After last week’s mostly uneventful episode, I was starting to get worried that this final season might end up being just a whole bunch of filler. But thankfully, there’s plenty to talk about tonight, starting with the latest development from the Vincent Chase career rehabilitation saga. Though it wasn’t totally surprising that Vince would botch his interview with the Vanity Fair reporter once he realized that she was smoking hot, I expected much worse to come from all his flirting. Instead, Vince took it upon himself to make things right, and though he did successfully smooth things over by giving a good second interview, he still had the urge to hit on her again when it was over. Vince claims that he’s in love, but this has happened too many times before for anyone to seriously believe that it’ll end any differently.
And as one Chase brother attempts to put his career back together, the other is coming dangerously close to tearing his apart. Then again, can you blame him? While Drama has tried to stick it out after Dice’s decision to walk from the show, his new replacement has become insufferable to work with, even going so far as to criticize his performance in the recording booth. Desperate to get Dice back at any cost, Drama makes the unselfish offer to give him the difference in his pay so that they would be making the same amount. Dice graciously declines, however, stating that if anyone’s going to pay him, it’ll be the network, and is confident they’re going to give in to his demands soon.
But Phil doesn’t think that’s the case, letting Drama in on the secret that the network is so pleased with his work that they’re planning to tailor the entire show around him. Granted, I thought that’s what they were doing this whole time by making a cartoon called “Johnny’s Bananas,” but I digress. Drama feels that if the network really believes in him that much, however, that they would be willing to do anything he asks, so he decides to walk from the show in an attempt to convince them that the cartoon will only be successful with Dice’s involvement. That would have been a pretty boneheaded decision a few weeks ago, but now that Drama knows what he does, it’s his best chance of saving the show. It also proves just how much he’s matured over the last eight seasons, because I don’t think a younger Drama would have done the same.
Meanwhile, the chances of Ari getting back together with his wife are looking smaller and smaller each week. After a day at Disneyland with the kids gets cancelled due to work, Mrs. Ari informs him that she’s filing for a divorce – not because of his recent fling with Dana, but because he consistently puts work before family. I think we all knew that this was where things were heading all along, but it’s still strange to watch as it develops, especially because Ari and his wife always seemed like the one (somewhat) healthy relationship on the show. Fortunately, that only opens the door for Ari and Dana to hook up permanently. You may have been able to cut the tension between the two of them with a knife during that earlier meeting, but Dana seems willing to give Ari another chance, and I can’t imagine him messing it up again. The two are perfect for each other, if maybe a little too much.
Other thoughts from the episode:
* The whole subplot revolving around Eric banging Sloan’s ex-stepmother (and then learning that she did it to get revenge on Terrence) was so silly and contrived that, quite honestly, it doesn’t even deserve a mention here. It was likely just included as a way to keep the Eric-Sloan break-up fresh in everyone’s mind for their inevitable reunion.
* With all this talk from Turtle about his plans for Don Peppe’s, we’ve yet to see any actual progress on his part. Why would Vince even bother promoting it if it’s still nothing more than an idea? And with only three more episodes to go, it doesn’t look like that’s going to change any time soon.
* Ari needs to get drunk more often, because tonight’s bender resulted in one of his funniest scenes in a while. “Fuck you, plant. Fuck you, 20 inch screen…” Apparently, the Ari we all know and love has been hiding at the bottom of a bottle all this time.
