#deborah vance is not deborah vance without ava that is literally the whole show

[ginniebaker]

submit hannah einbinder for lead actress you cowards

[nakedmonkey]

I'm so excited after reading Paul and Lucia interview, but also really afraid Ava and Deb won't end up together as a couple after this talk, because they suggest she just seeks attention. What do you think?

Hi Anon!

(No real spoilers ahead just FYI, very very minor ones if at all)

So, in my post after watching eps 1 & 2, I realize now, I come off pretty Negative Nancy about the whole thing, and I want to be clear about some things: I LOVE this show. It runs through my veins at this point. I take issue with some of the narrative/technical/creative choices they made in the first 2 eps of season 2 because, in my opinion, those choices divert from the characters as we've come to know them, and I also feel they've sacrificed a lot of the emotional weight we were left with in the finale in favor of this supposed reset. I know most people loved it tho, and that's cool, we don't all always have to agree!

HOWEVER, I think there's a conversation we need to have, especially with season 2 premiering so soon for everybody who didn't get to see it in advance. So, I'm pushing through this retrograde-induced depressive episode to talk about some things because I do think it's important, especially given that a lot of us are just off this Killing Eve train-wreck of a series finale.

Alright, here we go!

The most important thing we need to keep in mind when jumping back into the show is that JPL have NEVER promised us Ava/Deborah endgame, nor has the show ever directly or explicitly pointed toward that being the intent of the plot. While it's employed every romcom trope already, they have NEVER given any indication that Deborah and Ava will ever canonically be romantically involved. The repeated mantra of "Hacks is a love story" is true and genuine, and in my opinion can remain so without having Ava and Deborah ever actually get together. It's important that we don't confuse fanon with canon because that's the easiest way to disappoint ourselves.

Now, I'm obviously not JPL so I don't know what their plans are for the show, but as it stands, and take it from someone who has listened to every podcast & watched every interview with JPL because what goes into making a show fascinates me, I have never, ever felt as if they're trying to sell us Deborah and Ava as an actual couple who get together and hook up and fall in love. This is not queerbait. I repeat, this is not queerbait.

(the rest will go under the cut as I discuss some spoilers from the JPL interview)

As far as that interview, and the comment about Deborah loving attention, I mean...I think that's been pretty clear from the very beginning. She even admits it herself when she says "You know I hate attention". She is an attention whore and we love her for it! I don't know if they really are going to allow Deborah to explore her sexuality on the cruise in the way I hope they do, but if that's a thing that's going to happen, in my opinion it makes perfect sense that it happens while she's surrounded by women who want to fuck her lol

That being said, we should also prepare ourselves for the heartbreak of Deborah being like "well, I tried that and it turns out I'm pretty straight" because it is a possibility. JPL don't owe us a queer Deborah Vance, especially if that was never their vision for her in the first place, and ESPECIALLY when they've given us so much queer content already. Literally everyone else in this show is queer, played by queer actors, written by queer writers, this show is still our queer unicorn. That they've given us Ava's dream already and that they'll give us (at least that's what it sounds like) Deborah potentially giving some lucky girl a chance is gift enough.

Look, we're lucky enough to have some incredibly talented writers in our little fandom. Writers who are so good they've convinced us Ava and Deborah are actually on the road to ending up together lol. That's what fanfiction is for, kids! All I'm saying is, let's be realistic about what we're watching and let's just enjoy this show for what it is and not for what it isn't because honestly? It's still like nothing I personally have ever seen and I'm not willing to discredit it that easily.