WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Hacks season 4, episode 9.
The shocking ending ofHacksseason 4, episode 9, “A Slippery Slope,” brings Ava’s story full circle as Deborah sacrifices her late-night show to maintain their friendship. Even though Deborah and Ava had been feuding throughoutthe beginning ofHacksseason 4, Deborah couldn’t bring herself to have Ava fired as her head writer the way she nudged Bob Lipka, the CEO of the media conglomerate that owns Deborah’s late-night show, to fireWinnie inHacksseason 4, episode 8. With only one episode left ofHacksseason 4, Ava and Deborah look to be getting back to basics.
The penultimate episode ofHacksseason 4 is one of the most dramatic in the entire series asDeborah throws away her childhood dream to host a late-night showby calling out Bob live on air. Deborah didn’t just do it for Ava, but also to take the high moral ground against the star of an upcoming blockbuster accused of various crimes. Bob gave Deborah virtually no choice in having the star on to promote the film, depicting how major vested interests have historically protected certain actors and celebrity figures. Ultimately,Ava leaking the story led to Deborah’s downfall, circling back to theHacksseries premiere.
Ava Has A Pattern Of Using Truth To Expose Corrupt & Powerful Industry Figures
Image via Max
In the very first episode ofHacks,Ava had just been fired from a show she was writing for because of an offensive tweetshe made that had to do with someone in power disliking her joke that exposed him. It’s not entirely different from Bob wanting to fire Ava from the late-night show because she exposed their censorship of the actor Ethan Summers, who stars in the movieShadow Soldier,produced by a studio that Bob also oversees. This goes to show that while Ava has matured in ways over the seasons, her moral stances have not changed even after it had already cost her a job.
Ava represents a modern showbiz industry woman who is unafraidof the consequences of exposing the truth against powerful people. This real-life trend has completely reshaped the landscape of Hollywood over the last 10 years, specifically with the various downfalls of predatory figures, most notably Harvey Weinstein.
Even though Ava accidentally leaked the Summers story inHacksseason 4, she remained adamantly against the studio censorship.
The fact that Ava didn’t “learn her lesson” from season 1to suppress dirt on her superiors just to keep her foot in the door speaks volumes to the type of person needed more in the entertainment business. Even though Ava accidentally leaked the Summers story inHacksseason 4, she remained adamantly against the studio censorship.
Deborah Quitting Rather Than Firing Ava Highlights How Much Both Have Grown Since Hacks' Premiere
Deborah Remarkably Chose Loyalty & Friendship With Ava Over Her Career
The Deborah in theHacksseries premiere would have absolutely fired Ava if it had jeopardized her career growth and aspirations. Now that their relationship is incredibly different after four seasons, Deborah has grown to be more aware of needing to support those who love her and have helped her get to where she is. Ava also didn’t just make a bad tweet, she was calling out an enormous systemic problem with ethical issues for the network and industry at large.Deborah aligned her values with Ava’s rather than choosing to suppress her own voiceout of self-interest in maintaining her show.
While Deborah is a natural-born entertainer,she may have discovered through her candid conversations with Kayla and JimmyinHacksseason 4, episode 9, that her post-number-one power trip had gone too far. Deborah and Ava found a stride with her show by focusing on a more personalized approach, which made Bob and the network thrilled based on the ratings alone. Once she truly realized that Bob was more concerned about maintaining his reputation and those of his protected interests, rather than helping Deborah create the best show possible, it was all that she needed to walk out the door inHacks.
