The Entourage Review: Season 5, Episode 11: Play'n With Fire

Posted by Tim Livingston on 11.17.2008

Everything comes to a head in the penultimate episode of this great season of Entourage as the movie goes awry, Ari's master plan doesn't work at all, and an off-the-screen romance is shown on screen. Plus, the debut of Sal!

LAST WEEK: Vince has no character. Werner thinks he does. B doesn't want Andrew. Turtle and Drama get kicked off the set. Can Vince bounce back?

For the penultimate episode, “Play'n With Fire,” I'm going to switch things up. I'm not going to go all lengthy recap, and I'm only going over the big points in the show. It's mainly because this was such a huge episode and had so much going on.

The start with Turtle and Jaime restarting their romance was a great little starting point. I liked that Jaime showed she wasn't so shallow that she completely did away with Turtle all together. It's nice to see it. It's seriously a surprising turn of events, and I like how they presented it as an opening for Turtle and a little bit of character growth. What's great about this romance is that Jaime is actually truly into him, Turtle can't believe it and when he acts surprised, Jaime's always trying to build him up.

Vince's character growth through this season has been such a welcome change. For the longest time, Vince had been almost a backdrop to the big picture, and it seemed as if he just kinda dragged things down. This episode saw him turn from confident to almost tragically depressed. The opening minutes that go from Vince being prepared to do what Werner needs, into the fifty-plus takes, and then the blowing up afterwards really paints Vince as someone who has been undermined and overlooked. I liked his fire in a scene where the director said he didn't have the passion. Nice little bit of directing there. It ending in a firing seems appropriate once you get deeper in the episode.

Ari's role in this episode was him actually having to come up big for his favorite client. Andrew's arrival was big, but the emergency forced Ari's hand. I liked how he decided to bring out all the big guns with his connections. Big entrance, big words, the power walk, all of it. I loved it. His talking with Werner was a classic headbutting incident. Two rams got mad and rammed into each other, with neither backing down. Ari was always quick to shoot down any back door that Werner tried to squirm out of, and he never lost control of the situation. This began the big story arc. Ari decides to basically do something that could sink not only his actor, but could put the entire movie in danger. He calls Dana Gordon and tells her to get down here for a meeting.

The continuation of the Turtle/Jaime romance really was fun to watch. It's a good way to loosen things up while the tense nature of what's going on with Vince goes on at the same time. They're oblivious to it. I like how Jaime continues to put her faith in Turtle, always looking for potential.

Lloyd gets involved and goes down the big time director list, hoping to get something to appease Warner Bros. and get rid of Werner as director, but no dice, so basically, the guys are stuck. This is the part in the show where everything turns. Everyone is mad or angry about something, but the focus is on how they can make Vince happy, and Vince just wants to head home. When Dana calls and informs the crew that there will be a meeting to determine it all, it's important to note the state of mind of all the people in the trailer: Ari is full bore ready to go. E is pissed off about being undermined. Drama, as per usual, feels like he's been disrespected. But it's Vince who continues to say he just wants to go home.

We of course get more great stuff between real-life sweethearts in Jaime and Turtle, and we FINALLY get to hear his real name on the show for the first time: Sal. Turtle continuing to open up and show growth is a great thing for the show. This can only better him.

The meeting scene was great organized chaos. Ari and Werner continue to bicker back and forth and E stays on the "Werner never liked Vince" kick, which peeves Werner because he doesn't know E is his manager. Ari tries to worm his way out of things, and puts everything down that Werner tries to do. When he names replacements for Vince, Ari is quick to point out that they are all working to show he has the upper hand. Meanwhile, when his ace in the hole, Hancock director Pete Berg, calls Ari back and tells him he can't take Werner's spot, all of a sudden, things blow up in Ari's face, even if he lies through his teeth. What follows is Werner storming out with Rammstein blaring, and going right to John Ellis himself, which is not only career suicide, but it also puts the movie in a tough spot. The inevitable scene of Ellis not being happy, not talking to anyone and still putting everyone in their place is done very well. Now, this elaborate plan of Ari's to get Vince this job and everything that hung on it: Vince's money, Dana's new job as studio head, his split with Babs...it's all been basically put on hold.

The final couple of minutes was really well done, and it's sad that Turtle's happiness gets eventually derailed, but we couldn't expect to go on forever, could we? The trip to Sea World gets cut short as Vince and Co. decide to head home, and we finally get to see what Vince meant: Not home as in L.A. It's home as in Queens. That's not all. The boys are rolling back home in coach.

The 411: The great thing about a show like Entourage is its balance, and I've mentioned it before. It's the rare show that's portrayed as a comedy that can truly dive into dramatic elements and thrive. This episode had it's comedic moments, but this was all about a story crafted over a season and how it all unfolds. With only the season finale to come, this episode was superb in bringing the character arcs together in preparation for the end, and underneath all the chaos, many questions remain. Will Vince ever be taken seriously? What will happen with Turtle and Jaime? E's new managing company? Drama's career? Ari's business? I have not seen how long the season finale will be next week, but HBO should be happy to allow them to make it as long as necessary, because this show has enjoyed a bounceback season like few have ever seen.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]