There’s a comment on a Reddit thread I was perusing not long ago that has been making me think a lot about Hacks, particularly the final season. Some months ago, I remember going down a late night rabbit hole while researching female friendships, trying to find the best quotes, media, and observations about the powerful bonds that form between women. It was during this scroll that I came across one short message that has stayed with me, although I wasn’t sure for what reason … until now.
“Purely based on what I have seen with my sisters, wife, and in-laws, female friendship are complex but fragile,” the commenter wrote on the r/AskMen thread. “I have seen them develop friendships that are deeper than every male friendship ive had put together. They will know each others hopes, dreams, fears, regrets, and then some. Meanwhile I can’t tell you my best friends birthday and weve [sic] been friends for over a decade.”
For much of the five-season run of Hacks — the Emmy-winning HBO Max comedy starring Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Paul W. Downs, and Megan Stalter — I’ve watched in awe as the writers have nailed the age-gap dynamic between Deborah (Smart) and Ava (Einbinder), their boss and employee push and pull, and their kooky roommate dynamic that is certainly unconventional but a breeding ground for hilarity. Like any good comedy, there are many balls in the air at the same time, requiring tact and a skillful balancing act to truly make it feel extraordinary.
It is no surprise then that someone — especially someone who has loved the first four seasons of the show — might be wary about the series landing the plane in its fifth and final season. In fact, if I’m being honest with myself, I took a full inhale and exhale before hitting play on the first episode of the this last parcel of Hacks. I would laugh, sure. Would there be a moment where Jimmy (Downs) and Kayla (Stalter) find themselves in an awkward predicament? Absolutely. Aside from that, who was to say what Season 5 would bring?
At the end of the day, though, Hacks Season 5 gifts the audience with the reminder of what this show is and always has been about: women’s relationships. To go a step further, it feels less like an odd couple comedy that finds its humor in conflict, and more like a love letter to friendships, even in the unlikeliest (and most fabulous) of places. Diametrically opposed, Deborah and Ava may only have a few things in common, but they are each able to see the other person for who they are, flaws and all.
In previous seasons, that clear line of vision has tended to cause just as many issues as it has given the two characters a strong foundation to a partnership for the ages. Even that, I would argue, is more of a “love hard, fight hard” approach than anything else, though. At her core, Deborah knows that Ava is her best friend and Ava knows the same. It’s why Season 5 choosing to live and breathe in the elation of these women, as individuals, partners, and friends, feels like the breath of fresh air I was hoping for.
As the astute commenter on Reddit pointed out, female friendships are complex and fragile. Any fan who has tuned in over the last five years knows it certainly has not been all roses for Ava and Deborah on their quest to turn Deborah’s career around and cement her legacy. There have been lawsuits, arguments, and some light blackmail, but all of that has been the foundation for this armoured dynamic.
Don’t misconstrue me: whipsmart, funny, and audacious from start to finish, Hacks Season 5 will keep you laughing and guessing until the last moment. Fresh off their most recent Emmy wins, Jean Smart finishes out her run as Deborah Vance with some of her most grounded and hilarious work to date, while Einbinder similarly hits it out of the park, finding the perfect tone for a comedic but bittersweet departure from this world. Much like Smart, the show ends by cementing its legacy as one of the greatest comedies of the 21st century.
There are so many moments throughout this fifth and final season of Hacks that left me doing more than just laughing; they forced me to ponder my own relationships. Most women know about the rollercoaster that can be a female friendship, but would attest that they are often the most rewarding of their relationships, as they allow for each person to be their most authentic self. That’s what Hacks, and especially Hacks Season 5, does for these two characters.
So while the Reddit observer clocked that female friends often “know each others hopes, dreams, fears, regrets, and then some,” I’d like to take it one step further after finishing Hacks Season 5. Female friends will know each others hopes, dreams, fears, regrets, and then some,” but also do everything in their power to protect, provide, and prioritize for the person they love. Because women.
Hacks Season 5 premieres on Thursday, April 9, on HBO Max. The first four seasons are now streaming.
