Supple and Cavernous Purses Fail to Sell on 'The Apprentice'

Last night on "The Apprentice," the men and the women competed to sell QVC items.

Clint stepped up as PM for Octane while Liza was PM for Fortitude.

Octane

Teams flew to Westchester, Penn., to select items to sell for QVC and prepare presentations. The men strong-armed the women in negotiations by letting them think they were getting the item they wanted (the watch). In reality, not only did the men get the time slot they wanted, but they were also able to get the item they originally wanted (the purse).

The men had an advantage going into their on-air presentation because they had the luxury of going last. Steuart nearly had a fit of giggles when Clint prompted him to describe the purses using words like "supple" and "cavernous." During the pre-air discussions, Steuart had also made references to "fingering" the purses.

Steuart actually delivered a solid on-air presentation, but the men made a critical error in pricing the purses too high.

Fortitude

Liza actually did a decent job as PM. She made a crucial decision to select the watch and not set the prices too high. Given the economy, many women are not going to splurge on purses, but might spend money on a watch.

Liza did make a controversial decision to choose Brandy as the presenter because she was white, arguing that 85 percent of QVC shoppers were white. In the boardroom, Steuart and Brandy disagreed that race mattered.

Still, when the numbers came up, the women won by a significant margin. Liza earned a well-deserved and long-overdue victory, but, based on previous performances, it might not be enough to save her.

Steuart and Clint on "The Apprentice"

Donald Trump faced a difficult decision between Steuart and Clint. Steuart argued that, despite his tender age, he was an educated and accomplished entrepreneur, pointing out that his business had earned over $1 million at age 23. He also argued that he was more capable and savvy than Clint at navigating the cosmopolitan culture of New York politics.

Clint defended his age and experience, arguing that Steuart had leaned on him throughout the course of the competition. He also pointed out that Steuart had compared Clint to his father. In the end, Trump chose experience, firing Steuart.

Trump then brought the other contestants back to the boardroom, where another person was about to be fired as the credits rolled.

Clint and Brandy on "The Apprentice"

Liza will most like be fired next week, as many feel that she is out of her league. Yet I'm not completely on board with either Clint or Brandy.

Clint is a formidable candidate who has proved himself as a leader. Still, there's something about him that I don't completely trust. I still have to wonder if he was being completely honest with Mahsa during that infamous conversation. How was she able to know that the men had won the pedicab challenge by more than $700?

And it does seem like "The Apprentice" has been rigged for Clint to win from day one? During the boardroom deliberations with Steuart, Trump commented that Clint had run into some tough economic times, but that it wouldn't be that way for long. (On the other hand, several weeks ago, Don Jr. joked to Brandy that she was hired when she announced that she liked older men.)

As for Brandy, she was one of my favorites from week one and still is, but she was a bit disappointing this week. Every time Liza asked for input, Brandy would deflect the question with non-answers. Juan Bettancourt commented that it was a savvy strategy to throw Liza under the bus in the event that they lost.

It really does seem like this year's contestants are not the greatest team players. The contestants this year seem to not be playing to win, but rather playing not to lose, waiting for others to fall on their own swords.

Between Clint and Brandy, I'm still rooting for Brandy, but all in all, this cast of "The Apprentice" has not matched up to the caliber of previous seasons.