Anyone who watched Ugly Betty back in the early aughts knows that Mark Indelicato is a comedic talent. Sure, he was just a precocious kid back then, but he had incredible comedic timing and could still rip your heartstrings out at a moment’s notice. I had been waiting for a while to see when Hacks would give him a chance to shine. After all, biting one-liners are great, but Indelicato can do a whole lot more. So, getting to see Damian have his moment in the sun this week was a complete joy.
Pairing Deborah with Damian for a third of the episode also allowed us to see behind the curtain – to see her more relaxed, without the weight of the world on her shoulders. Of course, stressed beyond relief was the state she was in for the majority of the episode, as she battled panic attacks and a general fear of failure en route to the premiere of her late night series. Having Carol Burnett pop by to offer some advice was a nice touch – one of the comedic greats who broke a number of glass ceilings for Deborah to follow on through. But seeing Deb vulnerable – with one of her heroes – in a way she can’t be with those in her inner circle (now that she’s shoved Ava out) was pretty heartbreaking as well.
We know that, at some point this season, our gals are going to reconnect and I think things started thawing just a tad this week. Yes, there’s a long way to go, but Deborah wasn’t particularly caustic at the realization that Ava was called as her emergency contact (and Ava didn’t tease her about that choice either). And seeing that Deborah chose Ava as the person in the audience to focus on when the panic engulfed her? That’s as sure of a sign as anything that Deborah might still be hurt, but she’s not going to freeze Ava out forever.
But perhaps the most interesting thing about this episode to me was how adult Ava was. Sure, she got her car towed and then had a typical ridiculous trek to get it (complete with getting a dinner – and more – invite from a couple). But she was more than willing to let her writers head home and didn’t demand they stay for her. When Deborah was struggling, she was kind and open – no cracking jokes or making snide comments. And when she saw how genuinely crushed Deborah was that she would miss seeing her premiere live on TV, Ava made sure she did. The Ava of past seasons would either try to protect herself by making fun of Deb or turtle into her shell and do nothing. But this version of Ava really is older and more mature. She was professional throughout the episode and did something really great for her former friend and confidante.
Growth is what keeps shows churning as they get up there in age and seeing both Deborah and Ava taking steps – on their own – to grow into better, more well-rounded people is pretty cool. The series could have them simply stay stagnant, but instead it’s asking them to take steps forward so that when they can reconcile, they’ll do so on a much more even playing field. Not a ton happened in terms of plot movement, but from a character perspective, this was a hell of a crucial episode.
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