'Hacks' Goes Gorilla Mode, Drops a Game-Changing Twist Ahead of the Season Finale

Spoilers for Season 4 of Hacks

HBO Max’s Hacks was criticized earlier this season for being stuck in a routine and basically becoming a cover band of itself, because Deborah and Ava seemed to be repeating the same toxic cycle. In this week’s penultimate episode of the fourth season, however, the writers finally turned over the apple cart and stomped on all the apples with a twist no one saw coming.

After Deborah and Ava finally made up a couple of weeks ago (for the umpteenth time), it felt like it might stick. And it has. Deborah’s talk show was riding high, ending last week’s episode as the top-rated show in late night. But things can turn on a dime in this industry, and Deborah took a stand and, in doing so, burned it all down.

It started with a guest, action star Ethan Sommers (Six Feet Under’s Eric Balfour), whom Ava didn’t want to book because of his history of domestic abuse. She pushed back, but Deborah overruled her because Bob Lipka and the network insisted for cross-promotional purposes. Deborah decided to play ball, reasoning Ava would get over it.

The interview with Sommers was mostly uneventful, save for one joke Deborah made about his secret Instagram account. After the episode taped, Sommers’ people demanded the joke be removed. Deborah relented again, and Ava was furious again. She blew off steam at a bar and ended up venting to a John Oliver-like late-night rival played by SNL’s Aristotle Athari. He ran with the story, and when Bob Lipka found out Ava was the source, he demanded Deborah fire her. Deborah refused. Lipka wouldn’t budge.

Meanwhile, after feeding cocaine to Dance Mom (Julianne Nicholson in a role hilariously unlike anything she’s ever done, including Paradise) and nearly having to boof her (feed cocaine up her ass), Jimmy lost it and stormed off the set, sick of being thrown into chaos and getting no credit from Deborah or Ava. Kayla (Megan Stalter), noting that Jimmy had given her top billing at their new firm, stood up to Deborah on Jimmy’s behalf and turned down an offer to leave with her dad. In the end, everyone finally realized how much Jimmy does for them, and Deborah apologized and promised to show him more appreciation.

Then she dropped her plan on him. Before the next taping, she locked Ava off the lot. It looked like she had fired her, repeating a tired pattern. But not this time. This time, she fought for Ava. On live television, she thanked her audience for making her number one in late night … and then publicly called out the network and Bob Lipka for forcing her to censor a joke. She said it was a line she wouldn’t cross.

Then she quit. On air. While Ava watched on a monitor outside the lot. Bob Lipka tried to cut the feed, but Jimmy stopped him and got his nose broken (and other bruises) for the trouble. Just like that, Deborah’s dream, finally achieved, was gone. But as she told Ava, Ava mattered more. She locked her out so Ava couldn’t stop her.

As they left the lot, presumably figuring out their next steps, Bob Lipka confronted them. “You’re done,” he said. “I’ll be fine, thanks,” Deborah shot back. Except she won’t. Bob reminded her she signed a contract with an 18-month non-compete.

“We own you,” Bob said. “You can’t touch a mic for the next 18 months. You can’t walk in front of a stage, you can’t step in front of a camera. You can’t sing in the f**king shower. And if you do, I will be suing you into f**king oblivion.”

The relationship between Ava and Deborah has survived a lot. Can it survive 18 months without Deborah working? Or is this a chance for their roles to reverse? Bob was specific about “on camera” work. Can Deborah write … for Ava? Is it Ava’s turn in front of the camera while Deborah works behind it? Is Deborah even capable of that?

There’s one more episode this season (thank God, because this really felt like a season finale). Hopefully we’ll get a glimpse of where the series is headed in season five. HBO Max hasn’t renewed it yet, but I’m sure they will. The showrunners always envisioned five seasons and they know where it’s going. Reversing their roles seems like a fitting way to begin the end.