{"id":585,"date":"2025-05-30T01:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T01:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/?p=585"},"modified":"2025-05-30T15:19:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T15:19:32","slug":"hacks-heaven-review-very-much-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/30\/hacks-heaven-review-very-much-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"Hacks – Heaven – Review: Very Much Alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After burning it all down in last week\u2019s mic-drop moment, Deborah Vance finds herself in unfamiliar territory: stuck. The non-compete clause Bob Lipka so smugly threw in her face at the end of last week\u2019s episode, is airtight. Every fancy lawyer in town agrees \u2013 and so do the shady ones, because Deb asked them all. There\u2019s simply no loophole. She can\u2019t perform, not for the next 18 months. Even if she were willing to pay the damages (which would be A LOT), no venue would want to be dragged into a legal battle with a media conglomerate.<\/p>\n

The Late Night Show was Deborah\u2019s dream. She never imagined she\u2019d walk away from it. So, for once, she didn\u2019t obsess over the fine print like she usually would. And now, this is the consequence: she\u2019s being silenced, both legally and creatively. It\u2019s brutal. And it\u2019s heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

Ava, of course, tries to help \u2013 despite being completely out of her depth. She feels guilty, knowing Deborah only lost the show because she refused to fire her. But not once does Deborah blame her. She never even hints at regret. She hates that she can\u2019t perform, but not that she stood up to Lipka.<\/p>\n

Ava encourages her to keep working on new material in the meantime. After all, \u201cit\u2019s only 18 months.<\/i>\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a long time for me,<\/i>\u201d Deborah says. And it is. Losing a year and a half of stage time is no small thing, especially when you\u2019re in your seventies and burning with energy and ideas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m not on that stage, I have nothing<\/i>,\u201d she admits, before telling Ava she\u2019s heading back to Vegas. Alone. She needs space.<\/p>\n

She spends time with her grandson which is undeniably adorable to watch, but it\u2019s not exactly fulfilling. Not for her, and not for us. She visits Marcus, hoping to revive Deborah Vance Industries, but even that\u2019s out of reach. \u201cI can\u2019t perform. I don\u2019t even own my own name,<\/i>\u201d she says, and the weight of that line lands like a punch.<\/p>\n

Slowly, Deborah starts to unravel. She sleeps late. Watches hours of mindless TV. Josefina checks in just to make sure she\u2019s still breathing. And the clearest sign that Deborah Vance has hit rock bottom: she steps outside wearing SWEATPANTS. In public!<\/p>\n

At a shop, she spots a glittery hat that says \u201cDIVA,\u201d but walks out with one that simply reads \u201cGIRL.\u201d That\u2019s what she is now: just a woman, unnamed. Not the icon. Not the legend.<\/p>\n

Then Marty calls. I wasn\u2019t exactly thrilled \u2013 it\u2019s Marty after all \u2013 but he genuinely seems worried. He invites her to his hotel in Hawaii, sensing that she needs a break from herself, from everything. He reminds her of some of the good times they once had, and for a brief moment, we see it: there used to be real affection there. I\u2019ll admit, I was worried he\u2019d take advantage of her vulnerability, try to start something up again. But to his credit, he didn\u2019t. And for a split second, that almost made him likable.<\/p>\n

After thinking it over, Deborah decides to take Marty up on his offer and head to Hawaii. Naturally, Ava comes along. And while I fully support them vacationing together, I have to admit that I was a little confused. Just a few scenes ago, Deborah was moping around Vegas, seemingly with zero contact with Ava. Now suddenly, they\u2019re jetting off together like it\u2019s the most natural thing in the world? It feels like we missed a scene … or three.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Heaven” – HACKS. Pictured: Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels, Photo: Max \u00a92025 HBO Max, Inc. All
\nRights Reserved<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

They board the flight to Hawaii\u2026 only to wake up in Singapore. Deborah changed their destination mid-flight while Ava was knocked out on Xanax.<\/p>\n

Turns out this trip isn\u2019t a vacation at all. It\u2019s a loophole. Deborah has found a casino in Singapore that will let her perform. The audience is mostly tourists, and a translator will relay her jokes in real time, essentially performing her material for her. That\u2019s the workaround. Technically, Deborah isn\u2019t \u201cperforming\u201d under the terms of her contract. It\u2019s ridiculous but also genius. <\/p>\n

Ava thinks it\u2019s insane. But Deborah doesn\u2019t care. She is on stage again, and that\u2019s all that matters. She kills. Sort of. She\u2019s mainly doing her old material and she\u2019s drinking way too much. But she has an audience which makes her happy \u2026 or at least happy enough.<\/p>\n

Over time, Deborah\u2019s standards start slipping. She stops working on new material, stops trying. She leans into leisure \u2026 playing bingo, singing karaoke, making friends. And for like half a second, it\u2019s sweet to see her let loose a little. But it\u2019s not who she is.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve been in Singapore for months now, spending all their time together. The lines between friendship and something more are blurring again. Deborah calls Ava \u201choney<\/i>.\u201d Ava calls her \u201cbabe<\/i>.\u201d They have their rhythm, but something is clearly off.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Ava breaks. She tells Deborah she\u2019s not happy, and she\u2019s pretty sure Deborah isn\u2019t either. \u201cIt\u2019s beautiful here but it\u2019s not real life<\/i>,\u201d she says. They are living in a bubble. They should go back home.<\/p>\n

Deborah refuses. She\u2019s fine. She\u2019s busy playing bingo and making friends. Ava pushes back, she\u2019s worried. Deborah\u2019s not acting like herself, and she\u2019s drinking way too much. Woa, Ava when did you become the grown-up?<\/p>\n

Deborah gets defensive, the only way she knows how to deal with Ava\u2019s honesty and concern is to snap back. Vulnerability isn\u2019t exactly her strong suit, especially when she feels exposed. So instead of engaging, she deflects. She throws it back at Ava, knowing exactly where to hit. \u201cWhy are you even still here?<\/i>\u201d she asks. Then she lands the real blow: \u201cYou are 29 years old and I\u2019m your only friend. Isn\u2019t that weird?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

And just like that, they\u2019re fighting again. Ava promises she\u2019ll catch the first flight back home in the morning. For a moment, it feels like we\u2019re heading straight for yet another season-ending breakup. And I\u2019ll admit, I was already annoyed at the idea of watching the same conflict play out yet again, just on a different continent. But thankfully, Hacks had one last twist up its sleeve.<\/p>\n

When Ava wakes up the next morning, she has around 100 missed calls from Jimmy. Why? Because TMZ is reporting that Deborah is dead. Ava panics \u2013 and so do I.<\/p>\n

She sprints through the hotel, banging on Deborah\u2019s door. No answer. More knocking. Still nothing. She is terrified.<\/p>\n

Then Deborah finally opens the door. She is hungover but very much alive.<\/p>\n

She explains that most news outlets keep prewritten obituaries on file, just in case, and occasionally, one slips through and gets published by mistake. That might be what happened here.<\/p>\n

Together, they read the article. According to TMZ, Deborah died in quiet disgrace, having retreated to Singapore after \u201ckilling\u201d the late-night format. Deborah is furious. This is NOT how her story ends.<\/p>\n

And just like that, the fire is back! There\u2019s no way this is the legacy she leaves behind!
She starts packing right away. She\u2019s going home. <\/p>\n

And she is not going quietly, she is going to kick some ass!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Heaven” – HACKS. Pictured: Jean Smart as Deborah Vance.
\nPhoto:
\nJake Giles Netter\/Max \u00a92025 HBO Max, Inc. All Rights Reserved<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It\u2019s a strangely poetic full circle. Deborah had to lose everything \u2013 not just the show, but her sense of identity \u2013 to remember what she\u2019s really made of.<\/p>\n

But one thing keeps nagging at me: where is Deborah\u2019s audience? She used to be the number one Late Night host in the country. She publicly exposed the network. She took a stand, spoke her truth, and walked away at the height of her success. So where\u2019s the outrage over her being trapped by that airtight contract? Where are the viewers? The applause? The cultural ripple effect? <\/p>\n

And while I\u2019m relieved the season didn\u2019t end with yet another betrayal (Thank god! We\u2019ve been down that road too many times) I\u2019m still not entirely sure how I feel about the finale overall. The Singapore arc felt a little far-fetched, a little dreamlike. But maybe that was the point. Deborah did escape into another world. She needed distance. She needed to forget reality for a while. Now, she\u2019s ready to return.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

And when Deborah Vance decides to come home, you better believe she\u2019s coming for everything.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

What did you think of the finale? Did Deborah\u2019s fake death give you a heart attack too? Drop your thoughts in the comments \u2013 and rejoice: Hacks is officially coming back for Season 5!<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  After burning it all down in last week\u2019s mic-drop moment, Deborah Vance finds herself in unfamiliar territory: stuck. The non-compete clause Bob Lipka so smugly threw in her face at the end of last week\u2019s episode, is airtight. Every fancy lawyer in town agrees \u2013 and so do the…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":591,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585\/revisions\/591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardwaretutorials.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}