Hacks – What Occurs in Vegas – Assessment: What Occurs in Vegas … Will get Reported to HR

Our favourite catastrophe duo is again in Vegas, the place all of it started, the place Deborah feels at house, and most significantly, in management. She’s nervous concerning the present and uncertain if issues will click on with the brand new writers, so it makes excellent sense that she’d retreat to acquainted turf for a couple of days. Technically, she pitched the journey as a retreat, however in true Deborah vogue, the true plan is to work these writers nonstop till they produce the right opening act for her present.

Deborah could prefer to consider she’s the one one calling the pictures, however as head author, Ava now has authority too. The brand new writers work for each of them, and unsurprisingly, Deborah and Ava have wildly totally different management types. Ava needs to bond with the staff, get to know them, have slightly enjoyable. Deborah, alternatively, can’t be bothered to even be taught their names. There’s no time for that. She wants outcomes! Pitches! Now!

The writers are clearly intimidated. Deborah’s strain leaves some utterly paralyzed, whereas others begin pitching probably the most ridiculous, totally ineffective concepts conceivable. Like vaguely accountable co-parents, Ava and Deborah hold ducking out of the room to argue in non-public over the way to deal with the children (aka the writers). If we didn’t know they have been principally pressured to get alongside, you may virtually name it mature of them to not tear one another aside in entrance of everybody.

Ava argues that terrified writers aren’t exactly idea machines. They need to relax, have a bit of fun. Knowing that Ava occasionally has a point, the comedian promises to give the writing team the best weekend of their lives… right before she plans to grind their bones to dust.

So off they go. Deborah takes the writers to the Motor Speedway to race each other in mini-Lamborghinis, supplies them with illegal substances (which nobody questions and everyone’s thrilled about), takes them dancing, and eventually ends up at a strip club, where she receives a complimentary lap dance as a gift for landing her late-night gig. Mid-grind, the stripper casually asks why Deborah even has the time to party when her show’s premiere is just around the corner. Shouldn’t she be… working?

That’s when the anxiety sets in. They still haven’t come up with a single usable idea. So, Deborah corners her drunk and high writing staff and demands pitches on the spot. One guy throws out a particularly stupid idea, and vomits mid-sentence to really underscore his brilliance. Deborah fires him. Ava rehires him. Deborah fires him again. You get the gist.

Eventually, Ava convinces Deborah to let the writers sober up and try again in the morning. (The mid-pitch vomiting incident probably helped seal the deal.) It’s already well past midnight, but the two frenemies decide to keep working on the pitch themselves – because of course they do. While driving together (to… somewhere?), they start bickering again, and Deborah gets pulled over for speeding. Unprompted, she tells the cop she won’t be taking a breathalyzer—so he might as well not bother asking. Minutes later, both women are handcuffed in the back of a squad car – still arguing.

Even while detained, Deborah’s mind is on the show. She’s still workshopping the perfect opening. Ava tells her to give it a rest, they’ll figure it out with the writers tomorrow. But Deborah’s not interested. She doesn’t believe the writers can help her. They don’t know her. They haven’t lived her life. There’s no way they can deliver something as groundbreaking as she needs for her big debut. That’s why she’s always avoided working with writers. That is until Ava came along and weaseled her way in.

Deborah calls their collaboration the biggest mistake of her life and accuses Ava of stabbing her in the back. Ava pushes back, insisting the blackmail wasn’t just for her own gain, but for both of them. She wanted to make sure the show would be a success, because deep down, she knows they’re at their best when they’re working together. They have the potential to create something truly great. But Deborah doesn’t buy it. She refuses to believe (or at least so she claims) Ava had anyone’s interests in mind but her own.

Before the conversation can go any further, Mayor Jo rolls up in her Hummer with full fanfare. Deborah had texted her, hoping a bit of political muscle might smooth things over and get them out of their run-in with the cops. Unlike the comedian, who refused a breathalyzer despite being completely sober, the mayor is very clearly unapologetically drunk. But the cops don’t seem to mind her inebriated state and follow her orders without question, letting Deborah and Ava walk. In return for her help, the mayor expects a generous donation to her re-election campaign. That’s just how things work at that level, folks.

The next morning, they regroup with the now-sober writers, who are suddenly full of usable ideas, bouncing off each other like a real writers’ room. Apparently, the chaotic night out was exactly what they needed. Maybe the trip to Vegas wasn’t a complete disaster after all.

Back in LA, reality hits fast. Rob, the showrunner, is already waiting for them – and he’s not pleased. A few of the writers – those little twats – have filed complaints with HR about the Vegas trip: the drugs, the strip club, and, of course, the constant power struggle between Deborah and Ava.

Fed up with the chaos these two keep causing, Rob assigns Stacy from HR to shadow them. From now on, Deborah and Ava aren’t allowed to be unsupervised. Our dream team officially has a babysitter now!

“What Occurs in Vegas” – HACKS. Pictured: Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, Jean Sensible as Deborah Vance & Michaela Watkins as Stacy. Picture: Kenny Laubbacher/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved

One notably nice shock on this episode was the return of Kiki, simply considered one of my favourite characters moreover Deborah and Ava. As all the time, Ava confides in her concerning the newest spherical of Deborah-related drama, and Kiki is genuinely dissatisfied to listen to concerning the blackmail. She actually believed Ava and Deborah had one thing particular going, not simply professionally, however personally. And now it’s all tainted. Ava tries to reassure her it’s high-quality, they’ve referred to as a truce. However Kiki doesn’t purchase it. She is aware of Deborah doesn’t forgive and overlook. When she holds a grudge, she holds it eternally.

However is that basically true? In any case, the e-mail Ava despatched on the finish of Season 1 exposing Deborah was roughly swept beneath the rug just some episodes later. Or perhaps… Deborah simply can’t maintain a grudge on the subject of Ava? Guess we’ll have to attend and see.

This episode could have toned down the swearing in comparison with the season opener(s), however Hacks remains to be as sharp, savage, and satisfying as ever. Fewer f-bombs and c-words, identical explosive power. Signal me up for ten extra seasons!

Nonetheless rooting for our favourite catastrophe duo? Inform us within the feedback beneath!