Entourage - "One Last Shot" Review

The two true main characters are both in a rather strange place.

At the end of last season, both Ari and Vince were at rock bottom, separated from their beloved and a serious drug problem involved. Now, three episodes later, they're not quite as bad, but they're still in a dark, depressing, and weird place. The main thing that jumps out at me about this episode is the darkly ironic double meaning of the title. "One Last Shot", indeed, in the form of returning character film producer Carl Ertz. I vaguely remember him and Vince talking about the movie Danger Beach in season 5, until he revealed he was jerking him around just to secure Emile Hirsch from Adam Davies. So, Kim Coates returns as Ertz, and asks Vince for a second chance, only to flip out on him, clearly high off his ass. Ertz serves as a dark foil for what Vince could have been had he continued down the path of drugs, and his ending is frighteningly shocking, tearing down the barrier of how far Entourage will go. In other news, Turtle's tequila business is ending, as it appears Alex and Carlos screwed him in the end. Ah, well, Turtle's a good guy at heart, he'll bounce back. As for Drama and his Bananas, Andrew Dice Clay demands more money, forcing Phil to fire him and replace him with a really bad impersonation of Dice by Jamie Kennedy, serving as a nice satire of Hollywood damage control. E and Scott were basically there to bounce off Drama and Clay this week, but Ari is where the story gets potentially interesting. After a failed date with a young woman, he ends up hooking up with old flame Dana Gordon, making me wonder, for the first time, who Ari will end up with in the end. It is true that the separation ripped the heart out of every Entourage fan, but maybe Dana's ultimately a better fit for him, knowing full well who he is and accepting that. This was a refreshing episode, even if Ertz's bloody end was way dark, and was the best episode of the season so far. With 5 episodes to go, things on Entourage are looking truly interesting for the first time in years.

"One Last Shot" - 4/5 stars