People argue about the worst series finale of all-time. Each spring, when a show ends, the internet's invaded by lists counting down to the worst series finale ever produced. Now we have a consensus winner--the series finale for Entourage. A show without meaning, stakes, developed characters, short cuts, laziness, and piss poor arcing, combined its weaknesses into one final episode that left me hoping Ellin never fools a movie studio into green lighting a feature-length film for the series.
"The End" was about friendship and love. Relationship conflicts were resolved once Vince stunned his friends with news of pending nuptials with Sophia. Apparently, the dinner and sex went so well that Vince felt an immediacy to marry the Vanity Fair journalist. The quick marriage felt right for this actor in Hollywood, a place where many actors and actresses quickly married without rhyme or reason. The series finale reflected the series as a whole, of course. Four friends came from Queens, looking for success, found it, and now they're ready to leave the City of Angels to raise a baby or be with their spouse. Their goals were met; their dreams came true.
The penultimate episode took care of the lingering they-only-exist-because-we-have-eight-episodes-of-stories-and-we-need-to-waste-time conflicts so that "The End" focused on the friendships and relationships. Instances of the episode reminded me what I once liked about the show--like when Ari and Lloyd bantered and when Turtle and Drama schemed and charmed their way into accomplishing a means to an end. The scene within the airplane hangar, when the old gang were gathered for a flight to Paris, featured call-backs to seasons gone-by (such as "hug it out, bitch," "E is short" jokes, etc). I remembered how I forgave the lack of plot, lack of stakes, and the rest of the aforementioned weaknesses because the boys were fun to hang with four 25+ minutes a week. The episodes were fun, and then the fun stopped. In its place came disastrous episodes about Turtle's relationships with Meadow or the girl from Heroes; the fall of Vince Chase; E's romantic foibles with Sloan. The writers forgot what made the character dynamics work along with a host of other things.
The scene in the hangar represented the totality of Entourage. The events that led to the scene were contrived, a product of laziness. Sophia could've been a believable soul mate for Vince had he loved her for what she did for him during the interview; however, Vince possesses as much depth as a paper bag, and offers vague reasons for why she's meant for him. In defense of the show, Turtle and Drama react like the audience. The hope, it seems, would be the audience embracing the idea like Turtle and Drama. Turtle shrugs then supports his friend's decision because he's his friend. The audience is supposed to like Vince, root for Vince and, therefore, feel the same as his friends. With a stronger lead and a better-written character, I could've been swayed but Vince Chase is a terrible character.
Eric and Sloan reunited. The Aris reunited. In fact, Ari acted completely opposite of his client. The writers chose to tell with Vince and Sophia (and they had no choice considering the series ended after their first date) whereas they chose to show Ari's love for his wife. Unable to deceive himself any longer about how work interferes with family, Ari sold the company to Babs and moved the family to Florence. Ari gave Lloyid his blessing to be the next great agent in Hollywood, someone loyal and honest who never compromises who he is or loves for work (like Ari did for so many years).
As recently as three or four months ago, Ellin commented on the possible series finale. The creator and show runner admitted that he didn't know how the show would end. He chose the safe, predictable route--one that involved the circularity of his characters' journey, one that involved the friends returning to New York (if it came to that). It was a finale as lazy as the entire season. I won't miss the show and I'll never think about it again.
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
I enjoyed the finale, but that's cause I watched the whole series within a few months, and we won't have to wait long until a movie. Turtle's growth throughout the season was also very apparent; when they go on the plane you see Drama trying to "get with" the hostess, but Turtle shakes her hand. Cute.
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