No effort is spared within the lead-up to Deborah’s large Late-Evening debut. From the set builders and wig artist to the ever-suffering writers’ room, everyone seems to be working extra time to verify the opening night time goes off with out a hitch. In the meantime, Deborah is laser-focused on the one factor she will be able to’t delegate: herself. She weighs herself obsessively, works out like her life depends upon it, and survives on a glamorous weight-reduction plan of roughly 4 to eight almonds a day. The rapid-fire montage that opens the episode hints at a number of lengthy days of intense, borderline-manic prep.
Then, two minutes in, the episode actually kicks off. Deborah walks on stage to thunderous applause, and we’re led to imagine the present is lastly occurring. She opens sturdy, delivers a number of traces… after which freezes. Utterly. The phrases are proper in entrance of her, however she will be able to’t learn them, can’t end the bit. She stumbles offstage, satisfied she’s having a coronary heart assault. However deep down, we already know what’s actually happening.
Ava is the one one courageous (or silly?) sufficient to say it out loud: Deborah is having a panic assault. Naturally, our beloved, rage-fueled Queen of Comedy is horrified by the very suggestion. She insists it was one thing cardiac associated – the truth is she very a lot hopes it was. Ava, pondering she’s being useful, tries to melt the blow by calling it “stage fright.” That goes over even worse. “I’ve never had stage fright!” Deborah snaps. “Not even when I performed in front of Saddam Hussein – AFTER rejecting his advances.” The place did Deborah all the time meet these warfare lords? Simply asking so I can keep away from these locations in any respect prices.
And since Deborah and Ava are nonetheless on HR probation and never allowed to be alone in a room collectively, poor Stacy from HR is caught sitting between them throughout their complete alternate – fully unequipped to referee a warfare between two girls who appear to adore and detest one another in equal measure.
After Deborah has had a second to relax, Winnie informs her that she’s booked an appointment with a heart specialist. Candy gesture, proper? Not precisely. It’s much less about Deborah’s well-being and extra about ensuring their money cow is bodily match to maintain the community machine working. They’ve invested an excessive amount of on this present to let slightly coronary heart scare wreck issues now.
With no actual selection, Deborah drags herself to the appointment. Nevertheless it’s not the physician who finally ends up serving to her. It’s Carol Burnett, casually sitting within the ready room like a residing legend on standby. Deborah lights up. Burnett was one in every of her guiding stars, a lady who made the trail she now walks even potential. For as soon as, Deborah lets her guard down. She asks if Burnett ever had stage fright, hoping for some grand, showbiz knowledge. And he or she receives it solely seconds later: “I’d pick one person in the audience,” Burnett says, “and I’d do the show just for them.” Deborah won’t have figured it out in that second, however most of us knew precisely who she’d be performing for the subsequent day.
| “I love LA” – HACKS. Pictured: Carol Burnett as herself & Jean Smart as Deborah Vance. Photo: Kenny Laubbacher/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
We never actually hear what the cardiologist has to say – or if Deborah even made it past the waiting room. But since it was pretty obvious from the start that this wasn’t a physical heart issue, I’m willing to let the medical mystery slide.
When the big day finally arrives and Deborah is about to walk on stage to write Late-Night history, the nerves creep back in. Everyone fussing over her as she makes her way to the stage only adds to the pressure, but there’s no turning back now. This is it. She has got to nail it. There is no other option. So she steps onto the stage, suddenly a radiant smile in place, looking every bit the part of a glamorous talk show host. But then – just like in the rehearsal – she hits that same line in the monologue… and freezes. Again.
She remembers Carol Burnett’s words and does exactly what the legend advised: pick one person in the room and perform just for them. And the person Deborah chooses? None other than our favorite chaotic head writer, Ava Daniels.
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| “I really like LA” – HACKS. Pictured: Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniel. Photograph: Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
In that immediate, the whole lot adjustments. The viewers disappears. The worry vanishes. It’s simply Deborah and Ava. A change flips, Deborah lights up, steadies herself, and delivers. Her swagger returns, her timing snaps again into place. She is flourishing. In spite of everything these a long time, she lastly does it: she hosts her personal Late-Evening Present… and completely kills it.
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| “I love LA” – HACKS. Pictured: Jean Smart as Deborah Vance. Photo: Kenny Laubbacher/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
The aftermath is far more sobering than either of them expected. Deborah was meant to schmooze with Winnie and some major players over a celebratory dinner, while Ava had plans to watch the show with the writers when it aired later that night. She even invited Deborah to join, but of course, Deborah declined. Priorities, right? Gotta keep the network happy.
In the end, Deborah winds up sitting alone in a fancy restaurant, while Ava finds herself solo at a bar after sending her exhausted writing team home to collapse into bed. And while the writers were all falling apart, Ava looked… just fine. She is just her usual level of run-down. I found myself wondering why everyone else was practically on life support while Ava still had the energy to sit upright. Then again, with the way she lives, it’s likely her body runs on a steady cocktail of caffeine, adrenaline, and emotional chaos. Sleep deprivation? Please. That’s just a normal day for Ava.
Her night ultimately ends with a towed car and being asked out by a couple she met in an erotic shop – typical situations Avs finds herself in on a regular basis. Meanwhile, Deborah, determined not to be caught dining solo at a massive table in a five-star restaurant, ropes poor Damian into joining her.
Apparently it’s Damian’s very first time drinking alcohol, and once it kicks in, so does the oversharing. He launches into a monologue about how exhausting it is to keep up with the gays in LA and how he desperately needs someone like Deborah to boost his social capital. After all, the gays worship the Queen of Comedy. He talks her into coming with him to a gay club, and sure enough, he gets exactly what he wanted: attention from a room full of eligible men.
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| “I really like LA” – HACKS. Pictured: Jean Sensible as Deborah Vance & Mark Indelicato as Damien. Photograph: Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Deborah appears to be having a good time: dancing, ingesting, basking in her icon standing prefer it’s simply one other night time in Vegas. However for the viewer it’s exhausting to not really feel slightly unhappy. She’s clearly getting used for her highlight, and one thing tells me she is aware of it… Neverthelss, Deborah feels snug and admired surrounded by homosexual males. Cheered on by the gang, Deborah climbs right into a go-go cage to bounce. However when a random man gives her poppers and waves them slightly too shut, she faints on the spot, crashing down and slamming her head towards the bars.
The comic will get admitted to the hospital as a precaution – and guess who’s listed as her emergency contact? You bought it! It’s Ava. After all it’s Ava. Who else would it not be?
When the hospital calls, Ava initially assumes it’s a late-night follow-up from the couple who hit on her on the intercourse store. However the second she realizes it’s truly a nurse calling about Deborah’s accident, she whips the automotive round and races to the hospital, to see her boss, co-worker, writing accomplice, greatest good friend, and worst enemy all rolled into one.
Deborah is stunned when the youthful lady exhibits up and casually mutters that she actually must replace her emergency contact. Positive, Deb. Like that’s ever going to occur. As a result of when it actually comes all the way down to it, Ava is all you have bought. There are assistants, stylists, publicists – however no shut associates, no household that really cares, that she truly trusts or talks to. Whether or not she likes it or not, Ava’s her particular person.
Whereas mendacity in her hospital mattress, Deborah instantly realizes that her present is airing, for the very first time, and he or she’s not watching it. She tries to activate the TV, nevertheless it doesn’t work. Fortunately, Ava’s already on it. There’s no manner she’s letting Deborah miss her personal premiere. She sneaks her out of the hospital room and finds a working TV in a close-by ready space. The 2 of them sit and watch. And for as soon as, Deborah is quiet – simply taking it in. She’s proud. Overwhelmed. Barely capable of maintain again tears. She has lastly made it!
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| “I love LA” – HACKS. Pictured: Jean Smart as Deborah Vance. Photo: Kenny Laubbacher/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
They’re both emotional as they congratulate each other on the successful show, and it becomes clear all over again: this show – and I mean Deborah’s Late Night debut just as much as Hacks itself – only works because they work. Against all odds, these two chaotic forces have managed to create something truly special.
While last week’s episode gave the supporting cast a breather, this week Kayla and Jimmy are back – and for me, it was the perfect dose. I like them in smaller portions. They’re hilarious, chaotic, and always good for a laugh, but let’s be honest: I’m here for Deborah and Ava.
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| “I really like LA” – HACKS. Pictured: Rose Abdoo as Josefina. Photograph: Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
Other than the standard fireworks between our favourite catastrophe duo, one in every of my favourite moments got here when Josefina confirmed up on set and Ava clung to her like a human consolation blanket, hugging her for what felt like 5 full minutes. It was candy, weak, and a quiet reminder of simply how a lot her strained relationship with Deborah continues to weigh on her. However by the tip of the episode, there’s a flicker of hope that they may lastly be on the trail to forgiveness, to transferring previous the blackmail, the resentment, and the whole lot that’s saved them from admitting how a lot they want one another, not simply professionally, however personally too.
We laughed, we winced, we could have cried. Share your tackle the episode beneath!
