If you have been feeling a bit breathless lately, it might be because the cast and crew of Hacks continue to raise the bar of excellence with every new episode, causing quite a few viewers to experience altitude sickness. While the beginning of season 3 was already a delight to watch, the subsequent episodes (3×3 & 3×4) truly knocked it out of the park, making us question how they can possibly exceed this level of perfection in the episodes to come.
The opening of episode three brilliantly captures the dynamic between the young, chaotic writer and the fierce comedian: Ava, who has temporarily moved back into Deborah’s mansion, meditates to a guided session on managing challenging relationships, leaving it open for viewers to decide whether the challenging relationship is the one she has with her girlfriend Ruby or the one she has with Deborah. Suddenly, the latter barges into the room, screeching Ava’s name and disrupting her Zen moment without explaining or excusing her presence in any way. Instead, she launches into an unfinished joke, expecting Ava to provide the punchline. Ava explains the concept of knocking to her, Deborah could not care less.
The episode continues with Deborah informing her team that she wants to become the new host of the Late-Night Show, emphasizing her willingness to take ANY measures necessary to make this lifelong dream of hers come true. Her team fully understands that they are expected to support her unconditionally, no questions asked.
To boost her television presence and public profile, Deborah participates in a comedy roast, where a lineup of comedians humorously pokes fun at her. To enhance the impact of the roast a member of the family is encouraged to participate as well. This is how DJ – who is pregnant btw – finds her way onto the show and, against Deborah and Ava’s expectations, actually kills it. She makes the audience laugh and wins them over in seconds. What’s particularily intriguing, however, is the aftermath of the roast. Experiencing the feeling of being on stage and making people laugh leads DJ to a deeper understanding of her mother. DJ admits, “I spent my whole life thinking you were a narcissist, but it turns out you’re actually an addict like me. You’re addicted to getting laughs.” Deborah cannot deny it.
“The Roast Of Deborah Vance” – HACKS,
Pictured: Jean Smart and Kaitlin Olson. Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/MAX ©2024 MAX. All Rights Reserved Prior to the roast DJ asks Deborah to accompany her to a narcotics anonymous meeting as she celebrates 5 years of sobriety. Deborah only agrees to join her if DJ in return agrees to be part of the comedy roast. At the meeting Deborah is supposed to say a few words about DJ, a task that should not overwhelm her the way it does. She panic-calls Ava and has her write a short, heartfelt speech. As Deborah begins to speak, she realizes that the other attendees at the meeting are really just like any other audience. She shifts gears, focusing on making people laugh rather than making the moment solely about her daughter.
The episode concludes with Ava setting clear boundaries for her work relationship with Deborah. She insists that the older woman start knocking before entering her room and refrain from making jokes about her physical appearance, especially about the size of her hands (which has become one of Deborah’s most favorite objects of ridicule). While Deborah is not particularly thrilled about Ava’s terms, she agrees to them, knowing she needs Ava to get the Late-Night gig. The awkward, self-righteous writer challenges her in ways no one else does. Most importantly, she is honest and calls her out on her shit. Ava makes her better and funnier. However, Deborah herself has one unexpected condition as well: While working for her Ava must make sure to find the time to work on her own projects. Despite Deborah’s self-centered nature and obsession with her own success, Ava’s career as a writer has always been important to her. In part because she sees a lot of herself in Ava but also because she genuinely cares for her. Initially it seemed unlikely the two women would ever become this close but after watching them for several episodes, their bond makes perfect sense: They are both deeply flawed, lonely individuals. Most importantly though, they share the same sense of humor which is the foundation for their extraordinary connection.
In the fourth episode, Deborah finds herself finally being respected and accepted by her idols, a small group of male comedians who have always dismissed her in the past. She gets invited to join their yearly group colonoscopy weekend, making her finally a member of their little exclusive club. While their approval doesn’t advance her career, it fulfills what young Deborah never received – recognition and validation from those she looked up to. However, when they make jokes about bisexuality and reject the idea that more than two genders exist Deborah realizes that maybe having the approval of bigoted, homophobe men is not what she wants after all. Before Ava came into her life, she might even have agreed with what these out-of-touch men said but now this mindset is unacceptable to her. She excuses herself to go to the bathroom to gather her thoughts. There, through the vent, she overhears the derogatory way the men she once looked up to speak about her. In a stroke of genius, Deborah decides on a course of action: Knowing all the men have taken laxatives, she collects all the toilet paper she can find and leaves, letting the man, quite literally, handle their own shit. While Deborah‘s exit was nothing short of brilliant, some viewers might wonder why the comedian has never mentioned this “boys club“ in the past, making it a tad bit unrealistic to claim that Deborah had always so desperately wanted to become part of their elite, little group.
“Join The Club” – HACKS,
Pictured: Jean Smart. Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/MAX ©2024 MAX. All Rights ReservedAva’s day isn’t going much better, in fact, it is horrible. She is caught spying on her girlfriend through the door camera app. Ruby, frustrated with the state of their relationship, offers one final chance by inviting Ava to come to Iceland with her after all. However, for Ava leaving this gig, leaving Deborah, does not even seem to be an option. Ruby is not surprised, she expected Ava to pick the comedian over her. Consequently, she ends their relationship which leaves Ava devastated.
Back at the Vance residence Deborah and Ava meet in the kitchen, looking for comfort food. They are both angry at each other. Deborah accuses Ava of getting into her head, of making her want to be a better person. Ava blames Deborah for her breakup with Ruby and complains that Deborah too has gotten into her head.
They stop arguing when Deborah shares the reason why she so desperately wants to be the new host of the Late-Night Show: The best memories of her childhood were when the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson came on. Her drunk father would get distracted by the show. He would laugh, they entire family would laugh. All Deborah ever wanted was to live in that one hour the
Tonight Show was on. She cherishes these memories. Ava encourages her to straight-out tell people that she wants to be the new host of the Late-Night Show. Despite her prior reluctance (apparently, she believed stating what she wants makes her sound desperate), Deborah follows Ava’s advice and boldly announces her aspirations to become the new host of the Late-Night Show during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live broadcast. This, however, is only the beginning of her impressive marketing campaign.
The scene with Deborah and Ava in the kitchen was nothing short of perfection. Jean Smart’s and Hannah Einbinder’s on-screen chemistry is unparalleled. They harmonize like a well-rehearsed symphony orchestra, turning every scene they share into a masterclass of comedic acting.
“Join The Club” – HACKS,
Pictured: Hannah Einbinder & Jean Smart. MAX ©2024 MAX. All Rights Reserved
The third storyline in this episode focuses on Jimmy and Kayla who have surprisingly become more likable this season. Kayla, especially, was rather annoying during seasons one and two, causing concern when it was revealed she would have more screen time in season 3. However, those worries have proven unfounded. While previously, Kayla has mainly made Jimmy’s job more difficult, causing him problems left and right, she now plays a pivotal role in bringing Deborah closer to her Late-Night gig as she establishes a connection with network exec Winnie Landell (Helen Hunt).
The episode ends on a happy note when Deborah and the team find out that Winnie is starting to seriously consider Deborah as the new host for the Late-Night Show.
What did you think of the episodes? Do you believe Deborah will actually get the Late-Night gig? Which characters’ scenes have you been enjoying the most so far? Share your thoughts below!
About the Author – Julia Krassnik
Writer and traveler from the country of Sound of Music looking for the meaning of life.
