The series finale of Hacks just aired and it was an emotional 45 minutes for longtime fans of the show.
The episode began with Jean Smart‘s Deborah Vance telling Ava, played by Hannah Einbinder, that doctors weren’t able to fully remove her cancerous mass and now it has spread in her body. Instead of doing treatment, she reveals she wants to end her life at an assisted suicide facility in Europe.
”Hacks has been the story of Deborah controlling everything,” series co-creator Lucia Aniello told TheWrap. “She would want to control even death … That asks the essential question of ‘If she’s going to die, what would be the only thing she’d be willing to live for?’”
So, what happened in the end? We’re recapping the fate of each character.
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart)
Deborah decides that she wants to end her life instead of getting treatment for her cancer. She convinces Ava that this is the right decision and they go to Europe for one last vacation before she dies.
On the trip, Ava continuously tries to convince her to get treatment, but Deborah keeps insisting that this is her decision.
When they’re getting ready to board the train that will take them to the assisted suicide facility, Deborah and Ava go back and forth making jokes about the worst part of dying. Deborah comes up with the best joke, “The worst part about dying is that I can’t even enjoy being bone thin.”
The joy of finding a joke, even in an awful situation, makes Deborah realize she wants to continue living. She tells Ava she wants to do one last comedy hour and agrees to start treatment.
The episode ends with Deborah and Ava back in Vegas, laughing as they walk down the strip.
Ava (Hannah Einbinder)
In the finale, Ava films the pilot for the TV series she’s creating and we get to see her acting as the boss on the show.
After Deborah agrees to get treatment for her cancer, Ava also agrees to help her write one more comedy hour for a new special.
Kayla (Meg Stalter) and Jimmy (Paul W. Downs)
Kayla and Jimmy’s management company was shut down by Kayla’s dad and they started working for him again in season five.
While working in the mailroom, Jimmy realizes that Mr. Schaefer has been doing some corrupt business deals, so they use this information to blackmail him. In exchange for hiding the discovery, they get him to step down and hand over Latitude Management to them to run as co-presidents.
In the final moments of the episode, Jimmy gets a call from entertainment executive Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn), who tells him he loved the movie that Jimmy produced and he wants to buy the rights.
Series co-creator Lucia Aniello told TheWrap, “[Jimmy] really believes in helping artists fulfill their vision, and he will do anything for it because it makes him feel like he’s won when they’ve won. That is how we feel about a lot of the people in this industry. Yes, it can be a gross industry, and it can have people who are really in it for ego, money, power or whatever, but there also are people here who just love TV shows and movies who want to be part of helping people make really good ones. For us, maybe we just wish that there were even more Jimmys and Kaylas out there.”
Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins)
Marcus celebrates the grand opening of the Diva hotel in the finale and Deborah gives him all the credit for making it happen.
Marcus names the comedy club in the hotel after her.
Randi (Robby Hoffman)
Randi is still working for Jimmy and Kayla at Latitude. In the finale, when the duo become co-presidents, Kayla decides she doesn’t want her own office and would rather sit at her old assistant desk outside of Jimmy’s office.
Randi gets to take Kayla’s office instead!
Why is Hacks ending?
Here’s what the show’s creators said!
Posted To:Hacks Hannah Einbinder HBO Max Jean Smart Meg Stalter Megan Stalter Paul W. Downs Robby Hoffman Television
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