Episode 810 | Season 8 | 05/03/2009 
Clint, as the leader of last week's winning effort, is ecstatic to be able to present a check for $20,000 to his brother Kevin, who works with the International Rett Syndrome Foundation. The charity focuses on finding a cure for the devastating nuero-developmental disorder, which took Kevin's daughter (Clint's niece) at age 16. They share a warm, tearful hug.
The remaining contestants (Clint, Jesse, Annie, and Brande) gather in Trump Tower. Mr. Trump arrives with his daughter and son; everyone wonders if Joan will return. As Trump is greeting the celebs, Joan arrives, claiming her taxi was late. Trump is pleased. Joan explains, "My team should not suffer because of something that's personal. So I came back to win."
Trump introduces the task: creating a new radio ad for Chicken of the Sea tuna. The company execs explain that the ad will be 60 seconds, with half made up of spoken messaging and the rest incorporating lyrics from the firm's famous "Ask any mermaid..." existing jingle. Team Athena (Brande and Annie) realize that they're at a real disadvantage: Clint Black is a Grammy nominee for songwriting and has recorded over 100 songs professionally. Naturally, Clint will be the project manager for KOTU (consisting of Clint, Jesse, and Joan), while Annie will manage Brande as team Athena.
Annie and Brande are anxious -- neither of them are musically inclined. But they're diligent and they begin researching the product online. They meet with the executives and find out the key three words they see for the product are natural, healthy, and convenient. The execs leave and Brande and Annie head immediately over to the recording studio, where they'll have to conceive, write, and produce a new jingle and ad. They struggle to compose and sing as they ride in the van. It's clear it's going to be a huge challenge for them.
Clint takes charge of KOTU. He's truly in his element, but attempts to be inclusive of Joan and Jesse by soliciting ideas. Once in the familiar confines of the recording studio, Clint heads off on his own to begin reworking the jingle; Joan and Jesse begin work on the spot's messaging. Later, they reunite and Joan and Jesse are mightily impressed with Clint's work. "It was a magical moment," Joan says. As Clint leads the band through his composition, Jesse and Joan lobby to record a version with a quicker musical pace. Clint, though he prefers a lazier pace, goes along, in the spirit of cooperation. Ivanka checks in and likes the song, but expresses some concern as whether it'll meet the contemporary feel the execs are after.
At the recording studio, Brande and Annie give it their best. Donald, Jr. shows up and they admit to him that they're struggling. They're still feeling the pressure of knowing that KOTU has Clint. They press on, struggling to get the messaging into an engaging 30-second spot. Brande and a voice actor record the brand messaging portion -- posing as two moms. Next it's time for Annie to work with a jingle composer. She candidly admits that she almost always feels like she can do anything, but she's really doubting her ability this time.
KOTU brings in two voice-over actors to record the non-jingle portion of the commercial. Clint's conceived of a fast-paced, game show-type script, to add some humor and energy as a counterpoint to his relaxed jingle. But the voice actors can't bring it to life. As a courtesy, Joan asks that they record the actors' work, but then she and Jesse step up the mikes to record the actual tracks.
As they start to assemble the full commercial, Joan feels like their spot is critically lacking comedy. She makes some suggestions for injecting some chicken sound effects at the end, but Clint's not buying. Rejected and dejected, Joan complains to Jesse, but accepts that Clint, as project manager, makes the calls.
Annie's jingle starts to come together. Professional singers and session players are brought in to flesh it out. Brande's impressed -- and so is Annie. "Clint Black may beat us, but I wrote a song today. And that's a high point of my life."
Presentation day arrives. Both teams will unveil their spots -- live -- to the Chicken of the Sea execs. Athena is first; Annie is clearly excited and proud of her work. She explains how and why she feels their jingle and commercial reflect the brand requirements. She introduces her singer, who performs the jingle with aplomb. The execs look pleased.
Clint leads the presentation for KOTU. He brings a handful of backing singers to accompany him as he performs his jingle live for the execs. The lilting take on the classic jingle is really polished and lush. The execs sit rapt, but don't seem to be smiling as much as they did during Athena's pitch.
The teams are summoned to the boardroom. Donald quizzes Clint on how he did; Clint's feeling very proud, but admits that the voice-over part took some risks with its broad comedy. Joan agrees. Turning to Athena, Annie is also proud. She knows they were at a great disadvantage, but she still feels very proud of their effort, both the musical and spoken parts. Trump has them perform their jingle in the boardroom. Though the girls can't really sing, they're still caught up in the catchiness of their song and clearly are having fun singing along to it. Trump asks KOTU their opinion of Athena's effort and they're polite, but feel theirs is superior. The teams listen to the other spot and everyone is really impressed, even Mr. Trump.
Trump asks Donald Jr. what the Chicken of the Sea executives thought of the Athena effort. They liked it, thought it hit most of the points and was solid, though it failed to mention that the product is available in pouches. Ivanka reports on how KOTU's ad was received: great performance, nice focus on the natural and healthy aspects of the product. They also liked the humor in the spoken portion. But on the negative side, they felt the spot missed out on the convenience message and -- most significantly -- they felt the country music style approach would limit the spot's appeal. They prefer Athena's!
Back in their suite, Annie and Brande can't believe their good fortune. Annie in particular is amazed. "I just beat Clint Black in a song-writing contest!" she gushes.
Mr. Trump quizzes Joan, Clint, and Jesse on why they think they lost. Clint explains that he knew they were taking a risk, but went with it. Joan felt it needed more humor and a punchline; Jesse felt it could have been snappier. The Trumps weigh in on what might have doomed KOTU's effort: not enough product mentions, too slow of a pace, the country feel. Everyone agrees that it's clear who should be fired: Clint's the responsible party. "I loved your jingle, " Trump says, "But Clint, you're fired." Gracious and humble, Clint thanks everyone and takes his leave.
The final four meet outside the boardroom. Jesse congratulates Annie and Brande, who are still dumbfounded that they won. Joan is an ice queen, glaring and not speaking a word. She leaves. "It's like a cancer left the room," Annie tells the interviewer.
In a surprise move, Trump summons the final four back to the boardroom. He tells them that there's to be no respite: tonight he will fire two more players. They'll each be interviewed by last year's winner, Piers Morgan, who will make a recommendation to Mr. Trump as to who the two finalists should be. The remaining celebs look exhausted and tense.
Piers begins his inquiry; first victim: Brande Roderick. He tells her she's been characterized by others as a nice person, but not especially bright. She's somewhat taken aback and recalls Joan's insult that she's a "stupid blonde." But she stands strong, "I know I'm bright." But when Piers reports back to Mr. Trump, he asserts that she's simply not smart enough. "You'd be doing a great disservice to the show," to name her a finalist, Piers tells him.
Piers examines Joan. He describes her as complicated. In his interview with her, he accuses her of being a quitter, which she denies. He accuses her of being principled only as it applies to her daughter. Joan explains that her family comes first. The discussion turns to her treatment of Annie; Joan pulls no punches. Piers asks her if she regrets comparing Annie to Hitler. Joan says yes, "because Annie doesn't have a mustache. I should have compared her to Eva Braun." They both laugh. Asked how committed she is, Joan's eyes harden into a stare. "I will kill to win."
Piers interviews Annie. She explains that her poker background is what makes her such a great game player. She reveals that Joan's digs don't bother her, though she finds it odd that she made it so personal. She's proud that she's raised so much money and found it odd that her teammates would choose her to project manage any other fundraising tasks, given her prowess, but hey did. "They just don't understand the game," she tells Piers.
Piers meets Jesse and tells him he just can't figure him out. Jesse tells him he's in the game to prove that regular working class people can compete with people in suits. Piers probes him on the issue of his not tapping the wealthy connections of his wife (actress Sandra Bullock) for his tasks. He demurs, "I keep my life with my wife my life with my wife." When Piers tells him that the game is mainly about raising money, Jesse disagrees -- he says it's about getting the job done and not infighting.
The remaining four return to the boardroom for final questioning by Mr. Trump. Asked why she should be chosen, Annie boasts that she's raised the most money and that she's never been back to the boardroom. Of the remaining finalists she'd most prefer to face Joan, 'cause she knows she can beat her. He turns to Brande, asking her if she can beat Annie Duke. She claims she's the only one who can beat her. Joan disagrees, saying Brande's completely unaware, that she's been riding Annie's coattails the whole way. Trump adds that Piers Morgan thinks it'd be an embarrassment to the show if Brande was a finalist, because she's just not smart enough. Trump disagrees, but doesn't think she's got what it'll take to win -- Brande is out!
Trump puts Joan and Jesse in the spotlight. He questions whether Joan's got the stamina. She says she's got enormous energy and she's very driven to win because she's very attached to her charity God's Love Delivered. Mr. Trump asks Jesse why he should keep him over Joan or Annie. He responds that, unlike the two women, he's just a regular guy with a working class background. Asked point blank whether he'd tap his wife and friends to come in with big donations at the final fundraiser, James is noncommittal. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he tells the room. Trump doesn't like the fact that Jesse won't commit -- he fires him.
Realizing that they're the two finalists, the women are unsparing in their contempt for each other. "Now it's personal," Annie announces. Trump tells them to go home and get some rest. It'll be a battle to the death.
第二季已經接近尾聲，最後五強出來，Joan在最後關頭返回比賽。最後五強正式到位。
Clint 代表的the International Rett Syndrome Foundation贏得了2萬美金。我相信這個基金會會有效利用這筆錢。最後有幾幕真的滿感人的。
這集的任務是 creating a new radio ad for Chicken of the Sea tuna。作一首30秒的主題曲，並要加入舊主題曲元素，之後再進行30秒廣告，由高層決定是為優勝者。
很明顯的 Clint 一位葛萊美獎得主，佔盡所有優勢，KOTU決定由他當Leader，而Athena 則是 Annie。
Clint一頭只想著音樂，最所有力氣想把音樂做好，有關音樂的一切他自己做決定，另外兩位的意見他幾乎沒聽，也因此埋下了失敗的導火線。
Annie 雖然完全不懂音樂，只好靠自己哼哼唱唱，把整首音樂做出來。
兩首曲子完全不同方向，Annie 輕快，朗朗上口。 Clint 優雅，悠閒，讓人放輕鬆。
最後高層選擇了Annie。 我覺得他們是對的，主題曲就是要朗朗上口，那種優閒類似古典或者鄉村的音樂並不適合。
結果一個完全不懂音樂的媽媽打敗了一位葛萊美獎得主。
所以Clint被Fire 是遲早的事。
Clint 離開後剩下四位，馬上進行面試，選取最後兩位。面試的是上季的學徒--Piers Morgan。
Piers Morgan 最後向Trump 推薦兩位，分別是Annie和 Joan。
Brande根本就沒實力，是一個繡花枕頭包，沒進決選不意外，而Jesse不善於表達自己，使他無法進入決賽，真的很可惜。
最後就是看Annie V.S. Joan。
我完全支持Joan，因為Annie很自我，沒法跟別人合作。很多人說他跟Piers Morgan一樣，為了獲勝不惜一切，但我覺得差很多，就算兩位都是吸金者，但Piers Morgan不會那麼自我，還懂得什麼是隊伍，團體組織，相反的，Annie眼中就只有他自己，這種吸金者，非常讓人討厭。
最後，加油，Joan，發揮你的幽默感，打敗希特勒~~~
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