After a week off Entourage has returned and thankfully this episode was a lot better than the previous one. Finally we get the Entourage that we’ve been waiting for. All the characters were back in full swing this episode and the writers really hit the mark. The laughs were abundant, the episode was fast paced and aside from Turtle, every character was interesting to watch.
The episode picks up right where we left off. Vinnie is still in his daredevil mode. I’m not sure where the writers are going with this character arc but after this episode I have to say, I kind of like it. It’s a change for Vince’s character and I think it’s going to culminate in something interesting. I thought the arc was a bit farfetched and ill contrived last episode but Vince takes his whole act further this time and I wonder what the consequences of Vince’s daredevil behaviour will be. Last season all the characters grew except Vince, now it’s Vince’s turn to grow as a character.
The new Vince seems to have a bit of an attitude also. He cuts his hair without notifying director Nick Cassavetes, he tells Access Hollywood that his new film “will probably suck” and overall he just doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore. In one scene, paparazzis caught Vince coming out of a strip club and Vinnie shrugged it off like it was nothing. Vince is certainley changing and I think the changes will get more extreme as the season goes on.
Ari, who disappointed last episode, was great this time around. He had some great lines and this episode saw him negotiating for the NFL TV rights with Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys. I won’t say how the negotiations end but I liked the outcome of it all. There weren’t any good Ari/Lloyd scenes which was dissapointing but at least Ari was a whole lot better to watch this episode than last.
Drama made progress with his career this episode as he asked Eric to manage him. Eric agrees, although he seemed hesitant about the whole situation. I can easily see E and Drama getting into some kind of fight or argument over Drama’s career. You should never mix friends and business and I think this business relationship between the two will end poorly.
Turtle once again was pretty lame this episode. He is still working on his new business and this episode saw him fighting again with his former driver Alex. There was a dispute over a credit card charge and Turtle accused Alex of charging items to the business credit card. The whole thing was stupid and I don’t know why the writers are keeping Alex around. She really offers nothing and that whole storyline really has to go.
We did get some information about Anrew Klein this episode and we did see the return of Lizzy. Speaking of Lizzy, there was a bit of flirting going on between her and Ari. Could the writers be setting up for an affair between the two? I hope not as I wouldn’t want to see Ari split up with Mrs. Ari.
Shauna had a few scenes in the episode and they were pretty good. She’s obnoxious as usual but her scenes with Eric were funny and she always has a few good lines. We didn’t get to see Sloan and there was nothing more on the upcoming marraige but I think the writers are saving it for the end of the season. I’m guessing the two will get married in the season finale.
Vinnie cutting his hair was a big deal as Nick still had to do reshoots and can’t have Vince looking any different than he did in the originals. Nick was seriously pissed when he found out. Could we see a repeat of what happened in Smoke Jumpers? Will Vince get into a fight with Nick? He had told E that he ran the haircut by Nick and E was ok with it. The one thing you have to wonder though is, as Vince’s manager, how could E not know that Nick still had reshoots to do? This is something a manager should know.
Rounding out the episode was a nice cameo from Bob Saget, a funny reference to the show Californication and an awesome ending scene.
Overall it was a great episode. One of the strongest ones in a while. We finally get to see Vince growing as a character and we now know what the season is going to revolve around. The foundations for the season were laid down this episode. While I didn’t enjoy the premiere at all, this episode was great and I’m now looking forward to the rest of the season.
