Lose Yourself (Entourage)

"Lose Yourself" is the seventh season finale of the American comedy-drama television series Entourage. It originally aired on HBO in the United States on September 12, 2010. The episode mainly centers on Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), whose issues begin to intensify between his ex-girlfriend and his current girlfriend, Sasha Grey. Although riddled with similar issues, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) collaborate with each other in an attempt to orchestrate an intervention for Vince, only for things to get worse.

"Lose Yourself" was written by Doug Ellin, and directed by David Nutter. The episode features guest and cameo appearances from notable music artists, including Christina Aguilera and Eminem. It marked the conclusion of the plot arc between Grey and Chase. The episode was well received by television critics. Upon its initial airing, it attained 2.72 million viewers and garnered a 1.6/4 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings.

Plot

After Sasha informs Vince that she will participate in a pornographic film, he expresses his disapproval. While on the set of production, the couple engage in an intense argument and simultaneously break up. Vincent storms off in anger. Meanwhile, Johnny and his friends orchestrate an intervention, much to Vincent's dismay. Enraged, he leaves the premises.

Eric begins to worry that his relationship with his fiancée may be crumbling. He has dinner with Sloan’s father, Terrence, but is shocked when Terrence asks him to sign a prenuptial agreement. Eric gets upset and confronts Sloan about it. She tells him they will talk about it when he gets home and he agrees. However, upon discovering that Murray has been reporting to Terrence, Eric changes his mind and instantly contacts Scott Lavin, telling him he'll side with Lavin who's planning on taking over the company which in turn will result in Murray losing his business.

Similarly, Ari suffers further setbacks in his personal life when despite his best efforts, his wife decides to leave him.

Overwhelmed with depression, Vincent consumes alcohol and cocaine in his hotel room. He then decides to attend Eminem's private party at the hotel lobby. He walks around being rude and offending guests and when asked to leave he refuses. Johnny attempts to bring him home, but Vincent refuses to go with him. After being greeted, Vince begins to insult Eminem. Angry, Eminem punches Vincent, initiating a brawl in the process. Vincent is rushed to the hospital shortly thereafter. A bloodied and bruised Vincent attempts to leave the hospital, despite the orders of the medical staff. As he nears the entrance, he is confronted by a police officer.

Confused, Vince hesitantly comes to the police officer, where the officer informs him that he has taken a bag of cocaine from his clothes which leaves everyone including Vince stunned.

Production

"Lose Yourself" was written by series creator Doug Ellin and directed by David Nutter.^[1] In June 2010, it was announced that Eminem and Christina Aguilera would make guest appearances in the episode.^[2][3][4] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ellin explained that "[Eminem] has a little conflict [...] with Vince [Adrian Grenier]."^[2] Similarly, Ellin revealed that Aguilera would perform a song in the episode, adding that "she [does] Ari a favor and [performs] at a party for him."^[2] Principal photography for the episode commenced shortly thereafter, and concluded two weeks later. In an interview with PopEater, Greiner revealed that he had offered Eminem a guest role in the series. He stated, "I actually met Eminem several months ago, interviewing him for a documentary we're making. He mentioned that he loved the show." Upon his approval, Greiner contacted creator Ellin, who agreed to cast Eminem for a future appearance.^[1] The episode was used to promote Recovery, the seventh studio album of Eminem.^[1][2]

"Lose Yourself" marks the conclusion of the plot arc between Sasha Grey and Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier). Grey was cast for the seventh season in May 2010, where she played a fictionalized version of herself, in a relationship with Chase.^[5]

The episode features appearances from several recurring actors and actresses for the series. "Lose Yourself" marked the introduction of Marci, who is portrayed by Illeana Douglas.^[6] Janet Montgomery reprised her role as Jenni, the assistant of Eric Murphy. This would be Montgomery's first recurring appearance in the series since "Sniff Sniff Gang Bang".^[7] Rhys Coiro guest starred as Billy Walsh, having last appeared in the season seven episode "Porn Scenes from an Italian Restaurant".^[8] Other appearances include Bob Odenkirk, Jami Gertz, Dania Ramirez, and Malcolm McDowell.^{[9][10][11][12][13]} Cameo appearances were made by Mark Cuban, Drew Brees, John Cleese, Jordan Farmar, Ryan Howard, Minka Kelly, The Alchemist, Paul Rosenberg, Royce da 5'9", and Kon Artis.^[13]

Reception

"Lose Yourself" was initially broadcast on September 12, 2010, in the United States on HBO. It received 2.72 million viewers upon airing, and garnered a 1.6/4 rating in the 18-49 demographic.^[14] Total viewership was up 8% from the previous season finale;^[15] however, total viewership and ratings for the episode were slightly down from the previous episode, "Porn Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", which was viewed by 2.86 million households and achieved a 1.8/5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, according to the Nielsen ratings.^[16]

Critics were polarized by the plot arc between Adrian Grenier (left) and Sasha Grey (right).

"Lose Yourself" was well received by most television critics. James Poniewozik of Time has mixed reactions to the episode. He was critical of the plot arc between Grey and Chase, harshly criticizing Grey's acting and expressing that "[he] didn't think that Adrian Grenier had completely sold Vince’s downward spiral." He continued: "There’s something half-jokey about his manner that makes me think he’s about to break up laughing, as in a blooper reel."^[17] In contrast, Poniewozik felt that "for the first time in a while, I’m really interested to see what happens on Entourage next."^[17] Dan Philips of IGN gave the episode a nine out of ten, signifying an "amazing" rating. Philips praised "Lose Yourself", opining that it was an "excellent, extremely entertaining climax to this season's two main plot lines." He added, "Even though the episode never got around to providing any resolution, the overall journey was engaging enough to make its cliffhanger feel less like a cheap trick to get us to tune in for season eight."^[18] Similar sentiments were expressed by Josh Wagler of MTV, who praised Grenier's performance, opining that it was his best performance to date.^[19] The A.V. Club writer Kyle Ryan gave the episode a 'B-' grade. Ryan wrote, "The last episode teed up tonight’s many confrontations [...]. For a show that has specialized in spinning its wheels, these were surprisingly high stakes."^[20] He was critical with the development of Vincent Chase, as well as his storyline with Sasha Grey, commenting that "Vincent and his coterie just aren’t that interesting."^[20]

Blair Marnell of CraveOnline gave the episode an eight out of ten rating, noting that the episode "hit its dramatic points." Marnell commended Grenier's acting, as he opined, "I've never hated Vince before this season, but that's the reaction that he was meant to elicit. Vince has always been a little bit shallow, but never to this extent. Vince never told his friends that they needed him more than he needed them before. And while it's definitely true to a certain extent, part of Vince's charm was that he never threw that back in their faces."^[21] In concurrence, TV Fanatic's Eric Hochberger expressed that "Lose Yourself" was a "stellar season finale with plenty of unanswered cliffhangers for next season." Concluding his review, Hochberger gave the episode a 4.5 out of 5 stars.^[22]

References

External links

• "Lose Yourself" at HBO.com
• "Lose Yourself" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Lose Yourself" at TV.com