At the end of episode two, Deb (Jean Smart) tells Ava (Hannah Einbinder) they are off to Vegas – and away we go! Deb’s dead set on moving, moving, moving, but Ava reminds her to slow down. This is a whole new group of people, and they need some time to get to know each other. A writers’ room does not suddenly appear in a day. It takes building relationships before you can build jokes off of one another. But Deb’s impatient, hence going to Vegas over a weekend because she can’t legally take them into an office. Oh, Deborah.
But when in Vegas, am I right? Deb challenges them to a car race, though she manages to win the grand prize herself. Everyone hits the town for drinks and sushi, and actually, if I could choose team bonding, that would 100% be my choice. YUM. Deb even gets a drug dealer with a suitcase stash to meet them on the party bus. They get into the club, hitting the stage, everyone’s vibing. Deb even calls Miss Loretta (Luenell), who gets them into the strip club! But during her special lap dance, Deb hits the panic button. They’re on in four weeks and they have nothing! She doesn’t have time for the partying anymore; she needs to be working, and she needs Ava working with her.
We get a little pop-up from Kiki (Poppy Liu) and UGH, I just love her. She knows how to read people. She read Deb and gave Ava insight back in season one. Ava admits to setting boundaries like Poppy told her to do in the past, but once she admits the boundaries were blackmail, Kiki is put off. Not because it’s not what Deb would do, but because it 100% is what Deb would do. But it’s not Ava. It’s not like her to fully go dark side like that. And it gives Ava a fresh moment of perspective.
Deb and Ava leave the strip club to work, but Deb’s going just a bit too fast. After an awkward cop moment and Ava attempting to Instagram Live their take down, it’s the back of the cop car for both of them. And Ava admits that while it may seem like she did it just for herself and the head writer job, she did it for both of them. Deb needs Ava to balance her out. And Deb might not want to fully admit that yet, but I have the feeling she might come around to realizing it. Though, this bitch is known to hold a grudge. I mean, seriously, we saw how things went with her sister. But a quick phone call to a toasty Mayor (Lauren Weedman, pictured) and a hefty campaign contribution later, they’re free and on their way.
Once the whole group reconnects, the ideas start flying. You see the team starting to bounce ideas, starting to work cohesively as a whole unit. This is what Deb and Ava wanted, but in their very different ways. I don’t know, Ava. I think the drugs probably worked better than the icebreakers. But icebreakers don’t end up with HR oversight like the drugs do. Turns out, someone didn’t remember that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and now things are about to get a whole lot more complicated for this comedy duo. And I just cannot wait to see what’s next.
