This article contains spoilers for Hacks Season 5 Episode 9.
If there were ever a clear indication that Hacks has too few episodes in Season 5, Episode 9 is it. “The Garden,” written by Lucia Anello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, jumps ahead to the day Deborah’s (Jean Smart) non-compete finally expires. There is only so much the series could realistically show of Deborah waiting out the order – she has already risked the law enough as it is – but for a final season, the transition creates the impression that viewers have missed a substantial stretch of story between Episodes 8 and 9. That abruptness carries through both “The Garden” and the finale itself, highlighting how much stronger the season’s pacing might have been with 12 episodes rather than 10.
The focus on Ava (Hannah Einbinder) particularly highlights this. Even though Hacks is a Jean Smart vehicle, Einbinder is arguably just as much at the forefront of the series. Season 5 has felt largely muted about where her future is headed, with her Who’s Making Dinner? reboot taking a backseat to Deborah’s long-awaited Madison Square Garden show. In “The Garden,” Ava finally pitches the show to Jessica (Caitlin Reilly), who fails to understand why Ava specifically needs to tell this story when any writer of her generation could tackle it. Jessica argues that the pitch lacks a personal perspective, and the criticism clearly rattles Ava.
What follows becomes some of the episode’s strongest and most emotional material. Once in New York, Deborah absent-mindedly launches into another rant – this time about QR codes and younger generations’ refusal to speak to anyone – when Ava suddenly realises what the reboot has been missing: protagonists modelled on her and Deborah themselves.
Who’s Making Dinner? (Ava and Deb Version) will centre a real relationship, one that begins as boss and employee before evolving into something far more difficult to define: writing partners, roommates, and ultimately, best friends. Ava wants the show to explore two wildly dissimilar, headstrong women who disagree on almost everything yet continue to choose each other above everyone else. It is a welcome pivot that finally gives Ava’s arc this season some clarity while reaffirming that Hacks has always worked best when it prioritises the intimacy between these two women.
The episode also continues Deborah’s attempts to repair fractured relationships and give back to those closest to her. Marty (Christopher McDonald) losing his job at the Palmetto allows Hacks to revisit the connection he and Deborah share. Whether viewers are rooting for them romantically or not – I fall into the latter camp – Smart and McDonald share an easy chemistry. One of the episode’s sweetest moments comes when Deborah offers Marty a role helping Marcus run operations at The Diva. Marty, in turn, promises to “unleash The Marty,” highlighting what makes their companionship work so well, even platonically.
If there is also an indication that Anello, Downs, and Statsky still struggle to utilise their entire ensemble, “The Garden” is it. The likes of DJ (Kaitlin Olson), Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins), Kiki (Poppy Liu), and Josefina (Rose Abdoo) remain absent from the Garden storyline. Their omission increasingly comes across as out of character for both Deborah and the series itself, particularly given the weight attached to her comeback show.
That said, the scenes remain effective. However, in an episode that once again employs Trisha Paytas – someone whose well-documented history of transphobia, homophobia, racism, Zionism, and support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine stands in direct opposition to much of what Hacks otherwise positions itself as – the continued absence of those characters becomes increasingly unfathomable. The contradiction becomes even harder to ignore later in the episode when Deborah acknowledges that her set is taking place on stolen land. For a penultimate episode of a series synonymous with its ensemble, sidelining long-running characters while continuing to platform Paytas, even briefly, feels like a baffling creative decision.
Unsurprisingly, Deborah’s long-awaited MSG comeback does not go to plan. The Garden opens its doors only to note a lack of foot traffic. Hacks soon reveals that Bob Lipka (Tony Goldwyn) has bought out the entire show in an attempt to silence Deborah during a scene that feels almost certain to bolster Smart’s Emmy campaign. Lipka explains that Deborah’s heroic Late Night exit created a nightmare for him before the controversy quietened down, and the last thing he wants is Deborah reigniting the scandal. He offers her an NDA and a substantial payout. If she refuses, he promises to use every outlet possible to paint her as unreliable. Smart delivers Deborah’s eventual “fuck your NDA and fuck you” deliciously.
Elsewhere, the ensemble members who do appear continue delivering some of the episode’s funniest material. Jimmy (Downs) remains hysterical, whether he is sharing a “Shondalogue” to a Parks department employee about neutrality in the face of injustice – another pointed irony – or desperately attempting to secure a permit through an impromptu discussion about Xena: Warrior Princess. Kayla (Meg Stalter), meanwhile, steals the line of the episode when she gleefully suggests they should “Luigi [Lipka’s] ass” after the MSG fallout. The escalating drama surrounding the comeback set gives the episode a manic energy that largely works, though it occasionally borders on cartoonish.
Rather than back down, Deborah counters that they will do the show for free instead in Central Park. If there are no tickets, Lipka cannot stop anyone from attending. When Jimmy suggests targeting the springtime, Deborah insists it must happen that weekend – a remark that sets the stage for the finale. For now, though, it allows for the welcome return of Weed (Laurie Metcalf), who provides Deborah with the stage she needs. Metcalf slips effortlessly back into the role, and her brief appearance leaves an immediate impact.
For all its messiness, “The Garden” still arrives at the emotional payoff it is aiming for. Watching New Yorkers flood the park in support of Deborah while Ava, Jimmy, Kayla, Damien (Mark Indelicato), Randi (Robby Hoffman), and the rest of the team scramble to make the impossible happen, feels triumphant. The Parks department estimates more than 30,000 people have gathered. For a stand-up performance in the park, it’s a record. Ava’s remark that it would make a great obituary lead is so brazen that it almost becomes cruel, particularly with the finale only a week away.
The final scenes leave the series poised for a devastatingly beautiful finale as the group huddles together and Deborah admits she could not have done any of it without them. “The Garden” may highlight the structural issues that have plagued much of Season 5, but it also reminds viewers exactly what Hacks has always been built on: the relationships at its centre, even when not all of them are present.
