What I’m Watching: Entourage

Entourage: Season 6, Episode 9 “Security Briefs” (B-)

Well, at least this whole security hoopla is over. It turns out it was nothing more than an inane sorority prank to steal Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s boyfriend’s underwear, which, to be honest, seems incredibly silly and stupid. It never really fit the “Entourage” mold during the whole time it occupied a disproportionate amount of Vince’s storyline. Drama’s hot-headed attempt to seek vigilante justice at the sex club was ill-fated from its very inception, and a bit more creepy than funny. I’ve had it with Ashley’s jealously, since that girl really just can’t trust a single thing that Eric does and it’s getting infuriatingly irritating. It’s not as if she brings anything to the table in terms of interesting character traits, and therefore it doesn’t make much sense for Eric to be with her or for the show to devote so much of its time to her and their doomed relationship. The most striking plotline in this episode is the dissolution of Lloyd’s loyalty to Ari. The smooth-talking agent has been despicable and horrible to his underlings and, quite frankly, to everyone he’s encountered over the past five years on this show, but never has he seemed quite so cruel as in this episode. It’s an impressive move on the part of Adam Davies as a revenge ploy against Ari for stealing his biggest client, but I find it hard to believe that this is when Lloyd would finally crack after suffering years of abuse at Ari’s hands. His abandonment of Ari’s car in the middle of the road was an excellent departure, but it’s really too bad because Lloyd excelled at being Ari’s assistant, and giving him too much power and responsibility may be a mistake. More Lloyd is a good thing, but a more confident, secure Lloyd? I don’t know about that. I will say that this week’s self-portraying celebrity guest stars deserve commendation for not falling prey to the same dullness that Gus Van Sant and James Cameron did. Zac Efron was momentarily funny and amusing in his reaction to a young girl’s mother fawning over him, and Frank Darabont kept his cool while telling Vince to arm himself like he did after a crazed inmate wrote to him and said he wanted to “shawshank him in the ass.” Two great brief performances, and I hope that future celebrities who stop by the show follow their stellar leads.