Raised Stakes and Finger-Pointing: ‘Apprentice’ Episode 5 Recap

We’re just over a month into “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition” and the show is certainly living up to expectations.

Episode 5, which aired on AXN on Thursday, 15 April, drove the tension even higher as ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong raised the stakes and sent one more global candidate home.

In case you missed all the excitement, here’s what went down on Episode 5 of “The Apprentice.”

Dragon Boat Races

This week, “Super” Sage Northcutt returned to the show alongside ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera to coach the global candidates through the physical challenge, which Task Captain Dom Lau introduced as dragon boat racing on the Kallang River.

The first team to win two dragon boat races would be declared the victors. Northcutt took the helm for Team Valor, while Vera took the lead for Team Conquest.

During the race, Team Valor’s Eugene Chung complained that the water was too resistant to his rowing and started to fade. Team Conquest’s Jessica Ramella dealt with an aching back and legs, but in the end, her team scored the first win.

In the second round, the same thing unfolded, and Team Conquest, with the help of one last charge from Niraj Puran Rao, took home another victory.

Chatri Ups The Ante

Before this week’s business challenge kicked off, Chatri addressed the remaining 11 candidates and was adamant that he’d no longer accept mediocrity from any of them.

The ONE Chairman and CEO also raised the stakes in a major way, announcing that on top of the one-year, US$250,000 contract to work as his protege, the winner would also become ONE’s Chief Of Staff.

Chatri then moved Paulina Purnomowati to Team Valor.

Converging Two Brands Into One

At Singapore’s Jewel Changi Airport, Chatri’s Advisor Niharika Singh gave the candidates their next challenge, which asked them to create a product by merging two Singaporean retail brands – The Shirt Bar and Bengawan Solo.

Joy Koh wanted to step up in this episode, so she volunteered herself to be Team Conquest’s Project Manager, and after a quick vote, the group gave its blessing.

On Team Valor, Monica Millington felt she could handle running this business challenge, and the group named her Project Manager.

Joy got off to a strong start as the leader, but when Niharika entered the room, Clinton Tudor flexed his muscles over the pricing of the team’s product and later caught flack for it. Team Valor, meanwhile, barely missed a beat and breezed through their product development.

The Pitches

Team Conquest stepped into the pitch still buzzing from their victory in the dragon boat races, and it showed in the presentation, which they delivered to Chatri, Niharika, and guest advisor Ankiti Bose, the Co-Founder and CEO Of Zilingo.

Joy, Jessica, and Clinton delivered the pitch, which Chatri later said was wonderful. The team’s product included a table book with an app and a kitchenware line.

But as Ankiti pointed out, Team Conquest focused too much on Bengawan Solo versus The Shirt Bar for the collaboration. And Niharika flat-out said the product was underwhelming.

That feedback gave Team Valor some confidence heading into their pitch, which Monica, Irina Chadsey, and Paulina knocked out of the park.

Sure, the team’s candle wasn’t the most superb of products, but as Chatri stated, the presentation was outstanding, and the level of detail was unmatched.

Ankiti, however, again pointed out that the product had no connection to The Shirt Bar.

The Boardroom

When the two teams converged in the boardroom, Chatri immediately reminded them of what was at stake and the ante that had been raised.

With that, he gave the floor to Niharika, who told both teams she was impressed with their presentations even though they fell short on certain details.

Chatri then turned to Team Valor and reiterated a point from the food business challenge in Episode 4 – they’d done a fantastic job with the presentation, but the packaging was a disaster. However, acting Project Manager Monica stepped up and admitted fault.

The ONE Chairman and CEO also addressed Team Conquest, saying they had a great product but failed to incorporate both brands.

A game of finger-pointing broke out, as Niraj blamed Nazee and Clinton for their selfish behavior and even accused the former of conspiring to undermine the group.

Jessica then spoke up, saying how she felt the group judged her. And in a sudden turn of events, Joy blamed Kexin Ye and Niraj for being the weakest links, although most of the group disagreed.

Team Conquest was falling apart in the boardroom, so it was inevitable that Chatri would pick Team Valor as this week’s winner of the business challenge.

One More Candidate Goes Home

Because Joy was the Project Manager, she took two candidates to the chopping block with her – Kexin and Clinton.

Sitting across from Chatri and Niharika, Joy told the duo that she wanted to start a kids unit for ONE Championship, but her plea wasn’t as emotionally charged as Clinton’s. The New Zealander told Chatri that he would do whatever he could to improve each day.

Kexin then reminded Chatri of her life story before adding that her difference is her strength.

After careful consideration, Chatri turned to Joy.

“You’re not the one,” he said.

He then turned to Clinton and told him that he’d made it through by the skin of his teeth. Afterward, he called Kexin a “warrior” and told her she has a sense of goodness.

Tune in to AXN next Thursday, 22 April, to catch all the drama on Episode 6 of “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition.”