I’ll be damned, they didn’t wuss out. After watching the “Entourage” writers so neatly wrap up last season’s primary conflicts in the finale, I seriously doubted they’d have the stones to let Vince fire Ari tonight. Instead, on the night Jeremy Piven took home the “Supporting Actor” Emmy, Ari Gold lost his #1 client, his first discovery, and the guy he described as “my baby.”
And you’ve got to love the way they did it. As soon as Lloyd called Vince “Mr. Chase” and said “they’re waiting for you in the conference room,” you knew what was about to happen and you felt damn sorry for Ari. I did anyway. It was painful to watch, just knowing that Ari could’ve saved the relationship had he brought Vince and E into his office, sat down, and admitted that he fucked up. Instead, he threw the flashy corporate presentation at Vince, and he crashed and burned.
So now, of course, the question becomes: How long does this all last? We’ve got several months to think about it, but it’s never too early to start. Personally, I say it drags on for at least the first two episodes next season, maybe longer. I said last week that a desperate Ari makes for great television – we saw it last season when he tried to organize the coup, we saw it again when he was scrambling to retain his clients after he got canned, and we saw it tonight when he tried to get “I Wanna Be Sedated” back while also sabotaging Vince’s lunch meeting (which was classic, by the way). After hearing Ari gush about Vinnie tonight, you know he’s going to be gung-ho next season trying to get back in the crew’s good graces. It’s just a matter of how long it takes Vince and E to cave.
I’ll put the over/under at three episodes, meaning Vince and Ari will reunite in the third episode. What do you think? Are you taking the over, the under, or the number?
Drama wrapped up a great season for him with another standout episode tonight. I can’t get enough of his “back in ‘92” stories, and the advice he gave Vinnie in the driveway at the end of the episode was spot-on. I’m torn, though, on whether or not I want to see his pilot picked up. I said an episode or two ago that an unemployed Johnny Drama has always been more fun to watch than a working Drama, so I bet it flops. Hell, at that point, it’d be hilarious to see him on “The Surreal Life,” as Ari suggested tonight.
Then there’s Turtle and E. Not much going on in Turtle’s life these days, huh? Now that Saigon dumped him, Turtle’s own storyline kinda stalled, though to be fair, it never really got going this season. And neither did E’s, for that matter. Sure, the threesome episodes were legendary, but beyond that there wasn’t much at all for E to do, which is a shame since he’s always been the show’s most intriguing character.
Despite those complaints, it was still an awesome season, largely because we didn’t have to sit through several painful episodes of the Vince/Mandy Moore ugliness. And the fact that Ari and Vince didn’t kiss and make up practically ensures that at least the first few episodes next season will be just as good.
