ARTICLE JUMP
- The Struggle
- Drama Living Up To His Name
- The Intense Anticipation
- Drugs
- Coming Around Full Circle
Season five began with the bleakest outlook of any season thus far. Medellin has completely bombed, ravaged by the critics, and Vince is finally tested on his abilities rather than his big-name face. Fans were first drawn in by the glamorous lifestyle of the Entourage crew, but now that everyone has gotten involved with each character, we see them pushed to their limits. We're forced to go through the failures now that we care so much about what happens to Vince. I used to think that this was one of the most consistently entertaining shows on television, but now I have to give it credit for also being one of the best written as well.
Johnny Drama is one of the most fun characters to watch in this series, with his cocky and oddly serious cadence, but he was really over the top in season five. Over losing his foreign girlfriend and the rising popularity of his show, he just goes out of control. He is constantly overly pessimistic, showing his true colors of how he earned the nickname Drama. From his crying confession on "The View" to puking on a giant birthday cake while helping Vince sing "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," Drama is as beautifully ridiculous as he's ever been.
Season four was filled with a lot of funny episodes that strayed from the main plot. While giving everyone good laughs throughout, they rarely had me jumping at the bit for the next week's episode. Season five was all about wondering how Vince was going to get out of his predicament of finding a job after the Medellin bomb. Every episode left me wondering where it was going, especially everything surrounding Smoke Jumpers. At the end of second-to-last episode, I wasn't sure I could wait a week to find out what happens. The whole season was a huge guessing game, with all kinds of ups and downs that left you constantly impatient, an effect that television rarely has on me.
The crew is now distinctly in their early thirties, and it's hard to continue showing them as partying youngsters as things need to get more serious. But in the desperation of Vince's failing career, they all go out to Joshua Tree for a spiritual shroom trip, Ari and Eric Roberts in tow. Not only does this border on insanity and utter confusion, but also the dialogue during the trip was spot-on. Only when things are looking this bleak would they be pushed to something this odd, and they come out of it with almost no realizations, but only more fear.
Entourage fans know that most seasons have ended on the cusp of impending mistakes that are only solved in the last five minutes of the last episode. This season, it was so difficult to guess how Vince was going to get another job; it crossed my mind that this would again end on a down note like season four. But in true Entourage fashion, Martin Scorsese offers Vince the lead in his new movie, giving everyone hope for better things to come. The perks of celebrity are what enticed viewers from the beginning, and they bring back some of that first-season magic that we all know and love.
(Campbell)
