Entourage – Season 5, Episode 12: “Return to Queens Blvd”

Last night’s season 5 finale of Entourage was one of the most frustrating episodes I’ve ever watched.  For maybe the first time ever, we were given a glimpse of how good Entourage could be if it tapped into its full dramatic possibilities.  We were shown two possible futures for this series, and by episode’s end, we knew which of these two paths was to be followed.  Sadly, it was not the one I had hoped.  Allow me to explain:

The first 20 minutes of this episode were 20 of the best minutes in Entourage history.  Other than the episode in which Ari left his old agency, I can’t remember ever feeling even close to as absorbed, intrigued and excited by this program as I was last night.  First, we had a change of scenery.  For once, we weren’t in Los Angeles or on a movie set.  Instead, we had the edgier, more urban borough of Queens as our backdrop.  Just being somewhere new for an entire episode, with new people and new places, helped the episode feel fresh and unpredictable.  

Most importantly, we had what this show has never really had before, and what I’ve commented on time and time again with this frustrating series: emotional stakes.  The tension and desperation in this episode was both palpable and riveting. Why?  Because the characters were emotional involved and had actual important things at stake.  We’ve got the boys home in Queens because Vince has hit the nadir of his career.  He can’t land a job, he got fired off Smoke Jumpers, and now Gus Van Sant won’t even let him audition for his new film.  So 2 awesome things happen as a result: One, Eric goes into high gear manager mode.  We’ve seen him be a pretty flawless manager up until this point, but this time, we saw him blow all those accomplishments away by having the perseverance and determination to pretty much force Vince’s new material on Gus Van Sant, which, as we know, is directly responsible for the episode’s end (but more on that later).

Secondly, we see doubt and fear settle in over Vince, exacerbated by the presence of his mother and the rest of his adoring community.  This was the key element of the episode.  Vince has always been cool as a cucumber.  No matter how much money they had, no matter what role he was in, no matter how bad it seemed, he always seemed nonchalant and entirely impenetrable; nothing could get him down, and I say this in a negative way.  As I like to say, it’s far more interesting to watch the vulnerable and more human Batman than it is to watch the indestructible, unflappable Superman (which is why I f’ing hated Superman Returns, fyi).  For the first time in the history of the series, Vince was vulnerable.  Coming after the already very tense breakfast scene while waiting for Van Sant’s phone call, Vince’s curse-word screaming phone throw was the single most emotionally charged moment in the history of the series.  Yes– that one curse was more emotion than Vince has shown in 60 episodes.  And I LOVED it.  Finally, we had a more human Vince, a desperate Vince that felt his entire life slipping away from him.

And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, we had the 2nd most emotionally charged moment in the show’s history, one that grew beautifully and organically from Vince’s already well-defined exasperation: Vince fired E.  Vince fired E!  For the first time ever, we had real human conflict between our characters.  They weren’t fighting over a missed meeting, or because Drama lied to them about something, or because Turtle broke a television set.  Vince, in his lowest moment ever, turned his back on his best friend, selfishly denying all the incredible work Eric had done for him in the past few years.  And I thought to myself, “Holy shit.  We might actually have a series here.”  In fact, I said something of that nature aloud to my viewing buddies, in wondrous awe of the stakes, motivations, emotional connection, logical turn, and climactic escalation that I was witnessing.  And I thought, “What a way to end the season!”

And then the last 7 minutes of the episode happened, and my little bubble of dream Entourage popped before my eyes.  What would’ve been the best cliffhanger in the series’ history was destroyed, much to my chagrin.  Rather than keep the focus on the relationship between E and Vince, allowing the characters and their emotions to be the center of the show (like any good drama would do), Entourage returned us to the status quo within mere minutes.  The rift between the two friends disappeared faster than it had materialized, and Vince’s season-long doubts about his career and his acting abilities vanished even faster.  All possible emotional conflict was evaporated by a single phone call from Marty Scorsese (boy does he look old!  I didn’t even realize how old this dude was getting.  Where have the years gone?)

And so the Entourage that could’ve been was snuffed out before it even had a chance to begin.  And with it, my hopes and dreams for this series have also been snuffed out.  It’s not consistently funny enough to be a comedy, and despite my best hopes, it’s clear that this series will never be dramatic enough to be good drama.  It’s a dramedy in the worst sense of the word, for its just too deficient in both categories to be considered one or the other.  Much like the Hollywood life it depicts, this series is all about fluff and flash, never about substance or emotional resonance.  It’s the kind of show you leave on in the background, or watch whenever you happen to find it on, or watch with friends here and there as a social event.  Though it’s always had promise, I think last night’s episode shut the door for good on Entourage ever moving up to the top tier of television.  

So yes, I’ll keep watching.  I’ve already put in 5 years, and I don’t mind waiting one or two more until Vince gets his Oscar nom and the series ends (it’s based on Mark Wahlberg, remember?).  But I will never expect a return on any emotional investment that I might put in, so I refuse to try to connect emotionally any longer.  I won’t expect big laughs, as I’ve known for a while this show can’t really deliver on that front, and now, I won’t expect big stakes again either.  

R.I.P. Entourage that could’ve been.  You were a wonderful fantasy for a few short minutes last night, but you’ll never be real.  A sad end to a wildly disappointing season.  I guess you were just too good to be true. 

Grade: B

Season 5 Grade: C+