by David McAlpine

Tonight on the season premiere of NBC's The Apprentice, it's the return of a regular cast of 16 very smart people competing for just one job. The theme this season is "second chances," so the cast isn't quite as ego-centric, but they're ready to fight for the ultimate prize: a job at the Trump Organization.

Per usual, the teams were split up by gender: men versus women. And it wasn't long after that that the tension started. They both decided on a name (Octane for the men, Fortitude for the women) and a Project Manager (Gene and Nicole, respectively), leaving bruised egos and hurt feelings. Can anyone smell drama? Because I sure can…

The first task was possibly the most complex first task we've seen in Apprentice history. Yes, for once, the show has branched out past the "how much money can a team make in 24 hours?" concept. Instead, the teams have to build a modern workspace in the space given--something that sounds easy but, add in several vocal people and it gets complicated. Fast.

Over on Octane, Gene has already lost control of the reins, allowing David and Clint to clash in front of everyone else and failing to get in between them. His military background only comes in at the last minute when his team is, literally, around the corner from crashing and burning. Who knew a military man could have such good taste?

Nicole, on the other hand, was the diplomatic leader. She needed everyone's opinion all the time, leaving several things undone as the task neared the end. In addition, another contestant on Fortitude, Tyana, had a background in real estate and dabbled in interior design--and her expertise was left unused by Nicole.

At the last minute, Nicole decides to let Tyana choose everything, giving her a perfect scapegoat for her ultimate fail to be a strong project manager. Lo and behold, Tyana chooses things that weren't modern (the whole point of the task) and Fortitude looks like they're going to lose.

After the teams are done, Trump sees both workspaces and hates them equally. However, Octane gets the distinction "best of the worst," giving Gene and the men's team the win. The prize for Gene? A one-on-one with Trump, a facet of the new show that executive producer Mark Burnett and Trump previously discussed. Each week, the winning Project Manager gets a one-on-one with a CEO, somewhat like a mini job interview.

In the boardroom, Nicole tries to pin the whole thing on Tyana, but it backfires because of the "Project Manager excuse." Yup, that's right Nicole, didn't you forget what Trump thinks about the Project Manager? Unless someone else royally screws up, it's still your fault. And, according to him (and the rest of the team), Nicole let Tyana go off task.

After a lot of catfighting and very, very direct talk (i.e. people blatantly stated who they didn't like) Mahsa walks that fine line between direct and unprofessional, putting her in sever danger, but Nicole was still deemed at fault and, therefore, got fired. On the bright side, Trump set up an interview at the Miss Universe Organization for her, so she doesn't leave the show empty-handed.

See who's the next to get fired on the next episode of The Apprentice, Thursday at 10/9c only on NBC!

(Photo courtesy of NBC)

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