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Paul W. Downs: "Hacks"

 I'm always drawn to crime stories, and though "Hacks" may not literally involve a crime, it does highlight a moral transgression, a case of blackmail.


The most recent episode features Ava--the schemer--at her desk with a stress ball. We watch the stress ball taking various shapes--over several weeks--until, finally, it explodes in Ava's hands, leaving residue all over her fingers. Ava next breaks the law by stashing her car in the parking lot of a sex shop (with no intention of making a purchase). She attempts to rectify her error by buying a dildo, but by the end of the longwinded vendor-speech about "water on silicone," the car has made its exit via tow-truck.

The script scores points with observations about Ava's breezy self-absorption. We catch the end of a soliloquy we can easily imagine; when one scene begins, Ava is telling two strangers, "THAT is when I first understood that I had an allergy to peanut butter...." Later, a hospital calls Ava, but our star can't begin to imagine that the call is anything other than an invitation to a sex party: "You couldn't wait to get me in your bed, could you?" Ava is just a young idiot--and this is a source of comedy for now--but I have a feeling that the idiocy will be a major problem in the season's climactic episodes.

I thought this latest installment would build up to an awkward Ava/DV dinner--but three cheers for the writers for traveling in a different direction. It's nice to feel surprised.
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