Those who saw this episode tonight may think that it was pretty straightforward, but that's not the way I see it. This was a complicated task with lots of questions remaining about how level the playing field was. the most fundamental aspect of a non-level playing field was three elements that worked in favor of Hydra:
1. they had 3 team members(Piers, Carol, Lennox) vs. only 2 for Emprasario (Trace, Stephen)
2. they had Lennox Lewis, heavyweight champion of the world as their main celebrity draw vs. the little-known-in-Manhattan(where country music is not that big) Trace Adkins and almost unknown Stephen Baldwin. Even Piers and Carol are better known in Manhattan than Trace and Stephen
3. they had a track record and aura of success
Before the task began, Piers indulged in major bombastic behavior and even a bit of Omarosa-bashing(what a surprise!). Trace appeared to be totally disgusted. Lennox had suggested to Piers that he apologize to Trace for his"Kiss a Cowboy" stunt the moment Trace arrived, which Piers indeed did do. Then Lennox in a playback moment that you can get away with if you are Heavyweight Champion of the World deemed the incident "Brokeback Boardroom", which I thought was incredibly funny but Trace didn't.
The task was to design a new Quiznos sandwich and sell open-face version of it for $2 at one of two east-side Manhattan Quiznos stores. Trace was the Project Manger as a result of Stephen having done it more recently. Lennox was the Project Manager for unknown reasons. Trace same up with the name Country Club for their sandwich and it was chipotle sauce, mozzarella cheese, bacon and prime rib on one-half of an English muffin run through a grill for a designated amount of time. I think Carol nominated the Champ for the name and Piers had it contain turkey and then Lennox wanted lots of cheddar cheese, with chipotle sauce on the half english muffin.
One key to success should have been advertising. Emprasario got a break when their store was 3 blocks from a printer, so they had their posters/flyers ready for distribution one hour before the start of the sales at noon. Carol was in charge of getting the same for Hydra and it did not arrive until less than 30 minutes before noon. Piers and Lennox were out on a 3rd Avenue sidewalk trying to drum up future business from 11am until about 1130am. The Ermprasario poster was Trace and Stephen is a black cowboy hat, which wouldn't have done much to attract me. However, Lennox Lewis heavyweight boxing champ would also have done nothing to attract me. Both teams had the description of their sandwich in small print and presumably their price in larger bolder typeface. This was a lunchtime New York crowd they were trying to attract with celebrity. I think that was a mistake both teams made. They should have focused on the excellent value that their sandwiches offered by touting the price and put the sandwich in the picture, not the celebrities. I think that would have sold better, but nobody asked me(are you listening, Donald Trump?). One other publicity note. Why waste Carol Alt behind the counter? Hydra should have put her out in front of the store to attract male customers walking by. Some portion of the 50% of the Manhattan workday population that is male would be interested in getting an autograph of a flyer of a sandwich by Carol Alt. I can pretty much guarantee this.
Operations were the responsibility of the staff at both restaurants and they did an excellent job. It appeared that lines were long much of the time from noon to 2pm. The task ended and there was a multi-hour wait for the Boardroom.
Broadway show Curtains Producer Daryl Roth had been the "eyes and ears" with Ivanka and she reproted that the teamwork between Trace and Stephen was smooth and the team seemed well-focused. Ivanka reported that Hydra was a well-oiled machine and Donald gave kudos to Carol which she deflected to Piers. The count of sandwiches sold was now about to be announced. Hydra sold 353. Emprasario sold 250. The main reason put forward was the difference of one team member. Ivanaka also offered a hypothesis that the Emprasario prime rib sandwich was not as desirable to a female audience as a turkey club was for Hydra. She said that she prefered the prime rib herself and I would have too, so I don't think that's it. I am speculating that the celebrity drawing power(which is OK to exploit in person, just not on your flyer) was superior for Hydra with Lennox Lewis besting Trace Adkins.
Hydra was excused and either Trace or Stephen was going to be fired. Trace took responsibility at the beginning of the final boardroom. He and Stephen explained how they work together and there were no problems, rough edges or issues after weeks of working together. Ivanka raised the issue of whether the decision should be based on the money-raising capacity of the individual in the future rounds. That thought process weighed heavily on Donald Trump and it was decisive in asking Ivanka at the end who she would fire. She said Stephen, which was obviously orchestrated. Donald fired Stephen, who had expected and predicted it and had no hard feelings. He had over $70,000 for his mother's charity and Trace has won zip so far. Trace had explained to Donald Trump for the second time why he was in the competition, for the charity representing the food allergy foundation that helps his 6 year old daughter. Trace will live to fight another day.
After Trace had gone back to the suite, Donald called the 4 semifinalists back to the Boardroom and told them before they left that room 2 of them would be fired. There was a clue as to who that is going to be in the brief previews following as there was a reference to a fight between two men(presumably the Final 2). If so, that would be Piers and Trace. Carol and Lennox are likely to be the ones eliminated unless the criteria that trump uses are strange.
