The End (Entourage)

In its original American broadcast, "The End" was seen by an estimated 2.61 million household viewers with a 1.6 in the 18–49 demographics. This means that 1.6 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.^[3] This was a 51% increase in viewership with the previous episode, which was watched by an estimated 1.72 million household viewers with a 1.0 in the 18–49 demographics.^[4]

"The End" received mixed reviews from critics.^[5] Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "D" grade and wrote, "It boils Entourage down to the simple fact that these boys joined Vince's entourage, and good things came of their affiliation with a famous movie star who is rich. I'm thrilled a show like Entourage finally had the guts to articulate what everyone else in Hollywood was too afraid to say. And it only took ruining Adrian Grenier's career to do it."^[6]

Alan Sepinwall of HitFix wrote, "season 2 and parts of season 3 at least came close to seeming like a genuine piece of comedic entertainment. But boy did the show coast for a long, long, long time, all the way up until this limp, unenthusiastic finale."^[7] Kate Stanhope of TV Guide wrote, "Deep down, the series was always about the friendship between these four guys, and seeing that friendship morph into something new and less codependent for Eric and Vince felt right."^[8]

Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Early on in its life, Entourage did a pretty good job of making you care whether Vince could retain his sense of integrity while being the star of an Aquaman hit and the auteur of the flop Medellin. After a while, however, we came to realize that Vince had slowly, steadily lost any sense of the division between idealism and success. In this, the series mirrored what was going on in the pop culture, the politics, and the economy of America over the years in which Entourage existed."^[9] Jessica Grose of Slate wrote, "When the show premiered in 2004, the country was riding high, and for some people the Entourage lifestyle was aspirational. It was probably outside the realm of possibility for the average bro, but maybe, just maybe, you too could live in an enormous tacky mansion and have sex with models and porn stars. By 2011 those dreams are dashed, and Entourage stopped trying to even toy with realism or emotional depth. The finale recognized this – to its own benefit."^[10]

Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times wrote, "People think that love can't last in Hollywood, but in real life friendship is more capricious. Entourage nurtured the fantasy that some bonds are so precious that nothing, not even fame, money and sex, can tear them asunder."^[11] Margaret Lyons of Vulture wrote, "Entourage's finale last night attempted to escape the series' narrative downward trajectory, but whatever bright spots there were in the episode weren't enough to nudge it toward the show's former glory days."^[12]

Nate Rawlings of TIME wrote, "It's true that, as a series, Entourage peaked a while ago, but the show never stopped being fun. It was one more thing to look forward to at the end of the weekend, before you and your friends had to pack it in for another long work week. So in that effort, Doug Ellin and his fellow creators found success."^[13] Renata Sellitti of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "So, even though at times it was a little sappy, or Ari's cry face got a little ugly, I can stand behind most of the moments in this series finale, if not every single one. Here's hoping that Entourage 2.0 will be better than the Sex and the City movies, or the second one at least."^[14]

• "The End" at HBO
• "The End" at IMDb