Entourage- Episode 6-2 Review

It only took a few seconds.

I’m generally not the kind of person who expresses outward verbal reaction while watching TV. But last night’s Entourage episode “Amongst Friends” changed that in a matter of seconds.

Right at the tail end of the episode, as E was heading to out to close the deal with his very available and very cute neighbor, we heard the sound of an incoming text on his phone. I felt that sinking feeling in my stomach and, sure enough, there it was, an apology from Sloan about giving E the brushoff on their friendly date earlier at Vince’s premiere. I groaned to myself when I saw it, until E triumphantly deleted the item and proceeded to drive over to his newest sure thing. I let out a triumphant “Hell yes!” On my couch. By myself.

This is the power of Entourage, I guess.

I know, last week I applauded the subtleties with which the writers tried to reignite the Sloan/Eric relationship, but after this episode where she came off as wishy-washy and ultimately undesirable, I couldn’t think of a more appropriate ending to this arc. And, yes, I do think we’ve seen the end of it.

This is not to say that this episode with such an outstanding ending did not have its exceptional moments in the beginning and middle. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the scene where everybody emerged from the limo to the red carpet at the premiere of “Gatsby”. It was photographed in such a saw as to thrust the viewer right into the limelight, and it felt so damn good to see Vince back on top flashing those pearly whites to his legions of adoring fans. It also made for some great comedy, like seeing Turtle in front of a microphone and camera as Jamie-Lynn’s date. I thought Jerry Ferrara played this brilliantly. He looked so confused and flustered for a split second and then recovered in time to lay on a charming line about Jamie being the only one allowed to call him “Sal”. Remember when NOBODY knew his real name? Now he’s just saying it into cameras at movie premieres. Go figure.

 I also found the minor subplot of Drama’s date wanting to swing pretty hilarious. It was the perfect sort of girl to set off Drama’s insane neuroses about his sexual prowess. Drama had some great moments int he background of this episode. Did anyone catch him posing for that photographer before the gang went in to pick up their suits for the premiere? Gold. Also, he had the best line of the night, in my opinion, and it was very nearly a throwaway. When Jamie-Lynn insisted that she and Turtle were in love, Drama muttered enviously, “What a country.”

Also in the mix was the complex and infuriating journey of Ari Gold. Determined to finally have  a couple with which he and Mrs Ari can spend time without wanting to hang himself, he was on a crusade to get his wife to make nice with the spouse of his newest colleague and oldest friend, Andrew Klein. When the ladies hit it off, he was ecstatic, minimizing Lloyd’s required weight loss from 15 to 10 pounds. When it became evident that Andrew was more interested in macking on some hot little TV agent, Ari became enraged as only he can, and promptly upped Lloyd’s benchmark to 20 pounds. I thought it was a pretty great arc dealing with couples needing the company of other couples while also dabbling in Andrew’s failure to cope with his new swanky lifestyle on the good side of the hill.

Sort of lost in the shuffle here was Vince. We know he was happy about the premiere, and very happy to be back in demand. People often give Adrian Grenier a lot of flack about his portrayal of Vince, but I think last night really spoke to how well he handles the role. He doesn’t need to make it about anything more than just a guy who knows he is extremely fortunate. It’s not demonstrative or overdone, but it is what is required of the show at that time, and I approve wholeheartedly.

Overall, a very solid episode. It lacked the emotional and thematic gravitas of last week’s premiere, but I’d say fans should be very optimistic about the direction the show continues to go in this sixth season.