TV Verdict

Season Four of Entourage ended with the disastrous Cannes screening of Medellin. Suddenly, the “Dream Team” of actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), producer Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), and director Billy Walsh (Rhys Corio) isn’t looking so dreamy.

This was not an unwelcome development. All along, and particularly in Season Four, Vince has not so much navigated the treacherous waters of Hollywood; he’s floated above them. Every problem has had a deus ex machina solution–Vince is broke, but wait! He just won $100,000 betting on soccer with Dennis Hopper. There’s no transportation to get everyone to Cannes, but wait! Kanye West just showed up with his jet!

I was a little concerned that the drubbing of Medellin would be one of those temporary set-backs, but two episodes in, and Vince’s “magic” hasn’t manifested. Thankfully.

The Fifth Season premiere, “Fantasy Island,” which aired September 7, takes place a few months after Cannes. Medellin has been released and is being torn apart by critics. Vince has taken Turtle and gone AWOL; they’re holed up at an island retreat, eating, drinking, and wenching. The Medellin experience has put Ari back in full-fury mode, and when Producer Carl Ertz wants to set up a meeting with Vince at a restaurant, Ari goes on the hunt to get the boy back.

In the meantime, Drama is pursuing his long-distance relationship with Jacqueline, the lady he met at Cannes, and still working on “Five Towns.” Eric’s fledgling management firm has acquired a couple more clients and a secretary, played by veteran character actress Beverly Sanders.

With Drama in tow, Eric and Ari–looking remarkably similar in their suits–track Vince down and convince him to clean up and come back for the meeting with Ertz. Vince does, turning on that Vince charm, and…

And it turns out Ertz really wants Emile Hirsch for his project, just for less money than Hirsch is asking, so this public meeting with Vince is just a ploy to bring Hirsch down. There is no offer for Vince.

Given the way Vince has basically coasted along, this was kind of a “Wow” moment. Does this mean we’re going to see Vince struggling, hitting auditions, actually playing the game and selling himself? Hope so, because the “magic touch” just wasn’t dramatically interesting anymore. It’s also good to see that Eric’s management office isn’t populated with up-and-coming hipsters or established stars whom he meets cute and takes on. Eric is definitely looking like he’s willing to do the old soul-selling to make it.

In Episode 5.2, “Unlike a Virgin,” a potential solution appears–a script for an indie film, discovered by Eric. Two problems: It’s a script for an indie film, and it was discovered by Eric. Ari wants Vince only doing studio films this time. And Eric’s guidance hasn’t exactly put Vince on top. So this script is put aside, although Eric wants to represent the writers.

This episode ends with a very good scene: A heart-to-heart between Vince and Ari in which Ari lays everything on the line for his client. Vince’s days as the cocky kid who can thumb his nose at the system have caught up with him. Now, it’s start playing along or drop out.

And Vince is seeing that he doesn’t want to drop out. He’s got more to prove than he’d realized.

This is good stuff so far. Here’s hoping the creative team keeps maturing these characters. It’s very cool to see this kind of new character development this far into the show’s run.