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Our favorite disaster duo is back in Vegas, where it all began, where Deborah feels at home, and most importantly, in control. She’s nervous about the show and unsure if things will click with the new writers, so it makes perfect sense that she’d retreat to familiar turf for a few days. Technically, she pitched the trip as a retreat, but in true Deborah fashion, the real plan is to work those writers nonstop until they produce the perfect opening act for her show.

Deborah may like to believe she’s the only one calling the shots, but as head writer, Ava now has authority too. The new writers work for both of them, and unsurprisingly, Deborah and Ava have wildly different leadership styles. Ava wants to bond with the team, get to know them, have a little fun. Deborah, on the other hand, can’t be bothered to even learn their names. There’s no time for that. She needs results! Pitches! Now!

The writers are clearly intimidated. Deborah’s pressure leaves some completely paralyzed, while others start pitching the most ridiculous, utterly useless ideas imaginable. Like vaguely responsible co-parents, Ava and Deborah keep ducking out of the room to argue in private over how to handle the kids (aka the writers). If we didn’t know they were basically forced to get along, you might almost call it mature of them not to tear each other apart in front of everyone.

“What Happens in Vegas” – HACKS. Pictured: Jean Smart as Deborah Vance & Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels. Photo: Kenny Laubbacher/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Ava argues that terrified writers aren’t exactly idea machines. They need to relax, have a bit of fun. Knowing that Ava occasionally has a point, the comedian promises to give the writing team the best weekend of their lives… right before she plans to grind their bones to dust.

So off they go. Deborah takes the writers to the Motor Speedway to race each other in mini-Lamborghinis, supplies them with illegal substances (which nobody questions and everyone’s thrilled about), takes them dancing, and eventually ends up at a strip club, where she receives a complimentary lap dance as a gift for landing her late-night gig. Mid-grind, the stripper casually asks why Deborah even has the time to party when her show’s premiere is just around the corner. Shouldn’t she be… working?

That’s when the anxiety sets in. They still haven’t come up with a single usable idea. So, Deborah corners her drunk and high writing staff and demands pitches on the spot. One guy throws out a particularly stupid idea, and vomits mid-sentence to really underscore his brilliance. Deborah fires him. Ava rehires him. Deborah fires him again. You get the gist.

Eventually, Ava convinces Deborah to let the writers sober up and try again in the morning. (The mid-pitch vomiting incident probably helped seal the deal.) It’s already well past midnight, but the two frenemies decide to keep working on the pitch themselves – because of course they do. While driving together (to… somewhere?), they start bickering again, and Deborah gets pulled over for speeding. Unprompted, she tells the cop she won’t be taking a breathalyzer—so he might as well not bother asking. Minutes later, both women are handcuffed in the back of a squad car – still arguing.

Even while detained, Deborah’s mind is on the show. She’s still workshopping the perfect opening. Ava tells her to give it a rest, they’ll figure it out with the writers tomorrow. But Deborah’s not interested. She doesn’t believe the writers can help her. They don’t know her. They haven’t lived her life. There’s no way they can deliver something as groundbreaking as she needs for her big debut. That’s why she’s always avoided working with writers. That is until Ava came along and weaseled her way in.

Deborah calls their collaboration the biggest mistake of her life and accuses Ava of stabbing her in the back. Ava pushes back, insisting the blackmail wasn’t just for her own gain, but for both of them. She wanted to make sure the show would be a success, because deep down, she knows they’re at their best when they’re working together. They have the potential to create something truly great. But Deborah doesn’t buy it. She refuses to believe (or at least so she claims) Ava had anyone’s interests in mind but her own.

Before the conversation can go any further, Mayor Jo rolls up in her Hummer with full fanfare. Deborah had texted her, hoping a bit of political muscle might smooth things over and get them out of their run-in with the cops. Unlike the comedian, who refused a breathalyzer despite being completely sober, the mayor is very clearly unapologetically drunk. But the cops don’t seem to mind her inebriated state and follow her orders without question, letting Deborah and Ava walk. In return for her help, the mayor expects a generous donation to her re-election campaign. That’s just how things work at that level, folks.

The next morning, they regroup with the now-sober writers, who are suddenly full of usable ideas, bouncing off each other like a real writers’ room. Apparently, the chaotic night out was exactly what they needed. Maybe the trip to Vegas wasn’t a complete disaster after all.

Back in LA, reality hits fast. Rob, the showrunner, is already waiting for them – and he’s not pleased. A few of the writers – those little twats – have filed complaints with HR about the Vegas trip: the drugs, the strip club, and, of course, the constant power struggle between Deborah and Ava.

Fed up with the chaos these two keep causing, Rob assigns Stacy from HR to shadow them. From now on, Deborah and Ava aren’t allowed to be unsupervised. Our dream team officially has a babysitter now!

“What Happens in Vegas” – HACKS. Pictured: Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, Jean Smart as Deborah Vance & Michaela Watkins as Stacy. Photo: Kenny Laubbacher/Max ©2025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved

One particularly pleasant surprise in this episode was the return of Kiki, easily one of my favorite characters besides Deborah and Ava. As always, Ava confides in her about the latest round of Deborah-related drama, and Kiki is genuinely disappointed to hear about the blackmail. She really believed Ava and Deborah had something special going, not just professionally, but personally. And now it’s all tainted. Ava tries to reassure her it’s fine, they’ve called a truce. But Kiki doesn’t buy it. She knows Deborah doesn’t forgive and forget. When she holds a grudge, she holds it forever.

But is that really true? After all, the email Ava sent at the end of Season 1 exposing Deborah was more or less swept under the rug just a few episodes later. Or maybe… Deborah just can’t hold a grudge when it comes to Ava? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

This episode may have toned down the swearing compared to the season opener(s), but Hacks is still as sharp, savage, and satisfying as ever. Fewer f-bombs and c-words, same explosive energy. Sign me up for ten more seasons!

Still rooting for our favorite disaster duo? Tell us in the comments below!