Hacks Review: On the Market / The One, The Only (Season 2 Episodes 7 and 8)
Hacks Season 2 Episode 7, “On the Market” and Episode 8, “The One, The Only” provide viewers with a happy ending that can’t help but also be a little melancholy.
With her sights set on a filmed special, Deborah encounters a whole new hurdle back in Hollywood. While she may have been the big fish in Las Vegas, Hollywood isn’t kind to even a legend.
It’s the perfect dramatic setup for Deborah to decide to self-produce her special. She is climbing that mountain with or without network backing.
Ageist, sexist executives aside, the LA setting leads to some fantastic joke setups. This is particularly true for fan favorites Jimmy and Kayla who end up dramatically quitting their agency (of course the assistant Jimmy wants to go with him has already been promoted).
Watching Deborah cut down a tree house that’s been blocking her LA property’s view for years with a chainsaw is another highlight. It’s no wonder Jean Smart is so good in the role when she also gets to have this much fun.
The main thread for both episodes is the relationship between Deborah and Ava. Even after her lawyer tells Ava that Deborah’s lawyers are going to take her for all she’s worth (“It’s like a sport for them”), Ava still puts Deborah’s special first.
She comes back early from a last-minute writing gig to be there in person for the taping. She refuses credit on the special because they’re Deborah’s stories.
It’s because of this that Deborah fires Ava, which is probably not the ending you’re expecting.
There are plenty of tear-inducing moments leading up to this, but they’re tears of joy. When Deborah breaks a sales record in five minutes when she sells her special on QVC and gives her heartfelt speech at the belated party held by a network that’s acquired the special the scenes are pure triumph.
Fortunately, Hacks was never just about Deborah’s career success. It’s about her growth as a person.
Part of that growth means setting Ava free to find her own voice now that she’s helped find Deborah’s. Thinking back to where these characters started in the series, they’ve come a long way.
Ava’s grown to become a better person, even if she still lacks a filter, and as a result more opportunities open up for her. Her scenes with Taylor and her ex-girlfriend might not seem super relevant to the plot, but they show that Deborah isn’t the only one who’s noticed how she’s changed.
Deborah learns to open up and put others first. The scene she shares with DJ after her taping, during which DJ learned a lot more about her mother’s life, is one of the most tender of the series.
Despite everything they both know now, Deborah tells DJ that being a parent is still worth it. That kind of conversation would have never happened with the old Deborah.
Season 2 of Hacks certainly suffered from some ups and downs, with not every chapter meeting the mark. The final two episodes, however, wrap the story up in a satisfying way.
It sure feels like an ending for the series, not just the season. That’s not to say Hacks couldn’t bring these characters back for more stories.
As Deborah points out, she’ll keep working until she dies. Ava is just starting the career she’s meant to have.
In terms of the journey these two shared though, that part seems to come to an end. As annoying as I found the lawsuit, it paid off in the end when Deborah drops it.
Not because it’s the right thing to do (even though it is), but because her dropping it is a gut punch to the viewer and Ava for its underlying meaning. Ava won’t even get to see Deborah again in court, something you can tell she was secretly looking forward to.
Deborah’s cliche “go on, you don’t need me anymore” speech wasn’t all smoke. She really meant it, and Ava has to learn to move on.
As the camera pans out and we see that Ava has QVC on her TV watching Deborah, it’s clear that Ava hadn’t actually let go yet. This is the final goodbye she needs, and the thing closest to closure the viewers get.
Just as it’s hard for Ava to let go, it’s hard to want to let go of this incredible pairing of actresses and the story they’ve told together. If this is the end of Hacks, it was nice while it lasted.
Additional Thoughts:
- So glad we got another Janet Stone appearance.
- Kayla’s “There’s plenty of eggs in the sea” line gives big Jessica Simpson early 00s energy.
- This guy must have had no family for no one to find out he died at Deborah’s show!
- If Jimmy’s dad was also a partner why doesn’t he also have a trust fund?
- Please give Jimmy and Kayla a spinoff miniseries.
- “Worse, hippies with inherited wealth.”
- Deborah wearing one of DJ”s bracelets is such an “awww” moment.
What did you think of these episodes of Hacks? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Hacks Season 2 is now streaming on HBO Max.
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Breeze Riley
Breeze Riley is a pop culture enthusiast who decided to turn her love of watching too much TV into a hobby writing about it. Although she's a convention-going sci-fi and fantasy nerd, she's just as likely to be watching an off-beat comedy or period drama. She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic.