The Apprentice Finale

[LightPhoenix]

I too felt the stage reveal cheapened the ending, but that's just me.

Kwame's biggest mistake, IMO, was picking Troy. I know they were friends, but he should have picked Nick or Ereka, probably the former. Kwame's smart and knew what he was doing, but after the first reorganization his team was obviously the weaker of the two. I mean, three out of the four final contestants were from the same team. Kwame should have picked Nick and then Troy/Ereka (whoever Bill didn't pick) and just basically told Omarosa to pike off. Unfortunately he didn't think he had that option, and IMO rightfully so... I'm sure it was plenty deliberate that they didn't tell him.

Thinking back, it's a bit odd the sign got misplaced and the reps arrived magically on time. I didn't even realize the forcing of Omarosa on Kwame until it was pointed out either. As I think back now, it just all seems more staged, and I'm asking myself how I could let myself be duped into thinking this was any degree of real.

Anyway, I do think Kwame's task was harder though. For one thing, Kwame's tasks had a lot more potential to go wrong, simply by virtue of having to cater to a pop star. She completely circumvented one of his assigned tasks (the pickup). There's no guarantee she wouldn't have circumvented others. No one did anything like that for the golf tourney. Ooh, a frost delay... that's just not the same, I'm sorry. Also, looking back, I would not be surprised at all if they told Omarosa to be as difficult as possible. Again, there was nothing like that for Bill. Since we all agree she got forced on Kwame, that's a double bias against him that he had to deal with, putting him behind Bill from the start.

 

[Kai Lord]

Also, looking back, I would not be surprised at all if they told Omarosa to be as difficult as possible. Again, there was nothing like that for Bill. Since we all agree she got forced on Kwame, that's a double bias against him that he had to deal with, putting him behind Bill from the start.

Oh come on. There's was no evil conspiracy against poor Kwame. His team was much more supportive of him in the boardroom than Nick, Katrina, and Amy were for Bill. I'm sure there were some "deliberate" accidents to throw a monkey wrench into the projects (the sign in the trash *had* to be deliberate), but only to see how the final candidates performed under pressure.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Oh come on. There's was no evil conspiracy against poor Kwame. His team was much more supportive of him in the boardroom than Nick, Katrina, and Amy were for Bill. I'm sure there were some "deliberate" accidents to throw a monkey wrench into the projects (the sign in the trash *had* to be deliberate), but only to see how the final candidates performed under pressure.

Right, the sign was Bill's "accident", and Omarosa was Kwame's.

Don't get me wrong, I think Bill deserved to win, and earned it. Personally, I think it should have been Amy instead of him. I just think Kwame kind of got the short end of the stick at the end.

And if you think Burnett wouldn't do something like that... well, I guess I'm just more cynical.

 

[DMScott]

Anyway, I do think Kwame's task was harder though. For one thing, Kwame's tasks had a lot more potential to go wrong, simply by virtue of having to cater to a pop star.

Yeah, that's why I think it was Kwame's job to lose. If he'd brought the hammer down on Omarosa after her first screwup, either by firing her or putting her in charge of something trivial, then further screwups wouldn't have weighed so heavily against him. As it was, he kept on making the same mistake - and that mistake was trusting Omarosa.

OTOH, Bill had to cater to a pop star too - it's just that his pop star was The Donald .

Also, looking back, I would not be surprised at all if they told Omarosa to be as difficult as possible. Again, there was nothing like that for Bill. Since we all agree she got forced on Kwame, that's a double bias against him that he had to deal with, putting him behind Bill from the start.

Yeah, that sort of thing makes good TV so it wouldn't surprise me if MB asked some of the team members to act a bit difficult. But it may well have been done for Bill, too, it's just that he was such a micromanager there was less leeway for any designated screwup to operate. It'd be interesting to see how Bill does on the job, his management style looks like it wouldn't work so well in a reasonably large organization. Maybe MB will make that a summer series.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Yeah, that sort of thing makes good TV so it wouldn't surprise me if MB asked some of the team members to act a bit difficult. But it may well have been done for Bill, too, it's just that he was such a micromanager there was less leeway for any designated screwup to operate. It'd be interesting to see how Bill does on the job, his management style looks like it wouldn't work so well in a reasonably large organization. Maybe MB will make that a summer series.

And to be fair, similar stuff could have happened to Bill, and they just didn't show it or make as big a deal of it.

I'm just being cantankerous.

 

[ASH]

I liked Kwame, He got a bad team... really bad. Bill had a great team, that really helped him. Its not that I dont like Bill, but he just does not seem to be able to keep it together under pressure, its more of a feeling. Its mostly a toss up between the two of them. They both do a good job. I would have probably never had fired Amy.. i thought that she was very good.

Kwame was very calm, in real life, he would have fired Omarosa, and probably the other chick on the team (cant remember names..).

I think that the concert was loads harder than a flipping golf tourney. Not only did he have to deal with the star, but the star's agent, husband, make-up crew, and an entire group of hotel staff that seemed to want to give him problems. Bill had to deal with like one person.. oohh.. thats hard. .

It is very much Mark Burnett's style to 'set' things up like that. I would not be suprised if most of the things like that were set up.
I disliked the fake board room, but its a show... They have been doing that whole kind of thing on Survivor for quite a while now. I am looking forward to the next apprentice. I only started watching this one over halfway through..

 

[Vigilance]

On Kwame being "forced" to pick Omarosa:

Bill got to pick first because his team had won the week before. So he earned it.

Also, when Kwame picked Omarosa he could have picked Nick or Heidi who were both better than Omarosa.

Part of being a good leader is choosing those who will work for you (which Kwame did poorly by picking Omarosa). Sometimes you get stuck with bad employees, but dont PICK them.

Another crucial aspect of a good manager is discipline, and Kwame failed on this miserably.

Bill had a problem employee too though they didn't dwell on it. However, Trump said in an interview after the show that Katrina messed up a couple of times and Bill came down on her "like a ton of bricks".

My opinion: Bill should have won, he was hands down better.

Chuck

 

[LightPhoenix]

Bill had a problem employee too though they didn't dwell on it. However, Trump said in an interview after the show that Katrina messed up a couple of times and Bill came down on her "like a ton of bricks".

See, I would have liked to have seen this... I feel as if the whole finale was about Omarosa more than about Kwame and Bill. In the end it just left me feeling like Kwame got shafted and Bill did no work... and obviously that wasn't the case, based on this. *grumble*

 

[Vigilance]

It's hard to edit a couple of days down to an hour or so. I feel for the editors.

I think they focused on the issues of each candidate. Bill was shown runnign around like a maniac and being frazzled, Kwame was shown having trouble with Omarosa.

You don't realize it at the time but they are showing you the footage that gives you the information to need for the boardroom.

I am way too addicted to that show lol.

Chuck

 

[Pielorinho]

Bill got to pick first because his team had won the week before. So he earned it.

Also, when Kwame picked Omarosa he could have picked Nick or Heidi who were both better than Omarosa.

Part of being a good leader is choosing those who will work for you (which Kwame did poorly by picking Omarosa). Sometimes you get stuck with bad employees, but dont PICK them.

Not sure I understand. First, sure, maybe he'd earned the first pick; I'm not saying it was unfair. I'm just saying that he did the bet with the hand he was dealt.

Second, a nitpick: when he chose O, Nick was already taken. Omarosa, Heidi, and Katrina were the only ones left. All the final five (Kwame, Bill, Amy, Nick, and Troy) were spoken for by that point.

There's really very little difference between picking a bad employee and getting stuck with one, given that he was, one way or another, going to end up with Omarosa. The only real difference is:
1) By picking Omarosa, he didn't get to determine who the third member of his team was. If he felt there was a significant difference between Heidi and Katrina, and that Bill would feel the same way, it was foolish to choose Omarosa.
2) By picking Omarosa instead of getting stuck with her, he avoided giving her one motive to sabotage him. In the end she sabotaged him anyway, but it wasn't a bad move for him to pick her instead of getting stuck with her.

However, it did just occur to me that he could've played his cards differently. Assuming for a moment that Nick is better than Troy, given that Nick was in the final four, he could've arranged the choosing like this:

Bill: Amy!
Kwame: Nick!
Bill: Troy!
Kwame: Omarosa!
Bill: Katrina!
Kwame: Heidi!

This would've meant he didn't have his best buddy on his team -- but maybe that would've worked to his advantage? Potentially Troy would have a pretty strong motive not to do his best in working against Kwame; potentially this motive would've been strong enough that Bill's second pick would've been Katrina instead of Troy, allowing Kwame to get three of the final five on his team.

That would've been a much riskier proposition, however, than what he did in the pick. And it would've meant seeming to betray Troy, which would've been extremely difficult for Kwame, I think.

Daniel