TV Verdict

Was it so long ago that Vince and Ari seemed to own Hollywood? That Eric was up-and-coming but mindful of his integrity? How things have changed.

Vince is finding more and more of his role in “Smokejumpers” being trimmed away. He also discovers that this isn’t Jason Patric’s doing. Director Verner (played by Stellan Skarsgard) has some ideas about Vince, and they’re clearly not good. He’s psyching Vince out, making suggestions about tics and movements he sees that Vince doesn’t see. Verner is disregarding everything Vince is trying to contribute, and he has Turtle and Drama tossed from the set.

Vince is trying to play along. He’s never had this experience before, never been spoken to like this, and he seems unaware that this could all be leading to a less-than-happy Hollywood ending.

Eric, in the meantime, has good and bad news. The good news is that the pilot for his client, Charlie (Bow Wow), is moving along. The bad news is that the agent wants Seth Green for a part. There’s bad blood between Green and Eric from a fight they had over Sloan some time back. In tonight’s episode, Green acts the total jerk, sending Eric on demoralizing journey before finally meeting with him and Charlie at their agent’s office. The only good thing that comes of this is that Eric gets to reconnect with Sloan, who has broken up with her boyfriend. Well, something else good comes of this, but it’s at Charlie’s hands.

And Ari is trying to convince Barbara to bring Alan Klein into the agency, as Ari had promised. Barbara is still not convinced he’s right for Miller-Gold, despite his success working in the Valley. Ari tries complimenting Barbara, asking her nicely, begging, cajoling, and finally doing what he does best, steamrolling her and let out a lot of pent-up anger and frustration. Will there be war at the Miller-Gold Agency, or will Ari get what he needs and wants?

It is really interesting to see the direction this show has taken. I applaud the creative team behind Entourage for not going the easy way and giving us another season of Golden Boy Vince charming his way into leading roles and enabling his hangers on to… continue hanging on. By giving us the darker side to Hollywood, Entourage has gotten much more interesting. Two more eps, and I’m waiting to see how this plays out.