[IMG:L]10:01: Allen Gray (Paul Ben-Victor) is back, and bitterer than ever. The Paramount boss/golf enthusiast will clearly factor into Vince’s comeback, which doesn’t bode well for Vince.
10:02: Ari wants Vince to choose the lucrative Benji role over the indie-leaning Smoke Jumpers role for far less dough (and screen time). On an unrelated note, Ari is not wearing a suit!
10:04: There’s only one way to decide if Vince should do Benji: a mushroom-fueled trip to Joshua Tree–it’s the entourage’s version of Rock-Paper-Scissors. And there’s only one way to get the best ‘shrooms in town: Eric Roberts, of course! The up-and-down-and-up-again journeyman actor (hot off a surprising appearance in The Dark Knight) chauffeurs the gang to the desert in his grooooovy Winnebago.
10:07: Best Johnny Drama quote of the episode: “A lotta great artists are late to potty train.”
10:08: Best porn-star sighting of the episode: Katie Morgan (Google her for more info…and leave the SafeSearch function on if you’re at work!).
10:09: Lloyd has to make a tough choice of his own: Keep his promise to his boyfriend Tom (Brandon Quinn) and host game night for their friends, or take Ari’s orders to watch his dog. Lloyd chooses both.
10:10: It’s weird to see E take ‘shrooms–and even weirder to witness Ari’s first experience; it’s less weird to see Vince and Turtle partaking; and it’s damn near expected to see Drama making a peanut-butter-and-mushroom sandwich!
10:14: Ari trying to talk to his wife and kids as the mushrooms kick in is hilarious. However, Ari trying to talk to–and bribe–his young son as the mushrooms kick in? Kinda creepy. Funny, sure, but creepy nonetheless.
10:16: Suddenly Benji sounds good…literally.
10:18: The guys lose Turtle’s beloved dog Arnold after Drama mistook him for a rock. It’s nice to see Johnny get some funny scenes after a largely cringe-worthy start to his season.
10:22: After losing track of both Ari and Arnold, the gang must choose which one to look for in the pitch-black desert. Meanwhile, E not talking while on ‘shrooms is great–he makes such perfect sense as ‘that guy.’
10:23: Uh-oh: Vince is speaking in the third-person!
10:25: With both Ari and Arnold finally found and reunited with the guys, they all howl Vince’s decision at the moon: Benji.
10:26: What episode would be complete without the ‘Oh, sh*t’ phone call? It’s Ari’s wife (Perrey Reeves)–Lloyd has thrown a swim party for his all-male guests…at the Gold household!
10:27: With the trip–and the episode–winding down, Vince sees firefighters putting out flames on the road. Which changes his mind to Smoke Jumpers, and more or less wipes out the whole answer-seeking purpose of the Joshua Tree voyage. Frankly, it would’ve been nice to see the episode just end on a high note.
10:29: Previews for next week: Dom (Domenick Lombardozzi) is back, and although he’s the most hated character in Entourage‘s history, it’s pretty clear that this season was in dire need of a shake-up.
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