By Mark La Monica
It may very have been the most perfectly acted scene in the history of "Entourage." Not the funniest, just so we're clear, but the most perfectly acted.
E runs into Sloan at the pool at the W Hotel in Westwood while he's flirting with Heather the hot British chick.
He approached Sloan to say hello. It was awkward. Always is. The dialogue went like this:
E: "Sloan, this is Juliette."Heather: "Heather."
E: "Wow. Really."
It continued from there, but you get the point. It always happens that way. You never get anything right the first time you run into an ex, except of course for the ex's name.
Why?
It's simple. Relationships usually end badly, which is why they usually end. Think about it. How many relationships have you ended where both parties were genuinely happy about it? One, maybe?
When they end, someone is emotionally shredded. And when the two parties involved meet, it's just plain awkward because the one who did the shredding wants to appear nice and compassionate and the who got shredded wants to appear unaffected by the termination.
And since that first meeting always happens at a random time when you're either flirting with someone else or watching the ex do those same little things that drive you wild (in a good way) with someone else. It stirs up all those emotions again and can set back your rehab another 28 days. It's not fun.
It's what made the E-Sloan meeting so painful and identifiable. We've all been there. From the awkward "Do I hug or kiss or shake or do nothing upon greetings and salutations?" to that extended stare as she walks away and you know you'll never get another chance to fall asleep in her arms. From the inevitable "I'm an idiot" to the post-game press conference you hold with whoever will listen.
At the conclusion of that scene, every guy watching this episode said, "Dude, E. I feel your pain" or some reasonable facsimile.
How should you handle that first meeting? It's a tough call. It always occurs on a whim, but you can still be prepared.
Some common theories:
• Overact and pretend everything is great
• Get mad and obnoxious and cause a scene
• Fake being really drunk
• Look the other way and hope she didn't see you
• Get up and leave
• Try for some breakup sex
• Rip the Band-Aid off and just get it over with
All have been tried with varying degrees of success and failure. There is no one answer to this question, though. It all depends on how brutal the breakup was. Some may lead to a rather cordial meeting and exchange of pleasantries. Others may lead you to taking back the gifts you gave them when you were together, selling them on Ebay and then sending them the link to the completed auction.
When we interviewed Kevin Connolly as E back in June, you could tell he was still a bit upset about the Sloan breakup.
Comments (8)
dude did you get my last post? i'm giving you a scoop here. I'll double confirm it tomorrow.later
i don't think heather was hot. plus, drama said it best, british chicks are stuffy.
Annonymous, if you don't think Heather is hot i have to question your sexuality. or maybe you're a woman.
Unitards. They're the key to getting through a breakup.
Heather was hot. Period.
You know what I was expecting? Tori. Sloan's friend from the threesome episode and it's aftermath.
Tori popping up somehow or somewhere would REALLY mess Eric up in one way or another...
who was the actress who played heather?
what is the name of the british actress? (heather)
It was painful and awkward and made me want to jump through the tv set and give Eric a hug. I felt that way doubletime when he finds out Sloan is dating someone. Kevin Connolly has a way of coming off as so vulnerable, which makes him very appealing to the females in the audience (more than Vince in a lot of ways). This is always in contrast to his scenes with Ari, or when he is joking around with the boys. You just gotta love Eric and Kevin!