Amongst Friends (Entourage)
The boys attend the Gatsby premiere; Ari uncovers a secret.
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"Amongst Friends" serves as the second installment of Entourage's sixth season and the 68th episode overall. Executive producer Ally Musika penned the script, while co-executive producer Mark Mylod directed. HBO aired it on July 19, 2009. The plot centers on the group attending the premiere of Gatsby, while Ari uncovers a secret involving Andrew that threatens to disrupt his marriage.
Plot
In the episode, Vince, Turtle, and Drama assist Eric with moving into his new home. For the premiere, Eric asks Sloan to be his date, Vince brings a woman named Lisa (played by an uncredited actress, not Gal Gadot, who never appeared on Entourage), and Turtle plans to take Jamie-Lynn Sigler. Drama, the only one without a companion, invites a clerk named Kelly. Meanwhile, Ari asks Melissa to spend time with Andrew's wife, Marlo, before the event.
Melissa and Marlo quickly bond, but Ari grows frustrated when he learns Andrew is pursuing a young agent at Miller Gold, Lizzie Grant, and warns him to stop. Lloyd is shown on a crash diet at Ari's demand for a promotion. Eric insists he and Sloan are just friends, though he has feelings for his neighbor, Ashley.
At the premiere, Eric is surprised to see Ashley. On the red carpet, Sigler publicly announces her relationship with Turtle, and they kiss. Ari confronts Andrew for proceeding with the affair, ordering him to end it for his marriage's sake.
Eric confesses he wants to rekindle things with Sloan, but she declines, saying she isn't ready. After the premiere, the group celebrates at the mansion, though Eric remains unhappy. They encourage him to pursue Ashley, and he decides to visit her. As he leaves, he receives a text from Sloan apologizing, but he deletes it and continues on.
Development
The episode was written by Ally Musika, marking his eighth writing credit, and directed by Mark Mylod, his 18th directing credit for the series.
Critical reviews
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode drew an estimated 2.69 million household viewers and earned a 1.6/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. This represented a 21% drop from the previous episode, which had 3.40 million viewers and a 1.3 share. Critics gave the episode positive reviews, deeming it an improvement over the season premiere. Ahsan Haque of IGN rated it 8.7 out of 10, calling it "another fantastic outing." Josh Modell of The A.V. Club found it "pretty decent,"
Narrative & Character Threads
The episode weaves together multiple romantic and professional storylines set against the backdrop of a high-profile movie premiere. Eric, needing a date for the Gatsby event, enlists his friends' help: Vince brings a woman named Lisa, Turtle secures Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Sloan agrees to accompany Eric. Drama, left without a partner, improvises by inviting a clerk named Kelly. Meanwhile, Ari's storyline takes a darker turn when he uncovers that Andrew has developed a romantic interest in one of his young agent employees, Lizzie Grant.
Ari warns Andrew to stop, but the older man proceeds anyway, forcing Ari to publicly chastise him at the premiere. Eric's own romantic confusion peaks when he confesses his feelings to Sloan, only to be gently rejected. The boys rally around him, pushing him toward his neighbor Ashley. As Eric walks out of the mansion to visit her, a text from Sloan arrives with an apology—he deletes it without a second thought, signaling his commitment to moving forward.
Behind the Camera: Writing & Direction
Amongst Friends sits at the intersection of two creative professionals building their track records on Entourage. The script was penned by executive producer Ally Musika, marking her eighth writing credit on the series, while the helm was in the hands of co-executive producer Mark Mylod, for whom it represented his eighteenth directing assignment. The episode, the second installment of the sixth season and the sixty-eighth in the show's overall run, hit HBO's airwaves on July 19, 2009.
The pairing of a seasoned writer with a director still accumulating credits reflects the show's practice of rotating creative talent through its episodes. The series itself follows Vincent Chase, a young A-list movie star, and his childhood friends from Queens, New York, as they navigate the competitive world of Los Angeles entertainment. This particular episode channels that premise into a single, event-driven night—the Gatsby premiere—where personal secrets and romantic entanglements collide under the glare of red-carpet cameras.
Critical Acclaim & Audience Response
Critics largely embraced Amongst Friends, viewing it as a meaningful step up from the season's opening episode. Ahsan Haque of IGN awarded it a strong 8.7 out of 10, calling it a fantastic outing and noting how refreshing it was to see Vince in a happy, worry-free state while hinting that future challenges loomed. Josh Modell of The A.V. Club described the episode as pretty decent, singling out the dynamic between Ari and Gary Cole's character Andrew as a standout.
Emily Christner of TV Guide highlighted the Ashley subplot, commending Eric for hopping back on the wagon. Jonathan Toomey of TV Squad felt the episode was noticeably more cohesive than the premiere and praised both the chemistry between Jami Gertz and Jeremy Piven's character as well as the surprise public announcement of Turtle and Jamie-Lynn Sigler's relationship. On the viewership front, Nielsen Media Research recorded an estimated 2.69 million household viewers, though this represented a 21 percent drop from the prior episode's 3.40 million.
Notable Appearances & Casting
The episode features a handful of guest performers whose brief appearances left a mark on the series. Gal Gadot, who would later achieve global recognition as Wonder Woman, plays Lisa, the woman Vince brings to the Gatsby premiere. Jamie-Lynn Sigler makes a memorable red-carpet moment by publicly announcing her relationship with Turtle and sharing a kiss in front of cameras—a beat that critics singled out as one of the episode's highlights. Jami Gertz steps in as Marlo, Andrew's wife, and her scenes with Jeremy Piven's Ari were described by reviewers as particularly funny and well-matched.
Autumn Reeser appears as Lizzie Grant, the young agent employee at Miller Gold whose involvement with Andrew sets off Ari's central conflict. Perrey Reeves plays Melissa, the friend asked to keep Marlo company before the event, and Azita Ghanizada portrays Kelly, the clerk who accepts Drama's last-minute invitation. These ensemble choices give the premiere-night setting a sense of lived-in reality beyond the core cast.
More in Entourage episodes
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Amongst Friends (Entourage) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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