No, That Hacks Finale Wasn't A Series Finale
TV reviews, TV opinions and also sometimes other opinions
There are some spoilers for the latest season of Hacks below!
Last week, the second and far too short season of Hacks ended. This season was not only better than the first, they found organic ways to help Ava and Deborah’s relationship grow that didn’t rely on insults and arguments. This is the season Ava and Deborah found success and fell in love (with each other) and things end on a fairly positive note. In fact, maybe the season ended on too calm a note, because after the finale aired, the Twitter streets were hot with talk that the episode felt more like a series finale.
“Where else could the show go? That felt pretty definitive,” people said. But, guess what? Those people don’t know a goddamn thing about stand-up comedians. Ava and Deborah finding success and love is the worst thing that could happen to them. These are two people who barely got themselves together in order to pull Deborah’s special off. These two were outsider hacks who found each other and had nothing left to lose. Now their entire dynamic has changed. Deborah is on top again. Ava suddenly has a career to focus on. And you don’t think these two are going to find a way to fuck it up?!
When Deborah tells Ava she has to move like a shark, she’s also explaining her own actions. Love is a distraction for Deborah and that means Ava is a liability now. Season three already has the potential for bitter arguments where Ava wonders why Deborah hasn’t staffed her on her new late night show. Deborah’s one act of pity this season was sticking with Jimmy and after that she knew she couldn’t be soft anymore. Deborah has been at the top before and it’ll be easy for her to resort to her old ways.
Also, Deborah knows comedians can’t rest on their latest work. Like she said to Ava, the two of them could be just good forever, but Deborah wants to be better than good. For Deborah, it’s on to the next hour of material, the next gig, the next challenge. She can’t get stuck, she has to evolve; sharks die if they don’t move forward or whatever Annie Hall said. Deborah doesn’t have a career that will see a definitive end, she has one that she’s willing to constantly reinvent in order to keep up. That is at least two seasons of drama right there, baby!
Then there’s Ava! A lot of people don’t see Ava as a main character because Deborah Vance is mommy, but Ava is just as important to the story! Nothing about season two’s finale felt like an end to Ava’s story. She’s been given a second chance, but she’s right back where she started. In the same city and industry that led to her exile and breakdowns. Like Deborah, Ava is now forced back into this rat race of constantly trying to get staffed or booked or hired. The girl can barely maintain her sobriety, you think that’s going to be an easy transition for her??
I think it’s a common thing for comedians to view their life in chapters or phases. When you have to remember an hour of material based on a period of your life, it’s easy to associate that time with what you were doing on stage. Deborah has just closed a chapter and is jumping into the next. Ava doesn’t even realize there’s a book she should be writing. When the second season ended, I felt all of that possibility.
Oh, also the people who make the show said this: