It’s been awhile since we’ve seen an episode of “Entourage” as good as the one tonight, but after weeks of pointless subplots, Doug Ellin and Co. finally delivered some of that old school flavor that has been sorely missing from the new season. But before I get into any of the specifics, first thing’s first. In last week’s blog, I made a comment about how it might be fun to see Vince represented by Adam Davies for a while, but what I meant to say was Josh Weinstein. I know that doesn’t make any difference in the grand scheme of things, but it’s still an important distinction – especially considering tonight’s episode revolved around exactly that.
Now, it didn’t pan out quite like I imagined it would, but it’s probably for the best. After seeing Weinstein sandbag the guys with a promise that Frank Darabont was interested in Vince for the lead role in an upcoming project, only to discover that it’s a TV show he’s executive producing, I’m more than certain that Weinstein (or Adam Davies, for that matter) wouldn’t be right for Vince’s career. They might get him the jobs he wants, but they’ll never care about him like Ari does. Which brings us to the biggest story of the night: Ari’s decision not to take the Warner Brothers job.
At first, I was utterly perplexed by the decision. I mean, if most people were offered a promotion of that magnitude, they’d take it no questions asked. After all, isn’t the life of a Hollywood agent all about bigger and better opportunities? If it wasn’t, then no one would care who they were representing as long as they were good pals with their clients. One thing I didn’t considered, though, was that Ari didn’t like the consequences that might come with the new job – namely, less time with his family. When he finds out that Amanda Daniels is not only next in line for the job, but refuses to put Vince in “Smoke Jumpers” if Ari turns down the offer, however, Ari decides to take the job just to spite her. (On a side note, that shot of Amanda’s reaction as Ari left the office was great.)
In reality, Ari’s visit to John Ellis’ office wasn’t about him accepting the offer, but rather suggesting Dana Gordon for the job instead. It actually works out pretty well. Ari still gets to be Vince’s agent, Dana agrees to cast Vince in “Smoke Jumpers,” and perhaps most importantly, everything is back to the way it should be prior to the “Aquaman 2” fiasco that started this downward spiral in the first place. I still call bullshit on the fact that the real-life Ari would never turn down such an incredible opportunity, but kudos to the writers in making the best out of the situation.
The other major story of the night featured Turtle in his own subplot involving an unlikely meeting with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Not only does he get her number after the guys return from their Hawaii getaway, but he also claims that she gave him a handjob on the flight back. Drama is more than skeptical (I loved how he kept referring to Jamie-Lynn as Meadow Soprano), and since Turtle refuses to prove that it really happened, Drama takes it upon himself to start asking around town. As it turns out, Turtle really was telling the truth, but when Jamie-Lynn discovers that Turtle was blabbing about it to his friends, he loses any chance he might have had of taking things farther. Still, you can’t feel too bad for the guy. Not even Vince has been so lucky as to get a first class jerk from Meadow Soprano.
