The arrogant alpha-male with a heart worthy of his name, Ari Gold (coolly portrayed by Jeremy Piven) is transcending his asshole image with a heartbreaking arc on the eighth and final season of HBO's bromance/drama/comedy Entourage, as a vulnerable everyman caught in the throes of divorce and remorse. The hard-working anti-hero consistently put his career before his patient wife and kids throughout the course of the show. Now he's suffering the consequences after his attention starved other-half simply got fed up.
[Spoiler alert: We are not responsible for what you will learn if you read on yet are not caught up to the current episode.]
"He makes a real transformation based on the fact that he's losing his wife and family," three-time Emmy Award winner
Piven said. Ari was furious to learn during
last week's episode that while he's mourning their separation, his wife of 19 years, played by
Perrey Reeves, is hooking up with handsome celebrity chef
Bobby Flay.
"The character is completely gutted this season and lost," he stresses. "For seven years he's been incredibly focused on his career; Ari can be a force of nature, but to reveal that he's really human is a great opportunity." Ari's focus falters on tonight's episode when he's forgotten to tell Lloyd to shop Vince's TV movie script, it's a poignant moment that clearly shows-- if his career is suffering, he too must be. And when a younger girl throws herself at Ari, he declines and calls his frenemy Dana Gordon.
"I realistically wanted to show what a divorce could be like for a powerful guy in this town," said creator
Doug Ellin. "I wanted to get back to the show's roots, the friendships from the first season . . . that feel of the guys all really coming together for each other. I always saw it as a show about guys who are lifelong friends with the backdrop of Hollywood."
Will the Entourage writing team let Ari writhe in misery, making him a cautionary tale of what happens when you take love for granted? Or will the sheep in wolf's clothing Ari Gold get back his queen, hug it out, and have a happy ending?
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