The Crocs challenge was a mere distraction from the real action: poor Vinny Pastore's double agent scheme gone awry. The downward spiral started when Piers thought he saw the women spying outside Hydra's war room. At first, I thought his suspicion was correct. When Pastore poked his head outside the door to see who was there, the camera caught Carol Alt walking into Empresario's room next door. The ladies swore they weren't spying, but I have my doubts.
As Baldwin and Adkins pointed out later on, it all began as a harmless joke: the fake fight, Baldwin's phony little speech about corporate decorum and Pastore's defection to the women's team. But Vinny went too far when he took notes on Empresario's strategy and tossed the paper to Baldwin, who, by the way, is a total hypocrite. He bizarrely refused to pick up the piece of paper, but didn't mind telling Lennox Lewis to do the dirty deed. I guess Baldwin's not a big believer in the spirit of the law.
At least Vinny had a change of heart and confessed to Marilu Henner during the cab ride to the woodworking place. The whole thing might have seemed hysterical when he was with the guys, but he obviously felt guilty, especially since the women were so nice to him. He even gave them a couple of pretty good ideas, such as using Carol Alt as a spokesmodel. Still, the damage had already been done. Henner was forgiving, and even made an Italian promise to keep Pastore's secret. Too bad Morgan didn't do the same. It was evil of him to out Pastore without warning him first. That said, I did love the way he did it, working in the women's slogan--share the love--into casual conversation to freak them out.
I can't blame the women for reacting badly and firing Pastore, but I did feel terrible for Vinny, especially after Morgan suspended him from team Hydra right before the presentation. By that point, I knew he wasn't long for this show. The whole situation was just sad.
As for the actual challenge, the women clearly deserved to win. The giant green Croc shoe was brilliant. I loved how it worked like a mailbox. The cardboard cut-out of Carol Alt wasn't bad either, but the shoe really made it. Hydra's slogan--wear them, share them--was catchier than Share the Love, but their receptacle looked like a jazzier version of a Salvation Army bin in a Kmart parking lot. It was pretty uninspired. Plus, the lady's presentation was fabulous. I especially loved when Omarosa gave herself a 9.5 for looks and Carol Alt a 10. What a rare and refreshing moment of humility for the big O.
It was no surprise that Hydra wound up winning this round. Finally! I'm glad Carol Alt was a good project manager after weeks of doing menial tasks and Omarosa calling her a twit. I happen to like Carol. I felt bad for her when she started crying about her brother's charity, but I thought it was strange that she would pass up an opportunity to publicize her cause. I went to the charity's website and it's equally vague. Apparently, Tony Alt died "suddenly" in 2005. The site doesn't mention a cause of death or much info about Tony except that he was some kind of account manager for Goldman Sachs and New York Life. Donations go to St. Jude's Hospital and some random high school in Dix Hills. They might want to come up with a stronger mission statement. Either way, I'm glad the ladies finally got to sip champagne while the men squirmed in the boardroom.
In the end, Pastore was the big loser. It was cruel of the producers to take away his chair! Of course, Pastore wasn't guiltless. He seemed to be enjoying the spy game at first, and, when he flipped, he betrayed not just Morgan, which is understandable, but also Adkins, Baldwin and Lewis. He did give the women some good suggestions, but the giant Croc was Omarosa's idea and that's what made Hydra's concept so great. I can't blame them for refusing to take him in.
Though he deserved what he got, I'm sad that Pastore resigned. The Trumps didn't seem disturbed by the spy scheme. In fact, I think they liked it. The Donald wouldn't even comment on whether he had ever done something hurtful to get his way, so obviously he has. What's more, with Morgan gone, Pastore could have patched up things with his former teammates. On the other hand, I'm not convinced Morgan deserved to be fired. Yes, he's an immature jerk. But he's also more creative and energetic than Pastore. He's also a good leader and a good salesman. Unfortunately, after the sabotage debacle, I doubt he'll ever redeem himself. He wound up looking just as bad as Pastore. Despite his insistence that he planned to get Pastore fired up front, I think he just got wrapped up in the spy nonsense and it wound up burning him. His sweaty red face in the boardroom said it all.
This episode had a ton of great moments, but here are a few of my favorites: Omarosa's declaration that business is always personal, Pastore's adorable Croc tap dance, Baldwin's attempt to save Morgan's soul, Marilu Henner's Italian promise, Ivanka's admission that she kind of likes sabotage, and the strange attempt to recreate the Sopranos series' finale when Pastore walked out to the car.
I used to be a Baldwin fan, but his preachy demeanor last night really rubbed me the wrong way. Right now I'm rooting for Lewis, Adkins and Henner. It seems like Morgan is on his way out, so it's hard to say who will rise to the top as the next strong leader. I guess we'll find out.
1 comment:
Part of me thinks Vinny wanted to be on the women's team all along. It also seemed like he was maneuvering into a position where he could claim to be a part of the winning team, no matter which team won. At the end, he kept trying to take credit for the women's concept, which was clearly Omarosa's idea. His only contribution was suggesting that Carol Alt be the model. Granted, she did lend some high-fashion cred to the hideous shoes, but what won this challenge was Omarosa's wacky Croc-shaped bin.
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