I've been a fan of Entourage since it started.
In many ways, it was crafted to be HBO's answer to "Sex and the City" for guys.
It gives you a half hour to hang out with four people who are far cooler than you are or could possibly be.
Initially, I rolled my eyes with the storyline that had Vince getting addicted to Coke (not pictured).
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I was not alone in thinking that the first few episodes of Entourage this season were just awful.
The plot didn't seem to be going anywhere.
OK, I get it, Vince is with a porn star (Sasha Gray), Turtle is working with a Tequila company, Johnny can't find work, and E is whipped.
It felt old and played.
As I once heard, there's nothing worse than bad drug acting.
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But along the way, and frankly, I think by accident, Entourage started picking up steam.
Vince's dissent into madness started becoming more and more interesting.
The show became interesting by violating one of its central rules.
On Entourage, you always cheered for the guys.
They were the underdogs; the outsiders trying to navigate their way around Hollywood, all the while taking time to appreciate every excesses of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll.
But all of a sudden, Vince became an as***le.
I mean really an unlikable, self-destructive, ungrateful prick.
It was an interesting character choice.
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Meanwhile, Ari Gold, the picture of control, was losing his ***t.
At work, with his wife, Ari's sweet talking wasn't working anymore.
He was becoming vulnerable to attack from all forces both internally with work and with his wife's usual Saint-like patience.
Ari's sharp tongue became a problem, not his solution.
For once, he was held accountable for the awful things that he routinely says.
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In the finale, Ari and Vince both fell apart.
Vince's excess, reached a crescendo that included an ass-kicking by Eminem (a fight scene that thankfully came off better than the Zach Morris-AC Slater fight from 'Saved By The Bell')and a potential drug arrest.
Ari's self-obsession and sharp tongue cost him the only thing he professed to care about: his family.
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It's funny, in America we love to build people up and tear them down.
We love watching people reach the American Dream and then absolutely **ck it up.
It's what we do to celebs in real life, and now, it's what we've done to the fearless foursome in Entourage.
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My advice to the show, walk away.
Right now.
Don't redeem Vince in some cheesy way.
You've reached the absolute peak of my interest, now's the perfect time to peace out.
They won't, I'm sure.
The show will come back at some point and it will inevitably jump the shark.
But for now, I want to freeze this moment when the show more closely resembled "Boogey Nights" than an after school special.
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