The eighteen new candidates of the hit reality series meet their fiece, hand-picked competition and discover their teammates at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey. The rigorous job interview begins with a bang as the new corporations, split on gender lines - Team Excel made up of all men and Capital Edge made up of all women, deal with the billion-dollar fitness business by creating a new class at Bally's Total Fitness Centers. Melissa clashes with the other women, one team's marketing scheme angers Carolyn, and Markus is insulted as Project Manager. Still, Excel is able to just barely squeak by with a win, giving them the prize of dinner with the Donald, but Markus is not granted the usual exemption for being the winning Project Manager because his team does not vote for him to receive the privillege. Capital Edge is sent to the boardroom, where, in an Apprentice first, PM Kristi chooses to bring back only one person, Melissa, who is fired for having a negative tone throughout

Markus struggles to fit into his team and Marshawn faces criticism from some of her corporation members when she steps up to lead a task involving advertising for Lamborghini's. Excel Corporation's adoration for their advertisements clouds their vision to see some apparent faults, but with the help of Kristi, Alla, and Jennifer, the women of Capital Edge pull off an upset win, earning the opportunity to skate on the ice with a hockey team. Once there, Rebecca falls on the ice, and her future is uncertain with a serious ankle injury. In the boardroom, Excel Project Manager Chris takes a page from Kristi's book and chooses to bring in only one person, Markus, with him into the final boardroom. Trump, Carolyn, and George see this as a fatal mistake, and Chris is fired for it.

A third candidate is fired when the hopefuls take on the business of high technology. The winning team enjoys a reward dealing with children while the losers square off in the boardroom, where they are blindsided by their Project Manager.

The contestants work on creating a new promotional character for an ice cream drink. Capital Edge creates 'Zip' while Excel creates 'Ginny The Genie'. Mark volunteers to wear the costume while everyone laughs at seeing him wear it. At Capital Edge, since Toral does not contribute anything, the team asks her to wear the costume but she makes an excuse that she would be embarrasing her family. Excel wins again, sending Capital Edge to the Boardroom where Toral is fired because of her ineffectiveness.

The corporations design a parade float in order to advertise for the upcoming release of a new science fiction adventure movie. The winners get the chance to spend time with a music artist, and the losers are sent to the boardroom. Who will succeed? Who will fail? And who will be The Apprentice?

With the Donald away on business in Los Angeles, Carolyn fills in for him while Bill takes the place of the also-gone George. Due to Capital Edge's ineffectiveness, Carolyn orders a corporate restructuring, telling the Project Manager on each team to pick three of their current teammates who have contributed the least to be moved over to the other team. Thus, the teams are shaken up, and Capital Edge Project Manager Alla is left with Felisha, Adam, Markus, Randal, and Clay, while Excel team leader Josh is forced to lead Jennifer M, Rebecca, Mark, James, Brian, and Marshawn. The teams are then given the responsibiity of designing a display and event for Dick's sporting goods to move merchandise in a specific product category. Capital Edge picks golf and Excel selects baseball, but when the events begin, Excel forgets that their primary focus is supposed to be on sales, not event planning. The result? The biggest loss in the history of The Apprentice. When it comes time for the boardroom

The candidates venture back into their high school years in order to acheive success at the latest assignment. Derogatory comments hamper one team's progress, and another player is fired in the boardroom.

The players undertake one of the coolest tasks ever on The Apprentice - the marketing of the latest installment in the movie franchise Star Wars. The losers square off with each other in a figurative lightsaber battle in the boardroom, and the 11th conte

The Apprentices write and produce an original song to be performed on satellite radio, live. As a reward, the winners live like a true Apprentice, while the losers face the boardroom, where the 9th candidate is fired.

Clips of Season Four are shown.

Another player is fired when the players face off in the fragrance industry.

The final four face off, and one team resorts to corporate sabotage (again).

The final two choose employees for their final tasks, and the battle begins! One finalist has to organize a charity comedy event, while the other is forced to manage a celebrity softball game. With stars abound, who can pull off a successful event?

The final tasks continue, with Rebecca recovering from her emcee quitting on her by hiring Pete Dominic, a comedian from the New York area. Randal, meanwhile, is forced to move his event indoors and call off the baseball game, replacing it with a celebrity auction, putting several items up for bid. Later in the boardroom, Rebecca receives criticism for not directly asking audience members of her comedy show to make donations to her charity, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, but Rebecca support her decision, saying that it is what the Yahoo executives specifically asked for. Rebecca, however, is praised for her excellent event plans, with excellent Yahoo and Elizabeth Glaser signage throughout the room. Randal gets some flak for his poorly-run event, for not checking the weather forecast, and for not having a Plan ""B,"" but is rewarded for raising awareness for the Autism Speaks chairty and raising $11,000. With the final tasks over, Rebecca and Randal discuss their

In the conclusion, Trump is faced with the incredibly difficult decision with who to hire and who to fire since both Randal and Rebecca are stars in their own right. In the live final boardroom, Rebecca asserts her examples of leadership and why she deserves to win, but Randal's proclamations that a 1-2 record (Rebecca's) is far worse than a 3-0 record (Randal's) seem to be heard more than what Rebecca has to say, as the Donald considers his options and chooses Randal as the better of the two for his great education, outstanding leadership, and incredible likeability. After the hiring, Trump asks his new employee for advice, in front of everyone: should he hire Rebecca as well? Randal shoots that idea down with a shotgun, saying that he was picked as The Apprentice, and that there shouldn't be ""Apprentii.""