[Drama Review] 'Entourage' - Episode 8

AKP STAFF

Amber, Sohee, Lee Kwang Soo, Seo Kang Jun, Lee Dong Hwi

Quote of the day from 'Entourage' episode 8, courtesy of the lovely Miss Joy Jung (played by f(x)'s Amber): "Why worry? You can just start back up again. You have the ability to!"

But who's the real BOSS in this shot really tho..?

No but seriously. Who knew things were gonna come crashing down this fast! Not me! This latest episode had literally wave after wave of bad, depressing, mood-killing news after news after news... Let's start with CEO Kim Eun Gap (Jo Jin Woong) of Ok & Gap Entertainment, since the episode starts with his weird dream. If that's how entertainment CEOs (such as Cube's papa Hong Seung Sung, who suddenly left the company then just as suddenly returned to his position again) get kicked out of their places in real life, it's pretty scary! In K-Pop alone, we see a lot of former employees of such and such big companies starting up their own, small labels, and this is the case Eun Gap is facing after being fired by CEO Kang Ok Ja. His crew only consists of Cha Young Bin (Seo Kang Jun), Lee Ho Jin (Park Jung Min), Joy Jung, and, most likely, Cha Jun (Lee Kwang Soo) and Turtle (Lee Dong Hwi). Not only was it hard to watch Eun Gap, whom we know to be a caring family man despite his foul mouth and temper, become smaller and smaller but also what did CEO Kang mean when she said the whole, "You'll know why I did this to you 10 years later, when you work with someone just like you..."? That remains a mystery for me, one we might see brought back later (hopefully).

Put that down Eun Gap, that's not food.

Not only is Eun Gap stripped of all his pride as a CEO but also we get a whole other roller coaster ride thanks to Young Bin going through the most petty, stubborn, hard-headed phase of this entire series yet. Somehow, the previews from next week say it's going to get worse. He's so blindly in love with Ahn So Hee (Sohee), his childhood friend and first love, but he's also pretty blind to So Hee's own desires in her career path. After they fight the first time, So Hee actually suggests that they don't talk about work when they're together anymore, but he freaking brings it up again like literally the next time they see each other! I know everyone cringed when he said to her that he doesn't want her kissing other actors or filming bed scenes with them. I know we all did, and that's why we really can't object here at the end of the episode, when Young Bin says they broke up, because So Hee probably dumped him right there and then for a damn good reason, right?

Other than kissing, they really don't do much...

This is also a good place to mention a slight theme we had going on this episode regarding women's positions in society in Korea. At first, when the whole Eun Gap & Joy convo came up, I was like, "WTF?" but then I saw that the drama was actually trying to make a statement about it, so I let it play out, and although the theme was only touched on rather lightly, I still saw some good come out of it. So it starts with Joy speaking up to Eun Gap about how he's always scolding her for doing "unwomanly" things like having tattoos, dressing "mannishly," etc. And Eun Gap's response has us raising our eyebrows at first because he's arguing that he's right and whatnot, but at the end of the episode, the two of them manage to work it out not because Eun Gap laid his towel down first but Joy. Which I see as a very realistic portrayal. Obviously, the one with the more open perspective on society is Joy, not Eun Gap, and Eun Gap will always argue and say the wrong things sometimes because he's that kind of person (and kinda got laid off because of it). Joy, understanding Eun Gap for the person that he is first, accepts that Eun Gap doesn't mean to offend her when he says dumb things and obliges when Eun Gap proposes to apologize to her every time he says such things to her again in the future. It's a very real solution, one probably many people are facing out there today.

Secondly, there's So Hee and her position as an actress. Even though the argument that takes place between the entertainment companies and the movie investor about whose name goes first in the credits between So Hee's and Young Bin's is a petty fight in their situation, they speak up for actresses everywhere when So Hee says to Young Bin, "It's true that actresses' names always come out after the actors' names. Even though they played roles just as important. Why can't my name come out before yours?" All in all, the storyline will have to decide if the disagreements between Young Bin and So Hee in their relationship come from the same perspective issues of men vs. women in society that Eun Gap and Joy had or if Young Bin and So Hee just weren't meant to be entirely. Which would you prefer?

FYI, this face was born for variety shows.

There's a good bit more happening in this episode with some of the other key characters, but of course, I have to mention the part where Cha Jun got cast to be on a variety show! Deja-vu much? Anyway, Cha Jun's situation in the episode is great not just for lightening up the mood in the midst of all of the bad news in the story but also for dropping reminders of this drama's core vibe, that everything will work out in the end. So for those of you who may have been going /OMG whatretheygonnadonow/ and /Cha Young Bin wtfiswrongwithyou/, don't worry THAT much about what's gonna happen to Young Bin and his four friends or Eun Gap or So Hee, just give them all a chance to pull through. I'm happy to give this episode the best score I've given this drama yet (I think). Although, I'm pretty sure there were absolutely zero cameos this episode... I personally really like the cameos... oh well. Until next time!