitch was too formal with Star speaking and the team chiming in with singular words. The pitch highlighted the collection but said little about the ads. They felt like the ad was a flier for a sleazy strip club. Don says he believes the words the executives used was "Greek tragedy." Trump says he's been doing this show a long time, and he's never had a list of negatives like that before. They get to look at each other's ads.

Trump looks at the men's ad and says it looks more like an ad for Trump ties. He asks whose idea it was, and Lil Jon says it was his because it was addressing the question: Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be Donald Trump? Trump says it's a lot more than a tie. Eric asks if they've ever read that much copy in an ad for a hotel collection. Don says it's a little generic, and has been done before, which he says they were told not to do. Trump tells Meat Loaf the executives didn't like their ads or the ladies' ads, but since they didn't have a phone number or website they have to assume they lost, right? Meat Loaf says that's a major flaw.

Trump asks the ladies what they thought of the men's ads, and Star says they weren't bad for a different task. The ads that have hotels work. Don says at least they had two hotels and luxury, where Star's ad had only luxury and could have all been at one hotel instead of a hotel collection. Close-up of their cluttered ad. Star says they were trying to promote the luxury of the brand. She says she's sorry they missed the mark. Trump says their ad is a lot more cluttered, and it's not an ad for hotels. John Rich says he feels like the customized service is the thing that the women missed, because i

t's what sets Trump apart from other hotels. Trump sighs and says it's time to tell them. The execs didn't like either ad, and felt there was no winner. But they felt the loser was the women's team. He doesn't give Rich a total congratulations, but Rich will get $20,000 for St. Jude. They head back to the suite, and the women stick around for a firing. It's not looking so great for control freak Star, is it?

The men hug back in the room, happy to get through by the skin of their teeth. They toast and then tune in to hear the women duke it out. Trump tells the ladies it's getting tough to fire people since everyone's so talented. He says he hates to fire people, and Star asks if he has to and asks to make an argument. Trump says it's not a good time to make that argument since they did a terrible job. She says she has to respect that, but she doesn't feel the men's team captured some of the elements of the task as well as they did. She says she's surprised and disappointed they lost. Eric reminds her they had a big advantage in numbers. Trump says the executives preferred the men's pitch and he thinks that's ultimately why they won. Back in the suite, they all fist bump and Lil Jon's like, "I told y'all." He knew they'd be too corporate. Star says she was responsible for the pitch, but she should "definitely not" be fired. Marlee says she had an advantage here because she's visual and she could see that her team's ad was better because the men did stuff they were told not to. Don points out they did the same thing: the cheesy bathtub photo, for example. He asks who did that, and Marlee quietly points to Nene.

Nene doesn't see her do it, but she steps up and says she directed that shoot, but that they came up with the concepts collectively and that none of the photos would have been put on the page without Star's approval. Trump asks if she's saying Star should be fired. She says she's not saying that, so he asks if he should fire her. She says no, but she won't say Star. He asks who she thinks should be fired, and she says she doesn't know. He asks La Toya, who says Star should be fired, as project manager. She says she has to be honest and tell him that, with Star, it's either her way or the highway. She designates and tells them what to do and they follow. "If Star didn't want anything on that page, it wouldn't have been on that page." Trump asks Marlee, who says La Toya. She says she's considering the entire run of the show, and La Toya hasn't contributed as much. Don says that might be fair about La Toya, but he could say the same thing about Hope. Marlee disagrees. Nene interrupts and says she understands what Marlee's saying, because La Toya is the weakest link going forward. She says she didn't say it before, because she was asked about this particular task. Trump says that for two tasks the executives have thought La Toya is the best person on the whole task. Star says La Toya makes a good public appearance.

Trump says the whole premise is how has everyone done on the last task. Sometimes everyone's done the same, so she has to decide who to bring back based on who she wants with her going forward. He asks who she wants coming back to the room with her. She looks around as if she isn't sure, then chooses Nene. Trump is surprised, because he thinks Nene's done a good job. Star makes it seem like she's brining Nene back to fight La Toya with her, but Trump thinks that's risky because Nene could also turn on Star. The men think this is going to backfire on Star, but they have to shut down now. As the women wait in the lobby, Nene interviews that she feels like she's being manipulated by Star since she and La Toya just made a connection yesterday. She says she's got to figure out what she's going to do. Fight Star. That would be awesome.

Boardroom. The Trump men discuss the ladies. Trump says they're all unique in different ways. Don thinks Nene could be a tough advocate for or against Star. In the lobby, Nene says she's got nothing to say. Star thinks they should just tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may. Trump calls them back into the boardroom and glares at them. He asks Star what she's thinking right now. She says she's thinking about her two great mentors: Johnny Cochran and Barbara Walters. She says it's her honor to fight for her charity with Trump as her mentor in the business world. She says she'll stay as long as he'll let her. He says okay (and is thinking, "spare me the bullshit"), and asks why she brought back Nene. She says if you ask Nene the truth, she will tell the truth about their team experience over the past few weeks. Trump says Star's telling him what Nene's going to say and Nene's looking at him like she doesn't know what the hell Star's talking about. He realizes she's pinpointing La Toya, though.

Trump asks Nene what she thinks of La Toya. Nene says she's not a strong player, which is what it is. La Toya begs to differ and her voice cracks. Trump says life is unfair, because La Toya's fighting with no voice. La Toya says their first win was a fundraiser, not creativity. She says they lost the second task, because Star wrote the script and wanted everything her way. The task, they lost because Star controlled that. Star asks if La Toya could write a script, and La Toya says, "Who could write anything when you're there?" Star cuts in, "Excuse me?!" But Trump tells her to let La Toya talk. La Toya says this last task was exactly as Star wanted it, and she says Star thought it was a homerun and they'd win no matter what. La Toya says she didn't think the campaign was professional and she thought it was amateur.

Star interrupts to say they had a "Come to Jesus" meeting because of La Toya after she and Nene were assigned to go pick up props and Nene expressed some concern about whether they could do it effectively. Star says she stopped the team's progress so they could work it out, and she tried to defend La Toya. Trump asks La Toya why she didn't criticize Star's ideas during the task, and La Toya says you cannot say anything to Star when she's working on a task. "Star runs the show. Bottom line." Don asks if that isn't the point, and then wonders if La Toya can compete with Star in that way. Nene says Star is a strong player. Trump asks who should be fired, and Nene thinks about it, then says La Toya again. Nene says La Toya's not strong enough to move forward with the team. Trump says that the men's team is very strong, because of how this show works, where the strongest players move forward. He says the men's team is going to be very formidable, but the women's team is more formidable if they get along. He says he's gained more respect for La Toya than anyone here, because he thought she'd be weak and he doesn't think she has been. But he realizes the team doesn't want her here, and they know the problems they'll have beating these three guys. So he fires La Toya. Um, what? That made no sense. He tells her he respects her and thanks her.

On the way out, Nene tells La Toya they're friends, and they hug. But La Toya won't say a word to Star. She gets in the elevator. Trump tells the Trumplets that he has to give the women a chance to win against the men. On the way back to the suite, Nene cries to Star that, at the end of the day, a friendship means more than any of this. Star says she knows that La Toya and Nene bonded. Nene interviews that La Toya just got fired, and she feels Star orchestrated all of this. "She's willing to cut your damn head off to win." So why didn't Nene take her down when she had the chance? Nene tells Star they have to be a team. Star says she doesn't like losing. Nene says she knows that, but she has to listen to other people, even when she's project manager. Star says it's a good lesson for her, and Nene agrees.

Taxicab confession: La Toya says she loved working for Trump, but her teammates were a different story. She says Star's a manipulative person who will lie, cheat, or steal to win. She thinks Trump made a mistake, and it's not a good feeling to be fired when you know you have so much more to offer.

week: Nene gets pissed at Star before the task even starts. She's all, "You pressed the last button in me, Miss Star Jones." Star smirks. Announcer guy tells us to behold the wrath of Nene. Nene: "You evil. Fat. Lady." More yelling at Star, in which she threatens her and then says, "Now where's Barbara Walters?" This all happens at the lineup where Trump and his henchmen present the task, by the way. So the men see it, Trump sees it. Star tells Nene it's not the Real Housewives. Really? What show am I watching? And then they have to work together. Everyone (Star, Trump, Nene) says "Wow."

DeAnn, a writer and editor in Portland, Oregon, is glad Star stuck around so we can get a glorious fight week. You can contact her at twopmodmars@gmail.com.