I'm not really sure how I feel about the Hacks finale.
Despite all the foreshadowing this season about Deborah dying, it still feels really cheap to introduce and immediately resolve something as heavy as a PAS storyline in the same episode.
There were several little moments I loved, though. Like Ava's pained "oh shit this is really happening, I'm really going to lose her" face while they were dancing in Paris. And I do like that what ultimately changes Deb's mind is the realization that she still has more to write with Ava.
But still, a lot of s5 just felt off simply because Deb was being so nice to Ava all the time. They were both so open and comfortable about how close they'd grown, and while that's sweet and gratifying for their characters, it also saps a lot of the tension from their relationship that makes it so interesting.
And it's a shame because that kind of weakens the rest of the show by extension because then when they brush on topics like AI and climate change and shitty bro culture, it doesn't come off as organic and earnest as it should, it just feels kind of hand-holdy and preachy. It's not bad, exactly, but it's also not really doing anything any other show couldn't do.
And maybe that's what's weakening the finale for me, too. By this point, the tension between Deb and Ava is gone, and instead the central conflict is this suicide plot that just isn't uniquely them. The "That's the better joke" resolution redeems a lot of it for me, but it's still not enough to fully justify it.
Absolutely loved the final scene of them walking arm-in-arm in Vegas, though. And the credits version of Ava's theme was beautiful.
