We’re back recapping Hacks! Rather than full episode breakdowns, I’m focusing on just one thing each episode. This week: AGING.
When I say I want to age like Deborah Vance, I don’t mean I want any work done. Even if I did want to pursue the anti-aging treatments Deborah Vance gets, I don’t have Deborah Vance money. I’m not talking about Deborah’s (and therefore, Jean Smart’s) undeniable physical beauty. I’m talking about her realization at the end of this episode, that it is a beautiful thing to be heartbroken later in life, because it means you’re still living — not just alive, but really truly living. Taking risks, putting yourself out there, pursuing your passions and your desires. When I say I want to age like Deborah Vance, I mean I hope to still be just as horny and lovesick in my seventies as I am today.
In this week’s episode, Deborah is asked on a date by Nico, a young, hot international star beginning his Vegas residency at the Palmetto. Deborah automatically assumes this isn’t a real date so much as a publicity grab, a chance for Nico and Deborah to be seen together by paparazzi so he can drum up interest in his residency. She agrees to the fake date because she could use the publicity, too. At no point does she dismiss the date as false because of the age gap between her and Nico; in fact, when Ava suggests it could be a real date, Deborah doesn’t deny Nico could possibly be interested in her and rather points out he isn’t her type. Too pretty. She’s the pretty one.
Ava is right; the date is real. Nico is into Deborah and very not into press stunts. He emancipated himself from his parents after his dad sold his homecoming pics. Deborah realizes the connection with Nico is real and suddenly falls off the cliff into the abyss of a new crush. They make out, she’s giddy, she even invites him to be her +1 at Marty’s latest wedding.
At no point does Hacks make fun of the age gap between Deborah and Nico. At no point is this situation presented as absurd — neither the fact that he’s into her nor the fact that she’s still capable of succumbing to a dizzying crush. If you think about it, the only time there’s ever jokes about older people hooking up, dating, etc., they’re all made by Deborah, who no doubt can make those jokes because she is indeed a woman of a certain age who fucks. When she and Nico get closer, it’s totally natural. But it’s not something we get to see on television all that often, at least not without cheap jokes that underscore the age gap. There are some really lovely moments here, including Deborah asking Nico about his family and also offering very genuine advice about what it’s like to do a Vegan residency.
Yes, it’s funny to watch Deborah crash out over a crush and then over being dumped (Nico’s anti-pap stance is at odds with the fact that Deborah is press-obsessed and even calls a pap to show up to their first date) is hilarious to watch, but it’s not rendered funny because of her age but because this is Deborah. Her crash outs are usually about work; in her dating life (minus any of the stuff that happened in the past with her ex husband and sister), she’s usually pretty cool as a cucumber.
I just love how much sexual agency is always given to Deborah throughout the series. Deborah makes it pretty clear she still sees herself as the same woman she was early in her career, and while sometimes she is indeed in denial about the realities of aging, I don’t think there’s actually anything wrong with this mentality. She is the same sex icon diva baddie she has always been. And Hacks celebrates that alongside her.
Hacks often surprises in its portrayals of aging and what it can mean for a career and a person’s sense of self. The generational divide between Deborah and Ava is often played for laughs, but it’s tempered with more serious moments where Deborah and Ava both learn from each other and see things from a different vantage point. As they both stumble through their own dating plotlines in this episode, the differences in their stages of life sort of equalize. Dating can be messy at any age.
But then there are some things that can only come with age, like the oddly lovely relationship between Deborah and Marty. Younger versions of themselves would be so much messier, but Deborah and Marty have found this solid equilibrium of flirty friendship and deep understanding of one another. They make a pact to marry if they’re still single at…100. A joke, sure, but also a nod to the fact that the two of them are just going to keep on living and being exactly who they are for as long as they possibly can.
Favorite Line of Literally the Entire Episode: “THEN NAME ONE MAGICIAN WHO’S EVER SERVED ON THE SUPREME COURT!!!!!!!”
I’m going to start saying this on a weekly basis unfortunately.
Side Notes:
- Lucia Aniello makes a delightful cameo as the real estate agent interested in Marcus. Lucia cameos are brief but powerful. Who can ever forget Smelly Pussy Donna on Broad City? Now I need an entire spinoff spoofing realty reality a la Selling Sunset about this Hacks character.
- Ava having no problem with a guy she dates being a sex worker (and overcorrecting by being TOO affirming about it) but having a major problem with him being a (bad) magician is such a quintessential Ava plotline. It sounds like something someone would have pitched jokingly but then actually came to fruition. Love it.
- No marriage for Marty but a work marriage for Deborah and Marcus! As it should be!
- They should put Deborah’s playing cards dress in a museum.
