Guys, dont let me make the both you indulge in a group hug!!!

lol! My question was really a question. You chose to interpret it more than a simple question.

I was trying to understand why Helen saw nothing wrong with asking to take over. Obviously all three wanted to win, but what on earth made Helen think that Melody would be open to the idea of handing the reins over to her? Anyone could see that, considering it's Melody and all, it'd cause friction.

I wondered if it was Helen's tunnel vision, regarding her clean track record, that prompted her to make that unwise move. Your earlier response suggested that yes, it could be her selfishness that prompted it, but you disagreed and basically called me an idiot.

Sorry.

It's just that asking "are you saying" is sometimes a way that people have of saying what they want to say and making it appear as if you said it yourself.

I didn't realise it was a genuine question.

I agree that it wasn't a good idea but I don't see how she can be accused of selfishness since her goals are directly aligned with the goals of the other people involved. In the context she could not act in a selfish way (with relation to Tom and Melody) because her outcome is inextricably linked to theirs.

I think it was selfish in that she thought she would win massive kudos with Big Al if she could say the ship was sinking and when she "jumped in" (to use his phrase from earlier in the series) and grabbed the tiller the project was steered to a win. It also had the advantage that it would have been a certain firing for Melody, even if Helen had failed, as Big Al would have given her the "if you see someone better" speal he gave Vincent, or the short shrift he gave Felicity's difficulty in deciding who to bring to the boardroom. It still remains very unclear as to what she would bring to improve things, she spun some tenuous yarn about freeing Melody up to work on sales, but I thought she fancied herself as quite the sales woman.

Fair enough. All this is text-based, which can make it hard to determine the real tone. No apologies needed.


But doesn't it suggest she was effectively telling her "boss" that she was crap? I don't know any boss who could tolerate that. I was surprised at Helen because of all candidates, she should be the one who already realised that.

It seems that Helen cared more about keeping her track record clean than respecting Melody's right to be PM, bearing in mind Melody wanted to win as much as Helen did. However, you've already made clear you disagree and that's fine.

I think it could still be a selfish act, and I don't think the outcomes are 'inextricable', particularly at this point in the process. Although all of them wanted to win the task, it would have been a massive plus point for Melody if she had managed it as PM, and it would have damaged her rather a lot if she had allowed Helen to take over and secure the win. Winning isn't everything in TA, and if Melody had allowed a coup to ruin her potential win, that would arguably have cost her later on even if they'd won the task.

(As neither of these happened, it's a bit academic now, but that doesn't mean that Helen wasn't acting selfishly.)

I agree. Anybody would think that she was a one woman band this whole time and that she did everything herself.
Fact is for the first four or so weeks, she didn't contribute anything and just rode on everyones ele's success.

Its becoming clearer to me that Helen is full of bs too. She would stubbornly have pursued retailers if she'd taken over - she admitted as much to Sugar. Helen doesn't know as much as she thinks she does. Any admiration I had for her vanished last episode. She's blown her chances. And that's not brave, that's stupid.

Helen basically said she was a 9-wins-out-of-9 person and therefore the better candidate for PM. But Helen did not explain why she failed to put herself forward before the team agreed to Melody as PM. Did Helen object then, if not she missed her moment.

I am not objecting to Helen's attempt at a putsch, but Helen would have to convince Tom at least, exactly where Melody was going wrong, and where Helen could put things right and protect the team from defeat. In a team of 3 Helen only needed to lobby 1 person to outflank Melody in a democratic second vote. If Melody had pointblank dismissed a coalition of 2 team members, then Melody would have been toast in the boardroom after a defeat and she knew it.

In this trial of strength everyone can decide for himself who was the stronger character, and who was smarter.

Of course Melody shouldnt have let Helen take over!.

Once the decision is made, the only reason that would be acceptable in the boardroom for Helen to take over, is if Melody became ill, and couldnt continue.

I dislike Melody for her constant BS, but Helen had NO idea about the task.