I’ve been focusing so much on Vince’s downfall this season that I’ve pretty much ignored the possibility that Ari’s career might be in trouble as well. I figured he just dodged a bullet after Deadline Hollywood ran a story about his not-so-kind treatment of his employees, but Ari might have opened his big mouth for the last time. After making a scene in front of his embarrassed wife, Amanda Daniels, and some of the NFL board members (a classic Ari Gold rant that included plenty of insults and even a few borderline violent threats) Ari discovers that it wasn’t Amanda who leaked the tapes, but rather her assistant – a former employee with a grudge.
Apparently, Amanda was just interested in teaming up with Ari to bring an NFL team to Los Angeles, but now that opportunity is gone for good. It definitely wasn’t Ari’s proudest moment, but I’m sure he’ll survive. Of course, the suggestion that Amanda would suddenly be willing to work with Ari after threatening to ruin him only a few episodes ago seems ludicrous in and of itself. I mean, why the sudden change of heart? It’s not like they were ever friends, and Amanda clearly still isn’t over Ari’s sabotage of the Warner Brothers gig that ultimately went to Dana Gordon.
Simply put, it would never happen, though I am warming up to the idea of Drama doing “Johnny’s Bananas.” I still feel like Drama takes the craft of acting a little too seriously to consider voicing a character on an animated show, but after a series of conversations with Eric’s secretary, Jenny – where we not only learned that the job would only take an hour or two a week to record, but that his condo has been foreclosed – it makes sense that Drama would finally decide to do the show, even if he is selling out as a result. It’s just a shame he didn’t come to that conclusion a little earlier, because it looks like Phil put a lot of effort in creating that presentation.
And speaking of indecision, the Avion tequila soap opera rolls along as Turtle hits yet another road block when Carlos lectures him about being left in the dark about the Mark Cuban situation. He wants Turtle to sign a nondisclosure agreement to prevent him from talking to anyone about the company until Carlos decides what he wants. But that’s exactly the problem: Carlos doesn’t seem to know what he wants. Though Turtle has lined up a reliable investor in Cuban – who’s not only willing to front the $5 million to build the factory, but also has plenty of ideas about how to take it to the next level – Carlos gets overly protective, insisting he set his own terms. Instead, Cuban tells Carlos that he’s just going to sidestep him and buy the business outright, and since it’s technically not Carlos’ company (something about an older brother), he can’t do anything about it. I don’t know why Turtle’s upset, though. Cuban will probably still hook him up with some sort of finder’s fee (or even keep him on board as a business partner) and it’s not like he didn’t do his best to help Carlos make Avion popular. If anything, he almost did his job a little too well.
Meanwhile, Vince’s cocaine-fueled bender continues to affect his relationship with Eric after he’s unable to promise Sasha a part in “Airwalkers,” leading Vince to go straight to the source instead. Surprisingly, new director Peter Berg doesn’t take much convincing, and he casts her in a role that could grow in future sequels. But when Vince tells Sasha the good news, he doesn’t get the response he was hoping for. Although she’s understandably excited, she still plans to do the adult film, despite what she may or may not have promised Vince. And worse yet, one of the guys in the gangbang is her ex-fiancé. So what does Vince do? He tells her that he loves her, of course, no doubt in a last-ditch plea for her not to do the movie. Watching his girlfriend having sex with strangers will be the least of his worries, though, after Lloyd discovered his hidden stash in the house. I’ve heard of dime bags before, but Vince was storing his blow in a gallon-sized freezer bag. That’s not a drug problem – it’s a crisis.