Well, the ones that have taken us on an entertaining—albeit, very glorified—ride through Hollywood, at least. There are only two episodes left for Vince and the gang to tie up all the loose ends that Doug Ellin, Entourage’s creator, has left hanging in the balance. For the show’s fans, next Sunday will mark the end of an era.
Or so you would think.
As I’ve reminisced the past few weeks, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that “Entourage” ended up being two different shows. Sure, it seems similar to what it’s always been, but the past few years have been fundamentally different, which makes the impending season finale feel stranger than it should.
Not that it should carry any less emotional weight for the viewer; it just feels more like the summation of only the show’s second half.
In the beginning, Vince, who was still an up-and-coming actor, was the impetus for everything that happened within the scope of Entourage’s fake Hollywood. In a realer sense, though, the word entourage seemed to have a negative connotation. These were supposed to be mooches and saps that gave a star short-term gratification, but didn’t really have anything of substance to give back.
And on the surface, it would appear that Eric, Turtle and Drama fit into this categorization. But, of course, their bond with Vince has always remained true. Their connection has created a foundation for the show, and it has not changed over the course of the series. What has changed is Vince’s role as an enabler.
It was always a half-hour of escapist television because Vince—given his celebrity standing—would get the “hookup.” That meant girls, parties, flat-screens, new kicks for Turtle, etc. Because of this, there was a huge emphasis on Vince’s career and the inner-workings of Hollywood. That was what made Entourage’s world possible. As the show has progressed, though, E, Turtle and Drama are no longer satiated by being handed everything.
They want to escape from Vince’s shadow.
As a result, they’ve all become more self-aware. For some, this makes the show not as appealing, because the secondary characters, who were more interesting than Vince, anyway, are driven by different desires. There is a realization that who they were—Turtle’s penchant for pot-smoking and easy women, for example—isn’t what they want forever. (This type of self-realization probably would never happen with a real entourage.)
Instead of functioning as a unit, each individual member of the Entourage is forging his own path. This all makes the show feel less “Hollywood.” There has been a noticeable lack of celebrity cameos this season, and very little mention of Vince’s career. He’s still doing that Airwalker movie, right?
We are now watching the final—and somewhat surprising—evolution of some unforgettable characters.
Turtle: He was clearly the most comfortable being one of Vince’s lackeys at the show’s onset. For being Vince’s driver, he was given an unlimited supply of weed and got to live the good life. To outsiders—especially, Ari—he was pretty useless. And for a few seasons, Turtle had no problem with this; after all, he was banking in on a pretty sweet setup. This obviously changed, though. He had his failed managerial relationship with Saigon, the rapper, not the city, of course. Then, he tried and failed at a relationship with Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and his subsequent foray into the Tequila business. All of this has him still trying to break away from Vince. “I want to do it on my own, Vince,” he says repeatedly. Watch an old episode of the show and compare that Turtle to his current incarnation, it’s somewhat unsettling. Will Turtle succeed at the Italian food game?
Johnny Drama: Remember when Drama was Vince’s personal chef. Well, he’s still just as irrational and prone to a bad anxiety attack. But in the interim he’s had some career success—a few roles that he got because of Vince turned into a regular spot on a network sitcom, which he lost because, well, he’s freaking neurotic. There was a moment in last week’s episode where this self-awareness theme was striking. After all the craziness with the Johnny Banana’s strike, he tells Dice that maybe this is who he is—you know, the crazy guy with a penchant for self-sabotage. Drama knows who he is now. Will his show new potential hit cartoon actually happen?
E: Because Eric was Vince’s manager, he always seemed the most self-aware already. He always obsessed about how to make people think he was actually skilled at his work. His neurosis hurt him at times, but he now runs a full-fledged agency with associate Scott Lavin, a great late-addition to the show. But he still has his fair share of problems. He is still in love with Sloan, and he seems to know it—even if it only became apparent after a sexual encounter with her former step-mother. What happens there?
Ari: They were never going to put “consummate family man” on Ari Gold’s grave, but you’d never think his disintegrating personal life would ever affect his agency. Well, it may take it away from him. Another telling exchange from last week: Babs saying that two women now had L.A.’s biggest chauvinist by the balls. He finally seemed to come to grips with the divorce, as long as it didn’t threaten his agency, of course. He then saw Bobby Flay emerge from “his” kitchen when he wanted a word with Mrs. Ari (Melissa). I really thought he would bitch-slap Bobby Flay like he handled Adam Davies in the past. But this is an evolved Ari Gold. He seems to know his temper—among other vices—ended his marriage. What happens to Ari next?
Vince: It was hard to imagine that A-list star—is he supposed to be A-list?—Vincent Chase would ever end up in drug rehab, but obviously that’s what happens when you date porn stars, right? Vince did drug rehab, and when he left seemed like a sterile version of happy-go-lucky self. What drove him to become more self-aware this season? A Vanity Fair profile. Go journalism! He spent last week’s episode realizing that he’s probably never had a deep, meaningful relationship with a woman. Viewers have known this for years, but it’s finally bothering Vince. Does he come to grips with this in next few episodes?'
Next Sunday will bring an end to the character-driven second half of Entourage. It’s not really escapist television anymore; it’s all about what happens to our favorite bros when they face some real-life problems. I bet everything ends on happy note.
But, please, we need more LLOYD!
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