Summary

• Deborah’s shocking betrayal and Ava’s devious scheme completely change the dynamic of Hacks in the season 3 finale.
• Deborah’s insecurities about her new late-night gig lead to regrettable decisions that have jaw-dropping consequences for the show.
• Ava’s blackmail plan to become head writer threatens the relationship between her and Deborah in a surprising turn of events.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Hacks season 3 finale.

From Deborah’s shocking betrayal to Ava’s devious scheme, the ending of Hacks season 3 was full of surprising revelations that will completely change the show going forward. Hacks’ season 3 finale – season 3, episode 9, “Bulletproof” – sees Deborah getting ready to begin her stint as the host of the Late Show. At the end of episode 8, Jimmy showed up at Deborah’s house with the good news that the network had decided to give her the job, and episode 9 sees her moving to L.A. to finally achieve her lifelong dream of hosting a late-night show.

The Hacks season 3 story arc has been building up to Deborah taking the host’s chair at the Late Show since the beginning. But now that she’s got the job, she has to actually prove she can do it. Deborah has to overcome her insecurities about missing out on her last shot at late-night in order to really seize this opportunity. She doesn’t want to give the network an excuse to fire her, and she becomes blinded by those fears, so she makes some regrettable decisions that lead to jaw-dropping consequences.

Why Deborah Doesn’t Choose Ava As Her Head Writer

When Deborah gets the Late Show hosting job, she immediately asks Ava to be her head writer. Their working relationship is stronger than ever and Deborah couldn’t have gotten the gig without Ava’s help, so she wants to repay her by giving her the top job in the writers’ room. So, Ava quits her job as a co-producer at On the Contrary, and even turns down the opportunity to take on the head writer position there. But then, she’s disappointed to learn that the network won’t let Deborah choose her own head writer. They want to keep their guy, Steve.

As a dejected Ava wanders the streets, she spots network head Winnie Landell (played by Hacks season 3 guest star Helen Hunt) waiting for her car at a valet stand. Ava pleads with Winnie to give her the head writer job and tells her that despite her lack of late-night experience, she’s the best candidate. Winnie agrees that Ava should have the job and tells her to pitch herself to Deborah, because Deborah has complete control over who to hire as head writer. When Ava confronts Deborah about the lie, she learns the real reason she didn’t get the job.

In her attempts to overcome the insecurities over her previous failed late-night hosting gig, Deborah paid a visit to Biff, the executive who fired her. Biff said that her pilot tested through the roof and she would’ve been a great late-night host, but the network couldn’t handle the negative publicity with the rumor that Deborah burned her husband’s house down. Biff advised Deborah to never give the network an excuse to get rid of her. She decided against hiring Ava and instead kept on the current head writer, because she didn’t want to rock the boat at the network.

Why Marcus Is Quitting His Job With Deborah

At the beginning of the Hacks season 3 finale, Marcus confides to Damien that he’s quitting Deborah’s team and moving on to a new career. Damien is devastated by this news and worries that Deborah’s team will crumble without having Marcus on top of everything, but Marcus assures him they’ll be okay. The reason for Marcus’ quitting was explained in season 3, episode 8, “Yes, And.” Marcus was furious at Deborah for skipping the Pride event he organized for her, and when he called her on it, he felt like he wasn’t being listened to. So, he’s letting go.

The Real Reason For Kathy’s Anger At Deborah Explained

After Deborah and Kathy finally hashed out their issues and made peace at Deborah’s Christmas party, at the beginning of the Hacks season 3 finale, Kathy is excited to spend the weekend with Deborah. But she’s disappointed to learn that, because Deborah is so busy prepping her new late-night show, she can only spend an afternoon with Kathy. Kathy wants to visit their parents’ burial site, then she’s incensed that Deborah takes a work call while they’re paying their respects. And then she’s even more incensed when she learns that Deborah moved their mother’s body to Vegas without telling her.

The real reason why Kathy is so angry at Deborah isn’t just because she canceled their weekend together, or because she took a work call at their parents’ graveside. It’s the connecting tissue between these two incidents. Kathy sees Deborah is once again getting consumed by her career and losing sight of what’s really important. This is the same mistake that Deborah made decades ago that led to the rift between the two sisters. Whereas Kathy has learned from her mistakes and grown from them, Deborah is just repeating hers.

Why Jimmy Doesn’t Want Kayla To Leave Their Company

Throughout the season, Jimmy has constantly expressed disappointment with his assistant Kayla for messing up his schedule and sending emails to the wrong recipients. When she’s had enough, Kayla leaves their company and heads to Mykonos. But Jimmy races onto the plane to stop her from leaving. He explains that, while she’s a terrible assistant, she’s a great manager. She’s the one who figured out how to get Deborah the Late Show job by launching a Fatty Arbuckle biopic. She’s much more useful than she seems. When Jimmy finally realizes Kayla’s value, he promotes her from assistant to partner.

The
Hacks
season 3 finale was written by series creators Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky, and Paul W. Downs.

Why Ava Really Buys That Bottle Of Champagne – Her Blackmail Plan Explained

When she confronts Deborah about lying to her, Ava tells Deborah that she’s not just lonely when she opens a bottle of champagne; Ava tells Deborah that she’s always lonely, and she’ll die lonely, before storming out. This is a reference to their heart-to-heart from season 3, episode 5, “One Day,” in which Deborah confided that she feels particularly lonely when she cracks open a bottle of champagne. Champagne can’t be re-corked, so she has to finish it alone – and she wishes she had someone to share it with. Ava then goes to a convenience store.

While she’s paying at the checkout, she spots a bottle of champagne behind the counter and adds that to her tab. This champagne purchase is symbolic of Ava taking a leaf out of Deborah’s book. When Ava shows up for her first day as a staff writer at Deborah’s late-night show, she blackmails Deborah into giving her the head writer position by threatening to reveal that she slept with affiliate owner Bob Lipka before securing the hosting job. If the network finds out about that, they might consider it a conflict of interest and fire Deborah from her dream job.

The Real Meaning Of Hacks Season 3’s Ending

The Hacks season 3 finale puts yet another strain on Deborah and Ava’s relationship, like Ava’s defamatory email about Deborah in the season 1 finale and Deborah firing Ava in the season 2 finale. Ava’s blackmail scheme might be the most shocking development in their tumultuous relationship to date. Ava has always taken the high road, but she’s finally using Deborah’s duplicitous tactics against her.