#hacks 4x10

[hbomaxsource]

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Hacks 4.06-4.10

[djkerr]

Both are sexually viable.

Hacks 04x10 Heaven

📷 🎥 @roseabdoo IG

[djkerr]

What happens in Singapore...

Hacks 04x10 Heaven

AVADEB + their honeymoon trip to Singapore

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

#Stop Giving Ava A Heart Attack Challenge

[avadaniels]

HACKS 4x10 "Heaven" dir. Lucia Aniello

[chainofclovers]

Apparently I’m not done rambling about Hacks s4 despite posting a bunch of thoughts earlier. I’ve been seeing the sentiment that Deborah was treating Ava badly in 4x10 and being disappointing or gross for abusing substances (I’m obviously paraphrasing here, and trying not to vaguepost too egregiously) and that 4x10 was anticlimactic and a backslide and disappointing after the incredible finale-esque intensity of 4x9, and I feel so differently about it that I think I’m gonna try to write out my thoughts as to why that is!

I think Deborah is really scared.

She has always looked out for herself. She said herself, early in her relationship with Ava, that “there is no line.” But she found the line, and did not cross it. After achieving her dream and surpassing all hopes for how well the show would do (except, of course, her own hopes, and Ava’s hopes), she made a decision that was both perfectly in-character and a massive departure from all the other times when she’s made progress or taken great strides in her work or overcame challenges precisely because she was looking out for herself. And all along, Ava’s been causing her to question whether she was always respecting herself while looking out for Number One, and those little critiques and questions are in the mix as she’s exhibited great character growth but is now spiraling in ways that are very disrespectful to her brain and body.

It makes so much sense to me that Deborah would stall on working on new material despite suggesting to Ava that they’ll be finding their next thing together in 4x9. (She’s just given up what she thought would be the ultimate culmination of what she’d worked for, and while she’s put a lot of work into finding an exploitable loophole so she can perform again, it doesn’t really feel like she’s let herself mourn.) It also makes sense to me that she’d escape into alcohol; she’s always liked to drink quite a bit, but this feels like desperate escapism rather than debauchery (even if she’s very careful to make it look debaucherous and fun when she’s in front of Ava). I think she’s terrified to feel anything deep or dark for longer than a few seconds right now, hence all the cookies in bed and airplane bottles poured into Diet Coke and giggling about how many cocktails she’s had.

And for all that she is critical of Ava (in ways she ought to turn around on herself) and for all that she’s procrastinating all her feelings and really putting the “non-linear” into non-linear progress, I think it’s really exceptionally notable that she never once articulates REGRET. She knows she made the right choice in quitting Late Night. She knows she wouldn’t have been able to forgive herself if she hadn’t. She knows she prioritized the right person. She’s making mistakes left and right and she’s deeply depressed and she’s falling back into the “conniving” that was always more fun when it was in cahoots with other people and she’s struggling. But she doesn’t betray Ava or herself by letting her sadness turn into wishing she hadn’t done the right thing. That feels huge to me.

A lot of movies end directly after the climax; the main character takes their big stand, and it’s exciting and intense and powerful, and we leave the theater still full of adrenaline. I think it’s really important that 4x10 was 4x10 and not 5x1. The aftermath of Deborah’s decision is a part of this story. And I found it interesting and touching to watch Deborah and Ava kinda suck at navigating the aimless misery of being in a mutually-beneficial partnership that prioritizes comedy over literally everything else here in a stretch of months in which nothing’s really that funny.

[djkerr]

The R word.

Hacks 04x10 Heaven

Hacks (2021-present) Heaven (S04E10)

[lesbianologist]

i posted this elsewhere first, but i want to circle back to talking about this, dissecting it further, and posting it independently, because i actually start to cry thinking about this narrative thread.

the photo from 1x10. the one from kathy, dumped into the garbage, fished out by ava, and regifted as a token of ava’s tempered love for deborah.

we all know hacks is a deliberate show; every line, every gesture, every callback is intentional. it doesn’t waste a moment or a detail. instead, it plants emotional seeds and lets them quietly take root, waiting seasons to bloom, much like the champagne. a single photo carries weight because nothing is just set dressing here; it’s all part of the emotional architecture. it’s the pulse beneath the narrative.

so let’s circle back.

when the photo is received, marcus throws it away in the garbage. he thinks he’s protecting deborah. ava, still new to this world and yet already attuned to the shape of deborah’s pain, pulls it from the trash. she doesn’t just return it, though. she reframes it. literally, yes—but emotionally, too. she wraps it as a gift, not of nostalgia, but of hope. the dream deborah had, of making history in television, remastered. ava even adds: “i think she will. xoxo.” as a testament to deborah’s enduring dream(s). it’s not just a peace offering. it’s a gesture of quiet devotion; the kind that doesn’t announce itself with grand declarations, but with care, choice, and intent.

ava doesn’t just hand deborah a photo—she hands her a softened version of what hurt her. a memory, sanded down at the edges. not to erase the past, but to prove it doesn’t have to define the future. it’s a reminder to deborah that she can reshape her future. she doesn’t demand a reckoning with kathy. she just creates space for the idea that healing might be possible. she turns a wound into something safe. she gives deborah the thing she most needs but doesn’t know how to ask for: belief. in herself. in love. in something more. we all know deborah doesn’t believe in heaven, only hell, only eternal suffering and damnation. yes, belief—the same thing mentioned in 4x07, when ava gets out of the car and says “i think you believe in something.”.

and what makes this exquisite storytelling.

deborah believes the photo came from ava and she treasures it. she proudly displays it. kathy sees it later, in deborah’s home, and reads it as forgiveness. both are wrong. both are right. because the truth isn’t in the photo. it’s in the act. the love isn’t in the image—it’s in the hands that carried it, in the heart that repackaged it, in the decision to give it with care. ava’s love has always been like that: unconditional. consistent. quiet. steady. and for once, deborah lets herself accept it. not because she believes she deserves it—but because it feels different. it feels safe.

ava is everything to deborah. more than her voice, creative partner, and person deborah loves. she’s her safe person.

that’s why she brings ava to singapore. that’s why she brings her everywhere. deborah lashes out at ava not because she doesn’t love her—but because she does. and she doesn’t know what to do with that—with love that doesn’t hurt. that doesn’t demand. that doesn’t leave. “you’re just trying to hurt my feelings,” ava says in 4x10. and she’s right. and deborah knows it.

because in the back of her mind, deborah is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. the betrayal. the abandonment. the cost of love. deborah burned down all of her dreams for ava and that’s terrifying for her because it harkens back to her marriage burning to the ground, too. frank did what he did, and so did kathy. it ripples into her relationship with DJ. it’s why she can’t see ava clearly yet, because she’s expecting the pattern to repeat. she doesn’t know how to trust someone who stays. she doesn’t know ava’s love is deliberate, intentional, lasting, constant. it also doesn’t help that ava has had missteps, some of which have also intended to hurt deborah (in the earlier seasons).

so when ava does stay, it confuses her. enrages her. terrifies her. so she tells her to go. pushes her away. accuses her of being too loyal, too close. she touches on age, because she knows what ava wants, but deborah knows the age gap too. she knows what she can and can’t give. she can give her heart, her all, but she can’t change time.

and still, ava remains. ava endures. her love never gives up, not wholly. even when deborah pushed her in another direction, they found their way back to each other, ava pursuing deborah again, because it isn’t performative. it’s chosen. every single time.

and that photo—the one framed with care, handed over with tenderness? it’s the first real signal of that. rescue, reframe, return. not out of pity. not out of necessity. but because ava loves her. because ava sees her.

and one day, when deborah learns the truth—that the photo came from kathy, but it was ava who chose to give it, to soften it, to make it safe—the thread will finally unravel. because it wasn’t just a gesture of peace; it was ava saying, i believe in you. not out of obligation, but devotion and love, and when deborah realizes that, everything she’s held tight; her fear, her defenses, her belief that love always comes with pain—will slowly unravel and come undone. maybe then, everything can finally come together. because ava’s love has never been conditional—it’s always been steady, deliberate, chosen.

and when the time comes, when deborah has to choose—play it safe, or put it all on the line—i think she will. because she already has.

and because hacks is so precise, so achingly deliberate in every emotional beat it lays down, i’m certain (unbelievably certain) that this thread isn’t accidental. it’s foundational.

so let’s return to the title of that episode, to the promise it made from the very beginning in that first season finale, a devastating promise:

1x10: “i think she will”: as her final performance at the palmetto approaches, deborah must decide whether to put it all on the line or play it safe.

and i think she will. this story has always been about burning everything down for something real, for something that matters more than a career, dreams, or legacy; something that deborah talked warmly with ava about, and the same thing she talked about with rosie: someone to laugh with for the rest of your days.

and to borrow from carol (2015): everything comes full circle.

[gym-x-plus]

A JUICYGIRL LEG DAY 🍑 (glute and ham focused) 🫦👇🏼

-reverse hack squat 4x10-12

-barbell rdl 4x8-10

-smith machine touchdown 4x10/each (one of my favs)

-lying leg curl 4x8-10

-standing abduction 3xamrap

©️Credit ig @itsangel_chloe

full fit is @dfyne.official - code angel to save & support 🩶

#fit #fitness #fitgirl #fitnessgirl #gym #fitnessmodel #workout #squat #sportgirl #abs #glute #glutesworkout #glutegains #hip #leg #legs #legday #cardio #core #body #bodypositive #bodybuilding #bodygoals #backtraining #walking #beach #bikini #bikinimodel

[sazzabella]

Hacks 4x10 thoughts and ramblings

the desperation of deborah hitting up all the lawyers. glad they voiced why she overlooked the non-compete clause

the desperation of ava deciding that sucking bob's dick was the answer and jimmy not believing she could give good head. hilarious. also i totally forgot that jimmy knew that deborah slept with bob

the vegas mansion has solar panels! idk if we've seen that before but it's a nice call back to deborah telling the kids she would get them even though they would ruin the aesthetic.

deborah interviewing AJ was so cute and also reinforces that as much as she loves her family, her career comes first (which i think is a coping mechanism but that's for a seperate post)

our girl buying a self proclaimed tacky acid-washed slogan baseball cap, choosing 'girl' over 'diva' because she feels like nothing when she's not performing, and drinking a miniature out of diet coke bottle... OOF.

such a sweet scene between deborah and marty. they've got so much history and it's nice to see that rich friendship acknowledged.

I LOVE THE VIBE OF MARCUS' LITTLE FAMILY. also them planting the seed of marcus developing a boutique deborah vance hotel. he got $$$ from the QVC sale and has been making bank at the solar firm, plus all the rentals he got going on... i believe he can fund it, or at least co-own it

ava really trying to carry deb and instill enthusiasm, first in LA with the writing and then on the jet, and deborah feeling so disconnected. MY BABIES. ava reaching out to touch deborah when she said goodnight was so sweet. HUMAN CONTACT FOR SENPAI

deborah saying "we're heeere" in a very poltergeist/the shining way should have been the first clue shit was about to go sideways

ava's reaction at staying at a casino hotel LMAO (hannah's delivery of this and "oh" about the r word being retired were sublime)

deborah wearing her S1 wig and suit for her casino do-over and then going from standing to sitting when doing the old material. very much coasting and surviving (it's all about that coping mechanism)

deborah and ava's boat convo is so heartbreaking because they both want what's best for the other. ava used to party to escape and she doesn't want that unhealthyness for deborah; deborah has put career first and doesn't want that loneliness for ava. i don't think deborah meant to hurt ava but she's a bit drunk and not great with vulnerability at the best of times (and here deborah is still wounded and managing to cope by wearing armour which ava suggests taking away so it's threatening) so ends up falling back to self preservation

marcus said he missed conniving and the cogs are clearly turning when he's watching the Tropicana get demo'd, so did he call TMZ? i'm wondering if ava has confided to marcus about deborah's behaviour at some point because he managed deborah through her last hack-era so who better to seek advice from. either way, i hope someone gave DJ a heads up and it's a good thing damien had his ulcer removed!

lastly, doing some olympic level mental gymnastics here to justify ava's room being THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CASINO (yes it was an epic run and we love to see it) maybe suites are situated in a different area to rooms? it was a last minute booking and not like deborah needed her closer to work on material so no need to switch to a closer room. also maybe deborah wanted ava there but not there you know, like in the vacinity but with a little breathing room. ALSO deborah was clearly partying it up, making friends, looking like she was hooking up with guys. can't have your sober wife around for that killing the vibe

[aydascomprehendsubtext]

Hacks 4x10 is kinda boring and they have overused the montage this season in a huge way but I guess there's a good season 5 premise in there. Idk I'll keep watching forever but its certainly no season 2 alas.

[wistfulwatcher]

I really love Ava's development of "I don't want to come in the desert to write lame jokes for you, old hack" to being one step from wanting to marry Deborah. I recently started to rewatch the show, and Ava going from utter dislike to utter devotion and love for Deborah despite everything is so fun to watch.

Truly though, it's so much fun to go from 4x10 to 1x01 and see how far they've come!! the thing that always gets me when I go back to the beginning though, is how polite Ava is?? I mean, she comes unprepared and her phoniness is obvious, but she's so nice to Deborah until Deborah pushes her to snap. So I kind of love that it's this neutral interaction (on Ava's side) before it craters into hating the job, and then rises allllll the way to marriage partnership 🥹

[djkerr]

karaoke

Hacks 04x10 Heaven

HACKS S04E10, "Heaven"

[introvertedone]

I’m watching Hacks 4x10 "Heaven"

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

#The Same Exact Picture

[gonkaccino]

my modem fucking died and my ISP's replacement ETA? tuesday. I'm going to have to hotspot just to watch hacks 4x10 after work tomorrow, and my plan to stream a s3 marathon this weekend is off the table. no mamool ja dailies in ff14, won't get to really give the new zone a go until next weekend due to work.

thank god for the steam backlog. SMTV and umineko should get me through these troubled times.