SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from the series finale of “Hacks,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Deborah Vance was never really going to die. But as “Hacks” said bon voyage with a series finale that took viewers to Paris and back, the series’ creators knew they needed to heighten the stakes with its lead characters one last time. And that came in the guise of a serious illness that threatens — but then ends up solidifying — the unbreakable bond between Deborah (Jean Smart) and her protégé, Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), something that has been built up over the course of five seasons.
In series finale of “Hacks,” Deborah reveals that the cancerous mass she had removed in a previous episode has spread — and she has no interest undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Instead, befitting her need to forever be in control, Deborah wants to go out on her own terms, and travel overseas to an assisted suicide facility. “I want to go out on top,” she tells Ava, who is not happy at all with the idea.
But as much as she’s against that plan, Ava knows she has to be there for Deborah. After some light protestation, she joins Deborah on an end-of-life jaunt to Paris. While in the City of Lights, the duo have the time of their lives. They load up on baguettes, haggle with shopkeepers, tour the Louvre, stay out late at a disco and take loads of selfies.
