Stranglehold

Play it: Entourage - Ep. 312

First of all, congrats to J-Piv for bringing home the hardware last night for his portrayal of superagent Ari on Entourage. Fitting, then, that we see his character getting canned in last night's (sort of*) season finale, all to the tune of Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold."

Now before the boo-hoos and ballyhoos, let it be said that it's pretty obvious that Ari's not gone from the show. The upcoming 8-pack of eps (coming January) is sure to have Ari scrambling to get his meal-ticket back, and if anything, seeing J-Piv grovel as Ari will be worth the HBO sub alone. Add to that the fact that Rex Lee (as Lloyd) was a revelation this season, and it's pretty obvious that Entourage would crumble under it's own 'insiderness' without the Ari/Lloyd act.

Most of last night's action came w/o the aid (or need) of a soundtrack, so the musical moments were sparse, but besides the aforementioned Motor City Madman classic during the firing (and closing credits) there was also a nice moment when the gang all walks into Ari's office, w/ synchronized walk (ala Reservoir Dogs?) to the tune of Kings of Leon's great song "Taper Jean Girl." It marked a return, of sorts, to the camarederie of season 2, where more then a few Kings of Leon tracks backed the action.

*There's actually 8 episodes left in the season, coming in January (courtesy of the Gay Assistants Corps.)

More:
Full tracklistings with scene descriptions
Entertainment Weekly analyzes this episode
TMZ's Entourage Decoder for this episode
Final Scene (Video via AOL)

Previously:
TV on the Radio on the TV (Episode 33 / 311)
Shoot'em in the back now (Episode 32 / 310)
My entourage can beat up your entourage (Episode 31 / 309)
Willy Wonka Queens (Episode 30 / 308)
Suspended in limbo (Episode 29/307)
A bird in the hand... (Episode 28 / 306)
Fair to Medellin (Episodes 25-27/ 303-305)
I am an orange god (Episode 24 / 302)
The top-tall turn-off (Episode 23 / 301)
Let's hug it out again, b*tch (Season 2 soundtrack and dvd)
Heartbreak Vince (Episode 22)
Show me the money (Episode 21)
Sympathy for the Ari (Episode 20)
Headed for a Gigli (Episode 19)
That's Hebrew for 'When do you get off?' (Episode 18)
Comic-consies (Episode 17)
Mandy Moore is Aquaman's kryptonite (Episode 16)
Cross-sword traffic (Episode 15)
Crouching Turtle, hidden Drama (Episode 14)
More Bob Saget on drugs (Episode 13)
Bring out the suit (Episode 11 & 12)
My Maserati Does 185 (Episode 10)
Let's Hug It Out, Bitch (Episode 9 - Season 2 Premiere)

tags: playlist, entourage, television, hbo, soundtrack, ted nugent, kings of leon, libertine, rap, hip-hop, the ramones