'Hacks' Ends the Season with a Resounding Thud

After all the upheaval stirred up by last week’s gorilla-mode episode of Hacks, this week’s season four finale was a letdown. Hacks slipped back into its old habits, like a cover band of itself. It had the chance to do something different — and maybe it still will — but instead it pulled a Game of Thrones, using a game-changing penultimate episode to tee up a finale that mostly serves as setup for season five (and yes, the show has been renewed).

After taking her late-night show to number one and choosing to quit rather than fire Ava, Deborah spends the episode trying to break her noncompete, with no luck. She visits several lawyers, but every door is closed. Dejected, she heads back to Vegas, asking Ava for space, and spirals into self-pity. She tries and fails to block the sale of her merchandising company. After a chat with her old flame, Marty, Deborah reluctantly decides to take Ava and the team to Hawaii to unwind.

But she changes course mid-trip, heading instead to Singapore, where she finds a contract loophole that allows her to perform in a casino — technically, she’s not performing; a translator is. At first, the show goes well. But after extending her stay multiple times, Deborah grows restless. She starts drinking heavily and even falls asleep on stage. It’s clear she can’t outrun the noncompete.

So, Hacks does what Hacks does: Deborah and Ava fight. Ava decides to leave. Deborah lashes out to push her away. But the next morning, just before Ava flies out, she wakes up to a TMZ alert announcing Deborah’s death. Panicked, Ava rushes to Deborah’s hotel room, only to find Deborah alive and well. The obituary was a mistake.

But the experience jolts Deborah. Seeing her legacy summed up as “quit her show and retired” lights a fire. “We’re going home,” she tells Ava. “That will not be my legacy. I’m no quitter. We have some rewriting to do.” Presumably, she means her legacy is due for a revision.

And that’s where season four ends: back at square one. Last week, I suggested the show’s next logical pivot would be for Deborah to step behind the scenes as the head writer on a project starring Ava. It seemed like the episode was headed that way, and maybe season five will pick up that thread. But the writers weren’t ready to commit to that corner just yet; they’ve bought themselves another season to figure it out.

The creators (Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky) have said they envisioned a five-season arc, though HBO made no mention of next season being the last. It’s possible that once they get back into the writers’ room, they’ll realize they need two more to land the plane. But assuming Deborah doesn’t return to late-night, there’s not much left for her to accomplish. She’s already done it all. And it’s hard to imagine Hacks returning just to watch her write yet another stand-up special. What’s left? Host a game show? Start a podcast?

The only truly compelling path forward is for Deborah to become the head writer on Ava’s next big thing. It’s frustrating that we have to wait another year to see if the show finally goes there.