By: Kelly Kearney
After securing a slot on stage at Madison Square Garden, Deborah and Ava put writing on the back burner this week in favor of a little romance. Both fall into romantic situationships—a May-December whirlwind(unfortunately, not the one fans are clamoring for) and a zesty bisexual allyship that runs nuclear hot and quickly chills. We also catch up with Marcus, who is considering expanding his business into boutique hotel and casino ownership, and Marty, who is heading down the aisle again. Love is in the air, which means our favorite duo bets on romance, while always winning on the love and laughter they share with each other.
Deborah Makes Vegas Cool
Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) put Las Vegas residencies on the map, and that’s why rocker Nico Hayes (Christopher Briney) lands in the desert city ready to bring his show to the Palmetto. The look-alike Harry Styles meets Deborah in the opening moments of the episode when she and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) attend his red carpet premiere at the famous hotel and casino. In true Deborah form, she’s dressed to impress, looking like the Queen of Hearts, in a high collared dress decked out in cards that would make Alice look twice through the looking glass. Hot off her big Madison Square Garden announcement, Deborah is hoping to dazzle the press and spectators, and get them excited for her New York show.
Once inside the hotel, we find out that Deborah’s old flame Marty (Christopher McDonald) is getting married again. This time, his future wife, Victoria(Carole Davis), isn’t one of the young women he’s so often left Deborah for, but someone closer to his own age. While that doesn’t make his ex happy, Marty seems to finally be settling down. He even comments that this might be his last wedding ever—and considering he says it in front of his future wife and she finds it adorable, it seems like he has finally found his match. Deborah can’t help herself and points out Marty’s “might?” because, “nothing says love like a subjective verb.”
Marty isn’t the only one who’s found someone. On her way to stuffing her face with mini hamburgers, Ava–the proud bisexual, runs into a charming man named Eli (Grady Eldridge), who almost instantly checks all of her boxes. For one, he isn’t turned off by her aggressive eating habits, or the fact she is a comedy writer–which has been an issue for her with past partners. The two flirt back and forth until Eli makes his move, asking for Ava’s phone number and a date. Ava is excited about the prospects, and even more so when she finds out Eli is a sex worker—something he admits has caused problems in his dating life. Of course, Ava doesn’t care. She prides herself on being an ally and seems to find his career choice to be the most interesting thing about him. A date is set, but for Ava, the bragging rights about dating a sex worker are just too good to pass up, as she can’t stop telling everyone about it.
Meanwhile, Deborah is caught off guard when Nico invites her to his VIP area at the event. While Deborah doesn’t think the two have much in common, what they do share–or at least she seems to think so, is a common goal: publicity. In her mind, two people in the spotlight can never pass up a bit of free press—but is that Nico’s angle? It doesn’t appear so. As the two sit down for a chat, he admits the only reason he’s in Las Vegas is because of Deborah. According to Nico, she made Las Vegas residencies cool—not just for magicians and circus acts, but for real talent. As they talk, he seems smitten with Deborah and she is equally impressed with him. The sparks are flying, flirtations are landing, and the two really hit it off.
A Real Date?
It’s still a surprise, though, when Jimmy (Paul W. Downs) calls Deborah the following day to tell her that Nico’s publicist wants to know if she’ll meet him again for a date. Is this a real date? Jimmy makes sure Deborah knows he’s not trying to pimp her out—he wants her to have full control of her life, including her sex life, regardless of how much publicity this would bring her and his fledgling company. This man is triggered from working with HR-nightmare Kayla (Megan Stalter), to the point he makes sure Deborah knows this date phone call is being recorded–just in case. Of course, Deborah is all in on the date because, in her mind, she assumes it’s all for PR. Nico is bringing his show to the Palmetto, and what better publicity than being photographed with the Queen of Las Vegas herself? She agrees to the date, then immediately calls her favorite paparazzo to snap photos of them outside the restaurant. She assumes she’s doing them both a favor—but that isn’t what Nico was angling for.
As Deborah plans for her “fake date” with Nico, the other man in her life, Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins), is falling in love with a new career move. After Marty mentions the Paradiso is for sale and could be turned into a parking lot, Marcus can’t stop thinking about a new venture in the hotel and casino world. He brings his ex-boyfriend Wilson (Johnny Sibilly) to the historic property as an extra pair of eyes that aren’t already in love with the idea. Wilson sees the real potential in restoring the building to its past grandeur. So far, the bones look good, and after meeting the quirky, flirtatious realtor, Meredith (Lucia Aniello) the buyout could be a done deal. Sure, he and Wilson have to show this mess of a woman a good time, but his Paradiso dreams might be worth a night of awkward passes from her.
Back at the mansion, Deborah and Ava are getting ready for their dates. In a callback to season one, Ava is decked out in her best mechanic overalls when she finds Deborah in the closet looking for the perfect outfit that says “PR date with a young rock star.” After a quick jab at Ava’s body hair—and Deborah’s desperate need to tweeze from big toe to eyebrows—Ava admits she’s excited about this date with a man and wonders if those butterflies she feels are from “that tiny threat of being killed at the end of the night.” Deborah has no quick quip for that, instead downplaying her date as a work function. As someone who might know a thing or two about attraction to older women, Ava questions why Deborah insists this couldn’t be a real date. It’s possible Nico is into her, and Deborah missed the cues. Even if it were real, Deborah admits she isn’t into Nico that way. He’s too young and too pretty, when she’s used to being the pretty one. Once her earrings are on and her Versace fit is perfect, Deborah takes a moment to reestablish those Avorah dynamics by shaming Ava’s outfit as something her grandson would wear “so that he could poop out the back”, as if that isn’t somehow a plus in Ava’s fashion book.
After checking in with her favorite paparazzo, Deborah meets Nico at the Fontainebleau hotel, where she’s surprised to see him matching her Versace top. These two have a lot in common—maybe even stylists. When the manager approaches and asks for their cell phones, Deborah starts to realize this isn’t a work date at all. Nico chose the location for its “no photos, no phones” policy, giving them a chance to get to know each other before any images leak to the press.
While Deborah’s nerves start to creep in about the direction of her not-so-fake date, Ava’s night with Eli is going well. The two are on a ferris wheel, making out, when they pause so Ava can make sure Eli knows that just because he’s a sex worker doesn’t mean she expects them to hook up on the first date. When he admits he loves his job so much it doesn’t feel like work, she launches into an Ava-style ramble about outdated capitalist propaganda. All Eli can do is smile and ask the hottest question she’s been asked: “Did you go to grad school?” The sparks between them are heating up Las Vegas.
Across the Strip, Deborah is getting to know Nico, and so far, she’s as impressed with him as he has long been with her. He’s followed her career and seems to harbor a real, honest crush, something Deborah slowly warms to as he opens up about his past. Like Deborah, he found fame on his own terms—he even emancipated himself from his parents at 15. He’s a self-made man, and that’s something Deborah understands. He explains how his father sold some of his teen photos to E! News, and while Deborah sympathizes, she must be hoping Nico never meets her daughter, DJ. Nico hates the press, which is why, when news broke about Deborah’s breakdown in Singapore, he knew it was all lies. The two share a kiss,and then another, but how long can this last knowing Nico’s aversion to the press? When controlled, the press has always been a useful tool in Deborah’s career, and now that she’s warming to Nico, her paparazzo buddy could ruin this budding romance before it even begins.
On cue, the handsy, thoroughly kissed duo wanders out of the hotel and directly into a mob of cameras. Deborah plays it off like she’s disgusted by the bottom-feeders she made sure were there, all while giving them every angle as she clutches Nico’s bare chest.
Love and Revenge
Back at the mansion, Ava is home from her date and talking Josefina’s (Rose Abdoo) ear off, with every topic circling back to Eli’s sex work. Josefina humors her until Deborah walks in and relieves her of Ava duty. Right away, Ava can tell Deborah is buzzing with excitement. Cooling herself off by leaning into the fridge, an exasperated Deborah admits Ava was right—the date was real, and they kissed! Ava is shocked, squealing with “yas queen” energy, until Deborah goes on to say how much she laughed with Nico. He made her laugh? That’s Ava’s job. Making out with a “girly boy” and liking it is one thing, but how dare he be funny. Still, Ava is supportive of Deborah’s rock star age-gap situation and urges her to text Nico an invite to Marty’s wedding. Love and revenge are really the best of both worlds.
When Deborah opens her phone, she finds a text from Nico saying he loved their time together and wants to see her again. As for the wedding, he proves to Ava just how funny he is by texting back, “Can I wear white?” Nico is all in, so Deborah immediately calls Marty to RSVP. Of course, it’s the middle of the night, and Marty rolls over in bed to take Deborah’s call. Not only does he mark Deborah and her plus-one down, he sleepily okays Ava bringing her date—who, at this point, barely has a name the way Ava won’t stop bragging about how open-minded she is about his career. In their best bestie scream, the girls are happy, their relationship is thriving, and they’re both hot for these men.
The following day, Marcus pays Deborah a visit to get her opinion on the Paradiso. He’s always respected her business sense, which is why her answer hits hard. Deborah is honest—there’s a reason the Paradiso was scheduled for demolition– tourism is down and independently owned casinos are a thing of the past. Even dealing with the gaming commission she sees as too much of a hassle. She knows Marcus has the talent to bring the place back to life, but it’s still a financial risk she wouldn’t take, and she doesn’t think he should either. While he’s disappointed, he doesn’t take her opinion lightly. Deborah didn’t build her empire without knowing a good deal when she sees one.
Date two for both women starts off well. Nico rents out an entire restaurant where he and Deborah canoodle and kiss, while Ava tests Eli’s skill set in bed. Everything is going well—Eli even agrees to be her plus-one at Marty’s wedding—until he mentions his other job, and it’s not in the realm of orgasms, but magic. Record scratch…what? Yes, much to Ava’s obvious disappointment, Eli is only doing sex work to pay for his career as a magician. He tries out a few tricks in bed, and it’s obvious why he needs supplemental income—he’s no Houdini, although he does pull a coin out of Ava’s ear. Not only has she lost her social justice points for dating a sex worker, but now she’s lost all respect for his actual dream job. What kind of ally is she? One who is taking a magician to a wedding.
Back to Deborah and Nico, who once again walk out of their date and into a sea of photographers. Deborah didn’t call them this time, but Nico is growing suspicious. He asks if she tipped them off the last time—and if she also sold his used napkin on eBay. No on the napkin, but Deborah comes clean about misunderstanding their original date. She thought he was in it for publicity and was doing them both a favor. She realizes now that this is real and apologizes for the confusion. Unfortunately, the damage is done. Nico can no longer trust her. He embarrassingly kicks her out of the car in front of the press and makes sure they all hear that he is not going to Marty’s wedding. Their short-lived romance is over, and Deborah is heartbroken.
Wedding Day FBI Blues
The next day, Deborah is not in the mood to work. Ava tries to get her to stop obsessing over the fallout with Nico but notices her hiding her phone. Ava wrestles it away—feet to the face and all—and when she sees Deborah has been writing him long messages without a response, she has to tell her the truth: she’s been blocked. The boomer in Deborah has no idea what that means, so Ava makes an executive decision to take away her phone before she embarrasses herself any further.
The following day at the wedding, Deborah arrives alone, while Ava brings Eli as her date, only to find out Mayor Jo (Lauren Weedman) is already well acquainted with him, as he’s her standing Sunday date. It becomes clear Ava is more uncomfortable with Eli telling people he’s a magician than that he’s a sex worker, and he picks up on it immediately.
As the orchestra plays and guests take their seats, we see Marty in full kilt attire, waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. She makes it halfway before the wedding is raided by the FBI! It seems Victoria’s real name is Eleanor, and she’s wanted by Interpol for fraud. She promises Marty that their love was real, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s going away for a long time.
While the FBI questions guests, Ava overhears Mayor Jo offering Eli two grand for the night. Ava encourages him to take it, and Eli feels the pressure. He finally asks if she has an issue with his magic. She admits magic is less impressive—cringey, even—but what he finds cringey is her judgment. He can’t get past her looking down on him for his career. The relationship is over, and with it, so is his sex work. He is going to concentrate fully on magic to prove Ava wrong. He then attempts to disappear in a cloud of smoke and fails, proving Ava might not be entirely wrong about his skills. Ava is left with the salty Mayor Jo, who is now worried about losing her weekend entertainment. She tells Ava she has less than a day to find her a new “Sunday boy.”
Meanwhile, upstairs, Deborah checks on Marty, who is ready to give up on love. He thought this one would stick, but maybe he missed his chance at finding his soulmate. Deborah insists the real crime is that his bride didn’t realize how wonderful he is. That cheers him up—so much so that he turns and asks Deborah to marry him. After all, the event is already paid for. Deborah politely declines but promises this isn’t the end for him. She just got dumped too, but at least they’re still taking risks and putting themselves out there. Most people their age are settled into commemorative coin collections, but they’re out here dating young rock stars and collecting wives like Infinity Stones. She promises he’ll fall in love again, and if he can’t find someone, he can always ask her again when they’re 100.
Finally, The Gang’s Back Together!
With renewed energy, Deborah finds Marcus before he exits the venue. She’s taking her own advice and thinks he should, too. Life is about taking risks, and not only does she think he should go for the Paradiso, she offers to take the risk with him. She misses working with him and proposes they become equal partners in the venture. With a proposal like that, how could he say no?
Finally, we cut to the Paradiso, where Ava sees herself as part owner thanks to her tangled situationship with Deborah. SHe might not be their third partner but she is fully supportive of this Vance-world reunion. It’s about time they got the gang back together. Their tour of the property is interrupted when Kiki (Poppy Liu) sends Ava a video she thinks is about Deborah. It’s Nico, singing a song called “Funny Girl” that seems to be inspired by her. It’s not a lovesick serenade but a heartbreak anthem—and honestly, that only boosts Deborah’s image. She left the rock star licking his wounds and writing songs about her. Who cares about the reason why? This could be great for her Madison Square Garden show because the fans will want to hear her side of the story. Nico Hayes won’t have the last beat in this song, Deborah is taking her story to New York!