Ari: "Why the fuck did you just tell him I had a more important lunch?"
Lloyd: "What did you want me to say?"
Ari: "That I had a huge wart on my cock that needed to be removed would have been better."
The third season of the always entertaining but nervewrackingly erratic Entourage aired on Sunday, and the big news was the potential split between Ari and the actor that made him, one Vincent Chase, still annoyed at the loss of the Ramones movie deal, on the heels of the loss of the Medellin movie and Aquaman 2. But Ari gets wind of the breakup and does his best to work all day to get Vince his deal back before he has a chance to tell Ari he's been fired. Unfortunately, Ari's pissed off one too many people in the industry and is having big trouble trying to save his job. In the meantime, Vince and the boys go agent shopping, to somewhat amusing results.
Drama: "They get a zero for service. Didn't even offer us a drink."
Turtle: "Well they get a 10 for amenities if they let me service that ass."
Jeremy Piven won a well-deserved Emmy award for his role as uber-agent Ari Gold on Sunday, and he's been his usual brilliant self this season, shining particularly in this episode. But Drama and Turtle, who were definitely worth their fair share of comedic relief in previous seasons, didn't seem to have much going for them this year, which hurt the balance of the show. And Vince and Eric, whose combined acting talents are frightening - and not in a good way - went even further downhill this year. I don't know how much longer I can take Vince's smug good-naturedness without wanting to root against him ever getting cast again. And yes, I was definitely rooting for Seth Green in his immortal fight with E. earlier this year.
Luckily though, the finale focused on Ari, and he delivered as usual. Between his frantic attempts to get Bob Ryan to change his mind about the Ramones, to his run-ins with the studio head who hates him and his assistant who he used to fuck, to his desperate hope to avoid Vince's calls at all costs, this was a very riveting and funny episode that ably showed a more well-rounded Ari than we are used to. Of course through it all, he didn't stop berating poor Lloyd. To highly comedic results.
Ari: "Speak or I will intern you like it's 1942."
Lloyd: "I am not Japanese Ari!"
The boys are not having much luck finding new agents themselves, as they experience the same pitch on repeated occasions that turns them off from the possibility of switching from Ari. And Drama is still on Ari's side, pushing for them to give him one more chance, despite his seemingly weasily way of avoiding them that afternoon.
Eric: "He's definitely avoiding us."
Drama: "It's a smooth move. Like when I tried to dump Rona Davies - she knew about it, moved to Australia and I had to wait two years to tell her we were through."
Oh Drama. Anyway, Ari and the boys both fail in their missions of the day, and Vince and Eric head up to Ari's office to give him one last chance to keep them as clients. Unfortunately Ari's company does the exact same overwrought pitch as the other agencies tried and this forces Vince to walk out. Ari chases after him, and Vince reveals that all he needed was an apology. Ari attempts to beg for forgiveness, but it's too late. Vince walks away and Eric delivers the news, "You're fired, Ari." End scene. And end of season. You know, the show is much better than the first year - much less uneven - but the heights reached at times in the past - especially in season 2 (Bob Saget anyone?) have really not been met much since. It's a good show, certainly not a great one, and if it weren't the summer and this weren't HBO, it probably would have been forgotten by now. Maybe next year.
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