Episode 12

I think I have to begin by doing something that nobody would expect from me -- and that is, I am going to have to back up and support our newly fired friend Chris. For the past few weeks, I have been incredibly tough on him and no doubt he’s had a terrible time of it between getting arrested, being fired by the big guy, and even worse, crying in the boardroom on his way out. I can’t imagine the ridicule he’s going through because of it right now. I’ve personally heard it from every Tom, Dick and Harry that’s called me up to mock his tears. But the truth for me is, I felt his emotions were really quite endearing and nothing short of it.

Until now, I couldn’t understand Chris’ angry exterior. I didn’t know where it stemmed from and it even seemed a bit evil at times. But after he peeled off his tough exterior in this boardroom showcase, we actually got to see a bleeding heart of gold worn humbly on his sleeve. His anger just stemmed from how passionate he was and, like young souls often do, he just had trouble defining and releasing his earnest emotions. I may even go so far as to say that this time, Chris should not have been fired. He did what he should have done. He stepped up, worked hard and put his heart into it. For that, I commend him -- unlike our slippery “under the radar” snake, Alex. Although Alex is without question very intelligent, he slides by without doing much of anything and even makes major mistakes, like not getting the proper pictures taken on this task. It’s so frustrating to watch.

Come to think of it, everyone at this point seems to unimpressively slide by “under the radar.” As a matter of fact, after watching this episode, I say we just call it a day -- and everyone, with the exception of Kendra, should just be fired right now. Why wait? She single-handedly won this task, quite literally.

Although I’m not the biggest fan of flying under the radar, it’s really the only way to win this game. Kendra nailed it on the head when she said that her strategy had been to take a step back, learn her opponents’ strengths and weaknesses, and then in the twelfth week of this interview process, step forward to become a force to be reckoned with. And that’s how this game is won!!! With that said, even though Kendra has pretty much slid by until now, she did nothing short of kicking everyone’s ass inside and out.

Even though I think our Midwest mom Tana will make it to the top two, on this task, she and her lazy sleeping partner in crime, Craig, should be ashamed of themselves and given the axe. When Tana downright admitted, “I’m exempt and my ass isn’t going anywhere…”, I wanted to strangle her. This is why there shouldn’t be exemptions in this game!!! They’re too easily abused. It is also why Bradford on Season Two waived his exemption, because he wanted to prove to his team he was equal and would work as hard as anyone and then he was fired for it. It’s just not fair. Then our soccer mom tried to steal the credit when she jumped in on the presentation and awkwardly said, “We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for this incredible opportunity to work with such an incredible car.” Oh yeah, that was smooth. On so many levels, I was downright appalled.

What was even more frustrating, however, was hearing Donald’s lecture about sleeping on the task. Oh the contradictions. If anyone remembers my firing, I was reprimanded for not letting my team get enough sleep on the restaurant task. So which is it, Donald? You reprimanded me for that and now you claim you know people who went 48 hours without sleep and that, if you don’t have the physical or mental stamina, you should do something else. What a total contradiction. Can anyone understand how that would be upsetting for me to hear?

Anyway, I’ll stop venting now. Kendra, although I’m not a big fan of “flying under the radar” until the end, you did do an absolutely incredible job. You certainly have my vote, for whatever that’s worth. I hope you go all the way. To the rest of you, well, you know how I feel. Sorry to be so tough, but I hope you can appreciate my honesty.

Sincerely,

Your Apprentice Alumna,
Jennifer D. Crisafulli


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